The First Empress - Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Huiqi
She quietly approached. The man was standing on the Misty Pavilion alone with his back facing her. His figure was tall and straight, like a treasured sword about to be unsheathed.

Although she had never seen him before, she remembered his face very well. She had thick black eyebrows, narrow phoenix eyes, a straight nose, and a slightly pointed lower jaw. When he first met him, he was already a mature man who was close to his age. He also came from the royal family and was a noble member of the Heavenly Decoration. Naturally, he had an extraordinary bearing, causing people to be terrified and respectful.

Bu Linglong thought that she had never understood the husband she would rely on for her entire life. Under his cold and straight eyebrows, countless schemes and schemes were concealed. He plotted against his father, against his brothers, against his subordinates, and finally, for himself, he had plotted against this boundless and boundless river and mountains. Bu Linglong did not understand the schemes between men, but she could still vaguely feel the gloominess and fierceness emanating from his body during a few rare interactions.

However … his attitude towards her was clearly so gentle and tender.

Bu Linglong didn’t know if he was always gentle towards other women, or if he treated her more favourably. She did not intend to know that this thin and precious grace had already poured out all of her heart.

As a woman, perhaps they were all so stupid, right? How could she not love him? Even though he rarely came to see her, even though she did not hold much weight in his heart, he was still–but he was her husband, and her beloved was the only man besides her parents who gave her warmth and care.

And now, he was the emperor.

A decisive expression suddenly flashed across Bu Linglong’s face. She quietly rearranged her appearance, then slowly walked forward and said with deep happiness, “This concubine pays her respects to the Emperor.”

Huiqi was disturbed by Bu Linglong, but she didn’t seem angry. She just smiled and nodded, “It’s you.”

He was still wearing a bright yellow royal robe embroidered with nine-clawed coiling dragons. He wore a white jade crown that pierced through the heavens. He thought that he had just entered the court, so he didn’t even have time to change his clothes. It was just that he didn’t know why Huiqi, the noble son of heaven, had rushed to this remote Smoke Twilight Pavilion so hastily.

Bu Linglong hesitated for a moment before carefully asking, “The Emperor came here … to admire the scenery?”

Huiqi’s expression remained unchanged, and there was still a faint smile on his lips. He looked at Bu Linglong casually and asked, “What about you?”

Bu Linglong lowered her eyebrows quietly. Her long eyelashes seemed to be covered with a layer of faint golden sunlight, like butterflies spreading their wings. She was gentle and elegant, but at the same time, she was also a little charming. “I passed by here on my way back to the palace. I saw the Emperor from afar, so I came to pay my respects.”

Hui Qi replied, “You must live in Qixia Palace. It is indeed the only way to return to Qixia Palace.” He thought for a moment and then said, “The Qixia Palace is remote. Do you still have the habit of living?”

Bu Linglong bent her knees and replied, “If I return to the Emperor, the Qixia Palace is a palace bestowed by the Emperor, and my servants and concubines are very happy to live in it.”

Huiqi nodded slightly. Bu Linglong looked at her carefully again, but she saw that she was wearing an onion-green lotus-leaf palace dress, and she had slanted her horse into a fallen bun. Her hair ornaments had also been cut off, but it was only a few silver hairpins and a white jade hairpin. The long tassels fell down, making her look even more beautiful and timid. It was precisely a small family’s jade style of Chu Feng.

His heart trembled slightly, but he refused to reveal it at all. He only carelessly reached out and stroked the broken hair on her forehead. He smiled and said, “Far away from the Qixia Palace, you should go back early. I will come and see you when I have time.”

Bu Linglong gently glanced at the Emperor and said respectfully, “Then I’ll leave first.”

Seeing Bu Linglong and her maidservant walk away, the smile on Huiqi’s face disappeared without a trace.

“Have you seen it clearly?” He handed it over with a glance, and a personal eunuch immediately came forward to obey, “Apart from Bu Cai Ren, no one else on this path has passed by?”

“Your Majesty, this servant really saw it.” The eunuch bowed humbly. This eunuch looked to be forty or fifty years old. He thought that he had been following Hui Qi in the palace for a long time. He lowered his eyebrows, but his pitch-black pupils were filled with sharp light. He spun around like a human spirit. “Apart from Little Lord Bu, no one else passed by.”

Huiqi seemed to be lost in thought. His gaze fluttered through the extravagant and exquisite pavilions in front of him, and an extremely complicated expression suddenly flashed across his dark, ink-like eyes.

The personal eunuch carefully looked at Hui Qi’s expression and said, “This servant doesn’t understand … why did the Emperor choose Little Lord Bu? Little Lord Bu’s background is somewhat low, and his relationship with the Emperor is also shallow. If it was Imperial Concubine Rou …”

Hui Qi glanced coldly at the eunuch and immediately frightened him to the point of not daring to say anything more. “Ruan Ding, tell me honestly,” Hui Qi suddenly smiled. “How much did you receive from Imperial Concubine Rou? Hmm? The wind blew on my head. You don’t want this head anymore, do you?”

“This servant does not dare, this servant does not dare.” Ruan Ding hurriedly knelt down and begged for mercy, but at the same time, he bit his tongue and refused to let go. “This servant also wholeheartedly considered for the Emperor. In the Unity Palace, who doesn’t know that Imperial Concubine Rou is pampered by the Six Palaces?”

“Pet Crown Six Palaces?” A trace of disdain flashed across the corner of Huiqi’s mouth. That trace of disdain was so subtle that even Ruan Ding was not sure if what he saw was true. “Since Concubine Rou is my favorite woman, how can I be willing to use her to take risks?”

“There is a reason why the Qixia Palace is named after Yan Mu Pavilion,” he said leisurely, as if he was just chatting. “In the future, although I have become the Son of Heaven, I have no choice but to be wary of some people.”

He looked at the scenery on the Smoke Twilight Pavilion for a while, until it was almost noon, and the sun gradually became poisonous. Then he said, “Take care of the Kunde Palace, I will go and see the Empress.”

“Little Lord, why are you helping that Bu Cai Ren today? She is not as important as you, so it is only natural for her to salute you. Why do you bow down to her? You even made Imperial Concubine Rou so unhappy.”

In Changle Palace, Sha Ling, who was the maidservant of Lan Shuyulan who had married into the palace, complained indignantly while serving tea for her young master.

Lan Shuyu drank a newly paid tribute to Yu Hou Long Jing and said slowly, “I just entered the palace and was just being polite to the old man beside the Emperor. She is only a level lower than me and is also among the women of the 27th generation. It is nothing to salute her.” As for Concubine Rou … “She looked at Sha Ling and smiled.” What are you afraid of? Didn’t you see how much face the Empress had in front of her today? ” “I heard that Concubine Rou used to be the pet of a private room in the palace, and he had such a domineering temperament. He must have given the empress and other concubines a lot of bitterness back then. The grudges of the past can’t be counted as a grudge. How could he have the mood to affect a little fifth-grade beauty like me?”

“Yes, yes, or Lord’s thoughts are far-reaching. This servant respects you.” Sha Ling complimented at the right time. “Thinking back to when the Seventh Prince was so powerful, “It’s the direct son of the previous Empress. Everyone thinks that the position of Crown Prince must belong to the Seventh Prince. Even the old master intends to marry the young miss to the Seventh Prince as the main concubine. When the Seventh Prince ascends the throne, the young miss will be the Empress of the Mother World. Fortunately, the young miss was too weak to get married. Otherwise, the situation of our Lan Clan will be greatly worse.”

Lan Sou Yu did not say anything, but deep down in her heart, she thought so. His father was the prime minister of the current dynasty during the period of the previous emperor, a powerful official, The first empress who gave birth to the Seventh Prince was also a close relative of Lan Sou Yu’s mother’s family. At that time, the Lan Clan was well-deserved to be a wealthy clan, Even compared to the princes, At that time, his father had helped to support the Seventh Prince, He didn’t care about Huiqi, the third son of the Emperor, who had almost no chance of winning. Who would have thought that overnight, The heavens and the earth spun abruptly. The previous emperor mysteriously died, The first empress hanged herself in the Central Palace three days later and followed the previous emperor. Huiqi, the third son of the emperor who hid his strength and didn’t attract anyone’s attention, seized the supreme imperial power with lightning speed and successfully ascended to the throne. The once glorious seventh prince, Hui Ye, lost in an extremely short period of time. Other than the hereditary king, he had almost nothing.

Fortunately … the Lan Clan’s influence in the previous dynasty was still there. After Huiqi ascended the throne, he still used Lan Zheng Lin, Lan Sou Yu’s father, as a Prime Minister. He treated Lan Sou Yu with courtesy and deliberately sealed Lan Sou Yu’s elder brother and younger brother, so that the Lan Clan’s limelight was not inferior to that of the previous emperor.

However, since she was from an aristocratic family, Lan Sou Yu, like her father, naturally understood that Hui Qi’s kindness was not sincere.

This was also the reason why Lan Sou Yu had to enter the palace.

After Lan Shuyu finished her tea, she saw that the pastries on the fruit plate were greasy, so she was a little tired. She instructed Shaling, “Go and get someone to remove the things from the table. In the future, you are not allowed to enter the kitchen for such refreshments. I’m tired. I’m going to sleep in the inner hall for a while, and no one else is allowed to disturb me.”

“Yes,” Sha Ling bent her knees, “Little Lord, rest assured, go to sleep.”

The sun gradually moved westward. Shortly after Shen Shi woke up, Lan Shuyu saw Ruan Ding leading a group of eunuchs who were serving beside the Emperor happily walking in.

“Congratulations, Little Lord! Congratulations, Little Lord!” Ruan Ding’s face was full of smiles, “Your Majesty flipped through your token tonight. Please hurry up and prepare!”