On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

At this moment, looking at the night view, Lin Zhen really wanted to have a cigarette.

But no, many of the joys of later life cannot be experienced here.

Some people say that ancient times were so good.

In fact, in Lin Zhen's opinion, the living standards and quality here, even for Murong Yan, are not as good as those of ordinary working people in later generations.

That's it.

There were too few entertainment options, the industry was backward, transportation was inconvenient, and even heating required countless maids to enter the hall and constantly add coal and charcoal.

In order to avoid coal poisoning incidents, Lin Zhen asked the Ministry of Industry to install a ventilation device, but the effect was still not good and there was still a smell of coal smoke in the room.

For this reason, Lin Zhen missed the northern heating system in later generations.

However, there were also many advantages in the ancient times. That is, once you became a superior, you could do many things that would be impossible to allow in later generations, such as keeping concubines, beating servants, and even using people as pillows and cushions. There was no problem.

So which one is better?

If Lin Zhen were an ordinary citizen, he would definitely think that the future is better...

"No."

can not fall asleep.

Lin Zhen stood quietly in front of the carved window lattice, his slender fingers lightly resting on the wooden window frame, and he slightly poked his head out.

Look towards the sky.

Above the sky, dark clouds were like silk, rolling layer by layer, covering the silver moon again and again, leaving only a few strands of cold light shining through, just like a thin gauze brushing against the face, adding a bit of haziness and mystery to the night scene of the palace.

In the distance, palace lanterns swayed, and the light and shadows were scattered, outlining the outlines of the palace's flying eaves and brackets in the bright and dark spaces.

It's not even midnight yet. Isn't it too early to go to bed now? How about going to Chun'er's place?

For some reason, Lin Zhen now felt that he had endless energy. He had just conquered Murong Yan, but now he was not sleepy at all and was full of energy.

Heart-eating insect, ah, heart-eating insect.

Are you a good thing or a bad thing?

Lin Zhen walked out of the bedroom with steady steps.

Outside the palace gate, several palace lanterns emitted soft warm light, illuminating the white marble steps in front of the gate with a warm color.

He glanced at the young eunuch on duty and called softly, "You, come here."

The young eunuch was standing in the shadows with his head bowed. Hearing the call, he hurried forward and knelt down with a plop. "What are your orders, my lord?"

There was a slight tremor in his voice caused by nervousness.

Lin Zhen looked indifferent: "Where is Wushe?"

"Master Tongueless is patrolling the area."

Lin Zhen nodded.

As long as this old guy is not idle.

Now people from Xuanhemen and Hadmen may infiltrate the palace, so we must take all precautions.

Lin Zhen said, "Go and call the person who is responsible for carrying the sedan chair. I want to go to the imperial concubine."

"Yes!" The young eunuch quickly agreed, kowtowed again, then hurriedly stood up, turned around and ran towards the servants' room.

Lin Zhen stood with his hands behind his back, waiting quietly.

Soon, a burst of hurried footsteps came from afar, and four strong women of the level of Northeast Yu Jie came clattering over, led by a young eunuch, and finally knelt in front of Lin Zhen.

The young eunuch walked up to Lin Zhen, knelt down and saluted, saying, "Sir, they are here."

Lin Zhen nodded slightly, his eyes swept over them, and then walked towards the sedan chair that had been prepared.

The sedan chair stopped to the side. It was made entirely of precious red sandalwood with delicate and gorgeous wood texture. It was carved with exquisite auspicious patterns of dragons and phoenixes. The lines outlined by gold and silver threads sparkled in the dim light.

The brocade curtains hanging around are all woven with high-quality silk and embroidered with colorful auspicious clouds and auspicious flowers. They flutter gently in the wind.

Lin Zhen calmly stepped onto the sedan chair, sat down gracefully, and took the cloak handed to him by the eunuch and covered himself with it.

Seeing this, the four strong women quickly took their positions, bent down at the same time, grasped the carrying poles of the sedan chair with both hands, lifted it up, and slowly walked towards Sima Chunlei's palace.

......

The room was filled with the faint scent of ambergris, lingering in every inch of the air.

Sima Chunlei sat quietly in front of the dressing table, her back straight but somewhat lonely, like a night-blooming cereus blooming in the dark night, breathtakingly beautiful, but with no one to appreciate it.

Her slender, white fingers touched the hairpin on her head, and with a light pull, her black hair fell down like a waterfall.

After placing the jade hairpin on the dressing table, she took off the pair of ruby ​​earrings and the pearl necklace around her neck and placed them one by one on the dressing table.

As she removed her makeup, she asked her maid Xueqi, who was preparing eight-treasure porridge, "Did you receive any message from home today?"

Xueqi shook her head slightly and replied softly, "Your Majesty, no." She glanced at the eight-treasure porridge, which had already been reheated twice, hesitated, and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, this porridge can't be heated any further, right? The prince... probably won't be coming tonight."

Sima Chunlei's body stiffened slightly, and the handkerchief in her hand that was wiping her makeup also stopped for a moment. Her eyes drooped, and her long eyelashes cast a shadow under her eyelids, covering up the loneliness and sadness in them.

She nodded: "Let's retreat."

Upon hearing this, Xueqi silently took the bowl of eight-treasure porridge away, then turned back and slowly knelt at Sima Chunlei's feet. She gently placed her hands on her master's thighs, looked up at Sima Chunlei, her eyes revealing some hesitation and concern, and spoke softly.

"My Lady, I know that you take such great pains to dress yourself every day, hoping that the Crown Prince will take a moment to glance at you when he enters the palace. However... I don't think he has any feelings for you..."

Sima Chunlei glared at him, "You silly girl, what are you gossiping about?"

"Really? If the prince had feelings for you, how could he ignore your elaborate attire and your expectations?"

"What do you know? My husband is very busy. There is nothing in such a big country that he doesn't need to worry about. And now we just finished the war with the State of Chu. The territory has more than doubled. There are countless messy things to do. Not to mention me, he doesn't even visit His Majesty often."

Having said that, Sima Chunlei still felt a little jealous.

Lin Zhen came to the palace very rarely. Even when he did, he was mostly there to accompany Murong Yan and rarely stayed overnight at his place.

After all, I am a woman too!

How can I bear to stay alone in an empty room every day!

Sima Chunlei raised her eyes and looked out the window.

The night was dark and the palace walls were towering, like an invisible cage.

Wasn't my original wish to marry into the cage and become the emperor's concubine?

Now that my dream has been achieved, the Sima family has an extraordinary status, second only to the emperor, but why can't I be happy?

Could it be that what I want is never power?

Sima Chunlei couldn't help but recall her childhood.

At that time, my father Sima Zhong was not yet a Grand Censor, but only a minor official in the Censorate...