My Lady is well

With the help of a maid, Shen Yueyao stepped into the bathing pool of Zelu Palace.

This bathing pool was actually made of white jade and was extremely spacious, large enough to accommodate dozens of people.

The pool water is drawn from Liuyan natural hot spring, with steam rising and smoke lingering.

She couldn't help but feel emotional. In such a luxurious and blessed land, the emperor's treatment was truly extraordinary.

Fortunately today, she was able to experience it for herself.

The maids carefully took off her gray-green silk men's clothing, and her skin as white as warm jade was instantly exposed. Her slender goose neck was like a delicate flower swaying in the wind, which was very lovable. Her round shoulders outlined a graceful curve, like the first bright moon in the thin clouds, looming.

The air was filled with hot steam, and the beauty in the pool looked even more charming in the haze. She bent her arms at the edge of the pool and rested her head gently on her arms.

Shen Yueyao recalled what the Queen said today. Jing Ruzhang was right when he said that she was quick-witted.

It seems that I will have to deal with her more in the future.

As for Concubine Wen Shu, she always felt a little weird. As the heroine, Concubine Wen Shu should be dignified, elegant, and graceful.

But when I saw her today, I felt that she had changed a lot. Although she was dignified and elegant, she always gave people a creepy feeling.

She soaked in the water for about half an hour before getting up. The palace maids brought her clothes, which were for concubines to wear when sleeping in bed.

She was wearing a moon-white dress embroidered with green lotus, a water-blue skirt, and a light crimson silk dress as thin as a cicada's wing on the outside. Her arms and waist were vaguely visible, and she blushed when she saw it.

Shen Yueyao sneered inwardly, these emperors really are good at it.

Jing Ruzhang went to the imperial study to discuss matters. She sat on the couch for a while and felt bored, so she had to chat with the palace maids. However, they remained silent and stood there like wooden statues.

When serving the emperor, there are some words that you cannot hear and some things that you cannot see.

Shen Yueyao was secretly curious, could it be that they were all deaf and dumb?

So I told a joke to test their reaction.

"Jiangzhou had been suffering from drought for a long time. The governor invited a wizard to pray for rain. The wizard finished the spell, but not a drop of rain fell. The governor was furious. But the wizard said, how can praying for rain be as easy as killing a pig?"

Two of the palace maids seemed to understand. They buried their heads deeply and their shoulders trembled slightly.

Shen Yueyao was sure that they were not deaf and dumb, they just didn't dare to talk to her or laugh easily. She held her cheeks with her hands, sighed softly and shook her head.

Then she stood up and walked towards the sandalwood bookshelf with staggering steps. The palace maid came forward to support her, but she declined.

She stood quietly in front of the rosewood bookshelf, looking at the rows of books full of knowledge.

She casually pulled out two books, one was "The Book of Length and Shortness" and the other was "Records of the Craftsmen". She flipped through a few pages and then put them back with no interest.

She thought to herself, Jing Ruzhang looked to be only in his early twenties, could it be that he spent all day immersed in these boring imperial studies?

Is it possible... that there are no unique... and indecent books in your collection?

She picked out a few more books without giving up, but they were still books on emperors' strategies and Confucian classics.

At this moment, she was bored and unwilling to give up. Her curious heart was aroused by the desire to pry into secrets, so she continued to search on the bookshelf.

"what are you doing?"

A clear and cold voice exploded behind her like thunder. Shen Yueyao was startled, her hands trembled, and the book in her hand almost slipped.

She turned around, holding the book in her hand, and saw Jing Ruzhang looking at her with beautiful eyebrows and clear eyes.

Shen Yueyao panicked: "No, I didn't do anything. I was just bored and wanted to read a book."

Jing Ruzhang saw that her clothes were thin and transparent, her arms and waist were vaguely visible, her face was ruddy with dew, her long hair was half tied up and half hanging, and there was a hint of panic in her watery eyes.

His throat rolled unconsciously and he looked away without leaving a trace.

He walked over slowly, took the book from her arms, and when he looked down, it turned out to be "Han Feizi".

He nodded slightly, with a hint of sarcasm.

"I never thought Shen Cainu was so knowledgeable and talented. She couldn't even copy the "Instructions for Women" properly, but she had a special liking for the Legalist classics."

Shen Yueyao heard the sarcasm in his words, forced a smile and said perfunctorily.

“Just flipping through it.”

He uttered an almost inaudible chuckle, turned around and sat down at the desk, his eyes turned and he glanced at her lightly, his voice became unusually relaxed, and he said inexplicably.

"I've always seen you afraid of me. How about giving you a chance to turn things around today?"

Shen Yueyao looked at him curiously and asked softly.

"what chance?"

"How about we bet on this Han Feizi?"

"Bet... on books?"

She knew that the ancients had this kind of entertainment, but she didn't know the specific ways to play it.

Jing Ruzhang seemed to see her distress.

"Why? Shen Cainu is a learned woman, but she has never bet on books with anyone?"

Shen Yueyao shook her head left and right, and he explained patiently.

"You can pick a sentence or a paragraph from the book at random, and I will recite it. If it is exactly the same, I win. If there is a difference of one word, you win."

Shen Yueyao looked at the thick book and thought to herself, how could he remember it all?

Her eyes flickered, and she instantly came up with an idea. She walked up to him and said.

"Really? I just said something and the Emperor could write it down from memory?"

He lowered his head, his eyes gleaming with a light that was imperceptible to ordinary people, and a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.

"You can give it a try. But... since it's a book bet, there must be stakes."

Shen Yueyao had originally thought so, but she didn't expect him to bring it up first.

Her intuition told her that there might be something fishy going on!

He frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, blinked twice, and asked vigilantly.

"What are you gambling?"

He held the long pen with his slender fingers, twisted his brows, and tapped the pen tip lightly between his eyebrows, pretending to be in deep thought.

"How about this, I won't take advantage of you. If you win, I will agree to your two requests. If I win..."

Shen Yueyao looked at him expectantly, and when she saw that he was slow to say the rest of the sentence, she asked.

"What if the Emperor wins?"

He looked at her casually, glanced at the palace maid beside the desk, and sighed softly.

"You can't do this or that, which makes it difficult for me. How about this, come to Zelu Palace every day at 10:00 p.m. and serve as a maid for three months."

Shen Yueyao's eyes were startled and blinked twice, she was speechless about his bet.

Although this place is some distance away from his bed, he would not be afraid of embarrassment if he had any noise with any concubine.

She weighed it carefully and confirmed with him.

"Any request is fine. Including... letting me leave the palace."

He stared at her, his eyes were as deep as a lake, and his voice was as cold as ice.

"You have no joke."

Shen Yueyao's heart trembled when she saw his eyes. She lowered her eyes in a hurry and nodded slightly.

She opened the book and covered her face. She bit her lower lip and gave a sly smile.

Thinking about it, "Han Feizi" has at least 100,000 words, and I don't believe he can memorize it word for word.

Cough cough--

Shen Yueyao cleared her throat and chuckled softly.

"...As for my husband's behavior...just keep silent about this part."

The man at the desk had a solemn expression on his face. He paused with the long brush in his hand, raised one of his dark eyebrows, and slightly lifted his eyelids to look at her.

It seemed that he didn't expect her to be so shameless. He read it in the middle and divided the sentences randomly into only three short words.