"Whether she's sensible or she's being silly and mischievous with me, I'm willing to spoil her." Yinzhen tapped Qian Shengyan's forehead. "You too."
Qian Shengyan was still lost in thought about raising a daughter and didn't realize what Yinzhen meant. She only subconsciously hummed in response.
"What I mean is, you can be even more presumptuous," Yinzhen said, pulling Qian Shengyan down to sit and then pulling her into his arms. "I haven't seen you leave Yongshou Palace these past few days?"
Qian Shengyan was taken aback, then lowered her eyes: "These past few days... Consort Hua has been passing by the gate of Yongshou Palace every day, and I do not wish to see her..."
“Even if you did meet her, she should be the one showing you respect. Is there any doubt about that?” Yinzhen added, “I’m busy and can’t come. You don’t even go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to find me.”
That's ridiculous. If we actually went, wouldn't we run into Nian Gengyao again?
Qian Shengyan simply lowered her long eyelashes and remained silent.
"Your temper... well, whatever. I can spoil Folgochun, so I can spoil you even more. Do whatever makes you comfortable," Yinzhen said helplessly.
In the recent imperial harem, Consort Hua's family naturally held absolute power.
The Empress's Phoenix Seal is still in place, Consort Xi is staying at home, Consort Yu has never liked to cause trouble, Consort Li is under house arrest, and the other consorts have never liked to go out. At this moment, they are even more reluctant to go out, for fear of being remembered by Consort Hua.
On the prince's side, Hongshi stayed at home reading, while Hongli rarely went out except to pay his respects to the Emperor and Consort Xi every day. Hongzhou followed Hongli closely, doing whatever the other did.
As for Fu Hui, because Consort Hua missed her so much, she was taken to Chengqian Palace to stay for a while.
Consort Hua would ride in her imperial carriage throughout the palace, making a clattering sound all the way from the East Six Palaces to the West Six Palaces, and then into the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Sometimes, the imperial carriage would also escort General Nian to the palace gate, and then circle back.
Qian Shengyan, sitting in the palace, heard about Consort Hua's glorious life, but she just chuckled and didn't take it to heart.
To everyone's surprise, Ulanara remained remarkably calm this time. She even followed the Emperor's lead in bestowing gifts upon Consort Hua, and spent her days reading and writing, even experiencing fewer headaches.
Throughout the entire palace, only Lady Li was indignant, and Lady Wu was filled with anxiety.
Wu's palace maid kept comforting her: "Your Highness, don't think about it. That matter happened so long ago, Consort Hua has probably forgotten about it."
"Yes, she's lost her mind, she doesn't remember anything..." Wu Shi comforted herself, but was still afraid. She said, "Never mind, I'll go pay my respects to Consort Hua in a few days..."
Inside the prince's quarters, Hongshi was perched on the wall, watching a procession of honor stretching all the way to the palace gate.
He clicked his tongue twice: "This is really..." and then snorted dismissively.
With a bitter face, Jinzhong, who was being trampled on, said, "Brother, haven't you seen enough for today?"
"Wait a little longer, stand still!" Hongshi stomped twice more, and Jinzhong groaned, clutching his shoulder, but dared not say anything more.
This is Hongshi's only form of entertainment now: peeking over the wall to see what's happening outside. His courtyard was originally the outermost of the Southern Three Palaces, and the concubines and maids of the Eastern Six Palaces would occasionally pass by the wall, but now the only one from the Eastern Six Palaces who would come out and walk around was Consort Hua.
Hongshi had naturally met Consort Nian before, but he saw her less often after entering the palace. Now that he was an adult prince, entering the harem was quite troublesome, so he went there less often.
In the past few days, he happened to see Consort Hua several times, and felt that the face in his memory seemed to have changed a little, but she was still beautiful.
"Father is truly blessed..." Hongshi sighed. The Consort Xi he had seen last time was no longer young, but she was still stunningly beautiful. This Consort Hua was also a beauty, and she looked delicate and frail, which suited his taste better than the bright and cheerful Consort Xi.
"Ouch!" Jinzhong lost his balance and his legs gave way, causing him to kneel on the ground. Hongshi was startled and cried out as he grabbed the wall. He was about to bend down and scold Jinzhong when he met the curious eyes looking over from the ceremonial carriage.
Consort Hua, I've seen him...
Hongshi's heart pounded wildly, and he lost his grip, falling directly onto Jinzhong. Jinzhong screamed in pain again, but Hongshi quickly covered his mouth, saying, "Shh, shh..."
Only when he heard the horse's footsteps had gone far away did Hongshi breathe a sigh of relief and release his hand from Jinzhong's mouth and nose.
As Jinzhong panted heavily, he came to his senses, but then he remembered the eye contact they had just made.
Consort Hua is so beautiful...
That night, Hongshi had a beautiful dream. In the dream, Consort Hua was beautiful and delicate. Even when he took advantage of her, she would only blush and cry, but dared not struggle too much. She would only shake her head and say no, and in the end, she would submit to him...
So what if he's the Emperor? So what if he's the Imperial Noble Consort? What does Hongshi have to fear about what he wants?!
In his sleep, Hongshi laughed out loud.
On the other side, Shan Xiu was completely unaware of what she had seen. She sat absentmindedly in the ceremonial carriage, clutching the small note that Nian Gengyao had just given her, silently calculating in her mind.
Everyone assumed that the Emperor favored her greatly and often stayed overnight at Chengqian Palace, but Shan Xiu knew that the Emperor would always sit down, drink a cup of tea, and then leave with Eunuch Su. However, the Emperor's entourage remained at Chengqian Palace, making people think that the Emperor had really stayed overnight.
At first, Shan Xiu wanted to know where the Emperor had gone, but she couldn't find out no matter how she asked, so she gave up. However, now that Nian Gengyao thought she was favored by the Emperor, he gave her 10,000 taels of silver and asked her to whisper in the Emperor's ear and get official positions for the two of them.
Where does she go to whisper sweet nothings in her husband's ear?
Even if you blow your belly open, it still won't reach the Emperor!
Shan Xiu closed her eyes; she was truly powerless. How happy she had been when the Emperor first came, but no matter what she said, the Emperor ignored her completely, simply sitting and drinking tea before leaving.
She considered tampering with the tea, but the tea was brewed by Wanxia herself, and she couldn't even touch it.
She even shamelessly begged for his favor, but the emperor acted as if she didn't exist in the palace, ignoring her completely.
Two days ago, she even abandoned her self-respect and dignity, took off her clothes, knelt on the ground and begged him to give her a child, only to be met with two sneers and his unwavering departure...
Ha, she can even whisper sweet nothings in someone's ear?
Dan Xiu returned to her bedchamber but still couldn't sleep. The Emperor hadn't even bothered to come to Chengqian Palace today. She got up, put on her robe, and stood by the window, intending to look at the moon, but suddenly she faintly heard a sobbing sound.
She was quite daring; without much thought, she climbed out of the window and followed the sound to its source.
Shan Xiu initially thought it was just a palace maid crying because she was having trouble, and even considered whether she could take the opportunity to win her over. However, after turning a corner in the corridor, in a corner of the alley connecting the front and back halls, Shan Xiu saw a eunuch and a palace maid embracing each other, doing something...?
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A word from the author
Yinzhen: He doesn't act recklessly when he should, and he acts recklessly when he shouldn't!
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