Inside the Longgan Palace, the beams and pillars are carved and painted, and the golden pillars supporting the hall are all carved with five-clawed golden dragons, so lifelike that they seem to come to life and fly away at any moment.
The faint sound of a woman's giggles broke the solemnity of the hall, adding a touch of frivolity.
The palace servants guarding outside the hall all kept their heads down and did not hear a thing.
Even the Grand Eunuch Ruan, who served the Emperor personally, stood outside the palace gate with his whisk in his hand, not going in to serve him.
Eunuch Ruan looked up at the high-hanging sun, his face expressionless, but inwardly he sighed.
This Consort Yue is truly formidable. In broad daylight, she manages to make the Emperor and her engage in illicit sexual acts within the palace. What a clever tactic! And she even makes these palace servants stand guard outside the door. If word gets out, these people will be in deep trouble.
"Chief Eunuch Ruan, something terrible has happened! I spotted the Imperial Concubine's retinue heading this way!" A young eunuch rushed over, panting, to report.
"Bah! What's so terrible? Seeing the Imperial Concubine's entourage is your good fortune. Go and receive your punishment later!" Eunuch Ruan gave him a look of exasperation, raised his hand and slapped the little eunuch on the forehead to teach him a lesson.
In this palace, one must be extremely careful in everything one does, and not make a single wrong move. Even a single wrong word could cost one one's head.
"Yes, I misspoke." The little eunuch immediately raised his hand and slapped himself twice.
"Is the Imperial Concubine's entourage definitely heading this way?"
"I saw it with my own eyes, there's no mistake."
Eunuch Ruan sighed inwardly and said in a low voice, "Wait outside. When I call for help, you can go in and tidy up. Be quick and efficient."
He cursed his bad luck inwardly. What was this noble master doing here at this time? He absolutely couldn't let the two noble masters see him, or it would be another troublesome matter.
"Your Majesty," he called out tentatively.
The women's giggles inside the inner palace immediately ceased, and a dignified male voice rang out: "What is it?"
"A distinguished master is coming this way." Eunuch Ruan did not say who it was, but the two people in the hall could guess.
If it were an ordinary concubine, Eunuch Ruan wouldn't have bothered to inform her; he would have simply stopped her outside and dismissed her with a few words.
But the only noble lady who would make him personally make the trip, risking disturbing the Emperor's enjoyment, just to inform him, was the Imperial Noble Consort.
The Imperial Noble Consort came from a noble family; her father was the Duke of Protector of the Nation, and his influence was far-reaching.
The two elder brothers, one a scholar and the other a warrior, have both established themselves in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue. The Xue family, father and sons, are all pillars of the court. Whenever they stomp their feet, the court is shaken. It is no exaggeration to say that the Xue family is half the court.
With such a distinguished background, even the emperor could not easily touch him.
In addition, the Imperial Noble Consort is very beautiful and the Emperor has truly favored her, which has further fueled her arrogance and domineering attitude. Now, this mistress's aura is so overwhelming that even the Empress has to avoid her, let alone the palace servants.
"Your Majesty, I haven't finished speaking yet!" Consort Yue in the hall seemed unwilling to give up.
"My beloved consort, there is plenty of time in the future, so there is no need to rush. You may rest in this inner palace, I will be right back." The Emperor was not kept by her, he only said a few words of comfort, and then strode out.
"You few come in and tidy up," Eunuch Ruan immediately ordered. Several palace servants filed in and quickly tidied up the hall.
"emperor."
Almost as soon as the palace servants finished tidying up, the Imperial Noble Consort appeared in Longgan Palace. She strode in, bowed, and then her eyes began to scan the hall as if she were looking around.
"The Imperial Concubine has arrived. Why didn't you bring ginseng soup today?" The Emperor sat down at his desk, pretending to put down the book in his hand.
The Imperial Noble Consort would often use the excuse of delivering ginseng soup to meet with the Emperor at Longgan Palace.
"I came in a hurry, and the ginseng soup is still simmering. But I heard that His Majesty has no shortage of soup today, as someone sent it over early." The Imperial Noble Consort didn't notice anything amiss, her gaze drifting towards the inner palace, and she couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.
"If the Imperial Concubine gives the order, I will only drink the ginseng soup you send. Who else would be so foolish as to send soup over?" the Emperor teased, half-jokingly.
The Imperial Noble Consort raised an eyebrow, looking slightly hesitant, clearly plotting something.
"I was just about to practice calligraphy, why don't you come and keep me company?" The emperor beckoned to her.
The Imperial Noble Consort no longer hesitated, and the tension on her face eased somewhat. She walked happily towards the dragon desk.
With a muffled crash, the sound came from the inner palace. The Imperial Noble Consort's expression changed, and she lifted her skirt and rushed inside.
"Your Highness, stop!" the Emperor commanded urgently.
However, the Imperial Noble Consort had already rushed in, her eyes scanning around, but she did not see anyone suspicious.
Just as she was about to rummage through the cabinet, a cat suddenly jumped down from the top of the cabinet, let out a soft "meow," and ran away from the concubine's feet.
The emperor entered at this moment and, seeing this scene, breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that he hadn't been caught.
He didn't bother to find out where Consort Yue was hiding; he only wanted to resolve the crisis as soon as possible.
"Your Highness, you are far too unruly! You have barged into the inner palace without my permission!"
"Your Majesty knows his mistake." She quickly lowered her head to admit her mistake, but as she stood up again, she immediately asked, "But Your Majesty does not like cats, so where did the cats in the Longgan Palace come from?"
"What are you doing? Do I need to report to you in advance what's in my Dragon Palace? Xue Jiahui, you are too audacious!" The emperor was furious.
At this moment, Ruan De quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, before you arrived, a cat was frightened and rushed into the palace, but we don't know where it went. We were just about to send people to search for it. When you came, the cat came out to greet you and politely withdrew, which saved us the trouble of searching. We thank Your Highness for your kindness on their behalf."
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