Chapter 40: Testing "Serving your own wife, do you need to be polite? ...
Qingzan shuddered.
She saw herself through the emperor's eyes.
Because I have never hugged and faced anyone in this posture, I naturally have few opportunities to use those deep black eyes as a mirror to see myself.
Today, when I was avenging the Queen by the stream, I saw her reflection in the water.
At that time, she was calm and crazy, with an expression like an evil demon Shura, and she really became a pink skeleton crawling out of the mud.
The Queen should be afraid.
Perhaps because she had already washed and changed her clothes before coming, now in the emperor's arms, she no longer had any of her ruthlessness and murderous intent.
No one in the world can show their cruel side to the emperor.
Fearing that her expression at the moment was not tender enough, she placed the green hairpin on the emperor's shoulder.
Yet, without gentle coaxing, her body remained defensive, unwilling to open. Though the two of them were now inseparable, the secret box repelled the Emperor, and he hesitated to accept it.
Xiao Fang was slightly stunned: "It seems that you don't miss me."
Qing Zan didn't want to argue with him about this matter, so she just whispered, "It hurts."
Xiao Fang didn't move forward, but he didn't pull his hand away either: "Are you so delicate?"
Qingzan groaned uncomfortably, not daring to move, and wanted to get out of his arms.
Although her face inevitably turned red, her voice was filled with a hint of coldness: "Is this the only thing your majesty and I can do?"
The emperor laughed: "Everyone else is riding a horse and drawing a bow, but you, on the other hand, refused to learn even when I taught you, and now you're feeling wronged?"
His words were clearly a light-hearted condemnation, but his actions showed that he had taken the words to heart.
He no longer lingered at the deep and narrow entrance of the pass. Instead, his palm fell on her leg, and he began to be obsessed with the delicate warmth and coolness, stroking it back and forth.
Qingzan snorted twice again.
This time it was comfortable.
The emperor smiled for some reason and stopped, saying, "Get up and have dinner."
Qingzan stood up softly as she was told, her body limp, probably because she had lost too much energy today, so she simply leaned on the edge of the desk.
She tilted her head, as if thinking deeply before she said, "If you use your beauty to serve a man, your beauty will fade and his love will disappear. If his love fades and I am still a noble, won't I just be bullied in the future?"
A row of servants came in carrying washbasins and dry towels. After washing his hands, the emperor walked to the dining table near the center of the hall and asked, "Are you tired of being your honor so quickly?"
For some reason, he always felt that her words were not pleasant to the ear.
Qingzan didn't rush to chase, but followed behind for a few steps before remaining motionless, reserved. Her dark eyebrows lowered, her eyelashes trembling, she looked so pitiful: "Your Majesty, could you please promise me that if that day ever comes, at least confer me the title of Ronghua Jieyi! It would be best if I could be a ninth concubine, otherwise I will definitely be expelled from Zhaoshui Palace."
The emperor had no idea she had truly thought so far ahead, and he commented sharply, "You're useless."
He asked again: "Who drove him out?"
Qingzan enumerated them carefully: "Empress Dowager, Empress, Imperial Concubine, Favored Concubine."
Qingyan Hall, nestled high in the mountains, lacked the solemnity and rigidity of the inner palaces. With its windows open, the mist and mountain breeze flowed freely. The window faced the study, and the emperor glanced back to see her standing where the wind must have passed, her skirt fluttering, as if she were about to float away into the air.
It was obvious that she was afraid of falling out of favor, but the emperor felt that he was the one who was uneasy.
He reached out and held her hand: "Who is the Imperial Concubine, and who is the Favored Concubine?"
He never forgets to warn people: "Stay by my side obediently."
Qingzan was led to the dining table and sat down with him. The table was over ten feet long, so it was obvious that they didn't need to eat separately. But she didn't expect the emperor to sit beside her. After they sat down, he didn't let go of their hand for a long time.
Qingzan suppressed her surprise. She leaned closer, breathed a sweet fragrance, and whispered tenderly beside the man's ear: "Do you agree or not?"
The emperor didn't seem to be easily teased by her at this time. He turned around and asked, "How could you think of this?"
Qingzan repeated to others exactly what the Queen had said before she left today, and half-jokingly expressed her grievance.
The emperor's tone became more serious: "From now on in this palace, you only need to listen to me."
Qing Zan said sadly, "The Empress did not say anything wrong. She also told me that she would always be the Empress. Didn't His Majesty also warn me so? But I have no power or influence. I have no family background to help me rise to the top. I have no children to rely on in my old age."
The palace servants brought up more hot dishes. In addition to wild game, there were also seasonal delicacies in the mountains. Water chestnuts and lotus roots were indispensable in this season.
When Qing Zan saw the lotus root, she thought, "After I go back this time, maybe I won't even be able to listen to the withered lotus."
The emperor didn't know why she was so thoughtful today, so he just ordered calmly: "Eat."
Qingzan also didn't know why the emperor was so stingy today. She just wanted him to make a promise to her and give her some sweet taste.
As a small noblewoman, she would feel powerless to go against an entire marquis's mansion. Although she knew from the beginning that this road would be long and difficult, now that she is actually on the verge of it, she realizes that she is really like an ant trying to shake a tree.
The emperor would not ignore the past achievements of the marquisate just because he favored an ordinary concubine. She was also at her wit's end, so she was so brutal to the queen.
But Qingzan will not be too reluctant to eat.
How many peasants worked day and night to harvest a whole year's harvest, only to give most of it to the imperial court and the landlords, while they themselves were left emaciated by hunger. Therefore, during her years as a slave, Qingzan was often content simply to have enough to eat.
When Xu Delu called people in to clean up, he discovered that every time Master Ying was around, His Majesty's appetite seemed to be much better.
After the meal, the emperor asked Qingzan to change his clothes. He also changed into a simple and light riding uniform. Qingzan looked at the ordinary silk clothes on her body, which she had not worn for a long time, and asked: "Your Majesty, what do you want to take me with you?"
The emperor took down the three-foot-long green sword hanging on the wall and put it on his waist. Qingzan then realized that he had brought this sword with him.
The emperor took her on horseback and went down the mountain without letting any servants follow.
Qing Zan saw that this road was unfamiliar and was not the way she had come up the mountain. She asked cautiously, "Where are we going?"
The emperor laughed out loud and said, "First, sell the young lady who is worried about losing her beauty and love, and use it to buy wine."
This mountain road was obviously a wild road, but the palace servants did not even light candles to prepare for it, nor were they afraid of spraining the legs of the nobles.
Fortunately, horses are more stable than people on mountain roads. Qingzan sat in front of the emperor. After a while, she was familiar with the ride and didn't feel the bumps were scary this time. She raised her head and smiled, "Your Majesty is not serious."
"Then let's talk about something serious." The emperor had a sword on his waist, and with a bow on his back, he looked like a wanderer. "This sword is called Hongfei. Words can suppress a gentleman, and clothes can suppress a villain. Now that I have taken off my fine clothes and tall hat, I need a protective weapon before I dare to take you into the world of martial arts."
Qing Zan knew that this was an unrealistic statement, but she still responded naively: "Are we going to venture into the martial arts world?"
Xiao Fang could already guess what she had done today.
He replied with profound meaning, "When I was young, I thought that if I were not the Son of Heaven, I would be a knight-errant. If I were a wandering knight, and the woman I loved bore a blood feud, she wouldn't even have to ask. I would slay the hero with one sword, regardless of right or wrong, regardless of consequences, and without fear of death or injury."
He sighed faintly, "It's a pity that as the Son of Heaven, there seem to be too many constraints. Can you understand and forgive me?"
Qing Zan pretended to be indifferent and said softly, "Knights value gratitude and loyalty the most. Someone who has a grudge against me may be a favor to Your Majesty. In the end, isn't it a dilemma?"
After coming down the mountain, the emperor hurriedly pulled the reins of his horse and galloped away at such a speed that it seemed as if he could really break through the shackles of fame and wealth and the cage of the Nine Fives.
The emperor raised an eyebrow: "With such beauty before me, how can you be sure that I won't be blinded by lust and become ungrateful?"
Gradually leaving this royal hunting ground where common people could not easily set foot, the lights of thousands of houses lit up with full joy and beauty, taking advantage of the last carnival before curfew.
There are many riverside pavilions and grass markets on the outskirts of the city, with music and fireworks at night, and many merchants.
The first time I saw Qingzan.
She could no longer address him as Your Majesty. She dismounted from her horse, turned her face, which was white in teeth and icy in complexion, and her eyes were like sparkling stars: "My dear."
Xiao Fang felt a little unsteady on his feet.
*
The concubines in the palace had all heard that the Queen had left everyone behind and hurried back to the palace alone today, so they were naturally alarmed.
Originally, when Concubine Zhen heard that Concubine Ming had gone to a hunting ground not open to ordinary women and had won her first battle, hunting a white wolf, her reputation soared that she became very competitive and simply spent the entire day hunting in the hunting ground.
I have no time to think about the Queen.
When they came out of the woods, they saw Concubine Wu asking a eunuch to lead the horse and walk slowly.
Concubine Zhen deliberately rode forward and provoked Concubine Wu's horse, scaring the horse so much that it raised its front hooves. Concubine Wu lost her balance and almost fell off.
Concubine Zhen smiled as brightly as a mountain flower, finally getting over the frustration of being ridiculed as a cup of cold tea last time!
After Concubine Wu sat down again, she kept patting her chest and said, "I know that Concubine Jieyu is an excellent rider, so she should show off her skills in the paddock. Why do you have to scare me..." After this scare, she didn't want to ride a horse anymore, but her legs were so weak that she couldn't get off. She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of others, so she could only sit there stiffly.
When Concubine Zhen saw the man's cowardly look, she felt relieved and then she remembered the matter of the Queen.
She had always considered Concubine Wu to be one of the Empress's lackeys, so she asked, "Why did the Empress leave? I heard she fell off a horse long ago. Could it be that she felt it was too timid and boring to stay here?"
Concubine Wu had no idea why the queen left, and the queen didn't let anyone inform her, nor did she take her back to the palace. She had no way to serve the queen even though she wanted to.
However, she also heard some rumors: "It's normal for the queen to return home to recuperate after experiencing some unfamiliar climate. I heard she was frightened by a ferocious beast, and who knows where it escaped from in the deep mountains and dense forests. The people in this enclosure are becoming increasingly unreliable."
Wupin knew very little. She did go and ask around, but few people knew the truth. They only knew that after the empress came out of the enclosure, she started mumbling and speaking incoherently, as if she was possessed by a ghost.
I also vaguely heard people mention lions.
"When I was in the Eastern Palace, I heard someone say that Your Majesty once kept a snow lion. Does Concubine Jieyu know about this?"
Concubine Zhen's eyes lit up: "Your Majesty, have you brought Songtsen here?"
She didn't care about Concubine Wu anymore and turned her horse around and left.
The palace maids and guards who were picking up prey for her couldn't keep up for a while. The palace maids hurriedly asked, "Where are you going?"
Concubine Zhen: "Go find Songtsen!"
She hasn't seen Songzan for a long time.
It has been a long time since I last saw its owner.
*
There is an unwritten rule in Caoshi, a suburb of Beijing, that all wine houses must hang a green flag at the door.
Xiao Fang came out of a Qingqi restaurant with two jars of daughter's red wine in his hands.
Qingzan was waiting for him outside the store with a horse.
On the road not far away, two half-drunk officials and gentry walked away, arm in arm. One of them said, "Brother He, you don't know, but the most favored empress in the palace right now is not the legitimate daughter of a cavalry general or a daughter of a noble family. I heard she's a humble maiden."
The other laughed even more wickedly: "How can a woman of low birth have the ability to serve others that we, a decent family, can imagine?"
"That's right, brother. Now there's an opportunity, tomorrow..."
They all brought their servants with them, so they dared to go in and out of such a mixed place without restraint. But when they arrived in such a place, they also followed the local customs and did not keep their mouths shut.
When Xiao Fang came out, he saw the lonely figure of the woman outside. She stretched her neck slightly to look and didn't notice him for a while.
He hugged her: "What are you looking at?"
Qingzan smiled silently and shook his head.
There was a wild lotus pond near Caoshi. Qingzan realized then that they had come out tonight just because of a casual remark she made during dinner - that by the time she returned to the palace, the lotus leaves would have withered and there would be nothing left to listen to.
The emperor rented a small boat that had been ridden by countless people. He said he disliked it but it didn't seem like he disliked it. He put his outer robe on the boat before letting Qingzan get on board.
The lotus leaves were half-dried, with yellow edges curled up, surrounding them. Although there was no sound of rain, there was the sound of gurgling water, which was cool and refreshing.
Qingzan sat on the emperor's robe and smiled charmingly, "Thank you, my lord, for your generosity in taking off your clothes."
Xiao Fang was actually captivated by this gorgeous light. He sat side by side with the person and stared at the person for a long time, feeling quite dazzled and intoxicated.
"You need to be polite when serving your own wife?"
Qingzan noticed his gaze and turned gently, clasping her hands around his waist and leaning on his shoulder. She asked casually, "Do you have any plans for tomorrow's hunting at the palace?"
What the two people said just now was unbearable to hear, but she listened carefully. They said there would be an opportunity tomorrow.
She had a feeling that her chance was coming soon.
The emperor was surprised by her quick intelligence, a sharp gleam in his eyes flashing before disappearing. He didn't hide it, "I just sent someone to inform everyone today, and you already know? Tomorrow I plan to have a banquet with several clan members and the ministers accompanying us on this autumn hunt. They're all staying outside the hunting palace, which is a rare convenience."
Qingzan hummed in a soft, drunken voice.
After asking the question, she let go of the man, sat up straight, and took a sip from the wine jar: "Of course, it's because I care about you, my dear. I want to know everything about you. You must not drink too much tomorrow."
His arms suddenly felt empty, the emperor frowned in dissatisfaction and hugged the person again.
The bridge of his nose rubbed against her pearly earlobe, and his breath was lingering and deep:
"Little liar."
-----------------------
The author has something to say: Female Goose: You don’t even paint the pie, you are so stingy [question mark]
Gouzi: Because there will never be such a day [sunglasses]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
