Chapter 208.1

Side Consort Xu, who had never been hit before in her life, was left dumbfounded after being struck directly.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

She watched helplessly as Side Consort Liu’s people entered her room, creating a chaotic mess as if hungry wolves had invaded a flock of sheep. She screamed and cursed, trying to rush over and fight back, but Side Consort Liu’s servants stopped her.

Now, Side Consort Xu didn’t have many people of her own, so no one helped her as they all watched from the sidelines in silence.

“How dare you! You actually laid hands on me in front of the eunuchs from the palace!” Side Consort Xu threatened while looking for help from those eunuchs present. However, she found that the eunuch in the courtyard, who was in charge of reading the imperial edict, was not paying attention to this side at all.

“So what if I hit you? I just want to hit you!” Side Consort Liu sneered, continuing to wreck everything in Side Consort Xu’s room before turning around and leaving with her entourage.

Side Consort Xu’s face turned crimson, and she couldn’t stop trembling as she looked at the mess around her.

“My lady, please prepare everything quickly, I still need to return to the palace to report back.”

Side Consort Xu couldn’t be bothered to think about it anymore. She mustered a forced smile and said, “Eunuch, please wait a moment. I’ll have the servants pack up immediately.”

Although those maids were not very useful earlier, they were quite skilled at packing things. In no time, everything was neatly arranged. In truth, Side Consort Xu didn’t have much to pack, mostly just clothes and accessories.

Back at Lingbo Pavilion, Side Consort Liu could no longer hold back her tears as they rolled down her cheeks.

Her maidservants looked at her with concern but didn’t dare to say anything. Only when the people from the palace came to urge them did they start to pack their belongings.

Side Consort Liu seemed troubled, her eyebrows furrowed deeply, and she only snapped out of her trance when her maids finished packing.

“Niangniang…” She stood up, mustering a forced smile and said, “Let’s go.”

The carriages sent from the palace were waiting at the side gate. Side Consort Liu walked slowly, wishing this road would never end.

A maidservant ran hurriedly from the roadside, carrying an anxious smile as she handed over a letter, “Fortunately, this servant is not late. This is a letter from madam for niangniang.”

Side Consort Liu took the letter, gazing at it absentmindedly until someone gently nudged her. Then, she quickly stuffed the letter into her sleeve and continued walking.

The carriage’s wheels rattled, and tears streamed down Side Consort Liu’s face, quickly smudging the ink on the letter, making it blurry.

“Young Miss…” Qing Ci called out worriedly.

This was what the maids used to address her back when Side Consort Liu was still in her boudoir. Due to the restriction that only two servants were allowed by her side when she entered the prince’s manor, she brought Qing Ci and Qing Shan, two maidservants who had served her since childhood.

Side Consort Liu finally couldn’t hold back her emotions. She grabbed Qing Ci’s hand and fell into her arms, murmuring, “He said he’ll wait for me. He said he’ll wait for me, but how can he wait? How can he…”

“Young Miss…”

Outside the sleeping hall, two rows of people stood, palace maids on one side and eunuchs on the other, all of similar height and size, holding handkerchiefs, bronze basins, water jugs, and other items.

Fucheng stood to the side, holding the horsetail whisk in his arms, anxiously pacing back and forth.

It was already mao-shi¹, but the emperor still wasn’t out of bed yet. It was almost time for the morning court. Normally, the emperor would rise during yin-shi², but today, for some reason, Fucheng didn’t dare to intrude. The empress was also inside, and who knows if he might stumble upon some inappropriate scene. Given the emperor’s habits, if he was up, he would have called for someone.

“Fucheng, this water has gone cold.” A small eunuch holding a bronze basin pitifully said. Thanks to his well-trained discipline, he had been holding this water-filled basin for almost fifteen minutes, and his arms didn’t even tremble. If it were someone else, they would have given up long ago.

Fucheng waved his hand, “Do I still need to remind you? Hurry and change it; the emperor might call for us any moment now.”

The eunuch immediately didn’t dare to delay and hurriedly left with the basin to get fresh water.

Inside the hall, a light-blue curtain embroidered with patterns of flowers and butterflies hung quietly, but there were sounds of movement inside.

“It’s getting late and you still need to attend morning court…”

Yaoniang pinched the corner of the blanket and whispered softly, afraid that her voice might be heard by someone outside.

Emperor Jin’an didn’t say a word, he only used his mouth, full of restrained power, to nibble on her earlobe.

A strong masculine scent filled her lungs and nostrils; it was a scent that belonged solely to him, and no matter how much she tried, Yaoniang would never mistake it. Those lips that enveloped her earlobe were both domineering and greedy, and his actions below were fierce beyond measure as if the two of them were sworn enemies from their past lives.

“It’s really getting late, Your Majesty…”

She seemed to be begging with tearful earnestness. He turned her around, and Yaoniang herself didn’t know how she ended up on top. She pounded his bare chest twice, putting all her strength into her arms. He quickly grabbed her hand and pulled it away. Unprepared, she bumped hard into his embrace, feeling a tingling sensation in her nose, almost shedding tears.

At that moment, he increased his strength and vented by squeezing her buttocks tightly. After a long while, he let go of her, breathing heavily and laid her gently on the bed before sitting up.

“You rest here, Zhen will go to morning court.”

gingercat's notes:

¹ 5-7 am ² 3-5 am