The First Empress - Chapter 42

Chapter 42 Straw Boat Borrowing Arrows
After being fine for a few days, it was only natural that the clans were happy and worried.

On this day, it was a snowy day covered in red clouds. Silver charcoal had already been burned in the palaces. Li Chongyuan was playing with the cat in her palace while lying on the brocade fabric, intentionally or unintentionally teasing the lazy Persian cat. Hearing the rumor that the Empress was coming, she hurriedly went to the front hall to welcome Ji Zhuhua.

Ji Zhu Hua was as graceful as a willow, “How is little sister Chongyuan recently?”

“Thanks to Empress Hong Fu, everything is fine.” Li Chongyuan didn’t know why, so she was cautious and her words were naturally tight-knit.

Ji Zhu Hua sat on the warm couch as he focused on the burning of the silver carbon in the earth dragon. He leisurely asked, “This palace went to see Tong Shi. My younger sister is the most grateful. Although my younger sister is not a big celebrity now, after all, half of the sky is already there …”

The Empress’s eyes looked at Li Chongyuan with satisfaction and joy, “I’m going to pamper you now. Look at you. Isn’t the best time to miss these three or five days?”

Hearing this, Li Chongyuan was relieved. The Empress was still kind-hearted. She was just here to remind herself not to lose her favor and let others take advantage of this situation. Thus, a smile blossomed on Cherry’s lips. “This concubine knows what to do. It’s just that the Emperor in the harem is not the emperor of this concubine alone, so she doesn’t dare to be self-absorbed.”

Ji Zhuhua gently stroked his silk hair and said faintly, “There is something wrong with my sister. She has a good temperament. She will not live long in this place if she only has a good temperament.”

At this point, Li Chongyuan’s cold eyes swept over. He felt as if a large chestnut had grown all over his body. Fear, fear, doubt, haste, and all sorts of emotions swept past his heart again and again. He hurriedly kowtowed, “The Empress taught him a lesson, but this concubine only wanted to hold Ying Baotai and did not want to fight in secret. How could this be good?” Or did the Empress hear some rumors? Could it be that someone is trying to frame this concubine? ”

Ji Zhuhua pulled Li Chongyuan up in a low voice. Seeing her pale face, he smiled faintly. “There’s still a tall man like me standing on top of the collapsed sky. Don’t worry, little sister.”

Don’t worry–compete for favor–is that right?

Why did Li Chongyuan suddenly feel a little afraid? Could it be because …

Impossible. She was twisting a handkerchief in her hand. The Empress could tell what she was thinking and said, “Sit down, little girl, you’ve been frightened to such a state. There are some things that you’d better plan early in the morning and evening.”

Ji Zhuhua’s eyes were as colorful and charming as a piece of high-grade glass, reflecting that the snow in the courtyard was actually much more gorgeous.

So far, Li Chongyuan still couldn’t understand why Ji Zhuhua had come here today. Ji Zhuhua rarely visited the palaces of other imperial concubines. Moreover, half of Ji Zhuhua’s ferocious face had already been revealed today. He did not know what kind of bloody mouth would become when he swallowed the cherry-lipped sandalwood.

Li Chongyuan felt that his hands and feet were extremely cold. ‘”I’ve seen Tong Shi for three months. You’ve been very favored by me for three months. I’ll send you to the peak of the storm. You naturally have to know how to ride through the wind and waves. Don’t struggle. Even if you want to support Ying Baotai, you have to know that it’s difficult to do so, and Baotai is even harder to do so.” The Empress said shortly after.

Li Chongyuan slowly recognized the Empress. Her slightly trembling eyelids seemed to really care about her life and death. In order to probe further, Li Chongyuan said, “Is the Empress letting her concubines compete for favor?”

A few drops of snow that had just melted fell onto the eaves, dripping as if they had fallen into Li Chongyuan’s heart.

Hearing Li Chongyuan’s words, Empress Ji Zhuhua smiled faintly, “If you want to compete for favor or not, you must have the qualifications. For example, those women who never see the light of day have wasted their youth and flower bones in vain …”

Li Chongyuan felt that her hands were half wet, all cold sweat, and she still couldn’t understand what the Empress meant in the end.

The Empress continued to smile. “For example, there are some people who have the ability, but now they just won’t use it. There are also some people who have plenty of opportunities, but they just missed it for no reason. In the end, they complained to themselves and only said a few stupid words about their fate. Is that right?” This was actually a question that Li Chongyuan wanted to ask Li Chongyuan. Li Chongyuan tilted her eyes and didn’t dare to look at a queen like this. She was afraid that her eyes would turn into a needle-to-needle confrontation with the queen’s, so she lowered her eyebrows and said, “What did Your Highness say …”

Ji Zhu Hua frowned deeply and sighed, “You must have seen it in the harem. Everyone’s faces are filled with bitterness. If you see someone, you can’t cut their hearts apart with a single word. Do you understand?”

“This concubine has been taught. Thank you, Your Highness, for your generous advice.” Li Chongyuan felt trembling endlessly.

Ji Zhuhua stood up, probably feeling that the effect of the matter had already been achieved. After walking around the hall twice, Li Chongyuan continued to follow him left and right.

The Empress walked to the center of the hall and stopped. “Being favored also has its own benefits. If I remember correctly, it is the ten-meter-tall Mao Ravender Window. How can I know that it is not because of being favored that I have changed my appearance today?”

“Yes.”

Ji Zhu Hua looked at Li Chong Yuan beside him as if he was stunned, “I heard that you’re used to traveling alone. It’s all good, but it’s just a little …”

“Just one thing. Don’t trust anyone. There are people who meet one another behind the scenes. It’s good that you know what to do. This palace has saved a lot of effort.”

“Yes.”

Li Chongyuan felt her entire body tremble and she was uneasy.

There should be a purpose for the Empress to arrange for herself to become a person beside the Sovereign King’s pillow. However, she had not yet figured out what the purpose was. There is no point in saying that, but today, it seems that the Empress’s meaning is not as simple as it seems on the surface …

“Don’t talk too much to people you don’t know. It won’t be good if you get caught in the wrong place.” After the Empress finished speaking, she turned around and held Li Chongyuan’s wrist. Then, she carefully sized it up and smiled, “Remember what I said.”

“Yes.” Li Chongyuan’s heart was still floating in the air, and her mind couldn’t help but slow down a little. She didn’t know that she shouldn’t answer like this until she said “yes”. She quickly changed her tone. “I mean, thank you, Your Highness. I will definitely remember everything that Your Highness taught me.”

“It’s useless just to remember,” Ji Zhuhua said earnestly. “People are not vegetation, and I don’t want to see you being attacked by someone behind you. Don’t be too suspicious. You have a thousand faces. As for how to tell if that person is a mask or a real face, that’s your ability.”

“I understand.” Li Chongyuan understood quickly this time. She also knew that she couldn’t just talk about people just because they were close to each other. Some people might not forgive others, but their hearts were filled with crystal hearts.

“It’s getting late. This palace” The Empress was just about to leave when she suddenly turned around and looked at Li Chongyuan with an embarrassed smile. “Are you scared today?” “I shouldn’t have spoken to you harshly, but you can’t remember some of the things that I said. I’m also afraid that the warm water boiled frogs won’t be beautiful. Stand up and let me ask you, do you know the story of Zhuge Wuhou borrowing the arrow from the grass boat?”

Li Chongyuan nodded and said, “Marquis Zhuge was unarmed that day, but he borrowed 100,000 arrows …”

Ji Zhu Hua held Li Chongyuan’s trembling hands and nodded, “This palace is now a boat. Would you think of a way to borrow an arrow?”

“I-” Li Chongyuan said seriously, “I will.”

“That’s good.”

The Empress and Pei Lan went. After kneeling down, Li Chongyuan did not get up for a moment.

The palace maid came over to support him. Li Chongyuan’s lips were dull and she could not hear what she was saying.

At dinner time, the reverence room sent over a green-headed token for Hui Qi to flip over. Hui Qi’s fingers swayed in the mud tray and stopped on the name “Bu Jieyu”. He nodded a little and said, “Bu Jieyu.”

The Empress’s expression changed slightly, but Xi Ning’s smile remained the same, like a dahlia in the wind.

When the eunuch of the honorary room passed on the message, he helped Hui Qibulai and asked politely, “Who are the women in the various palaces now? Has the Emperor remembered it?”

“This was originally a matter of the Respect Room. It’s just a mundane thing. I vaguely remember that Li Chongyuan was probably the first, Bu Linglong was the second, and the rest of the mediocre people were treated equally.” As Huiqi spoke, he drank a mouthful of Lotus White Liquor, speechless.

Ji Zhuhua’s ebony-gold chopsticks stopped in mid-air. “The harem is actually not calm. Your Majesty, don’t be deceived on the surface. Your servants and concubines feel …”

Hui Qi rolled his eyes over and said, “Don’t I know what you’re going to say?” “These two women are equally matched. Their character and appearance are both good. However, the matter of the dragon descendants can happen and cannot be sought. I will change the green-headed token every once in a while. You’re overthinking it.”

Huiqi was slightly dissatisfied. The Empress hurriedly placed the dishes in Huiqi’s bowl. Huiqi looked sideways and said, “The Empress is also tired.”

“This concubine is happy. Since this concubine has the right to manage everything in the harem, she will naturally manage it in an orderly manner.” Ji Zhuhua nodded, “Your Majesty, eat.”

“It’s good to be organized,” Hui Qi said with a change of tone. “Just don’t be bored.”

Ji Zhuhua didn’t dare to arrogate, so he could only eat silently.

By nightfall, Linglong was ready. Her Majesty’s shoulders had already come over. Because Snowy Heavens Road was slippery, Linglong and Qin’er were waiting outside. They saw Hui Qi coming from afar. As they bowed, they said, “Your Majesty, it’s not easy to come. Hurry up and get inside.”

“You are the only one who has earned my heart. Even the Empress said that everything you do is excellent. It seems that I am worthy of my name. It is truly not bad.” Huiqi nodded and held Linglong’s hand.

“Your Majesty, go inside.” Linglong seemed to lack interest.

‘”You don’t look happy. What happened to you today? Look at your face–” Huiqi touched Linglong’s face and said with a slight reproach, “It’s winter and December, aren’t you going to wear more?”

“This concubine has not liked bloated and trivial clothes since she was young.”

“I know your heart is straightforward. Just be more careful, so as not to be used by others. There are also people who borrow a knife to kill.” The Emperor felt that he was talking too much and concealed it.

Linglong also recognized Hui Qi’s intentions and nodded, “Your Majesty, please remind me that this concubine knows.”

After a night of silence, the two of them felt as if they were glued together. Unknowingly, it was already morning and the Emperor had left early.

Linglong Jiaoyong propped up half of her body and stared blankly at Ri Ying.

There were many things to do in the morning, but Linglong was not the only one dazed at this moment. When the red sun gradually shot the glow into the inner courtyard of the palace, Li Chongyuan was also dumbfounded.

“I heard the Empress say that the Emperor will come tonight. Little Lord, please keep the Emperor safe.” The Empress had already sent these words over. It seemed that she could not ignore the Empress’s good intentions in nurturing her. Li Chongyuan nodded with a fake smile. She really had a kind of desire to keep the tree calm and the wind blowing.

At night, as expected, the emperor’s bright yellow shoulders stopped outside her palace. The emperor held hands and walked into the inner hall.

Li Chongyuan hurriedly bowed. His Majesty had already gone to bed as usual. Li Chongyuan was worried and barely managed to cope.

During the night, he couldn’t sleep peacefully three or four times. Hui Qi saw Li Chongyuan vomiting and asked, “Did you eat your stomach bad during the day? Watching you run around three times and four times, you have to pay attention to your body. Call the imperial physician.”

“There’s no need. It’s been like this for the past few days. I have never been so weak. Don’t worry, Your Majesty.”

“Forget it, I know my own body. Come on up, don’t stand in the air.”