When Wen Yunmian emerged in a bewitching dress, her cheeks were as red as crimson clouds, and every inch of her radiated soft, seductive allure.
Jun Chenyu turned his sharp gaze toward her, his eyes unfathomable and the faintest hint of a smile playing at his lips.
His tall, straight figure bent over her, trapping Wen Yunmian within his embrace.
He braced both arms against the edge of the table, his broad, firm back blocking the light from outside.
Wen Yunmian was unbearably shy. Although she would never again harbor genuine feelings for Jun Chenyu, she could hardly withstand such a handsome face.
Her slender, soft fingers trailed downward and hooked around Jun Chenyu's waist.
His waist was lean and strong. Wen Yunmian hooked her fingers into his jade-inlaid belt and led him toward the bed.
When soft, close-knit sounds began rising from the bed, Jun Chenyu's low, husky voice sounded beside her ear. "Wen Yunmian, who am I?"
Wen Yunmian's eyes were tightly shut. "You are... His Majesty..."
"And who is His Majesty to you?" Jun Chenyu's phoenix eyes burned with heat.
Wen Yunmian's cheeks flushed scarlet. "My husband..."
"Good girl. Say it again."
"Husband..."
Standing guard outside, Eunuch Lu heard the sounds coming from the Peony Pavilion and immediately understood what was happening. He hurriedly waved a hand, ordering everyone stationed nearby to withdraw.
In the past, His Majesty had devoted himself to affairs of state, never setting his mind on the harem. Even Consort Shu, his most favored consort, had been required to follow the rules.
Yet now His Majesty was breaking his own rules again and again. She truly had some tricks up her sleeve.
He glanced back at the tightly closed door and told the young eunuch beside him, "From now on, you must put more care into your duties at the Peony Pavilion."
Eunuch Zhou happened to hear this and could not help straightening his back. Of all the ladies in the palace, his mistress was the most favored.
It was not until the afternoon that Wen Yunmian rose, exhausted from head to toe.
Jun Chenyu watched her with interest. Her skin, as white as jade, was covered in the marks he had left, and his lips could not help curving into a smile.
To him, every other consort had been no more than a task he had to deliberately carry out for the sake of producing heirs.
Only Wen Yunmian could awaken his body's natural desire. Again and again, having tasted the marrow, he craved more.
By the time Wen Yunmian slowly awoke, His Majesty had already dressed neatly and left the Peony Pavilion.
Yun Yang and Yun Fei came in, their expressions extremely troubled. Seeing their faces, Wen Yunmian asked in confusion, "What is it? Why the long faces?"
Yun Yang hurriedly said, "My lady, you may not know this, but while you were receiving His Majesty's favor today, I happened to hear people in the palace discussing court affairs. That was how I learned that His Majesty had reprimanded and punished the marquis. He need not attend court for the next few days and must remain at his residence to quietly reflect on his mistakes. The reason given was that he disrespected his first wife, favoring a concubine at his wife's expense."
Wen Yunmian froze briefly, then understood. Before Jun Chenyu had fallen unconscious from the Peach Blossom Song, he had promised to punish her father. Now it seemed that favoring a concubine at his wife's expense was merely His Majesty's excuse to kill the chicken to warn the monkeys.
Last time, Wen Fu'an had used the influence of the Duke of State Protection's Residence to force His Majesty to favor Wen Leyan. Had the poison not taken effect and rendered him unconscious, the Marquis’s Residence would likely have faced censure that very day.
Fortunately, while His Majesty had been weighing how to punish the Marquis’s Residence, Wen Yunmian had distanced herself from it. Only then had Jun Chenyu spared her while taking his blade to the Marquis’s Residence.
In this life, she did not want the Blood-Dropping Agents to hold a blade to her neck again. Nor did she want to see that decree ordering her, his imperial noble consort, to follow him in death—a decree Jun Chenyu had not yet had time to stamp with the imperial seal before his passing.
Wen Yunmian frowned. "It is a good thing for Father to stay home and clear his head properly. He has little ability, yet his ambitions are always higher than the heavens."
Seeing that their mistress was not worried, Yun Yang and Yun Fei were rather bewildered.
Wen Yunmian instructed Yun Fei to arrange a sedan chair for Imperial Physician Ni. It was something she had promised him, and naturally she could not forget it.
Then she wrote a letter and handed it to Yun Yang. "Deliver this letter to Father. Also, bribe the people below and arrange a meeting between Father and me."
"But if His Majesty summons you and cannot find you, wouldn't that give everything away?"
Wen Yunmian fell silent for a moment. "It will not. Tomorrow is the Festival of All Nations. His Majesty will stay overnight in Her Majesty the Empress's palace. He will not come here."
Yun Yang answered, "Yes."
Once Yun Yang had gone to make the arrangements, Wen Yunmian stood up, forcing herself to endure the trembling in her legs. In a steady voice, she said, "Yun Fei, bring Qiukui here. Do not alert anyone."
Yun Fei understood what she intended to do and quickly nodded. "Yes."
When Qiukui was brought in, she still wore an innocent, guileless expression. She bowed properly to Wen Yunmian. "Greetings, my lady. May I ask why you summoned me?"
Wen Yunmian sipped her tea, her long lashes veiling her eyes. "Qiukui, I intend to promote you to a second-rank palace maid. What do you think?"
Qiukui's eyes widened in surprise, and she knelt with delight written all over her face. "Thank you, my lady. Thank you, my lady."
To rise from a maid assigned to menial work to a second-rank palace maid was an enormous honor. Naturally, she was delighted.
Wen Yunmian's lips curved into a smile. "Here, you would be a second-rank palace maid. But if I sent you to the Palace of Prolonged Happiness, would you even be allowed through her gates?"
The smile on Qiukui's face abruptly froze. She looked up in disbelief, a flash of panic passing through her eyes.
In her previous life, Wen Yunmian had failed to expose Qiukui and had instead wrongfully accused Shukui. After giving birth, she had spent every day in terror, afraid someone would harm her.
Moreover, Qiukui had been clever, constantly directing every spearhead of suspicion toward Shukui. At the time, Wen Yunmian had become convinced that Shukui had betrayed her and was the spy.
"I do not understand what you mean, my lady. I have never been to the Palace of Prolonged Happiness, nor has Her Highness the Noble Consort ever summoned me. How could I have the good fortune to serve there?"
Seeing Qiukui remain composed in the face of danger, Wen Yunmian calmly rose and picked up a pair of scissors to trim the white magnolia branches on the table. "Were you not the one who informed Consort Shu that I could not conceive?"
Qiukui's entire body stiffened, yet Wen Yunmian remained so nonchalant that no one could tell whether she was pleased or angry.
"I was not the only person who knew you could not conceive, my lady. I only heard about it today myself."
A cold light shone in Wen Yunmian's chilly eyes. She tossed the trimmed branches and leaves beside Qiukui's feet and lowered her gaze to the woman kneeling on the floor. "Unfortunately, you were the only one who knew."
Those words struck like five thunderbolts crashing overhead. Qiukui was instantly stunned. She looked up in shock, her pupils contracting. "My lady..."
Yun Fei sneered beside her. "My lady instructed me to deliberately leak that information, and I told only you. Afterward, Her Highness the Noble Consort used it to make trouble for my lady. Will you still deny that you leaked it?"
Qiukui's face turned deathly pale. "No, it was not me."
Yun Fei immediately turned to Wen Yunmian. "My lady, since Qiukui is so stubbornly tight-lipped, why don't I fetch a brazier?"
"There is no need." Wen Yunmian looked calmly at Qiukui. She had never intended to extract a confession through torture. Whether Qiukui admitted it made little difference.
"Whether you admit it or not, you should know that once a mistress discovers a servant harbors thoughts of betrayal, she will never employ that servant again. At best, you will be driven out; at worst, put to death. When that happens, do you think Consort Shu will dare take you in?"
Wen Yunmian's voice was calm and clear, yet to Qiukui's ears, it was more terrifying than a brazier.
Before you continue