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

Chapter 159 Exploring Spring and Welcoming Spring (Part 2)

Tan Chun and Ying Chun first went to Cining Palace to greet the Dowager Consort. They happened to meet Xiang Yun and Princess Qinghe, who were also there. The group then went to Yuqing Palace.

After strolling around for more than an hour, the two returned to Linjing Hall with Xiangyun to chat with Daiyu.

As noon approached, the two prepared to wait in the back hall, and invited Xiangyun and Daiyu to come along.

"Sister Lin and I won't go. You can come over after you finish eating," Xiangyun said with a smile.

Tan Chun nodded and went to the back hall with her second sister. After waiting for a quarter of an hour, a eunuch came to deliver a message that the Emperor had returned after finishing his business!

The two hurriedly went out of the palace gate to wait. A moment later, they saw that tall figure, both familiar and unfamiliar, walking towards them surrounded by a dozen eunuchs and palace maids.

"His Majesty…"

Tan Chun blushed slightly and bowed her head to the emperor.

Yingchun's face flushed, remembering the first time she met the emperor, when he embraced her and pressed his lips to hers...

"You guys are here?"

Upon seeing them, Chu Yan's eyes lit up.

He had seen many pairs of beautiful sisters, but he still felt that when Yingchun and Tanchun stood together, there was a stunning feeling of two beauties blooming side by side!
Although the two are only cousins.

Perhaps it was because the Jia family had four concubines, and he had already obtained three of them. The remaining one, Xichun, was also within his grasp. He felt a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment from taking all four concubines as his consorts.

After glancing at them, Chu Yanyin smiled and said, "This is the first time I've seen you sisters standing together. Come, come inside the palace with me and we'll talk!"

He reached out and took the soft little hands of Yingchun and Tanchun, leading them into the inner hall.

Holding hands, Yingchun and Tanchun's beautiful young faces became even more shy, especially Tanchun. The last time she went to the palace with Xiangyun, she only met the emperor and did not have any physical contact with him.

At this moment, the heart rate increases even more.

It wasn't anything else, it was just that it was the first time she had ever been touched by a man, a first for a sheltered young lady like her who rarely left her home.

"If he hadn't stormed the capital, no other man could have done that before our wedding night."

Tan Chun felt a mix of emotions. The second time she met him, he held her hand, even though he was the emperor.

But what shocked her was what happened next:

After entering the east side room, the tall and imposing emperor pulled her and her second sister to sit on the couch. With a casual gesture, she and her second sister, Yingchun, were involuntarily drawn into his arms, one on each side, and held in his embrace!
"His Majesty!!!"

Tan Chun opened her eyes wide and looked at him in surprise. She subconsciously broke free and stood up to avoid his embrace.

On the other side, Yingchun, who had already been "stamped," did not struggle at all, obediently sitting on his lap, her face blushing with embarrassment.

Chu Yan put his arm around Yingchun's waist and looked at Tanchun, asking, "Third Miss, are you unwilling to serve me?"

Although it was a question, the tone left no room for her to refuse.

Tan Chun's heart trembled, and she had no choice but to bow in submission: "I... I'm not unwilling... it's just that this is too fast, especially during the day..."

Even if one were to serve the emperor in bed, it should be at night.

Yingchun trembled with fear, terrified by the king's barely contained anger, and huddled in his arms, too afraid to speak.

Chu Yan laughed, "It's the same day and night. Besides, it's just that I'm letting you hug me. I'm not asking you to take off your clothes and serve me in bed."

After striking them with the stick, Chu Yan comforted them, saying, "I still take good care of unmarried girls, so there's no need to be afraid."

Tan Chun's beautiful oval face showed shame, and she bowed again: "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. It was the first time I had been embraced by a man, and I was so flustered that I did this against Your Majesty's will."

As she spoke, she mustered her courage and walked up to him again.

Chu Yan smiled, "The fun is gone. Hugging you now would just seem vulgar. Never mind, please sit down."

He took Tan Chun's hand and asked her to sit next to him, while Ying Chun remained in his arms.

Both sisters were still somewhat shaken.

Chu Yan casually asked, "Why haven't you come to the palace these days, Second Miss? I'm not blaming you, I just want to know what you're thinking and chat with you for a while."

Yingchun's trembling heart gradually calmed down, and she said in a low voice, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. Miss Yun and Sister Bao have come to the palace many times, but I have not followed them because I have seen that there are several girls riding in sedan chairs each time."

Chu Yan laughed and said, "You didn't go into the palace, so you missed the chance to choose your accommodation at Daming Palace yesterday. Did you know that?"

Tan Chun, who was sitting next to him, hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, Miss Yun already told us about this this morning... If I had known that we were choosing accommodations, I would have come along too!"

That was her true feeling. Now that she had entered the palace, she should start planning for her future life there. How could she be as submissive as her second sister?

Chu Yan laughed and said, "I won't say anything because I'm the one who's going to be chosen. Think about it, if I bring it up, your Xichun sister, Miaoyu or Fengjie might all come to choose a palace. Then there will be no such thing as first come, first served. If you don't want to enter the palace, there will be no benefit for you."

Upon hearing this, Tan Chun couldn't help but feel a strange emotion rising in her heart.

The emperor made these things very clear to them, and also, Lian Er's sister-in-law and Miaoyu... would he take them as his concubines?!

The second sister-in-law had a daughter with the second brother. The second brother was still alive and was doing corvée labor outside the city. He could come back to visit from time to time, but he caught the eye of the emperor, who wanted to take her as a concubine...

No, he is the emperor!

He has already issued an edict to confiscate the property of the former dynasty's princes and nobles, so it is only right that his second sister-in-law enters the palace to serve him!

After silently admonishing herself, Tan Chun smiled and said, "We are foolish and have failed to understand His Majesty's intentions."

Chu Yan smiled, "Fortunately, the rear garden of Daming Palace is quite large, enough for you to stay. Let's not talk about this anymore. What brings you to the palace this time? I was just about to tell them to go back."

When the topic turned to business, Tan Chun quickly told him.

Chu Yan nodded: "You can move the ancestral hall out first. Leave the plaques and such untouched until I tour the garden. As for how to welcome them, just do it the same way as when the Imperial Concubine visited her family last time. There's no need to be too extravagant."

Tan Chun smiled and said, "Even if His Majesty wanted to be extravagant, there was nothing he could do. There are only three days left to prepare, and many things cannot be purchased. This time, the money spent on the imperial visit is not much, about ten thousand taels of silver is enough. I have seen the account book, and it is forty thousand taels less than the last time the Imperial Concubine visited her family. The things purchased last time are still usable." Chu Yan raised his hand to stop her from continuing. Tan Chun was very puzzled, and Ying Chun also looked over.

Chu Yan sighed, "It would have been better if you hadn't mentioned it, but the moment you start talking about how much money was spent, my heart aches, as if I've become a tyrant."

This was obviously an exaggeration, but it still made the two girls laugh.

Chu Yan saw them smiling with their eyes crinkled, Yingchun in his arms with her cheeks moist and her face like fresh lychees, and her slightly plump buttocks, which were slightly larger than Xiangyun's, sitting on his lap, and the faint fragrance of their perfume could be smelled.

"Does Yingchun still remember when I stamped your seal?" Chu Yan chuckled, stroking her chin with his palm and asking her to lift her shy face.

Tan Chun saw her second sister blush and nod gently.

The next moment, the emperor leaned in and kissed her second sister on the lips.

In an instant, Tan Chun's heart trembled, her face burned, and she quickly turned her head away from the intimate scene between the two.

Inside the east side room, only the soft sounds of their kisses and Yingchun's soft breathing remained.

Tan Chun was at a loss.

She had discussed the ancestral hall with the old lady and the wife for a long time yesterday, but Chu Yan only needed to say a few words. Instead, he focused his energy on how to get closer to the sisters.

How long has this been going on?
After a long while, Tan Chun, who had only heard Ying Chun's panting, finally turned her head and shyly watched her second sister kissing the emperor. She saw that her second sister was already dazed in the emperor's arms, and had reached out her hands to hug his waist and tilt her head up to kiss him.

"I'll experience this sooner or later... I might as well spend more time with my second sister and him."

Thinking this, Tan Chun no longer looked away, staring intently at the two of them.

After watching for a while, she forgot about her surroundings and stared at Yingchun and Chu Yan. She saw that her second sister seemed to be intoxicated by the moment, and he was holding her blushing face and kissing her passionately.

This was the first time Tan Chun had seen her second sister with such an expression—beautiful, shy, and lost in the man's arms.

Is this what intimacy with a man is like?
for a long time.

A palace maid's voice came from outside the door: "Your Majesty, lunch is ready."

Tan Chun saw that the emperor had released her second sister, and the two remained separated for a moment before the silver thread finally fell.

Witnessing all this, Tan Chun felt her whole body burning up; those scenes were deeply imprinted in her mind.

Chu Yan embraced Yingchun, who was still panting, and smiled at Tanchun, "How about I give you my seal too? That way, the Third Miss won't have any doubts and won't be willing to enter the palace to serve."

After a while, Tan Chun got up like a puppet on a string. When she came to him, Chu Yan hugged her in his arms again. This time, she did not dodge. Her body was stiff and tense.

Chu Yan embraced Yingchun with one arm and Tanchun with the other. With both beauties in his arms, he felt extremely happy. He turned his head and gently kissed Tanchun's lips.

The two looked at each other.

His lips were on Tan Chun's lips, as if a seal had been stamped on her lips, and their breaths mingled together.

"Stamped."

After releasing her, Chu Yan slowly instructed the palace maids outside, "Serve the dishes."

Yingchun was still in a daze. This time, the stamping process took much longer than the last. It was the first time she had experienced the feeling of a girl's body being aroused. It was so unfamiliar, yet so captivating.

Tan Chun covered her rosy lips. When the palace maids came in to set out the tables and chairs, she blushed and said, "Did His Majesty also stamp the seals for Sister Bao and the others?"

“You don’t have Lin Daiyu,” Chu Yan said with a smile.

Tan Chun laughed instead: "It's Sister Lin, she's a month older than me."

Suddenly realizing his intention in mentioning Lin Daiyu, he seized the opportunity presented by the ambiguous atmosphere and said, "Does Your Majesty know about the relationship between Sister Lin and my second brother Bao..."

"I know." Chu Yan nodded and pulled the two of them to sit down.

Tan Chun felt much more relaxed and said apologetically, "My second brother has been mentally challenged since childhood. He used to hang out in the inner quarters and play with us girls. My grandmother and mother also spoiled him, which fostered his stubborn and eccentric personality."

Chu Yan said, "Why worry about so much? You should be concerned about your younger brother."

Tan Chun was taken aback, then said apologetically, "My younger brother is a bit mischievous, but luckily he's still young..."

Chu Yan interrupted her, saying, "What I mean is, your second brother Bao hasn't seen the light yet, and his future is going to be tough. He's only been in the army for two months, and he's already taken over a thousand taels of silver from Lin Daiyu."

Yingchun suddenly said, "Baoyu is a man of great loyalty and affection. He was deceived by outsiders because he is not worldly-wise. We must tell Lin Daiyu not to give him any more money. She should know the principle of saving money slowly."

Tan Chun laughed, "Second Sister's words sound rather childish."

Chu Yan nodded: "The reasoning may be simple, but it gets straight to the point."

Yingchun was pleased to hear that he had praised her words, and quickly said, "At home, I can't even spend two taels a month. I also give some bonuses to the maids and servants. If you include the money for food, cosmetics, and clothes, ten taels a month is enough. Baoyu spends too much. We should remind him."

Chu Yan asked, "I heard your mother was withholding your money?"

Yingchun looked at him in surprise, shook her head and said, "No, that's not true, Mother..."

"Oh, that's good. I was worried that if she deducted money from Miss Xing's pay, she would deduct yours too."

"They never deducted my monthly allowance..."

Although she was her stepmother, Yingchun didn't complain about her mother behind her back, and stammered to get away with it.

When the food was served, Chu Yan urged them to eat.

When Tan Chun saw Ying Chun open her mouth to eat, she suddenly remembered the scene of her second sister and Chu Yan kissing passionately. A wave of sweetness washed over her, and she quickly lowered her head to eat, no longer looking around.

This time when she entered the palace, she witnessed firsthand what it was like for concubines to serve the emperor in bed.

The marital relations described in the book are probably like this as well.

(End of this chapter)