Sueño de Jiangshan

Capítulo 86

Just as the man with the peach blossom hairpin stripped down to only his underwear, the palace maids had already turned the corner. Immediately afterwards, several high-pitched screams rang out:

"ah....!"

The emperor and his entourage approached. They saw several palace maids fleeing in panic, covering their faces. Everyone immediately looked towards the direction from which the maids had first made their noise, and what they saw was the back of a man hastily pulling down his trousers. Everyone rubbed their eyes in unison, thinking they were seeing things.

This is the Emperor's harem, filled with his women. How could any man dare to take his pants off here in broad daylight? Isn't this a blatant provocation against the Emperor? It's practically courting death! But upon closer inspection, the man's buttocks were already exposed. At this moment, everyone once again looked at the Emperor with astonished expressions.

The emperor's face was contorted with rage, his sinister eyes flashing with murderous intent. His voice, as cold as frost, roared:

"How dare you! What are you doing?"

"I'm burning with lust, I need to release it!" the man replied mechanically without turning his head.

"The Second Prince?" Some blabbermouth among the adults exclaimed in surprise!

Upon hearing the voice, everyone was utterly astonished. The old emperor, however, was so enraged that his blood pressure nearly exploded. Only Qingfeng remained calm and composed, seemingly unaffected by the situation. It was only when he saw the emperor's excessive agitation that he quickly intervened, pressing acupoints to control the emperor's rising blood pressure.

While everyone was still stunned and hadn't recovered, the eldest prince suddenly shouted an order to the guards accompanying him:

"What are you all standing there for? Can't you see the Second Prince is possessed?! Hurry up and take him back!"

Everyone then came to their senses, and the guards immediately rushed forward to pick up the clothes scattered on the ground, wrapped the shivering Second Prince, who was still muttering about being consumed by lust, and carried him away.

Only then did the officials surrounding the emperor remember to inquire about his health. They anxiously asked the eldest prince, who was supporting the emperor:

"Is Your Majesty alright?"

Qingfeng didn't answer, but instead released the old emperor's pressure points. Let the facts speak for themselves.

The old emperor opened his eyes to find the anxious gazes of his courtiers. He immediately recalled the scene that had just shamed and enraged him and the entire royal family. His gaze involuntarily drifted to the spot where his second son had been standing. No one was there? Had he imagined it?

"Your Majesty! Are you alright?" an old minister asked worriedly.

"What did I do just now?" This tactic of feigning ignorance also works on emperors.

"His Majesty was just..." The blabbermouth immediately began to speak, but he was interrupted by the emperor's violent coughing.

"Cough, cough!"

Another opportunistic minister immediately and astutely replied:

"Your Majesty was perfectly fine just now?" he said, then turned to the other ministers and asked in a serious tone:

"Nothing happened just now, right?"

"Yes, yes..." they all nodded in unison.

The sight of the emperor and his ministers working together so intently made Leng Jie, hiding in the shadows, almost burst with suppressed laughter. What did it mean to call a deer a horse? She'd seen it all today! But even so, at most, the matter wouldn't be spread. The emperor and his second son had already lost face, and that face was irretrievable. Looking at Qingfeng's calm demeanor just now, he had clearly won the heartfelt admiration of all the ministers present. So, all things considered, this outcome had exceeded Leng Jie's expectations.

She desperately suppressed her laughter and quietly slipped away from the back. Using her lightness skill, she flew back to Qingfeng Palace and immediately spotted Ziying anxiously waiting for her. Without a word, she rushed into the hall, flopped onto the table, and burst into loud laughter!

"Ha ha......"

Zi Ying followed Leng Jie in and saw her laughing uncontrollably. He couldn't help but think to himself, "Who's been pranked by this girl again?" He now understood somewhat why Leng Jie was laughing so hard. He didn't ask her, knowing she would explain once she finished laughing.

Leng Jie was having a blast in Beifeng, laughing all the while. However, the trouble she left behind at Jinghe Palace caused many people heartache and worry!

This story begins after Xuanyuan led his army on their expedition. That day, after Leng Xiang led the court officials and the people of the capital to send off the expeditionary soldiers, he hastily settled important matters of state and then urgently summoned Eunuch Fu, the head of the Imperial Household Department in charge of managing the inner palace affairs.

"Why did Your Excellency summon this old servant so urgently? What are your orders?" Eunuch Fu asked politely.

The Prime Minister dictated the Emperor's decree, saying:

"Eunuch Fu, you should know that His Majesty instructed me to bring the Empress back to the Prime Minister's residence to recuperate! I would be grateful if you would accompany me to the Eastern Palace."

"His Majesty did indeed issue an imperial edict to this old servant," Eunuch Fu nodded in response. He then bowed and gestured for him to proceed.

"Please, Your Excellency!"

Eager to see the woman, Leng Xiang abandoned all formalities with Eunuch Fu and hurried towards the East Palace. Eunuch Fu, with a squad of guards, followed closely behind, barely managing to keep up. As they passed through the fiery red maple forest and arrived outside the East Palace walls, they heard a woman's sharp, angry shout coming from within.

"You bunch of lackeys, bring that stupid woman out to me now! Believe me, I'll have you all put to death!"

“Your Highness, we are under orders to protect Her Majesty the Empress. Without the Emperor’s decree, no one may come to see the Empress privately. Therefore, Your Highness, please return!” a clear male voice replied.

"Hmph! You think you can stop me?" The extremely arrogant sneer rang out again.

"That Consort Yin is quick on her feet! The Emperor barely left, and she's already come to the Eastern Palace to cause trouble for the Empress." Eunuch Fu thought to himself. His gaze involuntarily drifted to the Prime Minister beside him, and he was shocked to find the Prime Minister's face already covered in black lines. Then, he seemed to snort coldly from his nostrils and asked Eunuch Fu:

"Hmph! Who spoke?"

"Your Excellency, it should be the newly appointed Consort Yin by the Emperor!" Eunuch Fu replied truthfully. At the same time, he silently prayed for this detestable Consort Yin, hoping to see her get a good beating from the cold-hearted Prime Minister.

"Is it Consort Yin?" the Cold Prime Minister sneered softly. He then quickened his pace and hurried into the East Palace. Eunuch Fu hurriedly followed, loudly announcing according to protocol:

"The Regent Duke, the Imperial Guard, and Prime Minister Leng are here by imperial decree to pay their respects to Her Majesty the Empress!"

The sudden announcement immediately stunned the two groups of people who were locked in a stalemate inside the Eastern Palace, and then all eyes were focused on the cold prime minister who had just entered the palace gate.

"This cold-hearted prime minister arrived far too quickly!" Yin'er, gripping her long sword, trembled involuntarily. She had only learned that morning from a conversation between two palace maids that the Emperor had personally led the campaign. Knowing of his arrival, she had been secretly overjoyed for a long time. She thought she had finally found her opportunity. So she immediately led her men into the Eastern Palace, attempting to seize the cold-hearted prime minister's woman, the Foolish Empress, in exchange for her son. At the same time, she hoped to coerce the regent, the cold-hearted prime minister, into siding with her husband.

However, she hadn't expected that all the palace servants in the Eastern Palace were actually unassuming martial arts masters. Moreover, they were all stubborn and unyielding. What surprised her even more was that she hadn't even seen the foolish Empress when the Prime Minister arrived.

Upon seeing Prime Minister Leng, the people of the Eastern Palace all showed joy on their faces. They were about to step forward to pay their respects when Prime Minister Leng gave them an approving look, thanking them for their loyalty. Then he turned to look at another group of stunned people in the room.

The cold, sharp gaze of the Prime Minister unexpectedly met Lin Yin'er's surprised look. After exchanging a glance, the Prime Minister first coldly greeted Lin Yin'er without any emotion:

"This old minister greets Consort Yin!"

"Prime Minister Leng, there's no need for such formalities!" Lin Yin'er might not have taken anyone else seriously. But she dared not openly provoke this Prime Minister Leng. Because her precious son was in his hands.

Leng Xiangyou shifted his gaze to the gleaming sword in Lin Yin'er's hand. He questioned her in a cold voice:

"Does Your Highness intend to rebel by coming to the Eastern Palace to pay homage to the Empress with a sharp sword?"

"Clang!" Lin Yin'er's hand trembled, and the sword fell to the ground. She hurriedly shook her head and waved her hands, trying to argue:

"No! No. I only came to pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress. But these servants blocked my way and wouldn't let me see Her Majesty. I drew my sword only to scare these arrogant servants. Please don't misunderstand, Prime Minister Leng."

"This old minister dares not say more about whether there is a misunderstanding or not. But His Majesty has clearly issued an edict. No one can enter the Eastern Palace without an imperial edict. What you are doing now is tantamount to openly defying the imperial edict!" The cold prime minister replied indifferently, without any emotion.

Unsurprisingly, a bead of sweat appeared on Lin Yin'er's forehead. After a pause, the Prime Minister suddenly bowed deeply, emphasizing his words in a bureaucratic tone:

"This old minister has been ordered by the Emperor to oversee the country. Although I have no right to interfere in matters of the inner palace, the Emperor is currently on a military campaign abroad. If there is discord within the inner palace, it will surely cause trouble. Therefore, this old minister can only prioritize the affairs of the state and asks Consort Yin to stay at the Imperial Clan Court until the Emperor returns before we can deal with the matter."

He then turned to the guards behind him and gave them a meaningful instruction:

"Take Consort Yin to the Imperial Clan Court and take good care of her. If anything goes wrong, we won't be able to explain ourselves when the Emperor returns!"

"You dare?" Lin Yin'er was momentarily stunned by the cold prime minister's words. However, she quickly regained her senses and screamed sharply. She had never heard of an outsider being allowed to interfere in palace affairs.

But her words seemed to have no effect, because two guards quickly grabbed her and pinned her down.

"You surnamed Leng! If you dare to touch me, I will make your Leng family pay a hundredfold price!" Lin Yin'er immediately threatened sharply.

"Hahaha... I, Leng, have been waiting with my neck washed clean!" Leng Xiang laughed loudly. Then he stepped closer to Lin Yin'er, his tone suddenly changing, and in a voice only she could hear, he said in a sinister tone in her ear:

"And that little pink neck of your son with the Crown Prince, this old minister has cleaned it for you to come and collect!"

Everyone was equally surprised by Lin Yin'er's sudden change in mood. They were all wondering what Leng Xiang had said to her that made the person who was so arrogant just a moment ago suddenly become so dejected.

The palace servants of Yiyin Palace who had come with Lin Yin'er trembled with fear upon seeing their mistress being taken away. These servants were, after all, under Eunuch Fu's command. Eunuch Fu pleaded with Prime Minister Leng:

"Prime Minister, what do you think should be done with these servants who are causing trouble along with their master?"

Leng Xiang, of course, understood Eunuch Fu's meaning. Why refuse a favor offered so readily? He glared at the eunuchs carrying weapons and said to Eunuch Fu:

"They are all from the Imperial Household Department, so they should naturally be handed over to you for judgment, Your Excellency."

Eunuch Fu smiled knowingly at Leng Xiang and replied solemnly, "Yes, this old servant obeys!"

After saying that, he turned to the palace servants and said sternly:

"You knew your master was doing something wrong, yet you didn't try to stop him. Instead, you joined him in this rebellion. Your crime deserves death. However, considering that things haven't escalated beyond repair, you will each go to the Imperial Household Department and receive fifty strokes of the cane as a warning to others!"

Seeing that they could live, the palace servants immediately kowtowed and thanked them profusely:

"Thank you, Duke Leng, for sparing my life! Thank you, Steward Fu, for sparing my life!..."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Leng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The Emperor had instructed him to find a legitimate reason to eliminate this lurking threat in the harem. How could a mere official like himself find a legitimate reason to take advantage of a concubine? He couldn't claim she had an affair with another man, or that the eldest prince wasn't the Emperor's. He was struggling with this very issue. Unexpectedly, she had delivered herself to his doorstep. This way, at most people would say Prime Minister Leng was overprotective of his daughter, or that he was domineering and arrogant. But no one would suspect that this was the Emperor's will.

Leng Xiang smoothed his sleeves and walked towards the main hall, asking as he went:

Where is the Empress?

"Returning to the capital, Your Excellency, the Empress is in her chambers!" a palace servant from the Eastern Palace hurriedly replied.

Leng was grateful for their loyalty and protection. Although his daughter was the Empress, she was still a child with no ability to protect herself. Especially in the treacherous inner palace, protection was urgently needed. Therefore, he spoke to them with considerable politeness.

"Go and invite Her Majesty the Empress to the main hall! While you're at it, pack up her personal belongings. I'm going to escort the Empress back to the Prime Minister's residence for a short stay. Those of you who wish to go may come along. Those who don't wish to go may stay here in the East Palace and wait."

These palace servants of the Eastern Palace were personally selected by Qingfeng three years ago when he impersonated the emperor. They promised the emperor to protect the Empress and prevent outsiders from seeing her as much as possible, to avoid causing her unnecessary harm. It was precisely because of this that the Empress had been able to live a peaceful life here for the past three years. Considering that back then the Empress had no background, they dared not disrespect her. Now that the Empress's biological father has regained power, what reason would they have to leave?

No sooner had the Prime Minister finished speaking than the palace servants of the Eastern Palace replied in unison:

"This servant is willing to follow Her Majesty the Empress out of the palace to serve her!"

Leng Xiang smiled gently and nodded, saying:

"In that case, everyone should hurry up and get ready!"

Seeing that the palace servants had scattered to prepare, Leng Xiang said to Eunuch Fu beside him, "I took it upon myself to take your people away. I hope you won't blame me!"

"Your Excellency is too kind. These servants were originally assigned by the Emperor to serve Her Majesty the Empress. Naturally, they must follow Her Majesty wherever she goes!"

As they were talking, Prime Minister Leng and Eunuch Fu had already entered the main hall of the East Palace.

This place was originally set up specifically for the Empress to manage the harem and receive the worship of the concubines. However, the foolish Empress lived in the Eastern Palace for six years, but never once sat on that spacious phoenix throne. Nevertheless, the palace servants kept it spotless.

A palace maid led Prime Minister Leng and Eunuch Fu to their seats. Another maid brought tea and teacups, serving the two distinguished guests from the Eastern Palace a not-so-good fragrant tea. After six years apart, he could finally see his daughter again. Prime Minister Leng was indescribably excited. He had no interest in tasting the tea; he only accepted the cup and took a small sip to conceal his excitement from Eunuch Fu.

At that moment, the eunuch's loud voice finally came from the palace gate:

"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"

Prime Minister Leng, no longer caring about saving face, abruptly stood up. Holding his teacup, he hurriedly went to greet them outside the hall. Seeing Prime Minister Leng rise, Eunuch Fu, as a servant, couldn't remain seated either. He followed suit. Just as they reached the hall entrance, a palace maid helped the Empress, dressed in a phoenix robe, her eyes glazed, into the hall. At that glance, both Prime Minister Leng and Eunuch Fu were dumbfounded. They even forgot the proper etiquette, though the Empress herself didn't understand why.

If it weren't for the phoenix robe that signified her identity, Prime Minister Leng and Eunuch Fu would never have believed that the plump girl before them, whose eyes were practically squinting, was the Empress. Leaving aside the image of the Empress in Prime Minister Leng's mind from six years ago—a delicate and adorable baby—even the image of the Empress in Eunuch Fu's mind from three years ago, a emaciated figure, was completely incongruous with this one!

"What's going on? How did Your Majesty become so fat?" Eunuch Fu, who had realized what was happening a moment earlier than Prime Minister Leng, asked the palace maid beside the Empress in a stern voice.

Upon hearing this, the palace maid trembled with fear. She knelt on the ground with a thud and replied in a trembling voice:

"Forgive me, Your Majesty! It's all my fault for not taking good care of Her Highness!"

Although his Rui'er's mind was not as sharp as ordinary people's, her star-like eyes were always as clear and transparent as a baby's pupils. But was this Empress before him, with her cloudy eyes, really his Rui'er? The Prime Minister simply couldn't accept that his little Rui'er had become like this. Even if her physical appearance had changed, her eyes shouldn't, and couldn't possibly have, changed! The Prime Minister also sternly questioned the palace maid on the ground:

"What exactly happened?"