Chapter 73 - How could you tolerate this?

Yun Fenghuang’s eyes blinked and she still smiled, “Of course I am thinking of you, Your Majesty.”

Emperor Chunjia took a sip of tea and seemed to mock her. She leaned over with her elbows on the end table between them and said softly, “Jie Yu Yue is pregnant. She is the apple of your eyes. You cherish her very much before, and now you must cherish her more dearly. Of course you will come to Hu Zhu Palace tonight! But it is late, and you are with me rather than with Jie Yu Yue… I am both happy and frightened, so I couldn’t help thinking about it.”

Emperor Chunjia glanced at her, and said with a smile, “Oh? What did Pin Yun think about?”

“I thought…” Yun Fenghuang deliberately lengthened her tone, rolling her eyes, and said with a smile, “I thought that perhaps because Jie Yu Yue is pregnant and she prefers quietness. My Majesty, in order to avoid disturbing her, you went to Ning Bi Hall, took a look at her and then came to me.”

“If you think so, then it is so.” Emperor Chunjia did not say what she said was right or not, but only smiled lightly, “Is there anything else? If not, let’s go to sleep.”

Then he raised his hands to take off his clothes… Yun Fenghuang sat motionlessly and said, “Here is the thing. Um, I do not feel well today. I’m afraid I can’t serve you to sleep, My Majesty.”

She just remembered Qi Jiulu. How could she have any interest in sleeping with the Emperor?

Emperor Chunjia might be still worried about Yuan Lianniang. He continued to take off his clothes as he heard that, saying indifferently, “It’s late. It would be troublesome for me to go back to Tai Chu Palace. Can’t I just sleep here for one night?”

“It is OK if you do not mind that my room is simple and crude.” Yun Fenghuang just smiled and stood up, took his robe, hung it on the hanger which was not far away, and said, “I will make the bed for you, My Majesty.”

After a while, the two lay in bed together, but they couldn’t sleep.

The Emperor was lying quietly and gently, but Yun Fenghuang tossed and turned, pulling the quilt from time to time. Although Emperor Chunjia was patient, he could not stand her. He asked, “The thing we talked last time, have you got any idea to deal with it?”

“… What thing?” Yun Fenghuang was quietly pulling the quilt away from him. Hearing his words, she suddenly paused, and then realized what he meant, “Do you mean the marriage of Princess Minghui?”

Emperor Chunjia quickly pressed the quilt, “Do you have any plans?”

Yun Fenghuang tried to pull but failed. She gave up and said, “How could it be possible? I have only met with Princess Minghui for several times. Mr. Ji is even less familiar to me. You have been with them for eight years. You cannot even stop their marriage, let alone me.”

“You have gone to Tai Chu Palace once.” The Emperor said, “I didn’t say you cannot go to my palace again.”

Yun Fenghuang chuckled and said, “Thanks for your kindness, but I’d better not. Do you remember how angry Jie Yu Yue was when she saw that you gave me five? If she is not pregnant, I dare to defend myself. But now she is pregnant, I dare not irritate her.”

The Emperor said lightly, “I have already explained to Lianniang.”

Since the candles had already been blown out, Yun Fenghuang couldn’t see his expression when he said this, and only felt he was a bit gloomy. She could tell that the so-called “explanation” did not go smoothly.

She said drowsily, “But it is unreasonable for you to explain to Jie Yu Yue each time I go to Tai Chu Palace, right? It is too troublesome for you, isn’t it?”

“Anyway, I am not busy these days, so it is not troublesome at all.” Emperor Chunjia said calmly, “Moreover, Pin Yun, do you fully depend on Her Highness? Or you think that it does not matter to offend Queen Mother of Honor because you are protected by Her Highness?”

Yun Fenghuang smiled and said softly, “I’m hoping your protection, My Majesty.”

The Emperor was silent for a moment and suddenly said, “I heard that your fiancé has come to Dijing City.”

“Has he?” Yun Fenghuang said lightly. “The Mammy there didn’t tell me when I went to Ning Bi Hall to pay respects to Jie Yu Yue.”

The Emperor chuckled, “He came to Dijing with his wife. It is said that you did not like Ms. Chao when you were at your hometown.”

Yun Fenghuang said, “That’s not true, My Majesty. I still do not like her even after I join the harem.”

She fumbled, turned over and changed from lying on her back to lying face down on the bed, supporting her cheek with one hand and shaking the Emperor’s arm with her hand. She said softly, “How about I make a plan to stop the marriage between Mr. Ji and Princess Minghui, while you help me punish the intrigant and the jezebel? How does that sound?”

“Are you making a bargain with me?” The Emperor opened his eyes, and because of the dimness of the room, he could only distinguish her outline even if they were very close. He saw half of her face hidden in her hair as dark as the night. Her skin was white and pink, like flawless jade. Gleams that scintillated in her eyes were hidden in the shadow. Although he could not see her eyes clearly, he could imagine her cunning expression at the moment.

Emperor Chunjia closed his eyes and chuckled, remaining unmoved. “Moreover, you know I am in a worse situation. How can I interfere with the affairs of Prince Regent’s Mansion?”

Yun Fenghuang stopped holding his arm. She asked suspiciously, “Prince Regent’s Mansion?”

“They now live in Lai Cui Building, which is designed to entertain guests of Prince Regent’s Mansion.” The Emperor commented lightly, “Although the Prince Regent has always been known for being courteous to the wise and scholars, he has a very high standard. Given Qi Jiulu and his wife are allowed to live in Lai Cui Building at such a young age, it can be said that he is a young person with outstanding ability. Losing such a fiancé, it’s no wonder that you were so upset after hearing the news of his marriage last time.”

“…” Yun Fenghuang kept silent for a moment, and then groaned, “My Majesty, do you mean that I am still missing him?”

The Emperor comforted her with a smile, “I just want to chat with you casually to pass the time because I find that you stay awake.”

Yun Fenghuang said, “If you can fall asleep, why do you spend your time with me like this? Besides, if you want to pass the time, why do you talk about those annoying people and things? Although I am not knowledgeable, I have read classic historical writings and learnt lyre-playing, chess, calligraphy and painting. If you want to chat anything with me, I will keep you company!”

Emperor Chunjia held back his laughter, “Well, Pin Yun, you are indeed versatile. For example, you have repeatedly recommended to me the Lingbo dance. I have never seen a second person in my life that can compare with you when dancing it…”

“I can not only dance, but also play chess.” Yun Fenghuang said, “Although I am not a good chess player, I believe I’m good enough to play chess with you for amusement…”

The Emperor stopped laughing. He remembered how he lost completely the chess game last time.

“I will find a chance to meet Mr. Qi.” For a long while, Emperor Chunjia said lightly, “Someone told me that you had a deep affection with him when you were in the north. I am curious how he tolerated you for your temper.”

Yun Fenghuang was surprised, “My Majesty, although I failed to please you, in this palace, the number of people who hates Jie Yu Yue is definitely larger than that who hates me!”

It was not strange if others, such as Gongxiang Xiao, wondered why Qi Jiulu was completely submissive to her, an arrogant and overbearing girl. But as for Emperor Chunjia, how could he have the right to ask that question?

Yun Fenghuang swore that no matter how ridiculous she was, she was cuter than Yuan Lianniang!

At least she would not be stupid enough to offend everyone when she firstly joined the harem…

When she was in the north, although she was almost repulsing the offspring of Chao’s Family because of Chao Jingyou, at least she got her former fiancé Qi Jiulu, and then had maintained good relationships with her siblings, cousins from Jiang’s Family, and her sisters-in-law’s siblings.

So many people huddled and only excluded Chao Jingyou. How could it be a big problem?

But Yuan Lianniang offended those who were not in her team openly. Moreover, when she found an opportunity, she even laid her hands on the teammates like Noble Consort Shu. Of course, she had no friends and teammates in the harem.

The most important thing was that Yun Fenghuang rejected Chao Jingyou for justified reasons. Yun Fenghuang was the future daughter-in-law supported by the master of Qi’s Family. Qi Jiulu and she had gone through the process of engagement. Although Ms. Chen preferred Chao Jingyou, Chao Jingyou was not Qi Jiulu’s fiancée. But Chao Jingyou kept being with Qi Jiulu. As his future wife, it was right and proper that Yun Fenghuang suppressed the potential rival.

But what about Yuan Lianniang?

She was Emperor Chunjia’s fiancée and deserved to be his wife… But in the end, she only became a concubine and had to share her husband with other concubines. It seemed that she was aggrieved.

But…

Whether she was aggrieved or not was honestly unimportant.

After all, to the Empress, Noble Consort Gui, Noble Consort Shu, Consort Xin and other concubines, they were in high grades in the palace because they were supported by their strong families. It was also fair to say that they had guaranteed the reign of Emperor Chunjia for eight years. They were not useless to Emperor Chunjia.

Yuan Lianniang was wronged. Did Empress Ji feel comfortable?

Even if the Empress’s family had other purposes, in the end, they helped Gongxiang Ji who had been an ordinary princedom get the throne. As a reward, shouldn’t she own the Seal of the Empress?

Besides, at the beginning, Ji’s Family resolutely opposed that Yuan Lianniang joined the Imperial Harem. Yuan Lianniang was fifteen at that time, and her parents and elders were still tutoring her. It was impossible for her not to know the situation after joining the harem with such an embarrassing identity. If she could not accept it, she should not join the harem at that time!

Her family, Yuan’s Family of Fuyang County, was also a strong clan, and she was the niece of Queen Mother Yuan. If she had cancelled the engagement with Gongxiang Ji, even if she could not have married with a princedom that was young and handsome, she would also have lived a good life because she was under the protection of her family.

As a result, however, she insisted on joining the harem, and then… almost everyone in the palace were her enemies.

If Yun Fenghuang had met such a stupid fiancé, she would have made efforts to kill him to avoid being hindered.

But Emperor Chunjia had not only tolerated her, but even today, he cherished her and was willing to do anything for her. How loyal he was! If Yun Fenghuang were not still hesitant about how to deal with the relationship with her former fiancé, she would have asked Qi Jiulu to learn from Emperor Chunjia!

At this moment, she would like to ask, “My Majesty, how can you tolerate this?”

“If you do not believe me, you can go out and ask someone casually. Is he or she afraid of me or Jie Yu Yue?” Yun Fenghuang laughed when she saw the Emperor was quiet, and said, “My Majesty, your words really hurt me. In your mind, Jie Yu Yue is good no matter how many bad things she has done. But I am always the one to be blamed.”

“…You are different from Lianniang.” Emperor Chunjia said lightly after being speechless for a while, “Lianniang is not sensible, but you are too sensible.”

Yun Fenghuang said, “But Jie Yu Yue is almost ten years older than me.”

She was still ignorant at that age. Didn’t you feel ashamed to defend her?

The Emperor took a deep breath and said after a while, “Aren’t you sleepy? I’m going to sleep.”

Yun Fenghuang pursed her lips and was just about to speak. At this time, there were slight footsteps outside, followed by a whisper. Soon afterwards, she heard that Yan Yin said, “My Majesty, the maid of Ning Bi Hall is here, saying that Jie Yu Yue is not feeling well.”