bookrebus Chapter 766 The Princess's Marriage (10)
Chapter 766 The Princess's Marriage (10)
If the Regent really had a woman, she wouldn't have used him as a tool.
"Your Majesty, you say..."
"Shh!" Xue Chanyi heard the noise outside and gestured for her to change the subject.
Liuli nodded cleverly and picked up the teacup on the table: "Your Majesty, the tea has gone cold. I'll go and get you a fresh cup."
"What are you two, master and servant, talking about?" Shangguan Xi asked as he walked in with a smile.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. Why was no one announced your arrival? I was unable to personally greet you." Xue Chanyi and Liuli stepped forward to pay their respects.
"It was I who forbade them from disturbing my beloved concubine."
Shangguan Xi quickly helped her up, without letting Xue Chanyi bow.
He tapped the tip of her nose with his finger, his eyes full of doting smile: "You, I've already told you that you don't need to be so formal with me."
"Is Your Majesty serious? Your Majesty is serious." She didn't want to perform the proper etiquette anyway, since he had said so.
Even if it was just modesty, she took it seriously, since she didn't care about him anyway.
Shangguan Xi was somewhat surprised that she had actually taken it seriously; he had just been saying it casually.
But since he had already said it, he could only agree: "Of course it's true, my word is my bond."
Upon hearing this, Xue Chanyi showed a touched expression: "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. From now on, I will not be so polite to Your Majesty in private."
"My beloved concubine is truly a rare and genuine person."
"Your Majesty is kind to me, and I cannot let Your Majesty down."
"Just your sweet mouth."
Xue Chanyi smiled and stayed with the actor for over an hour before leaving. Shortly after, Shangguan Xi went to Consort Lan's palace.
He truly deserves the title of "Emperor of Central Air Conditioning"—a master of time management.
As expected, Shangguan Xi went to Liuhua Palace that night, and then to Tangli Palace on the second and third nights.
The three concubines each spent two nights in their respective palaces, and then the emperor began visiting the palaces of other concubines, truly ensuring that the emperor's favor was distributed equally among them.
*
Today marks the fifth time in a month that the Empress has summoned the concubines to come and pay their respects.
Xue Chanyi made excuses or said she was sick to avoid going the previous four times, but she came today.
She had just arrived in her sedan chair when she saw that the main gate of the Phoenix Palace was blocked by the entourage of Bai Wanning and Consort Kang.
It seems that Consort Kang is causing trouble. She had her palanquin blocked at the main entrance, but instead of going in directly, she stopped to talk.
"Your Majesty, shall we go over there?" Liuli asked, frowning.
Xue Chanyi shook her head slightly, propped her head up with her hand, indicating that she should stop and wait a while before continuing.
She doesn't plan to get involved, but watching the show is fine.
Consort Kang said sarcastically, "Consort An is quite diligent. Last night, His Majesty stayed at Liuhua Palace again, and you came so early to pay your respects to the Empress."
"As a concubine of the harem, just like Consort Kang, how could I presume to pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress?"
Bai Wanning said with a smile, as if she hadn't noticed her sarcastic tone.
Consort Kang was a year older than her. Although they were of equal status, Consort Kang preferred to be called "older" and she didn't mind.
Consort Yan has been frequently ill lately, and the Emperor only visits her during the day.
At night, the Emperor would frequently visit the Invitation Moon Palace and the Flowing Splendor Palace, which belonged to Consort Lan.
As one of the concubines who entered the palace at the same time, Consort Kang was the least favored, and her resentment had been building for a long time.
Not daring to provoke Consort Lan, she set her sights on herself.
"My sister is so sensible; no wonder the Emperor likes her so much."
Bai Wanning said, "His Majesty cares for all the sisters in the harem equally. The time for paying respects is approaching. Consort Kang, it's time to go in."
Upon hearing this, Consort Kang, being a fellow concubine, dared not openly do anything to her; she merely felt uncomfortable and uttered a few sarcastic remarks.
After the two entered, Xue Chanyi had her sedan chair carried over. No sooner had she entered than Consort Lan arrived.
After paying their respects to the Empress, she had refreshments and tea served to everyone.
"Consort Yan, it's been a while since we last met. Are you feeling better?" the Empress asked the concubine as usual.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am feeling much better recently," Xue Chanyi replied casually.
"The imperial physician said that your body is weak, and you need to rest more. Only when you are healthy can you bear children for the Emperor."
"Your Majesty, I understand. Thank you for your guidance."
When it comes to bearing children, not a single concubine in the harem has ever conceived, not even the Empress or Consort Lan, who have been in the palace the longest.
After the Empress finished speaking, she also thought of this matter. Her greatest wish now is to give birth to a prince as soon as possible.
However, she hadn't received much favor in the past year, so there was no use in being anxious. But the fact that Consort Lan, who received so much favor, didn't react at all made her feel relieved.
Apart from Bai Wanning and Consort Kang, who have only recently entered the palace, I'm not in such a hurry yet, but I hope I can be the first one.
The emperor must be very concerned about the fact that no princes or princesses have been born in the harem yet.
Whoever gives birth to a prince first will surely please the emperor and receive his utmost favor.
Consort Lan and the four concubines also hoped to conceive soon.
Only Xue Chanyi knew that none of these concubines, except for the female lead, could conceive.
Shangguan Xi's health is not very good; he probably has asthenospermia, making it difficult for women to get pregnant.
Later on, the female lead has a halo around her, which is why she is able to get pregnant smoothly.
She was unaware of Shangguan Xi's health issues, or whether the Regent was involved; the plot didn't mention it either.
Because of the matter of offspring, everyone's enthusiasm for conversation waned, and the Empress didn't say much before telling everyone to go back.
On the way back, Xue Chanyi asked, "Xiao Qi, do you think the Regent Prince did anything to this?"
Xiao Qi shook her head: "Host, I don't know because the plot doesn't tell us, but the male lead didn't have a good life in the palace before he became emperor. Maybe his health was already bad at that time."
"Even if the Regent didn't take action, he probably knew this, which is why he supported Shangguan Xi to become emperor. Maybe he even contacted the Imperial Hospital to cover it up."
“The host is right. The palace is full of the regent’s men. Who wouldn’t want to work for him?”
"Yes, having a lot of power is good." That way, I can save myself a lot of trouble.
Xue Chanyi looked at the sky. Tonight was a good night for a secret rendezvous, and she could see the Regent again.
The two met a month ago; let's see how this person has considered it.
The Regent Prince has remained quite composed; he hasn't visited Jinglan Palace in the past month.
But he could not hide any movement in the palace from her. Before, when she deliberately pretended to be sick and recuperated, he even had his secret guards send her a lot of medicine and tonics.
*
The food prepared by the imperial kitchen was quite delicious. Xue Chanyi ate a bit too much tonight, and after dinner she took a few laps around the courtyard to aid digestion.
After resting for an hour after the activity, water was prepared for bathing.
It was past 9 AM, and she was still awake, sitting on the couch reading a storybook, when someone walked in from outside the palace.