Deep Palace Pet Peach Blossom Flawless

"You'd better clean up your own palace. There should be rewards coming down from each palace in the afternoon." This is the unwritten rule in the palace.

At noon that day, Empress Dowager Li summoned the three concubines to lunch and asked Li Ma to fetch the emperor. After the three concubines presented Empress Dowager Li with calamus wine, she said, "Concubine Jiang, Concubine Chen, and Concubine Wan, you have always worked hard managing the harem. The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching. Those of you who have princes must take good care of my grandson. Mosquitoes and other insects must be kept away."

The three concubines said "yes" in unison. Only Concubine Chen was depressed. Concubine Jiang had the second prince, and His Majesty let her be in charge of the harem, with her and Concubine Wan as assistants. Concubine Wan adopted Concubine Qian's eldest prince, so she also had children, but she had not become pregnant after several years in the palace.

Empress Dowager Li continued, "The bride has already arrived. I wonder when Your Majesty will summon her. Even now that she's here, don't keep her waiting too long. The three concubines are always sensible and I don't think they'll be jealous."

Concubine Jiang and the other two said they dared not. Concubine Jiang said gently, "Your Majesty the Queen Mother, I and your sisters have been looking forward to the arrival of the newcomers to the palace to relieve Your Majesty's worries."

Empress Dowager Li nodded: "Princess Jiang has always been sensible."

Concubine Jiang could only smile. What else could she do? No matter how bitter her heart was, there would only be more and more women in the palace. Furthermore, His Majesty was becoming increasingly indifferent to the six harems and had not set foot in them for several months.

But a few days ago, she presented the memorial to His Majesty regarding the residences of the newlyweds in each palace. His Majesty had made four or five changes, changing the palaces of five or six newlyweds. She wondered what His Majesty meant by this. Who did he want to be closer to him? Among them were the highest-ranking Noble Lady Wen, Noble Lady Lan, the most beautiful Concubine Li, and three others of lower rank.

Although Concubine Wan had always been spoiled, she did not dare to overstep the line in front of Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and listened obediently.

Emperor Shenwu, who was sitting to the left of the Empress Dowager, said, "Mother, let's talk about this after the Dragon Boat Festival."

Empress Dowager Li said displeasedly, "The six palaces are without a master, so you don't need to accompany anyone on Dragon Boat Festival. Just summon them when you need to. I'm still looking forward to having a new grandson. The day after tomorrow, on the Dragon Boat Festival, after feasting all the ministers, you can distribute the rewards. You don't need to be busy, and you don't need to worry about anyone."

She was truly terrified that her increasingly celibate son would become a monk, while the harem would be sparsely populated. Three years ago, the emperor had shown some interest in women, but that interest had faded. Sometimes he would summon her only once a month, sometimes not at all, and at most only two or three times. She felt that this son was different from her other sons in every way, and the thought of it made her feel suffocated.

Emperor Shenwu said: "Then let's go to Lady Wen today." Li Xiang behind him immediately received the order and asked his young disciple to pass it on.

Concubine Wan immediately lowered her eyes, hiding the jealousy in them. His Majesty hadn't been in the harem for a long time, and with the new arrivals, the old ladies had even less chance of receiving favor. This was truly a case of beauty fading before her time.

After the three concubines took their leave, they left the Cining Palace and boarded their respective sedan chairs. Concubine Wan spoke first, "Sister Jiang Fei, it seems that Noble Lady Wen is the most fortunate. She has the best family background."

Jiang Fei straightened her posture and said, "Among the newcomers, there are quite a few with good qualifications."

Concubine Chen stroked the brocade handkerchief in her hand and said, "Sister Wan Fei, that beautiful lady selected from the people pales in comparison to me."

Concubine Wan's expression was delicate and dignified, but she remained calm. "That makes us all look better than the others. Only these two have titles. And the noble lady Lan, who just entered the palace today, is said to be quite pretty too. Although she's the daughter of a military commander, she's very delicate."

Concubine Chen covered her mouth and laughed, "Everyone knows that His Majesty brought Concubine Lan into the palace for the sake of General Lan's face. She even entered the palace a day late and was over the age limit for the selection. I think..." His Majesty was so neglectful that he didn't care about Concubine Lan at all.

Jiang Fei frowned slightly, she always felt that she had overlooked something.

Sure enough, the rewards from various palaces arrived in the afternoon. Lan Qingwu asked Ruhan and Ruping to sort them and put them in the warehouse. He found a book and slowly flipped through it. Before dinner, news came that His Majesty had summoned Concubine Wen to sleep with him.

Ruhan didn't notice anything, after all, the young lady had already said it. Ruping quietly paid attention to her master, and found that the pages of the book in her master's hand had not been turned for a long time.

Lan Qingwu felt that the thorn in her heart had pierced deeper. She couldn't help but smile bitterly in her heart, as she had just entered the palace.

The next day, Lan Qingwu casually wandered around the Suowu Palace and found the backyard beautifully decorated. In the afternoon, the Imperial Household Department arrived at the Suowu Palace to deliver an imperial decree, and His Majesty flipped over Concubine Lan's nameplate.

Ru Han was so happy that his brows lifted. The entire Suo Wu Palace came alive.

Li Xiang watched as the emperor's fingers stroked the green card of Concubine Lan. The eunuch from the Jingshifang who was holding the tray was shaking with his arms. The emperor finally turned it over, and Li Xiang felt that everything was settled.

A while ago, the emperor asked him to find his trusted apprentice to decorate the Suowu Palace. He explained every detail, including the layout of the bathhouse in the side hall, the newly built small kitchen, and the decorations in the bedroom...

Today, the Emperor had asked someone to specially decorate the bedroom in the main hall of Qianzheng Hall. When the Emperor summoned someone to sleep with him in Qianzheng Hall, he usually used the bedrooms in the side halls. No one except His Majesty ever set foot in the main hall bedroom; it was His Majesty's private domain. This made him think twice.

Lan Qingwu was tossed around in Suowu Palace for more than an hour. Finally, after taking a bath, Ruping and Ruhan helped her put on her bed clothes. The gauze was as thin as a cicada's wing, and her crystal white skin was faintly visible. Ruping then took a moon-white thin cloak to wrap Lan Qingwu and helped her sit in the Fengluan Chun'en carriage. The lanterns hanging outside the carriage were particularly bright in the dark night.

The car went straight to the door of the side hall of Qianzheng Palace. After Lan Qingwu got off, she was taken to the bedroom of the side hall by the palace maid. Her moon-white thin cloak was also taken off. Lan Qingwu knelt at the end of the bed, looking at the palace maid who was about to leave, wanting to say something but stopping herself. This procedure was wrong. She remembered that there should be a bedroom nanny in the palace to explain the rules to her. Nanny Wang had explained it very clearly at the time.

In the end, Lan Qingwu remained silent, kneeling silently as she waited for the emperor's arrival. She waited for an unknown amount of time, three quarters of an hour... four quarters of an hour... Her legs were already numb, but she still didn't dare move, maintaining her kneeling position.

Finally, there was movement outside. An emperor, clad in a dark dragon robe, strode in. He had completely lost the image of the young Yun Heng. He exuded an imperial aura, with sharp eyebrows and phoenix eyes, a face with sharp angles, and a tall, slender figure. The oppressive feeling of superiority was overwhelming. Lan Qingwu raised her eyes slightly and immediately bowed. "Your Majesty, your concubine, the noble Lan, pays homage. Long live Your Majesty."

Lan Qingwu waited quietly for a few moments without making a sound. After a moment, a pair of strong hands picked her up horizontally. She saw the emperor's dark and cold eyes and the self-righteous look in them.

The emperor carried Lan Qingwu directly to the main hall, his arms brimming with the astonishing strength of a martial artist. The Shenwu Emperor placed Lan Qingwu directly on the bed in the main hall's bedroom. Lan Qingwu quickly knelt again, her attention completely focused on the emperor, so much so that she didn't notice the rich and luxurious crimson bed curtains, the dragon and phoenix brocade quilt entwined in a lingering tangle.

Lan Qingwu didn't dare to look up. She only saw with the corner of her eyes that the Shenwu Emperor's noble black jade belt was pulled off and thrown on the ground. The black dragon robe, the undershirt... were thrown on the ground one by one. Her eyes seemed to be burned, and her slender white fingers unconsciously grabbed the bed with a little force.