Deep Palace Pet Peach Blossom Flawless

"Oh my!" Li Xiang cried, "This ignorant person! Your Majesty has gone to the front court to handle government affairs, and we don't know when he will return. Who is this? How can you let Concubine Chen wait in the palace? Concubine Chen, how about this? Please go back first. As soon as Your Majesty returns, I will notify you immediately, you see..."

Concubine Chen said, "That's fine. It's rare for me to wait for Your Majesty. Let Your Majesty do his work first, and I'll wait."

Li Xiang continued, "Then, Madam Chen Fei, you are sitting here. What kind of tea would you like?"

Concubine Chen said, "Eunuch Li, you don't have to be so polite. If you want to get busy, just go ahead... Eh? There seems to be a noise in the bedroom?"

The bedroom in the main hall of Qianzheng Palace is His Majesty's exclusive territory. No concubine has ever set foot here. It is said that His Majesty was taught and raised here by the late emperor when he was a child.

Li Xiang's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes darkened. "Your Majesty sent a palace maid to clean the bedroom."

Concubine Chen's face flashed with confusion. Just as she was about to ask again, a palace maid emerged from her bedroom. She walked over to Concubine Chen and knelt before her, greeting her. "Greetings, Her Majesty Chen! Your servant Qiulan was cleaning the bedroom and was unaware of your arrival. Please forgive my impoliteness."

Seeing that she was just a palace maid of average appearance, Concubine Chen breathed a sigh of relief. "Get up quickly. You obeyed His Majesty's orders and performed your duties conscientiously. What's wrong with that?"

Qiulan stood up and immediately served tea to Concubine Chen. Li Xiang pondered for a moment and said, "Concubine Chen, I will report to His Majesty. I cannot keep you waiting for long."

Concubine Chen smiled and said, "In that case, I'll trouble Eunuch Li."

Li Xiang hurriedly said, "I dare not. Please wait a moment, Your Majesty." Concubine Chen was slightly satisfied. The attitude of those around the emperor represented the emperor's attitude, and this made her feel a little relieved. Of the three concubines, she was the only one without an heir, but precisely because of this, she often played a decisive role.

Li Xiang left in a hurry. Concubine Chen looked around slowly in the hall. Then she walked lightly to the emperor's desk, looked at the rolled-up calligraphy and painting, and reached out to pick it up.

Qiulan's heart skipped a beat. She was about to speak, but then she calmed down. Concubine Chen slowly opened the scroll and peered into it. She was immediately startled. The painting clearly showed the emperor in his youth, sitting beneath a beautiful peach tree, his posture indescribably relaxed. His eyes, twinkling with stars, stared intently at the person opening the scroll.

The most surprising thing was the painting method, which she had never heard of or seen before, so lifelike and vivid. She had never seen an emperor in such a posture before.

Concubine Chen was stunned. She read the title, titled Peach Garden, and then looked for the artist's name. She found a small vertical line of characters in the lower right corner: "Done by someone for Yun Heng on the ninth day of the fourth month of the thirty-sixth year of the Jingwen reign." Yun Heng? The current emperor? The thirty-sixth year of the Jingwen reign, when His Majesty was still at the border. Did the emperor once use the pseudonym Yun Heng? The name on the red seal was unclear. Concubine Chen carefully examined it and vaguely recognized it as...

"What are you doing?" The emperor's voice suddenly rang out. Concubine Chen was startled by her concentration and the scroll in her hand fell. She reached out to catch it in panic, and the ink in the inkstone on the imperial desk was spilled, and the ink spots instantly stained the scroll.

The Emperor's face darkened even further. He strode over and took the scroll, only to find it stained with ink. He hurriedly wiped it with his sleeve, but it was no use. Concubine Chen had already fallen to her knees. She knew she had gotten into trouble, her face pale as she kept saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I didn't mean to do that. I was just so captivated by the painting's vividness that I couldn't help but be mesmerized."

Emperor Shenwu said in a deep voice: "Who allowed you to touch my things?"

Concubine Chen said, "I am waiting for Your Majesty. It is really... Your Majesty, could you please hand over the scroll to me? I will find a master restorer to restore it to its original state to make up for my mistake!"

The Emperor Shenwu paused and said, "No need. If you have nothing else to do, please leave. Don't act on your own in the future!"

Concubine Chen had an inexplicable expression on her face: "Yes, Your Majesty, I will take my leave."

Lan Qingwu sat on the edge of the bed, tightly clutching the coral bracelet on her wrist, motionless. Emperor Shenwu came in and saw her with her head slightly lowered, and squatted in front of her, "Weak?"

Lan Qingwu looked at him and said, "Your Majesty, isn't this the same as...stealing?"

Emperor Shenwu's tone was a little helpless: "What are you thinking? Aren't you my woman? I just want you to have an easier life in the future. Even if I really found you here, I will protect you as your husband."

Lan Qingwu hugged Emperor Shenwu's neck and leaned in his arms. This feeling was really not good, but with him protecting her, her heart slowly relaxed.

Emperor Shenwu held Lan Qingwu in his arms, gently stroking her back and comforting her quietly.

Lan Qingwu returned to Suowu Palace, and Emperor Shenwu also became busy.

The anniversary of the late emperor's death was approaching, but the rumors in the palace did not stop. Even Empress Dowager Li had heard about it vaguely, but she did not care. Firstly, the late emperor's death was approaching, and she was in the midst of missing him. Secondly, the Lan family had been loyal for generations, and she also knew that Emperor Shenwu had ordered the Lan family's daughter to enter the palace because of General Lan. What's more, when the late emperor was alive, he and General Lan were in a good relationship as monarch and minister.

Emperor Shenwu had naturally heard about it as well. With a cold expression, he ordered Li Xiang, "Tell Li Zhong to find out who started the rumor and find the source."

The Fengxian Hall, built within the inner court of the imperial palace, served as the ancestral temple of the Dasheng royal family. Emperor Shenwu had no intention of making a grand visit to the Taimiao. On the tenth day of the lunar month, he led the six concubines in offering sacrifices to the late emperor in Fengxian Hall. The concubines then left the hall, leaving Emperor Shenwu alone to mourn. Imperial family members, civil and military officials, knelt solemnly outside the hall.

Around noon, Emperor Shenwu held a banquet in the Linde Hall. Civil and military officials, members of the imperial family, concubines, and court ladies were all present. Men and women were separated at the table, again by a massive screen. Emperor Shenwu sat at the head of the table, with Empress Dowager Li at his right.

The Imperial Preceptor at the table expressed gratitude for the Emperor's benevolent and filial devotion to the late Emperor: "Your Majesty's filial piety is a model for filial sons in the world."

Emperor Shenwu put down his teacup and said, "Grand Master, this is wrong. As an emperor, I cannot do many things perfectly. When I observed mourning for a year, you, my dear ministers, followed me in observing a full year. For the sake of the people, the common people only need to observe a full hundred days. In this regard, I am even worse than the common people."

"However, I know of a family that has made up for my shortcomings. They have observed a three-year period of national mourning for the late emperor since his passing. During these three years, this family has not married, feasted, gathered, played music, sang or danced, eaten meat, worn fancy clothes, or traveled. They are the only family in the world that does this."

Empress Dowager Li was also surprised: "Is what the emperor said true?"

The ministers also looked around, whispering about which family it was. Lan Qingwu felt something in his heart. His grandfather and the late emperor were a perfect match for each other. His grandfather once said that if the late emperor was not the emperor, he could have regarded him as a close friend.

At that time, because of Yun Heng, she thought again and again and decided to insist on observing the three-year national mourning period. She would not go through the formalities of engagement and would only make a verbal agreement. She would also not eat any meat or wear any brightly colored clothes. This was only because she knew Yun Heng's admiration for the late emperor, and... some of her selfish motives.

My grandfather was doing this purely for the late emperor. He sighed at the time, "Well, let this be considered my final act of friendship."

Afterwards, my grandfather ordered the direct descendants of the Lan family to observe the national mourning for three years. If they disobeyed, they would be expelled from the family and removed from the family tree.

Emperor Shenwu nodded and said, "Of course it's true. As far as I know, because of the three years of national mourning, their eldest daughter was delayed in blooming, and the second daughter is also not young. One of their wives has been a vegetarian for a long time and is no longer accustomed to eating meat. She still eats a vegetarian diet to this day."

Wei Yanting stood up and saluted, "Your Majesty, are you referring to the Lan family on the border?"

Emperor Shenwu said in a deep voice: "Yes, it is the Lan family. General Lan was extremely loyal, sincere, polite and filial to the late emperor. I am deeply pleased." The other ministers also expressed their admiration and emotion. After all, they did not do it, but someone else did.

Empress Dowager Li's eyes were already filled with tears. "I never thought someone would mourn the late emperor so deeply. Could the eldest daughter who delayed the flowering be Consort Yi?"

Emperor Shenwu said, "Indeed, the mourning period is over. The Lin family's son passed the imperial examination and found another wealthy family. He then considered the engagement verbal and resolutely broke off the engagement. How could I possibly betray such a loyal, filial, and righteous heart? How could I allow the Lan family's daughter to be forced into a desperate situation just because of the three years of national mourning for the late emperor? That's why the imperial edict to confer the title of consort was issued last year."

The concubines in the six palaces kept gazing at Lan Qingwu. They had never imagined that this was the reason. They had only thought that Concubine Yi had been forced into the palace after her engagement was broken off, relying on the honor of her family and her grandfather's face.