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

Chapter 191 "A Gathering of Beauties in the Grand View Garden"

“Miss, there are quite a few eunuchs outside.”

As Ru Hua entered the room, she was talking when she saw her daughter being held in a man's arms, her face flushed with embarrassment. Upon seeing her enter, her pretty face turned even redder.

There is only one man who can live in the Grand View Garden and enter the Warm Fragrance Pavilion: the Emperor.

Ru Hua hurriedly tried to escape, but then heard the emperor laugh and say, "Stop!"

Ru Hua was so frightened that she stopped in her tracks and quickly knelt down to kowtow and beg for forgiveness.

Xi Chun panicked and tried to get away, but Chu Yan still held her slender waist, and no matter how hard she struggled, it was no use.

"His Majesty……"

Xichun was so anxious that tears welled up in her eyes.

Chu Yan laughed and said, "What's your hurry? Since you said you'd serve me in bed, why are you afraid your maid will see you?"

Xi Chun blushed, lowered her head and thought for a while before slowly saying, "According to the rules of strict separation between men and women, they should not touch each other before crossing the threshold, and they should not even meet. Now that Ru Hua has barged in and seen this, I have lost all face."

Ru Hua hurriedly pleaded, "I didn't know the Emperor was here. I saw the eunuchs cooling off under the tree outside and thought something was wrong, so I rushed back to tell you, Miss. Please forgive me this time!"

Xichun said, "I spared you, but His Majesty did not. It's no use begging me."

Ru Hua was busy kowtowing to the emperor.

Chu Yan smiled, seeing through Xi Chun's temperament, and said to Ru Hua, "Get up. Your young lady is resolute and cold-hearted. She will not plead for you if you make a mistake."

Ruhua had no choice but to get up and stand with her head down.

Xi Chun remained silent, her petite body leaning against him, her waist still held by his arms.

At that moment, she had no thoughts of the strict separation between men and women; she was only wondering if his words meant he was dissatisfied with her, and she felt very uneasy.

Holding her small hand, Chu Yan asked, "How long has Ru Hua been with you?"

“She has been serving me in my room since she was a child,” Xichun said in a low voice.

"That's it. Humans aren't plants or trees, how can they be without feelings? You're not like your sister Baochai."

Chu Yan said to her, "Ru Hua only made a small mistake, but you didn't speak up for her. How can she be truly sincere to you in the future?"

Ru Hua shook her head hurriedly, anxious but not daring to speak.

Xichun glanced at her and said, "I don't need anyone to be sincere to me. Ruhua serves me, but if she doesn't serve me well, I won't care. Anyway, I have several maids and servants in my room who can do things. If she serves me well, I won't praise her."

I think there's no need for genuine affection between mistress and maid. I do my job, she does hers. If she makes a mistake, she should be punished—whether it's beating, killing, or being kicked out—that's up to Third Sister to decide. What does it have to do with me?

Hearing this, Ru Hua secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She knew the young lady's temperament all along. She usually didn't care about them. No matter how well or poorly they did, the young lady only cared about her own affairs and rarely paid attention to them.

"You're arguing with me now."

Chu Yan couldn't help but laugh when he heard her words, and raised his hand to flick her smooth forehead.

Xi Chun lowered her head and apologized: "I have seen that Your Majesty is worried about me and speaks up for me. However, I do not want the maid's sincerity. If she is angry with me, I will ignore her and tell her to go to another room to serve someone."

Ru Hua then said, "Although you are like this, you are usually very kind to us. You neither reward nor punish us, and we don't get tired from serving you."

Xichun said, "I've been too lenient with you, which is why you barged in. Fortunately, His Majesty didn't blame you. Go and kowtow before leaving, but remember not to tell anyone."

Seeing that the emperor did not object, Ru Hua knelt down and kowtowed again, preparing to leave the room.

Chu Yan instructed her, "Pour us a cup of tea."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Ru Hua replied and went out.

Chu Yanchao asked Xichun, "How old were you when you came to the Rongguo Mansion?"

Xichun was a little confused. After thinking for a moment, she realized what the emperor was asking. She said, "My mother has been gone since I can remember. My wet nurse and sister-in-law took care of me. Later, my grandmother saw that I was lonely at home, so she asked me to come to the West Mansion and live with my sisters in my grandmother's room."

Chu Yan laughed and said, "It's clear you've misunderstood her good intentions."

Xichun lowered her head and remained silent.

Chu Yan said, "It's just human nature. It would be too much to ask you to be as lively and cheerful as Yun Ya."

Xi Chun said softly, "Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty."

Chu Yan pulled her into his arms and lowered his head to ask her, "Are you scared when I hold you like this?"

Xichun hesitated for a moment before slowly shaking her head.

Chu Yan laughed and said, "When your sisters first met in the palace, I stamped their names with a kiss."

Xichun blushed and lowered her head, not daring to speak.

"So you can rest assured that even if Ru Hua or someone else sees you, no one will dare to gossip. I am the emperor, and my favoring you is a matter of national importance. Who would dare to talk behind my back?"

His words made Xichun think for a long time before she looked up at him: "How is favoring young ladies a matter of national importance?"

She suspected that this was just an excuse for the emperor's lust.

Chu Yan raised his hand to stroke her sweet little face. This time, Xi Chun finally did not lower her head. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyelids trembled shyly, and her pink little mouth opened and closed, which was very tempting.

"I have no children yet, so wouldn't it be a matter of state if I favored you all?" Chu Yan said matter-of-factly, "The more I favor you, the faster you will conceive, isn't that the truth?"

If it were someone else, he certainly wouldn't have spoken so bluntly, as if he were flirting with a refined young lady.

But the Xichun before her knew everything, yet she spoke coldly and rarely revealed her intelligence. She saw everything that happened in the Ningguo and Rongguo mansions, but she didn't say a word, only wanting to avoid it.

Some even considered becoming nuns.

Miaoyu is a fake nun who keeps her hair, while Xichun is a real nun who is about to see through the illusions of the world. She only needs one opportunity to enter the monastery and never care about worldly affairs again.

Therefore, Chu Yan wanted to use words to stimulate her girlish heart, to make her "fall into the mortal world" and stir her heart.

really.

Even the most aloof and cold-hearted girl, when held in a man's arms and told to get pregnant quickly, couldn't help but close her eyes tightly in embarrassment, no longer daring to look at him. Xi Chun didn't realize that closing her eyes in front of a man was clearly a captivating gesture, a gesture of waiting to be kissed.

Chu Yan couldn't hold back. He stroked Xi Chun's delicate pink face with his palm, lowered his head and kissed her face first, letting her get used to a man's intimacy. Only when she started to breathe softly did he kiss her pink cherry lips.

Xi Chun trembled, and a muffled sound came from her mouth, which was blocked, but she quickly stopped, closing her eyes and letting the emperor kiss her like that.

But she didn't realize that kissing involves the tip of the tongue...

for a long time.

Ru Hua, who was standing at the door, had been standing for so long that her legs went numb before the emperor finally ordered, "Bring me tea, I'll have a sip."

Ru Hua busied herself bringing tea and came over.

As soon as she entered the room, she saw the girl being held intimately in the emperor's arms. She was initially shy and wanted to hide, but then she remembered that it was the emperor's decree, so she could only stand at the door and wait.

As Ruhua approached, she set down the tea tray, poured another cup of tea, and presented it to the Emperor with both hands, her eyes involuntarily glancing at the young woman.

The girl's face was flushed, and she nestled weakly in the emperor's arms, her little mouth red and her breath coming in rapid gasps.

This shows how intense the kiss was; the girl even forgot to breathe.

Hearing the girl's voice and seeing her flushed face, with the tall and handsome emperor in front of her, Ru Hua's legs went weak.

"Your Majesty, please have some tea," she said in a trembling voice.

"Give your daughter some too."

Seeing that Xichun was still breathing heavily with her eyes closed, Chu Yan laughed and said, "You feed your girl some water; she has no strength left."

"No need!" Xichun quickly opened her eyes.

After kissing for so long, her mouth was indeed a little dry. After Ru Hua handed her tea, she finished all the tea in the cup.

Ruhua wanted to pour it again, but Xichun said, "No need, you can leave."

Ru Hua hurriedly left.

After she rested for a while, Chu Yan asked, "Did Granny Liu ask you to draw?"

Xichun asked curiously, "Then why did Grandma ask me to paint? I won't do it even if she asks me; I don't have the time or inclination to paint for others."

Chu Yan nodded and said, "It seems there isn't one. In that case, how about you paint a picture for me?"

Xi Chun naturally wouldn't refuse, and asked him with a smile, "What does Your Majesty want me to paint? You should make it clear beforehand that my painting skills are just average, not as good as the court painters. I can paint something for fun though."

Chu Yan laughed and said, "Who isn't a child? You're going to paint a picture of 'The Grand View Garden's Beauties,' but do you even know what 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' is?"

Xi Chun thought for a moment and said, "Although I have never seen the original, I have seen some later imitations and know a little about what they depict. I'm afraid I can't recreate them. I'm not good at detailed architecture, and I'm not very good at figure painting either. How could I possibly paint all the girls in the garden?"

Chu Yan said, "Don't be modest. I know you can draw. If you can't, you can learn and draw later. It's not like I'm asking you to draw it right away."

As he spoke, he touched her flat stomach and laughed, "You might be pregnant, and then you'll have to stop for another year or two."

Upon hearing this, Xichun's heart stirred, and she couldn't help but look up at him before lowering her head again.

She knew how to get pregnant...

She couldn't say this aloud, because she had found the information by chance in a picture book in the Ningguo Mansion.

Apart from her, none of her many sisters in the family probably knew.

"Has Fourth Sister agreed to draw it?" Chu Yan asked with a smile.

Xichun nodded and said, "I need to try painting, to determine the location of each scene and the girls, what they are going to do, and to draw up a plan before I can start painting. It will take a month. If His Majesty bestows some paints and utensils upon me, I will also need to learn how to use them."

Chu Yan laughed and said, "As expected of Fourth Sister, you've thought things through so well. Just take your time."

Xichun smiled and agreed.

Chu Yan said with great interest, "I have some scenery I'd like you to paint."

"What is it?"

"One is Daiyu burying flowers,"

"what?"

Before he could finish speaking, Xichun was surprised.

Chu Yan smiled and continued, "Another one is Baochai chasing butterflies, another is Qingwen tearing a fan, and the last one should be Xiangyun drunkenly sleeping in the peony garden."

Xichun chuckled and said, "No one else pointed to where, but His Majesty arranged for Sister Yun to be in the peony garden." She then laughed and said, "His Majesty is trying to make things difficult for me. If Sister Yun finds out that I'm going to paint her lying drunk in the peony garden, she'll come and bother me again."

Chu Yan laughed and said, "Just tell her it's an imperial edict and ask her to come find me."

Xichun thought for a while and then asked, "What are the stories behind Sister Lin burying flowers, Sister Bao chasing butterflies, and Qingwen tearing fans? I can't just draw them randomly."

"They're all in the garden, go ask them yourself."

"..."

Xichun had no choice but to agree.

Chu Yan teased her little face with his fingers and laughed, "Wouldn't it be interesting to also paint a scene of me holding you in Warm Fragrance Pavilion?"

Xichun was taken aback and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this is unacceptable. If you paint these... it will become a painting of a woman's boudoir."

Chu Yan thought about it and agreed. If there were scenes of him favoring the girls everywhere, it wouldn't be good for others to see. So he said regretfully, "You're right, but I'll still favor you, Fourth Sister. Draw me in the Warm Fragrance Pavilion and in the main hall of the Grand View Pavilion. Draw the girls and concubines sitting below, and make it look like a banquet."

The center of this painting is undoubtedly his Grand View Pavilion, where the young ladies and concubines would all be present, thus creating the Grand View Garden's "Gathering of Beauties" scene.

In other areas, apart from the four performance art scenes in the Dream of the Red Chamber designated by Chu Yan, Xi Chun was responsible for all the execution.

(End of this chapter)