thenovelthief Chapter 22 That damned brat, he's up to his old tricks again!
Chapter 22 That damned brat, he's up to his old tricks again!
"Haven't washed it yet!"
Shen Shixi's fair feet rested on his stomach. Li Yuanke grasped her ankles and pulled them towards his waist. "Wash them later!"
"Ouch! Be gentle!" Shen Shixi tried to kick, but he grabbed her again, his hand sliding forward and gripping the inside of her knee, making her unable to move.
Unbearable noises came from inside, and the people outside retreated with flushed faces. They hadn't finished their work yet, so they worked outside the hall for a while. Only Bai Ping was left outside to keep watch, as they would need water later.
"Why are you being so good today?" Li Yuanke put his hand on her shoulder, then slid it down to hold her waist.
It's as soft as seaweed.
The weather was already hot, and Shen Shixi looked as if she had been drenched in rain. Her hair was spread out on the pillow, and her face was flushed, whether from the heat or something else. Her eyes were watery, her red lips were a little swollen, and two tears hung at the corners of her eyes, about to fall but not yet, making her look like a fairy.
Shen Shixi had a good figure. She climbed up by his shoulders and suddenly turned him over, pressing him down onto the bed.
Li Yuanke laughed in anger, "You damned brat, you're up to your old tricks again!"
He simply lay down, thinking, "Don't even think about letting me go until you've served me well today!"
His breathing became heavy, his eyes instantly darkened, and he looked fierce, as if he wanted to devour someone.
Li Yuanke's breath hitched, and it felt as if fireworks were exploding in his mind.
Shen Shixi's waist softened, and she lay on top of him, their heartbeats resonating in unison.
In Baoci Palace, the eldest prince and the eldest princess were asleep when Consort De lay down. Yinxing applied fragrant ointment to her body, covering her entire body, and then massaged it in little by little.
When the previous dynasty's palace fell, the Duke of Xin's mansion took in a female physician from the palace, and this method was passed down to her by that physician.
Yinxing was the child of the female physician and the old Duke of Xin, and she learned a lot of the female physician's skills from a young age.
Consort De gave birth to two children without a single mark on her body, and her waist remained as supple as a young girl's, all thanks to Ginkgo.
"Your Majesty, isn't His Majesty being a bit too kind to Zhaoyang Palace? Consort Lin from Wangxian Pavilion only had the Imperial Kitchen slightly alter Zhaoyang Palace's breakfast, yet His Majesty flew into a rage. Isn't that going a bit too far in protecting her?"
Ginkgo wasn't pitying anyone's life, but rather felt that this was just a trivial matter; how often did such things not happen in the palace?
Everyone took the matter to the Emperor, and every single one of them cost lives.
Consort De said, "Everyone in the palace seems to be the Emperor's people. Who knows who's pulling the strings behind these people? As long as they don't go too far, it's fine. But the Imperial Kitchen is a crucial place. Lin Shi has only been here for a few days and she's already managed to bribe someone to tamper with the main course. Who wouldn't be afraid?"
It was Shen's tendency to be calculating that Lin probably never imagined she would take this matter to the Emperor's ears. Not only did she lose a nail, but the Emperor is now likely wary of the Right Guard General.
Yinxing said, "That Lady Lin is also stupid. I wonder if Lady Shen did it on purpose."
"Regardless of whether it is true or not, the fact that she dared to make a scene in front of His Majesty over such a small matter shows that His Majesty treats her differently. We still need to keep a close eye on this person."
"I can't get involved in Zhaoyang Palace now. I'm afraid I won't be able to get things done, and I'll only attract attention instead."
"Hmm, let's put it aside for now." Consort De turned over and sighed, "His Majesty is quite protective of his childhood sweetheart!"
Yinxing laughed, "Consort Shen is quite arrogant. In my opinion, there are plenty of people who won't tolerate her. They might not even be able to wait until we do anything."
Consort De smiled and said, "Let's see what happens to the Empress first. I didn't expect our Emperor to be so carefree. Isn't he afraid that the birth of a son by Lady Pei will further fuel the Pei family's ambitions?"
"Your Majesty dares, but I don't have that kind of guts."
"Yes, but our people are not allowed to enter the Empress's palace. The Empress has just changed her clothes, and the Emperor has not yet spent the night at Fengyi Palace."
"Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival."
After the palace banquet, the emperor would inevitably go to Fengyi Palace.
Inside Wangxian Pavilion, Lin Guiyou was also crying quite a bit. The Emperor hadn't chosen her again today and had even gone to Zhaoyang Palace.
Yunluo tried to comfort her, "Please stop crying, Your Highness. You were too hasty. This isn't the time to use nails in the Imperial Kitchen. Perhaps His Majesty is having second thoughts. You should think of a solution."
Consort Lin smashed the teacup beside her. "What can I do? The Emperor won't favor me, so even if I have great abilities, I'm useless."
Moreover, once she was on the bed, she didn't have any special skills.
Shen Shixi was exhausted. She felt like she had only fallen asleep for a short while when she heard Li Fude calling. She thought he was calling for His Majesty to attend court, but then she realized he wasn't.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something has happened at Baoci Palace!"
The eldest prince lives in Baoci Palace.
Li Fude called out several times, but Li Yuanke didn't wake up. Shen Shixi was annoyed and kicked him, but instead he was pulled into Li Yuanke's arms and couldn't move.
"Li Yuanke, wake up!"
Shen Shixi bit his chest, and then he asked, "Not sleeping? Want more?"
"Can't you hear me? Li Fude has been shouting for ages outside! Something's happened at Baoci Palace!"
Li Yuanke was extremely impatient, his voice hoarse, "What is it now?"
"The Crown Prince has a nosebleed again!"
Li Yuanke remained silent, placing his hand on his forehead. After the lights in the hall were turned on, he lay down for a while longer before resignedly getting up.
Shen Shixi had no choice but to get up and go check, but Li Yuanke stopped her, saying, "I'll go, you go to sleep."
What a sin!
If Li Yuanke weren't here, she could pretend not to know, as a talented woman like herself didn't need to pretend to be virtuous and gentle. But since Li Yuanke was here, she couldn't not go.
"I should go and see if the First Prince also had a nosebleed last night?"
"Hmm!" Li Yuanke wasn't in a good mood.
Shen Shixi simply put on her clothes, without doing any makeup, and tied her hair up with a jade hairpin. It was a bit chilly at night, so she wore a cloak and went out with Li Yuanke.
Under the lamplight, her skin was as white as snow, a stark contrast to her radiant beauty during the day.
With light makeup and delicate features, she was elegant and refined.
Li Yuanke led her by the hand and they boarded the imperial carriage.
Shen Shixi was really sleepy, so she nestled in his arms, closed her eyes, and dozed off for a short while.
They arrived rather late; quite a few people had already gathered in the main hall of Baoci Palace.
Consort Rong and Consort Qiong did not come. Consort Rong deeply loved the Emperor and disliked all of his concubines and children, while Consort Qiong devoted herself to developing culinary arts, hoping to win over the Emperor with food.
Shen Shixi felt that if it were her, she wouldn't have come either.
Knowing that the Emperor was definitely coming, no one wanted to be left behind. Everyone put on heavy makeup and dressed up in their finest attire, exuding a fragrant aroma.
When they saw the emperor leading Shen Cairen in, everyone greeted him, but in their hearts they were all cursing him, and their eyes were filled with daggers as they looked at Shen Shixi.
The emperor roused himself and went inside, only offering a token gesture of support when he reached the empress.
"Why is Consort Shen dressed so casually? This is disrespectful in front of the Emperor and Empress!" Consort Hui said sternly.
"Oh, I was tired. I just got out of bed. I was in a hurry to get ready because I was worried about the Crown Prince," Shen Shixi said nonchalantly.
She released Li Yuanke's hand, walked up to the Empress, and bowed, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress!"
"No need for formalities!" the Empress said. "You've worked hard serving His Majesty!"
Shen Shixi remained silent and followed Li Yuanke inside to take a look.
Consort De came out to greet the Emperor in tears, her clothes disheveled, her hair messy, her eyes red and swollen, and she looked extremely haggard.
As Li Yuanke walked inside, he asked, "What happened?"
His tone revealed a hint of impatience.
He didn't care much about the princes and princesses, and usually didn't manage them much, but they were his own flesh and blood, so it can't be said that he didn't care.