jdhmnovel Chapter 107 The Fallen Concubine in the Cold Palace 16
Chapter 107 The Fallen Concubine in the Cold Palace 16
Time passed slowly but surely. Five days had passed since Liu Shuwan left the Cold Palace and moved into the Qianqing Palace, and her cold had almost healed.
In the past few days, Li Shangxun has been eating with her every day, watching her take her medicine, and occasionally giving her things to play with. Her life is indeed much more comfortable than when she was in the cold palace.
Outside the Qianqing Palace, chaos reigned within the inner palace.
Previously, since Li Shangxun had never stepped into the harem, the concubines were able to maintain a semblance of harmony.
Secretly, she prayed that His Majesty would soon realize her potential, while also worrying that someone else would beat her to it.
However, no one dared to approach Li Shangxun directly. The last person who did was stabbed to death with a sword, and his grave is probably overgrown with grass by now.
I later heard that the man was an assassin, but he left a lasting impression on the concubines.
After living day to day for so many years, everyone's mentality has become peaceful. Anyway, the emperor will have children sooner or later, and they will enter the harem one day.
But this day came suddenly and without warning.
This can be seen as injecting some vitality into the peaceful life of the imperial harem.
The concubines suddenly had something to strive for again.
The Imperial Wardrobe has been busier these past few days.
The Imperial Garden was filled with concubines admiring the flowers and vying for beauty.
From time to time, the sounds of guqin and pipa could be heard from various palaces.
Of course, many more people were sent to inquire about the newly appointed imperial concubine.
No sooner had Consort Song been released from the Cold Palace than she died, and then Consort Chen suddenly appeared, which, combined with the fact that the Song family had just been exiled, led to this situation.
This must be because His Majesty did this to prevent her from being implicated by her family.
What merit or ability does she possess to receive such favor from the Emperor!
This Consort Song, no, Consort Chen, truly is a woman who, when she speaks, astounds everyone.
Consort Chen was selected to enter the palace before the new year, but was soon thrown into the Cold Palace. Therefore, most of the concubines have never seen her and do not know what she looks like.
But he must be a treacherous and scheming person who brings disaster to the country and its people!
Otherwise, how could she have seduced the Emperor while still in the Cold Palace, then moved directly into the Qianqing Palace, overthrown Consort Shu, and been promoted to Imperial Consort?
Even the Gu family, the maternal family of Consort Shu, and the Gu family, which held the rank of second-grade Minister of Revenue, dared not compete with them.
How beautiful and how cunning she is!
Of course, most of the concubines were more happy than anything else.
In terms of looks, they believe they are not bad either.
They're cunning too.
Previously, Li Shangxun rarely entered the harem, so even if they were talented, beautiful, and intelligent, they had nowhere to use their talents.
With Consort Chen now in the picture, it's like having a successful template.
As long as they can find out exactly what the Emperor likes about Consort Chen, they could become the next Consort Chen!
Of course, they don't have such high goals for the time being, but one of the four consorts, Consort Shu, just left. Besides Consort Gui and Consort De, there are still two positions they can work hard for.
Promotion and salary increase, bringing glory to the family, and supporting the clan are all within reach.
However, is Consort Chen a snail? Snails stay in their shells, so she stays at home in the Qianqing Palace.
Normally, when someone gains favor, they have to come out and show off to everyone, and put down their rivals, right?
Although the rival (Consort Shu) has been dealt with (imprisoned in the Cold Palace), you can still brag to them. It would be best to brag about how you caught the Emperor's eye; they'd be willing to listen!
Or you could go out and meet them, have a chat, so they know what kind of beauty His Majesty likes, and then they'll have a direction to work towards.
What does it mean to stay in Qianqing Palace all day? Qianqing Palace is full of the Emperor's people. If she doesn't come out, how can they find out anything?
*
Despite the turmoil among the concubines in the harem, the peace and tranquility within the Qianqing Palace remained unaffected.
"How about it?"
Liu Shuwan imitated the handwriting on the paper, and after making the last stroke, she turned to look at Li Shangxun standing behind her, her eyes sparkling like a doll asking for praise.
"great."
It was rare to see Liu Shuwan acting so childlike, and Li Shangxun found it novel while also praising her.
It is indeed commendable that, despite having never studied calligraphy before, Awan was able to capture three-tenths of the style and spirit of the character simply by imitating it. She is truly gifted.
Liu Shuwan's eyes crinkled with delight at the praise, which stirred Li Shangxun's heart. He raised his hand and placed it on the back of her hand: "Your pen-holding posture is still a bit off. Here, it should be like this."
After correcting her pen-holding posture, he solemnly guided her to write again on the paper: "The hook here needs to be tightened a little more, and here..."
The palace maids and eunuchs in the study had long since left, leaving only the two of them.
The two were very close. Liu Shuwan, who was rather slender, was embraced by Li Shangxun, as if she were nestled in his arms, like a perfect couple.
Perhaps because he had found someone in reality, Li Shangxun hadn't dreamed of Liu Shuwan for a long time, but he also stopped having insomnia and his headaches had subsided.
Looking back on the days before she appeared, it feels like a lifetime ago. My current life is so peaceful and tranquil that it feels like a dream, and I'm afraid of having my dreams shattered.
Perhaps because she had spent so much time with the winter plum blossoms inside, Liu Shuwan's body had also picked up some of the fragrance of the flowers, which, along with the chill of winter snow and the elegance of the winter plum blossoms, intertwined and appeared faintly.
Even now, smelling the fragrance of the flowers, he didn't feel irritated. The extremely cool scent clung to her, yet it made him inexplicably feel hot.
My gaze gradually shifted from the paper to her profile.
Just like she said in the dream, she has dimples on her face, which appear when she purses her lips.
Her skin was very fair, her face was small, smaller than his palm, and her face had fine downy hair.
There was a small mole on his right earlobe. His breath hit her ear, causing it to vibrate up and down, making him unable to resist getting closer and closer...
"Ah Xun, there's a mistake here."
Liu Shuwan turned her head, and her earlobe brushed against something warm and soft, making her tremble. A blush spread across her earlobe, making the small mole on her earlobe appear even more beautiful.
Li Shangxun steadied himself, calmly straightened up, and glanced at the words on the paper: "Hmm, it seems that Awan has indeed learned these words."
"So, Ah Xun, did you deliberately write it wrong to test me?" Seeing his ordinary expression, Liu Shuwan assumed it was just her imagination and asked, suppressing her shyness, "Then do I pass the test?"
Li Shangxun gave a vague reply, subtly moving aside the word he had just written incorrectly in his distraction, and continued, "But you still need to practice more. Awan, do it yourself, I'll watch."
“Okay.” Liu Shuwan nodded. “Can I practice other characters? I’ve learned all six of these characters. Can I learn the other characters, A-Xun?”
"Of course, but Awan needs to practice these six words first."
Li Shangxun said seriously, "These six characters encompass all the most basic strokes. If you master these, you will naturally be able to write other characters well as well."
“As for recognizing characters, I’ll teach you that separately,” Li Shangxun added.
"Okay." Liu Shuwan was fooled and obediently continued to imitate the words.
Li Shangxun glanced at his and her names placed side by side on the paper, his hand unconsciously covering his lips, his gaze on Liu Shuwan's earlobe growing increasingly dark.