After the rebellion was successful, I realized that this place was the Red Mansion

Chapter 128 Punishing Sister Feng

The next day, Ping'er woke up slowly when she heard a knock on the door.

There was someone beside her. She initially thought it was her second mistress, but the next moment she felt a hand that didn't belong to a woman on her chest, and she suddenly woke up.

Then she remembered that she had served the emperor in bed the night before. No wonder her body felt weak and sore, but not uncomfortable. Instead, she felt a sense of pleasure.

Ping'er turned to look at him, only to find that the emperor had already woken up.

"How was last night?"

Chu Yan asked with a smile.

Ping'er blushed, but she mustered her courage and said with a hint of reproach, "This servant could not bear the Emperor's power last night, and Your Majesty has no pity for this servant."

Last night, the two were intimate, and Ping'er was no longer so afraid of the emperor.

Chu Yan smiled and said, "I know what I'm doing and won't let you get hurt. Also, since you've already served me in bed, you don't need to call yourself a servant anymore. Just call me 'concubine' or 'me'."

Ping'er agreed, then couldn't help but pant softly.

Because her body was still being teased by him.

Chu Yan asked her, "Are you still serving Sister Feng now?"

"Yes Yes."

“Since she’s a tigress and has kept a close watch on you in the past, making things difficult for you, I’m standing up for you today. When you go back, tell her to come and serve you. You will be the master and she will be the maid.”

Chu Yan smiled.

Upon hearing this, Ping'er was first surprised, then quickly rose and knelt down: "Your Majesty, this concubine dares not!"

Chu Yan stroked her cheek: "What is there to be afraid of? Would she dare to disobey the imperial edict?"

Ping'er looked at him and asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, will you favor Second Mistress in the future?"

"Of course." Chu Yan nodded. Wang Xifeng was one of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling, so there was no way she could escape the mention of her.

Ping'er explained slowly, "If that's the case, then I dare not ask Second Mistress to serve me."

Second Madam is far superior to me in terms of family background, figure, and appearance. In the future, she will enter the palace and be favored by His Majesty, and will be in the palace with me. Even if we don't care who will be a concubine and who will be a servant in the future, Second Madam and I will both be people in His Majesty's harem. Second Madam is also proud and arrogant. If she serves me, won't there be a rift between us?

"I beg Your Majesty to rescind your decree. I have known Second Madam for many years and do not wish to ruin our past friendship."

After hearing her words, Chu Yan exclaimed, "Ping'er is truly farsighted! No wonder you are one of the four great maids of the Jia family. Wang Xifeng dismissed all four of her dowry maids, leaving only you to serve her."

Ping'er knelt on the bed, right next to him. When she heard the emperor praising her, she couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.

Chu Yan reached out and grabbed her, and Ping'er lay down, still nestled beside the emperor, but couldn't help but plead in a low voice, "Your Majesty's imperial might is too much for Ping'er to bear. Please summon Ying'er and Xiao Luo to serve you..."

Xiaoluo was Baoqin's maid. It was common for maids who came as part of a dowry to serve their future mistresses first.

Chu Yan laughed and said, "No need, I still have to attend court later, this is just a little bit of fun."

Ping'er blushed. She had suffered so much last night, and just a quick glance at her body showed that it was still covered in marks. Was His Majesty still not satisfied?
But thinking back to last night, it's not surprising that he collapsed; the emperor was incredibly powerful in bed.

Chu Yan thought for a while before saying, "Although I cannot issue an edict to have Feng Jie serve you, I have thought of a way to help you vent your anger."

"Thank you in advance, Your Majesty. What method is it?" Ping'er asked with a smile.

Chu Yan also smiled, which showed that she also harbored some resentment towards Feng Jie. However, she was worried that Feng Jie would be more favored in the future, and she was afraid that the reversal of master and servant would upset her, so she politely declined the previous suggestion.

Chu Yan said, "I will send an eunuch to reward you after you return home."

Ping'er hurriedly thanked the emperor again.

Chu Yan continued, "Feng Jie will definitely find it strange and ask you. Tell her the truth: I have favored you, and you also tell her that she will enter the palace to serve me in the future."

"in addition."

Chu Yan's lips curled up slightly. "Tell her again that I will punish her for lending money and order her to embroider a tube top and a bellyband, and embroider a few words on them."

"what?"

Ping'er was taken aback, her eyes widening in surprise.

The Emperor... actually came up with this method to punish the Second Mistress?!
Not only did he want the Second Mistress to serve him in bed and be taken into the harem, but he also wanted her to embroider a bellyband and a bodice by hand, and to embroider those shameful words on them, and to wear them when the Emperor went to the Rongguo Mansion.

The humiliation involved is so intense that it makes one blush just hearing about it, let alone doing it.

"So? Do you think she can handle this?"

Chu Yan asked Ping'er with a smile.

His perverse sense of humor, though common in later generations, was absolutely unheard of and absurd for women in ancient times.

Wang Xifeng and Jia Lian were unwilling to change their ways in bed. Although she appeared to be alluring and had a rosy face, she was actually quite conservative.

"His Majesty……"

Ping'er said tactfully, "Second Madam wouldn't be so desperate as to kill herself over this incident, but this matter must not be spread, otherwise, Second Madam will have no face to live with."

Just thinking about the unmarried girls like Miss Lin, Miss Bao, Miss Qin, and the Third Miss, or the Old Madam, Madam, and Madam Zhu, as well as the stewards and maids in the mansion, made her feel a chill of fear.

If they found out that Second Grandma embroidered those shameful words on her bellyband, how could she possibly live with herself?

"I'm sure."

Chu Yan happily agreed.

Just then, the sound of a palace maid knocking on the door came again to remind him. Chu Yan got up and said to Ping'er, "You can rest for a while longer. If you need anything, just tell the palace maid."

He then went out to take a bath and change his clothes.

Ping'er didn't come out. While Chu Yan was taking a bath, a palace maid reported to him, "Miss Bao has gotten up and seems to be requesting to see His Majesty." Chu Yan nodded, and only after he finished bathing did he have someone call Baochai in.

Upon seeing her, Chu Yan said, "I'm going to court. The officials from the south have arrived, and I need to meet with them. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Baochai quickly replied, "I dare not disturb Your Majesty. I just wanted to tell Your Majesty that since it is Qin's first time entering the palace, I would like to take her around the palace so that she can get to know everyone."

They had decided to stay in the palace for three days.

Chu Yan nodded: "Have a few palace maids take you there. Once the people in the palace recognize you, you can also ride in a palanquin."

He was already dressed, wearing a bright yellow round-necked robe with dragon patterns. He was tall and imposing. He walked up to Baochai, lowered his head and kissed her on the lips, smiled at her, and then turned and left.

The eunuchs were already waiting outside, and they followed him to the front hall.

Baochai saw him off at the door, then stopped and watched the emperor, the supreme ruler, walk from the passageway to the front hall, where the officials must already be waiting for him.

Baochai's mind was filled with many thoughts.

Her great-grandfather held the position of Ziwei Sheren (a high-ranking official in the imperial court), her grandfather became a royal merchant, and by her father's generation, no one in the family held an official position.

Now, she stood at the very center of the palace, where officials far higher in rank than her great-grandfather were waiting in the front hall to kneel before her emperor husband…

Baochai sighed softly to herself. The emperor could not be called her husband. Only if she could become empress could she rightfully say that the emperor was her husband.

"Is Miss Bao outside?"

Ping'er's voice came from inside the room, so Baochai went in and saw a shocking scene on the bed. She saw Ping'er, who was only wearing two pieces of clothing, with many marks left on her neck, and smelled a strong... male scent.

So this is what it means to serve someone in bed?
Baochai was secretly surprised and even doubted whether she could win the emperor's favor. Seeing Ping'er's miserable state was truly frightening.

Ping'er tried to hide her feelings and said shyly, "Miss Bao will understand when she serves the emperor in the future... It's a bit tiring, but it's very enjoyable."

Is this satisfying?

Baochai, not understanding the implication, chatted with her for a while and learned a little about what it was like for her to serve the emperor the night before.

For more than an hour, she was allowed to be admired and played with by the emperor. After he finished, she would sleep beside him, just like husband and wife, and there was no need to leave in a hurry.

Baochai felt a little relieved. She chatted and laughed with Ping'er for a while, then took her to the side room to bathe and change. After having breakfast with Baoqin, she prepared to go to the palace to chat with Yuanchun and Keqing.

"Are we going to ride this thing?"

Baoqin saw the palanquin waiting outside, and the eunuch smiled and invited her and her sister to sit on it.

Baochai asked another question: "So, were all the concubines of the Shun Dynasty allowed to ride in palanquins?"

A eunuch smiled and said, "Your Majesty, according to the old dynasty's rules, only concubines and above could ride in palanquins; those below the rank of Noble Lady had to walk."

Another eunuch replied, "In principle, only concubines and above can sit, but in the past, there were many concubines in the palace, and many imperial concubines and consorts did not have palanquins when they went out."

Baochai noted it down, and then asked them with a smile, "How should I address you, gentlemen?"

The two eunuchs hurriedly returned; one was named Zhao De, and the other Li Zhong.

Baochai memorized the two women's faces, then boarded the palanquin with Baoqin and instructed, "Go to Changchun Palace first, and after seeing the eldest sister, go and pay your respects to the Empress."

The eunuchs carried the palanquin, accompanied by four palace maids, and the two maids Ying'er and Xiao Luo also followed.

Upon arriving at Changchun Palace, they found Jia Yuanchun nowhere to be seen. They inquired and learned that she had gone to visit the Dowager Empress early that morning.

Baochai noticed the words used by the palace maids. They were not paying respects to the Dowager Empress. Jia Yuanchun was now the emperor's concubine, but the Dowager Empress had no status. Therefore, it was not a greeting, but a visit.

"Bao'er is here?"

Hearing the commotion, Li Wan came out from the side hall of Changchun Palace. She now had her own residence in the palace, and others regarded her as a low-ranking concubine.

Baochai and Baoqin had met her, and the three of them went to Li Wan's side hall to sit and drink tea.

Li Wan looked around and asked, "Why isn't Ping'er here?"

Baoqin blushed slightly, but she spoke frankly, saying, "Sister Ping'er served the Emperor last night and is resting this morning."

A hint of shyness appeared on Li Wan's elegant face as she said, "The Emperor took a liking to her at first sight; it must be her good fortune."

Baochai noticed something was amiss. Her sister-in-law was no longer bare-faced, but wearing light makeup. She was not dressed as a palace maid or a servant of the Jia family, but in a dress from the palace, which made her, who had been widowed for many years, appear beautiful and dignified.

The three chatted for a while.

Li Wan asked her with a smile, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Baochai smiled and said, "Tell me the truth, are you also favored in the palace?"

Baoqin was immediately surprised and looked at her sister-in-law, only to see that her face had turned bright red.

"Good girl, you can't hide it from me after all." Li Wan stroked her burning face and pleaded, "Don't tell anyone about me. The Emperor doesn't know I'm a member of the Jia family yet. Last time he saw me, he..."

Baochai took her hand and said, "Sister-in-law, you can rest assured that neither Qin nor I will tell anyone."

Li Wan thanked them and sat for a while before seeing them off.

Watching the two figures sitting in the palanquin, Li Wan was in turmoil.

She appeared to have come to the palace for Jia Lan, but in reality, she kept thinking about the day the emperor kissed her. The emperor gave her a reward, but then didn't summon her to see him again...

There were just too many concubines in the imperial harem.

Perhaps she shouldn't expect anything; she should just accept being a widow and wait a few years before pleading for Jia Lan's release.

Li Wan returned to her room and sat there listlessly. While Baochai and the other girls entered the palace and moved about in the harem as the emperor's concubines, her own identity was somewhat unclear. Even when she went to Fengzao Palace to visit Jia Lan, she felt a little constrained.

(End of this chapter)