He asked you to serve him in bed and become his concubine, how did you manage to win his heart and s

Yunxi hasn't been doing any heavy work these days, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been doing anything at all.

As a personal maid, she still had to maintain a proper demeanor in front of outsiders.

If Consort Wei said she wanted some pastries to try, she would have to go to the Imperial Kitchen to ask for them herself.

The imperial kitchen is not like your own home kitchen, where you can get whatever you want. In addition, you have to make most of the food you want yourself.

The concubines, who never lifted a finger to cook, had no idea about these things. Fortunately, the palace maids who accompanied them had received training, and they were not stumped by small pastries.

Yunxi was no exception. Before entering the palace, the Li family taught her how to make the dishes that Li Ruolan liked, and she also learned some pastries. These requirements were not difficult for her.

After trying to make some, I secretly used the leftover plum blossom petals from last time to make some plum blossom cakes.

Her cooking skills aren't exactly superb, but they're presentable enough. She also did the plum blossom carving herself; if she had more time, she could have made it even more exquisite.

Everything in the palace was arranged according to certain rules.

Even when serving pastries, they should not be piled up on a plate; rather, a few pieces should be arranged in a decorative way.

She served hot tea and Eight Treasures Cake to Eunuch Richard, then knocked on the door and handed him the hot tea and plum blossom cake.

"Granny, the tea inside should be cold by now. This is fresh."

His tone was humble, and his posture was impeccable.

Granny Gui nodded, not thinking too much about it, and took the things from her hands.

Everyone in the palace was happy tonight. Even Granny Gui, who usually had a stern face, praised Yunxi for her thoughtfulness.

"I'll take care of things here. If you get tired, go down and rest. Don't overwork yourself."

Before closing the door, Granny Gui gave a few more instructions.

His cold, sharp gaze moved down to Yunxi's stomach.

The meaning was crystal clear, and Yunxi nodded obediently in agreement.

The child is the most important thing right now. Since the Emperor is here today, they must serve him well. There will be people everywhere.

However, the imperial physician also said that since the pulse was unstable, the most important thing was to ensure adequate rest and avoid staying up late all the time.

What human rights do palace maids have? It's normal for them to stand outside all night, and most of the time they sleep on the floor, always by their masters' side.

Now, their attitude has changed simply because Yunxi is to their advantage.

But as soon as the plum blossom cake was served, Yunxi didn't want to leave so soon.

Returning to wait outside the palace, Richard was just eating Eight Treasures Cake.

"This Eight Treasures Cake is quite good. It's sweet but not cloying, and it melts in your mouth. It's different from the ones in other palaces."

"Governor, you flatter me. The pastries were all brought back by your servant from the Imperial Kitchen. To receive your praise, it seems that the Imperial Chef's skills have improved recently."

Yunxi spoke in a gentle tone, her words carrying a hint of a smile, making it pleasant to listen to.

Richard was originally someone who served the emperor and was used to the flattery and sycophancy of the palace maids, but this was the first time he found the words of the palace maid beside him pleasant to hear.

He was praised for his discerning palate, and the imperial chef's culinary skills were also commended.

Originally, Richard looked down on Consort Lan somewhat, especially after her rudeness in front of the Emperor last time. He always felt that this woman would not receive the Emperor's favor for long.

There are plenty of beauties in the imperial harem.

As for her status, apart from the Empress, Consort Su is the highest in the entire harem. She is also the Emperor's childhood sweetheart. Now she is always looking for time to inquire about the Emperor and trying to find ways to get the Emperor to come and see her.

But today, for some reason, the Emperor suddenly passed by the Plum Garden, looked at the plum trees that had just sprouted, and suddenly changed his mind and said he wanted to go to Yaoguang Palace.

There were two concubines in Yaoguang Palace. He thought it was Consort Wan who had fallen ill again. Little did he expect that it would be Consort Lan, whom he had neglected for more than two months, who came to visit.

The Emperor's thoughts are hard to guess. Even Richard couldn't fathom the Emperor's intentions at this moment, so he immediately sent someone to make arrangements.

Coming back now, it feels somewhat different.

Perhaps this Lady Lan really does have something different about her than other women, otherwise, she wouldn't be able to arouse His Majesty's curiosity again after two months.

Richard was human too, and he had his own curiosity. He couldn't help but ask the seemingly obedient palace maid beside him:

"What exactly happened a few days ago when Lady Lan behaved improperly?"

"The Empress drank wine that day and had no choice but to go to the side hall to cool off in the breeze. She accidentally caught a cold, but the imperial physician came and prescribed a medicine. She has recovered now."

If it were any other palace maid, she would be eager to speak ill of the other ladies in front of Richard.

For example, she might have mentioned what grievances she suffered at the banquet or what other concubines had targeted her. But Yunxi didn't mention that; she simply recounted what happened, omitting the most important details.

She knew that Richard disliked getting involved in these palace intrigues.

He was the emperor's man, and every word and action represented the emperor. He thought more deeply than others when he acted.

Wanting to know the situation doesn't mean you have to make the decisions.

The wise concubine never complained to Richard. If she really wanted someone to stand up for her, she had to go to the emperor herself to reason with him and ask for his guidance.

That's exactly what Li Ruolan did.

She pulled the emperor to sit down, then hurriedly took out her zither and told him that she hadn't had a chance to perform at the banquet that day, but would be playing a solo for him that night.

She was still resentful about what happened that day. She couldn't swallow the thought of losing face in front of the Emperor.

She was hailed as a talented woman of the capital, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. How could she lose face in front of the emperor and act so vulgarly?

If the other noble ladies found out, they would probably laugh at her to death, and it would even become a source of amusement in the harem.

Although no news had come from the palace in recent days, she still felt very worried.

The Emperor is here. If I can please him tonight, everything will be perfect...

She had clearly done her research and knew the Emperor's preferences, so she played pieces that the Emperor had specially invited to perform in the palace each year.

Hearing these familiar tunes, Mu Xiaoci was not surprised.

It was widely known that he loved the zither, and every year he would invite zither players from the zither workshop to play. He did this for years, and everyone in the court knew that he loved the zither.

But what outsiders don't know is that there's someone else who truly loves the zither.

He couldn't help but think of that person during banquets, and he longed to hear that kind of music again.

Li Ruolan took out his zither. He didn't say anything else, wanting to see how good the other person's zither skills were.

After all, in this harem, the best zither player was Consort Su. Her zither skills were praised by the late emperor, and no one in her harem dared to mention playing the zither in front of him.

Consort Su had a bad temper and practically ruled the harem. It was precisely because of this family background and temperament that she was efficient and decisive in her work. The Empress was powerless to manage the affairs of the harem, and Mu Xiao Ci was happy to hand over the power of the six palaces to her.

There haven't been any major incidents in recent years, and she has indeed managed her harem quite well.

Over the years, the concubines in the harem have always followed Consort Su's lead and dared not disobey her. However, Consort Lan's actions made Mu Xiaoci feel that things were different.

Yes, she's different from other women.

Although there are many concubines in the harem, those who are too obedient can become boring.

Of all the contestants in this talent show, only the beautiful Lan in front of him had piqued his interest.

Mu Xiaoci thought to himself, but his thoughts kept drifting back to the dance that day, and the pavilion not long ago...

Afterwards, he asked Richard why he allowed others to come here.

Richard, however, said that there were no outsiders in the pavilion at the time, and the Imperial Guards stationed outside did not hear any other noises.

Mu Xiaoci even summoned the eunuchs and maids who had served there at the time for questioning, and their accounts were largely the same.

They said that Lady Lan got drunk in the second half of the performance and stayed in the side hall to sober up. Granny Gui wouldn't let anyone get close, saying that the lady was just very drunk and that to avoid any disrespect in front of the main hall, she should sober up before going back.

And who is the person in the pavilion?

Strange things have started happening again.

That day, when Li Ruolan served him in bed, he couldn't see the red marks on her neck, nor could he find any trace of his own, but he had them on his body.

The scratches that belonged only to women on his arms took two or three days to fade, not to mention the bitten lips. Every time the wounds hurt, they reminded him of every detail of that night.

Could all of these be hallucinations?

As the emperor, what he could not tolerate most was deception. The repeated occurrence of such alluring situations forced him to keep thinking about it.

These days, there are many things happening in the previous dynasty, and the war in the northwest is frequent. Three or four urgent reports have come in one after another. He finally managed to shift his attention to other places, but once he stopped, he couldn't help but recall what had happened in recent days.

However, when he passed by the plum garden, he couldn't resist changing his route to come and take a look.

It must be said that Lan Meiren is indeed good at pleasing people. Almost everything she does is done according to his preferences. After the performance, she even danced a short dance. Although it was not as charming as the sword dance that day, it was still pleasing enough.

Li Ruolan's dancing wasn't actually that good, but she knew how to use tricks.

She jumped a few times, then pretended to fall down and rolled into his arms.

"Your Majesty, I have been smitten with longing these past few days. Seeing you today, I felt as if I were dreaming..."

As she spoke, her little hands began to fidget, moving from top to bottom, becoming increasingly restless.

Mu Xiaoci turned slightly to the side, enjoying the other's flattery, "Now that you're in my arms, does it still feel like a dream?"

"It still doesn't feel real~"

Li Ruolan seized the opportunity and immediately clung to him, hooking her arms around his neck and rubbing her cheek against his neck. "Your Majesty, I am so ungrateful. Is there something Your Majesty is going to do to make me feel it clearly?"

What we perceive no longer needs to be explicitly stated.

Mu Xiaoci was well aware of what Li Ruolan wanted to do.

There wasn't a single woman in the harem who didn't want to be intimate with him. Once they stepped into his bedchamber, many things were self-evident, and they even tacitly agreed on what was going to happen next.

But Mu Xiao Ci didn't consider himself a savage, and he wouldn't start taking off his clothes as soon as he entered the house, nor did he think his desires were uncontrollable.

He was the emperor, and he didn't like being led by the nose, nor did he like being coerced.

Just then, someone brought in a pot of tea. He took the opportunity to nudge Li Ruolan, who was still thinking about him, and waved for the person to pour the tea.

"My beauty must be tired from playing the piano. Why don't you have some tea and chat with me for a while?"

As for what to say next, that depends on whether the other person can understand his meaning.