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

Chapter 131 Please Release the Empress from the Palace
After watching Li Wan return to Changchun Palace, Chu Yan thought for a while and then strolled towards Kunning Palace.

The eunuchs and palace maids understood immediately that His Majesty intended to visit the Empress that night, so Xia Shouzhong stepped forward and whispered, "Your Majesty, may I go and deliver a message to the Empress?"

"No need."

Chu Yan stopped them and went to Kunning Palace. The palace maids outside wanted to go in to report, but he stopped them as well.

Upon entering Kunning Palace, the palace maids inside were all surprised. One of the maids, Lüyan, whom Chu Yan knew, quickly stood up and knelt down to pay her respects.

"no."

Chu Yan asked her, "Is the Empress inside?"

"Her Majesty is here!"

"Hmm, you serve outside, I'll go in myself."

Chu Yan instructed her to slow down and enter the East Warm Pavilion.

The former Empress of the Great Shun Dynasty, who once ruled the world, was sitting on a couch in the room, holding a needle and thread in her hand, concentrating on her needlework. Her slender fingers deftly spun and crocheted through the needle and thread.

The sight of the Empress doing needlework in the Kunning Palace is wonderfully pleasing to the eye.

Chu Yan stopped and looked at her for a while. Empress Zhang did not notice him at all. She was wearing only two dresses, which made her chest look rounded and her thighs full and straight. There were not many palace lanterns in the East Warm Pavilion, just enough to illuminate her needlework.

Chu Yan always felt that if she hadn't been the former empress, she would have been very suitable to be his empress. From her appearance to her character, or even her management of the harem, she was good enough. Whenever Yuan Chun encountered problems in the harem, she would often ask her for advice.

She didn't aspire to remain empress and asked to move out of Kunning Palace several times, but Chu Yan refused each time, saying, "I'm too busy, you can stay here for now."

Perhaps because she had been staring at the needle and thread for too long, Empress Zhang took a short rest. When she looked up, she was startled to see a tall figure in front of her.

Only after recognizing him did she relax, get up to greet him, and then complain:

"Why didn't Your Majesty make a sound when you arrived? You startled me."

"You're just too focused."

Chu Yan smiled and walked over, took her hand and sat her down. He looked at the half-finished piece she was knitting and asked, "Does Your Majesty also know needlework?"

Empress Zhang laughed and said, "I wasn't born an empress."

As she spoke, a hint of shyness appeared on her face. She glanced at Chu Yan, knowing that he had come to see her tonight probably to ask her to serve him in bed again.

In the past month or so, she had served the emperor four or five times and had a general idea of ​​how this rebellious emperor summoned his concubines every night. It was truly a testament to his brute strength!

Chu Yan laughed and said, "It was I who was confused. What are you embroidering?"

"A bodice, for Princess Hanyang." Empress Zhang paused, then, fearing he would be angry, explained, "After all, I am their legal mother, so I should care for them more."

Chu Yan nodded and handed the half-embroidered bellyband back to her: "I didn't say it wasn't allowed."

Those former princesses of the Shun Dynasty all lived with Qinghe in Yuqing Palace. On weekdays, they would either go to Fengzao Palace to stay with the Empress Dowager or come to Kunning Palace to see their mother.

Empress Zhang said in a low voice, "I am also preparing for the future."

"What preparations are you making?" Chu Yan raised an eyebrow and reached out to stroke the Empress's smooth chin. "Where do you want to go?"

Empress Zhang remained silent until she was forced to speak, at which point she finally said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to move out of Kunning Palace!"

Chu Yan laughed and said, "I am not a heartless and ungrateful person. Your worries are unnecessary. Just serve me well in the palace."

"Your Majesty, I thank you."

Empress Zhang knelt respectfully on the couch and kowtowed to him, but her worries remained.

The new emperor was certainly not a heartless person, but he was a bit too affectionate. He was not a capricious emperor, but he took good care of every concubine in the harem and was generous with his imperial favor.

At first, Empress Zhang mistakenly believed that Consort Wu, Consort Zhou, and others were favored because of their beauty and were summoned to his bedchamber for three or four consecutive nights. Later, she gradually learned that he actually favored every one of his concubines.

As a result, none of the concubines were favored.

The daughters of the Jia, Xue, and Shi families entered the palace one after another. She had met several of them. They were all talented and beautiful girls. After they entered the palace, who in the harem would dare to say that they were favored?

She is no longer the empress, yet she occupies the Kunning Palace, which will inevitably arouse the hostility of many concubines in the harem.

The emperor carried her back to her room and placed her on the bed. She knew that tonight would be another life-or-death struggle.

"Your Majesty~"

Empress Zhang avoided him and pleaded once more: "I beg to move out of Kunning Palace!"

Chu Yan had no intention of stopping, and quickly undressed her, but the Empress, who was the mother of the nation, knelt on the bed, her white body prostrate.

Her slender, fair back, and her round, white, smooth breasts made Chu Yan involuntarily recall a phrase he had seen in his previous life: "Dogeza" (a deep bow in apology).

Empress Zhang is now kneeling before him like this.

"If Your Majesty has pity on me, please allow me to move out. Only by leaving Kunning Palace can I serve Your Majesty for a long time!"

Empress Zhang pleaded again.

She didn't believe that Chu Yan, who had rebelled and become emperor, didn't understand her predicament. He was simply heartless, or perhaps he thought he could control the situation, or maybe he kept her in Kunning Palace to humiliate her...

That's why they've been preventing her from moving out.

"Do you really want to move out?" Chu Yan sat down, pulled Empress Zhang onto his lap, thought for a moment, and seeing her pleading look, agreed: "Once Consort Xie in Jinling sets off for the capital, you can move out of Kunning Palace."

Empress Zhang gently rubbed the food with her delicate hand, took a bite, and then softly asked, "When will Your Highness the Imperial Concubine arrive in the capital? I heard that His Majesty received officials from Jinling this morning. Why didn't Your Highness come to the capital with them?"

Although she was the empress, she had to address Xie Zhaojun as "Your Highness".

Chu Yan pressed her head down and said helplessly, "She's increasingly disregarding me. In several letters, she's made excuses not to come to the capital, saying she's either sick or has forgotten because she's watching cats and dogs fight. I don't know what she's doing all day."

Empress Zhang stared in astonishment, her mouth agape.

As for the concubines being favored, she had heard quite a few things these days: the emperor holding Qinghe and riding a horse with Yuanchun, indulging Xiangyun to play around in the harem without having to follow the rules, placing Miss Lin in Linjing Hall for seven or eight days, and issuing an edict to restore the Lin family's ancestral home, and so on.

But none of these can compare to Xie Zhaojun.

She actually defied the imperial decree and refused to come to the capital!
As an imperial concubine, this was truly disrespectful.

Chu Yan laughed and said, "Never mind her. She's a fortune teller, like a shaman. If she doesn't come to the capital in another month, I'll send someone to tie her up."

Empress Zhang seemed to be deep in thought, recalling the rumors circulating in the palace that this Consort Xie was a supernatural being who had been brought back to life, and that her first words after her resurrection were that she wanted to be empress.

Ah.

It's fortunate that she had never heard of Xie Zhaojun before, otherwise she would have been punished for those words!
Isn't this cursing her to die?
But that was before. Now that Chu Yan has led his troops into the city, it seems that Consort Xie is really going to become empress. She is indeed somewhat extraordinary, no wonder the emperor indulges her.

"Don't stop."

Chu Yan patted the Empress's head.

Empress Zhang gave him a resentful look before lowering her head to concentrate.

She had to concentrate, because every time this man summoned her, he would torment her for half the night. If she didn't let him have his way with her first, she didn't know what kind of suffering she would have to endure later!
But she still miscalculated.

An hour later, she pleaded again, "Your Majesty, please let my maid, Lüyan, in. I am no longer fit for war."

Chu Yan agreed.

He even took the Empress's personal maid, Lü Yan, as his concubine.

……

Meanwhile, Han Mujie, Song Rui, and the others walked and chatted as they left the palace after exiting the Linjing Hall.

“Although the new emperor has recruited us as officials, he doesn’t seem to intend to give us important positions. He’s just using us to win people’s hearts,” Yu Zhou sighed.

Han Mujie chuckled and said, "In my opinion, the new emperor acts rather domineeringly, and he values ​​practicality in his appointments, but he doesn't place much importance on upright officials."

After chatting for a while, the group gained a basic understanding of the new emperor's preferences and learned that the emperor would not value the officials of the censorate for the time being, and he paid even less attention to them, the officials of the censorate from the old dynasty.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been placed at Lantai Temple.

Lantai Temple was in charge of supervising the royal family, but the new emperor had no brothers or sisters or other relatives, so Lantai Temple didn't even have anyone to supervise him!
"Go home!"

Yu Zhou sighed, "At most, we will serve in the court for two or three years. After the country is at peace, the new emperor will gradually dismiss the old officials."

The group nodded in agreement, no longer concerned about the upcoming appointments from the Ministry of Personnel. They agreed to take their salaries for another two years before resigning and returning to their hometowns.

"not necessarily!"

Song Rui, the former Right Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, suddenly spoke, and everyone looked at him.

"Although His Majesty has no brothers or sisters, there is still a place in Lantai Temple where he can be supervised."

"You mean..."

"Not bad, a harem."

Song Rui said, “It is not proper for officials outside the palace to discuss matters of the inner palace. The emperor has his own decision. However, when Emperor Taizu established the ancestral precepts, he was worried that future generations would favor certain concubines too much. Therefore, he left behind the rules. The Lantai Temple can submit a memorial to the emperor, explaining the advantages and disadvantages of the inner palace and advising the emperor to keep the ancestral precepts in mind.”

Yu Zhou was taken aback and said, "How can we, officials of the old dynasty, presume to discuss the affairs of the new emperor's palace?"

The imperial harem is a family affair of the emperor, and emperors generally dislike officials pointing fingers at the harem, especially since these officials have only recently taken office in the new dynasty.

Song Rui said solemnly, "We are paid by the emperor and should serve him. Since His Majesty has issued an edict to recruit us and we have agreed to serve in the court, there is no longer a distinction between the new and old dynasties. We are all just subjects of the Great Qian Dynasty. His Majesty has also appointed us as officials of the Lantai Temple. How can we not submit a memorial?"

The group was speechless. Logically, that was the case, but who would dare to do it?
The ministers who followed the emperor in raising an army had countless merits, far surpassing what they could achieve.
Song Rui cupped his hands in greeting. "I'll write a memorial as soon as I get back. Gentlemen, I'll take my leave now!"

Han Mujie and the others watched him leave, wondering, "What did he want to advise the emperor about?"

They had also heard some things about the affairs of the imperial harem, and there was plenty of material for them to write about.

The first thing to do was to advise the emperor to take more concubines and have princes as soon as possible.

The second thing was to establish an empress.

But the officials of the Prince Qian's mansion must have already advised on these matters many times, so if they submit another memorial, it would only be repeating what others have said.

……

The next day, a memorial entitled "On Establishing the Capital" written by Song Rui, a physician of the Imperial Academy, began to circulate among court officials. Not only did officials of the old dynasty take notice, but many officials of the new dynasty were also greatly surprised, saying that Song Rui was truly audacious.

Besides advising the emperor to take more concubines and establish an empress as soon as possible, the memorial also contained another matter that directly targeted the emperor:
Your Majesty, please release the former Empress from the palace, so as to uphold righteousness and dignity and reassure the people.

(End of this chapter)