"Your Majesty, this seems a bit sudden, is it not?" Mian Huaran was the first to speak her mind. Though her words were still a bit careful, it was clear that she was disagreeing to this thought.
Hui Yin set down the cup, eyes suddenly growing cold, "Mian Fei, my job as the Empress is to ensure that His Majesty has plenty of offsprings. I need to watch and carefully monitor the ladies who will enter this palace, to make sure that they are excellent in all skills. His Majesty has been the Emperor for over five years now but has own sire three children." As she said this, her cup that clinked in the quiet room was able to assert her strong aura. Her eyes shone, cold and cunning, challenging all who dared to refuse her words.
Shu Lirong shrunk back, obviously not intending to get involved.
Mian Huaran bit her lips at this, worry etched in her eyes.
"This... the bigger the harem becomes, won't problems begin to arise? The more women that enter, the more troubling matters will become." Qi Meizhen was angry. She was angry that Hui Yin would be able to make such a decision when she had been in the harem the longest, even giving birth to two children. Yet, in her moment of anger, she had slipped up in her act.
Mian Huaran and Shu Lirong had both noticed, and they both looked in shock at Qi Meizhen's words. Mian Huaran even inched away as Hui Yin's aura got darker. Neither were expecting Qi Meizhen to say such words when she had spent so long trying to gain favor. But it was only explainable as her position was stolen away from her. Yet, Mian Huaran also couldn't help but smirk softly, eyes glimmering as she touched her stomach.
Hui Yin's eyes grew even sharper, and in a cold and venomous voice, she then asked, "Is Qi Guifei stating that with myself becoming Empress, I was also causing more troubles for the harem?" Saying this, Hui Yin smacked her arm onto the armrest on her chair, slapping it as it echoed in the room.
Qi Meizhen finally realized just what she had said and she hurriedly got up and bowed into the ground, Liang planted her body on the ground even trembling softly.
Qi Meizhen's body shook. In a moment of anger and carelessness, she had just caused a big mistake that could damage her position forever. She had been thinking of her brother, of the Emperor, and in a moment of envy and anger, had lost control of her words.
"Your Majesty, my words were wrong. I did not think carefully enough. Of course, now that Your Majesty has become the Empress, only fortune will come for the harem!" Qi Meizhen hurried to fix her mistake.
Hui Yin sneered, anger still showing in her eyes. "Qi Guifei, I have treated you with respect for you are the concubine who has been by His Majesty's side the longest, even giving birth to two children for His Majesty. And yet, a mere concubine like you dares to say such words towards me? I am a princess of the Hui Nation, His Majesty chose me as his Empress!" Hui Yin grabbed her cup of tea and smashed it onto the ground. The porcelain broke on the ground, scattering as the tea spilt, the sound echoing in the room.
It was at this moment that everyone realized that Hui Yin was not to be trifled with.
Mian Huaran and Shu Lirong hurried to bow down, every servant in the room bowed down. Mian Huaran, who was pregnant, didn't even care that she was pregnant. Right now, Hui Yin was truly angered. No one had seen the Empress so angry since she entered the palace.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"
Everyone bowed, their heads nearly touching the ground.
Qi Meizhen could only bite her lips, her head on the ground as she hid her angry eyes. She clenched her fist with fury. What Guifei? In front of the Empress, she could only bow her head down and act like a lowly concubine. The power and glory she held from before the Empress had entered the harem was now gone. She was not the Emperor's first wife, she wasn't the rightful wife but only the secondary wife... she couldn't even be the one the Emperor loved, only the woman who stole and ruined his life.
Hui Yin's chest lifted up and down, heaving as she breathed with anger, her eyes flaring. She looked at everyone who bowed down, gritting her teeth and trying to compose herself. Finally, seeing that no one would lift their heads, she ordered, "Leave. My good mood has been ruined. I will not send you out."
At these words, everyone slowly stood up. Liang helped Qi Meizhen stand up as the woman shook.
Mian Huaran and Shu Lirong stood up too with the help of their maid as they said in turn, "We shall take our leave, Your Majesty."
As everyone exited Hui Yin's pavilion, Qi Meizhen's face was pallid and pale. Her arm was supported by Liang, who softly consoled her.
"Guifei, worry not. No matter what, you are still the mother to the First Prince and the Third Princess. His Majesty will still have to think about this first even if Her Majesty wants to harm you." Liang could only whisper quietly to Qi Meizhen.
"Qi Guifei, it seems that your worry and anger is really showing. To think that you would even say such words in front of Her Majesty, I applaud you." Mian Huaran walked past Qi Meizhen, ridiculing as her lips turned into a wicked smile, eyes filled with delight. "Qi Guifei, your glory has lost its meaning. Right now, Her Majesty is the true Phoenix who rules the back palace. The First Prince and Third Princess will not be able to protect your position for long." Saying this, Mian Huaran walked forward as a sedan chair stopped before her and she got onto it. The eunuchs lifted the sedan chair as soon as Mian Huaran got onto it.
Qi Meizhen could only watch as Mian Huaran left before her eyes, hands clenched tight.
Behind her, Shu Lirong walked forward as she softly said, "Qi Guifei, Her Majesty is new but she also clearly knows of the power struggle in the palace. Do be careful when you say something." Saying this, Shu Lirong also got on her sedan chair as the eunuchs lifted it and left.
Qi Meizhen sat on her sedan chair, sighing to herself as she closed her eyes. She had messed up. And now, she was risking so much in her fit of anger.
Watching everyone leave, Hui Yin smirked as she motioned to Li Yu, who stood hidden behind a post near the room. "I have done as His Majesty asked and successfully caught that consort's mistake. Now, it is his turn to keep his side of the deal."
"Worry not, Your Majesty, His Majesty will surely reward you as you wished." Li Yu said with a smile, his more feminine voice showing sincerity as he bowed.
Hui Yin merely scoffed as she smirked widely, "It wasn't hard. That woman is probably feeling upset that I was able to become Empress and just snatched everything before her eyes. But, from what I've seen, she seems too stupid to even become Empress. She wasn't even able to give me a whole show before she lost. What an eyesore." Hui Yin motioned for her maid to walk towards her.
Xin Lu walked over with a polite smile, "Your Majesty?"
"Make sure to send news that Qi Guifei has disrespected the Empress, even behaving shamelessly, causing her to fall out of favor. Spread it far and wide, Xin Lu." Hui Yin whispered into her ears as Li Yu merely smiled.
Xin Lu nodded her head, "I will be able to do that easily, Your Majesty. I shall take my leave then, Your Majesty." Saying this, Xin Lu bowed as she hurriedly began her task.
Now that Xin Lu had left, Hui Yin turned to Li Yu. "You know, I was a bit confused about why His Majesty seemingly disliked his Guifei when she had given him two children and was even his secondary wife, the wife that he first married when he was simply a prince. After I had my spies dig into some information, I've now realized everything she has done. It is a wonder how he was able to let her last for so long when she had destroyed his life in the shadows." Saying this, Hui Yin's lips turned into a smirk.
As if he didn't mind, Li Yu merely smiled as he replied, "Now that Your Majesty is here, you will be able to do what His Majesty wasn't."
Hui Yin merely raised her brow, "I guess I can take care of the harem for him. Well, it's not like I like her anyway. The way she looked at me in secret made me want to poke out her eyes so she would never stare at me with such resentment." Saying this, Hui Yin fixed her hair and added, "Head Eunuch, you may take your leave. Am I assured that you will relay this news to His Majesty?"
Li Yu bowed, "Your Majesty, this servant shall relay news of this matter to His Majesty."
"Good." Saying this, Hui Yin fixed the white jade bracelet on both her wrists with bored eyes. Looking into the copper mirror, she smiled softly. What a fun game she had been introduced to! And now, she held the lives of so many in her hand, free to control them at will. Yes, what fun this is...
-
"Then I take it that you have lived in that mountain all your life?" Shan Mingxia asked with a serene smile on her face.
Sitting across her, Lu Fengmian held a small cup of tea and merely replied, "Yes. My sister and I were borne there. Our parents died and left us young, but we were able to survive because we knew how to live on that mountain."
Hearing this, Shan Mingxia nodded, "For your parents to have such an amazing son, they must be proud."
Lu Fengmian could only smile gently, eyes softly. Having spent a good two weeks living at Tang Qingshan's home, he and Shan Mingxia have grown extremely close. When Lu Fengmian did not leave to visit Bai Suixin, he spent his time with Shan Mingxia and got to know her. Now, their relationship were closer than before.
"No, my sister is a great woman. During my youth, she carefully taught me everything I know now. I owe my life to her." Saying this, Lu Fengmian gently shook his head. He really liked Tang Qingshan's mother. Shan Mingxia was a strong woman, especially in a time like this.
Hearing this, Shan Mingxia's eyes seemed to light up. "I have heard you speak about your sister, Lu Yingyue so many times. If she was here, I would've loved to meet her."
Lu Fengmian took a sip of his tea, setting it down as he then replied, "My sister is a great person. Unfortunately, as she is now helping Qingshan with his soldiers, she won't be able to return back any time soon." Frankly, somehow, both Lu Yingyue and Shan Mingxia had similar personalities.
Honestly, this type of life, Lu Fengmian really liked. He now had power with Bai Suixin, Mo Chou, and even Mo Li backing him up, no one would be able to truly affect his position. And, his relationship with both Tang Qingshan and Shan Mingxia was getting better. It was to the point where Lu Fengmian could feel his personality shifting towards gentle and kind. In this world, there was nothing that could affect his personality just yet.
"If your sister wasn't helping my son, then I'm sure I would be delighted to meet her." Shan Mingxia chucked lightly, her beautiful eyes lighting up. "How has Her Majesty been?"
Turns out, Bai Suixin and Shan Mingxia were quite close. Shan Mingxia often visited the palace just to meet Bai Suixin, even talking about scriptures.
"Her Majesty has been feeling much better. I have been monitoring her medications and also what she can eat. Her mood has been better as she hasn't been experiencing head pains." Lu Fengmian calmly explained Bai Suixin's condition over the last two weeks that Lu Fengmian had been helping her.
"That's good, it's rare that she would be ill. I have known her for long, but she has never been one to get ill." Shan Mingxia nodded her head. "Ah, Winter is quickly approaching. I found the time to make you a new cloak over this week. Wait here, I'll grab it for you to try on and see if it fits you." Saying this, Shan Mingxia left with a smile.
Lu Fengmian watched as she quickly stepped away, entering a different room near the hall by this part of the pavilion. In all seriousness, Lu Fengmian really did like Shan Mingxia. After all, the woman truly treated as if he were her own son, caring and loving him. Not to mention, this would be his future mother-in-law.
Lu Fengmian couldn't help it as he smiled even wider, eyes gentle and filled with joy.
-
Lu Yingyue turned her head.
"I was wondering why you were chasing after me. Turns out, you are a Taoist Priest." Saying this, Lu Yingyue's eyes turned golden for a second.
Lu Yingyue was now in an alleyway, located so far and deeply, no one was passing around.
"Demon, you are a danger to the humans. I must get rid of you." From across her, a man was dressed in pure white robes. He held some talismans in his hand, eyes gleaming.
Lu Yingyue smirked, "Is that so?" Then, with her eyes switching full into a deep color, warm and attracting. "But brother, I am only a weak woman. I have never done the things you've said." From her mouth, a voice very attracting and bewitching was heard.
To the man's ears, it was a hypnotic voice, alluring like a siren's voice. In fact, his eyes blanked out, even losing his sight.
For Lu Yingyue, that second was enough for her to sneak up close to him. In just a matter of seconds, long nails grew from her fingers. She had turned into her part demon form. Standing before the man who was still dazed, Lu Yingyue watched as the man's eyes focused and smirked as she dug her claws into the man's chest. The man let out a pained grunt but was unable to say anything, his body still under Lu Yingyue's charm.
Lu Yingyue dug her hand into the man's chest, and then quickly ripped out his heart. Holding a heart that was still softly beating in her hand, she watched as the man looked in shock and collapsed onto the ground.
A white smoke flew from the heart, flying towards her chest as the heart crumbled and turned to ash. Looking at the body, Lu Yingyue fixed her robes as her figure disappeared from the alley, leaving only a warm corpse behind.
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"If I wait for you, will you turn to look at me?"
"Baicheng and I are getting married. I want to ask for you to end the feelings in your heart and think carefully before you try to take my man. You can't have what isn't yours, and you can't forcefully hold onto something that wants to let go. Qianchi, as Baicheng's bride-to-be, I simple want you to stop having feelings for him before it's too late."
"Master Baicheng, I have successfully done what you wished for and have also done as Master Xu Lue requested. We shall be able to move tonight."
"These people have lied to you. Come, follow me and I shall show you just how evil people can be. There is no one you can trust. Everyone will lie to get what they want, they will betray for anything they wish for. Follow me and I shall grant you all your wishes."
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