Traveling through the Tang Dynasty: The Concubine Goes to War

Last time we talked about Yunxi who was on her way back to the palace when she saw a concubine coming towards her from afar. She was wondering who this petite concubine was.

The person had already walked up to her. Yunxi looked closely and found that it was the newly promoted concubine Zhu Hongxia.

At this time, Zhu Hongxia also saw Yunxi. Because they had a conflict during the talent show, they left a deep impression on each other.

Yunxi was thinking about something, so she didn't intend to pay attention to her. After all, she was of higher status than Zhu Hongxia, and Zhu Hongxia was just a small talent.

However, Zhu Hongxia took the initiative to bow to Yunxi and said, "Greetings to the Queen Xi."

Yunxi nodded slightly as a response to Zhu Hongxia's salute.

Zhu Hongxia continued, "Empress Xi is becoming more and more beautiful, like a fairy descending to earth."

After hearing what Zhu Hongxia said, Yunxi sneered inwardly, thinking: "This Zhu Hongxia is really good at talking. I wonder what she is planning."

Zhu Hongxia seemed to have sensed Yunxi's thoughts and quickly said, "Empress Xi, I just want to express my respect for you, and I have no other intentions."

Yunxi said calmly: "You don't have to do that. You are also a concubine in the palace. You should be careful with your words and actions in the future and don't do anything that will damage the reputation of the palace."

Zhu Hongxia nodded repeatedly and said that she would follow Empress Xifei's teachings.

Seeing Zhu Hongxia being so respectful, Yunxi said nothing more and turned away.

Zhu Hongxia looked at Yunxi's receding back, and a strange light flashed in her eyes...

After Yunxi returned to the palace, she paced around the room with a frown on her face, thinking about how to let Ye Ling'er see her child. She thought hard and tried various methods, but each method would cause new problems or risks, forcing her to overturn these ideas one by one.

Just when she was almost in despair, suddenly, a gleam of light flashed in her eyes, as if she had thought of a brilliant idea. She immediately raised her head and shouted to the maid standing not far away: "Xiaohong, quickly prepare the pen and ink for me!"

Hearing the master's order, Xiaohong responded quickly, and then ran to get water and ink blocks with skillful movements. She carefully poured water into the stone inkstone, and carefully adjusted the ratio of ink blocks to water, and then began to gently grind the ink block with her hands to let it gradually dissolve in the water. As time passed, the hard ink block gradually turned into a pool of rich black juice, lying quietly on the stone inkstone waiting for the next use.

Yunxi looked at the ink that had been prepared in front of her, took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and then picked up a delicate brush. Her strokes were light and steady, as if they contained endless power. On the white paper, she wrote a few beautiful and powerful words fluently and freely. Every stroke revealed her inner firmness and determination.

Then she shouted to the eunuch outside: "Xiao Dengzi, go and deliver this letter to the emperor."

"I obey your command." Little Dengzi took the letter and rushed to Xingqing Palace immediately.

Not long after, little Dengzi arrived at the gate of Xingqing Palace with Yunxi's letter. Eunuch Chen saw that the visitor was a eunuch from Yunxi Palace. He greeted him with a smile, asked about the situation, then took the letter and walked inside.

Eunuch Chen presented the letter to the emperor and said: "Your Majesty, the people in Concubine Xi's palace are still waiting outside for a reply."

"Oh?" The emperor took the letter in confusion and quickly opened it, spreading out the letter with a faint fragrance: I have prepared wine and food tonight and am waiting for your arrival. Signed, Mengxi.

After reading the letter, he laughed, his face showing joy, and he was secretly proud that Yunxi would take the initiative to invite him to her bedroom. So he said, "I should go and see the new concubine."

Then he said to Eunuch Chen: "Tell the visitor that I will definitely attend the banquet."

The emperor smiled as he finished speaking. Eunuch Chen took the order and went out to convey the emperor's words.

Little Dengzi returned to Yunxi with the emperor's consent.

At night, the Changle Palace was brightly lit, as bright as day, and the maids and eunuchs were busy shuttling between the palaces. They were busy preparing for a grand dinner, and no one dared to slack off.

Tonight is a special day - His Majesty the Emperor will visit Changle Palace for the first time. This is a big event for everyone in the palace, so everyone is nervous and full of expectations.

However, as the heroine of the night, Concubine Xi seemed unusually calm. She sat quietly on the cushions, looking out the window at the night, as if all the noise around her had nothing to do with her. This calmness formed a sharp contrast with the tension and expectations of the palace people.

Suddenly, a sharp voice broke the silence: "The Emperor has arrived!" Then, the protagonist of the night - His Majesty the Emperor slowly walked into Changle Palace.

Yunxi and the servants immediately knelt down and saluted, shouting in unison: "Your servants pay their respects to His Majesty!"

"Stand up!" said His Majesty the Emperor happily.

"I would like to thank Your Majesty for visiting Changle Palace tonight. It has made my palace flourish and glorious." Yunxi said with tears of gratitude.

"Oh, my beloved concubine, why must you be so polite? It's rare that my beloved concubine thought of me tonight. Besides, I have never come to visit you since I canonized you as Concubine Xi." His Majesty the Emperor responded with a smile.

His Majesty the Emperor pulled Yunxi to the table. After they sat down, Yunxi raised her glass first, "Your Majesty, I toast to you. May your Majesty be healthy and your country prosperous."

The emperor smiled and drank the wine in the glass, "My beloved concubine is thoughtful."

Afterwards, the dishes for the banquet were served one after another, with a dazzling array of delicacies from land and sea. Yunxi thoughtfully picked up some food for the emperor, "Your Majesty, this is what I asked the kitchen to prepare for you. Please try it and see if it suits your taste."

The emperor took a bite and nodded with satisfaction, "Not bad, it tastes very good."

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Yunxi, who was a little tipsy, felt that the time was almost right, so she pretended to be drunk, leaned against the emperor, and whispered, "Your Majesty, I have a favor to ask of you."

The emperor helped her up. "My beloved concubine, please tell me what you want to say." Yunxi looked at the emperor with tears in her eyes. "I want to raise Ye Ling'er's child."

The emperor looked puzzled. He asked the maids who were serving him to leave and asked, "Yunxi, why do you have such an idea? And you also have a prince!"

"Your Majesty, although the prince is my own, I left the palace for a few years when he was young, and when I returned to the palace it was as a tutor. In the prince's mind, he doesn't know me as his mother. Now, I have become your concubine again, but I entered the palace as my sister. I want to make up for the regret of not taking care of the prince when he was young."

The emperor hesitated for a moment, "Let me discuss this matter with the empress dowager before making a decision..."