About half an hour after the banquet began, a handsome servant of over ten years old came out from Donghua Gate.
With his lowered eyes slowly sweeping over all the people at the door, he asked in a thin voice,
"Who is the close guard of Commander-in-chief of the Eastern Depot?"
Hearing this, Gu Yunxi was overjoyed, while a sense of nervousness rose simultaneously. She clenched the food box with her hands for fear that she might break something and lose decency.
According to the rules, Gu Yunxi straightened her back and strode forward. She stopped three feet away from the servant, bent down to give a salute, and answered with a loud voice,
"Lord, I am."
"I see."
The servant looked at her up and down and said with his lips curling slightly and his head nodding languidly,
"Master Leng is a little drunk. He asked people to send him the sober-up soup. Take your belongings and come with
The Kanfang Pavilion in the Palace."Yunxi, what did you say?"With her beautiful face stunned and her slender body petrified, Gu Yunyao stared blankly at her sister across the table and slowly stood up from the stone bench.There were many female doctors with advanced medical skills in and out of the Dayi Palace. They could diagnose and treat all kinds of female patients.Acupuncture treatments required the patient to remove all clothing. To keep her chastity and reputation, a female patient must be treated by female doctors.The Imperial Doctor Jiang in the Palace, also known as Jiang Huaian, was quite familiar to Gu Yunyao.How could a full-grown man like him treat Yunxi? She had never heard of any female students that Jiang Huaian had taught.Could it be that the person who acupunctured Yunxi was.Impossible. How could he know medical skills?Gu Yunyao fixed her b
Dayi's banquets were held every time in the Baohe Palace, which was wide enough to contain hundreds of seats and groups of performing dancers and musicians.The back of Baohe Palace was connected to a large square platform above the clear river.It was midsummer now. Enchanting lotus blossomed with its crystal pink petals clustered around tender yellow stamens, and oily emerald lotus leaves crowded closely together.Emperor Jingxiao would appreciate music and dance on the platform or took on a gaily-painted boat, letting the musicians and dancers perform for him on the river, when he was in a good mood.The night was inky.Stringed and woodwind instruments played beautiful and gay melodies in Baohe Palace, which was lit up with numerous candles as bright as day that each beaming face in the Palace was illuminated.When Yunyao and Yunxi were talking about the old days in the Kanfang Pavilion, there was a li
In the Kanfang Pavilion."What?"Gu Yunyao was stunned at the news about the assassination in the Baohe Palace.She didn't love Emperor Jingxiao, so she reacted to the news with a pale face and trembling on the chair instead of beating breast and the cease of breath.Zhao An came over and patted her back with his soft and warm palm, comforting,"Your Ladyship, relax, please..."Then he turned to the maid sending this news, "How about His Majesty?""The assassins died on the spot. His Majesty is safe and sound."The maid answered. Gu Yunxi sitting at the other side of the stone table jumped up and rushed out of the pavilion. She stopped in front of that maid and asked anxiously,"The assassins are dead? Have His Majesty found out who did it?"The maid looked up to glance at Gu Yunxi's robe which indicated the Eastern Depot. She opened her mouth in fright a
In Baohe Palace, a long-waited new life was born safely. Although he came in haste and came over too many unpredictable dangers, his loud cry still uttered in this world at night.Listening to this very loud cry, Emperor Jingxiao lighted up. He straightened his back and raised on his feet, looking far into the distance with his hands behind, and let out a long breath.Around him, officials' deferential congratulation was loud and clear,"Congratulations to Your Majesty! Congratulations to Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"Gu Yunxi was slightly relaxed at this moment.On the way here, Gu Yunyao and she had got a general picture of the assassination this time from the maid.Gu Yunxi's thought was simple. After the safe labor of Concubine Xu, the Emperor would no longer be angry and would have the tolerance to look into the assassination. Leng Qingtang won't b
An imperial banquet ended in a bloody way with fear.Emperor Jingxiao went to the elixir chamber, while Leng Qingtang and Gu Yunxi were dragged out of the palace by Ming Lan's subordinates for flogging.The rest officials in Baohe Palace knelt there, all at sea.It was quiet and awkward.Empress Qian sighed. Dim-faced, she looked at the kneeling officials and said in a tired tone,"The Spring Banquet this year is over. What has happened needs further investigation. You can go back now."Commander-in-chief of the Eastern Depot was a rank-second official of the government. It would have hurt his face if other officials had watched him being flogged.Empress Qian felt pity for Leng Qingtang. She had just drawn him over to her alliance when this accident occurred.What she could do for him now was to simply protect his last dignity.Empress Qian's order came as a timely r
The elixir chamber of Yu Xuanji, the High Priest, was located in the Imperial Garden behind Emperor Jingxiao's residence Qianfu Palace.After five hundred steps past Qianfu Palace and about a hundred meters southeast in the Imperial Garden, there stood a tower.This three-floor building was made up of gold bricks and Nanmu wood pillars. Its outer layer was covered with green bamboo, and its roof was built with colored glazed tiles.To see from a distance, the green building, surrounded by a long red wall, was partly hidden in trees and flowers. The exquisitely decorated spire shone in the first and last rays of the sun, displaying the royal family are solemn and magnificent in this quiet place.On the gate of the first floor of the Elixir Chamber hung a cedarwood plaque, on which wrote striking two golden words: Sixiang Chamber.Fine carving of Taoism immortals, birds, and flowers on the gate post looked sumptuous. Aft
When Emperor Jingxiao settled himself in Xiaoye Chamber, the cruel punishment of flogging outside Baohe Palace finally ended.The eunuchs who conducted the flogging held a part of the big sticks on the ground, gasping for breath. They were all exhausted.During the punishment, the two strapping eunuchs could not remember how many sticks they had inflicted after Ming Lan's several repetitions of calling a halt and recounting from beginning to end.As soon as the punishment ended, Gu Yunxi was pushed down to the ground by the eunuchs, holding her arms and her weak body.Without fully feeling the pain, Gu Yunxi stumbled to the bench.On the bench, Leng Qingtang had fainted, and the corners of his mouth were covered with the blood that gushed during his torture. The garment was soaked with blood and sweat, wrapping his flesh stickily.The worst thing to see was his lower body.Due to the long exec
Youzhu Garden.In the middle of the night, a squad of Honor Guards broke in and searched around.The head of the Garden, Nanny Gu, was awakened in a hurry and found herself fearfully amidst a courtyard of soldiers.A few hours ago, something went wrong in the Palace, but the Garden had been kept in the dark because the information had been closely guarded that the Palace had been infiltrated by enemies posing damsels who tried to assassinate Emperor Jingxiao.The damsels lighted oil lamps and saw many solemn armed soldiers when they opened the door. Hearing the cold and sharp scraping of heavy armors, all the girls were frightened. Stunned, they stood in the courtyard, hugging each other for comfort.Nanny Gu did not know the men's purpose, but she had to greet them. Even without the foundation, her old face was paler than any makeup.She curtsied to the officer and then stuttered,"Si... Sir,