Chapter 202.2

The palace maids served her attentively, cleaning Yaoniang thoroughly inside and out. Yaoniang was not accustomed to such treatment, but the maids were experienced in serving others. Before she could even move to refuse, they gently blocked her from making such motions.

Strangely, their actions didn’t seem rude at all; instead, they subconsciously made her let them serve.

After bathing and drying her body, the palace maids made Yaoniang lie on a soft couch and applied a fragrant moisturizing oil all over her body. The oil had a pleasant aroma. Finally, they dressed her in new clothes.

Yaoniang felt uncomfortable wearing the unfamiliar attire.

The clothes, in essence, were just a layer of thin fabric. Whether she wore them or not made no difference.

Before Yaoniang could react, she was escorted out and led to a large bed. The palace maids left her inside and closed the curtains from the outside.

At this moment, Yaoniang had no idea what was going to happen next.

In her mind, she silently criticized Emperor Jin’an for being unpredictable. Blushing, she glanced at her clothes and decided to climb onto the bed and into the covers by herself.

The hall was warm with burning braziers, and it was quiet all around. As Yaoniang lay there, she gradually fell into a deep sleep.

It was unknown how long she had slept when suddenly she felt the bed sink down beside her. Someone was here.

The person felt cool, carrying a faint scent of alcohol. In her half-awake state, Yaoniang couldn’t help but murmur. Then she realized that she was not in Jin Wang Manor anymore, and immediately sat up.

“Missed Zhen?” Emperor Jin’an was about to say “benwang,” his usual self-reference, but changed it on the spot.

Under the lamplight, his fair face had a slight flush. It seemed like he had consumed quite a bit of alcohol, and his face had a slightly intoxicated look. He lay on his side, propped up by his elbow on the bed. He was only dressed in a white undershirt and pants, with the neckline open, revealing his well-defined chest. His ink-black hair, tied up all day, now hung down with slight waves. Some strands cascaded down his shoulders while others gently draped across his chest.

Yaoniang couldn’t help but swallow. She wondered if it had been truly a long time since she had seen him because today’s Emperor Jin’an seemed particularly alluring to her.

“Your Majesty.”

“Hmm?”

Emperor Jin’an lightly hummed, his voice rising at the end, brushing against her ears like a feather, causing a tingling sensation. Yaoniang didn’t know how red her face had turned, but her eyes couldn’t help but look at him, feeling a bit shy but unable to resist her desire to look.

“Come closer.”

And so, she moved closer.

Emperor Jin’an glanced at her face, then his gaze slid down, focusing on her chest.

“Zhen has been thinking about you for days and wondered whether you had lost weight. Unexpectedly, you seemed to have gained some instead.”

Gained weight? Yaoniang despised anyone mentioning her weight. She knew very well that her waist had expanded after giving birth to two children. Whenever she touched her waist, she could feel the excess flesh. She would often mutter about losing weight, but she hadn’t taken any action.

Emperor Jin’an repeatedly observed her chest, deciding to reward the eunuch who had arranged today’s affairs.

Come to think of it, why hadn’t he thought of dressing her in such clothing before?

Emperor Jin’an’s gaze had a substantial presence, and Yaoniang finally reacted and followed his gaze. She then saw that under the hazy yellow light, the layer of white fabric became increasingly transparent, revealing a captivating scene beneath.

She instinctively reacted, feeling a shiver crawl up her spine as if a breeze was blowing through her body, giving a chilling sensation. Her hair stood on end as she noticed a particular part had hardened.

“Don’t look.”

Before she could cover herself, he pinned her down and pressed himself against her. His pale lips sucked and nibbled on her petal-like lips fiercely. Yaoniang felt her own lips might be bitten until they bled.

“Your, Your Majesty…”

“Hmm?”

“We haven’t seen each other in a long time. Let’s talk for a while.” It had indeed been a long time since they last met. Since Emperor Jin’an ascended the throne, they had only seen each other once.

“What do you want to say?” Emperor Jin’an was busy with his actions but absentmindedly answered her.

“Anything will do. It’s just that… you didn’t say anything before…”

“Don’t you want Zhen?”

“I do…”

“Where do you want Zhen?”

“Everywhere, everywhere, everywhere I want…”

…

Outside the palace gates stood two rows of people, one row of palace maids and one row of eunuchs.

It was already the middle of the night, but the commotion inside had not subsided.

If it were any other time, the eunuchs who served in the Jingshi Room¹ would have reminded them. But now, with the new emperor just ascending the throne, the duties of the Jingshi Room had not yet been assigned to anyone, so no one dared to step forward and ask for trouble.

These palace maids and eunuchs were all newly selected and had just started serving in front of the new emperor. It was probably their first time attending to such matters, and they were particularly uneasy.

They were young and inexperienced, and each one wished they could bury their heads in their chests. Their faces were so red that smoke seemed to be coming out.

Xiao Shunzi glanced at their blushing faces with a sharp gaze and spat, “Ignorant fools! Don’t you know how formidable His Majesty is? This is nothing new. There will be plenty of such incidents in the future. Don’t act all clueless and cause me to lose face.”

Now that Fucheng had become the chief eunuch in charge of the imperial palace, Xiao Shunzi had also risen to prominence and now led a group of eunuchs. He had become quite influential. Today, Fucheng had served Emperor Jin’an all day, and after Emperor Jin’an returned, he let Fucheng rest, so Xiao Shunzi took over the night watch with his men.

The palace maids could be ignored as they had thin skin, but these young eunuchs were shrewd. When Xiao Shunzi scolded them, instead of getting angry, they smiled and flattered him.

“This little one has limited experience and has only seen His Majesty with a stern face. There have been many young palace maids trying to climb into the dragon bed these days, but His Majesty always ordered them to be thrown out. Shun Yeye², you have served by His Majesty’s side for a long time. Could you tell us about this niangniang and give us some insight so that we don’t offend our master’s niangniang?”

Upon hearing this, a few palace maids nearby also pricked up their ears.

gingercat's notes:

¹Responsible for recording the nightly details between the emperor and the empress, consorts, and imperial concubines, ie. how many times and for how long, the physical condition of each concubine, and when they served the emperor. This could be used as proof of the prince's legitimacy in the future. ²Used to address a male with a higher seniority than them