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

Chapter 130 Meeting Li Wan (Part 2)
After dinner, Chu Yan and Li Wan went out and took a palanquin to the Imperial Garden.

This was the first time Li Wan had ever sat on such a thing, and she knew that only imperial concubines were qualified to sit on it, so she couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.

As the palanquin was lifted, she looked at the emperor in front of her. Although it was just a stroll in the palace gardens, there were still fifty or sixty palace maids and eunuchs accompanying her, each carrying a teapot, cups, cushions, embroidered handkerchiefs, and rinsing bowls.

After the imperial palanquin was lifted, the procession proceeded in a grand procession to the back garden. Two eunuchs carried incense burners at the front, filled with Champa sandalwood, filling the air with fragrance along the way.

Li Wan rode in the imperial carriage behind the emperor, resembling his favored concubine, admired by all.

Upon arriving at the Imperial Garden, Chu Yan and Li Wan dismounted from their palanquins and walked together into the garden.

"Isn't this garden much smaller than the Grand View Garden?"

Chu Yan first started the conversation, saying that Li Gongcai lived in Daoxiang Village in the Grand View Garden.

Li Wan looked around at the garden scenery and said with a smile, "Although the Imperial Garden is small, its exotic flowers and rocks far surpass those of the Grand View Garden."

She was right. Although there was no flowing water in the Imperial Garden, there were several artificial hills and stones of various shapes placed everywhere, most of which were probably Taihu stones transported from Jiangnan.

Because the Imperial Garden is located on the central axis of the palace, and following the symmetrical layout of the palace, every plant, tree, pavilion, and tower in the Imperial Garden is also symmetrical.

"What kind of hall is this?" Chu Yan pointed ahead, faintly smelling the scent of incense and candles.

Xia Shouzhong hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, this is the Xuanzhen Hall, which enshrines Taoist deities. To the right is the Baoling Palace, which enshrines various Buddhas and Guanyin."

"Is Baoling Palace on the right?"

Chu Yan chuckled, "So it turns out that the Virtuous Consort came to worship Buddha in the Imperial Garden during her visit home."

Li Wan was secretly surprised. The emperor could know about this from Yuan Chun, but why would he specifically ask him?
The emperor did not enter the Xuanzhen Hall. Instead, he took her for a stroll and chatted idly. When they arrived at the pavilion on the right side of the Imperial Garden, a palace maid came to pour tea. The emperor then dismissed the maids and left her to accompany him.

"How many years has Gong Cai been married?"

"It's been about six or seven years."

"I remember you have a son. Now that you've entered the palace, how is he doing?"

Upon hearing the emperor mention his son Jia Lan, Li Wan couldn't help but feel nervous and carefully replied, "I have a younger sister-in-law, and she's helping to take care of her now."

Chu Yan wanted to laugh, but held it back. He picked up his teacup and slowly sipped his tea to cover it up, then asked her, "Who else is in your family, both your maternal and paternal?"

Li Wan was even more nervous. She dared not reveal the truth, and she was also afraid that the emperor would question her if the matter came to light. Therefore, Li Wan dared not lie.

She sat gracefully on the stone bench, her tall figure moving with increasing care, and replied, “My parents, brothers and sisters are all alive, and I also have a widowed aunt with two daughters. In my husband’s family, there are my parents-in-law, sisters-in-law, sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, more than twenty people, and they all get along well. I don’t have to worry about things at home, I just need to serve in the palace.”

The service was real, but it wasn't for Yuan Chun; it was for the Emperor.

Chu Yan feigned surprise: "Your husband's family has over twenty members, that's quite a lot. Is your family also officials? Were they ever raided by me?"

Li Wan was somewhat moved. His Majesty was concerned about her family. If her family were to be raided, His Majesty might issue an edict of pardon, just like Miss Lin's family.

Li Wan smiled and said, "I thank Your Majesty for your concern. My father was an official at the Imperial Academy, but he resigned many years ago. He was an honest and upright official, so he was not implicated in the confiscation of our property."

Chu Yan also laughed and said, "It just so happens that I am preparing to reform the Imperial Academy. Your father is still quite old, isn't he? Why did he resign?"

Li Wan hurriedly said, "My father resigned from his official post voluntarily, saying that he could not stand the welcoming and sending off of officials. Not long after resigning, he returned to Jinling to live in seclusion."

"It turns out that Gong Cai's father was a reclusive sage. No wonder he could raise such a virtuous and beautiful woman as Gong Cai."

Chu Yan smiled.

Praised by him, Li Wan blushed deeply. She had been a widow for many years... no, even before she was married and after her marriage, she had never been praised for her appearance by a man like this.

For some reason, after hearing him call her a beauty, Li Wan's face flushed, her heart pounded as if it would jump out of her throat, and her eyes couldn't help but look at his face and his lips several times, the same lips that had kissed her last time...

"Why isn't the palace judge speaking?" Chu Yan reached out and grasped Li Wan's slender, jade-like hand. She seemed to tremble slightly, but did not struggle to break free.

"Your Majesty...you flatter me, I dare not accept such praise."

Li Wan's face flushed red, and her hands, held by him, slowly became burning hot as well.

She felt the emperor's hand gently grasping hers, as if trying to hook her fingers. Li Wan's palm suddenly became unbearably itchy, and she couldn't help but open her hand and tightly grasp Chu Yan's hand.

"Why should the court official be so modest?"

When Chu Yan saw that her hand obeyed his, he knew that the chaste woman who had been widowed for many years had slowly accepted him. Even if he asked her to serve him in bed tonight, she would probably only half-heartedly agree.

However, Chu Yan was not in a hurry to have sex with Li Wan. He kept it a secret from her and pretended not to know her, watching her "cheating" while she was struggling and hesitating. It was quite interesting.

The beauty of Cao Cao's fondness for other men's wives lies precisely in this.

"In my opinion, the beauty of the palace dress is unmatched by anyone else."

Chu Yan chuckled and reached out to stroke Li Wan's blushing cheeks.

There's a unique charm to training elegant, dignified, chaste, and virtuous women.

"His Majesty……"

Li Wan's heart was pounding like a drum; she mentally prepared herself to be embraced by him.

But Chu Yan withdrew his hand and asked her, "Since your father is an official in the Imperial Academy, you must be well-read?"

Li Wan lowered her head, ashamed to look at him, and replied, "My father often said, 'A woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent,' so he rarely allowed us girls to study. He only taught us to read the 'Four Books for Women' and 'Biographies of Exemplary Women,' so that we could recognize a few characters."

Chu Yan nodded. "It's clear that your father is quite old-fashioned."

Li Wan dared not speak ill of her father behind his back.

Chu Yan then laughed and asked, "Can you write poetry? Besides those books, have you read any other books?"

Li Wan laughed and said, "When I was at home, I also secretly read some other books and a few poetry collections. I can even write poems, but we women write poems only for joking and amusing ourselves in our boudoirs, and we can't compare to the poetic talent of men."

"No need to be modest, let me see your talent, Imperial Courtesy." Chu Yan looked around at the scenery, then at her, and said with a smile, "Many predecessors have written poems about the scenery. Tonight, it's just the two of us in the Imperial Garden. Why don't you compose a poem about 'melancholy'?"

Upon hearing this, Li Wan's dignified and beautiful face instantly turned bright red. A love poem…isn't that just an erotic poem?

"Why does Your Majesty have to make things difficult for me?" Li Wan complained, her cheeks flushed.

Chu Yan smiled and took her hand, conveying his message through his actions and eyes:
I want you to write!
Li Wan was at a loss, her heart was pounding, and the Imperial Garden was quiet and deserted. She was also holding her hands tightly, and she couldn't help but feel her heart filled with spring fever.

He held her delicate hand, and he gazed upon her face. Li Wan's heart was filled with tender feelings. Her watery eyes first looked at him, then at the surrounding scenery. She saw vines entwining the trees, just like when she had nestled in Chu Yan's arms last time. Words began to form in her mind.

"Your Majesty," Li Wan called to him softly.

"Is the palace tailor ready?" Chu Yan asked with a smile.

"I will compose a poem, Butterfly Loves Flowers."

"Please, shall I have someone bring me pen and ink?"

"Don't call anyone!"

Li Wan hurriedly said that writing erotic poems with men was already shameful enough, and if word got out, she would have nowhere to hide her face.

"Alright, Your Excellency, please read it aloud."

Chu Yan and Li Wan intertwined their fingers, and Li Wan recited: "Slender green vines entwine the green tree, stealing life beneath the leaves, unwilling to be swept away by the wind. How much shade can a tree provide? Soft silk binds itself in the depths of spring. The moon is cold in the empty courtyard, flowers weep with dew... A half-dead, withered heart still utters tender words."

When she read the phrase "half-dead and withered heart," she paused for a moment, her face growing increasingly shy.

Upon hearing this, Chu Yan couldn't help but exclaim, "What a beautiful 'The moon shines coldly on the empty courtyard, the flowers weep with dew'!"

Li Wan blushed and was about to finish reciting when she suddenly heard a voice calling "Mother!" from afar. It was her son, Jia Lan, calling her.

Li Wan's heart skipped a beat, and she stood up in shock, her dignified face showing panic as if she had been caught in the act of adultery.

The eunuch's reprimand came, scolding the other party for disturbing the emperor's enjoyment.

Chu Yan instructed the eunuch, "Go and see what's going on."

Soon someone reported: "Your Majesty, it was the Dowager Consort who brought Jia Lan to Baoling Palace to worship Buddha, and Jia Lan started making a fuss for some reason."

Li Wan hurriedly pleaded, "Your Majesty, the child is ignorant and doesn't know any better. Please forgive him."

Chu Yan glanced at her and smiled, "I didn't say I was going to punish him. Go and call him and the Dowager Consort over. We'll enjoy the moon together."

Li Wan bowed and left in a hurry.

After a while, Jia Lan arrived. The five-year-old child was extremely well-behaved in front of his mother, as if he had already been instructed not to call her "mother" again.

The Dowager Consort pulled Jia Lan forward to bow, but Chu Yan excused her and told them to take their seats.

The Dowager Consort said with shame, "It is truly my fault for disturbing Your Majesty's enjoyment. This old woman dares not bother you any further and will return now."

Chu Yan said, "It's alright, you can come to worship Buddha again in the future."

When he mentioned Buddhist temples, he actually thought of Miaoyu. He wondered if he could summon her to the palace someday and have her stay at Baoling Palace. He would go and see what the so-called graceful monk in his robes was really like when he had time.

After the Dowager Princess paid her respects, she left, but Jia Lan refused to leave and stayed behind.

Li Wan had no choice but to let him play around with a eunuch.

After her son left, Li Wan returned to Chu Yan's side, "Your Majesty, I am ashamed..."

She wanted to reveal the truth to the emperor, to tell him that she was actually the eldest daughter-in-law of the Jia family, and that Jia Lan was her son.

But the emperor didn't give her a chance to speak.

"Courtesy Master, come into my arms!"

Chu Yan reached out and put his arm around Li Wan's waist, letting her sit on his lap. He held her tightly in his arms and said with a smile, "Let's continue to admire the moon."

Li Wan's face flushed again. She knew that this was how the emperor would favor her after she finished writing the erotic poem. She had been interrupted before, but now he was just continuing.

But her son was all around, ready to come back at any moment...

"His Majesty!"

Li Wan was terrified, looking around anxiously, afraid that her son would return.

Chu Yan stroked her face, telling her not to look around, and said with a smile, "Jia Lan is still young, there's no need to worry about him seeing."

Li Wan, however, knew that her son was very intelligent. He had already guessed some things when he saw her being held by the emperor last time, and now…

Chu Yan didn't give her a chance to think anymore, cupped her face, and kissed her.

Li Wan's whole body went limp.

At first, she was worried about Jia Lan, but as she embraced and kissed the emperor, she gradually put aside her worries and shyly accepted his advances with her lips slightly parted.

The palace maids and eunuchs stood guard a distance of ten feet.

Five-year-old Jia Lan saw from afar that under the pavilion with several palace lanterns hanging, his mother was sitting in the emperor's lap, her arms tightly wrapped around his neck, exactly the same as the last time he had seen her!
"What is my mother doing?" Jia Lan asked the palace maid beside him.

The palace maid was sensible and whispered to him, "Your mother is kissing His Majesty... Shh, don't make a sound, otherwise your mother will fall out of favor and you'll be kicked out of the army!"

Jia Lan was taken aback: "My mother has been wronged?!"

The palace maids all laughed and said, "Being favored by the emperor is something every woman in the world envies. How could you feel wronged? Besides, look at your mother. She has been widowed for many years and has been lonely for a long time. She was very affectionate in the emperor's arms... Oh dear, it's no use telling you, little one. When you grow up, you'll know how lucky your mother is to be favored by the emperor tonight!"

Jia Lan seemed to understand, but not quite. He looked closely at his mother in the pavilion for a long time before she finally separated from the emperor.

The two seemed to be whispering to each other. The mother wrapped her arms around the emperor's neck, and after a moment, she took the initiative to kiss the emperor on the lips.

Oh, so his mother was quite happy to kiss the emperor!
(End of this chapter)