After the rebellion was successful, I realized that this place was the Red Mansion

Chapter 152 Riding a Horse with Xiangyun and Keqing
After leaving the bamboo forest, the group headed north, following the mountain path upwards. Along the way, they saw ancient trees reaching for the sky, and the road was shaded by the trees, making it very cool.

Chu Yan suddenly heard a slow exhalation sound, turned his head and saw Baochai.

She was plump and very sensitive to heat. After playing for less than half an hour, her fair and smooth forehead was already covered with beads of sweat, which she was now gently wiping with a handkerchief. Her rosy lips were slightly parted as she breathed out hot air.

Baochai hadn't noticed him, as she was admiring the ancient trees in the mountains, but Baoqin did, and smiled at Chu Yan.

Her crescent-shaped eyes are beautiful and lively.

Chu Yan wasn't really interested in sightseeing; he was content with just taking a leisurely stroll. What he wanted to admire was the beauty of women amidst the scenery, the beauty of which complemented the women.

He got tired of walking and waved to Baoqin.

"His Majesty?"

Baoqin walked over, and Chu Yan took her small hand, asking with a smile, "Are you tired? You can call a carriage to take you around."

Baoqin shook her head and smiled, "I've traveled with my father across mountains and rivers, climbing from the foot of one mountain all the way up to Mount Hua. How could I be tired after walking this far?"

"I forgot."

In this era, only healthy people can travel far from home; otherwise, they cannot withstand the mosquitoes, snakes, and ants in various places, especially in the south.

Qin Keqing smiled and said, "Sister Qin isn't tired, but I am. Since His Majesty has granted permission, I'll ride in a palanquin and enjoy the scenery."

She then summoned the eunuchs who were carrying the palanquin behind her, and sat comfortably on it. Her figure was graceful, and she sat on the palanquin with a languid demeanor, her eyes full of allure, just like a noble concubine.

With her as a precedent, the other concubines followed suit, such as Empress Zhang, Princess Qinghe, and Wang Junyi, whose legs were already sore from walking all the way.

As for Daiyu, she was also forcing herself to sit down, and when she saw that there was a palanquin available, she sat down without hesitation.

Zijuan went to ask a palace maid for a cup of tea and handed it to the young lady.

Chu Yan walked for a while longer, chatting and laughing with Yuan Chun, Xiang Yun, Bao Chai, and others. Jia Lan and the little princess and the other children were having a great time, their laughter never ceasing.

Upon arriving at Penglai Palace, we went inside to rest and have tea. There was no banquet at noon; instead, eunuchs and palace maids brought some fruits and snacks, which would be served in the afternoon.

After finishing his tea, Chu Yan smiled at Xiangyun and asked, "Yun'er, would you like to ride a horse?"

Shi Xiangyun hurriedly asked, "Do we have to ride now?"

"I'll teach you while I have some free time!"

Chu Yan stood up, took her hand, and said to them, "You can play around wherever you like. Choose your own accommodations. I won't accompany you. The banquet will be held on the island in Langchi Lake this afternoon."

Leading a group of beauties on a tour, he could appreciate the diverse beauty of the women, but he didn't really enjoy it. He had wanted to tease Baochai, whose skin was flushed and pink from sweating, but he had to give up because there were too many people—not because he was afraid, but because he was afraid that Baochai would be too shy.

It's better to invite a few people to have more fun.

As everyone watched the Emperor leave with Shi Xiangyun, Qin Keqing smiled and said, "I'll also go out and watch Sister Yun learn to ride a horse. As for where to stay, I'm not picky."

He then took Baozhu and Ruizhu with him and went out.

Chu Yan led them outside, ordered the eunuch to bring the horses, and he mounted them. Then he reached out and pulled Xiangyun's slender body into his lap, and the two of them pulled on the reins together.

Xiangyun was a lively and playful girl with great stamina. However, after walking all morning, she was slightly sweaty. Chu Yan could smell the virgin fragrance emanating from Xiangyun's neck as soon as he looked down. Holding her tall and graceful body in his arms, he felt very pleased.

Xiangyun turned her head to look at him, and said shyly in a low voice, "It tickles, can you not kiss me yet? I want to learn to ride a horse."

Chu Yan had his head down, his face close to hers, his breath falling into her fair and slender neck, no wonder she felt itchy.

Because Chu Yan had kissed her many times before, Xiangyun was afraid that he would do something inappropriate again.

Upon hearing this, Chu Yan lowered his head, kissed her cheek, and then smiled, saying, "I'll teach you how to ride a horse later. If you can't learn, you'll be punished; if you do, you'll be rewarded."

If it were Daiyu, she certainly wouldn't want to bet with him, but Xiangyun was eager to try, holding the reins and wanting to take the lead.

Chu Yan didn't let go, but held her waist and rode with her for a while, teaching her how to control the horse.

"Slow down, Sister Yun."

Qin Keqing leaned against a pavilion, smiling as she watched the two ride together, a hint of allure in her eyes.

Last time, she rode a horse with Chu Yan. The feeling was truly soft and tender to the bone. I wonder if Sister Yun can withstand it.

His Majesty had a broad chest, a strong waist and abdomen, and powerful arms. When he put his arm around a woman's slender waist, her strong arms made her feel weak and limp.

After watching for a while, Qin Keqing found it amusing that Xiangyun, who was still unmarried, was completely oblivious to worldly affairs. Even when the Emperor held her, she just kept laughing and having a great time on horseback.

The young ladies and concubines in Penglai Palace came out one after another. Baochai and Daiyu went to a waterside pavilion to cool off. Empress Zhang and Princess Qinghe watched several little princesses playing games by the pond and under the corridor not far from them. Li Wan accompanied them because her son Jia Lan was also playing with the princesses.

Wang Xuanzhu came to Qin Keqing's place and watched with her as the emperor taught Yun Meimei to ride a horse, while also discussing matters concerning the Ningguo Mansion.

Although Qin Keqing still cared about some people in the manor, she had entered the palace as a concubine and had no intention of interfering in the affairs of the Ningguo Mansion anymore.

Jia Yuanchun then led Wang Junyi, Xing Xiuyan, and the two newly appointed concubines to choose a place to live, and also picked out a place for Yingchun and Tanchun.

While we were in the house, Baochai had already chosen a house by the lotus pond, and no one argued with her about it. Empress Zhang and Princess Qinghe were very familiar with the garden, so after they finished looking around, everyone would gather together to decide where they would stay.

On horseback.

Xiangyun pulled on the reins and rode her horse at full speed, smoothly traveling from north to south. The sound of hooves clattered all the way. After the horse stopped, she turned to Chu Yan and smiled, "I've learned it! How was it? Is there any reward?"

Seeing her charming and adorable smile, Chu Yan lowered his head and kissed her lips.

"I knew you'd do this..."

Xiangyun turned her head with a grin, but ultimately collapsed into his arms. The two were intimate on horseback, with Xiangyun tilting her head back to receive Chu Yan's kisses, her slender waist arched like a bow, and her chest full and round.

The eunuchs and palace maids rushed over to serve, and were all stunned when they saw this scene from afar.

Even after serving the emperor and his concubines for many years, they had never witnessed such an open and passionate kiss.
Surprisingly, on horseback, Miss Yun arched her back and kissed the tall and handsome emperor behind her.

Several young palace maids felt embarrassed and ashamed, but they couldn't help but steal glances. When they saw that the eunuchs were also watching, they scolded them and told them to turn around.

Although he was a eunuch, he was still a man once, and the empresses did not need eunuchs to serve them in their rooms.

The two kissed for a while on horseback.

Xiangyun, still catching her breath, separated from him and leaned against Chu Yan's chest to rest, letting the horse continue on its way. "What weapons did you bring with you while riding?"

Xiangyun shifted her body, feeling somewhat uncomfortable sitting.

Chu Yan laughed, put his arm around her waist, and whispered in her ear, "This is something you will benefit from in the future."

Xiangyun thought about it for a moment, then blushed and whispered, "You're being lewd... You're deliberately trying to embarrass me. There are lots of people watching."

Her voice trembled slightly; though she was swearing, her words were soft and sweet, making one want to cherish her.

Knowing that Yun Meimei was too much to handle, Chu Yan put his arm around her and walked back.

The eunuchs and maids had just arrived and were about to turn back. Everyone was exhausted and covered in sweat. Chu Yan then instructed, "Next time I'll ride a horse, and just a few of you will suffice."

Upon returning to the Penglai Palace, Xiangyun hurriedly dismounted, her face flushed.

She remained almost crouched on the horse the whole way, not daring to touch the scalding hot weapon.

"Your Majesty~~" Qin Keqing called out from afar in the corridor. Chu Yan had been holding back his anger all the way, so he called out to her. When the graceful Qin Keqing came over, he rode his horse towards her. When he reached her, he bent down, put his arm around her waist, and picked her up.

This scene left Xiangyun and the surrounding palace maids dumbfounded, while Daiyu and Baochai, who were enjoying the cool air in the waterside pavilion in the distance, also stared wide-eyed at it.

Chu Yan placed the slender and graceful Qin Keqing across the horse's back, patted the horse's rump, and rode away.

Daiyu smiled and said, "Sister Bao, what kind of person did he look like just now?"

Baochai glanced at Chu Yan's retreating figure as he "kidnapped" Consort Qin, guessing what Daiyu wanted to say, but she dared not answer.

Xiangyun, being outspoken, laughed upon hearing this, saying, "My Emperor brother is like a bandit in a play, rushing into a village, grabbing a woman, and snatching her away!"

"Pfft!"

Everyone laughed. Empress Zhang covered her mouth and laughed for a while, then quickly said, "Be careful your emperor brother hears you saying this. Stop talking now."

As the daughter of a fallen kingdom, hearing these words didn't evoke much of a reaction in her; she simply found it amusing, considering he had once been a bandit.

Xiangyun was still laughing: "The victor is king, the loser is villain, isn't that the truth? My brother the emperor used to be a king of thieves, but now he's the king of the world!"

“That’s very true,” Baochai said with a smile. “The Book of Changes says that the revolutions of Tang and Wu were in accordance with Heaven and the people. The emperor followed the will of Heaven and the people, seized the world and established the Great Qian Dynasty. How can he still be called a bandit?”

Daiyu laughed and said, "He's not a bandit, he's a bandit king who can use sorcery!"

It refers to the two meeting in a dream.

Since no one knew the details, no one responded. Xiangyun then asked, "Where did my sister-in-law and the princess go?"

"They went south."

"It's so boring here, shall we go check out the back lake?"

The emperor kidnapped Qin Keqing and didn't know when he would return. Xiangyun didn't plan to wait for him anymore and went to play in the back with Baochai and Lin Daiyu.

Empress Zhang and Wang Xuanzhu also went along, and the group boarded a palanquin to travel to various places.

……

Chu Yan carried Qin Keqing on his horse, swaying the slender, graceful hindquarters of the horse, until they arrived at a pavilion in the garden. He then took her inside.

After quite a while, the female official of the Bureau of Ceremonial Affairs, whose official title was Tongshi, who was responsible for recording the emperor's favors towards his concubines, finally arrived in a hurry. After waiting for a long time, she made another entry when she saw His Majesty the Emperor come out:
At 1:15 AM on the day of Bingyin in May, the Emperor visited Consort Qin at Linzhao Pavilion and left at 3:45 PM.

"Leave a few people to serve Consort Qin."

After Chu Yan finished bathing, he instructed that Qin Keqing should rest in the palace while he went out on horseback to see who else he might encounter later.

They hadn't walked far when they encountered Princess Qinghe and Li Wan, who were leading a group of children playing by the pond.

Upon seeing him, the two hurried over to greet him.

Chu Yan dismounted and sat chatting with them in the pavilion. Suddenly, a princess of about five or six years old ran up to him with a bouquet of flowers in her hand, her little face full of nervousness: "Your Majesty, I'm giving you flowers. Can you promise me something?"

"Fourth girl, how can you say such a thing?"

Qinghe scolded her.

Chu Yan waved his hand, beckoning the little princess over, knowing that she also had a title, being named Princess Huainan.

So I asked her, "What's wrong?"

“I heard from my aunt that Grandpa Huang is sick and is in that building over there. I want to go see him!” Huainan pointed to the Moon Gazing Tower in the distance and whispered, “Grandma is in there too. I miss Grandma.”

Qinghe looked nervous and told her that she could no longer call him "Grandpa Emperor" but should call him "Grandpa".

Chu Yan smiled and said, "It's natural to miss one's family. Since I have some free time today, I'll go with you to visit Lord Chongle."

So he led them to the Moon Gazing Tower to see what the former Emperor Emeritus of the Shun Dynasty, now known as the Duke of Chongle, looked like.

His face was completely sunken, and he was so thin that he was unrecognizable. The group of little princesses had never seen their frightening grandfather before, and they were too afraid to go up and look at him.

The Empress Dowager, who was serving nearby, said in a low voice, "My husband, Duke Chongle, is terminally ill and beyond medical help. If Your Majesty has the grace to grant an order, you may order preparations for his funeral."

She paused for a moment, then continued, “His mausoleum has been built in Xiaoci County, about ten days’ journey from the capital. If Your Majesty finds this troublesome, you may temporarily place his coffin in the backyard of Huang'en Temple, and after I die, we can send it back to the mausoleum for burial together.”

Chu Yan nodded. The Empress Dowager guessed that he would agree. After all, the Duke of Chongle was an emperor of the Shun Dynasty. Burying him in the former Shun Emperor's Mausoleum after his death would help win the hearts of the people.

So he said, "I will issue an edict to have the Ministry of Rites formulate regulations to bestow a posthumous title upon him. As for his funeral arrangements... they shall be handled in accordance with the regulations for dukes and marquises."

The Empress Dowager knelt down and kowtowed to express her gratitude for the imperial decree.

Chu Yan didn't stay long; he called them over and left.

Before leaving, Qinghe turned back for one last look at her father lying on the bed, knowing that this was the last time she would see him.

Finally, she turned her gaze away, caught up with her emperor husband, and quietly took his hand.

With the change of dynasties, this was the best possible outcome for her father and brothers.

(End of this chapter)