Chapter 11 Chapter 11
The song and dance didn't last long.
On the high platform, the dancers in brightly colored clothes with flowing sleeves danced lightly and gracefully on the square round drum.
The music and drum beats are throbbing.
The attention of countless people was captured by this song and dance.
Even Empress Yuan praised it highly.
"Pass on this imperial decree," she said with a smile, clapping her hands. "Everyone will be rewarded, very richly."
Empress Yuan was in poor health and was unable to participate in activities such as polo, riding and archery. Even ordinary singing and dancing were difficult for her.
But she likes things to be lively.
So the emperor ordered a special band to be trained.
Countless singing girls and dancers have been sweating day after day for years, just for a smile from Queen Bo.
This kind of singing and dancing is undoubtedly top-notch.
Everyone was watching attentively, except Yuan Mu, who was absent-minded.
There was a fine layer of sweat on her forehead and her hair was slightly wet.
Her snowy face was tinged with red, and the scarlet at the corners of her eyes burned like a dark fire.
Yuan Muxianbai's knuckles tightened, then relaxed, and then tightened again.
In the dim night, only when the fireworks illuminate the darkness can you see everything clearly.
So even Empress Yuan, who was standing nearby, didn't know how embarrassed and helpless Yuan Mu was at the moment.
Her eyes were filled with tears and she looked at the emperor with pleading eyes. Her red lips were swollen from being bitten, which made people want to torture her even more.
But Yuan Mu seemed to have never noticed this.
She is unfaithful, but ignorant; she is coquettish, but innocent.
Unconsciously bewitching people's minds.
Just like the spirit in the strange tales, she stretched out her slender snow-white arms, and with a youthful and innocent look, slowly wrapped them around the man's shoulders.
Yuan Mu was about to break down and cry.
The emperor left the platform without saying a word to Empress Yuan.
Empress Yuan was preoccupied with tonight's plans, and her heart was beating like bells and drums. After seeing the two leave, she immediately arranged for people to go, and did not notice the unusual intimacy between them.
After avoiding the public's sight, the emperor picked up Yuan Mu horizontally.
Originally, it was said that Yuan Mu would accompany him to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests to rest, but in the end, he ended up carrying Yuan Mu there.
After leaving the platform, Yuan Mu's tense body suddenly relaxed.
Her body trembled and her eyes were filled with tears.
As pitiful as anything.
But Yuan Mu's arms were still tightly wrapped around the emperor's neck.
She was shy and thin-skinned, and her whole red face was buried in his clothes.
The dress was elegant and noble, and she seemed to be still the dignified Empress Zhaoyi, but the lining under the plain outer robe was soaked.
Yuan Mu suppressed her tears well, and the emperor was furious when he saw her close to the King of Chu.
Of course there couldn't be anything between them.
But Yuan Mu has a very serious criminal record.
She looks innocent and naive, but she is actually fickle and very good at seducing men.
But Yuan Mu cried so pitifully.
Whenever she cries, an indescribable rich fragrance bursts out of her body.
The emperor was also stained, and the claw patterns of the Yinglong dragon on his dark black dress seemed to have turned into new blooming flowers.
He held Yuan Mu's face in his hands and coaxed her softly, "Don't cry, no one will see."
Who dares to look directly at the emperor's face?
What's more, the emperor had no preference for sharing the tears of his partner.
The viewing platform is not far from the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests where the emperor rested.
They walked on the Imperial Road.
There were only soldiers and guards along the way.
This is a quiet and deserted road.
So after relaxing, Yuan Mu couldn't stop crying.
She even wondered if the emperor knew of their plan and was using it to punish her.
But the emperor just gently rubbed the corners of Yuan Mu's eyes.
"I told someone to call you over earlier, but you chose to hide in the corner," he said in a gentle tone, "and you even got involved with Ah Zhang. You've only been good for a few days, and already you have new ideas?"
A Zhang is the nickname of the King of Chu.
The emperor's tone was gentle, hinting at the indulgence and doting of an elder.
The words were a bit harsh, but there was really no accusation in them.
The emperor's temperament is changeable.
But he is not the kind of person who will hold on to one thing.
On the contrary, the emperor was tolerant at certain times. After being angry and punishing, he would not say anything more.
Yuan Mu became confused.
No one called her over.
Yuan Mu raised his head and argued anxiously: "No one let me pass, Your Majesty."
"What about Ah Zhang?" The emperor's knuckles touched her lips. "I took you to see him earlier because I was here."
He asked softly, "Should you have any contact with him while I'm away?"
Nowhere is a woman's chastity more valued than in the palace.
In an ordinary family, if a woman has an affair with a man outside her family, the most she would get is a divorce letter.
But in the royal family, this is a great disrespect to the emperor.
If you really dare to disobey, you will be subjected to countless secret tortures and poisoned wine and white silk.
Yuan Mu and the King of Chu didn't say anything more except for the idle chat in front of the old eunuch.
But thinking of the beautifully shaped dead branch, she suddenly didn't dare to look the emperor in the eye.
Yuan Mu lowered his head and said obediently: "It shouldn't be."
Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and her voice was timid: "I... I will remember this later, Your Majesty."
Refutation and defense are of no use with the emperor.
There is no room for change in what he has decided.
Thinking of the night when the emperor just returned to Beijing not long ago, Yuan Mu still feels a lingering fear.
Fortunately, we arrived at the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests soon.
The emperor drank some wine and there was a hint of drunkenness in his eyes.
Normally, the eunuchs would prepare tea for him to sober up, but since Yuan Mu was here, he didn't let anyone else do it.
She is not used to being served, nor is she very good at serving others.
However, this seems to be a customary practice among the servants of Ziwei Palace.
They seldom come to disturb us, but only prepare everything in the dark.
The emperor and the empress had a close relationship, and the empress would occasionally interfere in the emperor's affairs.
That's why it was so easy for Empress Yuan to arrange people around the emperor.
Yuan Mu was frightened just now, and now when he thought about their plan, he felt a little troubled.
This was the Queen's idea.
But who knows if the emperor will vent his anger on her?
Yuan Mu looked hesitant, and cold sweat broke out on his palms.
But the wisps of smoke burning in the Boshan stove were obviously new spices that had been tampered with.
It is no longer possible to retreat at this time.
Yuan Mu forced himself to remain calm, picked up the cup on the low table and brought it to the emperor.
But she didn't expect the man to hold her wrist and whisper, "How did I feed you before?"
When Yuan Mu cried too hard, her voice would become hoarse, so the emperor would often feed her water halfway through.
She would tremble so much that she could not stand, and he would kiss her lips and pass the water into her mouth.
Occasionally he would deliberately feed her a lot of water.
The hot sweat on Yuan Mu's body had not cooled down yet, and he had not changed his soaked inner clothes.
The Emperor pulled her a little closer, and she was forced to move closer to him.
Outside, it was still the Qianqiu Festival, with people celebrating the Queen's birthday. But inside the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, her sister's husband held her wrist, bringing them closer and closer.
Their lips were so close that Yuan Mu's heart skipped a beat. This scene gave her a sense of time distortion.
It reminded her of that wet, rainy night with swaying curtains.
But when his fingertips pinched his palm with intense pain, Yuan Mu gradually woke up.
She was not here to be intimate with the emperor.
Just now, in front of her sister, having such contact with her brother-in-law was already the limit for her.
Yuan Mu turned her head away. She knelt on one knee on the couch, her waist held by the emperor, but there was a slight resistance between her eyebrows.
The emperor was very sensitive to her emotions.
They have been together for two years. Yuan Mu frowned. He knew what she wanted to say.
The smile on the emperor's face faded.
But Yuan Mu's next words made his lips curl up again.
"It's time for you to..." Her cheeks flushed, "Tonight, let's do that again."
The emperor leaned back and said in a low voice, "But I have to go to Yifeng Palace tonight. It's your sister's birthday today, so I have to give her some respect."
The cup was pushed back.
Yuan Mu looked at the light-colored tea, his chest heaving.
She's really bad at this kind of thing.
When Yuan Mu heard the sound of a cat meowing outside, her heart almost jumped into her throat. She couldn't even think about what the emperor said.
The two girls from the Cui family were coming soon, and she had to get the emperor to drink the hangover tea quickly.
"I'm fine," Yuan Mu said anxiously, "You go ahead."
This is a very straightforward statement.
But the emperor laughed.
He grabbed Yuan Mu's slender waist and gently touched her forehead: "Are you going to push me out like this?"
The man's tone was affectionate, and Yuan Mu was dazed when his lips were kissed.
The cup in her hand was swept to the ground by the emperor, and the porcelain cup was scattered on the ground and rolled into the corner.
He spilled the hangover tea on purpose.
The emperor might really be drunk.
His drinking capacity was totally inconsistent with his calm demeanor and graceful posture.
The emperor skillfully grabbed Yuan Mu's wrist, peeled her out of her layered dress, and leaned over to kiss her snow-white shoulder.
She looked at the tea spilled on the floor, feeling completely desperate.
The thought of wanting to die even came to my mind.
Yuan Mu's inner garment was snow-white, but also dirty, revealing a sweet and incredibly rich fragrance.
When the emperor kissed her shoulder bone, she trembled and tried to move away.
But that pair of delicate butterfly bones had already been left with kiss marks.
The emperor's almond-shaped eyes revealed an obvious sign of drunkenness.
The alcohol gradually took effect.
His eyes were no longer clear, and his voice was indifferent and morbid: "Why... do you always want to push me away?"
Yuan Mu's panicked mind suddenly calmed down at this moment.
Who is he talking to?
Who is he resentful of pushing him out?
The surging heat turned cold in an instant.
Yuan Mu was held in the emperor's arms, his long, moist eyelashes trembled, and he felt an inexplicable pain in the deepest part of his chest.
The sharp and long pain, like an old scar, occurs on every cloudy and rainy night.
Many people said that she didn't look like the daughter of the Yuan family.
The once famous Luoyang Yuan family, the imperial surname of the previous dynasty, should not have such incompetent and cowardly descendants of the legitimate family.
But the fact is, she looks a lot like her sister.
Sisters with the same father and mother will always have similarities in appearance even if they grew up in completely different environments.
When Yuan Mu was stumbling and struggling to learn to write in the farm, Empress Yuan had already been taken by Madam Cui to the palace countless times and had met the emperor, empress and crown prince countless times.
If Empress Yuan had not been weak, she would not have been able to have children.
Yuan Mu may never have the chance to see the emperor's face again in this life.
It was because of Yuan Ying that she was able to become the emperor's concubine.
But when he thought back to those things one by one, Yuan Mu suddenly felt extremely tired.
She looked at the emperor's eyes and suddenly felt bored.
The emperor looked for the shadow of Empress Yuan in her.
But isn't she also trying to find the soul of an old friend in him?
Yuan Mu clasped the thin bracelet on his wrist and forced himself to close his eyes.
-
Empress Yuan had been ill since childhood and was bedridden, and her life was short.
But unlike those sickly people who live deep in the inner chambers, she naturally loves all things that are noisy.
Even when she was illest, Empress Yuan would still go to watch the performances of famous opera actors.
She enjoys being the center of attention and loves the envious looks from everyone.
Therefore, every year on the Emperor and Empress’ birthdays, Empress Yuan would treat them with great care.
She has been quite energetic lately. While continuing to watch the performance on the platform, she is also leisurely arranging matters at the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.
My father Yuan Wei just left for something.
After the emperor and Yuan Mu left, he came back.
Empress Yuan had an ordinary relationship with her father. Although he loved her very much, he always cared about his brother the most.
Even though she is now the queen, she has accomplished many things despite her illness.
It was also rare to see sincere approval and recognition in my father's eyes.
Empress Yuan was about to greet her father when she heard the attendant's low voice hurriedly report: "It's bad, Your Majesty! Something happened in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests—"
Her expression changed instantly.
But as soon as Empress Yuan stood up, she heard her father say coldly, "You've been Empress for so long, why are you still so impatient?"
She gritted her teeth and said respectfully, "My daughter will follow my father's teachings."
"There are some personal matters that I need my daughter to handle," Empress Yuan said in a low voice. "Please rest for a while. I will be back soon."
It wasn't actually her idea to send someone to the palace.
No woman in this world would willingly push her husband into the arms of another man.
At the beginning, Empress Yuan had thought that even if it cost her life, she would give birth to a legitimate son for the emperor.
It was her father who took her in and suggested sending Yuan Mu to the palace.
Empress Yuan was unwilling to give in, and now the emperor's repeated protection of Yuan Mu made her instinctively feel a sense of crisis.
Yuan Wei was not aware that someone was being sent to the palace this time.
Empress Yuan was afraid of causing trouble, so she didn't dare to say much to him.
But before she could pull herself away, several maids from the Cui family swarmed over and knelt before her: "Madam! Please save our young lady—"
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