C127

Chu Lingyun leaned on the beauty bed in boredom. On the table, a red plum tree that was growing up from the cracked ice bottle was withering away. She stretched out her jade-like fingers and flicked them, causing those fragile petals to fall like paper scraps.

"Xianghe," Chu Lingyun drawled lazily, "Why hasn't the emperor come to see me recently?"

While Xianghe was embroidering on the handkerchief, she replied, "The Emperor is busy with government affairs, he has no time to come here."

"Are you that busy?" Chu Lingyun rubbed her head, she thought about it carefully, "It's not like anything big happened outside the palace."

"The insides of the palace are all very peaceful," Xianghe bit off the thread on the needle, "When will the princess go to Xinyang Hall to see the Prince Duan?"

Chu Lingyun bit her lips and said: "The melting of the snow is at its coldest, so I don't want to freeze myself. Besides, Prince Duan is currently being held by the Prime Minister, so I might as well wait for the weather to warm up first."

"Princess, take a look," Xianghe held up her handkerchief and showed her the pattern she had just embroidered, it was a vermillion flower, "This servant is worried about another matter."

Chu Lingyun suddenly realised, "Are you talking about Zhu Tong? How long has it been since she disappeared? Furthermore, you have always been quick and nimble with your work, who would have known that you were the one who created it?"

"However, Prince Duan and the quasi wangfei's reactions were too calm. They had lost a servant girl for no reason, and even if they looked for her, they would not find anything else."

"It's just a normal servant girl, it's not like Prince Duan and the rest don't know that they are spies sent by Chiron," Chu Lingyun stretched her back and said leisurely, "Don't worry, Prince Duan does not care about a servant girl and will not investigate further."

Seeing her indifferent look, Xianghe did not know what to say, and could only take the handkerchief back.

"Right now, I am more worried about Your Majesty than the Prince Duan," Chu Lingyun rolled her eyes. "Since the Empress killed herself, Your Majesty has never come to see me again. Why is that?"

"When the emperor sees the princess, he will always think of the Mrs. Heyi and the Empress Chen. He will probably be sad," Xianghe laughed, "Didn't the princess complain that the emperor came to the palace frequently?

Chu Lingyun pouted, "But I suddenly can't come anymore, so I had to let my imagination run wild."

"Princess, don't worry. The Emperor has definitely forgiven you for bringing me the medicine from the Chiron," Xianghe swept Luo Hua on the table. "Princess, if you have nothing else to do, you can go and rest first."

"I still don't want to sleep," Chu Lingyun suddenly thought of something else, "When is that Princess Wen Min going to the Qi Nation?"

"We'll leave in the beginning of spring next year," Xianghe asked. "Is the princess going to send her off?"

Chu Lingyun rolled her eyes in annoyance, "A princess born of a palace maid, it's only a gift to the Qi Nation, what's there to gift? It's just that I don't like envoys from the Qi Nation, they are short, ugly, and have a face full of pockmarks.

Xianghe laughed lightly, "Princess is such a childish person, then how far away is the envoy's residence from here? How would it hinder the princess' eyes?"

Chu Lingyun shrugged: "It's just that I'm not comfortable."

"I heard that sending Princess Wen Min to the Qi Nation requires her to request a prince."

"Prince?" Chu Lingyun turned over and sat up, "Who did the emperor choose?"

"The Emperor has yet to make his decision. A official recommended Prince Heng as he has nothing to do all day, so he took the opportunity to send him to the Qi Nation to play for half a year."

"I don't remember having an uncle anymore," Chu Lingyun said as she smoothed her hair. "But it doesn't matter, I just wanted to ask around."

"Red silk dress for the Spring Festival Gala."

Worthy Lady Zhao's skin and bones were drenched in sweat as the red candle light landed on her flawless, snow-white skin. The emperor's dubious gaze swept over her body that was covered in a layer of light muslin clothing, then suddenly felt her throat tighten as she could not help but lower her head and give her a light kiss.

"Your majesty," Worthy Lady Zhao avoided the kiss as she tried to reject it. She fell into his embrace with charming eyes, "What does Your Majesty like about your concubine?"

The emperor smirked as he pressed down on half of her shoulders and kissed her a few times. With a satisfied smile, he said, "I like your good manners the most."

"Good girl?" Worthy Lady Zhao obviously didn't like this answer, and pouted. "Your Majesty, where else do you like chenqie?"

"And it's beautiful." The Emperor kissed her red lips again.

Worthy Lady Zhao pouted. "Which one of the imperial concubines is not pretty?"

"All the concubines in the harem are beautiful, but none can compare to you," the Emperor said, lifting her small chin and looking at her gently. "You are the most beautiful."

"The emperor is deceiving his concubine," Worthy Lady Zhao said as she pulled down her clothes, revealing half of her cover. The light in her eyes flickered, "My concubine has a younger cousin who is even more outstanding than my concubine."

The Emperor carelessly fiddled with her belt with his fingers, then lowered his head with a smile. "Little Cousin, you can't be only four or five years old, right?"

"Year eighteen, is precisely a flower from the capital," Worthy Lady Zhao approached him with a bewitching fragrance. "Does Your Majesty want to meet your little cousin, Chenqie?"

The emperor slowly pulled her belt away and embraced her. "What's the name of your little cousin? Zhao Feiyan or Zhao Hodor?"

"Little Cousin Sister doesn't have a devastatingly beautiful appearance like the two beauties. Her name is Zhao Qingyao, and she is the youngest daughter of second uncle chenqie."

"Your second uncle?" The emperor ruthlessly poked her by the waist. "I heard that your people love to have children the most. The streets and alleys are filled with the sounds of children playing."

"We are also doing a contribution for Your Majesty's River Mountain," Worthy Lady Zhao smiled sweetly, her lips full of charm. "Our fellow villagers are working hard for Your Majesty's River and Mountain Country, your concubine wishes to work hard for Your Majesty."

The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly and pulled the two of them into the red silk tent. "Then I'll see how well they work."

Worthy Lady Zhao used her finger to cover the emperor's lips as she laughed, "Does the emperor want to meet chenqie's little cousin?"

The emperor lightly bit her finger. "Right now, Zhen has you in his bosom. As for the other flowers, how could they catch my eyes?"

As Chu Zongge was passing by the Acacia Hall, he coincidentally saw Shouxiang helping Consort Fu take a walk in the courtyard. Consort Fu's snow-white and rosy face was exceptionally beautiful under the bright sunlight, and her eyes flowed with a gentle luster.

Chu Zongge hesitated outside the palace gate. The emperor had once warned him to not interact too much with the imperial concubines and imperial concubines.

"Prince Duan?" Shouxiang, who had sharp eyes, saw his figure and immediately bowed.

Consort Fu's gaze landed on him as well. Looking at the joy on her face, he felt that she still had to step into the Joyous Union Palace.

"Shouxiang, look at the tea." With a gentle smile on her lips, Li Xiuse made the Prince Duan sit on a clean stone chair.

Chu Zongge received the hot tea from Shouxiang's hands and laughed: "The Empress's complexion has improved a lot recently, she's not as exhausted as when I first met her."

"Then we still have to thank Prince Duan for your care," Li Xiuse said with a faint smile as she lowered her head.

"This son of mine, a mere brute, doesn't care that much. This was a would-be wangfei's idea."

Li Xiuse was startled for a moment, then laughed: "Then I'll have to trouble Prince Duan to thank quasi wangfei on my behalf, but I still have to thank Prince Duan for the gift."

"Your son has just been casually strolling around the palace with ease," Chu Zongge laughed, "Consort Fu needs to take a birth control medicine for your Royal Hospital on time."

Li Xiuse suddenly asked, "Prince Duan and quasi wangfei have been engaged for a long time, why have we not gotten married yet?"

"This …" Chu Zongge replied indifferently, "The affairs of the palace are extremely busy. This son has yet to think about the matter of marriage when I wanted to take responsibility for the emperor's affairs."

"Then we'll have to hurry," Li Xiuse's eyes held a trace of happiness that no one else could see, "I'm afraid that would-be wangfei will be anxious."

"Rong Hua doesn't urge me," Chu Zongge's lips curved into a soft smile, "This son has only ever had one woman in his life, marriage is just a ceremony."

A hint of surprise flashed past Li Xiuse's eyes, and she looked at him in a daze, "... Prince Duan is really infatuated. "

Chu Zongge's face reddened a little, "This is the promise I made to Ronghua, I can't go back on it."

His eyes seemed to be filled with tender feelings. Li Xiuse's heart was aching, as he tried to conceal the sadness in his eyes. He continued, "I am really envious of the future wangfei."

Chu Zongge laughed: "The Empress has the body of a thousand gold, is incomparably noble, and even has emperor’s kid.

"She's merely a concubine of the imperial harem," Li Xiuse lowered her eyes. "Is Prince Duan anxious to rush to the Imperial Study?"

Seeing that this was an opportunity to escape, Chu Zongge immediately cupped his hands and bowed, "Your Majesty wishes to meet with this son of yours, I hope that Your Highness will forgive me."

"Since you are the Emperor, then I will be delaying you," Li Xiuse stood up, "Prince Duan, hurry up and go, don't make the Emperor wait until he is anxious."

Chu Zongge's figure disappeared outside of the palace gate, leaving Li Xiuse in a daze. It was as if his figure had still not appeared out of her eyes.

Shouxiang laughed leisurely, "The quasi wangfei is truly fortunate to be able to marry such a perfect husband like Prince Duan. Prince Duan is just like what the books say: peerless in the world."

Li Xiuse burst out laughing, "You've read a few books and even spoke of them peerless in the world."

Shouxiang's face reddened, and she retorted: "What I said was right, Prince Duan is a beautiful place."

"It's not like I said anything wrong," Li Xiuse pursed her lips and said softly. "The sun is glaring outside, let's go back to the house."

"The weather is so good. Won't the Empress go out for a walk?"

Li Xiuse covered the dejection in her eyes, "Where are we going? If we meet someone else, we'll have to pester them a bit."

Shouxiang smiled and said, "The Empress is currently pregnant with a dragon embryo. Whoever dares to disturb the Empress will end up in a state of conflict with the dragon embryo."

I've seen too many concubines in the past few days, and it's really a headache. I might as well just stay in the hall and rest my mind. "

Shouxiang held her hands and led her into the room. "Empress, why don't you say that Prince Duan and the quasi wangfei will get married?"

Li Xiuse's hands paused for a while, before returning to normal. She said softly: "Don't gossip about me later, didn't Prince Duan say it earlier, he is very busy."

Shouxiang curled her lips, "Prince Duan is so busy, how can they not even have time for weddings?"

"You seem to want Prince Duan to quickly marry a quasi wangfei into the palace," Li Xiuse pointed at her nose. "I see you as a girl wanting to marry someone else."

Shouxiang's cheeks reddened as she said in a displeased tone, "Of course not, the Empress has a good relationship with the quasi wangfei. If the quasi wangfei becomes the proper wangfei, it would be beneficial to the Empress."

Li Xiuse smiled as she shook his head, "I'm just a concubine, what use does it have?