"The only thing I can give you is a promise. As long as Sima Yuan doesn't imitate Yao Junxian and touch me, I will never do anything to him. In addition... you are my queen, and Yu'er is the prince of Dayao. This will never happen."
It will change.”
The silence of Huanqing Palace was broken by Yi Huaiyu's words. After that, Yi Huaiyu left. Sima Tulan hugged Yi Chenyu and stayed in the room in a daze for a long time. When he went out again, the spiritual silk and soul-calling flags had been removed, and Huanqing Palace returned
Return to the way it used to be.
As deserted and lonely as ever.
After no powerful ministers intervened in politics, Yi Huaiyu's rule was much smoother. Probably because Sima Tulan had private communication, Sima Yuan did not raise too many questions or dissatisfaction with Yao Junxian's death. A sudden storm was quickly settled, which was surprising.
Some people cannot believe it, but it is an irrefutable fact.
Death is like a lamp going out, so is everything in the world.
At the end of the year, all the officials petitioned Emperor Yao to recruit concubines to enrich the harem, but Yi Huaiyu refused. Later, the national counselor Shen Junfang persuaded him to marry Princess Yuhan of neighboring country as the imperial concubine and form an ally with her country. On the night of the wedding, it was already
Princess Yuhan, the imperial concubine, stayed alone in the empty room, and Yi Huaiyu did not show up until noon of the next day.
"When Magistrate Yingchi sent someone to escort the prisoner to the imperial capital, he brought along two baskets of lotus pods. These things have become stale over time, so I sent them to you overnight."
Seeing Yi Huaiyu coming alone with a bamboo basket in his hands, Su Shiyun was angry and funny. She shook her head helplessly, with a lot of blame in her tone: "Why did the emperor come here to send lotus pods? He clearly wanted to avoid the wedding of the imperial concubine.
Does your Majesty want to be resented by the imperial concubine in the future when he abandons his bride? And he came to Lianchenxuan instead of going elsewhere. I am afraid that my life will be difficult in the future."
"Who dares to embarrass you? Let me first let her have a taste of what embarrassment means." Yi Huaiyu squeezed into the room through the narrow gap next to Su Shiyun. Yi Huaiyu sat down and refused to leave, looking at Su Shiyun seriously, "
Princess Yuhan's makeup smelled so bad that I couldn't breathe easily. Wouldn't spending a night with her be courting death? I still have a great cause for the country and the woman I love, so I don't want to die young."
Su Shiyun's breath stopped and she let out three times. She glanced sideways at Yi Huaiyu and said, "What nonsense are you talking about with a crow's mouth? Even if you become an emperor and talk nonsense, you are not afraid of being laughed at by your officials."
"They laugh at me for many things, not least of which is this one."
"What are you laughing at? Isn't the government well managed?" Su Shiyun was puzzled and looked at Yi Huaiyu in confusion. Suddenly her eyes blurred, and before she could react, she was already in Yi Huaiyu's arms.
Suppressing what was not a fierce resistance, Yi Huaiyu raised his lips and chuckled: "They all laughed at me because I couldn't sleep alone every night. There was no one around to warm me. How could I still be considered a man? I don't care whether you are angry or not tonight.
I want to rest here. If you want to serve me, you can serve me. If you don't want to, I will sleep on the ground."
Ever since she met Yi Huaiyu, Su Shiyun had lost all her opinions. Looking at Yi Huaiyu's rogue expression, all she could do was sigh helplessly.
"You are the emperor and I am the concubine. It is natural to serve you. Why do you need to find so many excuses if necessary? As long as you say a word, which woman in the world will not let you be frivolous?"
Hearing the sarcastic complaints, Yi Huaiyu understood in his heart that Su Shiyun allowed him to stay overnight.
Marriage is one of the most effective ways to consolidate imperial power. Yi Huaiyu never resists anything that can bring benefits to him. The reason why he has been reluctant to accept concubines is Su Shiyun. Previously, he married Sima Dulan and made Su
Shiyun was disheartened and refused to pay attention to him. He was afraid that recruiting new people into the palace would aggravate the alienation between the two, so he left the imperial concubine on the wedding night and ran to Lianchenxuan in order to test Su Shiyun's attitude.
After taking the initiative to erase the memory of Yi Chensi, Su Shiyun even forgot about her feelings during that period. The disconnected feelings made her always have the illusion that there was something about herself that was embarrassing Yi Huaiyu, making him endure loneliness.
At the same time, he was helpless.
She loved him so much, how could she bear to see him sad?
Then the only thing I can do is to wrong myself and keep telling myself that this is the fate of a concubine. No matter how much I love him, no matter how much I want to be together for the rest of my life, I have to learn to be tolerant and make it happen - anyway, there is already Sima Duran, and then
It doesn't matter how many women come to win his favor, as long as his heart is here.
The long-lost joy of sex made Yi Huaiyu feel satisfied, not physically, but in his heart. The feeling of regaining old emotions kept the new emperor of Yaoguo in high spirits all day long, and also made the civil and military officials feel more satisfied.
The official was extremely puzzled, and only his conscience suddenly became clear.
No one knows Yi Huaiyu's joys and sorrows better than him.
The news that the imperial concubine was abandoned on her wedding night spread like wildfire. Sima Tulan in the Huanqing Palace was not surprised, but Ou Suiliang's sudden visit surprised her.
"I haven't seen you for a long time, why do you have time to come to my place?"
"I was planning to go to the Imperial Study Room to talk to the Emperor about something, but I didn't know that the Emperor was taking a nap. He had nowhere to go, so he casually walked over to the Queen's side. Thinking about it, it would be rude to not come in -"
"Okay, since when did you start talking nonsense?" Sima Duran sneered, and raised her hand to indicate that Ou Suiliang could sit down wherever he wanted, "I'll go get Yu'er brought over. There are no guests in Huanqing Palace on weekdays, really.
I'm worried that this child is too timid to accept life, so if you have time, you can come here often so that you can teach him some riding and shooting."
Ou Suiliang nodded, but did not dare to continue the topic. He held the tea cup and warmed his hands while looking around: "Why don't you see a few servants? Are they all lazy?"
"I drove him away. A group of people were nagging in my ears, leaving only the wet nurse and a few caring girls around me."
Ou Suiliang burst into laughter.
Sima Tulan's neat and independent temperament is indeed not suitable for living in the palace. She is like a caged bird with no freedom.
"Tell me, what's the matter with you? Don't tell me that you're just walking around. You're not a liar and can be seen through at a glance." Sima Duran took Yi Chenyu from the servant.
He asked half jokingly.
Ou Suiliang took a deep breath, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared: "It has something to do with Master Shen."
Shen Junfang? Recalling the young man who had met once in the imperial study, Sima Duran also suppressed a smile and frowned her long and beautiful eyebrows: "What's wrong with him? But is there any harm to the emperor?"
"No, it's not that there's anything wrong with him, but..." Ou Suiliang hesitated for a moment, and then continued after arranging his words, "There is no doubt about Master Shen's ability to govern the country, but he gave me a feeling of 'focusing on one thing and losing the other'.
In terms of human relations and sophistication...how should I put it? I always feel that he pays too much attention to Your Majesty. He is always eager to try some things that should not be his business, thinking that he can solve all His Majesty's conflicts. The Queen should understand that His Majesty's temperament is not to let others interfere with him.
It’s a private matter, so if Master Shen has any contact with the Queen in the future, I hope the Queen will be careful in her words and deeds, and treat it as if it’s for Your Majesty’s sake.”
"The Emperor has not come to Huanqing Palace for eight hundred years, and no one who wants to know more about him will come to me to inquire. Your efforts are in vain." Sima Duran smiled indifferently, lowered his head and continued to tease Yi.
Chen Yu felt a little worried, but it had nothing to do with Ou Suiliang's reminder.