novelhk Chapter 189 Comparison is the thief of joy
Chapter 189 Comparison is the thief of joy
Wang Zhi asked, "Why do you say that?"
Wang Linyao said, "I think that Consort Chen is not easy to get along with. Although the Emperor is young and brave, he seems to listen to Consort Chen. I think the palace is probably very chaotic with no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children."
Wang Yueyao replied, "That's exactly why we should enter the palace. If we can restore order, not only will the Emperor look at us with new eyes, but we will also surely have a place in history."
Wang Linyao had already decided to withdraw, but she couldn't bear to let her younger sister enter the palace alone.
The two were twin sisters and wanted to use this gimmick to win the emperor's favor, but they didn't expect to run into Consort Chen, who was like a Cheng Yaojin (a legendary figure known for his unlucky streak). They were truly unlucky.
Wang Zhi clapped his hands and laughed, "Yueyao has good ambition. She is indeed a daughter of the Wang family of Taiyuan. It doesn't matter if you don't succeed this time. You two are still young. In less than two years, the palace will definitely hold another selection. At that time, your father will send you into the palace with dignity."
Offering one's daughter as a sacrifice does not have a good reputation.
Lin Guiyou had also heard about what had happened and was complaining to Madam Guo and Madam Yuan, "I really don't know what these officials are thinking. Is our Emperor someone who would listen to a pillow talk? Why send these people in?"
Not enough to chop.
She had experienced the cruelty of the palace firsthand. In just one year, how many people had been imprisoned? The three of them seemed to still be alive, but to the Emperor, what difference was there between them and the dead?
Lady Guo truly admired Consort Chen; she had actually managed to stop her.
"Fortunately, there was still Consort Chen; otherwise, these people would have truly succeeded."
Lady Yuan was very worried. Would Consort Chen be angered by the Emperor because of this? No matter how favored she was, she couldn't ruin the Emperor's plans like this!
There was a noise outside, and the three of them pricked up their ears to listen. Then they quickly got up. The Emperor and Consort Chen had returned.
The three bowed under the eaves.
Consort Chen walked ahead, her steps hurried, while the Emperor followed behind with a smile. When they went up the steps, Consort Chen almost fell, and the Emperor quickly helped her up, then carried her into the house.
I've seen people who are favored, but I've never seen anyone spoiled like this.
Clanging and banging sounds came from inside, clearly someone was smashing things. The Imperial Concubine Chen's voice rang out, "Li Yuanke, you bastard, did you do this on purpose today? You deliberately sent me there so I could take the blame and you could send me a woman, didn't you?"
The three of them hadn't even gone inside yet when they heard this and their legs went weak with fright. My God, Consort Chen actually addressed the Emperor by his name!
When they were in the Prince's mansion, Madam Guo and Madam Yuan had witnessed such things, but they never expected that even after the Emperor ascended the throne, she would still dare to do it, and that the Emperor would still be willing to indulge her.
"Shut up! When did I mean that? How was I supposed to know they would do that?"
"You don't? You really don't know? There are things in this world you don't know?"
"Why would I lie to you? Don't you care whether I take a harem or not?" Li Yuanke said irritably.
Shen Shixi finally calmed down. "Oh, I don't care if you take in concubines or not, as long as you don't use me as a scapegoat. Humph, Cao Ruiyuan is a terrible official, but he's quite good at this kind of flattery."
"Oh dear, what a pity! Our Emperor is a wise ruler; he doesn't fall for that. Otherwise, tonight, those twin beauties serving His Majesty together would have been so exciting!"
"Shut the hell up!"
Li Yuanke covered her mouth and dragged her into the washroom. He originally intended to wash her and then go to sleep, but they ended up getting soaked, and the washroom was flooded.
Lin Guiyou and the other two heard the main house constantly asking for water, and seven or eight buckets of water were carried in. The noise didn't stop until midnight.
Needless to say, the emperor wasn't very interested in Yuan and Guo when they were still in the throes of passion. In the few perfunctory encounters they had, they experienced nothing but pain and discomfort, and the emperor probably found it uninteresting as well.
At that time, the emperor was not very old, only seventeen years old, and wanted to bestow concubines and secondary consorts upon the emperor. These were all daughters from good families, some of whom came from prominent families.
The Empress Dowager was afraid that the Emperor would be clumsy and disliked by others, so she arranged for palace maids to learn about human affairs, which was also an ancestral family rule.
But this experience was quite damaging to Lin Guiyou. Of the two times she served the emperor, the first time the emperor told her "Don't be nervous," but the second time he didn't say a word to her.
She was wrapped up naked and taken to the bed in Yanxi Hall, where she was to wait. There were also eunuchs and palace maids guarding the room.
Through the screen, she could see those people standing at the four corners with their heads down.
After the emperor arrived, everyone retreated a bit, and the historian also followed him in. Fortunately, there was another door outside the pavilion, but to Lin Guiyou, it was as if it were not there.
Therefore, she didn't dare to make a sound the whole time; of course, according to the rules, she couldn't make a sound either.
After it was all over, the emperor withdrew, and she was carried away.
She couldn't see the emperor's face, and the emperor wouldn't let her touch his body. Later, she heard that the emperor hated it most when his concubines touched his face.
Even though Consort Rong was so favored back then, she was not allowed to touch his face when she served him in bed.
Looking back now, Lin Guiyou feels that the so-called favored Consort Rong was all a joke.
Look at the lights that stay on all night, look at the repeated requests for water, look at the shared bed after the night's service—this is true honor and favor.
Lin Guiyou didn't believe it. The emperor forbade Shen Shixi from touching his face. Could it be avoided?
Shen Shixi lay in Li Yuanke's arms, so tired that she couldn't even move her fingers. The two of them hadn't had a chance to do this on the way, and they were both quite craving it, so they couldn't resist and indulged themselves a bit.
Li Yuanke used up all the bullets he had saved up over half a month.
He was also exhausted. The two of them lay there like dead dogs, and they fell asleep almost as soon as they closed their eyes.
After two days of rest, they set off on the morning of the 19th.
The next day, they went to bed a little later. When the two of them got up to have their meal, Lin Guiyou and the other two came over to pay their respects.
Li Yuanke was quite polite, "Have you eaten yet? If not, please have some with us."
All three of them had eaten, but according to custom, they were to serve Li Yuanke his meals. Guo and Yuan were used to doing this, but Lin Guiyou had never done such a thing before. She was so nervous when she picked up a bun that she dropped it into Li Yuanke's arms.
Li Yuanke was terrified and jumped back, narrowly avoiding falling on him and landing on the ground.
"Do you know how to do it? If you don't, then stay out of the way." Li Yuanke was annoyed.
Lin Guiyou was nearly scared out of her wits. She knelt down with a thud and begged for forgiveness, "Your Majesty, I have been impolite. Please punish me!"
The emperor was too lazy to argue with her, and waved his hand, telling her to go away.
Throughout the entire meal, Shen Shixi ate quietly, ignoring the three of them.
[Sigh, to be honest, I really envy Li Yuanke. He's surrounded by beautiful women, with three or four of them serving him while he eats. It's simply enviable! Heaven is so unfair! Why didn't it let me be born a boy? Ugh, I'm going to stab this damned God in the back!]
After giving a mental shout, Shen Shixi ate with even more gusto.
The last piece of shumai was something both Li Yuanke and Shen Shixi wanted to eat, so they both picked it up with their chopsticks at the same time.