Encountering the Stone Sea Again
Xi Chun never expected to reunite with Miao Wendao in the palace. She exclaimed, "Lord Miao, it's truly fate that we met again."
Looking at the beautiful Xichun before him, whose beauty rivaled that of a peony, Miao Wendao felt a pang of disappointment. He had once thought that if he could reunite with that girl from years ago, he would definitely pursue her and win her over as his wife. Now, it seemed that Xichun was serving in the Imperial Study in the Yuanhe Hall, and with her beauty, she would become an empress sooner or later. His longing was destined to remain unfulfilled.
"Miss Xichun, I am overjoyed to see you again," he said to Xichun with a smile.
Miao Wendao's smile was very eye-catching. He had sharp eyebrows, bright eyes, and tanned skin. The sunlight shining on his well-defined face gave him a heroic beauty.
Remembering that she and he had talked for a long time at the palace gate, and fearing that the emperor would still want her to serve him, she had no choice but to bid him farewell. Miao Wendao stood there watching Xichun's departing figure. He took out the silver bracelet from his sleeve pocket. What he didn't tell her was that he had redeemed the silver bracelet from the pawnshop years ago and had kept it on his person ever since.
In the imperial study, Yan Zhongyou was admiring paintings again. He took out one of his cherished works after another, unfolded them on his desk, and after admiring them for a while, he asked Michide to put them away. He looked up and saw that only Peilan was in the hall, and asked Michide, "Where did Xichun go?"
While rolling up the painting, Miched replied, "Your Majesty, Miss Xichun just went to get the cloud silk for Miao Wendao."
Yan Zhongyou remained silent, his gaze occasionally drifting towards the palace entrance. After Xichun entered, she quietly stood beside Peilan. When Michide saw her return, he beckoned her over.
Seeing that she didn't move, Pei Lan whispered a reminder: "Grandpa Mi wants you to go over there, hurry up."
Xi Chun walked to the desk and stood at a distance.
When Yan Zhongyou saw Xichun, a smile appeared on his face. He had taken Michide's advice and planned to take his time with Xichun. After all, Xichun was like a lamb offered to him; when he would favor her was entirely up to his whim. He glanced into his painting jar and remembered the painting of a beauty by Qiu Jiu that he had placed on his bookshelf.
He called to Xichun, "Come here and take the painting box down from that shelf for me."
Upon hearing Yan Zhongyou's instructions, Xichun quickly took a brocade box from the bookshelf as instructed.
"Put it on the table and open it."
Michald, worried that Xichun might damage the painting due to her inexperience, went to her side to help. Xichun gave Michald a grateful smile, then diligently imitated Michald's movements as he unfolded the painting. She was so focused that she didn't even notice what was depicted in the painting. Only when she saw the figure in the painting after it was fully unfolded did she freeze in shock. How could the person in the painting look so much like herself?
Seeing Xichun's surprised expression, Yan Zhongyou walked over, patted her hand, and laughed, "You didn't expect this, did you? Such a coincidence! The painter Qiu Jiu, who created the painting, had never met you before, yet he was able to paint your likeness so vividly. Wei Qiao then happened to buy this painting and gave it to me as a New Year's gift. It's truly fate that brought you to my side." Seeing that Xichun was still stunned and didn't resist his touch, he went over and put his arm around her shoulder.
Everything around her seemed to disappear. Only two words echoed in Xichun's mind: Wei Qiao. It was Wei Qiao who presented this painting to the Emperor; no wonder the woman in the painting wore a white camellia in her hair. No wonder Wei Qiao had taken her to Qingquan Mountain that day—it was all for this. Xichun suddenly realized that she had never truly known Wei Qiao. She wondered if being sent to the palace was also Wei Qiao's arrangement.
Yan Zhongyou greedily moved closer to Xichun, inhaling the fragrance of her hair, and touched her smooth skin. Feeling the strange sensation on her face, Xichun finally came to her senses. She awkwardly tried to pull away, but Yan Zhongyou had already put his arm around her shoulder.
Xi Chun turned her face away, and her eyes met those of Michide. Seeing her pale face, Michide feared she might do something to defy the Emperor and anger him, so he gave her a warning look.
Xichun felt a chill run to her bones, and an endless despair spread through her heart. She didn't want to be beaten to death like Youlan, nor did she want to submit to the emperor like this. She disliked the emperor at all; she loathed this emperor who took lives so easily.
Yan Zhongyou noticed that Xichun was trembling and her face had turned pale. Just as he was about to take her hand and comfort her, Guang Jinfu came in.
"Your Majesty, Consort Xian has arrived."
Yan Zhongyou sighed, reluctantly letting go of Xichun's arms. He glanced at the painting on the table, which was still unfolded, and gave Michide a look, signaling him to put it away.
Xi Chun noticed that Yan Zhongyou had let go of her, so she quickly went to Mi Qide's side to help him tidy up.
Yan Zhongyou walked to the Luohan bed next to him and sat down before saying to Guang Jinfu, "Summon Consort Xian in."
Dressed in a pomegranate-red palace gown and with her hair styled in a flying bun, the virtuous concubine gracefully entered the imperial study.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects."
"My beloved consort, there's no need for such formalities. Please sit down next to me." Yan Zhongyou stood up and pulled the consort to sit beside him.
Consort Xian nestled in Yan Zhongyou's arms, her eyes scanning the surroundings. Sure enough, she spotted the unfamiliar palace maid standing next to Michide. Had Xin'er not bumped into Min Xiu, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, in the alley that day, she would still be completely unaware. The Emperor hadn't visited her Jingcui Palace for some time; it turned out he had been bewitched by this little vixen.
"Your Majesty, I have heard that Your Majesty works tirelessly day and night to handle state affairs, so I have personally prepared a pot of ginseng chicken soup. Your Majesty, please have a taste." After saying this, Consort Xian instructed the accompanying eunuch Fu'an to bring over the chicken soup.
"Go and deliver the chicken soup to the Emperor," Michide instructed Xichun beside him. According to the rules, everything presented to the Emperor had to pass through the hands of the people in the Yuanhe Hall.
Xi Chun walked up to the eunuch Fu An, ready to take the chicken soup. The two locked eyes for a moment, their eyes filled with surprise and astonishment. Xi Chun steadied herself and carefully examined Fu An's appearance. He looked exactly like Shi Hai in her memory, even the mole on his left eyebrow was the same.
Shi Hai never expected to encounter Xi Chun in the palace. Years ago, she had run away, and he had been severely beaten and scolded by Li Gao, the son of the county magistrate. Later, by chance, Li Gao took him to a banquet in Huaizhou Prefecture. Li Gao's maternal uncle was Zhang Pinxian, the prefect of Huaizhou Prefecture. Seeing Shi Hai's effeminate appearance, Zhang Pinxian took him away from Li Gao and, under the guise of delivering tribute to the palace, secretly arranged for him to be placed next to Zhang Lining, who was then Consort Li, becoming the eunuch Fu'an in Jingcui Palace.
Zhang Lining initially resisted her father's absurd idea, only assigning Shi Hai to sweeping and cleaning work in the outer courtyard. Later, when Consort Cai became pregnant, all the palace's rewards and favors went to her, and the Emperor hadn't visited her Jingcui Palace for a long time. For the first time, she felt threatened and ultimately adopted her father's suggestion, transferring Shi Hai to her side as a personal eunuch. Around the time she gained the Emperor's favor, she had relations with Shi Hai, and fortunately, she became pregnant with the second princess, Cai Luan, after only a few encounters.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and bring the ginseng soup over." Seeing that Shi Hai was holding the soup but not handing it to Xi Chun, and his eyes were still fixed on her, Consort Xian felt a surge of anger and her voice was no longer as gentle as before.
Shi Hai was the first to react, handing the soup to Xi Chun. Xi Chun took it and carefully examined the web of Shi Hai's left hand, noticing a bite mark. It turned out that Shi Hai had come to his grandfather's wonton stall to cause trouble, and the family dog, Xiao Duo, had rushed at Shi Hai to help his grandfather and bit him. His grandfather had even paid two taels of silver for Shi Hai's medicine, but Xiao Duo was later killed by Shi Hai, who then proudly displayed roasted dog meat at the wonton stall.
Xi Chun carefully placed the ginseng soup in front of Yan Zhongyou, then stepped aside and stood with Pei Lan.
Consort Xian lifted her eyelids and scrutinized her closely, discovering that she bore a striking resemblance to the beauty in the painting the Emperor had previously favored. A contemptuous smile curled at the corner of her lips. She was nothing more than a substitute; the Emperor would eventually tire of such a thing, and she was not worth her attention.
After feeding Yan Zhongyou half a bowl of ginseng soup, Consort Xian invited him to accompany her to feed the fish in the pond in the Imperial Garden. Yan Zhongyou had always admired Consort Xian's good looks, and now her gentle words had melted his heart. He immediately got up and left Yuanhe Palace with Consort Xian in his arms.
After returning to her bedroom, Xichun kept thinking about Shi Hai. She was certain that Fu'an, the eunuch serving Consort Xian, was Shi Hai. She just couldn't understand how Shi Hai had come to the capital and become a eunuch in the palace. Years ago, her grandfather had sent her to the capital with the token to marry her brother Wei Kang in order to help her avoid the influence of Shi Hai and Li Gao. Now, she and Shi Hai were both in the palace. Xichun couldn't figure out what was going on with Shi Hai, but she knew one thing for sure: he wouldn't let her go, and she had to be extra careful.
Inside the Jingcui Palace, on a heavily carved canopy bed, Consort Xian, wearing a red mandarin duck bodice, lay in the arms of Shi Hai, whose chest was bare.
"Your Majesty, the palace maid I saw in Yuanhe Hall today is the granddaughter of my enemy whom I told you about. She knows my background. This person must not be allowed to live."
The virtuous concubine drew circles on his chest with her hand and said coquettishly, "You can take care of it yourself, you don't need to tell me. Just remember to be clean and don't let anyone find any fault with you."
After hearing her words, Shi Hai already had an idea. Feeling a tingling, itchy sensation in his chest, Shi Hai grabbed her mischievous hand and said, "Since Your Majesty is so interested, then let's continue to give Cai Luan another little brother." With that, he turned over and pinned the Consort Xian down.
In Jingcui Palace, waves of red surged, while in Yuanhe Hall, Yan Zhongyou was also favoring a new concubine. Today, while strolling in the Imperial Garden with Consort Xian, he encountered a palace maid sweeping the garden named Lümei. Lümei was of average appearance, but she possessed a slender and well-proportioned figure, especially her willow-like waist, which made Yan Zhongyou almost lose control on the spot. After seeing Consort Xian off, he hurriedly ordered Mi Qide to summon Lümei to serve him tonight.
The following day, Lü Mei was granted the title of Noble Lady Mei and moved into a side hall of Chunxi Palace. Yan Zhongyou was deeply in love with Noble Lady Mei and visited Chunxi Palace every day for several days in a row.
Xi Chun was overjoyed to be away from Yan Zhongyou, but every time she went to the Imperial Study to serve him, she felt tense all over, her heart always hanging in suspense. The Consort Xian never came to Yuanhe Palace again, nor did she encounter Shi Hai again, but she never dared to let her guard down. Shi Hai was like a wild dog lurking in the shadows, and Xi Chun was always worried that he would suddenly jump out and bite her at some point.
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