The First Night

In the large Jingyang palace, the Empress strolled around in a list less manner. Lady in waiting of the Empress, Chun Er was worried to death.

It was the ending of winter but the weather was still cold and it was easy to get sick if one was not careful. This was especially the case of the Empress as her body became weak after giving birth to her only son Dongfang Jinye three years ago. The new year celebrations would start in a month at the end of the winter. If the Empress caught a cold at this moment, she definitely would not be able to recover in a month because of her frail health and would be unable to participate in the new year celebrations. Chun Er opened her mouth and wanted to tell the Empress that they should return, lest the Empress falls sick. But before she could speak, the Empress spoke first.

The Empress said, "I was engaged to the Emperor, who was the Third Prince then, when I was five. I became his first wife when I was fifteen and he was eighteen then. The next year I gave birth to Xianmin. After her birth, I was unable to get pregnant for a long time. Eight years layer, a long time after His Majesty was enthroned, Jinye was born. Every one was happy because of his birth, happy that the empire had a legal heir, happy that His Majesty had a legitimate prince."

Hearing the Empress speak in such a way made Chun Er very worried. It has been such a long time since she heard the Empress address herself as 'I'. In fact, it was the first time. The Empress always addressed herself as 'This Palace' in front of everyone or 'This Concubine' in front of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.

The Empress stopped talking for a while and sighed deeply before continuing. "Before Jinye was born, Imperial Consort Shu gave birth to the First Prince, Dongfang Jinrui when His Majesty was still the Third prince, Prince Qingxi of First Rank. Imperial Concubine Ling had the Second Prince, Dongfang Jinzhi right after His Majesty ascended the throne and she also has the Fourth Prince Dongfang Jinlin. The Third Prince prince, Dongfang Jinfeng, was born by Imperial Consort Chun. My Jinye is the Fifth Prince and is only three years old this year. So, for a long time, Xianmin was my only child. She was pampered by me and is very arrogant. I always thought that my daughter will be married to the man she likes and if she doesn't like anyone, then she can be single like Princess Rongxian."

"In my heart, my daughter is the most precious to me. Till today, I always thought that I'm powerful enough to protect my dear ones. Only now did I find out that I'm pathetic. I accompanied His Majesty for twelve years, but I was unable to occupy his heart. I can't compare to Imperial Concubine Ling in beauty nor can I compare to Imperial Consort Shu in dancing. I served the Empress Dowager diligently but she still blackmailed me for her own daughter. On one hand my father is forcing me to help him get rid of the left prime minister and on the other hand the Empress Dowager is forcing me to give up my daughter. For the first time, I realised that in my whole life, there was no one who truly loved me. All of them only care about themselves."

The Empress's eyes flashed with vicious ness and hatred, "Since they don't care about me, then they can't blame me for what I'm going to do."

***

"So, you are saying that Imperial Consort Shu and Imperial Concubine Ling are the most favoured in the harem?" asked Jiang Yunyao as she munched on a osmanthus cake enjoying the sweet sour taste in her mouth.

"Yes, Your Highness. Imperial Consort Shu and Imperial Concubine Ling are birth mothers of the First Prince and the Second Prince, Fourth Prince respectfully. Apart from them, there's also Imperial Consort Chun who gave birth to the Third Prince, Noble Consort Jia who is the birth mother of Second Princess, Noble Consort Ke, birth mother of the Third Princess and Imperial Noble Consort Xi, eldest daughter and the daughter to the first wife of the left prime minister. All these imperial consorts followed the Emperor from when he was Prince Qingxi of first rank so they are different from other imperial consorts. As for the Empress, I heard that after she gave birth to the Fifth Prince, her health has been weak and she easily falls ill. So, she has been very careful since and His Majesty rarely spend nights in her place. The Emperor is also fond of Imperial Concubine Yu, Noble Concubine Dun, Noble Concubine Yong and Noble Lady Liang. There is also an Consort Yuan who is currently carrying an royal child and Imperial Noble Consort Wenxi who is the eldest daughter of the leader of the mangolian tribes." Seeing her master's happy expression, Jiang Yu Heng let out a soft sigh that she had not known she was holding.

Jiang Yu Heng was originally worried that her master would be unwilling to fight for the Emperor's favour. For the past three months, she never made any moves towards the Emperor and was only enjoying life in the palace. Finally, the servants could look forward to their future now that she was planning to make a move.

Imperial Consort Shu and Imperial Concubine Ling have a talent for dancing. Imperial Noble Consort Xi has a powerful backing. Imperial Noble Consort Wenxi's father is the leader of Mongolian tribes which is the border between Dong Yue Empire and Long Yuan country. Imperial Consort Chun excels in painting. Consort Yuan is skilled in medicine. Noble Consort Jia is skilled in poetry. Noble Consort Ke has a very beautiful face. Imperial Concubine Yu is a marvelous singer. Noble Concubine Dun is an expert in playing pipa. Noble Concubine Yong is gentle and soft. Noble Lady Liang possessed a pleasant attitude.

Sure enough, the only thing that an Emperor did not lack was beautiful women to serve him!

All the women the Emperor favours are skilled in either this or that. They were unique in their own way. Otherwise they had a powerful background. None of them can be taken easily nor can they be underestimated. All the women in the harem, including the Empress and the Empress Dowager who hold most power in the harem, had some dark secrets which cannot be exposed to the public. No one is innocent in this place.

While the people inside the Cun Shan palace were talking about this, an eunuch from the Emperor's side appeared to inform them that the Emperor chose to spend the night with Noble Lady Hai and asked her to be ready.

When Jiang Yunyao received this notice form the eunuch, she was not very shocked. With her appearance, if she was unable to even attract the Emperor, then it was waste for her to enter the palace. Seeing her servants jumping with joy, she could not help but mutter about how easily satisfied these people were.

That same evening, Jiang Yunyao took a bath, changed her clothes and had her whole room lit up with incense. When Shiyi wanted to do her makeup, Jiang Yunyao told her to only apply a light layer of powder as her skin was soft and tender it does not require more makeup. Moreover, tasting heavy rouge suddenly would definitely put off whatever flame that was lit in a man.

The night soon descended and the Emperor's procession passed by holding the hopes of many lonely woman of the imperial palace.

When the Emperor entered the side Courtyard's main chamber of Cun Shan palace he could vaguely see a figure behind the curtains on the bed silently waiting for him. After opening the curtains, he saw that she was biting her lips while her face was full of nervousness.

That big innocent eyes staring at him in fear, her cherry lips which were bitten until blood nearly came out, her hands which were tightly clutching the dress she was wearing. All of this instantly got him hooked.

The Emperor grabbed Jiang Yunyao's chin with his left hand and hugged her waist with his right hand, bringing her closer to himself. He slightly raised her head and pressed his lips onto hers.

Lying bare and warm under the bed curtains, the couple embracing each other found the night too short.....