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

Chapter 196 Xi Chun Asks About Catching Butterflies in Hengwu Garden
Is His Majesty inside?

The one with the clear and melodious voice was Baoqin, and she was about to lift the curtain and come in.

"Don't rush in!"

Baochai quickly took her hand and asked softly with a smile, "Your Majesty, we're back."

A man's voice came from inside: "Come in."

So the two of them lifted the curtain and went inside. When they saw what was inside, they were both very embarrassed.

Baoqin blushed, didn't look at her for long, and turned to leave.

Chu Yan then called out to her with a smile, "Where are you going, Sister Qin?"

Baoqin didn't even turn her head, only saying, "I won't fool around with His Majesty the Emperor!"

It was clear that she saw through Chu Yan's thoughts at a glance, knowing that he wanted to be intimate with the girl in his arms in front of the two of them, and then take the opportunity to tease and play tricks on them—because she only glanced at her briefly, Baoqin did not recognize who the naked, white girl wearing only a bellyband was.

Baoqin lifted the curtain and went out.

Baochai, who remained behind, blushed deeply. She wanted to follow Baoqin but had no resolve to disobey the imperial decree. She wanted to stay but was too ashamed to witness what she was seeing.

For her, who adhered to etiquette and concealed her ignorance, the scene of Chu Yan embracing her maid and showing favor in front of her was too outrageous.

"His Majesty……"

Ying'er also struggled to get up.

Seeing this, Chu Yan smiled and let go of her hand, allowing her to get up, grab her clothes, and hurriedly go into the warm pavilion to put them on.

Baochai pretended not to see it, but her beautiful face was still flushed. She apologized and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty's arrival is an honor. My sister and I have failed to greet you. It is truly our fault."

"It's nothing, I just remembered and came to Hengwu Garden for a while."

Chu Yan got up and walked out. Baochai didn't want to bring up what had just happened, so she had no choice but to follow him out.

Baoqin didn't leave; she waited outside. When the two came out, she came forward shyly and asked, "Who was Your Majesty with just now?"

"Didn't you see clearly?" Chu Yan saw that the shy expression on her delicate face was really beautiful, so he reached out and gently pinched her cheek, and laughed, "You and your sister barged in, you should be punished."

Baoqin didn't care about that and laughed, "It was His Majesty who was making a scene in our house, and now he's blaming us!"

Baochai also laughed and said, "The one in the room just now was Ying'er."

Chu Yan sat down and said, "When I came in, I saw her changing clothes, so I hugged her and said a few words to her." After they sat down as well, he asked, "Did you go to Tubi Villa to look at houses just now?"

Baoqin said, "My sister and I have been there. The villa can be divided into three rooms with a large screen, which can be used as a bedroom, a study and a main hall. A new warm pavilion can be built next to it, connected to the bedroom."

Chu Yan nodded and then asked, "Do the maids and servants have a place to stay?"

Baochai smiled and said, "Set up a kang (heated brick bed) in the bedroom, and partition off another space in the study to put up a bed, so that Xiaoluo and Douguan can live there. There really isn't enough room for the old women."

Chu Yan looked at Baoqin and said with a smile, "We can't let our little sister Qin suffer. Other girls' residences have walls that separate them into courtyards, but there's just a platform in front of Tubi Manor. In my opinion, we should build walls around it and set up a large dormitory and a back room so that the servants can stay."

Baoqin blushed slightly and was about to speak when her sister Baochai laughed and said, "Why bother? Just let the wet nurse stay in Hengwu Garden and go to serve her in the morning and evening."

Baoqin had nothing more to say.

Chu Yan said, "That won't do. It needs to be surrounded by walls to make it feel like a place to live, so that no unruly people will disturb us at night and we won't be able to sleep peacefully."

Baoqin then said, "Tubi Villa was originally intended for the Imperial Concubine to rest temporarily while she was out and about, so it's just an open hall. Adding a wall would actually make it less beautiful. Besides, I heard from Sister Lin that when they were admiring the moon at Tubi Villa last year, if a wall had been added, the platform in front would have been gone."

Chu Yan laughed and said, "We can enjoy the moon anywhere else. We don't need to change it just because it's only used once a year. Besides, we can enjoy the moon at Daming Palace in the future. The tower on the mountain offers an even better view of the moon." He paused and then said to her, "If you want to stay somewhere else, like Sister Yiqin, or even if we demolish the old place and rebuild it, that's fine too."

As long as it's not a palace, a courtyard similar to Xiaoxiang Pavilion and Yihong Courtyard won't cost much.

Baoqin was touched, smiled at him, and said, "Your Majesty is right, and my sister is also correct."

Baochai quickly smiled and said, "You're the most clever and quick-witted, never offending either of them. Since that's the case, tell me how you want to change it?"

Baoqin laughed and said, "Let's not touch the platform in front. It's just a courtyard, and it won't look good without any landscaping. In my opinion, it would be better to partition off a courtyard behind the main hall, and lead a small door from the study and bedroom out. There's empty space in the back, which is just right for a courtyard."

Baochai laughed and said, "You've got a clever idea, but the courtyard is behind the main hall, which seems a bit strange. Besides, with a wall around it and a gate in front, it's not safe either."

Baoqin said, "Normally, we should lock the main gate and enter and exit through the east gate, walking along the covered walkway from the back garden. If we feel that facing the hall forward is not good, we can demolish the back wall and build another door. In this way, there will be a hall facing both the south and the north!"

Baochai thought for a moment and sighed, "I can't imagine what kind of courtyard it would be, but you love these ingenious gadgets the most."

Baoqin smiled and looked at Chu Yan for his opinion.

Chu Yan saw that her crescent-shaped eyes were especially sweet and lovely, and he could also tell that living with the dignified and composed Baochai had suppressed her pure and lively nature.

He said, "Sister Qin has traveled all over the world and seen many local customs, so it's normal for her to have many ideas. Let her do whatever she wants. First, draw up a blueprint for the craftsmen and ask them if they can make it."

Baoqin was even happier and said with a smile, "I can't draw those pavilions and towers. I'll ask Fourth Sister to help me draw them another day."

Just then, Rui Guan came to report: "Your Majesty, Miss, the Fourth Miss has arrived!"

Baoqin and Baochai both looked surprised and said, "What a coincidence!" Baochai quickly added, "When His Majesty is here, he needs to ask for permission before letting people in."

Rui Guan glanced at Chu Yan before bowing her head in agreement.

Chu Yan said, "It's nothing serious, there's no need to be so reserved, especially you and the other concubines in the harem. Just come in and talk."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Rui Guan responded again and turned to go out to call for someone.

A moment later, Xichun, wearing a yellow and white checkered printed long coat with a cross-collar, walked in. She first bowed to Chu Yan, then smiled and said, "What a coincidence! I was just about to ask Sister Bao some questions, and His Majesty happens to be here."

Baoqin smiled and said, "It is indeed a coincidence. We were just talking about you when you arrived."

"Sit down first," Chu Yan said, gesturing to a chair.

Xi Chun glanced at him, then sat down and asked curiously, "What did you mention about me?"

Baoqin explained the situation and then, smiling, asked her to paint a picture.

Xichun was in a dilemma: "It's not that I don't want to paint for Sister Qin, it's just that His Majesty first ordered me to paint a picture of all the beauties in the Grand View Garden, and I'm worried about this matter."

Baochai asked curiously, "When did this happen?"

"Just yesterday."

Xichun explained the situation and added, "This drawing will take a year or two to complete."

Chu Yan laughed and said, "I told you you don't need to rush to finish it. It's fine if you take three or four years."

Upon hearing this, Xichun smiled at Baoqin and said, "In that case, I'll draw a picture of the Convex Jade Mountain Villa for you."

Baoqin shook her head and said, "I originally thought you were free, which is why I asked you for help. Since you want to do other paintings, I might as well paint them myself. However, I'm not very good at painting pavilions, so I'll ask you for advice later."

Xichun agreed.

Looking at the two of them, Chu Yan saw that Baoqin had delicate and petite features, fair skin, crescent-shaped eyes, and cherry lips, while Xichun was lively and charming with a natural sparkle in her eyes. Both of them had a lovely and sweet temperament, and when they were together, they were truly a delight to behold.

"It's a pity Yun'er is missing," he said, uttering a statement that puzzled all three. Baochai smiled and said, "Just have someone invite her over."

She wanted to call Ying'er out, but Chu Yan waved his hand to stop her and said with a smile, "Sister Yun is always running to the East Mansion or the West Mansion, she's never free for a moment. I don't know how long it will take to find her."

Everyone laughed and agreed that Xiangyun was indeed playful.

Chu Yan asked Xi Chun, "Did you come to ask Miss Bao about chasing butterflies?"

Baochai was stunned at first, then she realized that the emperor was asking her about chasing butterflies.

I was even more surprised.

She rarely did such girlish things. The only time recently was last year when she saw a pair of jade-colored butterflies, as big as round fans, fluttering like mandarin ducks with their necks intertwined, by the Purple Lotus Isle. Only then did she get the girlish instinct to try and catch them with her fan.

Did the emperor know about this? Or was it something else?
Baochai was thinking about things with surprise, while Xichun smiled and said, "That's right. His Majesty ordered me to paint four interesting things in a picture. I thought about it all night and still didn't know how to draw them. I thought that if I just painted randomly, I wouldn't be able to draw what His Majesty wanted. So I came to ask my sisters what these four things are, so I can go back and draw them."

Then, looking embarrassed, she said to Baochai, "I came to ask you, Sister Bao, because I was acting on imperial orders. I hope you won't blame me."

Baoqin asked curiously, "What are the four interesting things?"

Chu Yan laughed and said, "Besides Baochai chasing butterflies, the other three are Qin Meimei composing a poem about the past, Qin Meimei dressing up as a foreign beauty, and Qin Meimei and her maid holding a vase of plum blossoms in the snow."

Everyone laughed, and Baoqin smiled with her eyes crinkling, "Your Majesty is teasing me again. I don't even know when I was holding some plum blossoms in the snow with the maid. Tell me seriously, or I won't stand for it!"

Baochai smiled at her and said, "Bring those poems you wrote about the past to His Majesty, and also bring the poems written by the beauty from Zhenzhen Kingdom."

Baoqin lied and said, "The poems written by the beauty of Zhenzhen Kingdom are all kept in Nanjing. Where would we get them now?"

Baochai pointed at her and laughed, "You must be the beauty from the Kingdom of Zhenzhen, still trying to fool us."

Baoqin said, "I dare not deceive the Emperor. There is indeed a beautiful foreign woman who can write poetry. Good sister, please stop talking about poetry. I just want to know what interesting thing you did, chasing butterflies, that made His Majesty so fond of it and wanted Fourth Sister to paint it."

Baochai blushed, but didn't know what to say.

Chu Yan remained silent.

Xichun looked at it and had no choice but to ask again, "Please tell me, Sister Bao, what does it look like to catch butterflies?"

Chu Yan laughed and said, "How can you draw well if you ask questions like that? All painters draw from scenes and figures. You know that, right? You should ask your sister Bao to do the butterfly chasing scene again, watch from the side, remember it in your heart, and then go back to draw."

The group laughed again, which made Baochai very embarrassed. Her fair and round face flushed red, and she said in a rare tone, "No wonder His Majesty didn't speak just now. He was deliberately waiting for Fourth Sister to say that."

Chu Yan smiled, looked at her, admiring Baochai's beautiful and round face. After a while, he smiled and said, "I also want to see how Miss Bao chases butterflies."

Baochai blushed even more, lowered her head, and didn't dare to ask him how he knew about her chasing butterflies.

Baoqin smiled and said, "The weather is just right now, and there are butterflies outside. Why don't you..."

Baochai secretly glared at her, and Baoqin turned her head and smiled without saying a word.

Chu Yan shook his head: "Forget it, it's only when you're naturally innocent that you look good. If you're just putting on an act, you'll only have the posture but no charm. I can appreciate it when Xi Chun is painting, but I don't find it interesting."

When he addressed her by her first name, Xichun glanced at him.

Baochai said, "Your Majesty's words make me feel ashamed." Then she briefly recounted what happened last year.

Xichun nodded and said, "So Sister Bao was chasing butterflies at the Dripping Green Pavilion. They were a pair of jade-colored butterflies. I've figured out how to paint them."

Baoqin smiled and said, "I haven't told you what the other three things are yet."

Xi Chun glanced at Chu Yan, remembering that he had deliberately mentioned three things about Bao Qin earlier, so she said, "I can't say it now, but you'll know when I finish painting."

Baoqin expressed her regret and then asked, "Is there a painting of me in it?"

Chu Yan laughed and said, "Are you going to dress up as a foreign beauty?"

Baoqin also laughed and said, "I have worn foreign women's clothes, but I did not bring them to the capital, so I cannot paint them now."

Chu Yan said, "In that case, when it snows in winter, you will put on a duck-down fur coat and stand in the snow so that I and Fourth Sister can see you."

Baoqin asked in surprise, "I don't own this garment. How did Your Majesty know about it?"

Chu Yan smiled, "There's nothing I can do."

At this moment, Rui Guan came in again and reported: "Your Majesty, Miss, Zhou Rui's wife has arrived and says she wants to see you."

Baochai said, "You should also use your eyes to see. His Majesty is chatting with us. Why did you come in and talk about these trivial matters? Hurry up and go out. Tell Zhou Rui's wife before you come back."

Rui Guan looked ashamed; she was unaware of these things.

Chu Yan said, "Let her in."

Baochai had no choice but to order Ruiguan to bring Zhou Rui's wife in.

A short while later, Zhou Rui's wife entered the room. Upon seeing Chu Yan sitting in a chair, she hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, saying things like, "This servant kowtows to Your Majesty."

Chu Yan said, "Get up, you two can talk. Sister Qin, Fourth Sister, come with me."

He said he wanted to go into Baoqin's room so he could chat with the two of them.

Zhou Rui's wife kowtowed again, pleading, "Your Majesty, please have mercy!"

"……What's up?"

Chu Yan stopped and said, "Just say it directly. I don't have that much time to chat with you."

Zhou Rui's wife hurriedly said, "This servant has a son-in-law named Leng Zixing..."

"Oh."

Chu Yan interrupted her, laughing, "I know what you're going to say. You think you've done something good, so you're begging me to let you move into a nice house, is that it?"

Zhou Rui's wife was already terrified out of her wits, and could only keep kowtowing, relying on the few remaining thoughts in her heart to keep going.

Baochai and the others were watching.

Chu Yan thought for a moment and said, "Leng Zixing has indeed made contributions, but he has also spread the names of the girls. His merits and demerits cannot be offset, so how can I bestow favors upon you? Not to mention, if your son-in-law returns in the future and the girls are so angry that they want to issue an edict to punish him, he and you will have to bear the consequences."

Baochai looked over, and Baoqin blushed. What he meant was that they would be made imperial concubines in the future, so he could be referred to as issuing an imperial edict.

Zhou Rui's wife blushed and kowtowed to beg for forgiveness.

Chu Yan said, “In the future, if you want to ask me for mercy, you should all go to the girls and let them speak to me. You must not come to me.”

After saying that, he pulled Baoqin and led Xichun into the house.

Seeing her younger sister and Fourth Sister being favored while she had to stay behind to deal with Zhou Rui's wife, Baochai couldn't help but sigh.

Only after asking her did I realize that she had come to ask for this very thing.

Seeing that Bao-guniang looked unwell, Zhou Rui's wife didn't dare to stay any longer. Before she could say anything, she hurriedly left, never daring to try and claim credit for her son-in-law's matter again.

(End of this chapter)