Chapter 2 Chapter 2
The two girls of the Cui family were more beautiful than flowers. After the initial panic, they quickly calmed down.
The two looked at Yuan Mu, bowed, and said respectfully and softly, "Your servant greets the Empress Zhaoyi."
After all, she is a noble lady from a scholarly family. Even if she is in a hurry, she will not make any mistakes in etiquette.
Yuan Mu was stunned for a moment before he reacted.
She pursed her lips and called softly, "Sister..."
Yuan Mu is not good at talking to people, especially strangers.
She raised her sleeve to serve tea to the two of them. The moment she handed the cups to them, her wrist shook and all the hot tea spilled onto the back of her hand.
The icy skin suddenly showed red marks.
Yuan Mu hummed softly, and the maid panicked instantly, hurriedly handing her a wet handkerchief: "Empress Zhaoyi!"
The moment the hot water poured, it did not cause any pain.
Instead, after applying the wet handkerchief, a dense and sharp stinging pain began to appear.
But before Yuan Mu could say anything, Queen Yuan's smiling eyes turned cold.
"You're already so grown up," Empress Yuan said with a sharp look in her eyes, "yet your two younger sisters still don't know how to behave!"
She was of high status and looked down upon Yuan Mu's timidity and pettiness.
Before entering the palace, Empress Yuan had always disliked Yuan Mu and often scolded him in public.
There are quite a few girls in the family.
Any concubine sister is more likable than Yuan Mu.
But when choosing people to enter the palace, my father insisted on sending Yuan Mu in.
Yuan Mu lowered his eyes, said nothing, and silently accepted the scolding from Queen Yuan.
Yuan Mu has always been somewhat submissive.
But seeing her like this, Empress Yuan became even more angry.
She also regarded Yuan Mu's silence as silent resistance.
When Yuan Mu was first sent to the palace, she was timid and helpless. Whenever she was bullied, she would cry and beg her sister, Queen Yuan, to let her leave the palace.
Empress Yuan hugged Yuan Mu to comfort her, and agreed, saying that as long as she gave birth to a child, she would send Yuan Mu away immediately.
In the past two years, Yuan Mu agreed to everything Empress Yuan said.
But since some time, Yuan Mu never looked for her again.
The once lowly and humble sister has now silently developed an indescribable cold and noble temperament under the nourishment of the emperor's favor.
The look of Yuan Mu lowering his eyes became particularly glaring in the eyes of Empress Yuan.
Are your wings hard?
After being favored so many times, does she really think that she is the emperor's favorite concubine?
Empress Yuan suddenly became angry and embarrassed.
But before she could react, the maid waiting outside hurried over and said, "Your Majesty, the Empress Defei and the others are coming."
Empress Yuan suppressed the anger in her heart, her stern brows gradually relaxed, and she coughed twice: "Go to the side hall and wait first."
It is a royal secret after all.
No matter how angry Empress Yuan was at this moment, she could not show it in front of others.
She had been ill since she was born, and even heavy makeup could not hide her sickness.
The people who served nearby were extremely careful, and even the emperor always followed her lead.
It was Yuan Mu who was scalded by the hot water, and it was Yuan Mu who was reprimanded, but everyone was worried about Queen Yuan at the moment.
Mrs. Cui's face was filled with anxiety as she called out in a low voice, "Aying!"
Yuan Mu's mother died when he was born.
Although Mrs. Cui was the second wife, she had no children and was closer to Empress Yuan, whom she raised since she was a child, than her own daughter.
The two girls from the Cui family also looked at Queen Yuan eagerly.
In the entire palace, Yuan Mu is the only one who doesn't fit in.
Fortunately, the head palace maid hurriedly took her away.
The snow outside has not stopped. The red walls are covered with white snow, and the palace lanterns are bright, like a detailed painting.
Yuan Mu had no time to enjoy the scenery.
She lowered her eyes, her slender jade fingers slightly tucked into her sleeves.
There were countless maids around Empress Yuan. They worked in the Yifeng Palace and often acted solemnly and arrogantly.
Only a senior palace maid serving nearby was calm and composed.
She led Yuan Mu through the corridor and walked towards the side hall: "Your Majesty has been feeling unwell recently. It's nothing special. Please bear with me."
Empress Yuan had a bad temper and often took her anger out on others.
Yuan Mu has been raised in the manor.
She would only return to the Yuan family during the New Year every year. After paying respects to her ancestors, she would be sent away again.
Although they spent very short time together, Empress Yuan had always disliked Yuan Mu since then.
She raised her eyes, her long eyelashes flickering: "It's okay, I know."
There were not many people in the side hall. After sending Yuan Mu over, the palace maid left.
The layout of the side halls of Yifeng Palace is very similar to that of the main hall, Ziwei Hall.
It was so similar that as soon as Yuan Mufu walked in, he remembered the absurd incident not long ago.
Every time before leaving Beijing, that man would torture her severely, feed her medicine, and then place her in a side hall.
Yuan Mu's wrists were bound and her face flushed red. She was terrified and ashamed, but when she heard the ministers talking not far away, she didn't dare to make a sound.
Later, about an hour passed.
After the court affairs were thoroughly discussed, he casually walked into the side hall to deal with her.
At that time, Yuan Mu really couldn't be said to be sober.
All she remembered was the pain and the oppression of being completely controlled.
The only thing Yuan Mu clearly remembered was that at the end, he caressed her face and said in a light tone, "Be at peace when I'm not around."
The tone seemed calm, but it was actually full of threats.
She was different from the many concubines in the harem who had undergone physical examinations, and even more different from the queen who wore a phoenix crown and a red robe.
Yuan Mu was sent into the palace in a hurry.
She was a very easy-to-control person, but the person who sent her in was afraid of something going wrong, so he drugged her.
Yuan Mu's memory of that night is very vague.
She had a high fever that day, and the strong effect of the medicine made her lose her mind completely. She threw her arms around the man's neck in a daze and opened her body.
Until the moment the emperor discovered that she was not virgin.
Yuan Mu was about to get married before entering the palace.
But the man was far away at the border and had not returned to Beijing for three years. Moreover, the two were not familiar with each other and had almost never met.
Therefore, even Empress Yuan could not have imagined that Yuan Mu, who had just been a virgin for half a year, was not a perfect woman.
The emperor's wrath made the Yuan family, which was at its peak at the time, dare not act recklessly again.
Yuan Mu became the first person to be presented to the palace, and also the last one.
It has been almost two years since that chaotic night, but the person who first deflowered Yuan Mu is undoubtedly still a knot in the emperor's heart.
All under heaven belongs to the king.
He had just ascended the throne and was full of vigor and vitality. He could never have imagined that the first woman he touched after his marriage had already lost her virginity to someone else.
Therefore, over the years, the Qingning Palace has been the most heavily guarded area in the entire imperial palace.
Without the emperor's permission, Yuan Mu couldn't even step out of the palace gate.
She is fickle and does not cherish herself, and this is the punishment she deserves.
However, Yuan Mu has been in the palace for almost two years and still has no children.
Not long ago, Empress Yuan took the initiative to propose to the Emperor that the selection should be held in the spring of next year.
But the draft is the draft, and the crown prince is the crown prince.
After the new person enters the palace, should Yuan Mu continue to give birth to children for the queen?
This happened three months ago, on the eve of the emperor's departure from Beijing.
Yuan Mu didn’t know whether there would be a draft next year.
Yuan Mu had no idea what kind of consensus they had reached regarding her existence.
And this was not something she could interfere with.
The only thing Yuan Mu could do was wait, wait for others to decide her fate.
Just like she could only wait in the side hall at the moment.
The tea was scalding hot, but after the initial pain, it gradually became numb.
Yuan Mu leaned back on the couch, looking at the falling snow outside the window, and waited silently for a long time.
But until noon, no one summoned her.
When the melodious sound of stringed instruments rang out, the maid knocked on the door of the side hall, and Yuan Mu realized that Queen Yuan had forgotten about her.
"Why don't you return to the palace first?" the maid said hesitantly. "Her Majesty has already started a banquet, and it might take some time to end."
After waiting for a long time in vain, Yuan Mu did not show any resentment on his face.
She lowered her eyes, her face white as snow: "Thank you for your help."
After preparing the sedan chair, the maid saw Yuan Mu off.
Even the eunuchs on duty outside the side hall couldn't help but sigh: "Empress Zhaoyi has such a good temper."
The maid sighed but said nothing.
-
It was already noon when Yuan Mu returned to the palace.
She stayed in the palace all year round, and the red mark on the back of her pale hand was particularly eye-catching.
"Your Majesty! Your hand..." The maid was shocked and thought she was being harassed, so she hurriedly asked the imperial physician to come over.
But Yuan Mu waved his hand and said softly, "The water was just spilled."
After she finished speaking, she went into the inner hall, changed her clothes and went to sleep.
The maid hurriedly chased in, and seeing Yuan Mu had her eyes closed, she didn't dare say anything. She just asked someone to bring ointment and gently applied it on the back of her scalded hand.
Yuan Mu woke up just before dusk.
This was not because she had gotten enough sleep, but because the Queen sent someone over to remind her to come over in the evening.
Yuan Mu rubbed his eyebrows, listened to the maid's soft voice, and relaxed for a while before he remembered that he had something to do in the evening.
Empress Yuan was in charge of the six palaces and had many affairs to deal with.
Especially since the Qianqiu Festival is approaching, which is her birthday and also a major festival for the entire country.
Now that the emperor is not in the capital, she has to take care of everything herself.
Logically speaking, Yuan Mu was not even a concubine, so she was not qualified to go.
But her identity is special after all, she is the biological sister of Queen Yuan.
So even if Empress Yuan disliked her, she would not let others see that there was any rift between them.
Yuan Mu glanced at the clepsydra and asked people to start combing their hair and changing their clothes.
She had just woken up and had no appetite, so she asked someone to remove her dinner.
The maid brought the cakes with a worried look on her face. "Your Highness, you haven't had breakfast or lunch yet, and we don't know when dinner will be. Please have some for now."
Yuan Mu shook his head and looked at himself in the bronze mirror: "It won't be long."
I spent the whole night last night in a chaotic dream.
After sleeping for a whole afternoon, Yuan Mu still felt very weak.
Maybe it was because she didn’t sleep well, but she still felt a little dizzy when she got on the sedan chair.
Fortunately, the sedan chair arrived at the plum garden very quickly.
The queen had not arrived yet, and everyone was sitting by the stove near the pavilion, holding hand warmers and wearing bright clothes, laughing and chatting.
"Do you know what it means to take down the Rouran royal court in one fell swoop?" The leader's eyes lit up. "The last person to do something like this was General Li in ancient poetry! Back then, my grandfather followed Emperor Gaozu..."
This is Concubine De.
Her father was a famous general of two dynasties, extremely brave and good at fighting.
"Stop talking now," the person beside Concubine De laughed softly, covering her lips. "We've heard it eight hundred times."
This is Concubine Shu.
Her grandfather was a founding father of the country. Even after retirement, he remained famous and highly respected in the government and the country.
Yuan Mu is a silent person. She has little presence in the palace and no one remembers her.
She sat down quietly and listened to everyone's gossip in the corner of the crowd.
After listening for a long time, Yuan Mu slowly realized that the emperor might really be coming back soon.
She had always thought that he was going to defend against the Autumn, but she didn't expect that he would actually lead the army in person.
Maybe it's really the country's destiny.
The enemies that the previous dynasty had tried hard to defeat were easily defeated in the second year after he ascended the throne.
Yuan Mu listened attentively and almost forgot that they came here today because of Empress Yuan's summons.
Empress Yuan was very busy and of high status, so she was always late for every meeting.
No one ever dared to say anything.
As the sky gradually turned dark, everyone finally realized that something was wrong.
Half an hour has passed. Even if the queen has a lot of things to do, she should come over.
Concubine De frowned and scolded the waiting maids, "What time is it now? The Empress hasn't arrived yet, don't you think of asking her?"
The night was dark and the lights were on in the plum garden.
The palace maid nodded in agreement and did not dare to say much to the domineering Concubine De. She only said timidly that she would send someone to ask.
Everyone waited in the plum garden for a long time, but there was no sign of the queen.
She was so angry that even the concubine with the best temper looked a little embarrassed.
Someone has been sent to inquire, but it took another quarter of an hour to go back and forth.
When everyone was about to get completely impatient, someone was sent from the Queen's Palace at last.
The maid, her long hair tied in a bun, looked solemn and spoke in a contemptuous tone, "The Empress had a relapse of her old illness this afternoon, and the palace is in turmoil."
"Thank you all for waiting so long," she said, lowering her brows. "The Empress has already ordered a sedan chair to be prepared. We will take you all back to the palace right away."
The tone seemed humble and respectful, but there was no trace of apology in the words.
There is only unspeakable nobility and arrogance.
Just like Empress Yuan herself.
Concubine De suppressed her anger and raised her voice: "Is your Majesty feeling better?"
"Your Majesty has been toiled by the palace affairs," she said slowly. "How can we concubines just walk away like this? Why don't you go and pass on the message, and we will go together to tend to the Majesty."
Concubine De is very sharp.
But the maid just turned around and said softly, "Thank you for your trouble, but..."
"His Majesty is still in Yifeng Palace," she said calmly, "He has specifically instructed that he doesn't want anyone to disturb the Empress."
After these words were spoken, even Concubine Shu's expression turned a little ugly.
The palace maid didn't stay for long and just left.
The harem is such a place. Whoever is favored by the emperor will get everything.
Not to mention that the queen is the mother of a country, even if she is a lowly maid, as long as she is favored, the palace maids around her can easily trample the four concubines under their feet.
But these have nothing to do with Yuan Mu.
Yuan Mu's body was wrapped tightly in the cloak, but as the night fell, the temperature dropped and he felt a little chilly when the cold wind blew.
She coughed softly twice.
It was so quiet that even the slightest sound seemed abrupt.
Yuan Mu had just lowered his hand that was covering his lips when he noticed everyone's gaze on him.
She was undoubtedly born extremely outstanding. Standing alone under the frosty moon, she was cool and ethereal, graceful and elegant, as if separated from the mundane world.
It’s a pity that Frost and Snow are just like them, without any favor or favour.
The corners of Defei's lips suddenly curved.
"In ancient times, there were Ehuang and Nvying, Feiyan and Hede," she raised an eyebrow. "How come today, even sisters can be so different from each other?"
This was undisguised irony, and even less concealed was the low laughter of the crowd.
Empress Yuan was in poor health, so even though they knew that the emperor and empress were deeply in love, many people were still willing to send their daughters into the palace.
Therefore, the inner court today is mostly populated by noble ladies from aristocratic families.
Who would have thought that the love between the emperor and the empress was so deep?
They didn't dare to disobey the queen openly, so they were not so polite to Yuan Mu.
The laughter was not very harsh.
Yuan Mu had been accustomed to rumors since he was young, and everyone in the palace more or less observed etiquette.
She did nothing wrong, and no matter what they did, they couldn't do anything to her.
Yuan Mu said nothing, gently stroked the hand warmer, and coughed softly twice.
She had been outside for too long today, her cheeks were flushed and she felt a bit sick and feverish, as if she hadn't heard anything.
Defei held her breath, but the punch felt like hitting cotton.
Yuan Mu is introverted and taciturn. Compared with his sickly and strong sister, they are like two different families.
It is said that the one who is close to water gets the moon first.
Yuan Mu, however, seems like a fool and has not yet won any favor from the queen.
Two years passed, and she was like a transparent person, staying in Qingning Palace all day without going out, which made the concubines who were waiting for them to compete anxious.
What a useless fool.
Concubine De snorted coldly, ignored Yuan Mu, and left with her people in a sedan chair.
Yuan Mu looked up at the dark sky, quietly got on the last sedan chair, and returned to Qingning Palace.
She hadn't come out in a long time, and she felt her body relax every time she exhaled.
But after being exposed to the cold wind for too long, I seemed to have caught a real cold. My cheeks were hot, but my body was getting colder and colder.
Yuan Mu closed her eyes and climbed the stairs. She felt a little dizzy and didn't even realize why no servants came to greet her.
The moment she pushed open the door of the palace, her thoughts were in a mess.
But when his eyes met the man who was supposed to be in Yifeng Palace in the center of the hall, all his rationality immediately returned.
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