Yu Yan was suddenly happy, and with light steps, she walked over. She chose a lotus color dress and put it on, then rolled up a simple bun on her head.
"What kind of luck is this? When you can show your face, you happen to have a rash on your face." Nian An stood at the side and chattered.
"What good luck." Yu Yan put on her veil and walked out.
"Empress, would you like to wait for your return for dinner?" Nian En asked from behind her.
Yu Yan laughed, and said crisply: "Let's have lunch, I'm afraid we will be chased out in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."
"Sigh, esteemed Empress's luck is too lousy …" Nian An followed him out with a worried look.
"You can't hold it in, go out yourself." Yu Yan turned her head and cursed as fury swept past the corners of her eyes.
Nian An immediately shuddered. When Yu Yan was being gentle, it was like a spring breeze blowing across your face, but when she became strict, no one dared to look her in the eyes.
The palanquin had to stop at the back entrance, allowing Yu Yan to enter it on foot. The eunuchs passed the message in quick steps, bowing every five steps as they led her towards the imperial harem.
She turned her head and saw Yu Tianqi riding his horse over. Seeing that she was there, the horse did not stop, but reached out his hands and scooped her up onto the horse, placing her on the ground in front of him.
"Your Majesty …" Yu Yan was shocked, this was too brazen!
"My royal sister-in-law came early." Yu Tianqi said indifferently, his palm caressing her slim waist as if he did not know what was going on.
"Put me down." Yu Yan's face was flushed red, all the people in the palace were looking at them.
"The empress dowager is watching the morning pear blossoms in the imperial garden. She's using the dew on the pear petals to boil some tea. She won't be able to drink it if she goes late." Yu Tianqi waved his whip, and the horse moved even faster. When it reached the side of the imperial flower garden, the horse actually jumped up high, directly jumping over the wall and landing in front of everyone's eyes.
After waves of cheers, all the consorts looked towards Yu Yan who was seated in front of him.
"My son, who is this beauty?" The Empress Dowager turned around, her face filled with a kind smile, and on her face that was like a crescent moon, a pair of brown eyes quietly looked at Yu Yan.
"Imperial Mother, this is the BMW that the State of Xuanleng gifted to my son. My son tried it, but met my imperial sister-in-law on the way, afraid that she wouldn't be able to drink the Pear Blossom Tea that the empress dowager made, so I brought my imperial sister-in-law along." Yu Tianqi dismounted from his horse and walked towards the empress dowager with a smile.
Yu Yan hurriedly got down from the horse. Before she could even stand steadily, she felt someone stepping on her skirt, causing him to leap forward.
"Be careful, sister-in-law." Yu Tianqi hurried to support her. Her veil had fallen and her face which was covered by a red rash was exposed.
"Beauty, ha …" A few of the concubines could not help but chuckle, while others dodged in disgust.
"Greetings, Empress Dowager." Yu Yan barely managed to stabilize herself as she knelt down in a hurry to pay her respects. She looked to be terrified and cowardly, and her body was still trembling slightly.
As Yu Tianqi watched from the side, the corner of his mouth hooked up.
"So it's Yu Yan, what's wrong with your face?" Her Majesty frowned and put down the blue-and-white teapot in her hand.
"Reporting to the empress dowager, I don't know what Yu Yan ate last night, that's all. Yu Yan deserves to die for dashing into a phoenix chariot. " She quickly covered her face with her veil and kowtowed to the Empress.
"Get up, my son. Let the royal doctors take a look at Yu Yan, she has a tough life too, she is alone and helpless, you should take care of her normally." Empress Dowager Fu nodded, her face benevolent and kind. She raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Look who's here."
Everyone turned their heads, only to see Princess Jing Ge, dressed in a long jade skirt, lively running over. Her black braids were flung to her chest, and two jade hairpins were stuck in her hair.
"Royal Grandmother." She flew over and snuggled into Empress Dowager Fu's arms, smiling at the crowd.
This was the daughter of the empress dowager's eldest princess. The eldest princess had left early, and Princess Jing Ge had grown up by the empress dowager's side.
"Princess Jing Ge."
All the concubines stood up to greet her.
Jing Ge turned around and pursed her lips into a smile. Her gaze landed on Yu Yan's face and asked curiously: "Why is King Xiao's Concubine wearing a veil?"
Yu Yan gently lifted a corner of her veil, allowing the princess to look at it. The princess exclaimed in a small voice, and said with some regret: "I heard that the King Xiao's Concubine is the world's most talented girl, the capital's most beautiful woman …"
"Ha, the capital's number one beauty?" Someone burst out laughing.
Everyone turned their heads. The one who spoke was the daughter of the Zhao Taizhu, Imperial Concubine Rong Xin, the direct descendant of the empress dowager. Yu Yan had heard of her name before she left the pavilion, the oval face and the pair of charming eyes. When looking at her, one would feel like she was bathed in spring breeze, her figure was plump and elegant, and before leaving the pavilion, a veil had been blown off in the wind, causing the number one scholar in the entire capital to write 188 love poems for her.
With such a glorious achievement from Imperial Concubine Rong, calling yourself a beauty in front of her was practically digging out the grudges for yourself.
"Hehe, the imperial concubine is the number one beauty in the world!" Princess Jing Ge raised her delicate finger and shook it, the smile on Imperial Concubine Rong Xin's face grew wider. She swung her waist over, lightly wrapped her arms around Yu Tianqi's waist and smiled as she raised her head, "Big brother emperor, chenqie likes the princess more and more. Let the princess leave the house and stay with chenqie.
"Who said she's leaving? After Yun Qin gets married, he will live in the princess' mansion." The empress dowager said indifferently and glanced at Yu Yan.
Yu Yan quickly lowered her head, revealing a cowardly look. If he wanted to get her to demonstrate some power, she would truly overestimate her. She really liked Yun Qin, but wouldn't be so stupid as to run away with him at this moment.
"The imperial physician is waiting for you at the Returning Seed Pavilion." The eunuch hurried over to answer.
Yu Yan bowed to the empress dowager and followed the eunuch out. The Returning Seed Pavilion was located in front of the imperial garden. Presumably, the empress dowager was still afraid that she'd gotten some sort of plague.
Yu Yan had seen Doctor Bai Chengan before. The Yu Shi Shi once said that he was unscrupulous and upright, it was a miracle that someone like him could survive until now in the palace.
Bai Chengan bowed to her as he covered her wrist with a thin embroidered cloth. Then, he closed his eyes and extended his fingers to feel his pulse.
"Does the Empress feel dizzy?" Bai Chengan opened his eyes and looked at Yu Yan.
"Yes." Yu Yan thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Does the Empress have smallpox? Let's hurry back." Bai Chengan got up and hurriedly put away the medicine box. His face turned dark and he ordered the young eunuch to return and report to the empress dowager.
"Huh?" Yu Yan's eyes widened, how could she get smallpox? But there was no need for Bai Chengan to lie … Could it be that the snake blood was not poisonous?
The words of smallpox bit the people in the palace like a viper, and very quickly, the Returning Seed Pavilion was surrounded. The eunuchs covered their face with cloth, and sprinkled the ground with lime and salt water, and very quickly, someone came in and covered Yu Yan's face with a cloth, locking the door tightly behind them.
"Hey …" Yu Yan was stunned, did they lock her up here?
Someone had brought water and lunch from the window, and no one had come to see her all day. Yu Yan finished all the food, and stared at the empty plate in a daze.
Creak … The door opened again.
A few eunuchs came in carrying a large vat filled with the smell of medicine.
"Princess, please bathe in it."
The eunuchs saluted her and fled.
As Yu Yan looked at the pitch-black bucket of water, the intense battle the night before suddenly flashed in her mind … Undeniably, Yu Yan was very … Excited, she had never known that the things between a man and a woman were like that in the end … Her face reddened as she reached out her hand to feel the temperature of the water.
"Princess, please bathe in it."
The person outside must have heard nothing and urged her on again.
Yu Yan was angry again, and the number of times she had been angry during this year was not even two days. Looking left and right, she steeled her heart, took off her clothes, and quickly sank herself into the water.
The smell of the medicine caused her to feel nauseous. She soaked her body in hot water and quickly began to sweat. Her body was red all over. She gently rubbed her calf as she thought about the person last night. Who was that? How could he be so domineering? He definitely wasn't a normal person …
"What are you thinking about, sister-in-law?"
She suddenly shivered. Turning her head to look, she saw that Yu Tianqi was standing behind her, a pair of deep black pupils staring straight at her.
"Your majesty, I'm bathing. How can you come in?" Yu Yan was enraged, her entire body dipping into the water, only leaving her head on the water.
Yu Tianqi chuckled, and slowly walked closer to her. He bent down, reached out his hands to scoop some water, and then opened his hands again, watching the water seep through between his fingers.
The first time I saw you, the temple was bustling with noise and excitement, your veil had been blown off by the wind, and everyone was looking at Ronxin. Other than me, no one else noticed you standing at the corner of the street and chewing on a stick of candied fruits. Little Cyan Fish, your entire body is covered in thorns. Others might not know about it, but I do. "
"You …"
Yu Yan thought back to when she was fourteen years old, when she joined in the fun to watch the temple fair, she had used a small stone to beat up a lecher wearing a conical bamboo hat.
"How did you do it?"
His palm touched her round smooth shoulder and suddenly lifted her out of the water. His sinister gaze fell on her neck and chest, where the choking mass of peonies was clearly marked by a kiss.
"You have a man?"
His eyes grew colder as he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the tub.