Chapter 78
[Chapter 78]
Noble Meng was stunned at first, with tears rolling down her face and no other expression. Her fingertips, which were painted with nail polish, were clenched tightly, and she tried desperately to move forward and struggle to get in front of the emperor.
"No, Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." Meng Guiren stammered, as if she could only utter these few words, "I didn't do it, I didn't do it, Your Majesty... I have always wanted to have a child, how could I hurt the little princess, I..."
Meng Guiren looked around, not knowing what she was looking for, and then her eyes fell back on the emperor, "I didn't... Your Majesty, I have known you for such a long time, don't you know how I feel about you?"
She walked forward crying. The nanny behind her looked at the emperor. Seeing that the emperor's eyes fell on Meng Guiren, she let go of her hand and let Meng Guiren move forward.
Yan Shiyu looked at Meng Guiren coldly. He had indulged her for many years, but in the end, human greed was the result of greed. "You know clearly whether you did it in the past or now."
With these words, Mr. Meng seemed to be struck by lightning and froze on the spot.
Seeing the emperor walking out, she finally reacted and shouted loudly, trying to grab the emperor's clothes, but the emperor's figure became more and more blurred in her beautiful eyes.
Seeing this, the Queen said, "Keep an eye on Consort Meng. If there is any mistake, I will hold you to account!"
The maids responded, and they still dared not neglect Lady Meng, who was once the favorite concubine but now had been sent to the cold palace.
Shen Chongyi was helped to stand up slowly. Wisps of green smoke from the white jade and glass incense burner swirled and dispersed in the air under the clear yellow sunlight that came in through the window.
The Queen looked at the Imperial Physician standing beside her and said, "The Imperial Physician's Office must take good care of Shen Chongyi's baby. If there is anything wrong, please report it to me immediately."
The imperial physician did not dare to make a mistake, and knelt down and said, "I obey your orders."
When facing Shen Chongyi, the Queen's expression was much calmer. Seeing Shen Chongyi's pale face, she didn't know whether she was frightened or not fully recovered. She frowned again and said, "The little princess has been poisoned this time, and you are pregnant with the dragon. I think it would be better to leave the little princess with the concubines nearby and let them take care of her for a while. When you are fully recovered and the pregnancy is stable, it won't be too late to take the little princess back."
"No!" Shen Chongyi heard this and immediately clenched her hands tighter. She moved forward with her emotions. She shouted and realized something was wrong. Tears fell from her beautiful eyes. She wiped them away with her hands and said, "I want to keep the little princess by my side."
When Shen Chongyi uttered the last few words, his voice became a little hoarse, a sour taste filled his throat, his nose was sore, and the scene in front of him became increasingly unclear.
When the Queen saw this and was still thinking about it, Concubine De said gently, "Sister Shen is probably worried about leaving the little princess to someone else to take care of her. It would be better to let the wet nurse pay more attention to her so that Sister Shen can take good care of herself."
Without wanting to persuade her any further, the Queen nodded and said, "That's fine. If there's anything wrong, send someone to tell me immediately."
Shen Chongyi bowed, "Thank you, Her Majesty."
The queen supported Shen Chongyi and moved closer. She saw the dark circles under her eyes and the thick makeup. There was deep worry in her eyes. "You are not feeling well. Go back and rest."
Wan Mo received the Empress's order and helped her own queen sit on the ceremonial throne.
Only the remaining concubines were left in Jiangxue Tower. The Queen said tiredly, "Well, since there is nothing else to do, you can all go back first, take care of yourselves, and have children for the Emperor as soon as possible."
After paying their respects, the concubines left, many of them angrily saying:
"It's clear that the emperor didn't go to Shen Chongyi's house those few times. I think it's because of the little princess that the emperor often goes there, allowing Shen Chongyi to take advantage."
"Sister, please keep your voice down. No matter what Shen Chongyi says, she has an heir to the throne. She is pregnant with a child now. If she hears what I said, she will definitely settle accounts with you if she gives birth to another prince in the future."
"Am I afraid of her?"
The two concubines left humming in delicate voices. Ruan Yun and Jipin were not far away and happened to hear what they said.
Jipin said gently, "Don't be sad, Sister Ying. The imperial physician is already treating your body, and the emperor loves you so much, so it will definitely happen."
Ruan Jun put her hand on her lower abdomen and then took it down, sighing and saying, "It all depends on God's will."
Ruan Yun and Jipin separated at the corner. Looking at Sister Ying leaning on the palace maid, Jipin's expression suddenly became colder. Sister Ying had no children yet, let alone others.
Especially that person, it was Shen Chongyi.
…
Shen Chongyi didn't know how she returned to the palace. She looked at the little princess's sleeping face, held her hand and cried silently.
Wanmo brought in the pregnancy-stabilizing medicine and placed it in front of Shen Chongyi. When she saw the scene at Xiangfei's bamboo couch, she hurriedly closed the door of the inner hall.
Shen Chongyi heard the sound of the door opening and wiped away her tears in panic. She felt a little relieved when she saw Wanmo coming in from the corner of her eye.
The abortion-preserving medicine was placed next to Shen Chongyi's hand. Wanmo whispered, "My queen, you've hurt your eyes."
Shen Chongyi picked up the pregnancy-preserving medicine and drank it all in one gulp. She swallowed the bitter medicine along with her tears. Perhaps because she drank it too quickly, she even started coughing for a while.
For fear of disturbing the little princess on the couch, Shen Chongyi covered her lips with a handkerchief and suppressed her voice.
Seeing that the little princess was not startled, Shen Chongyi hurriedly held Wanmo's hand and asked, "Didn't you tell the wet nurse to put only a little, why hasn't the little princess woken up yet?"
Wanmo comforted Shen Chongyi and said, "Don't worry, madam. The imperial physician said that the little princess was frightened earlier and then took the summer grass by mistake. She will have to take it slow."
Tears fell from Shen Chongyi's eyes without warning. "Wanmo, tell me, could it be that the summer grass is too strong and Xin'er will never wake up again?"
Wanmo hurriedly shook the queen's hand, helped her sit down at the table, and poured a cup of red date tea for Shen Chongyi, "Don't worry, queen, it won't happen. The little princess is under your care. She will be fine if she is not in the hands of that vicious woman."
Shen Chongyi looked at the little princess' body with guilt, choking with sobs, "The emperor has already seen it, and maybe he has also sent people to investigate my brother's affairs. I have thought about telling the emperor, but if I tell him, how will he look at me? He only knows that I personally sent the little princess away, but he doesn't know that something happened in my family. If the emperor knew, my brother would definitely be imprisoned and exiled. I can only use this method."
Her eyes were red as Shen Chongyi thought about the emperor's eyes today and the words he had said to her in the past. She couldn't help but shudder.
With her arms folded across her chest, Shen Chongyi's beautiful eyes had long lost their color. She held Wanmo tightly and said, "I only have one way."
Wan Mo looked at her mother with distress. Shen Chongyi said, "All of this depends on the baby in my belly. At least before the baby is born, my father and brother must not be in any danger."
After saying this, Shen Chongyi took another deep look at the little princess on the bed, her face full of sorrow.
…
Shuohan Pavilion
After Ruan Yun entered the inner hall, Chun Qing had already returned and told the empress about what happened in the kitchen today. Ruan Yun waved his hand, confirming his guess.
"Shen Chongyi has always been cruel, but Concubine Meng was too flamboyant. I didn't expect Shen Chongyi to be so cruel." Ting Xu peeled a grape and handed it to the empress.
Ruan Yun took it and said, "Shen Chongyi was forced into a corner, but she is not afraid that something will really happen to the little princess."
"But it's okay this way." Even though the emperor asked Shen Chongyi to take the little princess back to the palace, the emperor already had a different opinion of Shen Chongyi in his heart. So, it would depend on whether the dragon baby in Shen Chongyi's belly could be born safely.
After giving birth to a prince, Shen Chongyi's status became difficult to say.
Ruan Jun took a deep breath, looked at the table with her almond-shaped eyes, frowned and asked, "Didn't I embroider a waistband with a golden dragon coming out of the clouds two days ago? Find it quickly."
Ying Ning smiled secretly and said coquettishly, "Your Majesty is wrong. Only two stitches were used to cut the waistband. How can it be considered one piece?"
Ruan Yun pretended to hit her and said angrily, "You are the one who talks too much."
Ying Ning quickly jumped away and took out the waist belt embroidered by Ruan Yun from the box. Ruan Yun took it and took a look at it, then stood up and chose several positions, but was not satisfied with any of them. Finally, she put it back in the embroidery basket on the couch and placed it next to herself, which she felt was just right.
Ting Xu's eyes were full of confusion. She blinked twice and asked the queen, "The waist belt hasn't been embroidered yet. Why did the queen put it in such a conspicuous place?"
Ruan Yun tapped Tingxu's forehead and said, "You don't understand this. It's for people to see."
Tingxu didn't understand what the Queen said. The Queen was very opinionated and what she did was right. She just needed to do what the Queen said.
Yingning looked at the Empress and saw that she picked up the needle and thread and added a few strokes. She wondered if the Emperor would be more sympathetic to her when he saw this.
But when she saw the embroidery of the Madam, she said in a muffled voice: "Madam, please stop embroidering. It was still visible before, but now it is hard to see after adding a few stitches."
Ruan Yun took the embroidery in her hand and sighed.
In the past, the maids in the palace often scolded her for embroidery, but she had never liked to learn anything since she was little, and her parents didn't care about her and just let her do whatever she wanted, which led to her current state, which is really unbearable to look at.
She was so embarrassed that she covered her face with her hands and fell on Tingxu. Tingxu and Yingning couldn't help laughing out loud.
Fortunately, if the concubines did not have this skill, they would not have to send these to the emperor.
At dinner, Yingning placed the food on the table, with the roasted chicken with chestnuts in the middle.
Ruan Yun turned her eyes away and saw the dusk falling. The green hills in the distance were shrouded in light and shadow. The green vines climbing on the nearby palace walls were particularly dense and the place was too quiet.
"I will wait a moment."
Ying stared at the dinner on the table and first advised, "It's getting late, Madam, be careful not to hurt your stomach."
Ruan Jun stood up and walked back and forth in the hall, looking outside from time to time, without responding to Ying Ning's words.
The palace maid quietly took down the lantern with a long pole, lit the candle inside, and slowly hung it up again.
The new moon rises in the east, the shadows of flowers in the garden are reflected in the stream, the rich fragrance flows through the spring night, and the clouds in front of the bright moon in the sky have completely dissipated.
Yan Shiyu came down from the imperial procession. Chunqing's eyes lit up and he was about to pass on the message, but Yan Shiyu looked over with sharp eyes. Chunqing opened his mouth and was about to take a step forward, but had to retract it.
When I stepped into the inner hall, the room was lit with candles. It was not as lively as usual, and the woman's slow whispers and soft singing were no longer heard.
The sound of the pearl curtain being opened was heard. Ruan Yun, who was cutting candle wicks with scissors, was in disbelief when she saw the emperor. In her crow-like eyelashes, she saw a crystal clear light under the candlelight.
Ruan Yun threw down the scissors in her hand and threw herself into the emperor's arms.
"I thought the emperor would not come."
Yan Shiyu held Ruan Yun's shoulders and asked her to move away.
I saw her biting her lower lip tightly, leaving a circle of pressure marks on the upper lip, and she stroked it with her hand.
"I said, wait for me."
Ruan Yun suddenly let go of Yan Shiyu's hand, walked to the table and said, "The emperor has never been interested in me alone, before, and now even more so."
Yan Shiyu stroked the black hair on her back, his dark eyes darkened, and he said nothing.
Ruan Yun looked at Yan Shiyu with her moist almond eyes, meeting the emperor's unfathomable gaze directly, "The emperor was in the hunting ground, talking about looking at the beautiful scenery in the distance. That beautiful scenery is the fourth Miss Wen. The emperor wants to take her into the palace. I am just a concubine of the emperor and can't do anything, but the emperor..."
Ruan Jun buried her face in Yan Shiyu's chest, her tone lost:
"Today, I lit all the candles because I wanted to know whether the Emperor would come."
She was not good at learning the rules, and she kept calling "your concubine" in a very distant way, which made people know how to pamper her more.
Touching Ruan Yun's cheek, Yan Shiyu lowered his head and saw only her white neck and round ears.
It was supposed to be a warm moment, but Ruan Yun's stomach started to growl.
For a moment, her earlobes turned as red as blood jade beads, and Ruan Yun was so ashamed and angry that she wanted to leave the emperor's arms, but was held back by Yan Shiyu.
Looking at the untouched meal on the table, Yan Shiyu frowned and asked, "Why didn't you have dinner?"
Ruan Yun said angrily, "The emperor doesn't even come to my place, so why should I have dinner?"
Yan Shiyu's face suddenly turned serious, and Ruan Yun covered her ears and said, "I don't want to listen."
"Your Majesty always tells me these things, but if Your Majesty doesn't come, I can't eat."
Yan Shiyu was so annoyed by Ruan Yun's behavior that the food on the table had long lost its temperature. Yan Shiyu's cold eyes swept over the two palace maids who were serving Ruan Yun:
"Take it down and heat it up."
Yingning and Tingxu did not delay and quickly found other palace maids to take the meal away.
He first held Ruan Yun and sat on the couch. Ruan Yun's heart tightened, and she walked to the couch first and picked up the embroidery on it.
Yan Shiyu only saw a piece of bright yellow material in his peripheral vision, and a smile appeared on the corner of his lips. "Ayun gave it to me?"
Ruan Yun gave the emperor a displeased look, but it was too intimidating and seemed more like a flirtation:
"No, I embroidered it for fun."
"Oh?" Yan Shiyu said jokingly, "I don't know who else is so bold as to use such a color."
Ruan Yun was very thin-skinned and muttered, "I will be screwed tomorrow."
Yan Shiyu took advantage of the moment when Ruan Yun lowered her head, took Ruan Yun into his arms with the things in her hand, and took the things out of Ruan Yun's hand.
Ruan Yun was extremely anxious. The emperor could easily remove only a few stitches on the waist belt.
She was so embarrassed that she buried her head in the emperor's neck, rubbing it again and again, making people feel itchy.
Yan Shiyu hit her on the buttocks, "Don't move."
Ruan Yun hummed unwillingly, blushing as she nestled into the emperor's arms, "Your Majesty, please stop looking."
Yan Shiyu frowned, and after looking for a long time, he could not see what she was embroidering. He could not help but ask, "Didn't the nanny scold you for embroidering like this before?"
He remembered that palace maids had to learn needlework after entering the palace. To look like this, they must have been punished many times in the past.
Ruan Yun felt aggrieved and said with her eyes drooped: "I just can't learn it. What can I do? In order to embroider the waist seal for the emperor, my hands were pierced."
As she said this, she held her hand out with a guilty conscience, not daring to look up, for fear that the emperor might notice something wrong.
Just now, in order to make it more realistic, she ruthlessly poked her finger, but she didn't expect that she was too ruthless and some blood actually came out.
Fortunately, the emperor came. If he hadn’t come, all the suffering today would have been in vain.
Yan Shiyu looked carefully at the finger that was peeling the onion roots in the candlelight, and found a small bloody hole.
Turning his head, all he could see in his eyes was Ruan Jun's sullen face, timid look as if she was afraid of displeasing him.
Pinching her jaw, Ruan Yun opened her lips slightly, and then he kissed her passionately, his long tongue going straight into her mouth.
The lips were ground so hard that the sound in the throat was blocked.
The hands that were supporting the emperor's chest gradually became weak, and Ruan Jun's hands gradually dropped and she gave up resisting, making it easier for the emperor to move.
As soon as Yingning took a step behind the screen, she saw the scene on the couch. She turned around and saw Tingxu right behind her. Tingxu saw Yingning's expression and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
This sound naturally also frightened Ruan Jun who was inside. She wanted to push the emperor away, but the emperor's iron arms held her tightly, making it impossible for her to escape.
Yan Shiyu's dark eyes flashed with displeasure, and he said calmly: "I favor my own concubine, what's wrong with that?"
Ting Xu was about to cry, but fortunately Ying Ning shook her head to signal her not to worry.
The maids placed the food on the table carefully. Yan Shiyu then let go of Ruan Yun. Seeing that there was only a pair of bowls and chopsticks on the table, Ruan Yun looked at the emperor in confusion. Yan Shiyu said, "I have used them before."
Ruan Yun responded, and then said: "Yes, there are so many sisters waiting for the emperor, why would the emperor come to my place alone."
Yan Shiyu said coldly, "If you are not hungry, I don't mind doing something else."
After being so annoyed by the emperor just now, Ruan Jun only used a little and then let his men leave.
The Emperor was flipping through her storybook, and she was so frightened at the sound of turning pages. She had not read the last part of the storybook and had no idea what it was about.
Yan Shiyu put the book down and asked indifferently, "Are you done?"
Ruan Yun wanted to nod, but then shook her head for some reason.
Yan Shiyu tapped the spine of the book and said, "Didn't I tell the eunuchs not to send you any more?"
Ruan Yun's eyes widened immediately, and she hurried over without caring about not cleaning her mouth, threw the script into the box, and said, "The Ministry of Internal Affairs wants to send it, how can I stop it?"
The emperor's eyes behind her really frightened Ruan Yun. Ruan Yun closed the box, sat back beside the emperor shyly, hugged the emperor's neck and said, "I am so bored, this is the only fun I have."
Yan Shiyu pressed her waist neither too hard nor too softly. This woman was very delicate and nervous. She always complained of sore legs or back. He would lose interest every time before he could even have enough fun.
In the past, the late emperor was always obsessed with beauty. He vowed to be a wise ruler and never indulge in beauty, but he didn't expect that he would break his vow every time with this woman.
"How's the calligraphy I asked you to practice?"
Ruan Yun's face wrinkled as she said slowly, "How about...I should embroider a waistband for the emperor."
Yan Shiyu scolded her, "There is no embroidery lady in the palace? Do you still need to do it yourself?"
Although she was a little angry, Ruan Yun smiled and gently touched the corner of the emperor's lips, "I know that the emperor loves me."
Yan Shiyu pushed her away. Has she forgotten it or not? Has she not cleaned her mouth yet?
Wei Maoyuan was so frightened that he was trembling with fear. Ying Chongrong dared to act against Taisui. Ying Chongrong was the only one in the world who had such ability.
Ruan Jun grabbed the emperor's dragon robe, not caring whether the emperor disliked it or not, "Your Majesty, are you going to leave tonight?"
Yan Shiyu glared at her coldly, "It's so late? Where do you want me to go?"
Ruan Yun said unhappily, "Two days ago, the emperor left me alone in Jingqi Palace, and the emperor himself went to Concubine De's place."
After hearing what she said, Yan Shiyu suddenly felt guilty and coughed lightly.
He pressed her waist casually and said:
"Miss Wen's father is indispensable to the new policy, at least not now,"
Ruan Jun understood that Fourth Miss Wen must enter the palace.
He stood up and politely saluted Yan Shiyu without even raising his head, as if he didn't dare to look directly at the emperor:
"I know that I don't understand the affairs of the court. I know my duty and dare not say more."
Yan Shiyu felt even more upset and was about to reach out to pull her over when the woman raised her head.
She looked pitiful, but she was trying hard not to cry:
"I only hope that the emperor can still remember me."
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