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

Chapter 246 (Part )

After a long while, Chu Yan embraced the overwhelmed princess, and the two leaned against the couch together.

After catching her breath, Qinghe, her face flushed, said shyly, "Call the maids in to serve Your Majesty again."

Chu Yan smiled and said, "No, I will only stay with you tonight."

Qinghe leaned against his chest and shook her head gently, saying softly, "I am happy that Your Majesty has such a kind heart, but... Your Majesty is so powerful that I cannot serve you. Please send someone to help."

As she spoke, she called out, "Qingwen, Xiangling."

Chu Yan lowered his head and asked her, "What do you mean by 'fierce and brave'?"

"This one is called Jin, and it won't fall down." Chu Yan teased her in a low voice. As a princess, Qinghe had never heard such lewd words before. But she immediately understood what he meant and was so embarrassed that she couldn't lift her head.

When Qingwen and Xiangling came in, Chu Yan joked with Qinghe for a while before looking up at Xiangling and saying, "Xiangling, you serve me. Qingwen, you can go out now." He added, "Call Lingguan here again. The rest of you can go back and rest."

Qingwen agreed and added, "Yuanyang just arrived. She can stay outside for a while. If His Majesty or the Princess has any instructions, she can be called in."

After she left, Xiangling obediently walked closer.

Chu Yan laughed and said, "Xiangling has served you several times, don't you know how?"

Xiangling blushed, reached out to unbutton her clothes, and soon revealed her fair and graceful body. She lowered her head in embarrassment, still feeling somewhat uneasy.

Qinghe glanced at her twice, then stepped away from the Emperor's embrace, clutching a dress in her arms. She said softly with a smile, "Xiangling, come up and serve His Majesty. I'll rest for a while."

The two served the Emperor together for the first time. Qinghe had been officially made a concubine, and the maids dared to do whatever she permitted them to do; otherwise, it would be considered a vixen's tactic to win favor.

Xiangling had learned these things when she was bought back as a concubine, so after Qinghe spoke, she knelt down and climbed onto the bed, crawled in front of the emperor, and was finally embraced by Chu Yan.

The unease she felt earlier vanished completely after being embraced by His Majesty. Xiangling knew that even if she made a mistake and offended the princess or others, His Majesty would still take care of her.

Sure enough, His Majesty lowered his head and kissed her cheek. Xiangling closed her eyes, her body and mind gradually relaxed, and soon she was aroused, slowly lifting her head and then lowering it again.

Qinghe watched from the side.

Soon after, Lingguan also came in, her slender body only wearing a middle garment and underpants. Shortly after, Xiangling laboriously got off the bed to rest on a chair, and Lingguan took her place.

Qinghe kept watching.

It was her turn again.

After several attempts, she finally couldn't take it anymore and fell into a deep sleep. Before falling asleep, she vaguely felt His Majesty wiping the sweat off her body with a towel. It was hot, and she had been favored for a long time, so she was covered in sweat. But she didn't have the strength to get up and dry herself off. As soon as she closed her eyes, she drifted off to sleep.

……

The next day came in a flash.

When Chu Yan woke up, Qinghe was sleeping beside him. After a while, Qingwen and the others came into the room and lit the lamp.

Yuanyang walked to the bedside and was about to speak when Chu Yan said, "I'm awake. You may all leave now and come back in a quarter of an hour."

Yuanyang nodded and was about to leave when Qingwen smiled and said softly, "Miss Lin is here."

"She gets up so early?"

Chu Yan rolled over and got out of bed. Without putting on any clothes, he went straight out and saw a slender and graceful figure standing in the main hall.

Upon hearing the sound, Daiyu turned around and immediately blushed with embarrassment. She hurriedly walked to another room, saying shyly, "You didn't even put on some clothes before coming out..."

Chu Yan smiled and said, "You sit by the curtain, and I'll talk to you while I take a bath."

With Daiyu's tacit approval, Zijuan followed her into the room and brought a chair for her to sit on.

Now let's talk about mandarin ducks.

She was startled when she saw the emperor get out of bed. It was the first time she had ever seen a naked man's body, and the first time she had ever witnessed such a majestic and powerful thing.

Seeing her like this, Yu Chuan couldn't help but smile. Since the princess was still asleep, she didn't dare to say much. She pulled her outside and whispered after they were outside, "Later we'll serve His Majesty his bath. You're the best at serving people in front of the old lady. You can go and wash His Majesty's body later."

Yuanyang blushed and didn't reply. After leaving, she saw the emperor's tall and strong physique again and couldn't help but glance at him a couple more times, thinking to herself:
"I didn't see them last night, I only heard Princess Qinghe and Xiangling's voices. How could such a delicate person like the princess serve such a great man as His Majesty..."

Lost in thought, Qingwen went to get a towel, and Yuanyang hurried over to watch, learning how to serve the Emperor while he bathed and changed.

"Did you sleep well last night, Lin sister? How do you like it here? If you don't like it, let's go somewhere else, or we can go back to the garden. You're used to living in the Grand View Garden."

While taking a bath, Chu Yan talked to Lin Daiyu, who was sitting behind the curtain.

Daiyu smiled and said, "It's cooler than the Xiaoxiang Pavilion in the garden, and I slept more soundly there."

Chu Yan said, "Summer is good, but it's probably not so good when it gets cold in winter."

Daiyu said, "It will be warm if we close the doors and windows. How about we come back after the Lantern Festival this year, instead of going back to the Grand View Palace for the New Year?"

Chu Yan laughed and said, "It's fine to stay until spring, or even until summer. We can just use Daming Palace as a summer retreat."

Daiyu also laughed and said, "It's not good to have the ministers crowding into Pear Fragrance Courtyard. You still have to go back to the palace during the grand court session."

As the two chatted, Yuanyang was quite surprised. Miss Lin spoke so casually with the Emperor in private, and the Emperor had no airs of royalty at all. Miss Lin also spoke very intimately with him.

Yuanyang couldn't help but think of Baoyu, and then secretly laughed at herself. It was all their friendship when they were children. Now that they've grown up, Miss Lin has gradually realized who she can rely on in the future. Let bygones be bygones.

She was the same. Although serving the old lady was good before and the old lady took good care of her, it couldn't last forever. Now that she was serving the emperor, she had finally found a way out for the rest of her life.

A short while later, Chu Yan dried himself off and began to get dressed. Daiyu also came out of the room, her beautiful face beaming with a smile. She glanced at him, then at Qingwen and the others.

"Where is Xiangling?" Daiyu asked curiously. "Could it be that she overslept and couldn't get up this morning?"

The four women blushed, and Yu Chuan lowered her head and smiled, "Xiang Ling served His Majesty last night."

Chu Yan laughed, thinking that Daiyu would be shy, since she could understand the general meaning.

Unexpectedly, Daiyu looked into the room, her slender eyebrows furrowed, and after looking at him again, she asked Yuchuan, "Last night, how many people did Your Majesty favor?"

Chu Yan was startled; this had exceeded his understanding of Lin Daiyu!
Yu Chuan glanced at him before replying, "Last night, three people were favored by His Majesty: the princess, Ling Guan, and Xiang Ling."

Upon hearing this, Daiyu fixed her gaze on the emperor, making Chu Yan's scalp tingle. It was more terrifying than being pointed at by arrows while charging on the battlefield. After a long while, he finally forced himself to say, "Is Yu'er jealous?"

He knew that Daiyu wasn't particularly jealous of these things.

"Has Your Majesty ever read history books?" Daiyu said, "I don't know much about such things, but I have read records in history books that Emperor Guangzong of Ming 'slept with several women at night, and his appearance suddenly diminished'."

She glanced at me sideways.

Chu Yan was moved. Lin Daiyu didn't really understand matters between men and women. In the past, when she heard or saw these things, she would avoid them.

However, for the sake of his health, some examples can be found in historical records.

"Yu'er!" Chu Yan hugged Daiyu's waist and laughed, "Don't you know me? Besides, the emperors of the past couldn't tolerate the nourishment because they didn't have a fairy named Jiangzhu by their side."

Daiyu was quickly persuaded by him, knowing that he had a magic pill to save her and was no ordinary person.

After a brief moment of tenderness, Chu Yan continued dressing, with Daiyu watching from the side. After he finished dressing, they sat and chatted for a while until the eunuch came to report the time, at which point Chu Yan got up to go to court.

Daiyu saw her off and intended to return to Xiaoxiang Pavilion to rest for a while, but the palace maid Shuyu came out and said, "The princess has woken up. Please come back to your room and talk for a while, Miss Lin."

Daiyu went back into the room and saw that Qinghe had gotten out of bed, wearing only a single garment.

Qinghe said apologetically, "I woke up earlier and it's not appropriate for me to go outside... You all just returned to the palace yesterday. After I bathe and change, shall we go for a stroll in the garden together?"

Her expectant look showed that she missed the days of strolling and chatting with her sisters in the garden during her stay after returning from the Grand View Garden.

Daiyu smiled and said, "I just went out and saw that there are no clouds in the sky. It's going to be a sunny day today. It's too hot to stroll in the garden. How about we go to one of our sisters' houses for a while and get to know the place?"

Qinghe readily agreed and hurried outside to bathe in the Emperor's remaining hot water. She had only finished halfway through her toilette when she heard Yun's laughter from outside:
"Are Sister Lin and the princess in His Majesty the Emperor's room?"

Qinghe and Daiyu hurriedly went out to greet them and found all the sisters there, including Baoqin, Yingtanxi, Li Wan, Ping'er, and even Xiuyan and the Wang sisters.

Only Baochai is missing.

The crowd first gathered around to watch Qinghe do her hair and makeup, and joked around for a while before Xiangyun said with a smile, "Let's go to Sister Bao's room first. She lives in a corner by the lotus pond. We sisters are all together, but she's all alone, which makes her seem lonely. It would be better to go to her room to make it more lively!"

Daiyu and Qinghe both agreed, and the others had no objections, so they went out together and headed towards Baochai's room before the weather got too hot.

Before long, they saw the pond covered with lotus flowers.

Xiangyun hurried over, looked into the distance, and said happily, "Last time we visited Daming Palace, the lotus flowers in the pond were just blossoms, but this time when we come back, they've all produced lotus seeds! Come and see, the lotus seeds have grown so much!"

The girls all crowded around to watch, and their maids watched from the side. They weren't in a hurry to go into Baochai's room. Instead, they strolled around the pond in twos and threes, admiring the lotus blossoms.

Cuilu shielded her forehead with her hand, looking at the lotus flowers in the distance, and said happily, "Look, girl, it's much bigger than our pond! The lotus flowers and seeds are growing so well, look how the lotus leaves are covering the water! They're everywhere!"

Xiangyun laughed and said, "What are you saying about our family? The Marquis's mansion is gone, don't you remember?"

Cuilu then realized what was happening and nodded, saying, "Of course I remember, the Marquis's mansion was raided by order of the young lady's husband!"

Li Wan and Ping'er laughed at his words, and Wang Xuanzhu from the Wang family in Qinghe also looked up.

Daiyu looked at them; most of these sisters had had their homes confiscated by his decree.

Xiangyun spat at her, saying, "I often tell you that you don't need to talk, but you prefer to. Don't you even know the principle that the emperor's wife is the empress?"

Cuilu then lowered her head in embarrassment.

Baoqin looked somewhat gloomy, and Tanchun also felt a little uncomfortable. Qinghe had no hope of becoming empress, but at this moment she was quite at ease.

Daiyu smiled and said, "Although we are not husband and wife, we are like brothers and sisters. Aren't we closer than husband and wife?"

They laughed again, knowing that Xiangyun loved to call Chu Yan "Emperor Brother".

Xiangyun blushed and quickly said, "If we don't say these things, we'll just spoil the fun for no reason."

They were all daughters of wealthy families and had never considered becoming concubines. Given the current situation, they had no choice but to accept it.

Tan Chun said, "People say that it's human nature to want more after getting what you want. That's fine, but I wonder what kind of person Consort Xie is?"

Although the Emperor has not revealed who will be the Empress, many people, both inside and outside the palace, regard Consort Xie, who is still in Jinling, as the future Empress.

There was no other reason than that she was the only Imperial Concubine in the harem. Even though Empress Zhang and Consort Xiande still held the title of Imperial Concubine, everyone knew that neither of them could become Empress.

Li Wan said, "I've heard that Consort Xie is gentle and good at managing the household. I just don't know why she hasn't come to Chang'an, the capital, and there's been no news of a relocation of the capital."

Xi Chun smiled and said, "Even if the capital is moved, it will be several years later. The new dynasty has just been established, and the capital will not be moved so quickly."

So why hasn't Consort Xie come to the capital yet?
This was the first time the group had discussed the Empress's position, so even though Xiangyun said they would never talk about it again, they couldn't help but make many guesses.

Even those like Li Wan, Princess Qinghe, Yingchun, and Xichun, who had little hope of becoming empress, listened attentively, because who became empress would affect their future in the palace.

"It's so lively outside!" Baochai came out of the house and smiled at them.

Xiangyun quickly took her hand and said with a smile, "We are looking at the lotus flowers. Seeing so many lotus seeds makes our mouths water. We really want to take a boat down and pick some to eat!"

Baochai glanced at the sun and smiled, "If you want to pick lotus seeds in the river, you should do it early before it gets too hot. If you pick a lot, we can make lotus seed soup."

With Baochai's words, Xiangyun became very excited. She took Daiyu's hand and called Baoqin and Tanchun to join her in going down the boat to pick lotus seeds.

Daiyu, who had always loved to play and make a fuss, had never picked lotus flowers in the garden before. Now, seeing so many lotus seeds standing in the pond, she was quite excited.

Xi Chun hurriedly said, "Can we easily move things inside the palace?"

Upon hearing this, Daiyu smiled and said, "I don't think it matters. It's just some lotus seeds. His Majesty the Emperor wouldn't be so stingy."

Tan Chun also laughed and said, "Now that Consort Xiande is in charge of the inner palace, it's just a few lotus seeds."

Baochai also said, "His Majesty is not usually very strict with us. Small things like picking lotus flowers are fine, but we need to pay more attention to other important matters. In particular, we must remember not to interfere in politics in the inner palace. That is the way of a concubine."

Upon hearing this, Ping'er laughed and said, "Amitabha, I don't even know what it means for the harem to interfere in politics, let alone do it. I would never dare to do it even if you killed me."

Qinghe did not speak.

In the past, even though she was a princess, it would have been inappropriate for her to go lotus picking by boat. If her mother found out, she would have been scolded. Her emperor brother would also not have allowed her to do anything too outrageous.

It's different now.

The man sitting on the dragon throne was her husband.

Li Wan, being more composed, summoned the female official who had accompanied her to inquire.

The female official smiled and said, "His Majesty dotes on the young ladies, and now that they are all together, let alone picking a few lotus seeds, even if they pick all the lotus seeds, no one will say anything."

Baochai, on the contrary, hesitated.

The emperor favored them, which is why they were allowed to pick lotus flowers. Conversely, picking lotus flowers was not something that concubines in the palace were supposed to do.

As she hesitated, Xiangyun had already ordered someone to row a boat over and pull the princess onto it. Daiyu and Baoqin also boarded another boat, and Tanchun also pulled her second sister Yingchun and fourth sister Xichun onto another small boat. Together they rowed into the lotus pond, filled with laughter and joy.

noon.

A bowl of lotus seed and shrimp porridge was served to Chu Yan. After learning that they had gone to pick lotus flowers together that morning, he couldn't help but smile and felt a strong urge to go back and see them.

But I still held back.

(End of this chapter)