Internet users uploaded the second volume of Shan You Mu Xylophone has branches one by one seeking benevolence
After a day of hard work, Zhang Yan felt very tired. She dismissed everyone and only kept her loyal maid by her side to attend to her needs, just like before she got married. Suddenly, she heard a familiar eunuch shouting outside the palace, and recognized it as Han Changyu, the chief eunuch in charge of the imperial court. Unconsciously, a look of joy appeared on her face, and she quickly stood up.
However, it was not Liu Zhen who came in person. He only ordered the best silk and lacquerware utensils to be given to the ladies of the palace, which were arranged neatly in the palace, making a grand and lively scene.
After bowing and receiving the imperial gift, Zhang Yan ordered Huai and Jiu to carefully put away the bestowed items, and then sat back down on her knees with a somewhat distracted expression.
The sand trickled down bit by bit.
"Niang niang," asked Xiangyun with a smile, "but isn't it time for dinner?"
"Wait a bit." She was holding a volume of "Lüshi Chunqiu", and had just reached the most interesting part, so she couldn't bear to put it down. Thus, her mind elsewhere, she replied perfunctorily.
"Alright, Your Majesty—" After being asked for the third time, Tong Hua finally couldn't help but speak up to urge, "His Majesty won't be coming to the Pepper Chamber tonight."
Even if you are the empress, it is impossible to make the emperor guard you alone for a lifetime - this is a universally acknowledged fact, a golden rule.
Zhang Yan's hand tightened around the scroll, she looked up at the sky and put down the bland book, sighing, "It's so late already."
Lanterns have been hung both inside and outside the Pepper Room.
Looking at the girl who had grown up with her since childhood, a wave of regret suddenly rose in her heart. She knelt beside her and gently persuaded, "For these three days, His Majesty has been accompanying the Empress Dowager. Today, he is not by your side for the first time. It's natural that you're not happy about it. But... Your Majesty is the Emperor, after all. He can't always be stuck to your side. These past few days, I've been observing from the sidelines. I think His Majesty truly cares about you in his heart. For you, this is more important than anything else."
Zhang Yan suddenly felt a strange bitter taste coming out of her mouth, turned around to look at Cui Yu, and quietly asked, "Do you think the Emperor treats me well?"
She looked at him in surprise for a moment, and the lotus beside her exchanged a glance with him, hesitated and said... "It should be good, right?"
Zhang Yan lost her smile, "You don't have to be like this, I also know that he has done his best." she said to me.
He was raised by Confucian scholars from a young age and had always been morally upright, never doing anything that went against his conscience. Yet he still married her. He knew that as the empress, she would be treated coldly if she entered the palace, and in this Weiyang Palace, she would lose face. So, he spent three nights with her in the Xuan Shi Chamber to create a false rumor for her.
But he couldn't allow himself to sleep with his niece, so he had to endure the hardship and sleep poorly for the whole night. He drank wine while gazing at the cold moonlight.
"Alright." She stood up and said, "I'm hungry, tell them to serve dinner." She walked past the two maids and entered her bedroom, flopping down onto the bed and burying her face in the thick, fluffy quilt, not wanting to get up.
With a "creak", Hu Die followed her in and turned on the light.
"Girl," she called out, seeing Zhang Yan was unwilling to get up, couldn't help but laugh.
"The empress thought," Hua's soft voice flowed through the vast pepper chamber, as if she was talking to herself. As if she was asking her own heart. "His Majesty treats me very well, but it's not enough, is it?"
Zhang Yan turned over on the bed, sat up and asked strangely, "Did you hear that?"
She smiled brightly and said, "You must think I'm really ungrateful, huh?"
From the perspective of people in this era, no matter how you look at it, she has already obtained enough happiness. Born into a noble family, with beautiful parents who loved and supported her firmly. She became the empress of the Great Han Dynasty at a young age and entered the Weiyang Palace, but it was like moving from one home to another, familiar since childhood, without any strangeness or distance. As a strong mother-in-law, Empress Lü had a soft spot for herself, taking care of her in every way, not wanting her to suffer any grievances.
Even the man who dominated the world, the Han Emperor, her husband, although he couldn't love himself for some special reasons, was extremely doting and almost fulfilled all his heart's desires.
Isn't this good?
Of course.
But it's not enough.
I want more.
I want him to see the real me, not the shackles attached to the moral man's heart. Even if he is the master of the world, in love, we are equal. I am willing to pay out my all loyalty for him, correspondingly, I also want him to have only me in his eyes and heart.
But Zhang Yan smiled faintly, these ideas that seem natural to me, must be a shocking and outrageous madness to any ordinary Han person.
In this mundane world, as long as there are some capable and enduring men, they will tirelessly seek out their red-dressed confidantes, regardless of the wives at home. Having three wives and four concubines is a common reality among the wealthy and powerful families, let alone the ruler of the country?
It's possible that in their eyes, having such an idea makes oneself a complete and utter madman.
"No way."
"Hmm, Zhang Yan suddenly raised her head and saw Huayan smiling with a curved lip. She said sincerely, 'No one is more noble than anyone else. If you want to get something, you have to pay the corresponding price in exchange. Your Majesty is intelligent and kind, with a delicate heart. Huayan believes that one day, Your Majesty will see the good in you. If he still can't return your true feelings, then Huayan believes he's not worthy of your deep love.'"
Zhang Yan slightly hesitated, knelt down on the couch, and straightened her waist.
"Unexpected." She smiled strangely, "It turns out you're my kindred spirit, He Huan."
The scent of grass and pepper mud wafted through the air in the Pepper Chamber. Zhang Yan arranged the furniture, including a lacquered case, boxes, and screens, all in a grand and solemn style, befitting the mistress of the house who was renowned for her dignity, but lacking a touch of elegance. A yellow pear wood screen stood in the center, folded into six panels, with feet at the bottom to support it. The surface depicted mountain spirits and girls, autumn winds and smartweeds. The mountains were cool and clear, the springs cold and icy. Every brushstroke was vivid and lifelike. It was said that Zhang Wei, a marquis from within the passes, had presented this as a congratulatory gift to the emperor and empress on their wedding day when he was in Yanmen Commandery.
"I was busy with things today and I forgot." Zhang Yan pointed to the six-sided screen. "He Ruo, tell Zhan Shi tomorrow to set up another bed outside this screen."
"Your Ladyship, dinner is served." Orchid walked into the hall from afar and saw Zhang Yan sitting on the couch, smiling brightly. She let out a sigh of relief and calmed down. "Have you finally figured it out?"
"Yes." Zhang Yan nodded and smiled mischievously, "I've figured it out."
She is the wife he married in the eyes of the world, but in his eyes, she is still the little girl who called him uncle on Mount Shang. Never mind, I'm still too young to be your real interpreter flower. But Liu Ying, you have to wait for me to grow up. I know that during my long years of growing up, it's impossible for you not to have other palace maids and concubines by your side.
One by one, day after day, I'm eating vinegar. I'll drown in a sea of vinegar.
So I will adjust my mood and wait for your return in the pepper house.
Because I am not your real wife, I don't have the right to be jealous of you. I will advise myself not to look or think about you occasionally being with other women, and only remember how we are when we're together.
However, if one day you finally admit that you love me, I will never agree to share you with any other woman.
Love is just such a selfish thing.
March slipped away quietly.
In the second month of spring, Zhang Yan met with Emperor Gao and performed the rites of a married woman.
She wore a long black dress and stepped out of the temple. She took a deep breath facing the sky.
Only then did she truly become a member of the Liu family, and even if her husband died young, there would still be a place for her in the Liu ancestral temple and tomb.
Emperor Hui sympathized with Zhang Yan, exempting her from the labor of going to the Xuan Shi chamber five days a month. He changed it to himself going once every five days to the Pepper Chamber. Two or three times, he would always stay overnight. He slept on a different bed from Zhang Yan's.
This day was the day of the upper meal, Zhang Yan ordered Cen Niang to carefully prepare the meal. At three o'clock in the afternoon, Liu Ying stopped the government affairs at Xuan Shi Hall and returned to Jiao Fang Hall.
"Slow down." He smiled and hugged Zhang Yan, who had rushed out, and said, "You are also the empress of our Great Han after all. If you always act so childishly and recklessly, it's not very good."
Zhang Yan raised her head from his arms and said with a smile, "However, Your Majesty, when one is alone in the Pepper Chamber Hall, it's so boring. That's why I long for Your Majesty to come to the Pepper Chamber more often to accompany me."
Liu Ying suddenly felt a pang of guilt, reached out to stroke her black hair, and said softly, "If you feel bored, find something to do yourself. You love reading books, don't you? The Tianlu Pavilion has many rare editions, you can go there often to take a look."
She chuckled and said, "The clerks of Tianlu Pavilion are almost afraid when they see me. I've practically moved half of Tianlu Pavilion to the Pepper Chamber."
"That's right." He walked into the pepper room and suddenly lost his smile.
The hall was filled with all kinds of books, unlike the other palaces in the harem where cosmetics were everywhere, the Pepper Chamber had a faint scent of books that made him feel comfortable and at ease.
The palace staff brought up the meal and placed it on the table. Liu Ying had been busy all day, and at this moment, she was indeed hungry, so she knelt down in front of the table, picked up her chopsticks, took a bite, and suddenly burst out laughing, "The chef in the Pepper Chamber is really skilled! Nowadays, whenever my attendants mention the Pepper Chamber, they seem even more eager than I am. It's true that Ah Yan, your food in the palace is memorable and makes one yearn for it."
Chang Yu stood behind the Emperor, couldn't help but smile awkwardly and said, "Your Majesty, you're right. However," he swallowed slightly and continued, "the last time Xun Shi Guan made braised meat, it was really delicious. It was clearly boiled beef, but somehow it was cooked in a way that when you took a bite, it was juicy and flavorful, making your mouth water. I wonder if there's any this time?"
Zhang Yan smiled slightly, and her eyes locked onto Jie You. Jie You smiled and said, "The kitchen in the Pepper Chamber rarely makes repeated dishes. Since the chef didn't know that Lord Han likes braised meat, he didn't specially prepare it. However," she glanced at Zhang Yan's disappointed face and smiled, "the chef is skilled in more than just one dish."
Although the dishes were extremely delicious, Liu Ying was actually a bit distracted. Zhang Yan noticed it and asked, "Is there something troubling you, Your Majesty?"
On the last day of April, I would like to thank everyone for their support throughout the month. Goodbye for now.
As for Liu Ying, although he has already married A Yan, at present, there is no love, or at least not aware of his own love. Rationally speaking, as an emperor, it is impossible for him to have no other concubines.
Yes, if
With extremely subtle brushstrokes, it's also possible to write that he never had another woman until our Ah Yan grew up. But in that case, I would feel like a total idiot.
So, in order to prevent me from falling into a crisis of idiocy, let's just accept this reality for now.
It's not abuse, really not abuse.
As Ah Yan said, she is not Liu Ying's real wife (JJWW) yet, in this case, it doesn't make sense to force Liu Ying to be faithful to the death.
Once again I guarantee, this article is not a fake happiness.
Also, advance voting for Pink May is requested. Voting starts from tomorrow at 12:00 noon.
