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

Chapter 136 The Princess is Favored
"what are you up to?"

Back in the rear hall, Qinghe was placed on a soft couch and asked a question in a low voice.

Chu Yan looked at her, but Qinghe blushed and turned her head away, stammering, "I know it's... you want to favor me, but what exactly is going on? I don't quite understand."

Seeing the anxious expression on her gentle and pretty face, Chu Yan's anger subsided considerably. That's why they say unmarried young women are troublesome; they have to be taught little by little.

"You're getting married soon. Didn't your mother and sister-in-law teach you anything?"

Chu Yan smiled.

He moved the low table on the soft couch to one end, took off his shoes, climbed up, hugged Qinghe in his arms, and took off her embroidered shoes as well.

Her feet were encased in a pair of brocade stockings, small and delicate, small enough to be held in one hand.

Chu Yan casually played with it for a moment, and Princess Qinghe kicked it, her face turning bright red.

For women in ancient times, feet were one of the most shameful parts of their bodies, and only their husbands were allowed to see them.

Chu Yan held her in his arms, and Qinghe stopped moving, obediently nestled against his chest, and whispered:
"The palace maids who taught people manners only taught me a little bit, saying that I was a princess and didn't need to serve my husband too much."

Chu Yan laughed and said, "But I am not a prince consort!"

Qinghe looked up and smiled at him: "You are the emperor~, so I don't know how to serve you... If it's like last time, it would be so embarrassing."

She lowered her head shyly as she spoke.

Chu Yan stroked her smooth and delicate face and said, "Just agree, your husband will take care of it."

Qinghe looked at him, pursed her cherry lips, and whispered, "Can I wait until I'm made a concubine before I serve you in bed?"

Chu Yan didn't speak, but held her small hand to feel it, while Qinghe looked at him blankly, not knowing what he meant.

Chu Yan was both amused and exasperated, and decided to remain silent.

Leaning against the pillow, he embraced the graceful and dignified Princess Qinghe in his arms, stretched out his legs, held her waist, and slowly kissed her.

Princess Qinghe was not yet used to intimacy. It took her a while to get the hang of responding awkwardly, and she soon blushed.

"Qinghe, lie down, don't do anything, close your eyes."

Chu Yan said to her.

The princess, panting with her lips slightly parted, hurriedly closed her eyes, but forgot to lie down. Chu Yan held her and laid her flat on the soft couch.

Chu Yan did not immediately take the next step, but admired the gentle and charming appearance of the obedient and docile royal princess of the Great Shun Dynasty. Her figure was slender, but not as frail as Lin Daiyu. She had flesh in the right places and was thin in the right places.

The princess's skin was fair and delicate, and Chu Yan especially loved the temperament on her face—refined and noble. Now, when she blushed, she was even more charming and lovely.

Qinghe quietly opened her eyes and saw Chu Yan looking at her. Her face flushed even more, and she raised her hand to block him: "You want to take off my clothes again...?"

Chu Yan took her soft little hand and smiled, "This is something that should be done between husband and wife. The palace maids must have told you about it."

Qinghe blushed and asked, "How about we go to bed? I'll show you my body..."

Chu Yan looked at the princess lying on the couch and couldn't help but laugh. Little did she know that these words were more powerful than the pleasure of admiring her body.

"Don't worry, no one will come in. The palace maids are all outside."

Chu Yan coaxed her while slowly undressing her.

It wasn't that he was fixated on the east side room, but rather that the Linjing Palace was designed for sleeping, with the side rooms being places for reading and resting. Therefore, the side rooms had more candlelight, while the bedroom became dim, preventing one from fully appreciating the princess's beauty.

He wanted to enjoy the view first before going in to start working.

Finally, all the clothes were gone.

Qinghe, blushing, crossed her arms in front of her, turned to the side, and faced the stained glass window, allowing Chu Yan to admire only her slender, white back and her round, straight, snow-white legs.

Chu Yan also took off his clothes, smiled and bent down to hold Qinghe's fair and delicate body in his arms. He kissed her first, and then slowly helped her lie down again.

From neck to instep, carefully appreciate and savor.

Half an hour later, Chu Yan carried her back to the inner room and put her on the bed.

result.

As soon as her head touched the pillow, Qinghe tilted her head and fell asleep.

Chu Yan was both amused and exasperated. She was already satisfied before it even started. Just as her sister-in-law, the Empress, had said, a delicate flower cannot withstand a storm.

So be it. Although I did not favor her tonight, it was as if I had. I will keep her until the time when she is made a concubine.

Logically, women entering the palace are first favored and then made concubines, but Qinghe is more traditional. She wanted to wait until their wedding day to agree. Although she couldn't have the traditional betrothal ceremony with Chu Yan, she still considered the day she was made a concubine as the day she married him. Chu Yan embraced the princess and fell asleep.

Day two.

When Qinghe woke up, she blushed with embarrassment and hid under the covers until Chu Yan left before daring to get out of bed.

The palace maid Shuyu came in to serve her, carrying several pieces of clothing in her hands. Seeing the princess's embarrassed appearance, she smiled and said, "I've collected the clothes you left on the soft couch last night. Is the princess in pain?"

Qinghe didn't say a word about last night. After getting out of bed, she wiped the marks on her body with a wet towel. In a daze, she recalled that he had kissed her all over last night.

After she finished dressing and stepped out of the palace gate, her several maids bowed to her and greeted her with smiles, "Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations on your joy!"

Qinghe was somewhat puzzled: "Why such joy?"

She could still understand the meaning of becoming a queen from a princess.

A palace maid smiled shyly and said, "According to palace rules, being favored by the Emperor for the first time is something to celebrate. Your Highness was a princess before, so you didn't know that."

Qinghe was somewhat dazed. From this day forward, she had truly gone from being a princess to a concubine in the palace.

Another palace maid smiled and whispered, "Now that the princess has become an empress, she should learn some ways to gain favor, so that the other concubines won't look down on her."

Qinghe was still a little shy, and said with a straight face, "I have not yet been made a concubine, so you should still call me princess!"

Despite saying this, she was still somewhat uneasy, afraid that without someone to teach her, she wouldn't be able to be a good concubine.

She hesitated for a moment. Previously, her sister-in-law and mother had taught her how to be a princess. Now, should she go to them to teach her how to be a concubine?
Back at Yuqing Palace.

"Auntie, Auntie's back!"

The little princesses cheered as they arrived, and then rushed to bring her her homework to check. Only then did Qinghe realize that she had forgotten to check her nieces' homework last night.

Qinghe patted the little princess of Huainan on the head and said with a smile, "Go and pay your respects to your grandmother and mother first, and then come back to check your studies."

So the little princesses followed her to Fengzao Palace.

Upon seeing her, Empress Dowager Gu Shunchao's expression was rather complicated. After a long while, she said, "What's past is past. Now that you have served the emperor, you can rest assured and be a concubine. If you gain favor, you can send some warm clothes to your brother or visit him. That way, your relationship as siblings will not have been in vain."

Qinghe knelt down to pay her respects to her stepmother, and the Empress Dowager laughed and said, "From now on, you are a concubine and we are servants. You can no longer kneel before me. It's time for me to kneel before you."

Qinghe quickly replied, "Mother, what are you saying? It doesn't matter elsewhere, but here in Fengzao Palace, I am still your daughter."

Unbeknownst to them, they all changed their way of addressing her, no longer calling her "Empress Dowager," "Imperial Brother," or "Imperial Grandmother," but instead using the terms common to ordinary people.

The Empress Dowager said, "If word gets out, the censors will surely submit another memorial. Your sister-in-law was impeached just two days ago."

Qinghe asked in a low voice, "Is this the etiquette that a concubine should follow?"

The Empress Dowager understood her unspoken meaning and thus instructed her: "You were originally a princess, and now you are a concubine. Even if a princess is not favored, you are still the emperor's daughter in the palace. But if a concubine is not favored, you are nothing. You must remember to treat the emperor as your husband and emperor, both close and respectful..."

Half an hour later, Qinghe left Fengzao Palace and went to Kunning Palace.

Upon hearing her words, Empress Zhang smiled, beckoned to Qinghe, pulled her into her arms, and said with a smile, "Your sister-in-law..."

"It's my sister-in-law," Qinghe corrected.

Empress Zhang glanced at her and said, "The first lesson I taught you was to make you understand why you still call me 'Emperor Sister-in-law' and why you still call me 'Princess.' If you want to be favored, don't let the people in the palace change their address to 'Your Majesty,' and keep calling you 'Princess.'"

Qinghe did not understand, and even after listening to his sister-in-law's explanation, he still couldn't grasp the meaning.

After a while, she left Kunning Palace and went to Changchun Palace.

This time, she didn't directly ask Consort Xiande Jia Yuanchun, but instead chatted with her casually, observing how she acted as a consort.

The Virtuous Consort was dignified and noble, with a face as beautiful as a lotus flower, and she was composed in her dealings with others; this was something that could not be learned.

Qinghe went to find Consort Qin again.

Looking at her from the perspective of a fellow concubine, Qinghe saw something different from before.

"Did the princess receive favors last night?"

Qin Keqing asked with a smile.

Qinghe looked at her and saw that Consort Qin was wearing a light pink dress that reached her chest, with a light and sheer silk scarf draped over her shoulders. Underneath, she wore a peach-colored bodice with floral patterns and a belt at the bottom of her bodice, which made her look plump and round.

Her words and actions exuded a natural charm that Qinghe dared not look at too closely. She could not pull off such an appearance, much less imitate Consort Qin's allure and beauty.

Being a concubine is indeed more difficult than being a princess...

(End of this chapter)