With the sound of music and the flickering lights, the garden was filled with a scene of prosperity and peace.
However, Liu Chen's face was not looking good. He was forced to sit for a long time and looked at many famous ladies carefully, but no one could keep his mind for a moment.
Liu Yan's mind was always on one person. Since that person left, he had been absent-minded for a long time.
He saw Mu Zhuohua walked to Liubo Pavilion and then left with Shen Jinghong. He didn't know where the two went and they didn't come back for a long time. Although Liu Yan knew that Mu Zhuohua had no intention of Shen Jinghong, he felt that all men in the world would covet the woman he liked. He was always a little uneasy in his heart. After sitting for a while, he didn't care about being rude, so he found an excuse to leave and look for Mu Zhuohua.
The Imperial Garden was very large, not to mention at night. Even if there were lanterns hanging, there were still many shadow corners that were difficult to see clearly. Liu Yan walked for a while without seeing anyone. He happened to see a palace maid passing by, so he stopped her and asked, "Have you seen Lord Mu, the doctor of the Ministry of Revenue?"
The palace maid lowered her head and thought for a while, then pointed in a direction, "Just now I seemed to see Lord Mu going that way."
Liu Yan breathed a sigh of relief and strode in the direction pointed by the palace maid.
Lights were lit up in the corridor, and a slender figure with a light green color stood quietly among the scattered cedars, half of her body hidden in the shadows. Liu Yan quickened his pace and walked forward. A sweet sweet osmanthus fragrance was blown away by the evening breeze, which was somewhat like the usual fragrance on her hair. Liu Yan walked behind her and hugged her into his arms.
"You haven't been back for a long time, I was worried that something happened to you..." Liu Yan sighed lightly, drank a few glasses of light wine, and his voice was also hoarse and drunken, low and hoarse.
The body in his arms trembled slightly, but did not speak.
Liu Yan frowned, feeling something was wrong. He suddenly loosened his arms, took a half step back, and squinted his eyes to see the back of the figure in front of him.
The person turned around slowly, but it was not Mu Zhuohua, but Sun Yunyun!
Sun Yunyun's face was flushed. Liu Yan's warm and powerful embrace made her feel as if she was in a dream, but after turning around, she saw Liu Yan's surprised and indifferent expression, and her dream was suddenly shattered.
"Your Highness..." Sun Yunyun knelt down to salute.
Liu Yan said coldly: "Why are you here?"
Liu Yan looked up and down at Sun Yunyun's dress. She was wearing a light blue scholar's dress that was very similar to Mu Zhuohua today. She didn't look like a lady from an aristocratic family at all. She even put on hair oil that smelled similar to Mu Zhuohua's on her hair. Liu Yan was already a little drunk, thinking about Mu Zhuohua, and had a preconceived idea. He didn't think that someone else would be standing here. After this shock, he sobered up and calmed down. He also understood Sun Yunyun's intentions.
Sun Yunyun lowered her eyebrows and said softly, "I thought the prince liked such a woman."
Liu Yan took a deep breath and said coldly, "Miss Sun, I have made it clear to you that I have someone in my heart and will never marry you. I like that person, not a woman. No matter how you imitate her, it is just superficial. You have your own good points. You don't have to change yourself for someone who doesn't like you." Sun
Yunyun had never suffered such indifference and humiliation in her life, but the man standing in front of her was the man she had kept in her heart for ten years. She had just felt his tenderness and was even more reluctant to give up. She risked all the dignity of a woman from an aristocratic family to win back his attention.
"Prince!" Sun Yunyun shouted, stopping Liu Yan's steps as he turned and left, "If the prince likes her, marry her, I... I can be a concubine!"
Liu Yan looked back at her in disbelief. He had never looked at Sun Yunyun carefully, and vaguely remembered that she was a dignified and beautiful lady from aristocratic family. All ladies from aristocratic families were proud and would never be concubines.
Liu Yan had naturally heard the rumor that Sun Yunyun was in love with him, but at first he thought it was just a trick of the Sun family to force him to agree to the marriage between the two families. Until now, when he saw the tearful look of the woman in front of him, he knew that this might be true.
But why?
Liu Yan was puzzled. How many times had he met this Miss Sun and how many words had he spoken to her?
"Miss Sun, why is it like this?" Liu Yan did not feel much moved, but more troubled and confused, "You can have a better marriage."
Sun Yunyun bit her lip, lowered her head, and tears fell to the ground, wetting the bluestone slabs.
"Your Highness doesn't remember. Seven years ago, on Fuyun Mountain, my mother and I went up the mountain to worship Buddha. On the way, the carriage lost control and it was Your Highness who saved me."
He was nineteen that year, a handsome young man in bright clothes and riding a horse. She watched him fall from the sky in horror and rein in the galloping horse. His eyes as bright as stars were deeply imprinted in her heart. Later, she learned that he was the most beloved brother of Emperor Zhaoming, the prestigious Prince Ding, and the man she had been dreaming about.
Since then, her heart has been tied to him. Although she knew that the marriage of a woman from an aristocratic family could not be determined, she still wanted to give it a try. She pushed back the marriage arranged by her family, but did not dare to express her feelings. It was not until three years ago that she learned that he was seriously injured and she fell ill that her mother saw the clue.
But how could the Sun family marry their most cherished daughter to a dying Prince Ding for good luck? So she was taken back to Jiangzuo. When he returned to Dingjing, she could never see him again. When they met again, she approached him with the hope of marrying him, but he said resolutely that he had someone in his heart.
Liu Yan looked at Sun Yunyun's tears and racked his brains but couldn't remember what happened seven years ago. He had saved so many people, and it was easy for him to do so. How could he bother to remember it? He never thought that it would make a young girl miss him all the time.
"Miss Sun, what happened back then was just a piece of cake. You don't have to take it to heart. I don't ask for anything in return." Seeing that Sun Yunyun really didn't have any bad intentions, Liu Yan didn't want to be too harsh on a crying woman, but he was more anxious to find Mu Zhuohua at the moment and didn't want to waste time here. "The prince has something important to do, so I'm sorry I can't keep you company."
Sun Yunyun looked at Liu Yan sadly: "How unbearable am I that I can't even let the prince agree to be his concubine?" Liu
Yan turned and left, leaving only a cold word to hit her heart.
"It's the prince who doesn't want to wrong her."
Liu Yan had just taken two steps when he saw a peach blossom lantern lying on the ground. He was surprised and walked forward to pick it up. He saw two lines of words written on the petals.
- Throw me a wooden peach, and I will repay you with a jade.
The last two sentences that were not written were "not a reward, but a friendship forever.
" Liu Yan's heart moved, and he looked at the familiar handwriting - there was no doubt that it was Mu Zhuohua's handwriting.
But why did the lantern fall here? Liu Yan knelt down and carefully checked the footprints on the ground. His heart sank suddenly - the footprints on the ground were very messy, and there were signs of struggle.
Who is so bold as to dare to attack Mu Zhuohua in the palace!
Liu Chen sat for a long time, unable to bear it, and his expression gradually became cold. As the emperor, he was intimidating without anger, not to mention his impatience, which made those girls who were a little timid dare not get close to him.
Seeing him like this, the queen mother frowned and said, "Since your majesty is not in the mood for the night banquet, go back and rest early."
Liu Chen breathed a sigh of relief and immediately stood up to say goodbye to the queen mother, and let the eunuch chief lead the way back to the bedroom.
Liu Chen drank a lot of wine at night, but he had a good alcohol tolerance, so he was only slightly tipsy. He complained to the chief eunuch under the influence of alcohol: "Sometimes I envy my uncle, who is not an emperor and does not have to be manipulated by others."
The chief eunuch almost felt weak in his legs and sighed: "Your Majesty, the queen mother also cares about you and the country."
Liu Chen smiled bitterly and sighed: "Yes, everyone knows the big picture, but I am selfish and willful, and I don't understand things..."
He just wanted to find someone who suits his heart to spend his life together, but such a simple wish was difficult to achieve. For all officials, for the queen mother, and for the royal family, the most important thing is that he can have more princes under his knees. As for whether he likes it or not, it is not important. Mu Zhuohua would pity those women, but he didn't know how to pity him.
Liu Chen complained in his heart in a daze, and walked to the door of the bedroom. The chief eunuch pushed the door open, but did not go in, just stood at the door and waited.
Liu Chen was slightly drunk and didn't notice anything wrong. He staggered into the inner room and heard the sound of the door closing behind him. He staggered to the bed and vaguely saw a bulge on the bed. He squinted his eyes, walked forward, and saw clearly that there was a person lying on his bed.
"Mu Qingjia?" Liu Chen looked at her figure and clothes, and shouted in confusion, not understanding why Mu Zhuohua would lie on his bed.
Even if she was drunk, she wouldn't be so bold. Even if she was brave enough to sleep on the dragon bed, were all the palace maids, eunuchs and guards outside dead? How dare they let her in?
Liu Chen was full of doubts. He sat at the head of the bed, pushed Mu Zhuohua's shoulder, and shouted twice: "Mu Qingjia, Mu Qingjia, get up!"
Mu Zhuohua was sleeping soundly. Liu Chen pushed her hard twice, and she turned over. Her hair crown was taken off by someone, and her black hair spread out like smoke, revealing a blushing little face.
Liu Chen looked down at her face and felt that the face in front of him was very familiar, but not quite the same. It was still Mu Zhuohua, but she was charming and indescribably lovely. Why hadn't he noticed that she was so beautiful before? Her
usual dignified and gentle appearance was now shrouded in a hazy beauty by the warm light. Her curled eyelashes covered her lively eyes, her fair and flawless skin was stained with two thin blushes, and her cherry lips were plump and slightly upturned, as if waiting for someone to pick them.
Liu Chen felt his heartbeat suddenly disordered, his mouth was inexplicably dry, and his hand reaching out to Mu Zhuohua began to tremble slightly.
"Mu Zhuohua..." His voice was a little hoarse, "Wake up..."
Mu Zhuohua was sleeping very deeply. After being disturbed repeatedly, she frowned impatiently, made an ambiguous whimper, raised her hand and waved, turned over, hugged the quilt, and continued to sleep.
Liu Chen's head was a little swollen. He leaned over and got close to Mu Zhuohua. He smelled a faint fragrance coming from her body, with a hint of sweetness of flowers and fruits, which made people want to take a bite involuntarily - especially when she slept in front of him without any defense.
He vaguely felt that it was a bit dangerous to continue like this, but drunk people always have much weaker willpower.
But at this moment, there was a commotion outside.
"Your Majesty, His Majesty has gone to bed!" The voice of the steward came in, making Liu Chen suddenly sober up.
"The king has an important matter to see the emperor!"
Liu Yan's voice was as cold as ice. Without caring about the obstruction of others, he strode to the door of the palace and pushed open the unlocked door with force.
Liu Chen was startled and sat up from the bed.
Liu Yan's face was as cold as ice. He walked in the door and walked towards Liu Chen, and saw Mu Zhuohua sleeping on the dragon bed at a glance.
A group of servants chased after him, shouting and yelling. Liu Chen shouted, "Everyone, retreat!"
Everyone was startled, and then retreated faster than when they came. Only Liu Yan and Liu Chen were left in the bedroom, staring at each other - and Mu Zhuohua, who was unconscious.
Liu Chen had not yet realized the rudeness of Liu Yan's behavior, but felt embarrassed as if he had been caught doing something wrong.
"Uncle, I don't know why Mu Zhuohua is sleeping here..." Liu Chen defended himself weakly.
"I know." Liu Yan's face was cold, he walked to Liu Chen's side, and leaned down to check Mu Zhuohua's face and pulse. "She inhaled a lot of incense, it should be because someone covered her mouth and nose."
Liu Chen was shocked when he heard this: "How could it be? Someone dared to commit a crime in the palace, who was it?"
Liu Yan sneered: "Your Majesty, you might as well think about it yourself."
Liu Chen lowered his eyes and thought, and immediately cold sweat dripped down: "Is it... the Queen Mother?"
Liu Yan did not answer, but leaned over and picked up Mu Zhuohua horizontally, protecting her in his arms.
"Mu Zhuohua, I will take her away. I have offended Your Majesty tonight, please forgive me." Liu Yan hugged Mu Zhuohua tightly, took three steps back, saluted Liu Chen, turned around and left.
"Uncle!" Liu Chen shouted suddenly, stopped Liu Yan, "She... is it yours?"
Liu Yan paused, nodded slightly, and left.
Liu Chen sat on the bed and shook his head vigorously, but he felt even more dizzy, but some things suddenly became clear.
It turned out that he had been kept in the dark from the beginning...
When did they meet?
During the imperial examination, the uncle spoke for her, and later transferred her to the Lifan Temple...
By the way, the uncle's abnormality that day in the royal villa was probably because of Mu Zhuohua...
Liu Chen suddenly laughed - he was really a little silly...
The Queen Mother received a report from the servants and hurried to Liu Chen's bedroom, where she saw Liu Chen sitting at the head of the bed with a cold face.
"I heard that it was the Prince of State who took the person away?" The Queen Mother was furious, "He is too arrogant! How dare he snatch someone from your Majesty's palace!"
"Enough!" Liu Chen shouted angrily, "Why would mother do such a thing!" The
Queen Mother narrowed her eyes and looked at Liu Chen's face. After a moment, she sneered, "Your Majesty really likes Mu Zhuohua. This woman is so scheming. She was born with a beautiful face, but she disguised herself to cover it up. What do you think her intention is?"
Liu Chen was speechless.
"She deliberately approached your Majesty and gained your Majesty's trust, but she secretly hooked up with Prince Ding. Prince Ding dared to snatch someone from your Majesty's bedroom tonight, so he must have been having an affair with her for a long time. Mu Zhuohua deceived the emperor, and Prince Ding also disrespected the emperor. Will your Majesty let them do whatever they want?" The Queen Mother said angrily.
Liu Chen gritted his teeth and said, "Mu Zhuohua is an official appointed by the court, not one of those noble ladies who are bent on currying favor
with the rich and powerful. Your mother shouldn't humiliate her in this way." "Whether they are ministers or ministers, they are all your majesty's people." The queen dowager said proudly, "In the former dynasty or in the harem, they are all loyal. If she is really loyal to your majesty, she should not hide her appearance and should be completely open to your majesty. If your majesty is interested in her, just order her to enter the palace. If you want to make her a concubine, I will not object."
Liu Chen frowned and shook his head, "I respect her, not what your mother thinks..." The
queen dowager smiled coldly, "Your majesty, no one knows a son better than his mother. Do you only respect her in your heart? With her appearance and talent, even I would feel pity for her, let alone your majesty?"
The picture of the sleeping crabapple in spring flashed through Liu Chen's mind, and his heart beat involuntarily.
The Queen Mother looked at Liu Chen's expression and sighed softly, "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. It is her honor to have any woman he wants. She cannot refuse, and Prince Ding cannot snatch her away."
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