Chapter 3 Chapter 3
It was December, the middle of winter.
The wind is cold and the snow is heavy.
The capital of the previous dynasty was Luoyang, which was a relatively warm and comfortable place.
Since the founding of the country, the capital has been moved to Jingzhao. Every winter, there is often heavy snow.
Yuan Mu's hand was on the palace door, her fingertips were cold, but her chest was even colder.
The man stood in the center of the palace, his back to the light, his tall figure slender, his eyebrows and eyes seemed to be immersed in darkness.
To be fair, he was undoubtedly extremely handsome.
The meticulously outlined phoenix eyes and the straight nose bridge like a hanging gourd embody indescribable nobility and respect.
The dragon's appearance and the phoenix's grace, majestic and majestic.
Even a child of three or five years old could tell that this was a noble person of distinguished status.
But his aura was so strong that just standing there brought a strong sense of oppression.
The tall and spacious palaces became cramped.
Yuan Mu's palms were covered in cold sweat, and he lowered his head and brows, almost not daring to meet his gaze.
The emperor has been away from Beijing for more than three months.
When Yuan Mu heard the maid say that he was in Yifeng Palace just now, she breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he would not come to her today no matter what.
But judging from the emperor's demeanor, he had clearly been waiting here for some time.
Yuan Mu pressed her hand on the door of the palace. The cold wind blew through the hall and stung her back. The palace was as warm as late spring and full of warmth.
However, even so, she didn't have the courage to lift her leg and take a step forward.
But if she didn't move forward, the man standing in the center of the hall would always come towards her.
The emperor seemed to be in a good mood. He said nothing, but closed the palace door and asked softly, "Have you had dinner yet?"
The cold wind stopped instantly.
But Yuan Mu's fingertips were even colder, his finger bones were stiff and sticky with cold sweat.
All the palace maids were sent away.
He loved to abuse her on the couch, using all sorts of methods to frighten her to the point of weakness in her legs.
In fact, he preferred to torture her in front of the bronze mirror in the outer hall, and then watch her blush and shed tears, begging for mercy repeatedly, and finally agreeing to anything he said while crying.
Yuan Mu is shy because she grew up in a village.
Unlike those real noble ladies from aristocratic families, who are used to being served everywhere, and are even less used to being watched being tortured.
The palace was deserted at this time, and Yuan Mu's heartstrings became even more tense.
"Not yet," she whispered.
The emperor asked this, but the meal was already laid out on the table.
Yuan Mu's waist was held by the emperor's hand. She lowered her head and brows, trying her best to suppress the urge to push him away.
Fortunately, the etiquette of the nobility is not to talk while eating or sleeping.
The dinner was served in silence.
Yuan Mu had a poor appetite, so he held the spoon and stirred slowly, but in the end he didn't drink much.
"Have you finished your meal?" the emperor asked softly.
When he slowed down his tone, his words contained a hint of indulgence, as if he were an elder doting on his child.
Yuan Mu lowered his head, avoiding the emperor's gaze: "Yeah."
"That's all you eat?" He said with a faint smile, "Like a cat."
The words were spoken in a calm voice, but when the man's slender knuckles calmly lifted her skirt and touched her soft belly, the impact of the touch was too strong.
Yuan Mu raised his neck, bit his lips, and suppressed his moan.
But after dinner, all that was left was to take a bath.
After not having sex for many days, she could no longer bear the teasing. Her legs felt weak and she was almost half-carried by the emperor to the edge of the pool.
The water in the bathtub is steaming hot and filled with the fragrance of flowers.
Yuan Mu's eyes were calm, like rippling water, suppressing rejection and disgust.
She took off her outer clothes layer by layer. When she took off the last piece of clothing, the emperor's hand gently stroked her trembling shoulders.
The base of his palm rested on her snow-white butterfly bones.
The emperor's voice was very soft, sparse and calm: "What are you afraid of?"
He looked a little interested and calm, with none of his usual paranoia and morbidity.
Yuan Mu had her back to him, her eyes closed, her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings.
"Don't be afraid. I won't punish you tonight," the emperor said in a contemptuous tone. "Your sister asked you to go, so you should go. I'm not such an unreasonable person."
His voice was calm, but Yuan Mu's body was always tense.
"But shouldn't you also tell me," the emperor changed the subject, "what have you been doing in the three months I've been away?"
He turned Yuan Mu's face, which was about to retreat, and pinched her jaw with his cold knuckles.
"Didn't I tell you that if you look at that man again, I'll tie you to the bed..."
The water was filled with mist, and Yuan Mu could not see the emperor's face clearly.
But the emotions of fear and stress arose instantly.
"I didn't take the initiative to meet him!" Yuan Mu said in a trembling voice, "It was when my brother met my sister that day that I happened to run into him..."
Her long eyelashes trembled, and there was a flickering fear in her eyes.
"Really?" The emperor's voice was icy. "But the document submitted by Wei Cong doesn't say that."
All under heaven are the king's subjects.
Any guards passing through the deep palace would be the emperor's eyes and ears.
He has a firm grip on the world situation, and will not let go of trivial matters around him.
There is no point in making excuses at this time.
The day he discovered that she was not perfect, his trust in her was gone.
Before entering the palace, Yuan Mu had a fiancé who was chosen by her father in order to win over his accomplices.
She had never even seen the man's face.
I only heard that he was cruel and bloodthirsty, with a long scar across his face. He was the second child in the family and a very difficult to get along with second-generation rich kid.
Even his father, a high-ranking official who is good at socializing, often can't do anything about him.
On the eve of the wedding, Yuan Mu's wedding dress was ready.
If the emperor had not issued an edict forcing her to enter the palace, she would have been married for a long time.
Yuan Mu had rarely seen that person, but after entering the palace, he met him several times by chance.
Compared to the demon king in the rumors, he doesn't seem to be that rebellious.
One day at a banquet, she was standing by the pavilion and was almost knocked into the water, but he raised his hand to save her.
Afterwards, Yuan Mu wanted to thank him, but he just said calmly that there was no need to thank him.
Empress Lian Yuan once stroked her hand and said, "After you leave the palace, if you are still willing, it would not be a bad idea to marry him again with a different identity."
But Empress Yuan didn't know that the emperor could not tolerate him.
Yuan Mu was severely punished by the emperor several times for looking at him for a second longer.
She really doesn't dare to have contact with men outside.
When she happened to run into him in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests that day, Yuan Mu already had a bad feeling. She left in a hurry and specifically informed the eunuch who was accompanying her.
However, he didn't expect that he couldn't escape the eyes and ears of Wei Cong.
The emperor's eyes darkened, and the previous gentleness disappeared without a trace: "Kneel down."
Yuan Mu clenched his knuckles, his snow-white neck drooped, and his frowned brows were tinged with despair.
The moment her soft knees touched the ground, she met the panicked maid's gaze through the transparent glass screen.
Everyone who often works in Qingning Palace knows that when the emperor is around, there is no need to show up unless everything is done.
But this maid was transferred in just half a month ago, and she was only supposed to help the empress bathe as usual.
She didn't know about this hidden rule, and didn't know the unbearableness behind Yuan Mu's cold appearance.
She didn't even know that Yuan Mu was just the emperor's concubine.
The maid held a tray filled with bathing supplies.
Rose water, ivory comb, peony flower oil.
The scattered delicate devices were all scattered on the ground.
But the most obvious thing was a porcelain bottle containing ointment.
Yuan Mu didn't let anyone treat the burn on the back of her hand.
But she also knew that someone had carefully applied medicine to her while she was asleep.
Yuan Mu's long eyelashes trembled. After suffering so much over the years, she always felt that there was nothing unacceptable in this world.
But at this moment, she felt intense pain for the first time in a long time.
The emperor was cold and indifferent, and even had very little affection for his biological father.
There is no room for maneuver when he makes up his mind.
Yuan Mu knew better than anyone how ineffective her arguments were with the emperor, but an instinctive impulse still made her speak out.
"I didn't go to see him," her voice trembled. "I'm sure I didn't go to see him..."
The emperor's expression was cold.
"Really?" He pinched Yuan Mu's jaw. "Then let's discuss tonight what the discrepancies are between your statement and Wei Cong's document?"
The dark sandalwood ruler pressed against the base of his legs, freezing cold.
But even colder was the jade ring between the emperor's fingers.
The jade ring was covered in deep snow, as if it had been dipped in an icy pond, exuding a terrifying chill.
When the medicine beads were fed in, Yuan Mu's wrist bones trembled constantly.
She was in so much pain that she couldn't stop crying, but she refused to change her mind in the end.
The suppressed sobs were out of tune, painful and stagnant, and every low cry was suppressed.
Even if it hides sweetness occasionally, once the sweetness is aroused, it will soon be crushed again.
The emperor once worked in the Ministry of Justice and was in charge of punishment when he was the crown prince.
He knew best how to pry open a person's mouth.
But when her consciousness was on the verge of blurring, Yuan Mu was still unwilling to admit it, and she was even unwilling to give in.
After not seeing each other for three months, this was her gift to him.
She is really his good concubine.
The anger in the emperor's eyes grew deeper and deeper, and he forced Yuan Mu to wake up from his coma again.
Her face was covered with tears, and she kept trying to retreat. Finally, after her eyes were covered, she fell into complete despair and wanted to surrender: "I was wrong, brother-in-law, please..."
Yuan Mu's voice was frighteningly weak, as thin as a gossamer.
His voice was hoarse from crying.
But Yuan Mu was too naive and her thoughts were too confused.
Such sobbing and pleading could not arouse the emperor's mercy, and would only bring more cruel and vicious plunder.
And how can this be considered a safe word?
This is clearly the emperor's taboo.
His voice was terribly cold: "Who is your brother-in-law?"
Yuan Muxue's face turned pale and her finger bones trembled, but after being pushed to the extreme, she fell into self-abandonment.
Her voice was sharp: "Of course it's you, Li Congliu——"
The emperor's name was a taboo in the palace and even in the world.
But those three words were called out by Yuan Mu so easily.
An unfavored, nameless concubine.
In just that instant, the already silent palace became even colder.
When the palace door was slammed shut from the inside, the servants who were waiting silently outside the palace trembled.
After the nanny whispered, "Quickly call the imperial physician," the young eunuch immediately got up and rushed out.
Outside, the snow had been falling all night, and everywhere was a chilling white.
Only the night is dark, so dark that it is impossible to dissolve.
The clepsydra should have signaled dawn at this moment, but due to the prolonged heavy snow, dawn did not come.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
