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

Chapter 144 Flipping the Cards, Li Wan

The next day, a grand court session was held.

Chu Yan changed into his court robes and went to the Hall of Supreme Harmony to receive the kneeling homage and congratulations from the officials. He then spoke words of encouragement to the civil and military officials.

After the court assembly ended, he changed out of his court robes and returned to the Linjing Hall to discuss matters with Chu Ming and others.

They returned to the inner palace after nightfall.

News of his return quickly reached the inner palace. Before long, Empress Zhang led Princess Qinghe, a group of little princesses, and the imperial concubines and empress dowagers to kneel before him in gratitude.

The Empress Dowager will go to Wangyue Tower tomorrow to accompany Duke Chongle. Chu Yan agreed. After saying a few words to Qinghe and the Empress, he sent them back to rest.

As soon as the person left, Xia Shouzhong hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, will you summon any concubines to serve you tonight?"

If Chu Yan enters the east or west side room to rest, no one else will dare to go in and disturb him unless he gives the order. They can only take this opportunity to ask him questions.

Hearing his words, Chu Yan leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment before asking him:
Did the previous dynasty have the custom of choosing concubines by name?

After thinking carefully, Xia Shouzhong shook his head and said, "This servant is dull and does not know what 'flipping the plaque' means. There was no such rule in the palace of the previous dynasty. I do not know what Your Majesty is referring to?"

Chu Yan smiled and said, "It means writing the names of the concubines on plaques, and the emperor will summon whoever he flips over to serve him that night."

Xia Shouzhong's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said, "This servant will have someone make some jade plaques tomorrow. The plaques may be made of gold, jade, ivory, or jadeite, and made according to the rank of the concubines. They will be engraved with the concubines' titles and names, so that His Majesty can summon the concubines!"

Chu Yan nodded and said, "I don't choose a concubine every night. You can send them up for me to choose from when the time is right."

Flipping cards is just one of the fun aspects; if it becomes something you do every night, it loses its appeal.

After finishing this matter, Chu Yan still hadn't thought about who to invite tonight. He tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair and suddenly thought of someone.

He asked Xia Shouzhong, who was waiting in front of him, "Go to Consort Xiande and ask her if the palace attendant is here. If she is not, then call her back."

Xia Shouzhong hurriedly went out, leading a few people, and personally went to Changchun Palace.

Upon arrival, they entered the East Warm Pavilion and immediately saw Li Gongcai, who had accompanied the Emperor on a tour of the Imperial Garden the day before, sitting and chatting with Consort Xiande.

Xia Shouzhong secretly sized her up. She was tall and slender with rounded hips and fair skin. She had a beautiful face and, although she was a married widow, she had a refined and chaste temperament. No wonder His Majesty did not immediately favor her last time.

In recent days, Xia Shouzhong had roughly discerned the emperor's intentions. He would not immediately favor any unmarried girl, and now, with the addition of the widow Li Gongcai, he had not yet summoned her to serve him in bed.

"Did His Majesty send you?" Jia Yuanchun asked, already standing up to receive the emperor's edict.

Li Wan also stood up, feeling somewhat dejected.

She has been in the palace for several days, but she has not seen the emperor even once. The emperor may not even know that she has entered the palace.

But the eunuch's next words made her heart leap into her throat. The eunuch smiled and said:

"His Majesty has summoned Lady Li to attend to him!"

"Summon...me?"

Li Wan's heart pounded, and her elegant and beautiful face flushed red. She was a widow, yet her face was filled with such spring-like passion that Jia Yuanchun, who was standing beside her, stared in astonishment for a moment.

Then she remembered that the emperor had once strolled through the imperial garden with her sister-in-law.

It seems... my sister-in-law is going to serve the emperor tonight.

Knowing she couldn't avoid it, Jia Yuanchun smiled and took her hand, "Gongcai, just go ahead, I'll be fine here."

Li Wan's face burned with embarrassment. "I... I need to change my clothes? Or perhaps I should take a bath and change again..."

Serving the emperor in bed was an unprecedented experience for her.

“You’ve already taken a bath, so go ahead,” Jia Yuanchun said with a smile.

Li Wan had no choice but to leave.

In the darkness, following the high red palace walls, she arrived at the back gate of Linjing Hall. Guided by the eunuchs, she entered the rear hall of Linjing Hall.

"His Majesty is inside," a palace maid whispered a reminder. As for the eunuchs, they were absolutely forbidden from entering the inner palace at night; only palace maids served them inside.

Li Wan calmed herself down, lifted the curtain, and walked into the east side room.

The emperor sat on a soft couch, leaning against a pillow, reading a book in his hand. When he heard her arrive, he looked up at her.

"His Majesty……"

Li Wan was about to kneel, but Chu Yan, who had gotten up and was walking over, pulled her into his arms and sat down on the soft couch together.

Li Wan thought of that night in the Imperial Garden, and the suppressed emotions in her heart surged up again uncontrollably. The man's large hand firmly embraced her waist, pressing her against his broad chest, and his masculine scent wafted towards her.

She was both shy and filled with an irrepressible anticipation.

"I haven't seen you for many days, Court Judge."

Chu Yan smiled and carried her onto the soft couch, taking off her shoes as he went. He then reached out to help Li Gongcai take off her shoes as well. Seeing that her feet were beautifully shaped and encased in a pair of gold-embroidered silk stockings, plump and round, he held them and gently kneaded them.

Li Wan trembled a few times, her virtuous and elegant face turned bright red, her eyes were tightly closed, and she was breathing heavily with her mouth slightly open.

Chu Yan chuckled, moved the low table on the soft couch so he could stretch his legs out, and pulled Li Wan completely into his arms. He stroked the beautiful woman's flushed face and asked with a smile, "Why isn't Gong Cai saying anything? Where have you been these past few days?"

The expected storm did not come. Li Wan opened her eyes, her gaze filled with a hint of resentment, and whispered, "These past few days... I went to the Daming Palace... I also missed Your Majesty."

That's true; she entered the palace this time precisely for this moment.

Since her husband passed away, she has been living alone. Even raising Lan'er is something she has to worry about. The old lady, the mistress, the master, and others in the mansion only show concern for her and her son during holidays.

Jia Lan received less care than even one-tenth or one-twelfth of Jia Baoyu's.

Li Wan knew that her lies were not convincing enough, and she had already made up her mind that if the emperor pressed her for an answer, she would reveal her identity and ask for his forgiveness on this soft couch.

Unexpectedly, Chu Yan didn't pursue the matter, but simply put his arm around her and chatted casually.

Li Wan gradually relaxed, nestled in his arms, and forgot about serving him in bed, chatting and laughing with the man holding her. After a while, Chu Yan's hand slipped under the hem of her top and inside her skirt, resting on her waist through her inner garment.

"His Majesty……"

Li Wan's body trembled again.

How could a woman who had been deprived of sex for so long withstand such caresses?

Chu Yan was not in a hurry. He thought of an incident in the novel Dream of the Red Chamber. During the crab feast, Li Wan and Ping'er were playing around. Li Wan reached out and stroked Ping'er's back, making Ping'er feel very itchy.

This shows that Li Wan, having been widowed for many years, longed for human contact and a confidant.

"Your Excellency, please stay and serve me tonight."

Chu Yan said to her, and Li Wan's face turned even redder. She said in a low voice, "His Majesty has already summoned me, why ask such a question?"

Chu Yan smiled and said, "I'm afraid you're unwilling."

Li Wan replied with a shy smile, "Your Majesty ordered me to write those erotic poems last time... Your Majesty."

She was speechless when the emperor's other hand came.

"Go on," Chu Yan said with a smile.

Li Wan's eyes were filled with emotion as she spoke haltingly, "I have been a widow for many years and should never have been close to a man in my life, only staying in the inner quarters to take care of my son. It was His Majesty... who forced me to enter the palace, so I..."

As she spoke, her sash fluttered down.

Li Wan closed her eyes and then obediently cooperated with him, taking off her clothes one by one.

"Your Majesty!" Li Wan said in a panic, "Let's go to the inner bedroom..."

Like Qinghe, they were all ashamed to be seen by him in public.

Chu Yan chuckled: "I want to see you. The lights outside have just come on, so don't panic. I have no intention of humiliating you."

Li Wan is different from Empress Zhang. The Empress is the mother of the country, and it can be satisfying to bully her.

But it's pointless to bully someone like Li Wan. It's more interesting to tease her and watch this chaste widow gradually succumb to her charms.

"His Majesty……"

Li Wan's ears turned bright red, and she couldn't help but raise her fair arms to hug her chest and cover them up.

Her eyes were too ashamed to look at him, and she hunched over tremblingly, not daring to show her chest.

Chu Yan smiled, brushed his hand past her, picked up a cup of tea from the low table, took a sip, and then continued to admire the beautiful woman's fair and smooth skin. He put his arm around her shoulder and called her to his embrace.

The woman, who had given birth to a son, now nestled in his arms like an unmarried girl.

After a long pause, Li Wan finally complained in a trembling voice, "His Majesty really knows how to bully people..."

She opened her eyes shyly just now, and when she met Chu Yan's gaze, she knew that he wanted to look at her and slowly appreciate her.

Chu Yan lowered his head and kissed her, saying, "If we don't cherish her, wouldn't we be wasting Gong Cai's good looks? Besides, Gong Cai is very talented."

Li Wan was already deeply in love. At this moment, Linjing Palace seemed to be her wedding night with Chu Yan. All her feelings were focused on him, and she had long forgotten that there was still her son in the palace, as well as the old lady and other ladies in the Jia family.

"I am but a withered flower, yet I am fortunate to have received Your Majesty's favor... Tonight, please show me mercy, Your Majesty."

Li Wan mustered her courage.

Chu Yan lowered his head and kissed her, feeling the fiery passion of the widow who had been widowed for many years. When she was out of breath, he pushed Li Wan away from his embrace and made her sit up.

Li Wan wanted to cross her arms again, but Chu Yan stopped her.

"Your Majesty really knows how to tease people..." Li Wan became even more resentful, and finally dared to open her eyes, looking at him with a mixture of shyness and reproach.

Chu Yan smiled and played with the items for a while. Li Wan could no longer resist and took the initiative to throw herself into his arms, wrap her arms around his neck, and kiss him.

After a while.

Just as Chu Yan and Li Wan were deeply in love, they suddenly heard someone push open the door and enter. The palace maid outside the curtain only had time to say, "Miss Yun, Miss Xing," before Chu Yan turned around and saw Xiangyun smilingly lifting the curtain and walking in.
"Brother Emperor, I've come to play with you!"

As the girl's clear voice faded, their eyes met.

Xiangyun's smile froze on her innocent face. Xing Xiuyan followed closely behind and, upon seeing the scene inside, her delicate and beautiful face flushed red. She hurriedly turned around and tried to leave.

As for Li Wan, she was already so frightened that she buried her head in Chu Yan's arms, covering her head with both hands, and burying her head in the sand like an ostrich.

Even though Xiangyun was simple-minded, she knew what the two people in front of her were doing, so she quickly went outside.

"return!"

Chu Yan spoke, putting one arm around Li Wan and covering her upper body with several pieces of clothing with the other, and called Xiangyun and Xiuyan back.

"Your Majesty!" Li Wan exclaimed in a low voice, but dared not show her face.

"It's alright, you are all my concubines!"

Chu Yan said in a very serious tone.

Shi Xiangyun and Xing Xiuyan, who had just stepped outside, looked at each other in bewilderment. Finally, Xiangyun pouted and complained, "My Emperor brother is so absurd..."

Despite saying that, he obediently walked back in.

Xiuyan froze for a moment, then could only walk into the room step by step, not daring to look too much at the concubine who had already taken off her upper garment. She followed Sister Yun and sat down on the other side of the soft couch.

So this is what it's like to be an imperial concubine. There are occasional embarrassing things that happen. In the end, the main job of an imperial concubine is to serve the emperor well.

(End of this chapter)