Deep Palace Pet Peach Blossom Flawless

Lan Qingwu hugged her, the bed curtains gently closed, tears falling onto the bed. Back then, he must have blamed her for not wanting to be wronged or compromise, and his letting go was filled with resentment and blame. She covered her ears, hearing him say, "You've been drinking, so I can't have you?"

He had painfully let go, and she had lost half her life. He didn't know what that meant to her. She wouldn't wait for him to propose marriage again. The marriage she'd hoped to rely on for her whole life had vanished. She was once again in a state of panic and confusion, unsure of the future. She feared she would have to marry a stranger, someone she didn't know. Was this person a good person? A husband determines everything about his wife. How would he treat her in the future?

After attending the morning court, Emperor Shenwu returned to his bedroom in the Qianzheng Hall. He sat on the edge of the bed and reached out from under the jade pillow to take out a red coral bracelet. The red coral bracelet was of high quality, deep red in color and lustrous in texture. Each bracelet was carved into the shape of a five-petal peach blossom. The only most special one was in the shape of a butterfly, with exquisite carving, and its wings and antennae looked lifelike.

Emperor Shenwu stroked it gently. The red coral was rare. He had personally selected, carved and completed it. He prepared it for more than a year in advance just to give it to Ruo Ruo when she came of age. This was her coming-of-age gift.

Unfortunately, he never put it on her finger. The birthday rings she gave him were left in the Little Peach Garden. He eventually took them back to the palace and locked them away.

After the breakup, Emperor Shenwu, who was still the seventh prince, returned to the military camp. The seven tribes on the grassland united to invade the border. He was full of cruelty, tyranny and destruction at that time. He devised a plan to find Jinting, burn it down, kill all their elite soldiers and generals, and kill all the adult males of the royal family. The coral bracelet fell off when he killed an enemy general. He picked it up and found that it was stained with blood. Ruo Ruo would definitely be disgusted when he knew it. His expression became terrible in an instant. He looked around, the burned Jinting, the wailing women and children, the killed soldiers and nobles... He just wanted to destroy more things.

A general suggested looting to reward the soldiers. Qian Hui stood by and seemed to be hesitant to speak. He quietly wiped the blood stains on his coral bracelet and saw that the grass on the ground was stained with blood and the flowers were broken by the trampling branches. He closed his eyes and imagined her talking to the flowers and plants, looking for nests for the birds, singing while sitting on the branches of the peach tree, and dancing for him... She loved flowers and plants so much, she would not want to see them become like this, no matter where they were.

He opened his eyes, placed the coral bracelet in his arms, and then ordered the army to restrain themselves, not to plunder women or kill civilian children. After returning to the barracks, he was ready to look for her again, but news came from the previous court that his father's health was deteriorating. His subordinates urged him to return to the imperial city as soon as possible, so he planned to return a few days later.

Unexpectedly, his father's secret decree arrived, ordering him to return to the capital without delay. He couldn't help but wonder if their fate had ended. Half a month after returning to the imperial city, he learned that while he was fighting for his life on the battlefield, she had also nearly fallen seriously ill, her life or death uncertain...

Li Xiang looked at the coral bracelet that the emperor would take out and examine from time to time. He felt that the coral butterfly had become even more lustrous and smoother with the emperor's caress. The luster of the coral butterfly complemented that of the jade ring on the emperor's hand, creating an indescribable beauty.

Victory news came frequently from the previous dynasty, and Qian Hui and Wei Yanting will return to the court soon.

On this day, the court and the people welcomed the returning meritorious officials. Emperor Shenwu entertained all civil and military officials in the Linde Hall, held a grand celebration banquet for the meritorious officials, and rewarded them according to their merits.

Peace settled down in the Former Dynasty. Two days later, Emperor Shenwu turned over the name of Concubine Li Wanying. Forgotten Concubine Li gritted her teeth. Concubine Yi had previously occupied the throne for three days, causing the Emperor to abandon her in a hurry due to war when it was her turn. Now Concubine Li was the next in line. She couldn't let this go on.

Since she was little, she had to find ways to fight for what she wanted. After entering the palace, she had to fight even harder. She was determined to win favor, to have favor, to be the only one favored, to climb the ladder of high position step by step. So what if she was chosen from the common people? Which noble lady could match her peerless beauty?

The concubines in the harem only knew that Emperor Shenwu had turned over Concubine Li's name, but they were unaware of the true circumstances. Concubine Li knelt on the floor of a bedroom in a side hall of Qianzheng Palace, slightly raising her eyes to gaze at the young emperor's cold profile, wondering why she was being treated this way. Was it simply because she was a daughter of the Li family? Or had the emperor already understood her father's purpose in allowing her into the palace?

"Go to the small couch outside. I can't stand hearing your breathing when I sleep."

Concubine Li, pale as a bee, crawled to the small couch outside and knelt there, where she spent the night. The next morning, the emperor, dressed in his court robes, said, "When you see the empress dowager, you should know what to say." Then, he strode away.

On the first day of August, the concubines came to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager Li. Because of the war, the concubines had not paid their respects to the Empress Dowager for two months. Lan Qingwu had already been in the emperor's bedchamber, so she had to come to pay her respects. She kowtowed and paid her respects at the gate of the Cining Palace along with the concubines below the third rank, and was about to leave. Unexpectedly, Concubine Jiang left the Cining Palace early and invited the concubines to her De'an Palace for a rest and tea.

Lan Qingwu could only follow everyone to De'an Palace. He couldn't help but think of Ruping's foresight. She said that this time there would definitely be high-ranking concubines who would be unable to resist showing off their authority to the newcomer.

A slap or something like that was unlikely, after all, those in high positions were not that fierce, so he could only be punished by kneeling. But now was the hottest time of the summer, the palace clothes were thin, and kneeling as punishment was very painful. Lan Qingwu wore two layers of underwear inside, so it was better than nothing.

She was also surprised by the lightness, softness, and high quality of the material. It was obvious that it was made of the finest quality. Seeing her doubt, Ru Ping couldn't help but think to herself, "Of course, this master's food and clothing are all from a special secret line. He comes from the same family as the emperor, so how could it be worse?"

The ordinary palace dresses sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs were packed into a large box by Ruping and kept at the bottom of the box. Now, the palace dresses of the master are all exquisite and beautiful. The strange thing is that they are not presumptuous in the slightest. One can tell at a glance that it is the beauty of the master that sets off the palace dress.

Nothing happened in De'an Palace. After the greetings, everything passed peacefully. After only a quarter of an hour, Concubine Jiang sent the guests away, saying that she had caught a fever and was feeling dizzy. They all took their leave and left. Lan Qingwu followed behind Concubine Wen. They were both in the position of noble ladies, and she didn't want to compete for any position, so they just let her be.

After leaving the De'an Palace, they found Concubine Wan's sedan chair parked not far away. Everyone came forward to pay their respects. When meeting a concubine, one did not need to kneel, but Concubine Wan was still hesitant to call her up. Beside Concubine Wan's sedan chair stood Concubine Wu and Concubine Qian. Concubine Wu stepped forward and asked, "Who are these new guests?"

Lan Qingwu did not speak up either. Concubine Wen was proud and arrogant, so she stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Concubine Wen."

Lan Qingwu still maintained her salute: "My concubine is the noble lady Yi."