The Tale of the Imprisoned Concubine - Chapter 161, Accidentally Witnessing an Affair (Part 2)

First, she glanced at Emperor Xu Li to gauge his mood. Seeing his smiling face, clearly enjoying the spectacle, Ming Ruo boldly peeked out from his embrace. She looked at the man walking behind the palace maid, his face filled with trepidation and fear, still clutching his belt. She was puzzled: In the middle of the night... in the artificial hill... what kind of state of mind does he need to be in? Besides, he's practically stripped down to his last few pieces of clothing. Isn't he cold at all?
Looking up at the full moon in the sky, Mingruo habitually puffed out her cheeks, glanced at Emperor Xuli, and asked in a low voice, "Father, what are you going to do with him?"
No sooner had she finished asking than the disheveled man stammered, "Your subject greets Your Majesty," and then knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly. "Your subject did not know Your Majesty would come here to admire the moon, and has disturbed Your Majesty's presence. Your subject deserves to die a thousand deaths!"
"Not bad at talking," Mingruo muttered in Emperor Xuli's arms. She hated people like this who were all talk and no action, two-faced, bullying the weak and refusing to admit their mistakes. "Father, he's so bad! He bullied the palace maids! You can't let him get away with this!" Although she hadn't met her third brother often, Mingruo had heard of his notorious womanizing and lecherous nature. No palace maid with even a little beauty could escape his clutches, and even some of the less favored concubines might have been sexually harassed by him. She had long wanted to teach him a lesson. Now, with her father as her backer, she was determined to punish him so severely that he would never dare to harbor such lustful thoughts again!
Emperor Xu Li looked at her righteous expression with amusement, then gently pinched her waist with his big hand. Ming Ruo cried out but didn't dare to, but her big eyes were full of accusation: Why did you pinch me?
"May I have your name?"
Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned, even Mingruo's eyes widened in astonishment. Her purple eyes shone with a captivating luster under the bright moonlight, breathtakingly beautiful. She tilted her head up to look at Emperor Xuli, and her exquisite profile fell into the Third Prince's eyes. He gasped sharply, his gaze seemingly glued to Mingruo, unable to look away. Mingruo noticed his gaze, turned her head, and rolled her eyes at him, but the Third Prince remained unfazed, still staring at her intently. If Emperor Xuli hadn't been present, he might have even drooled.
The young palace maid was also stunned by the emperor and empress's beauty and couldn't come to her senses for a long time. Fortunately, Eunuch An gave her a push, and she said cautiously, still in shock, "Your Majesty, Consort Ming, my name is Chan'er, and I am a dressing maid in Consort Jing's palace." She raised her head, her face still bearing traces of tears.
"Just now, this servant went to the Imperial Household Department to collect this month's salary on the orders of Consort Jing. When I passed through the Imperial Garden, I didn't want to be seen by the Third Prince. He grabbed me and wouldn't let me leave, so, so, so..." She choked softly, her words perfectly measured, neither appearing affected nor artificial, yet crying beautifully. Crystal-clear tears slid down her cheeks, and even Mingruo, who was also a woman, couldn't help but show sympathy, let alone men.
Looking at her pitiful appearance, Emperor Xuli suddenly recalled the expression on Mingruo's face when he first forced himself on her—tears streaming down her face, her eyes misty as if veiled in fog. This palace maid's expression did bear some resemblance to Mingruo's, but compared to Mingruo's unparalleled beauty, it seemed like cold water, bland and tasteless, utterly devoid of any redeeming qualities. He then raised the corners of his lips, his words devoid of emotion, and said, "My son has truly excellent taste. Having a principal wife, concubines, and countless beautiful maids, you're still not satisfied? You even dare to lay your hands on a lowly palace maid like this."
Mingruo never expected him to say such a thing. Didn't he realize that in his decades of life, he'd seen and played with countless beauties? Chan'er's appearance was naturally beneath his notice, but to a normal person, she was already a rare and pretty woman. Hmph… the way this palace maid looked at Emperor Xuli made Mingruo very unhappy, okay? Her eyes seemed pitiful, filled with autumn dew, but a hint of shyness was clearly visible in them. Indeed, what woman in this world could remain unmoved upon seeing a man like Emperor Xuli?
Emperor Xu Li laughed as he spoke, and the Third Prince felt somewhat ashamed. He looked at Ming Ruo, then at the palace maid kneeling beside him, and even felt that he hadn't improved much, actually finding this little palace maid beautiful. Speaking of beauty… none could compare to the breathtaking beauty of Consort Ming by his father's side. It wasn't that he hadn't seen Ming Ruo before, but the previous times were always in the main hall, and Emperor Xu Li protected her closely. Even at important banquets, she would only make a brief appearance and then leave. So, although there were always rumors among the people about how beautiful Consort Ming was, he had never taken them seriously. But seeing her today… indeed, truly, she lived up to her reputation! If he could have such a great beauty, why would he need to seek out other women? "...Father is right, Your Majesty, I know I was wrong."
Despite saying that, his eyes were fixed on Mingruo, and he didn't even notice when Emperor Xuli looked over.
Feeling her scalp tingling under the Third Prince's gaze, Mingruo felt as if she had been stripped naked and presented to this lecherous thief. It was disgusting. She buried her face in Emperor Xuli's chest and pulled his sleeve to cover her eyes.
With his purple eyes slightly narrowed, Emperor Xuli said calmly, "Has my son seen enough?"
The Third Prince then realized his lapse in composure and hurriedly kowtowed, admitting his mistake: "Your subject knows his mistake, your subject knows his mistake! It's all because Consort Ming is too beautiful that your subject... that's why I was momentarily distracted..."
Mingruo's eyebrows furrowed, wishing she could rush up and beat this lecherous scoundrel who had never changed his ways, but Emperor Xuli held her waist, and no matter how much she jumped around, she could only spin in place.
"Oh?" He smiled nonchalantly and asked, "What is the crime of debauchery in the harem, my son?" The palace maids in this harem are not like those in his own palace. Even just touching their hands is a violation of the harem rules.
Upon hearing this, the Third Prince was terrified and collapsed to the ground, crying out, "Father, Father, spare me! Father, spare me! I will never dare to do it again! Please, Father, spare me!!"
This disgraceful display was utterly repulsive, completely devoid of any royal dignity. Mingruo suppressed her urge to vomit and finally understood why Emperor Xuli had shown no concern for these princes and princesses. Their innate coldness was one thing, but their shallowness, selfishness, and arrogance also played a significant role. The privilege of being born into royalty had robbed them of the qualities of being human, leaving them only with plunder and strife.
Emperor Xu Li gently stroked Ming Ruo, who was nestled in his arms, and glanced at the palace maid who was looking up at him with infatuated eyes, seemingly oblivious to her fate. Ambitious and eager to rise in rank, fine, but only if he wasn't the one to become her. What use was a woman who foolishly dreamed of becoming a phoenix? A mere servant dared to show such an expression before him? "Spare me? What has my son done to deserve my mercy?"
Even Mingruo looked up, puzzled by his unpredictable words. Emperor Xuli raised his eyebrows, released her, and instead took her small hand, leading her toward the pavilion in the Imperial Garden: "The moonlight is beautiful tonight, and I am in a very pleasant mood. Let's pretend we didn't see anything." With that, he led Mingruo forward, as if what had happened earlier was just a minor incident that he had completely forgotten.
"Huh? Huh?!" Mingruo was led along by him, completely bewildered. Emperor Xuli didn't seem inclined to answer her right away either. Eunuch An, leading the palace maids and eunuchs, followed behind, their faces expressionless. She looked left and right, but no one gave her an answer.
The Third Prince and the palace maid remained kneeling on the ground until she could no longer see them, so she naturally didn't know what happened afterward, but Emperor Xu Li could imagine it. However… it wasn't appropriate to tell his frail little Ruo'er.
Sitting on the stone bench covered with a blanket, and embracing Mingruo, Emperor Xuli smiled slightly and asked, "Are you hungry?" He then gestured for Eunuch An to come and serve him.
He never allowed Mingruo to eat meat for dinner, fearing that her body couldn't handle it. But now that she was pregnant, and she rarely had a big appetite, he stopped restricting her. As long as she wanted to eat something, even if it was unreasonable, he would not say a word, as long as it was within her means.
Eunuch An was incredibly fast at removing fish bones, and soon a thick layer of stewed, snow-white fish fillet was piled up on the elegant porcelain plate. Emperor Xu Li slowly picked it up with chopsticks and brought it to Ming Ruo's lips, watching her eat it bite by bite. His cool voice carried an undeniable tenderness: "I've heard that children who love to eat fish are more intelligent." The little one didn't used to like eating fish much, but after becoming pregnant, her love for fish grew day by day.
Hearing his words, Mingruo's eyes widened: "Really?" After receiving his affirmative nod, she was even more delighted, like a child. She was still a little one herself, and she was about to have a baby.
He gazed at Mingruo's smiling face and couldn't resist kissing her. Mingruo was afraid that he would swallow the fishy taste in her mouth, so she quickly dodged. Seeing that she couldn't avoid it, she changed the subject by talking: "By the way, Father, why didn't you save that palace maid just now?"
He fed her a bite of fish and then scooped a spoonful of porridge to lick her mouth. Instead of answering, Emperor Xuli asked, "Then why didn't Ruo'er stop her father from saving her? It's too late to say it now."
"Because I believe Father must have a reason." These words pleased Emperor Xuli greatly, but what followed was not so pleasant.
"Even if Father were to do something to upset Ruo'er, he would never do it in front of her."
"You little devil." Gently rubbing her cheeks, Emperor Xu Li chuckled in surprise.
"Ruo'er has always been intelligent, how come she didn't see that the palace maid was lying?"
"lie?"
"In the dead of night, who has Ruo'er ever seen come to the Imperial Household Department to collect their monthly allowance at this hour?" He raised an eyebrow, his hand still feeding her.
"The Imperial Household Department distributes monthly wages on fixed days, and each palace sends a designated person to collect them. What right does a mere dressing maid have to do that?"
"Then...then the palace maid lied?" Mingruo frowned, still not understanding.
"But why?"
"Who knows why?" Emperor Xuli chuckled. "That's not important." What's important is that no matter what that servant wanted to do, he couldn't do it.

URL 1:https://www.sexlove5.com/htmlBlog/43340.html

URL 2:/Blog.aspx?id=43340&aspx=1

Previous Page : "Touching Jade" - Chapter Thirty-One: After Passion

Next Page : The Pill Tycoon - Chapter 412 Mother and Daughter Enjoying Themselves

增加

comment Open a new window to view comments

Contact Information

The Tale of the Imprisoned Concubine - Chapter 161, Accidentally Witnessing an Affair (Part 2)

comment Open a new window to view comments