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

Chapter 176 The Imperial Court Painter's Eyebrows
Daoxiangcun.

"Grandma, the hot water is ready."

Suyun and Biyue came to report, only to find the eldest mistress sitting there, lost in thought.

Su Yun then laughed and said, "Grandma is still lost in thought. Will she be like this when she serves the Emperor later?"

Upon hearing this, the elegant and graceful woman slowly came to her senses, her cheeks gradually flushing red. She looked restless and asked, "Is the bathwater ready?"

"Everything is ready, Grandma, please go and wash up." Biyue said with a smile, "The palace maids have brought over Orchid Fragrance Soup and a Skin-Ice Cream made with borneol, musk, and jasmine oil. They have so many different kinds of products, treating Grandma like a concubine in the palace!"

Li Wan's face flushed. She knew that the palace had sent these things so that she could wash herself clean, apply a fragrant skin-soothing cream, and be sent to the emperor's bed to please him and gain his favor.

She, a woman who was keeping her chastity, was forced to wash herself clean and be sent to the emperor's bedside...

How could one not feel shy?
"Grandma?" Suyun called out again.

Li Wan looked up at her: "Do you know that there was an Empress Xianming Su in the Song Dynasty?"

Su Yun asked her curiously, "What is Grandma talking about? We haven't read any history books, so we don't know which empress it is."

Li Wan remained silent for a while, then shook her head and stood up. "Never mind, there's no point in talking to you. Go take a bath."

Suyun and Biyue led her out of the room to the private room reserved for bathing that night. Several palace maids were already waiting there, and they all bowed when they saw her: "Greetings, Your Highness."

Li Wan, her cheeks flushed, asked, "When serving the emperor in bed, are you all required to attend to his bath?"

The palace maid replied, "No need for that. But according to the rules the old nanny mentioned, Her Highness's two maids must also bathe and change clothes, and serve outside the room at night."

Su Yun Biyue blushed as well, but she wasn't surprised.

Back when the eldest mistress's husband, Jia Zhu, was still alive, they were the ones waiting outside; they were originally dowry maids.

Li Wan then entered the side room and saw a camphor wood bucket with a mandarin duck playing in the water pattern, which was blocked by an enamel screen painted with flowers of the four seasons. There were also about ten round stools with bottles, incense, glass boxes, feather fans, and two buckets of hot water to be refilled at any time.

Seeing this, Su Yun instructed the palace maids, "You don't need to go out. Just wait outside the screen."

Several palace maids stayed behind and explained to them what the items on the round stools were for.

Li Wan listened silently, then went behind the screen and, with the help of Su Yun and Bi Yue, began to undress.

Several palace maids peeked through the screen and saw the new empress's figure. They noticed that she had a slender waist, round and pert buttocks, and that her buttocks were slightly wider than her shoulders. No wonder she had given birth to a son.

Then she took off her hairpin, her beautiful hair hanging straight down to her waist. She sat on the stool, tilting her head back, while two beautiful maids combed her hair. Her posture of straightening her back, pulling in her stomach, and raising her chest made her chest appear even more upright.

They were secretly surprised:

"No wonder His Majesty took a liking to her. It turns out that the figure this lady usually hides under her clothes is so graceful and amazing, almost as beautiful as Consort Qin."

Li Wan usually wore simple clothes and refused to show any skin, so it was difficult for outsiders to see what her hips, chest and waist were like. Now that she had taken off her clothes, the palace maids were surprised.

It took a full half hour for Li Wan to finish her bath and emerge from the room in her undergarments.

The palace maids couldn't help but exclaim, "Your Highness is truly naturally beautiful! Even without makeup, your beauty is still hidden!"

In the past, such praise of a widow's beauty would have made Li Wan feel ashamed and angry. But now, she was going to serve the emperor, so it was only natural for her to be beautiful!

“Hehe, that’s for sure!” Su Yun laughed. “When our grandmother first married into the family, countless people praised her beauty. Even Master Lian was stunned by her beauty.”

Biyue also laughed and said, "It's not just Second Master Lian who's been watching, even Master Lianzhu has been mesmerized by it several times."

"Shut up, all of you."

Li Wan was unwilling to mention her late husband, especially since tonight was the night she was to serve the emperor. Mentioning Jia Zhu filled her with deep guilt, like a red apricot blossom that had strayed over the wall.

Back in the room, Li Wan sat down and looked at the woman in the mirror—her hair loose, her face radiant, and her eyes sparkling with spring—and felt strangely unfamiliar with her…

At this moment, Su Yun brought over a vanity box made of sandalwood and placed it in front of her, saying, "This was sent by the Emperor to be a gift for Grandmother."

When she opened it, the vanity case was full of cosmetics used by women, which made Li Wan stunned once again.

After Jia Zhu died, to show her loyalty, she burned her dressing case. The other concubines, however, could not bear the loneliness of widowhood and had already left the Jia family to remarry. Only she and Su Yun and Bi Yue, who had not consummated their marriage with Jia Zhu, remained.

Su Yun said softly, "Grandma hasn't worn makeup in a long time, do you still remember how to use this cosmetic?"

Li Wan remained silent, picked up the pearl powder, and began to carefully apply it. Su Yun smiled and said, "Grandma, let me do it."

A moment later, Li Wan was drawing her eyebrows in front of the mirror. She picked up a smear of rouge with her fingertip, looked at herself in the mirror, and slowly applied it to her lips.

She thought back to those times when the emperor embraced and kissed her, and when she went to serve him later, he tasted all the rouge...

Thinking of last time, her heart skipped a beat, and an unbearable heat rose from her lower abdomen, making her mouth dry. She even wished she could go to the emperor's palace immediately, see that tall emperor again, and snuggle in his arms...

"Grandma's got romantic feelings~" Su Yun noticed and whispered with a smile.

Li Wan's face burned with rage, and she was about to scold her when a palace maid came to report: "His Majesty has returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Please go and serve him quickly, Your Highness." "Where is the Hall of Mental Cultivation?" Su Yun asked hurriedly.

"His Majesty has renamed Jiayin Hall to Yangxin Hall."

Upon hearing this, Li Wan hurriedly changed her clothes, adorning herself with gold and silver, transforming herself into a charming and alluring woman after a long time. Looking at herself in the mirror, she felt increasingly unfamiliar with herself…

"Grandma, let's go!" Su Yun urged. Li Wan had no choice but to go out. Four palace maids carrying palace lanterns were already waiting. After she went out, four eunuchs accompanied her outside Daoxiang Village.

Just as they were about to leave, they saw two lanterns approaching from a distance, followed by Wang Xifeng's laughter: "Is that you, sister-in-law? What a coincidence! I was just coming over and wanted to say a few words to you."

Li Wan stopped and waited for her.

Wang Xifeng and Ping'er approached with lanterns. After seeing her attire clearly, they were both surprised and stared at her for a long time.

The woman before me was dressed in her finest attire, charming and beautiful, with rosy, moist lips and arched eyebrows. Everyone who saw her would praise her as a stunning beauty.

After a long pause, Wang Xifeng laughed and said, "It's my fault for being so blind; I didn't recognize you at first!"

Li Wan complained to her, "Did you come all this way in the middle of the night just to make fun of me?"

Wang Xifeng quickly replied, "How dare I laugh at you, sister-in-law? I came here especially to see you off!"

Li Wan laughed and said, "I'm not going out to lead troops into battle, besides..."

She didn't know how to continue. If she said she didn't want to go, that would be disobeying the imperial decree. If she went happily, she would lose face.

Wang Xifeng understood and said to the eunuch and maid, "I'd like to borrow your mistress for a while."

As she spoke, she pulled her aside. Li Wan stepped into the mud and hurriedly said, "Let's talk here. I finally finished my makeup. Don't get it dirty."

Wang Xifeng laughed, let go of her hand, and shone the lantern up and down on her again. Li Wan blushed and pretended to hit her. Only then did Wang Xifeng put away the lantern and sigh.

"Why are you sighing like that?" Li Wan laughed. "I'm the one who's being summoned tonight, and you're here sighing instead. What kind of logic is that? Speak up if you have something to say. I don't want to chat with you. The Emperor has already sent someone to summon me."

Wang Xifeng hesitated.

She was still wearing that bodice. She thought the emperor would summon her to serve him in bed, no, he would summon her to humiliate her. But instead, he summoned her sister-in-law.

However, since the emperor has already summoned the widowed Li Wan, he may very well summon her again in the future, and she will then have no choice but to serve him, just like Li Wan tonight.

Therefore, Wang Xifeng came to visit her, hoping to learn something from her.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Li Wan guessed what was going on, so she comforted her, "Don't worry too much. The emperor won't stay in the garden for long. He will go back to the Daming Palace with the girls to escape the summer heat in a few days."

As long as she doesn't receive sexual favors during this period, it will pass.

Wang Xifeng, being a member of the family, knew her own situation best. She was still wearing that undergarment, so how could the emperor let her off the hook?

He smiled wryly and said, "Sister-in-law, I won't lie to you... You go and serve her, I'll come to see you again tomorrow morning."

Li Wan couldn't figure out her intentions, only assuming that she was worried about being ordered by the emperor to serve him. After thanking her, she took her leave and, led by a palace maid, went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Watching her departing figure, Ping'er walked over and quietly said to Wang Xifeng, "Did Grandma say anything?"

"How can I possibly bring this up?!" Wang Xifeng rolled her eyes at her and complained, "It was all your terrible idea, saying that instead of waiting to be summoned, we should take the initiative. It's so embarrassing!"

Ping'er sighed, "I only came up with this idea because I saw that Grandmother was restless... Besides, the Emperor is very meticulous, and Grandmother said that the Emperor looked over several times, not because he was attracted to Grandmother's looks?"

The emperor, without regard for others, issued an edict ordering the widowed Li Wan to serve him in bed, disrupting many affairs within the household.

Wang Xifeng stood there blankly for a long time before saying helplessly, "Fine, fine, fine, I'll find another opportunity to apologize to him. It's better than him issuing an imperial decree to summon me to his bedchamber!"

Li Wan was a widow, but she was not; her husband, Jia Lian, was still outside the city.

Therefore, Ping'er suggested that she take the initiative to go to the emperor and privately apologize, allowing the emperor to humiliate and punish her, which her grandmother gritted her teeth and endured.

If the emperor saw that she was beautiful and took a liking to her, that would be fine, and no one would know.

Perhaps the emperor didn't intend to take her as a concubine, but only to sleep with her for a few nights, while she remained as the second mistress of the Jia family.

Although it is still shameful, like a woman who goes out to sell her smiles, at least she can save face.

Why did the Jia family offend the emperor?
……

Qingwen, Xiangling, and Yuchuan followed the eunuch to Yangxin Hall.

But they didn't see the emperor. The eunuch said that His Majesty was taking a bath in the west room to wash away the smell of alcohol, and told them to sit and wait for a while.

"Thank you for the seat, Your Majesty." Yu Chuan quickly bowed, Xiang Ling followed suit, and Qing Wen hesitated for a moment before doing so.

The three women sat in the east room. Although they knew each other, they didn't usually interact. For a moment, they were speechless, wondering why the emperor had summoned them.

(End of this chapter)