novelhk Chapter 1415 Let Me Scrub Your Back
Chapter 1415 Let Me Scrub Your Back
Imperial Palace, Imperial Ancestral Temple.
This is where the imperial family of the Great Qian Dynasty enshrines the ancestral tablets of past generations. The entire building is constructed of huge white marble blocks, exuding a solemn and dignified atmosphere.
On ordinary days, the place is bustling with worshippers, and the sounds of bells and chimes are ever-present.
But today, the Imperial Ancestral Temple is completely quiet.
Apart from Zhao Gao, the chief eunuch who stood to the side with his hands at his sides, holding a whisk, there was no one else.
Murong Yan walked alone on the white jade steps leading to the main hall.
Today, she did not wear the ceremonial robe that symbolized supreme imperial power, but only the black and gold phoenix descending to earth dress that had long become her trademark.
Su Jin, dressed in an extremely dark black, appeared even more profound in this solemn and dignified atmosphere.
A five-zhang-long, dark gold train silently spread out behind her, stretching from the top of the high steps all the way to the plaza below, like a black waterfall cascading down from the heavens, silently telling of the emperor's sorrow.
On the hem of the skirt, the giant phoenix woven with real gold thread, under the sunlight streaming in through the window, appeared somewhat dim in its feathers, as if it too sensed its master's mood and had concealed all its sharpness.
In her hands, she held a sandalwood urn wrapped in bright yellow brocade.
The box contains Murong Ke's ashes.
She walked very slowly, each step feeling as if she were stepping on her own heart.
The main gate of the Imperial Ancestral Temple slowly opened.
A rich aroma, a blend of sandalwood and the patina of time, wafts towards you.
Inside the hall, the light was dim.
Rows of neat memorial tablets, from low to high, extend to the deepest part of the main hall.
Each memorial tablet bears the name of a once powerful and influential person.
They were the previous emperors of the Great Qian Dynasty.
Murong Yan's gaze swept over those familiar names, finally landing on the memorial tablet at the very top that belonged to her father, the emperor.
She took a deep breath, held the urn, and slowly walked over, placing it on the altar next to her father's memorial tablet.
Then, she took three steps back and slowly knelt down in front of her father's memorial tablet.
"Father, your daughter has come back to see you."
Her voice was very soft, with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.
“My daughter is unfilial. She failed to discipline her cousin, leading him astray and into committing heinous crimes.”
"Daughter, I have failed your expectations."
As she spoke, a layer of glistening mist rose in her phoenix eyes.
A single, glistening tear rolled down her smooth, jade-like cheek and fell onto the cold ground, shattering into a sorrowful flower.
She remembered her childhood, when her father was still alive.
Uncle Cheng Wang is still the kind uncle who would lift her high above his head and make her laugh.
Murong Ke, on the other hand, always protected her, calling her "cousin" repeatedly, and would save the best candy for her cousin.
They were very happy back then.
But I don't know when it started, everything changed.
Her father passed the throne to her, and her uncle, Prince Cheng, looked at her with increasing coldness and unfamiliarity.
Her cousin, who had always protected her, began to deliberately distance himself from her, eventually embarking on a path of no return, becoming her enemy.
"Why...why did it turn out like this?"
Murong Yan knelt on the ground, burying her head deeply in her arms. The sorrow that had been suppressed for so long poured out like a flood breaking through a dam.
She cried like a helpless child, her delicate shoulders trembling violently.
It was as if she wanted to cry out all the grievances she had suffered over the years at once.
Lin Zhen stood quietly outside the hall and did not go in.
Through the half-open palace door, he looked at the woman on the ground, weeping uncontrollably, and felt a pang of pain in his heart.
I know she needs someone to vent to.
She was the Empress of the Great Qian Dynasty, the ruler of all people, and in front of others, she had to always maintain the majesty and indifference of an emperor.
Only when she is alone can she shed all her pretenses and become that ordinary woman again—one who can cry, laugh, and feel sadness.
After a long while, the crying inside the hall gradually subsided.
Murong wiped away the tears on her face with her sleeve. Her swollen phoenix eyes were now filled with the unwavering determination of an emperor as she bowed three times and kowtowed nine times before her father's memorial tablet.
"Father, rest assured. Your daughter will definitely protect the empire you left behind. Anyone who dares to covet it will not be tolerated!"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it echoed endlessly in the empty Imperial Ancestral Temple.
When she emerged from the Imperial Ancestral Temple, she transformed back into the decisive, ruthless, and incomparably majestic Empress of the Great Qian Dynasty.
Lin Zhen walked to her side and took her cold little hand in his palm.
"Has everything been taken care of?"
"Mm." Murong Yan nodded, turning her head to look at Lin Zhen. "Husband, let's go home."
"Okay, let's go home." Lin Zhen put his arm around her.
The two walked side by side into the depths of the palace, towards their own Phoenix Palace.
The setting sun cast their shadows long, very long.
……
After returning to Fengyi Palace.
The first thing Murong Yan did was to throw herself into a bathtub filled with flower petals.
The warm pool water instantly enveloped my already exhausted body.
She couldn't help but let out a lazy moan.
Lin Zhen sat by the pool, holding a glass of warm wine in her hand, a mischievous smile on her face.
"Yan'er, would you like your husband to scrub your back?"
"Get lost." Murong Yan rolled her eyes at him, her phoenix eyes carrying a hint of alluring charm.
She slowly stood up from the water.
The black and gold phoenix-themed dress, soaked by the pool water, clung tightly to her exquisite and shapely body.
It outlines a perfect curve that makes one's blood boil, and water droplets slowly slide down the smooth, jade-like skin.
The drops fell onto the five-zhang-long skirt, splashing up small ripples.
Looking at the stunningly beautiful woman before him, who resembled a lotus emerging from the water, Lin Zhen felt his throat go dry.
He put down his wine glass and walked toward the woman who exuded a fatal attraction to him.
"Since you, Yan'er, don't want to help me, I'll have to rely on myself."
A night of love.
The next day, when Murong Yan woke up on that large phoenix bed, the sun was already high in the sky.
She felt as if her body had been run over a dozen times by a horse-drawn carriage, and every part of her body ached.
In particular, a certain indescribable area was burning with pain.
"It's all that bastard's fault."
Murong Yan blushed and cursed inwardly.
She turned her head and glanced at the man who was still fast asleep beside her. A complex mix of love and hate flashed in her beautiful phoenix eyes.
She stretched out her slender fingers and gently pinched his handsome face.
Lin Zhen winced in pain, letting out a muffled groan, and slowly opened her eyes.
"Yan'er, are you being so enthusiastic so early in the morning?" He looked at the stunningly beautiful woman dressed in front of him and a mischievous smile appeared on his face.