svetikya Chapter 15 I've never worked this hard for anyone before.
Chapter 15 I've never worked this hard for anyone before.
Yunluo was also very happy. "My lady, it's getting late. Why don't we get ready? Tonight, the Emperor might just pick your jade token again. I think the Emperor's favor towards you is unparalleled in the entire palace!"
Jin Meiren was also very excited, because Shen Shixi had served her for two consecutive nights. "Then let's get ready!"
Tonight, the Emperor must be treating me differently, right?
The Wangxian Pavilion was bustling with activity.
The women in the harem were also looking forward to seeing whose concubine the Emperor would choose today. It was certain that it wouldn't be Consort Shen, because her jade pendant hadn't been put back since it was taken down last time.
It wasn't that Shen Shixi was showing off; it was that she forgot.
Those around her remembered, but what was the point of hanging it up again if the emperor didn't come to the harem?
The Emperor summoned Consort Jin yesterday. Lan Ying originally intended to remind her, but then her mistress got into trouble again. In any case, it alarmed the Emperor and Empress. The imperial physician even diagnosed that she might have a fracture. If she doesn't rest for a few days, people will criticize her.
He was so eager to serve her in bed that he was willing to risk his life.
Even if the master only served the emperor twice that day, and the emperor has already issued a strict decree not to tell anyone, it is equivalent to not serving the emperor at all.
After Consort De finished teaching her son to read, she had the eldest prince and princess led away. She rubbed her slightly throbbing head, and the head palace maid, Yinxing, told her about the events that had happened in the palace that day.
"The Empress has really stumbled this time. She always pretends to be dignified and gentle, but what happened? She even tried to explain to the Emperor. What's there to explain? The Emperor hates it when people treat him like a fool, and he never gives anyone face."
Yinxing said, "Her Majesty the Empress probably wants the Emperor to believe that she doesn't know that Consort Chen is trying to harm Consort Shen!"
Consort De said, "How could she not know? Even if she didn't know, when the Emperor intended to renovate Zhaoyang Palace, Consort Rong wanted to move in, but the Emperor refused. Later, he arranged for Consort Shen to move in. Wasn't the meaning clear enough?"
As a result, as soon as Chen made the request, the Empress couldn't wait to arrange for the person to be admitted.
Who would want to miss such a great opportunity?
However, this time, by making an example of someone, it's likely that no one will dare to easily lay a hand on Consort Shen in the future.
Inside the Qianyuan Palace, Li Yuanke was writing and reviewing memorials with great effort, working for more than an hour. Li Fude announced that Prime Minister Pei requested an audience, and Li Yuanke let him in.
He leaned back and rubbed his eyebrows and eyes.
Prime Minister Pei entered, carrying his official tablet, followed by several officials, mainly from the Ministry of War. "Your Majesty, we pay our respects!"
"My esteemed subjects, please rise. Prime Minister Pei, please take a seat!"
Pei Wuji was the son of the Right General of the Cavalry of the previous dynasty. He and the late emperor formed a bond when they were young and later became brothers-in-law. Empress Wenzhen gave birth to three sons and two daughters for the late emperor, and his eldest son, Li Yuanqian, was made crown prince as soon as the late emperor ascended the throne.
Others dared not compete with the Crown Prince for the position of heir apparent, but Li Yuantai, also born to Empress Wenzhen, dared.
Just then, Empress Wenzhen passed away, and the emperor showered Li Yuantai, who looked very much like Empress Wenzhen, with favors and bestowed upon him far more wealth than that of a crown prince.
This is how the brothers started to quarrel.
The crown prince rebelled, and Li Yuantai betrayed him, resulting in both of them being dismissed.
"Your Majesty, I thank you!" After taking his seat, Prime Minister Pei began to explain the purpose of his visit. "Your Majesty, an urgent report has come from Minzhou. The Wang brothers led 15,000 men down the river and captured Tingzhou and Zhangzhou, establishing the Min Kingdom regime."
Your subject believes that the Marquis of Jiaqing should be ordered to lead troops into Fujian to quell the rebellion.
After leading troops to quell the rebellion of the She ethnic group in Zhangzhou, Marquis Xie Zheng and his son Xie Qingguang continued to quell the rebellion and develop Zhangzhou. He is currently the Prefect of Zhangzhou.
Li Yuanke couldn't help but think of the Lapsang Souchong he had drunk at Shen Shixi's place, and instructed Li Fude, "Brew a cup of the imperial tea that was presented as tribute from Jiangnan East Circuit this year for all of you."
Prime Minister Pei accepted the tea, tasted it as Lapsang Souchong, and exclaimed with a smile, "Excellent tea!"
Xie Shangzhi, Vice Minister of War, said, "Your Majesty, Wang Shenzhi is a traitorous minister who has rebelled everywhere. I believe that we should order the Marquis of Jiaqing to suppress the rebels as soon as possible to prevent other rebels from following suit."
Prime Minister Pei smiled and said, "While Vice Minister Xie's words are certainly reasonable, this is no small matter. There's a saying that an army marches on its stomach. If Marquis Jiaqing and his son are to move, the court must naturally prepare military supplies. Are we to fight empty-handed?"
"Prime Minister Pei is right, I was a bit too hasty!" Xie Shangzhi said.
"Prime Minister Pei's suggestion is quite good. Marquis Jiaqing has been loyal to me. I know that he and his son have worked hard in Jiangnan East Circuit over the years. Wang Shenzhi is a traitor who is fleeing all over Jiangnan Circuit. The court must come up with a useful plan to wipe him out in one fell swoop. Let's discuss it again at tomorrow's morning court!"
"Give Prime Minister Pei two boxes of Lapsang Souchong!" Li Yuanke said.
Before leaving, Prime Minister Pei inquired of the Empress, saying, "This old minister is advanced in years, and my legs are not as strong as they used to be this year, but I can still do my best to drive Your Majesty. This old minister has no other wish but that the Emperor and Empress be loving and that they will soon give birth to a legitimate son, so that the Great Zhou dynasty will have an heir, and the people can rest easy!"
In other words, although I am old and in poor health, I can still continue to work. The Emperor may not tolerate me, but I am not incapable of resigning. If the Emperor and Empress can have a legitimate son and make him the Crown Prince, my Pei family will also back down.
Li Yuanke laughed and said, "I also long for a legitimate son!"
After he ascended the throne, he had half a court of officials under his command, but he had to deal with his brothers first, as that was the most urgent matter. It was during this time that the Pei family grew stronger again.
Li Yuanke sat in silence for a long time.
The Qian Yuan Palace was eerily silent.
Li Yuanke went straight to Zhaoyang Palace, and no one dared to ask him about choosing a concubine.
Looking at the green shoots sprouting all over the yard, he felt inexplicably calmed down.
Shen Shixi was practicing yoga and was covered in sweat. When he heard that the Emperor had arrived, he was too lazy to come out to greet him. When Li Yuanke came in, he saw Shen Shixi's strange posture and was immediately amused.
"You've gone to great lengths to seduce me, haven't you? How about we try it later?" Li Yuanke said with a smile.
Shen Shixi rolled her eyes at him. "A truce is on for now. No matter how much you yell and curse, the city gates aren't opening!"
Li Yuanke laughed and tried to pull her into his arms, but Shen Shixi pushed him away. "You're all sweaty. You don't mind, but I'm not comfortable. Your Majesty, please be alone for a while. I'm going to take a bath."
"Shall I serve you a bath?"
Shen Shixi wrapped her arms around his neck, draped herself over him, and kissed him on the lips. "Who upset His Majesty? Look at how furrowed his brows are, they're almost joined together. Wait for me, I'll come out in a bit and give you a comforting smile!"
[Poor thing, being an emperor is driving him crazy! Sigh, I always said being an emperor isn't easy, but if you weren't, where would I get all this wealth and glory?]
Li Yuanke laughed genuinely, but it was a cold laugh.
He picked up Shen Shixi and carried her towards the washroom.
He hadn't planned to do anything, but once she was stripped naked, her skin, smooth as cream under the steam, blushed with a faint pink hue. Her wet black hair clung to her cheeks and shoulders, her fingers, like pink seashells, gripped the edge of the tub, and her shimmering peach blossom eyes sparkled. If Li Yuanke could resist, he wouldn't be a man.
What's more, after the kiss, his clothes were wet, and his robe billowed out in an arc. Her little bracelet on his waist started to cause trouble, making Li Yuanke even more unable to resist.
The two decided to take a bath together, and it took them quite a while to come out. The bathroom was a mess; the steam and the smell made the palace maids blush.
The two men came out disheveled.
"I'm hungry!" Shen Shixi leaned on his shoulder, weakly pushing him away. Li Yuanke called out, "Serve the meal!"
He's a bit tired today; he's never worked this hard for anyone before.
The two of them didn't pay much attention to their meal, but one was of noble birth and of very high bloodline, while the other grew up in a family that valued poetry and etiquette. He didn't seem reckless at all. They just ate their own food in silence.
As a result, they both ate too much.
Shen Shixi rubbed her stomach and pulled Li Yuanke to accompany her for a walk.
She must still be considered a "disabled person," so she cannot leave the palace and can only walk around the covered walkway.
Li Yuanke said irritably, "You bastard, if someone wanted to harm you, they could have just told me. Why did you have to cause trouble? Now look what's happened! It takes a hundred days to recover from a serious injury, and are you going to be locked up for another hundred days?"
"Who said I've suffered a serious injury? Even the imperial physician said 'it seems,' meaning it's uncertain. Your Majesty never studied properly before, and now you can't even understand what's being said!"