Chapter 249 World Ten (Twenty)
After Baoshan changed into new clothes, she returned to the palace with Chu Boyu.
The next day, Yinhua awoke bleary-eyed to find a beautiful woman, rosy-faced, lying beside the bed that had been empty the previous night. Baoshan wore a plain inner garment, her cheeks rosy, her lips slightly parted. As Yinhua leaned in closer, she could smell a soft, elegant fragrance.
Yinhua didn't have to work today, so she could hide in her quilt and sleep for a while. Yinhua pulled the quilt closer to Baoshan. She glanced up and saw the fine hairs on Baoshan's cheek. Feeling happy, Yinhua lowered her eyes and saw the beautiful scenery hidden beneath her snow-white lingerie. Her skin, once flawless, was now stained with spots and a faint red hue.
Yinhua couldn't help but frown. Though young, she served Empress Dowager Zhong outside the palace. Many of the maids she interacted with were experienced in the ways of the world. Even before Chu Boyu favored a concubine, these maids, who had lived through two dynasties, began to recount the bustling scenes of the harem during the reign of Emperor Shuncheng.
Emperor Shuncheng was a playboy. In addition to the Empress Dowager Zhong, who was a noble concubine at the time and had a gorgeous appearance, he also had the gentle and delicate Concubine Shu by his side.
But Emperor Shuncheng was not a man of sentimental affection. He treated all his concubines equally, often having two or even three of them sleep with him. According to the palace maids, Emperor Shuncheng was very powerful in the court, something they, the young ladies, could never witness.
But they saw clearly how powerful Emperor Shuncheng was in the harem.
Haven’t you seen that after each night service, several concubines would go to the Imperial Hospital to get blood-clearing and blood-stasis-removing medicine?
At that time, Yinhua just listened quietly, thinking to herself: "It turns out that serving the emperor also takes its toll. It would be better to be a little palace maid. At least I wouldn't have to go to get medicine every few days."
But now, Yinhua looked at the marks on the precious fan, and no matter how she looked at them, they were extremely similar to the description of the palace maids about a night of imperial favor and endless joy.
Yinhua was full of doubts and couldn't sleep well. She closed her eyelids and finally fell asleep, but a man whose face she couldn't see appeared in her mind.
The man was tall and dressed in fine clothes. He looked like a prominent figure, but he had an extremely evil heart.
The man hugged Baoshan's waist and bullied her until she burst into tears. Baoshan looked at Yinhua with tears in her eyes and begged: "Yinhua, save me..."
Yinhua suddenly woke up from her sleep and called out loudly, "Precious fan!"
Baoshan was sitting on an embroidered table, holding a wooden comb and gently combing her hair.
Three thousand strands of black and shiny hair, held in the snow-white hands, are as delicate as beautiful jade.
Bao Shan held her hair in one hand and turned to look at Yin Hua. Seeing Yin Hua's confused eyes and cold sweat, Bao Shan opened her soft lips and asked, "Did you have a nightmare?"
Yinhua nodded blankly. She didn't even have time to put on her embroidered shoes. She walked to the front of the treasure fan in her shoes.
Yinhua leaned over gently and stared at the snow-white neck.
Baoshan was confused, but she didn't stop Yinhua. She reached out her soft hand, stroked Yinhua's arm, and said softly, "Worry breeds fear. You don't have to be on duty today. Rest well, and you won't be disturbed by nightmares."
Seeing Yinhua's messy hair, Baoshan said again: "Sit down quickly. It's been a long time since I have taken care of your hair."
Yinhua was gently pulled by Baoshan's strength and sat down on the stool. Her eyes were still fixed on the snow-white spot. Yinhua's voice was hoarse as she finally asked, "Baoshan, but - did someone bully you?"
The carved ivory comb fell from the roots of Yinhua's hair and slowly dropped to the ends.
Baoshan's movements were so gentle that Yinhua didn't feel any pain at all.
Hearing Yinhua's question, Baoshan paused slightly, and her voice was as gentle as usual, but with a hint of hesitation: "You're imagining things again."
Yinhua raised her hand and gently pulled open Baoshan's snow-white lining, revealing her dazzling skin. The white snow was dotted with mottled red plum blossoms, which inevitably aroused people's imagination.
Yinhua saw the traces clearly and became more certain of her guess - the precious fan must have been taken advantage of by someone else.
Before Yinhua could open her mouth to ask who the audacious man was, she saw Baoshan's eyes turn red and crystal drops of water linger in her beautiful eyes.
Baoshan turned her head away, and she did not reach out to wipe the tears from her eyes. She just let them hang there, about to fall but not falling, like rain hitting pear blossoms, which was extremely pitiful.
At this moment, Yinhua had no time to care about anything else. She quickly lowered her voice and comforted Baoshan.
Baoshan's voice was filled with sadness as she sobbed softly, "I didn't want you to know, but you found out anyway. Yinhua, you must think that I did something like that... You'll definitely laugh at me for being fickle and shameless. I'm afraid you—you won't want to be my friend in the future..."
How could Yinhua miss Baoshan so much? In Yinhua's eyes, Baoshan was gentle and kind, pure and innocent, and no one could slander her.
In Yinhua's opinion, Baoshan is so beautiful, and all men in the world are lustful at first sight. It is not surprising that they would covet Baoshan and try to deceive her.
Even if Yinhua felt disgusted, she disliked the man who picked the flowers, not the precious fan.
Yinhua said hurriedly, "Why would I not want to be friends with you? When I first entered the palace, all the other young palace maids wanted to be your partner. But I was arrogant and I grabbed it first. You are my friend, but I fought for it. Even if others coerce or bribe me, I will not give you up.
Besides, you are good in every way, so I won’t say anything nonsense, such as fickle words…”
Baoshan raised her beautiful eyes and softly called out "Yinhua," and Yinhua stopped asking about the details. But Yinhua had a suspicion in her mind: Baoshan and Chu Boyu had been together last night.
Although she didn't know when Baoshan returned to the palace, she knew it was probably late at night when everyone was asleep. Furthermore, Baoshan was in the palace, so she could be considered the emperor Chu Boyu's woman.
Who in the world would have the guts to try to touch your Majesty's woman?
Unless... the emperor has mercy on me and gives me the precious fan.
Yinhua saw the tears in Baoshan's eyes, still with a hint of water, and decided not to ask any further questions.
But Yinhua was still thinking about it in her heart, hoping that Chu Boyu was not only an emperor, but also a responsible man who could give the precious fan a name.
Otherwise, with Baoshan's delicate nature, after being pampered by Chu Boyu and then abandoned, she would probably not be able to withstand the blow.
Because Baoshan had a sore waist, he made up a random excuse and got two days' leave from the Jiaofangsi.
It wasn't that Baoshan was spoiled, that she had become arrogant because of Chu Boyu's temporary favor, and she no longer wanted to be a lowly dancer and continue to practice dancing at the Jiaofangsi. In fact, Baoshan's body was bent and almost broken. If she danced, she would definitely not escape Le Niang's eyes.
By then, the news that Chu Boyu had taken possession of the precious fan would spread throughout the palace.
Although this move could urge Chu Boyu to give him an identity, it was obtained under duress, which was unpleasant.
Baoshan concealed this from Yinhua, not wanting the story to spread widely and arouse Chu Boyu's suspicion that Baoshan had orchestrated this beautiful affair. If so, the original lingering love would be tainted with the word "calculation," and even the most beautiful romance would become tainted.
Secondly, Yinhua is very thoughtful and can guess something even if Baoshan doesn't say it.
In this way, Yinhua can pay more attention to Chu Boyu's whereabouts, which will also facilitate Baoshan's planning.
The precious fan gently lifted her sleeves, and her soft hands gently rubbed the red marks on her skin.
As soon as the ointment touched the skin, a cool feeling came, and then gradually warmed up.
Bao Shan couldn't help but groan, feeling annoyed. She shouldn't have indulged Chu Boyu at that time, otherwise such a deep red mark would not have been left.
But even if Baoshan wanted to stop him, a man who was addicted to pleasure would not have any rationality left.
Even if Chu Boyu was asked to stop, he probably would not be willing to do so.
Chu Boyu did not keep Baoshan waiting for long.
On this day, the chief eunuch came to the Jiaofangsi holding a bright yellow imperial edict.
Baoshan was lifting her legs slightly, causing her skirt to flutter. She was wearing a gauze dress, and she looked graceful and light.
Le Niang didn't know what was going on, so she brought many dancers with her, waiting for the emperor's order.
The chief eunuch walked straight past the crowd and came to the front of Baoshan. His tone was indescribably gentle: "This is Miss Baoshan?"
Bao Shan replied timidly, "I am Bao Shan, your servant, and I am honored to meet you, sir."
She was about to bow, but the chief eunuch gently stopped her. He said with a smile, "You are not worthy of this courtesy."
After saying this, the eunuch unfolded the bright yellow imperial edict and read it aloud.
Earlier, he was talking about how beautiful the treasure fan was.
The dancer Baoshan is beautiful, kind-hearted, and respectful in demeanor, which suits my heart very well... Until the last sentence, it ends with "specially conferring the title of Zhaoyuan and bestowing the name of Lan."
The chief eunuch smiled and said, "Lan Zhaoyuan, Your Majesty has bestowed this title upon her, to express the fact that Zhaoyuan is like a secluded orchid in a valley, with a lithe figure and a fragrant scent, which Your Majesty greatly enjoys."
These words were not made up by the eunuch to please the precious fan, but were specially instructed by Chu Boyu.
Although the imperial edict praised the precious fan as a fairy from heaven, a beauty rarely seen in the mortal world.
But what Chu Boyu wanted to say most was not convenient for him to pick up the pen and write it down in the imperial edict.
Chu Boyu then instructed the chief eunuch to tell Baoshan what he had said.
This is also why the eunuch is so respectful to the precious fan.
It is not surprising that Chu Boyu was given the title of Lan Zhaoyuan at his age.
But the fact that he spent so much time thinking of a title for the fan showed that Chu Boyu cared deeply about the fan. This was enough to make the senior eunuch look at the fan with a higher regard.
The chief eunuch continued, "The harem has been empty for a long time. Although it is cleaned from time to time, Lan Zhaoyuan is entering the harem for the first time, so this is not enough attention.
His Majesty has ordered us to clean and properly tidy up the palace, and then welcome Lan Zhaoyuan over."
The precious fan naturally responds to the soft sound.
After the eunuch left, many dancers gathered around the precious fan.
Although the dancers were in the palace, it was the first time they saw the concubines in the palace.
They originally thought that the first concubine should be carefully selected from the beautiful girls welcomed into the palace, but they never expected that she would be from the Jiaofangsi.
The dancers had never seen a concubine before, so they couldn't help but become curious.
"Zhao Yuan, what is your position?"
"She is a concubine of the third rank in the palace."
Someone who normally disliked the treasure fan murmured softly, "So it's only a third-rank rank. It seems His Majesty doesn't really like the treasure fan. Otherwise, why not give her a title of Imperial Concubine or something like that?"
Someone scoffed, "In the past, if you weren't from a talent show, the best you could get was a fifth-rank beauty.
Now that Your Majesty has named Baoshan Zhaoyuan, it shows how much Your Majesty values Baoshan."
In the past, there were palace maids and dancers who were favored by the emperor and became concubines.
But most of them were only favored for one night and were named the last selected concubine, only one level higher than the palace maid who served in the bedroom.
If a woman is particularly beautiful and pleases the emperor, she will be given the title of Lady or Beauty, which will make everyone envious and cause people to talk about her.
In the eyes of the dancers, given the status of the precious fan and the fact that he was given the title of Lan Zhaoyuan, it can be imagined that Chu Boyu's love for the precious fan was not just ordinary affection, but a deep affection and loyalty.
Although Baoshan had become Lan Zhaoyuan, she no longer had a palace or maids. Therefore, Baoshan remained at the Jiaofangsi. However, Le Niang no longer dared to give Baoshan the same free instructions as before.
When Le Niang saw Bao Shan's graceful waist and soft legs, she was quite frightened, fearing that Bao Shan would be injured and make Chu Boyu feel distressed, and then he would have an attack on the Jiaofangsi.
Baoshan did not act like a concubine. She continued to get along with other dancers as before.
No matter what the dancers thought of the precious fan in the past, they now all looked harmonious and respectful.
But when Empress Dowager Zhong learned about this, she was not happy because Chu Boyu had not issued this imperial decree in front of Empress Dowager Zhong.
Moreover, if Empress Dowager Zhong knew that Chu Boyu was going to appoint a dancer, she would definitely change Lan Zhaoyuan's name to Lan Meiren or Lan Madam.
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