Chapter 29 The Emperor's Heart
Soaking her whole body in the warm water, Su Ci closed her eyes and took a long breath, and the aches and pains all over her body eased.
It's just that my lips and chest, and that area that I've overused, are a little stinging now.
Nonsense, five times in total.
She was able to respond and cooperate the first two times, but she became useless after that and let him do whatever he wanted. She vaguely remembered that her body was cleaned and her clothes were changed. She was worried that the man would take advantage of her and run away, so she grabbed the man's clothes with her hands, and then she became a fish on the verge of suffocation again.
It's quite pitiful, the king of a country is actually like a young man who has just started eating...
Qin Zheng came in and saw that the two little girls, Yanyu and Guyu, still had red faces. She waved her hand with a smile.
"You guys go prepare some food, I'll just serve Zhaorong."
"yes…"
Su Ci opened her eyes and looked at Qin Zheng with a shameless look.
"Mammy, it hurts..."
Qin Zheng smiled: "Zhao Rong is favored for the first time, so it is normal for her to feel unwell. I have prepared some ointment. I will apply it to Zhao Rong carefully later and the pain will go away."
"oh…"
Su Ci glanced at her arms and wrists, which were covered with ambiguous kiss marks, and her face turned red again.
"Ahem, Mammy, when did His Majesty leave? Why didn't he wake me up?"
Qin Zheng scooped up some warm water and poured it on the black hair, her voice filled with laughter.
"His Majesty went to court at dawn, and specifically ordered that you be excused from the formalities of greeting today, so that you can rest well. He also ordered this servant to stay and take good care of you upon your awakening. Congratulations, Zhaorong! This is the first time His Majesty has shown such affection to a concubine."
That's pretty good, it's worth it that she almost broke her waist...
…
After bathing, Qin Zheng carefully applied medicine to Su Ci, secretly amazed.
How urgent must this be to be so ruthless?
Su Ci didn't think anything of it.
Her body was so delicate that even if Yanyu rubbed it a little too hard when serving her, it would leave red marks, not to mention a man who was in high spirits.
"Um, Mammy, I, I feel a little pain there..."
Your body is your own, so you can't let it get sick.
Qin Zheng naturally understood.
"Don't worry, Zhaorong. This ointment is a secret recipe from the palace. It will relieve the pain in just a few moments."
The medicine on her body was applied by Qin Zheng. Finally, Su Ci covered herself with a towel and applied the medicine on her private parts before leaving the bathroom.
"Zhaorong, please have a good rest after your meal. I have instructed the servants outside that no one will disturb you today."
"Thank you, Madam. Yanyu, please see Madam off for me."
"yes."
Yanyu sent the people away and came back, and they knelt down to their master together with Guyu.
"Congratulations, Master, for receiving the Holy Grace."
"Get up."
Su Ci bent her sore waist and drank a sip of milk soup gracefully: "Do you think that you will gain the emperor's favor by serving him in bed?"
The two men stood up and looked at each other suspiciously.
"Otherwise, Nanny Qin said that this is the first time since His Majesty ascended the throne that he has stayed overnight at the concubine's residence. In the past, he would summon her to the Funing Palace to sleep with him, and then send her away afterward."
"Yes, I overheard Eunuch Zhuang say that Your Majesty usually goes to the morning court at 11:00 AM, but today he was delayed for a quarter of an hour. This is unprecedented."
Yanyu spoke with pride, "Now it's spread throughout the harem, saying that our Yufu Palace is uniquely honored. If Nanny Qin hadn't specifically told everyone that you need to rest well and close the door to visitors, I'm afraid the threshold would have been trampled down by now. This way, no one will dare to look down on us anymore."
Gu Yu couldn't help but look excited: "When His Majesty left this morning, he took the master's portrait with him. He specifically instructed Eunuch Zhuang to carefully return it to Funing Palace. Master, what are you still worried about?"
"So you two are still naive."
Su Ci took a small bite of the crystal dumpling, her expression indifferent: "Men all love novelty. There are so many women in the harem, and there will always be women who are more beautiful and interesting than me in the future. It is easy to accept favor, but maintaining it is the most difficult."
"Besides, from today on, I will be a thorn in the Queen's side. Others may flatter me on the surface, but in reality, they are all waiting for the day when I fall. From now on, we must act more cautiously."
Misty and rainy, hesitant and thoughtful.
"But the master is not only favored by His Majesty, but also has the Empress Dowager behind him. Even if the Empress has more power, she wouldn't dare to go against the Empress Dowager's wishes, right?"
Su Ci ate half full and took a sip of tea leisurely.
"The Queen Mother's preference for me is based on suppressing the Empress and her concern for Your Majesty's offspring. If I fall out of favor, I will naturally be of no use to the Queen Mother."
Guyu nodded slightly and reached out to help the master up: "Master is right, so it is most important that you hold on to His Majesty's heart."
"But it's not so easy to capture the heart of the emperor."
Su Ci said as she walked slowly in the palace: "Even if I tell you, you won't understand. Take your time. Anyway, from today on, you must carefully observe the inside and outside of Yufu Palace. Don't trust anyone else's words except the three of us."
"…yes."
"Well, Wei Zhaorong, no, how's Wei Xiuyuan?"
Yanyu showed a hint of pride on her face, but then quickly hid it and tried hard to appear expressionless.
"She moved out last night. Eunuch Zhuang dumped her at the gate of Zhaohua Palace and told the Queen what His Majesty had said. This morning, I even sneaked over to inquire about her. She said she was relocated to Qingzhuxuan, which is quite remote."
Guyu looked outside the hall cautiously and asked in a low voice.
"Master, how did you know that His Majesty hated the sound of the pipa? His Majesty's face was so gloomy at the time that I was almost frightened to the point of losing my legs."
Su Ci smiled and blinked slightly.
"I discovered it by accident. In fact, not only did His Majesty's close attendants know about this, but the Queen knew about it as well. But Wei Xiuyuan was unlucky. She followed such a sinister and selfish master as the Queen, and she didn't even reveal such an important matter."
It is written in the original novel that when Su Yin entered the palace, she was just a concubine and never had the chance to serve in the emperor's bed. Her life was miserable. She could only gain a foothold by relying on Zhao Yu's constant flow of money. While she and Zhao Yu plotted to force Lin Sulan to death, she racked her brains to figure out how to get close to the emperor.
The Queen at that time knew that Su Yan was the one who uncovered the Shen family's corruption case, so she secretly targeted Su Yin and deliberately revealed that the Majesty loved the sound of the pipa. Su Yin naturally fell into the trap, but the Majesty took Su Yan into consideration at the time and did not actually punish her. However, Su Yin was completely hopeless.
Not long after, His Majesty went on another southern tour and fell in love with the heroine who had left home at first sight. The Queen, who learned the truth, learned about the hostile relationship between Su Yin and the heroine, and then extended an olive branch, taking advantage of Su Yin's long-distorted jealousy, and hunted down the heroine.
As for why Xuan Yi hates the sound of the pipa, it is also explained in the extra chapter.
It's said that when Xuan Yi was young, he was framed by the Empress Dowager's sworn enemy and thrown into a dry well in the cold palace for three days and three nights. A mentally disturbed concubine sat by the well, crying and playing the pipa. This became a shadow that haunted Xuan Yi's life. From then on, he could no longer bear the sound of the pipa, otherwise he would suffer from insomnia and nightmares for days...
“…Insomnia nightmare?”
Su Ci murmured suspiciously, "When His Majesty left this morning, did you think he didn't sleep well?"
"No."
Guyu shook her head. "Last night, Nanny Qin sent us off to bed, but we were worried the Master wouldn't sleep soundly, so we came over at 11:00 AM to keep watch with Nanny. Even at 11:00 AM, Eunuch Zhuang woke His Majesty up, wondering how he could be so soundly asleep."
"oh…"
Su Ci's eyes turned, and the corners of her bright red lips lifted slightly.
"Then it's all right."
…
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