【all you】Martial Arts Supreme-Afterword
There are mainly two types of people in Emperor Taizong's harem: those he doesn't want to pay attention to, and those who simply don't have time to pay attention to him.
Unfortunately, you are the second type.
But you really didn't mean it. Everyday you have to listen to Yingying's work reports, handle important matters in the martial arts world, handle palace affairs with Chen Zixi, and practice swordsmanship with Jiang Yan... You really don't have the time to greet and serve a young and energetic emperor every day.
——Although he doesn't really want you to serve him.
"Do you wish I wouldn't come to see you except on the first and fifteenth days of the month?" Zhao Guangyi asked you helplessly while sitting on a chair and looking at your account book.
——I don’t know if it’s your illusion, but he seems to have a much better temper after getting married, and rarely argues with you like he used to.
You blinked and feigned innocence: "How could that be, Your Majesty? I'm just a little overwhelmed... How about you consider appointing a noble concubine to help share the palace duties?"
Zhao Guangyi didn't answer immediately. He stared at Chen Zixi beside you.
Chen Zixi immediately said, "Why are you looking at me? The government is just pretending I don't exist. I'm here to check the accounts, not to win favor."
Zhao Guangyi: "..." Isn't checking the account books also a part of vying for favor? Do you really think he can't see it?
You pretended not to notice the exchange of glances between the two and suggested to Zhao Guangyi, "The daughter of the Changshan County Prince's family is quite good. She has a gentle and dignified temperament, a model of a lady, and she comes from a famous family, so she must be able to manage the household well."
Zhao Guangyi was a little speechless: "This is the third time you've mentioned her, and you're so satisfied with her?"
"This is one of the candidates suggested by Lord Zhao Pu. I've met her before, and she's a real beauty." You told him, holding your chin. "I think she's a perfect fit."
"...It's up to you. The imperial concubine is here to assist you anyway." Zhao Guangyi raised his hand to agree.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." You thanked him immediately, then quickly stood up and found the account book from the bookshelf beside you - establishing a concubine is a big deal, you have to calculate the expenses first.
Zhao Guangyi: “…” He originally wanted to say a few more words to you, but seeing that you were so busy that you didn’t even raise your head, and even Chen Zixi was writing furiously, he hesitated for a while and had to leave in frustration.
——If I had known earlier, I would have brought in a few more concubines to do the work. Who knew there would be so many chores in the harem!
As you checked the account books, you couldn't help but lament, "I shouldn't have agreed to be the queen. Before I was made queen, I was constantly fighting wars. Now that I'm queen, I still have to work for the Zhao family..."
"How can you refuse this?" Chen Zixi consoled you with a smile. "If it really doesn't work out, just give it to Yingying. I think she has a natural talent for business and has plenty of energy to spare."
"Okay, I thought you, Chen Zixi, were a gentleman, but it turns out you are here planning to push the work to me!" Yingying, who happened to walk in, put her hands on her hips.
"Wouldn't it be a waste to not use the talented and capable Master Dongque?" Chen Zixi was not in a hurry and replied slowly while fanning himself.
Both of them are good at speaking. You crossed your legs and watched them exchange words for a long time before interrupting with a smile: "Alright, alright, if we don't check the accounts quickly, it will be dark. I don't want to burn the midnight oil to work overtime...Yingying, you are not allowed to leave either. Stay and help."
"I know, my good hero!" Yingying came over and rubbed your face obediently. "Then is there a reward for me?"
"Ahem..." Chen Zixi deliberately cleared his throat, his beautiful black eyes looking at him with resentment. "That's too much! I've been busy for a long time, and you want a reward just after you arrived?"
"At worst, I can split the reward with you." Yingying retorted as expected, and when she mentioned "reward", she even glanced at you. Her eyes flickered, revealing an indescribable charm.
The more you listen, the more you think it's outrageous, so you quickly interrupt: "Alright, alright, how can we all get rewarded together? If we want to reward, we have to do it on a first-come, first-served basis... Let's get back to work."
——I really don’t know who is the emperor between you and Zhao Guangyi. He comes to you all day long, and you are either dealing with work or being favored by others... you muttered to yourself.
Taizong, who had again extended an invitation to the empress, received a reply from the eunuch: "The empress said that tonight, the selection of the imperial concubine and the verification of the account books will probably take place all night long. She hopes that the emperor will take good care of himself and go to bed early."
Zhao Guangyi: "..." He gritted his teeth and asked, "Who is the queen with?"
The eunuch was a little apprehensive: "It's... Master Chen and Master Wen."
Zhao Guangyi almost smashed the teacup in his hand: Wen Wuque, a woman has no time to join in the fun. She is more cunning and more difficult to deal with than those two men!
At the emperor's own urging, the new imperial concubine, Li, entered the palace. After a month of your training, she took over most of the palace affairs you had in mind—she was indeed as gentle and capable as you had expected.
You realized the benefit of having help, so when Zhao Guangyi came to see you, you happily asked him: "Can you take in a few more concubines? That way I can save a lot of energy."
Zhao Guangyi:?
He asked you angrily, "Is it me or you who's taking a concubine? I haven't even met Li, but you're dragging her around to handle palace affairs every day. It seems like she's your concubine?"
"I didn't stop you from favoring her!" You quickly explained. "I was just desperate to find a helper, and I've already finished teaching her. I won't be dragging her along every day anymore. You can go see this beauty whenever you want!"
Zhao Guangyi's expression turned even worse. He said, "You are so careless. You don't care who I favor, right?"
you:?
You looked at him in a daze as he strode away, the wind from his footsteps blowing the gauze curtains in your palace into pieces.
You don’t know what Zhao Guangyi was angry about. Soon the maid came to report that the emperor had turned over Li Guifei’s nameplate.
At that time, you were busy lying on Jiang Yan's thighs and acting coquettishly, begging him not to get up too early to practice sword tomorrow because you were really too tired to get up... After hearing this, you agreed and arranged for the maid to record it in the history book.
Jiang Yan smiled: "The emperor is angry with you."
You were surprised: "You figured it out? So he was really angry?"
Jiang Yan used his hands to straighten your long hair, which had become tangled from removing your headdress. He said calmly, "His intentions are obvious. He rejected many imperial concubine selection petitions for you. Who in the court doesn't know this?"
You wished Zhao Guangyi would choose more concubines so they could all work for you, so you didn't take it to heart at all. You just kept pulling at Jiang Yan's clothes: "Noble Concubine Jiang, you still have the mind to think about others when you are with this Saint? You should be punished!"
Jiang Yan: "..." He smiled helplessly: "Well, my heart is only thinking about you, not anyone else."
The next day, early in the morning, you heard that the emperor had broken another set of cups in the imperial study.
The maid stood before you and replied, "Eunuch Yu reported the Empress's sleeplessness over the past five nights, and the Emperor smashed the cup."
You toyed with the jade pot, silently reminiscing. Last night it was Jiang Yan, the night before yesterday it was Yingying, the night before that it was Chen Zixi, and the night before that, Tian Ying returned and broke into your bedroom to report on her recent life as a Khitan maid. Incidentally, you invited her to stay the night...
Ugh, no wonder Zhao Guangyi got so angry again. He's a patient man. You'd think he'd come and rant about you like he did before you got married.
"And what did he say?" you ask.
The maid recalled it, her face odd, almost laughing. "The Emperor said—a woman fighting and vying for power, and two pretending to be so scheming, are they really going to force me to report this to the authorities?"
...A fake wooden figure with real intentions? This is a generalization. Although Uncle Jiang is indeed a fake wooden figure, Chen Zixi is definitely not a fake wooden figure.
You couldn't hold back your laughter any longer, and decided that if he really came to you, you would reply to him with "Who in the hall is suing me?"
Fortunately, a certain official did not really make a fuss.
October 7th is Zhao Guangyi's birthday. Seeing that he has been jealous for many days, after the birthday banquet, you ran to his bedroom to wait for him without even changing out of your formal attire.
He probably hadn't prepared for you to come and wait for him. He walked into the bedroom drunkenly and saw you out of the blue. He was so shocked that he froze: "You...?"
The queen’s gown was too heavy, and you were too lazy to stand up. You just sat there, smiling and waving at him, “Sir, why don’t you come over?”
Zhao Guangyi took two quick steps, then reacted, folding his arms and glancing at you: "You remembered me today?"
Whenever he's about to throw a tantrum, he has to change his name, even though he usually calls himself "I." You see through it but don't say anything, coaxing him softly, "Your Majesty, don't you miss me? It's a rare opportunity for me to not have to deal with palace affairs and have a whole night to spend with you."
Zhao Guangyi said nothing, but walked towards him honestly.
"That's right..." You smiled and took his hand. "So, did you miss me, sir?"
Zhao Guangyi snorted coldly: "I'm surprised you even thought of me. I thought you were so happy with those three people that you didn't want to leave your country."
The tone sounded like Shanxi vinegar, and you suppressed your laughter: "Well, if the government doesn't want me, I can leave?" Then you stood up.
But he suddenly hugged her lower back.
He rested his chin on the side of your neck, his breath on it, warm and smelling of alcohol. "Where are you going now? I've been waiting for you patiently. I've waited for three years for you to get married. After you got married, I waited for you to go to the war. After the war, I waited for you to take care of the palace affairs. And I had to maintain my dignity as an emperor and not compete for favors with those three..."
You didn't continue laughing. You turned sideways with pity and kissed his lips gently.
...Even after becoming an official, this man still had time to dress up, put on makeup, and even burn incense. His body was almost marinated in the fragrance, and the strong aroma could be smelled just by taking a breath.
He kissed you back passionately, taking you one step back, and the two of you fell onto the couch.
You turned over and sat astride him, telling him jokingly, "Who says officials can't compete for favor? Officials obviously have plenty of strength and means."
The maids and eunuchs beside you have already retreated according to the instructions, but they still remember to lower the curtains for you and close the palace door.
"If you have me in your heart, why should I compete for your favor?" Zhao Guangyi sneered. "If you don't have me in your heart, what's the point of me competing for your favor?"
"Really?" You smiled mischievously and took his hand. "That's not what the official said when he smashed the cup."
A blush crept onto his jade-white face. He propped himself up on the bed and sat up, staring at you anxiously: "Who is the one who talks so much——"
"Do you have time to care about them?" You didn't want to continue discussing this issue with him, so you put your hand behind his neck and skillfully unbuttoned his shirt.
So, you saw that Zhao Guangyi's eyes changed, becoming more like the look of someone hunting in the deep forest, fully focused, ready to strike at any moment, and determined to win.
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