Chapter 68 Outsourcing of Harem Duties
On a rainy morning, a carriage drove into the palace.
My back had not recovered from overuse the night before, so I opened my eyes dazedly and saw that Li Siyan was already dressed and sitting opposite me. He opened a gorgeous long-sleeved gown and compared it with my body shape.
"You've lost a lot of weight recently," he said unsatisfiedly, "and the new court robes I cut the other day can't even hold them anymore."
I lowered my head and said, "It's okay."
He was extremely persistent about this matter. He summoned the female officials from the Shangfu Bureau with great fanfare and ordered them to make changes according to my current body shape.
I stood there like a puppet, letting them measure me. Li Siyan turned and returned to the inner hall. He took out a gold-painted and jade-inlaid box from beside his pillow and handed it to me, saying, "I've made you a set of jewelry."
When I opened it, I was shocked by the brilliant golden light and my eyes widened slightly.
"This is……"
This is an exquisite set of head ornaments, with plenty of pure gold and huge gems. It looks like the one worn by the queen. No, this set is even more gorgeous than the one Wen Baibi wore when she was crowned queen.
The box was heavy on my arm and extremely hot.
Li Siyan held an earring in his bony hands, looked at it for a long time, and suddenly laughed at himself.
"About two months ago, I thought you had truly died outside, so I ordered this set of jewelry to be made. If your body is ever found, I will bury you in the finest clothes and jewelry in the world. If not, I will take it with me into the coffin, as if you were accompanying me."
"But you're still alive." He put the earrings back into the box. "That's even better. You used to say you had no status and it was unfair for you to follow me without a clear conscience. Now that I'm making you queen, you should wear these and marry me with honor."
I stared at the lump of gold as thick as a radish and thought to myself, you bastard, who the hell wants to remarry you.
More than a year later, I stepped into the high threshold of the Purple Palace again. I felt sad and dazed, and I accidentally tripped while walking.
A pair of soft little hands supported me. Xiaozhi, dressed in the attire of a palace maid, said softly, "My lady, watch your step."
Behind her stood Huiyue, her face serene and calm. She still looked familiar to me, arms folded, as she sternly corrected Xiaozhi, "I've told you so many times to call me Imperial Concubine."
I shook my head: "Just call me wife, I'm used to it."
Looking further back, I saw Suxi who had recovered from his injury, Chan'er who looked evasive, and Hu Yue'er who looked reluctant... Next to the red pillar, two girls who looked extremely similar stood together, looking at me with red eyes.
I forced a smile and called them, "Jinlian and Jinliu, you have grown up."
Jin Liu couldn't hold back her tears and started to flow. She hurriedly raised her sleeves to wipe them away.
I asked, "What do you think?"
No one answered me.
"Huiyue," I looked at her, "Tell me, what is the meaning?"
Hui Yue met my calm gaze, her expression darkened slightly, and her usual quick movements became hesitant: "...Don't worry, Your Majesty, Yi De is still alive, but his body is unclean and he cannot serve you."
When I heard the words "unclean body", my body staggered and I almost fell to the ground.
The twigs supported me with strength.
Hui Yue gritted her teeth and said, "He said he felt sorry for the Empress and hadn't helped her hide well. When His Majesty set off for Mingzhou, he threw himself into the lake. Fortunately, Concubine Wang was nearby and recognized him as one of the Imperial servants, so she rescued him."
Still alive... I slowly calmed down and asked, "Your Majesty didn't cause any trouble for him?"
Hui Yue was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Your Majesty left in a hurry and didn't have time to investigate his faults. However, since Your Majesty is safe and sound, I don't think there will be any more severe punishment."
What she meant was: I returned to the palace safely, and Yide demonstrated his loyalty to me. Li Siyan didn't want to pursue the responsibility, so he let the matter go.
Well... I thought sadly, this might be the only good thing that happened in recent days.
Suddenly remembering another person who had helped me, I grabbed Huiyue's arm and asked anxiously, "Where's the Queen? How is the Queen?"
Since I entered the Purple Palace today, I have always had an indifferent face as if I had lost all hope in life. Only at this moment did I reveal a little bit of my former vitality. I thought in horror that Li Siyan knew that Wen Baibi had helped me, and he was planning to give me the position of Queen... No matter how you look at it, Wen Baibi is in great danger.
Unexpectedly, Huiyue said something that shocked me so much that I couldn't recover for a long time.
She said, "Your Majesty, don't you know? The Queen has requested to go to Taiqing Palace to practice Taoism and has not been involved in worldly affairs for a long time."
Wen Baibi was smart enough to know that what she did was against the emperor's weak spot. Even if the emperor did not dare to act rashly because of her background, she would inevitably be subject to his gaze and troublemaking if she stayed in the palace in the future.
So she simply decided to run away, giving up her position and the Phoenix Seal, and went to practice Taoism on her own - you can pamper whoever you want, I won't serve you anymore.
She retired after achieving success and prayed for the country as the unemployed queen. Even someone as narrow-minded as Li Siyan would find it difficult to take action against her after seeing her being so aware of the current situation.
As expected of the eldest daughter of the Wen family with several generations of experience in harem struggles, the way she ran away was much more elegant than mine.
I could almost hear the long sigh she let out when she knew I was caught by Li Siyan.
All helplessness is fate.
The fortune-teller's prediction that I'd be in for a bad year was indeed true. Who could have imagined running into Xie Xiuniang in that remote place? It seems fate has its own destiny. I won't be able to escape Li Siyan in this lifetime.
"Come in,"
A flock of pigeons flew across the sky, and I turned my head sadly in the shadow of their wings. In fact, we historians understand best that the world is full of coincidences and chaotic contingencies, which are beyond human control.
Luck is so illusory, yet it truly affects everyone's life.
The tattoo on his ankle was hurting slightly again. During countless long and tangled nights, he kissed that word over and over again, as if he was kissing a shackle that could not be broken free.
Maybe this is my fate: to be noticed by a powerful man and possessed by him at all costs.
Huiyue quickly noticed that something was wrong with me.
His eyes were fixed and his steps were unsteady. He didn't say a word except for necessary communication. He no longer read or wrote, and he no longer went out for a walk. He just stayed in the Zichen Palace all day, either in a daze or sleeping.
Li Siyan wanted to accompany me, but he was in charge of the entire imperial machinery and it was really difficult for him to spare the time. So, this bastard came up with a genius trick.
He outsourced the job to his concubines.
The specific operation was as follows: he directly gave me the power to promote or demote concubines below the rank of imperial concubine, and forced his concubines to pay their respects to me every day.
After asking for my well-being, we chatted briefly, exchanged some feelings, and helped me relieve my loneliness.
I held the phoenix seal he gave me, and always felt that something was wrong... Later I realized that he was outsourcing his responsibility as the emperor to appease the harem to me. If I could have the highest power in the harem, then... then these women would try to please me as if I were trying to please the emperor.
That's the truth, but it's obvious that these women don't dare to communicate with me emotionally.
When they first came, I was decked out in gold and silver, sitting at the head of the table. It was my first time sitting in a high position, and I was very uncomfortable. I felt uneasy for a long time, and managed a dry greeting: "Everyone is doing well."
I saw Wang Funiang in the team, and her face was obviously distorted.
Wei Wan'er remained respectable and replied softly, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Everything is fine in the palace."
...It's hard not to be nice. After all, the emperor is either busy with government affairs or looking for me whenever he has the chance. He almost forgot which way the harem door opens. They are a group of women. Without the emperor, even if they want to fight in the palace, they can't find the purpose and value of fighting. It's better for them to get together and play cards. At least they can kill time.
According to Chan'er, during the two years when His Majesty neglected the six palaces, everyone in the harem was addicted to playing cards. Even the most conceited and rebellious Wang Funiang lowered her beautiful head. One day, she knocked on Wei Wan'er's palace door with a shy look and asked her if she was short of people to play mahjong.
Wei Wan'er was a rare kind-hearted person in the palace. She put aside past grudges and actively accepted Wang Funiang into her card-playing team. As they played, they developed feelings for each other. At the card table, she told Wang Funiang a lot about what happened between me and Li Siyan. It was a mess and very sad.
After listening to it so many times, even someone as dull as Wang Funiang understood that I had actually ignored the emperor from the beginning to the end. It was his one-sided love that forced me to suffer so much.
"So, she doesn't know any magic at all,"
A year later, Wang Funiang finally realized she'd been tricked. She angrily concluded, "She doesn't like the Emperor. If she truly possessed magical powers, she would have left the palace long ago. Why is she staying here? To survive a tribulation?"
After hearing Chan'er talk about this, I was surprised and said, "She actually figured it out?"
It’s not easy. It seems that playing cards really has an intellectual effect. It can even save Wang Funiang’s pig brain.
Out of rare curiosity, after saying hello, I left her and Wei Wan'er to chat alone.
Wang Funiang now knew the grudges and hatred between Li Siyan and me. All her resentment and envy disappeared. She looked at me with pity in her eyes and softened her words: "...Alas, I used to think you knew magic, but now it seems that you can't defeat His Majesty at all. You'd better accept your fate. Look, you have food and clothes now, and your life is not bad, right?"
Wei Wan'er poked her angrily: "What nonsense are you talking about!"
I rolled my eyes inwardly. Is there no one left in the Wang family? Why did they choose her to enter the palace? Isn't she afraid of making the emperor so angry that he will have a stroke?
Wang Funiang felt her words were sincere, but after Wei Wan'er dissuaded her, she felt even more confident that her words were true and bloody facts. She spoke even more vigorously, "I'm not wrong. Oh, I really don't understand why you're being so hypocritical. You're the only favorite in the imperial palace now. Once you give birth to a prince, you'll be the permanent empress dowager. Isn't that more comfortable than painting erotic pictures outside?"
"I just enjoy painting erotic paintings," I picked up the water bowl and took a gulp. "What's wrong with erotic paintings? Without ten years of practice, can you draw them even if I give you a pen?"
"I can't," Wang Funiang didn't dare to argue with me about literary prowess, but she was quite willing to offer me her street smarts: "Your Majesty treats you so well..."
I rolled up my skirt and said, "Let me show you how it's done."
Seeing the tattoos and marks on my legs, Wang Funiang and Wei Wan'er gasped at the same time.
"Tattoo..." Wei Wan'er covered her mouth.
Seeing how shocked the other two were, I actually felt a strange sense of joy in my heart. I wanted to throw away all hope and show my worst side to others. It was uncomfortable, but also very refreshing.
I lowered the hem of my skirt. "I'm a girl from a family of upright historians. Almost my entire family was slaughtered, and I was even beaten with marks only prisoners would receive. Are you envious? Do you want to trade with me?"
Wang Funiang blurted out, "Then it's understandable that you ran away..."
Wei Wan'er's expression suddenly changed, and she poked her again: "Be careful with your words!"
Wang Funiang closed her little mouth reluctantly.
I said to her, "You said so much today, but this is the only thing that sounds like human speech."
She didn't understand: "What?"
"Nothing," I said, "You guys go back and play cards. I'm going to take a nap."
After sending them off, I turned to Huiyue and said, "I know you're watching us. Tell Li Siyan that if he dares to cause trouble for Wang Funiang, I'll jump into the Taiye Lake. Let him try."
Huiyue looked constipated: "Okay."
Just based on the sentence "Then it's understandable that you ran away", Wang Funiang had to be beaten up by Li Siyan.
I really need her natural little mouth now, so I want to protect it in advance.
Maybe it's because I don't have a strong sense of hierarchy, so what Li Siyan expected, "his harem would fawn over me like they fawn over the emperor," didn't happen. Instead, I kept sending them gifts every few days, as if I was trying to curry favor with them.
Although I gave them gifts frequently, I didn't play with them often. I still sat in a daze and slept all day long, like a dull hamster.
Later, I finally found out why I could sleep so well.
Because I'm pregnant.
In fact, women themselves are more or less aware of this kind of thing. With Li Siyan's three-pronged approach of tonic soup, acupuncture, and pillow support, it would be strange if I couldn't get pregnant.
One day, Doctor Fan came to see a patient, and while asking questions, he suddenly went to the imperial study.
I was lying on the bed counting sheep, and the next moment, I saw Li Siyan rushing towards me with sparks and lightning, as fast as an afterimage.
He was always gloomy, and even when he was whispering in my ear, he could not hide his anxiety. Only at this moment, his face showed an indescribable ecstasy, and every muscle was trembling with excitement. He wanted to hide it, but he couldn't. An emperor squatted in front of my bed, and he was at a loss like a child.
I never knew that a person could be so happy.
Like a hungry dog hit by a huge meat bone club from the sky, he couldn't believe that this good luck really belonged to him. He stared at me fiercely and muttered, "You really...really..."
Doctor Fan thought the Emperor was questioning his professional skills, so he quickly said, "Your Majesty, my family has been practicing medicine for generations. It is impossible for me to misdiagnose a pregnancy pulse. The Imperial Concubine's pulse indicates she is definitely pregnant."
"It's just that the pregnancy is still young, so we need to take good care of the fetus..."
I doubted what Doctor Fan said. Li Siyan didn't hear a word he said. His eyes were surprisingly bright. He circled around me four times. His long robe brought up a gentle breeze, blowing on my face, feeling cool.
He was excited as he pleased, but I didn't have any overreaction.
This is nothing to celebrate, and I don't want to have children if I can help it.
But the man in front of him looked like he was almost going crazy with joy.
He had not yet removed his court robes, and the golden dragon embroidery on them was stained with the damp and cold air of early spring. He was afraid that I would feel cold, so he didn't even dare to sit next to me. He just cautiously reached out his hand and gently stroked my belly.
I didn't like seeing him look so curious, I thought it was a bit weird, so I moved his hand away. Li Siyan paused slightly, then held my right hand tightly and gently rubbed the calluses on my knuckles.
He seemed to particularly like the little callus on my finger.
I sat indifferently at the head of the bed. His excitement was finally dampened a little by my indifference. He coughed lightly and ordered Huiyue Suxi and the others to carry out the maternity supplies from the warehouse.
These utensils had been prepared when I returned to Chang'an. Now they have finally seen the light of day. Su Xi Huiyue was also very happy. She responded repeatedly and the joy spread in the hall.
He calmed down a bit and asked me, "Are you hungry? Do you want some water? I'll call your aunt and brother into the palace. What's your friend's name? I'll also call in the daughter-in-law of the Marquis of Wu'an."
He suddenly noticed the smoke rising from the incense burner and immediately picked it up and threw it out the door. "...I've read in local stories that incense can cause dizziness in women and shouldn't be kept."
I said calmly, "The book you're reading is a soft copy written by someone at the Chongrenfang Duji Spice Shop to promote their perfume for pregnant women."
Li Siyan had lost his mind. "Is there really a special incense for pregnant women? Why not let Qingfu go out and buy some?"
Qingfu outside the door slowly took a step away, as if he didn't want to admit that Li Siyan was his boss...
I don't know how a normal man would react when he finds out he's going to be a father, but I can vaguely feel that Li Siyan's reaction is definitely not normal.
He held me in his arms and slept soundly all night. The next day, he went to court in high spirits, and couldn't wait to show off to everyone in the court that he was going to be a father. The ministers knew how to read the mood, and they poured out auspicious words one after another, which made Li Siyan almost lose his mind. With a wave of his hand, three porridge stalls were built. In order to accumulate virtue for his descendants, he even began to think about issuing a general amnesty.
Fortunately, someone stopped him: "Your Majesty wants to grant amnesty to the whole world, why not wait until the little prince is born?"
Li Siyan thought this suggestion was very good, and with a stroke of his pen, he put it on the agenda.
The officials in the court were celebrating, and the harem was also filled with joy. However, half a day later, Huiyue came to ask me what kind of personality I liked in a wet nurse and whether I had any requirements in appearance.
A rare hint of surprise appeared on my expressionless face: "It's only been two months, and you're already choosing a wet nurse?"
Hui Yue paused, "Normally, the selection is done in April or May, but Your Majesty insisted on starting now..."
I turned my head and said, "Then let him choose."
I think this may be a kind of compensatory psychology. He was born in his mother's fear and the indifference of others, and spent a cruel childhood in the palace. The more painful it was, the more he hoped that his children could receive blessings from the whole world.
This was a redemption that spanned half a lifetime. He instinctively tried his best to love his unborn child, just as if he was comforting his younger self.
Lucky children are healed by their childhood throughout their lives, while unfortunate children spend their entire lives healing their childhood.
However, there was one good thing about being pregnant, which was that Li Siyan followed Doctor Fan's advice and stopped his farming plan.
It is strictly forbidden to have sex during pregnancy. Doctor Fan's words are like saving my life. Otherwise, with his cruelty, I would die on his throne sooner or later.
Now, I can finally take a break.
After several days of tossing and turning, and fearing that the whole world knew that the emperor was going to be a father, Li Siyan finally calmed down, walked to my bed, and held my hand tightly.
I lowered my head to glance at where our fingers were intertwined, then turned my head away dejectedly.
"It's been three days, but I still feel like I'm in a dream."
His dry palm gently stroked the side of my face.
"Yingying, please don't leave. Give birth to the child safely. If it's a girl, I will present all the treasures in the world to her. If it's a boy, I will make him the crown prince."
I moved my dry throat and asked him, "I'm pregnant. You've finally got what you wanted. What are you afraid of, Li Siyan? Are you still afraid that I'll leave when I look like this?"
"I'm afraid! How could I not be afraid?" he said. "I want to grow old with you, so I can't let go of my worries until the moment I enter the grave."
I chuckled and turned my head away.
He came over to me stickyly, and a soft kiss fell on my eyes: "Don't leave me..."
I pushed him away and said coldly, "Li Siyan, pregnant women should eat bird's nest, not male semen."
He still had the nerve to complain: "I didn't mean that. I just wanted to kiss you."
I glared at him coldly.
He left angrily: "You take a rest first."
His figure disappeared behind the screen, and I stroked my belly, lost in thought.
He has been incredibly gentle and considerate to me recently, as if all the old grudges between him and me have been wiped out with the arrival of this child.
No, it felt more like he had been looking for a reason to let go of the resentment he felt for my escape, and now he had simply encountered the right opportunity.
And back on the boat, if I had been willing to lower my head even a little... not to mention liking and loving him, what if I had just said I occasionally thought of him when we were out there? Maybe he would have forgiven me instantly.
From the fragments of conversation among the eunuchs, I pieced together what I didn't know. When he was sitting in that cell waiting for me, he secretly prepared many means of punishment - all methods he had thought of in the past to deal with those who opposed him. The cruelty was indescribable, but later he only used the mildest methods.
Mild means not very harmful, but extremely insulting.
But now I'm pregnant, he doesn't dare to do anything to me.
Unable to derive pleasure from tormenting me anymore, Li Siyan had no choice but to transfer all her enthusiasm to sewing work.
He made a paddy field coat for a child, sewing it in a very fancy way. He forced the ministers to pay him tribute with the scraps of cloth. He did not want clothes worn by playboys at all. At the very least, he wanted someone with a good official title. He was very strict.
This created such a grand scene: the emperor sat at the head of the bed like his young wife, sewing small clothes with a tender look on her face, while the imperial concubine lay straight on the couch with a numb look on her face.
Such scenes are played out in the Purple Palace every day, and it is truly magical.
However, although Li Siyan was overwhelmed by joy, he still had basic rationality and knew that if the mother did not cooperate in giving birth, everything would be in vain.
Because of my criminal record, even though I behaved well and normally this time, Li Siyan was still worried. He covered the entire inner hall with thick carpets and ordered Hui Yue and Su Xi to watch over me every step of the way.
Especially I can't run or jump.
The two senior palace maids delegated all the work to the other palace maids, and stared at me intently all day long from morning to night. Their eyes were as big as owls on the treetops, and I felt tired just by looking at them.
After I became pregnant, all my sisters in the harem lost the qualification to pay their respects to me, and the gifts they sent were all kept in the bottom of the box and would never reach my hands. During this period, the only non-Purple Palace employee who could meet me was my aunt.
I had no enthusiasm for being a mother. Li Siyan thought about it for a long time and felt that it must be because there was no role model around me. So he specially called my aunt into the palace, trying to let her awaken my maternal instinct.
The result was counterproductive.
When my aunt saw my dazed look, she was so heartbroken that her teeth were almost broken. She kept a stern face the whole time and didn't even look at Li Siyan in a good mood.
Li Siyan was also sensible. He knew that his aunt didn't like him, so he didn't get close to her blindly. He only appeared occasionally during meals.
In this way, everyone in Zichen Palace finally understood where my temper came from.
It's definitely a family trait.
Chan'er sighed, "I wonder what kind of personality the Queen's child will have when he is born."
I said, "It's best not to be as wicked as his father."
After thinking about it again, I added, "Don't be so stupid as his mother."
It's March now, and my belly is already a little bulging. A young life is gradually taking shape, like a little mystery.
What would it be like? Inherit the royal family's cunning, immorality, and calmness, or inherit the Shen family's stubbornness, stubbornness, and naiveté, or be a balance between the two and become an ordinary person.
I don't know, and I don't expect it. If I have to say what I hope for, it's that he can be more like me.
Be like me, have a higher moral bottom line, do not use the power you are born with to force others, and live a clean and honest life in this world.
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