《Empress with no Virtue》 Chapter 1 Empress with no Virtue ¨C Chapter 1 FEBRUARY 25, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Da Qi Xi 2nd year, August 9th, avoid travelling but good for marriage This day is indeed auspicious, it was carefully selected by the Chinese Astrology Department, clear skies, sunny, that made even the lion seemed tamed. Cheung Ning Street near the forbidden city, a line of guards of honor can be seen leading a wedding procession. But unlike the ordinary people, the palanquin is not red, but instead a gold one with a raised ceiling carried by 16 people. The palanquin is drapped with gold embroidered Phoenixes, top to down golden tassels, and surrounded by expensive pearl strings, waving in the wind where together it dazzled to the point where eyes aches. The only person that is eligible for this type of marriage treatment, is non other than the Empress. The streets were lined with people, everyone was trying to see the procession. Even though there were other festivities that could match the occasion, but seeing the Emperor¡¯s wedding is something that is very rare. Although there were many people in the procession, some playing music and some not, it kept moving forward in an orderly manner. There was also four young presentable eunuch responsible to throw candies and coins placed in hemp bags to the crowds. Whenever the young eunuchs raises their arms, there will be a burst of fury in the crowd. The procession can be seen to be moving towards the Ye Manor, and from far at the main door, a group of people dressed in dark colours can be seen kneeling on the floor and amongst them, the leader is a white haired, respectable expression, and shining bright eyes. ¡°That would be Ye Ge Lao¡± someone from the crowd said after identifying that old man from a far. ¡°Who is this Ye Ge Lao?¡± asked one young teenager. ¡°Ye Ge Lao is Zhong Ji Hall, head scholar, two generations of high positions in the cabinet and three dynasty veteran minister.¡± Following the explanation of the old man¡¯s background, the speaker¡¯s voice increases in confidences, even though he is not close with Ye Ge Lao, but it does not decrease him being proud of that man. People around the area are also satisfied with the speaker¡¯s introduction. Even though this matter is known to all, however every time it is brought up by someone, Ye Ge Lao will still receive the respect from many, like the street performances that has been seen many times, but one could not help but to see it again when available. ¡°Today¡¯s bride is Ye Ge Lao¡¯s first grand daughther, maiden name is Ye Zhen Zhen, 17 this year. Ye Ge Lao have 3 grandchildren but only one grand daughter, she has been brought up like a treasure, loved by many¡± another person said. ¡°You dare to address the Empress with her maiden name, are you not afraid of being caught and be planked?¡± Someone jokingly asked. ¡± I heard, this marriage has been confirmed three years ago¡± ¡°Then why only today, did they get married?¡± ¡°Three years ago, the late emperor passed away, the current emperor wanted to fulfill his filial piety therefore pushed the marriage till today.¡± ¡°Daddy, the emperor wants to marry Ye Ge Lao¡¯s grand daughter, then won¡¯t he need to call Ye Ge Lao grandfather?¡± A little boy asked. This time there was no answer, but instead the father uses his hand to cover his son¡¯s mouth. The young eunuch raises their arms, coins falls from the sky. People no longer stay to chat but to bend down to collect the coins from the ground. *** At the Ye Manor, today¡¯s is a day of celebration, everywhere is pasted red papers with auspicious words, all the household members are looking happy, well except for one person. Ye Zhen Zhen, with a expressionless mood faced herself in the copper mirror. The mirror was purchased before the marriage, with a very good quality which enables anyone to properly see themselves. This is also the first time Ye Zhen Zhen found out how she really looked like. Egg shaped face,small but high nose bridge making the face seems very charismatic; a pair of single lid phoenix clear eyes, which sometimes portrays a very strict expression. And also a pair of eyebrows that has the same length with her eyes, that made her look unhappy if she raises them. Even though the make up was grand, it matches well with Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s face, making others feel cautious and in awe around her. But it is unsure whether the emperor will like this type of woman. Xi Niang, helped Ye Zhen Zhen reorganize her clothes and her phoenix crown, making sure all is right, then helped her stand up. ¡± Miss, it will be time soon, please first receive the title¡± Ye Zhen Zhen, did not answer and followed her to receive the decree. Seeing Ye Zhen Zhen, receiving the royal decree and the title of empress, Xi Niang felt calmer, thinking that no matter how unwilling Miss is, the position of empress has already been confirmed. Oddly enough, when other people would think being an Empress is a great glory, it is only their Miss that is very unwilling. Normally Miss and the Master of the house have a great relationship, and because of this marriage they have been fighting a few times. However, in the end Miss still couldn¡¯t win over her grandfather and finally submit to the wedding. Not long after receiving the decree, it is finally the auspicious time, Ye Zhen Zhen was guided towards the gold and sparkling palanquin, and the wedding procession begins bringing along a trail of carts, which happens to be Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s dowry. It does not matter if the bride is willing or not Ye Ge Lao wanted to make sure his beloved grand daughter got married proudly. Inside the palanquin, Ye Zhen Zhen, was remembering her grand father¡¯s final words to her ¡± Must not be dethroned as an Empress¡±. While massaging her shoulders due to the heavy phoenix crown, she acknowledges that her grandfather knows her really well. But since you know me so well, why do you still push me into that palace that eats up people without leaving even bones. Thinking about her future husband, Ye Zhen Zhen feels her head aches more. No matter from which angle, the emperor does not match her ideal husband type at all. In the Da Qi dynasty, women¡¯s social status is has been increased comparing to the previous dynasties, where women can have a certain freedom in marriage. Ye Zhen Zhen is from a big family, grandfather is 3 dynasties veteran minister, also the emperor¡¯s teacher, her father is working in social affairs department, where if without accident her father will also join the cabinet. Therefore besides the princess, there should be no other girl that is as prestigious as Ye Zhen Zhen. With such a strong family background, there will be endless types of husband for her to choose from, and no matter who she decides, it definitely would not have been the emperor. She has been brought up in a pampered environment, and if she is at her husband¡¯s place she would be treated the same, and of course the most important part is that her husband would not be able to look down at her. Above, is something the emperor would not be able to do. Moreover, ever since the current emperor got throned, he has not been seeing the Ye Family in good terms. One is a powerful veteran minister, another is a new emperor with thoughts, in the court power has always been fought over. The emperor still does not have strong grounds to be able to do anything towards the Ye Family, but it does not mean that in the future he will not. At this moment, she may seem very lucky to be the empress, but when the emperor wants to get rid of the Ye Family, most probably Ye Zhen Zhen will be the first person the emperor will start with. The more she thinks about it, the darker her future becomes. Ye Zhen Zhen can only stop her thinking and holds on to her yawn. This morning, before the sun comes out, she was awoken to wear the complicated and heavy wedding attire, making her tired to the extreme. She fell asleep all the way to Kun Ning Palace, even when she was brought to her chamber, she was still drowsy. Thats why when Ji Wu Jiu walked in to the room, the first thing he saw was her yawning. Originally cold faced Ji Wu Jiu, when faced with the current situation turned even colder. What an Empress, which such actions, blaming Ye Xiu Ming (Ye Ge Lao). After yawning Ye Zhen Zhen saw Ji Wu Jiu, so she slowly got up and greeted him. The emperor received the greeting even though he is not happy with it. But certain things still had to be done. After that he sat down next to her. One looked like a polished jade, another like a flower, they looked great as a pair. This pair, looked at each other for a brief moment, and turned away. Both wanted to get a better glimpse. Ye Zhen Zhen, poured herself a cup of wine, remembering that someone mentioned the first night of marriage will be rather painful. Therefore she would prefer to be in a drunk state so that she will not be aware of what is happening and won¡¯t feel the pain. Right after she drank her first cup, she realised Ji Wu Jie was watching her. Ye Zhen Zhen got a bit embarrassed and asked if he wanted a cup. She got up and poured another cup for the emperor, thinking that she should have first offered him a cup, but she ignored him earlier because he was not pleasant to her eyes. Still, the emperor received the cup from her, and drank all in one shot. Finally, Ye Zhen Zhen remembered that she have forgotten the couple shot that newly weds needs to consume together, which was reminded by Xi Niang earlier, but due to the complicated ceremonies she has left it out, it should be understandable right..? Ji Wu Jiu, after finishing his cup, filled it up, drank a little and passed the cup to Ye Zhen Zhen. Unwillingly she took the cup and drank it all. After finishing the couple shot step, the next step is much more awkward. Ji Wu Jiu, willed himself to carry Ye Zhen Zhen to the bed, and starts to remove her clothes. But under her ¡°you are a beast¡± gaze he no longer has the will to continue on. ¡°Close you eyes¡± Ji Wu Jiu requested. Even after she closed her eyes, her expression still did not let him increase his ¡®appetite¡¯ But luckily she is still considered a beauty, and her charisma has dropped after closing her eyes, not to mention that her body figure is very good, and she feels good to his hands¡­ Therefore this love session can be considered good. And then, Ye Zhen Zhen suddenly feels a pang of tearing pain at her lower body, without using her brains to think, her body has already given a reaction, her leg has already given a kick to the person who gave her the pain. Peng! Ji Wu Jiu fell to the floor, with a unbelieving expression. Ji Wu Jiu is actually a person that is good with martial arts, with a good teacher too and normally when handling Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s level of capability he would be able to avoid easily. However, just now he was concentrating on doing that type of thing¡­. ¡°How dare you!¡± Ji Wu Jie retorted quickly, looking at Ye Zhen Zhen with a stern face. Even though he has always been able to hide his emotions well, this time he was not able to totally control his anger, heavily breathing, that is appears that he could breath out fire any time soon. Ye Zhen Zhen, kneeling on the bed, trying to put on a sincere expression said ¡± It is my fault, accidently harmed the dragon body, may the emperor give punishment¡± Punish? How to punish? This type of crime is very big. However this is the first night of marriage, and if he were to punish the empress, it would mean to not give face to Ye Ge Lao. No matter how much he wanted to, it is not the right time. Furthermore, on the wedding night, allowing oneself to be kicked down the bed by his wife, if its spread out, the husband himself will lose face as well. That is why when Ji Wu Jiu looked at Ye Zhen Zhen, it has added an emotion of complicatedness. Then, someone from outside called ¡°Emperor¡±, allowing the both of them to come out from the awkward atmosphere. The person who called the Emperor is none other than his head eunuch Feng You De, who have accompanied the emperor ever since he was a crown prince, which has been over a decade. ¡°What is going on?¡± ¡°Emperor, just now Lu Hua Palace¡¯s eunuch has reported that Li Concubine has accidently fell quite badly.¡± Leaving out a huge sigh, Ji Wu Jiu feeling better said ¡± Head to Lu Hua Palace¡±. ¡°Following the Decree¡± As Ji Wu Jiu was heading towards the door, he turned his head to look at the Ye Zhen Zhen on the bed, to only find her covering her mouth and taking a big and long yawn. ¡­ Note: As I am still new to translating, and that this is a period novel, many words are hard to substitute. Hopefully it will be smoother in the future chapters. Do drop any comments so that I can improve the translation. Chapter 2 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 2 Part 1 JUNE 13, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Second Day of the Grand Marriage, Ye Zhen Zhen still had many things to do, praying to her ancestors, meet with the Empress Dowager, and which after she still had to lead and bring the inner court ladies/concubines to greet the Emperor. When she can finally return to her Kun Ling Palace, her shoulders are already in ache due to the amount of things she had to do, not to mention that her lower body is in dull pain. All in all, she was very uncomfortable. Her maid servant, Su Yue is giving her a shoulder massage, while the other maid servant, Su Feng serves her a cup of tea, Ye Zhen Zhen drank a sip. Su Yue and Su Feng, are both part of the dowry that has been serving her since young. Su Yue, does her job in detail and concise, while Su Feng is smart and has good wits. ¡°Niang-Niang, yesterday night the Emperor spent the night at Lu Hua Palace¡± Said Su Yue. ¡°En¡±, Ye Zhen Zhen answered nonchalantly. ¡°That Lee Concubine is really too daring, just because the Emperor is doting on her a little, she actually dared to pick a fight with you, she really don¡¯t know what¡¯s her worth¡± Su Feng added. ¡°oh¡± Seeing that her own master is not paying attention to the matter at hand, Su Feng got a little anxious and said ¡°Niang-Niang, you shouldn¡¯t be like this now, you will allow others to bully you easily¡± Sighing, Su Yue added, ¡°Now the most important thing is to attract the Emperor, that Lee Concubine, is so arrogant now due to the Emperor¡¯s doting, Niang-niang you should¡­.¡± Shaking her head, Ye Zhen Zhen said, ¡°She is this arrogant, because her father is the general in charge of fighting of the Western Regions Barbarians. What a joke, the emperor is not doting on her now, if he was Ji Wu Jiu wouldn¡¯t let her enter the inner palace. It is just a way to control her father, to help control the western regions. The border is in current need of people, even though General Su is not a great general, but still considered talented and loyal, and since it is hard to find good generals, when there is one, it is best to placate them when possible, and one of the best way is to keep her daughter in the bed of the emperor. Su Feng, however found this hard to accept. ¡° then the emperor¡­.¡± ¡°The emperor can be considered sacrificing his body for the country, speaking of which I also admire his will¡± said Ye Zhen Zhen. Her maid servants bursts into laughter upon hearing this sentence. Slowly Su Yue, stopped laughing, and said ¡° Our Empress, why are you still the same as last time, now you will need to control yourself, we need to be vary of the ears behind these walls, if it happens to get to the emperor, I am just afraid he will sentence you that you did him great disrespect¡±. In her heart Ye Zhen Zhen said ¡° So what, nothing could be worst then yesterday night¡± After resting a while, the other inner palace ladies and concubines came to greet the empress, and which after today, they are to come and greet her every day before she leads them to greet the Empress Dowager. Ji Wu Jiu, is only 20 this year, that¡¯s why his harem is still small, and higher rank concubines are even less, as for imperial concubines there are only 2 of them, Lee Concubine and Xian Concubine. Lee Concubine is the daughter (not from main wife) of Su General, originally she was just an inner court lady from Dong Palace (Crown Prince Quarters). After the coronation of Ji Wu Jiu, her rank has ben raised step by step. Xian Concubine on the other hand is the daughter (from main wife) of the Ministry of Household Fang Xiu Qing, which just entered the palace together with Ye Zhen Zhen yesterday. According to the rules, when an Empress are to be coronate, one or two other imperial concubines needs to be canonized as well. There can be two ways, either choosing from within the imperial palace or to bring in from outside, Xian Concubine belongs to the latter. Note- Some terms are abit hard to translate, so i will stop here for now, the imperial concubine ranks¡­. gotta go research on them first. Will try to update soon.. when possible ???? Chapter 2 Part 2 Empress with no virtue, Chapter 2 Part 2 JULY 14, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 The ranks of the imperial consort are as below, in the second rank there are 3 sub ranks, Zhuang rank, Hui rank and Xi rank. In the third rank, ¡° Jie Yu¡± there will be 3 person, fourth rank ¡°Zhao Yi¡±, 2 person and fifth rank ¡°Mei Ren¡±, which are the rest of the people. All these imperial consorts are pretty in a various ways, showing that Ji Wu Jiu has many different tastes. Without an expression Ye Zhen Zhen, glanced through the consorts. An action albeit natural brings forth grace and majesty, and those who was glanced by her could not help but to feel in awe. Then, her gaze stopped at Li Concubine. Initially she didn¡¯t want to find trouble, but since Li Concubine arrived late today, she wanted to give her a chance to explain herself. Sure enough, Li Concubine started to explain herself, ¡°I was not feeling well, therefore made it late here, therefore was rude to Empress, hope you give me punishment¡±. Ye Zhen Zhen answered nonchalantly ¡° Li Concubine, you don¡¯t have to worry and be so formal, after all it was to serve the emperor, what is there to blame. Li Concubine observed that Ye Zhen Zhen, did not show any expression on her face, feeling a little surprised. Another doted consort, the consort of Xi rank, smiled and agreed with the empress. Then turned and smiled at Li Concubine ¡°Mei-Mei, heard that yesterday Sis accidently fell yesterday, are you feeling better now?¡± ¡° Yesterday the Emperor already asked the doctor to check on it, it is not a big deal, thanks for the concern¡± answered Li Concubine. ¡°Sis, although you got hurt, instead of informing the doctor first, you told the Emperor, the way you act was truly cautious¡± Xi rank consort said while glancing at the Empress, to find out that her eyes were closed without any expression on her face. The other consorts were happily watching them bicker, as Li Concubine were usually the most powerful one, not many dared to anger her. But since the empress is here today, Xi rank consort wanted to express her dislike as well as loyalty towards the empress. However it seems like the empress will not be bothering about them and sat there to watch them bicker like the rest. Xi consort, went a little speechless although still wanted to stand by what she said. Then, Zhuang consort, who has always sided Li Concubine added ¡° Sister Xi, perhaps you didn¡¯t know, the emperor has given instructions to the eunuchs and servants, if anything were to happen to Li Concubine, they are to report to him first. Also, that the Emperor arrived earlier than the doctor it¡¯s because the empress¡¯s chamber was nearer to Li Concubine¡¯s place in comparison to the doctor¡¯s office. The emperor also arrived quicker, perhaps because he places Li Concubine in his heart. ¡°What a clever mouth¡± commented Ye Zhen Zhen, with an expression full of praise. It seems that she was only paying attention to those words. Zhuang consort, did not know how to response, unaware whether the empress is praising or sneering. Unsure of the empress¡¯s true intention. Li Concubine on the other hand smiled and said ¡° Zhuang mei-mei, what you said is true, I was not aware that the servants in the palace were like this, they didn¡¯t think it through before reporting it to the emperor. I didn¡¯t know that the emperor care so much about me as well¡±. Using words to uncover the scars of Ye Zhen Zhen. Author¡¯s Note The ranks of the imperial concubines. Empress = Sole Leader 1st rank = Concubine (or Fei in chinese) 2nd rank = Zhuang, Hui, Xi (chinese, no translation) 3rd rank = Jie Yu (chinese, no translation) 4th rank = Zhou Yi (chinese, no translation) 5th rank = Mei Ren (chinese, means beautiful person) Hope the addressing of the concubines are not too confusing. Part 3 coming up soon. The chapters are very long.. sorry for the wait.. hehe =) Chapter 2 Part 3 Empress with no virtue ¨C Chapter 2 Part 3 JULY 17, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Bored with their arguments, Ye Zhen Zhen made a gesture, and Su Yue immediately brought out a prepared gift towards Li Concubine. According to the rules, when one served the emperor they are to be gifted something by the Empress. ¡°Even with the grand wedding, even if you are the empress, the Emperor still slept at my place¡± thought Li Concubine, happily she looked at the thing that was brought forward to her. There was a few priceless jewelry, showing the generosity of the empress, also there was a white jade carved toad? The toad is the size of a fist, clear and snow white, very well carved, looks almost like a real toad, but because it is too realistic, it does not really look too good and slightly disgusting. At the eyes, there are 2 red bean sized rubies. The toad is placed in the middle of the platter, with an eerie feeling, the toad seems to be staring straight at Li Concubine, making her feel goosebumps all around, and she was also afraid that it will jump on to her. ¡°Empress, what, what does this mean?¡± losing her smile Li Concubine asked. Ye Zhen Zhen answered ¡°Li Concubine, didn¡¯t you know, Toad has a lot of children, and can grow wealth, it has long been a symbol of wealth and prosperity, today I think that it is the most suitable gift for you¡±. Normally, after serving the emperor for concubines to get a symbol of fertility is good, but why is it a toad, is it that the empress wants to imply that Li Concubine is one. Li Concubine is no longer able to smile, looking at the toad, it is already a wonder that she did not show her disgust. ¡°Such a valuable item, its, its still best to keep it by the empress¡¯s side¡±¡­ Ye Zhen Zhen stopped her, ¡°Li Concubine, you don¡¯t have to worry, this type of things, I have plenty, almost no place to put them anymore¡± Although not shown on the other consort¡¯s faces in their hearts they are secretly enjoying it, looking at Li Concubine speechless.. Something that the Empress have too much, was seemed as a treasure by Li Concubine, this clearly shows that Li Concubine has not seen the world. Without anymore words to retort back, Li Concubine can only gratefully accept the gift. **** In the Emperor¡¯s Study ¡°Pu¡±¡­¡­ After hearing the Eunuch¡¯s report, Ji Wu Jiu, spit out the tea that he just sipped. The dark brown liquid was spilled on the papers on his desks, which were about where the emperor should have slept yesterday night, submitted by the ministers. ¡°She really said that?¡± Ji Wu Jiu asked while calmly wiped his mouth with the given hankerchief. ¡°To answer the emperor, even though if I have to die, I wouldn¡¯t dare to keep anything from you!¡± The little eunuch was scared by Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s reaction, still shivering he pondered about the details he told the emperor. It does seems like he knows a little too much and these info should have hurt the pride of the emperor a bit. ¡°Understood, you did a good job, next time keep being vigilant, do not let the empress find out¡± ¡°To work for the emperor, is my duty, your humble will definitely be able to do it¡±. ¡°Alright, you all may leave¡± Because the emperor said all, Feng You De, also carefully left, not forgetting to close the door behind him. The moment the door was closed, he hears a porcelain item being smashed to the ground. Looks like the emperor is really angry, Feng You De thought while shaking his head. In the study room, Ji Wu Jiu was almost having a fit. So daring to say that ¡°I¡± am sacrificing my body to save the country? And that she is admiring this will?? This woman.. really.. really¡­. Ji Wu Jiu, realized that he could not find a good word to describe Ye Zhen Zhen. Looks like she has already surpassed a normal person¡¯s intelligence. Then, he slammed the table..¡±Really, looking for trouble!¡± Since meeting her the first time yesterday night, Ye Zhen Zhen did not managed to please him at all, remembering her face of displeasure the other night, Ji Wu Jiu suddenly took a deep breath. He is the emperor, he is supposed to be the one that chooses which woman to like or despise, but now a woman actually dare to look down on him. Indeed, those with the Ye surname, all are troublesome Chapter 3 Empress with no Virtue ¨C Chapter 3 JULY 22, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Eventhough Ji Wui Jiu does not wish to admit that it is true, to a certain extend, what Ye Zhen Zhen said was true. However, since he is the emperor, his pride does not allow himself to admit that he sacrificed his body for the empire. Therefore, he automatically ignored part of the truth. Reality hits fast, Li Concubine was already waiting outside with her maid servant holding a tray with a colorful lotus shaped bowl. Bowing Feng You De said; ¡°Niang Niang, the emperor is currently going through the imperial documents, why not you give me the items instead¡± Then you can leave¡­ Of course Li Concubine would not want to leave this easily. Initially today she wanted to show off in front of the empress, and in the end it didn¡¯t turn well, and not to mention the tease she received from Xi Consort. So she is here to tattle tale to the emperor. ¡°This bowl of soup, is personally made by me. The emperor is doing his best for the country, I must of course serve him better, don¡¯t worry I will bring it in myself¡± Although he has tried his best to give some hints, not sure if Li Concubine understood them or not, that she still wants to go in. It is also not right for him to tell her that the emperor is in a bad mood now too. Right at this moment, from the study comes a roar..¡±Who is out there!?¡± ¡°To answer my emperor¡­.¡± ¡°Emperor, I have cooked a bowl of nutritious soup for you, will be bringing it to you now¡± ¡°Feng You De, let Le Concubine in¡± Taking the tray from her maid servant, Li Concubine went into the study. Looking at her being all petite and pretty walking in, placing the tray onto the table, each move seems like she is being flirtatious. Actually, even without General Su, with just her beauty alone, Li Concubine is worthy of being one of his consort. Not to mention that she is very good in making Ji Wu Jiu happy. Normally, even when Ji Wu Jiu is not in a good mood, seeing Li Concubine will appease him, but today with her being the reason he was unhappy, he is still far from being appeased. Li Concubine served the soup to him ¡° Emperor, why not try a sip¡± Drinking a little, without any expression ¡°My beloved concubine, it was hard on you¡± ¡°To be able to do all these for you, it makes me very happy¡± Ji Wu Jiu, held her hand for a moment and said ¡° I know¡± ¡°Furthermore¡±, Li Concubine smoothly moved to sit on Ji Wu Jiu, with her hands on his shoulder, gently continued ¡°Emperor, is working everyday for the country, you would be more tired. Eventhough the country is important, your majesty should take care of your ownself more¡± In the whole sentence said by Li Concubine, he only catched ¡° For the country¡±. His mind then wandered off to ¡°Sacrifice for the country¡± ¡°I still have to look through the imperial documents, my beloved concubine you can go first¡± Pushing the pretty maiden away from his arms. ¡°¡­..Your majesty?¡± Li Concubine was astonished, not sure what happened, but this is different from what she predicted. ¡°By the way, you should not come to the imperial study anymore, this is not a place for woman in the first place¡± Immediately kneeling, Li Concubine looked at the emperor with tears forming ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡± Answering her coldly ¡° It seems that I really dote on you too much¡± *** In Kun Ning Palace, Ye Zhen Zhen opened up a blueprint, examining it in detail. On it was a detailed design of a gun. Looking at the intricate design, Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s eyes were shining brightly. While holding down the drawing with her body carefully Su Feng asked ¡° Niang Niang, are you not afraid that Li Concubine went to the Emperor to tattle tale?¡± ¡°Tattle about what? I did not do anything wrong..¡± ¡°But¡­.¡± ¡°Not to mention, even if she did not tattle, the Emperor will still dislike me¡± ¡°Niang-niang, aren¡¯t you worried?¡± ¡°Worried.. yes very..¡± Looking at the drawing.. ¡° I want to get this gun made fast¡± Looking at both of them, Su Yue can only shake her head. ¡°The emperor has arrived¡ª¡ª¡° announced by the eunuch guarding the door. At the end of this sentence, Ji Wu Jiu has already reached. Wearing an intricately design yellow robe. Ye Zhen Zhen, bowed too him while thinking ¡° this emperor, what is he doing here when there is nothing¡± Ji Wu Jiu glanced through her room and saw a drawing, initially he thought that the empress is just learning how to draw some flowers or mountains, so with interest he walked towards it to get a better look. When he saw that it was a detailed blue print of a gun, he closed his eyes ¡° Where did you get this drawing from!?¡± ¡°I found it¡± ¡°O? Where?¡± ¡°Imperial Garden¡± ¡°What the empress means is that, some defense minister sneaked into the imperial garden with the drawing, and lost the drawing there?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± In her heart, ¡°what I meant was, your ability to talk nonsense is better than me¡± Nodding, Ji Wu Jiu continued, since this is what you have said, there shouldn¡¯t be any error. Those defense ministers are useless, I will go investigate now¡± ¡°Your Majesty!¡± Ye Zhen Zhen kneeled in a hurry. ¡°This has nothing to do with the ministers of defense, nothing to do with my second brother as well¡± (Her brother is one of the minister there). If Ji Wu Jiu were to investigate, her second brother would be implicated as well. Looking down at Ye Zhen Zhen, happy that she finally submit to him, ¡°Then tell me, from where did you get this drawing from? Don¡¯t tell me you drew it!¡± With a crying face Ye Zhen Zhen ¡° Really it is drawn by me¡± Taking a second look at the drawing again, he saw that although it was drawn properly, it still lacks in some aspect and really looked like a beginner¡¯s drawing. But¡­ ¡°How did you manage to draw it? From where did you refer?¡± ¡°I once stoled my cousin brother¡¯s gun, took it apart..¡± ¡°and also placed it back¡± ¡°Cousin Brother¡±.. Of Course he knows who is her cousin brother, the head of the imperial guards, Lu Li. Every 3 to 4 days he will be hanging around him, of course he knows who he is. Lu Li, really does have a gun, this way Ye Zhen Zhen has successfully helped save her 2nd brother, Lu Li will not be at fault as well. No matter if Ye Zhen Zhen told the truth or not, she is clever to use this excuse. However, Ji Wu Jiu, haven¡¯t decided to let her go easily, then with his finger slowly rapping the table, ¡°Then, it looks like you have lied to me¡± ¡°Your Majesty, I am wrong,¡± A little scared, Ye Zhen Zhen understood that she cannot take on the crime of lying to the emperor. Seeing her being afraid, Ji Wu Jiu felt a little better. ¡°Seeing that it is your first time, I will let you go¡± Ji Wu Jiu, mentally take note of this matter, at this speed she will soon over take her grandfather. (In terms of ticking him off) ¡°Thank you, your majesty¡± Ye Zhen Zhen replied looking at him with the utmost sincerity. ¡°Ok, you may stand¡± Ji Wu Jiu said and returned his gaze to the drawing. Trying to guess what does the emperor want actually, sitting opposite him, Ye Zhen Zhen was looking at the emperor. From her angle, she saw a high bridged nose, handsome face, high forehead, a very elegant face; blinking once in a while, with long and thick eye lashes, with a very fair complexion¡­. Such a nice face. Ye Zhen Zhen pouted.. ¡°You have a lot of mistakes in your drawing¡± ¡°Which part?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s body leaned forward, looking at the drawing. While she leaned, she accidently exposed her chests by 1 inch more, and she did not realize. ¡°¡­¡­..¡± Ji Wu Jiu, tried to look somewhere else ¡°A lot of parts¡± A little down, thinking that she has edited the drawing many times, thinking that it is finally time to make it into a real gun. Who would have known that it is far from completion. With a gentle tone ¡°I have a lot of completed blue prints and drawings of guns¡± Ye Zhen Zhen with gleaming eyes ¡°Will you show it to me your majesty?¡± Ji Wu Jiu replied with a sly smile ¡° Of course¡­ not¡± Ye Zhen Zhen finally understood, the reason why he is here, is solely to make her unhappy. When he say Ye Zhen Zhen looked like she just swallowed a fly, Ji Wi Jiu suddenly felt a little more happy. Chapter 4 Empress with no Virtue ¨C Chapter 4 JULY 24, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 After coming out from Kun Ning Palace, Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s expression seems better. Compared to yesterday, when the emperor came out from the same place, he was scary. Feng You De initially thought that the emperor really disliked the empress, seems like it might not necessary be the case now. It is hard to know a man¡¯s thinking¡­ Thought Feng You De¡­ If Feng You De found out the reason the emperor is happy, is because the empress is unhappy, not sure what he will think next¡­ At night, Feng You De brought the tray with the name plates of his consorts for him to choose who to serve him tonight. ¡°Your Majesty, kindly flip a name plate¡± Glancing through the names, he raised his hands and stopped above ¡°Su Rou Zhi¡±, however after another thought, he flipped ¡°Fang Liu Yue¡±. Feng You De, respectfully retreated and turn to his subordinates to ask them to go to Yao Yue Palace to tell Xian Concubine to prepare to serve the Emperor tonight. Because Xian Concubine¡¯s name has a ¡°Yue¡± word, therefore the Yao Yue Palace was bestowed upon her as her living quarters, it is a great honor to receive such a gift from the emperor himself. Not to mention, Ji Wu Jiu and Xian Concubine has another story of their own. Years back, when Ye Ge Lao wanted to marry off his own granddaughter to Ji Wu Jiu, Ji Wu Jiu found a reason to defer the wedding and wanted to find a empress on his own, not only to take care of his internal palace, but also to reduce the power of Ye Ge Lao. Therefore he looked upon Fang Xiu Qing, although he is not the most powerful in the cabinet, but he still has some people on his side, and ever since his entry, he always has different opinions with Ye Ge Lao. Therefore, Ji Wu Jiu thought that it would be suitable to choose Fang Xiu Qing¡¯s daughter, and had the intention to make Fang Liu Yue his empress, and thus tested Fang Xiu Qing on the matter. Fang Xiu Qing, has had enough of Ye Ge Lao and of course agreed to the marriage easily. However, one person did not agree¡­ Ye Ge Lao, would never allow the emperor and Fang Xiu Qing to work together against him, therefore he got all the ministers to send in reports, with the same sentence. ¡°It will anger the heavens and earth if you do not marry Ye Zhen Zhen¡± Then, he also found Taoists to help Ji Wu Jiu and Fang Liu Yue count their compatibility with each other and submitted the reports of ¡°Not Suitable¡±, ¡°Very Not Suitable¡±, ¡°Extremely not suitable¡±.. Another named Taoists also help listed what would happened if they were to get married, and got the signatures of many other monks and Taoists as well, to submit the report to Ji Wu Jiu. Making it the first ever report to be submitted by monks and Taoists straight to the emperor. After receiving all those reports, it made Ji Wu Jiu very angry, while slamming his table ¡° If I were really to choose her, don¡¯t tell me that calamities will really happen!¡± Coincidently, the next day an earthquake happened at Da Tong, until the capital also felt the shake. This time, even more reports flooded in about the emperor¡¯s decision on the empress, stating their disagreement and ask him to rethink his decision. Suddenly all the ministers appear to be very united in scolding him. During his daily court meeting, he tried his best to appear to listen to their advices and finally made a statement ¡° I am sure our gods, will not be so cruel to not let me decide who I want to marry, I have already made my decision final, let¡¯s end it here today¡±. After that he left the court. 3 days after he made that statement, an eclipse happened. Though this does not count as a coincident, because the astrology department has already predicted that it would happen and the date have been reported to the emperor. Therefore even though he knows it is not a coincident, the ministers know it is not a coincident, even Ye Ge Lao that old fart knows that is it not a coincident but the mass citizens are not aware about those and this time there was a huge disagreement by the citizens about the emperor¡¯s choice of the future empress. Making most citizens stand by Ye Ge Lao¡¯s side. Even this type of outcome was not expected by Ye Ge Lao, but since it is good for him, he accepted it with much grace. Under this much pressure, Ji Wu Jiu had no choice but to let go of his decision to make Fang Liu Yue as the empress, and can only wait for his marriage with Ye Zhen Zhen. Fang Xiu Qing, was a clever man, he thought that even though his daughter cannot be the main wife, being the small wife is also not too bad. Furthermore Fang Liu Yue is very good in dealing with things, very cautious, kind and gentle, not to mention she was very pretty as well. This type of woman will definitely be treated well by the emperor in the palace. Furthermore, the emperor has already made known that he will work with him, therefore Ji Wu Jiu won¡¯t treat his daughter badly. Ji Wu Jiu also thought that this idea is acceptable. Therefore on the day he got married to Ye Zhen Zhen, he also brought in Fang Liu Yue. Therefore Ye Zhen Zhen has always known that her marriage will be a disaster, and still can¡¯t like Ji Wu Jiu. Where else for Ji Wu Jiu, he actually treats Ye Zhen Zhen as Ye Ge Lao¡¯s representative, so how much he hates him, will equal to how much he hates her. Following this route of thinking, it is not hard to guess what type of feelings Ji Wu Jiu has for Fang Liu Yue. Of course.. he likes her.. After dinner, and settling some documents, Ji Wu Jiu headed to Yao Yue Palace. Xian Concubine was waiting for him at the entrance, in a white gown slowly fluttering gently with the wind, her long her knotted simply with a jade pin. Tonight the moon was bright, under the moonlight she was beautiful, skin as white as snow, almost like a fairy, making it hard to look away. Ji Wu Jiu, of course had his fair share of pretty woman, therefore he still can withhold his desires. He walked towards Xian Concubine and held her hands, feeling her cold hands, smilling Ji Wu Jiu said ¡°It¡¯s Cold out here, my beloved concubine didn¡¯t have to come out to receive me, let¡¯s quickly go in to warm up¡± Allowing him to guide her in, after Ji Wu Jiu sat down, he pulled Xian Concubine onto his lap, the maid servants and eunuch getting the idea immediately left the chamber. After some small stalk with Xian Concubine he found out that, she is very gentle and knows what he is thinking, always capable of knowing what he wishes to hear from her. As an emperor Ji Wu Jiu, comes to the inner palace is mostly to release some stress, and if anyone was capable of making him happy, he will also make an effort to say some sweet words. But, Xian Concubine has a very thin skin, after some sweet words from Ji Wu Jiu, she has turned very red, making her look very tempting. Ji Wu Jiu slowly raised her chin, looking at her quivering pink lips, smirked and approached those lips. The mood is good, it is time to get down to business¡­ The next day, Ji Wu Jiu was awoken by Feng You De, Xian Concubine also woke up. She was struggling to get up to help serve the emperor, but feeling weak she fell back to the bed. Ji Wu Jiu held her down ¡° Your body is not feeling well, rest more, no need to bother about the others¡± after that added ¡° Today you no need to go to Kun Ning Palace to greet the empress as well¡±. Xian Concubine looked at him lovingly, He bend down and pecked her forehead ¡° I will be leaving now, after the morning court I will visit you again¡± *** Xian Concubine slept for a while then woke up, had breakfast, and went to Kun Ning Palace. Although Ji Wu Jiu said she didn¡¯t have to, because she is normally cautious and does not want others to talk about her, and furthermore she can obtain a title of being gentle and benevolence, so why not. When she reached Kun Ning Palace, the time was just right, the last one to arrive should be none other than Li Concubine. The moment Li Concubine sat down, Xi Consort said ¡° Li Concubine Jie ¨C Jie, was there anything that dragged you? I didn¡¯t hear that the Emperor visited you yesterday night..¡± A lower rank consort heard and nearly laughed out loud, she then tried to cover with her handkerchief. This two sentence was really powerful, it can make the empress and li concubine lose face, and perhaps make Li Concubine and Xian Concubine to dislike each other as well as make the empress jealous of Xian Concubine as well. With a sigh, Ye Zhen Zhen thinks that Xi Consort is really a talent. As expected, Li Concubine got angry, glancing through Xian Concubine saying ¡° The emperor only wanted to have a taste¡± Ye Zhen Zhen held her forehead for a while, this person really is daring to say what she wants. Not to mention that Xian Concubine is the same rank as her, even if it¡¯s a lower rank consort, if to be ridicule by her this way, they are surely to have a grudge against her. People in the palace shouldn¡¯t make so much trouble. But looking Li Concubine it seems that she likes to create more trouble for herself, how lonely must she be. Ye Zhen Zhen looked at Xian Concubine, seeing that her facial expression remains the same, just that she was clenching onto her clothes, looks like she is patient. Ye Zhen Zhen, thought that this person is ok. Looking towards Li Concubine now she added smilling ¡° What Li Concubine said was right, the emperor wanted to try something new, but this is also because someone else is not fresh anymore¡± With a change of expression, Li Concubine wanted to retort, but Zhuang Consort held on to her sleeve. Looking at the rest, Zhuang Consort added ¡° Our Empress, surely are a happy go lucky person, but what you said would also make the rest of us unhappy¡± In another words she was trying to imply that in the many consorts here besides Xian Concubine the rest of us are also not fresh anymore. ¡°New people got new style of doing things, the old ones has theirs. Accordingly there shouldn¡¯t be any problem whether new or old, whats important is to treat each other well. When one wants to be ahead of others, most of the time their did not receive good endings¡± Actually Ye Zhen Zhen liked to watch dramas more, but today she was eager to join in because seeing Li Concubine angry was very fun. Zhuang Consort really does not know how to read situation, really dislike this type of talkative person. Zhuang Consort wanted to add something, Ye Zhen Zhen, though made a gesture and Su Yue brought forward a tray towards Xian Concubine. Some delicate jewelry and a toad. This time, the toad is made out of green jade, very high quality with good engravings, good feeling when touched, and if you closed your eyes when touching it, one will surely like it. Compared to Li Concubine, Xian Concubine received it with grace, and asked her servants to keep it. And because she was very calm, the rest also has nothing to say. That night, Ji Wu Jiu, flipped Xian Concubines name plate again. And the next day, Xian Concubine once again received another jade toad. Until now, does people realized that Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s previous ¡° This type of thing, I have plenty, almost no place to put them anymore¡± was actually a fact and not to anger Li Concubine. This realization was proven, after two months plus¡­.. Chapter 5 Empress with no Virtue ¨C Chapter 5 JULY 27, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 The Empress Dowager, does not really like Ye Zhen Zhen, Although most people can¡¯t tell, but Ye Zhen Zhen can feel it, and those that know a little about the past could also guess. Initially the empress dowager¡¯s family, Xu family was also quite powerful in the court, but after the appearance of Ye Xiu Ming (Ye Ge Lao),¡­¡­ Though, previously Ye Xiu Ming did not grow power for himself only, because the Xu family has too much power that even the previous emperor has to consider their feelings before making any decisions. Therefore Ye Xiu Ming couldn¡¯t take it anymore and joined hands with the previous emperor to cut down the Xu family¡¯s power. In that power struggle, although nobody was sacrificed, has made Xu family very weak and until today they have not fully recover. And now Ye family, is the one with power, it feels like the history repeated itself. That¡¯s why whenever Ye Zhen Zhen visits Ci Ning Palace to greet the Empress Dowager, she can feel that the empress dowager is treating her rather cold, though to others it seems normal because the empress dowager herself is known to be the quiet and calm type. However, the Empress Dowager seems to like Xian Concubine, to the point that even when Ye Zhen Zhen speaks a little more to Xian Concubine, others will look at her weirdly First, the emperor¡¯s doting and now even the Empress dowager¡¯s concerns, it¡¯s only been a few days and Xian Concubine seems to be gaining more power.. in the long run.. ¡°In the long run, won¡¯t over Niang Niang be stepped over by her?¡± Su Feng exclaimed. She was keeping it to herself the whole day, only let it out in this manner, instead of ¡°Phoenix Seal being snatched by her¡±, which was not too auspicious to say. Ye Zhen Zhen was sitting infront of the mirror, letting Su Yue remove her make up, although she did glanced at Su Feng, and saw her frowning while looking at the sky, a frown so deep that makes people want to flatten it for her. ¡°You should really start changing your attitude, sometimes not everything needs to be said¡± Ye Zhen Zhen said. Su Feng feeling better ¡° Niang-niang, you are the one being bullied here, and yet you are the one consoling me¡± Su Yue added ¡°Although what Su Feng said was not pleasing to the ears, but its true, isn¡¯t it time to worry. The Emperor¡­¡± ¡°I got it, I got it¡± Ye Zhen Zhen, once both of them come to this topic, she finds it bothersome. ¡°Why must we mention him, tomorrow will be the mooncake festival, I want to eat lotus mooncake.¡± Su Feng wanted to continue the previous topic but Su Yue gave her a glance asking her not to continue, and both of them have no choice but to continue the mooncake topic. After that when Ye Zhen Zhen was finally happy, she went to sleep. After she fell asleep, Su Yue and Su Feng went out to discuss. ¡°Tomorrow will be the mooncake festival, according to the rules every month¡¯s 1st and 15th day the emperor will visit Kun Ning Palace, We should prepare properly, we can¡¯t let the empress do according to her will¡­¡± ¡°I heard that each lady in the palace would personally prepare a mooncake to be presented to the emperor, our empress¡­.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even mention to personally make, our empress¡¯s skills don¡¯t you already know.. DIdn¡¯t lord cousin brother said that after eating what she ate, he wanted to go and die. If we were to present the mooncake from her to the emperor, won¡¯t we be charged with treason¡± ¡°But..¡± Ye Zhen Zhen was laying on her bed, with her eyes wide open. Because she slept to much in the day, she cant really sleep well now. Her ears are quite good therefore the conversations outside can be heard clearly by her. The next day, during lunch time, Ji Wu Jiu received 2 plates of mooncake from Kun Ning Palace, the little eunuch who brought it over especially told Feng You De that the mooncake was personally made by the empress, and to make sure that the emperor try it. Feng You De, although still not clear of the intentions of the empress, still made sure to pass on the message to Ji Wu Jiu. A little surprised, ¡°has this Ye Zhen Zhen finally realized her part¡±.. Ji Wu Jiu ponder. Looking at the mooncake, the size is just as big as an egg, very small and cute, with Chinese prosperous words such as ¡°»¨ºÃÔÂÔ²¡± and ¡°¹úÌ©Ãñ°² . His dislike towards Ye Zhen Zhen was reduced by just a tiny wee bit, taking a piece, he took a huge bite. After that, he was in a bad shape¡­ *** The little mooncake was lethal, during the dinner celebrations, Ji Wu Jiu was still in a bad mood. Although Ji Wu Jiu shouldn¡¯t really be blamed, he was born in the royal family as the eldest son, was fed with good food from young, not to mention after being the crowned as the crowned prince at 8, he was treated even better, with delicacies and great food, making his palate extremely high quality. In other words, the food that he thought was so-so, if given to a normal citizen it would be an extremely rare delicacy, therefore if it is something that even normal people would think it is not so good, then.. to him it will be¡­ That¡¯s why after receiving such a huge blow to his tongue, it is only understandable that he is in a bad mood. Therefore, the consorts that were very happy to join the dinner, after seeing the expression of the emperor, also left quietly after the celebrations. That night, ji Wu Jiu went to Kun Ning Palace, turned one round and left. This was a very clear message to everyone, the Emperor does not like the Empress. After the dinner, Xian Concubine was deep in thoughts, standing by the entrance of her Yao Yue Palace, she was thinking about the last time she met her father, and his last instructions to her. ¡°Must make the Emperor dessert the empress¡± (Actual meaning her is to change the empress) It is certainly not an easy thing, that Ye Zhen Zhen is a really hard to guess figure, not to mention she is very clever, never in a rush to make decisions Also, after receiving her second jade toad, the emperor has not flipped her name plate since. Thinking about that, she let out a sigh.. ¡°Niang-niang, are you thinking about home?¡± her maid servant Qiu Feng asked. ¡°This type of sentence, do not let me hear a second time, once I enter the palace, the palace is now my home¡± Ji Wu Jiu heard this from outside, and was pleased. It is easy to find fault in a person¡¯s words. Looking at Xian Concubine alone, she is indeed a beautiful woman, clever, very graceful and thoughtful, however when placed with Ye Zhen Zhen, she is still not up to par. Thinking about Ye Zhen Zhen, thanks to her all his consorts seems to be better. Smiling Ji Wu Jiu went into Yao Yue Palace. Xian Concubine was too happy and lost for words when she saw him, looking at him with a very touched expression filled with watery eyes, Ji Wu Jiu felt good as a man. Both of them then sat at the courtyard, and enjoyed the moon light together, like a pair of match made in heaven The atmosphere was very good, after a few drinks Xian Concubine was red, and blushing in the cheeks. JI Wu Jiu saw and felt warm too. He carried her princess style, and lightly pecked her lips, and decided its time to enter the chamber for the important business. However, outside there was an eunuch making an emergency report. ¡°Your Majesty, something happened at Lu Hua Palace¡± This night was truly tiresome for Ji Wu Jiu, one of his most tired mooncake festival, in one night he had to change so many venue. Therefore when he reached Lu Hua Palace, his was in a bad moon. Ye Zhen Zhen was already in Lu Hua Palace, was in a pleasant mood sitting at a side looking at a crying Li Concubine, while pretending to console her. Hearing the words she used to console Li Concubine, Ji Wu Jiu frowned. ¡°You are still alive and well, why are you crying, stop crying¡± ¡°That little animal must have been involved with you in the past life, that¡¯s why he is here to save you now. If it is fated, there is nothing you can do about it.¡± ¡°Zhuang Zi died a wife also didn¡¯t cry, you just lost a cat¡± ¡°Su Feng, go to Kun Ning Palace, take some jewelry for Li Concubine to help her calm down, remember to bring the extra-large toad that I have, it¡¯s a set with 12 other small toads, bring it over as well¡± Li Concubine immediately stopped crying, facing Ye Zhen Zhen now, to persuade her to change her mind, which she agrees after. (about the toads..haha) After understanding what happened, Ji Wu Jiu finally made his appearance, In the inner palace, something like this actually happened, this time he really wants to ask the Empress about it. (Planning to trouble her) Chapter 6 Empress with no Virtue ¨C Chapter 6 JULY 27, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Li Concubine received a poisonous mooncake on the night of the mooncake festival, if not for the cat she would have nearly died. The emperor got really angry after knowing about it, and the empress got an earful about it at Lu Hua Palace. The inner palace is not peaceful, therefore the fault was placed on to the empress, and she were to solve the case in 3 days. This was the most gossiped news from the palace. Of course Ye Xiu Ming would have heard about this matter by now, early in the morning court, he has already received many questioning glances, and after reaching home he got reprimanded by his wife. Most people know that Ye Ge Lao is afraid of his wife, in his whole life, he does not even have one concubine, even though he only has one son Ye Kang Le, which is Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s father. ¡°It is all your fault, did not want to listen to my advice, our Zhen Zhen is very straight forward, entering the inner palace will definitely get framed to the death by the other women¡± reprimanded Ye Laofuren (Old Madam). Ye Xiu Ming clarified in a low voice ¡° Zhen Zhen is the empress, who would dare to frame/harm her¡± ¡°So what if she was the empress, she can¡¯t even come back to see her grandmother. My poor granddaughter..¡± tears streaming down her face. ¡°It was all for the benefit of Ye family, if the daughter of Fang Xiu Qing were to be the empress, it will be dangerous for our Ye family¡­ don¡¯t cry anymore, our Zhen Zhen will surely be fine, my granddaughter will definitely be able to overcome such a small case. While still crying Ye Laofuren started to scold Ye Xiu Ming, and he also does not dare to fight back, can only allow her to continue. Ye Kang Le was outside listening to his parent¡¯s conversation, shaking his head and sighed in the end he didn¡¯t enter. Previously, for the benefit of his daughter¡¯s future, he did not agree this marriage as well, and also had selected a good candidate for her, but because his father was too adamant he couldn¡¯t do anything. There is nothing to be done at this stage now, just hoping that Zhen Zhen will behave properly in the palace, unlike at home where she can do what she likes, and that she will be safe there. *** In Kun Ning Palace, Ye Zhen Zhen is in a daze while staring at a piece of mooncake. The mooncake is a white snow skin mooncake, with shrimps inside. Ji Wu Jiu has people purposely made for Li Concubine, and because the taste does not suit the rest of the consorts and even Ji Wu Jiu, every year this type of mooncake is only made for Li Concubine. The only mooncake with problem, is only this snow skin shrimp mooncake. Yesterday night, when Li Concubine wanted to eat the mooncake, she took some out first to feed the black cat in her arms, but who would have thought, immediately after eating, the cat died. According to the imperial doctors, inside the mooncake, something called ¡°Xiang Fei Zi¡± was added. This thing is made from some fruits from the southern side. When smelled carefully, there will be a slight sourish smell, and does not really attract the attention of people, but when eaten there is a special flavor. This ¡°Xiang Fei Zi¡±, can be used to cook, and also used as medicine however it cannot be mixed with shrimp to be eaten, if not one will appear to be poisoned or if not worst, death. Ye Zhen Zhen already ordered all chefs that day to be detained and questioned, the kitchen has also been thoroughly searched, there was still no signs of the ¡°Xiang Fei Zi¡±. This item is made from the south and is hard to get, not to mention low production, and also the northern people also doesn¡¯t really like it, therefore it is not in the list to be purchased into the palace. Though there is some in the doctor¡¯s office, but according to the inventory list, there was no one using it or even any that has gone missing. Therefore, the only other option is to obtain it from outside and someone were to stealthily got it in the palace, and if it were really the case then, it will be hard to solve. Ye Zhen Zhen, also questioned the guards guarding each gate, and did not get any clues as well, all of them said they were doing everything according to the rules and did not detect any abnormality. Ye Zhen Zhen did not want to use torture to get the answer, and even if she were to get the answer that way, Ji Wu Jiu is not easy to fool. This time it seems that he purposely made her do all the work. Only afraid in the future there will be more to come. In other words, if anything were to happen in the inner palace, she will be brought to be reprimanded one round, and after scolding she will still need to clean up the problem, if not with a ¡°Inner palace not peaceful, empress not worthy¡± title will be given to her, there will be no place for her to even cry later. This method really is cruel and evil. Alright, even though at this moment he can¡¯t do this yet, but it will be hard to say in the future. That¡¯s why Ye Zhen Zhen does not want to leave too many faults in the hands of Ji Wu Jiu, especially the obvious types. Therefore, Ye Zhen Zhen continued to stare at the mooncake, trying to find for any clues at all. Another problem with this case is that the people that could be involved are too vast. Li Concubine has been in the palace for many years, she has worked her way up to her current status, and it¡¯s already a miracle. But in this palace, even a little eunuch can be the culprit, no need to mention Xian Concubine and Xi Consort, these people that does not really have a good relationship with her. Even the emperor can¡¯t be out from being suspected, this item after eating will most probably get poisoned, not necessary will be lead to death. There is also Li Concubine herself, she did not actually sustain any injury, it could be that she acted this play herself to get pity and also to frame people that she doesn¡¯t like. Ye Zhen Zhen is gonna lose it while thinking about this matter. Who on earth did this, if I find out I will definitely cut that person into a thousand pieces! *** The next day during lunch time, when due to the case, Ye Zhen Zhen did not have appetite, Ji Wu Jiu was eating happily and even added a bowl of rice. After lunch he dropped by Kun Ning Palace to kindly remind Ye Zhen Zhen, that she has one day left. Without an expression, Ye Zhen Zhen looked at him ¡° If I can¡¯t solve the case, what do you plan to do?: Ji Wu Jiu replied ¡° You are my empress, I would not punish you for sure¡± Only Ghost will believe you!! ¡°I will only note down another fault by you, oh right, you already have 2 in my hands¡± ¡°Which was the second time?¡± ¡°Poisonous Mooncake¡± ¡°There is still time, how would you know if I wont be able to solve it?¡± ¡°What I meant, was the poisonous mooncake you made¡± ¡°¡­.¡± *** The third day reached very fast. About the snowskin shrimp mooncake, Ye Zhen Zhen still did not have much clue. What a joke, she is in the inner palace, not the Crime Bureau, how would she know how to solve this case, not only that this case has so many suspects, it is also basically clueless! After lunch, Ye Zhen Zhen already acted like a pig that is not afraid of the hot water. Afterall, all she will get is another fault with JI Wu Jiu. Holding a tray of treats she was prancing around, totally unlike the head of the inner palace. Su Feng suddenly ran in hurriedly ¡°Niang Niang, our Kun Ning Palace¡¯s Ding Da Xiang committed suicide!¡± Ye Zhen Zhen was shocked, without swallowing, holding her chin she asked ¡°Which Ding Da Xiang?¡± ¡°The little eunuch that cleans the courtyard.. niang niang, now is not the time to think, lets go see him first. Su Yue thinks that there is some sort of hidden agenda, is currently guarding over there, not allowing anyone to touch the body or the room¡± Su Yue is definitely courageous! Ye Zhen Zhen felt in awe towards her, a lady eventhough facing a dead body still can be so calm and think of the hidden agenda and carefully guarding it. Ye Zhen Zhen hurriedly arrived at the side courtyard, where all the eunuch¡¯s of the Kun Ning Palace stays. Ding Da Xiang shares a room with another eunuch, today the room mate was working, and not sure why, he suddenly came back, and found that Ding Da Xiang already hanged himself. When Su Yue asked him, why did he return he could not even answer properly. Ye Zhen Zhen asked ¡° Most probably you wanted to take a nap and sneaked back here quietly¡± The eunuch immediately kneeled and knocked his head to the ground ¡°Niang Niang please have mercy, I do not dare anymore¡± ¡­¡­ it was actually just like that, Su Yue thought, indeed only lazy people will understand lazy people. Ye Zhen Zhen did not bother with him anymore and walked towards the corpse. It has already been taken down, laying on the ground, with eyes popping and tongue hanging out, it was truly gruesome. ¡°Niang Niang, I found this from his body¡± Su Yue, quietly gave a packet of thing to Ye Zhen Zhen. Receiving it, she opened and smelled it a little, there is a little sourness smell. Closing her eyes for a moment, ¡°This couldn¡¯t be Xiang Fei Zi right?¡± Many images flashes through her mind, like a few scenes matching into one, making a complete storyline. Ye Zhen Zhen realizes something and shouted ¡°Not Good!¡± ¡°What happened, Niang Niang?¡± ¡°Su Yue, you stay here and see what you can find out, Su Feng bring all eunuch from Kun Ning Palace to Yang Xin Dian (emperor¡¯s living quarters), if anyone were to even come close to the Yang Xin Dian, all knock them out and bring them here. Hurry!¡± Su Feng rushed out after receiving the order. Ye Zhen Zhen gave a kick to the kneeling eunuch and said ¡° You also go! Hurry and go¡± The little eunuch also ran after Su Feng. Ye Zhen Zhen followed them as well after an afterthought, she was still worried. With her own set of orders Su Yue, cant leave the place and can only shout after Su Feng to look after the empress. The moment Su Feng heard this, a red figure has already rushed in front of her, when she came back to sense, the red figure is already way ahead of her, sprinting through was Ye Zhen Zhen. ¡° NIang Niang¡¯ With the fastest speed she gathered the eunuch and chased after her as well. Today, many people in the palace saw a hot red dressed empress running true the palace as though she was being chased after. Even though the maid servants and eunuch has been in the palace for a long time, they have not seen such a thing as well. All was scared white, not sure what happened and was afraid they would be involved, so they can only kneel on the floor not daring to move. After Ye Zhen Zhen finally passed by, Su Feng who was leading a group of eunuch was racing past them as well, it made them shiver again. Everyone was shocked, anyone would be curious, therefore those that are scared remained while does that was a bit more courageous joined the group of eunuch that Su Feng was leading and ran together. Su Feng was leading in front therefore was not aware of what happened in the back, and the eunuch from Kun Ning palace also just received order to catch people, so they did not bother with the rest that were following them as well. Therefore, as they ran past, their group has expanded 15 times the original size, it seems the people in the palace are really free¡­. Chapter 7 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 7 JULY 28, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Ji Wu Jiu is a good emperor, every day after lunch, majority of his time is spent on dealing with the incoming reports and to meet up with ministers at his Palace. That¡¯s why becoming an emperor is not as easy as it seems, and not as good as it sounds, not something most people can handle. Therefore in history there is equal amount of wise and good emperor, but most of them are useless.. Ji Wu Jiu is an ambitious, and responsible emperor, he wants to be a wise emperor, and the cost of being a good emperor is to spend more time in Yang Xin Dian then his inner palace. Therefore everyone knows, if you want to look for the emperor, go to Yang Xin Dian. But today, after looking over the documents and report, he wants to drop by Kun Ning Palace to admire Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s troubled face. However, before he can even leave he saw a little eunuch kneeling in front, looking very anxious wanting to report something. ¡°Your majesty I have something to report¡± Though, Ji Wu Jiu ignored him as he was attracted by something else. Who can tell him, what on earth is the Empress doing? From far, Ye Zhen Zhen was sprinting in her red robe, that was flowing with the wind, looking almost like a pretty cloud that appears during sunset. This cloud was floated towards Ji Wu Jiu, ignoring the look from Ji Wu Jiu, without saying anything she knocked out the little eunuch. After that only was Ye Zhen Zhen calmed, taking deep breaths. There was little sweat droplets forming on her forehead, and have a natural blush that comes after exercising, like the blooming plum blossoms in March. The group of eunuch and maid servants finally reached, from far they already saw what Ye Zhen Zhen did, they all touched their necks, as if they were they one to receive the blow from her. Ji Wu Jiu, looked at Ye Zhen Zhen.. ¡°Empress, after your meal you have nothing better to do?¡± Then only did Ye Zhen Zhen start greeting the Emperor, ¡°Your ma..jest¡­ y..¡± ¡°Its ok, ¡° waving his hand, Ji Wu Jiu was getting impatient. Glancing at the fainted eunuch ¡°Empress, shouldn¡¯t you give me an explanation for this¡± Ye Zhen Zhen, after finally catching her breath, ¡°Your majesty, this eunuch is involved in the poisonous mooncake case at Lu Hua Palace, I need to investigate him¡± ¡°O..? then why must you knock him out, Is there something that I shouldn¡¯t know?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to hide anything from you, its just that the inner palace should be under my control, I wouldn¡¯t dare your majesty to be concerned about it, however if you are still worried, you can listen but you must not show your face¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You will know after the interrogation¡± *** The little eunuch was awoken with a splash of water. Looking at the eunuch carefuly, Ye Zhen Zhen figures that he is around 15 years old, with a white face, looked quite weak as well. When he first opened his eyes, he was abit out of place, but when he saw Ye Zhen Zhen, surprisingly he was not shocked or anxious, he even properly bowed to Ye Zhen Zhen. Ye Zhen Zhen, was sitting, stiffen her expression and placed her tea cup down, ¡°Wang Xiao Hu, do you admit your fault?¡± ¡°Replying to your majesty, I do not know what mistake have I done¡± ¡°Ding Da Xiang didn¡¯t die, he already admitted.¡± Even though Ding Da Xiang already died, but Kun Ning Palace has managed to keep it down, and even if the news was leaked, the person here now won¡¯t even have the chance to know. His expression changed and returned back to normal in a split second. Though even this slight action was caught by Ye Zhen Zhen. ¡°I do not understand what Niang niang has said, I hope niang niang can explain¡± ¡°Your Shi Fu, works in the imperial kitchen, and is in charged of the snacks department, this year the snow skin shrimp mooncake was made by him. However the day he made the mooncake you were not on duty, that¡¯s why when I was catching people I missed you out, allowing you the chance to go report to the emperor. Today, what did you want to tell the emperor? To tell how the empress ordered someone to force you to put the Xiang Fei Zi into the mooncake ??¡± ¡°Niang niang, I was framed, framed¡­¡± ¡°Framed? Okay, then why don¡¯t you tell me, as a cook in the kitchen, what is so important that you have to go report to the emperor personally?¡± ¡°i.. i¡­¡± ¡°This is clearly a good show that you have planned with Ding Da Xiang! That day you sneaked into the kitchen, and placed the Xiang Fei Zi into the mooncake. Ding Da Xiang has also worked with you, that he will commit suicide today, and to purposely place some Xiang Fei Zi on him, afraid that no one would find out that I would be definitely linked to the case. And on the other hand, you act liked you found out about me being suspicious and wanted to report to the emperor, and because this involves me, after listening to you, surely he will come to Kun Ning Palace to ask me about it, and he will surely find the evidence on his body then. By that time, even if I were to jump into the yellow river, I would be able to prove my innocence, is that right???¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°If this plan was successful, not only can you get rid of Li Concubine, you will also make me take on this blame, and perhaps to even vacate the empress¡¯s position. This, plan, so detail planned,¡­ ¡° ¡°¡­.¡± Hitting the table loudly Ye Zhen Zhen continued loudly ¡° Speak the truth, who is the one who made you do this!¡± Looking at the situation Wang Xiao Hu, realize he will die anyway, therefore he harden his heart and said ¡°I admit, but it has nothing to do with others, I have always disliked Li Concubine, therefore I could not stand it anymore and made such a mistake, whether you want to kill me or not, I will accept¡± ¡°How loyal¡±, Ye Zhen Zhen laughed, she stood up, circling Wang Xiao Hu twice, then slowly continued ¡°Wang Xiao Hu, it doesn¡¯t matter what Hui Consort gave you¡± looking at the kneeling eunuch who started shivering with a terrified expression, and super pale. Closing her eyes a little, ¡°You only need to know, what she can do, I can also, but what she can¡¯t do, I will be able to do¡± Her husband is the current emperor, her grandfather is the prime minister, the most powerful 2 person in this empire is also related to her, that¡¯s why she is able to say so, not to scare anyone especially. The current Wang Xiao Hu, already has tears streaming down his face, bowing non-stop, hitting his head to the floor. ¡°Empress, Hui Consort used my parents, brother and sister¡¯s life to forced me, that¡¯s why i¡­ I .. I will speak the truth, but I beg your majesty to help me, I deserve death, but my family is innocent¡±. Sitting back down, Ye Zhen Zhen, shook her head, ¡° Stand up first, Hui Consort must have just scared you, you are still young, easy to be fooled, Whatever that happens in the palace does not implicate what is happening outside. Hui Consort¡¯s father is not foolish, if your family is really innocent, he definitely won¡¯t help her daughter to harm the innocent, to use his own job as a wager to try to win something so small.¡± Finally calming down, Wang Xiao Hu ceased crying, initially he thought that he would not be able to escape death, and was only thinking to safe his family, but after listening to the empress, he finally can be more calm. ¡°After your death, I will make sure your family gets compensation¡± Added Ye Zhen Zhen warmly. Ji Wu Jiu who was sitting behind the screen can¡¯t help but wonder if that is the proper way to console someone. Furthermore an eunuch that dares to harm an imperial concubine, was it necessary to even console him. Ready to face everything, Wang Xiao Hu, who was initially not someone who lies too much hope in his life, now that he knows his fate from the empress, he was actually touched. ¡°Thank you for your mercy your majesty, in my next life I would be willing to work as a cow or horse for you, to pay back your mercy¡­. Niang Niang, I still have a question, how do you know it was Hui Consort that made me do this?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen, laughed, ¡° I was just guessing, who knew one trial and I got it¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wang Xiao Hu was speechless, thickened his face and praised Ye Zhen Zhen a little. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s mood became better and start some small talk with, asking how many people are there in his family, what do they do, how did he enter the palace, how many years has it been ¡­.. Wang Xiao Hu, thinking that he will die soon anyway, he answered her honestly, while adding a lot of outside news and stories for Ye Zhen Zhen, whom thought it was very interesting, and was always letting out a small laughter here and there. The atmosphere was very good. The atmosphere behind the screen was not good. While listening to the both of them outside, Ji Wu Jiu can¡¯t help but wonder how did the 2 person who was having a strict and tense interrogation session now turn to be a story sharing session with laughter? Even if he heard the entire conversation he still couldn¡¯t understand.. this two¡­ are they idiots? The most important thing was, she placed him here and seems to have totally forgotten. Waiting for a while more, still Ye Zhen Zhen did not come to escort him, he stood up and headed outside. ¡°Niang Niang, the things outside although not as intricate as the ones in the palace, but they are better because things are always new, there is many things that you can try, like at that famous restaurant, with various types of cuisines from all over the world, not that I want to praise them overly but in terms of variety they can totally fight with the ones in the palace¡± ¡°Really? Have you tried them?¡± ¡°I have only been there once, I ate Japanese cuisine, the fish are eaten raw, some people can¡¯t take it, but I think it is still not too bad, it¡¯s rather fresh.¡± ¡°Can raw fish be eaten?¡± ¡°Can, there is many things to eat there, there is also a deep fried prawns, it is too bad that I am going to die soon, if not I would be able to bring back some for your majesty to try¡± ¡°Even though you did something grave, but since you were forced by someone, I will try to ask the emperor to change your¡­..thats right the emperor!¡± Ye Zhen Zhen suddenly remember that person, immediately stood up and looked back, only to find that Ji Wu Jiu was already standing outside the screen. Immediately Wang Xiao Hu kneeled down to greet the emperor. ¡°May the emperor live for tens of thousands of years¡± Ji Wu Jiu looked at the both of them coldly, ¡°the both of you are very compatible¡± Ye Zhen Zhen, turned to Wang Xiao Hu and said ¡°You may leave first¡± Ji Wu Jiu, sat down. Ye Zhen Zhen asked Su Yue to bring a cup of tea, and she served him personally. ¡°Since when did you get the clue about this case¡± After everyone left, he asked.. ¡°When I saw Ding Da Xiang¡¯s corpse¡± Normally if someone were to commit suicide out of guilt, they would not purposely put the evidence on their body, it was obvious he was trying to frame someone. Furthermore even the time to commit suicide was too matching, and if not because someone went back to sneak a nap, afraid only when the emperor arrives only we will know about him. And if want to frame the empress, then the only person to report the case to will be to the emperor. ¡°Why did you think it is Hui Consort?¡± ¡°The dogs that normally bite doesn¡¯t bark¡± Framing the empress is not as easy as to try to murder Li Concubine, to face two woman of high rank at the same time, will require a lot of courage, intelligence, and relations in order to do so. Of course, by doing this that person must be able to get something with the fall of the empress. That¡¯s why Ye Zhen Zhen reduced the size of the suspects to those with the Consort rank and above. Zhuang Consort sides Li Concubine, so she was eliminated, Xian Concubine has not stabilized her position, and with her behavior she would not do something as rash as this, Xi Consort, is someone who just knows how to bark but doesn¡¯t bite. As for Li Concubine herself, as per her simple mind, the person she dislikes most now should be Xian Concubine who stole the emperor¡¯s doting, that¡¯s why it is not her as well. The last one left is Hui Consort. ¡°Why did you not suspect Xian Concubine?¡± ¡°Xian Concubine is your favourite now, how would I dare to suspect her?¡± Hearing this type of sour words, Ji Wu Jiu felt very good, ¡°But Hui Consort does not have any grudge against you?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen looked at him ¡°Your majesty, I am a very straight forward person, always speaks what comes to mind, this time when I finally decided to talk less, are you sure you want me to tell you everything?¡± Hui Consort, actually won¡¯t be so daring to find trouble with Ye Zhen Zhen, but then, one should know, the person behind Hui Consort is the Empress Dowager. ¡°Its fine¡±.. Ji Wu Jiu shook his head. His eyes met hers, her gaze has no expression. ¡°You are clever¡±, he then took a sip of tea. ¡°Not only clever, actually I am very clever¡± ¡°Pu¡ª¡ª¡° The tea could not be stopped from coming out from his mouth. Looking down at his robes, and looking at the still calmed Ye Zhen Zhen, he shook his head while wiping his robes with a handkerchief, and sighing tiredly at the same time¡­.. Chapter 8 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 8 JULY 29, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 The Lu Hua Palace mooncake case, was solved in three days, Hui Consort was evil for trying to harm the imperial concubine, to frame the empress, her punishment was to be lowered to the 8th rank Xuan Shi, and to stay in the side courtyard of Yao Yue Palace. Yao Yue Palace.. Yao Yue Palace.. snorted Ye Zhen Zhen, The empress dowager is really too much, what Hui Consort have done, not to even mentioned being punished to the cold palace, even if she was placed to any other palace, she definitely won¡¯t have a good time, all but this Yao Yue Palace¡­ No matter Xian Concubine is willing or not, she now have to side the empress dowager. Though according to Ye Zhen Zhen, the empress dowager is really too eager this time. Hui Consort is already no longer useful, if the empress dowager really don¡¯t want to treat her badly, ask someone to take care of her properly will, but to place her in Yao Yue Palace to be a hindrance for Xian Concubine. Furthermore, when Xian Concubine was alone, she still appeared to be independent, but this time round the empress dowager made it known that she is on her side, openly helping Xian Concubine to snatch the empress position, it was almost like turning her into a shield for arrows. Ye Zhen Zhen yawned and thought, if the Xu family is only at this level of thinking as well¡­ then their family is really easy to understand, and one can¡¯t really blame her grandfather. ¡°The Emperor arrives!¡±, Wang You Cai loudly announced standing outside Kun Ning Palace, and because he has never done this before, therefore he used his voice wrongly, at the last word his voice cracked, sounding like a crow getting shot. Ji Wu Jiu frowned after hearing that.. This Wang You Cai, is Wang Xiao Hu, Ye Zhen Zhen asked for him with Ji Wu Jiu herself. He was originally a criminal, should have been sentenced to death, but since Hui Consort received a lighter punishment intended, and Ye Zhen Zhen did not even complained, Ji Wu Jiu gave her a face and gave her the little eunuch. Ye Zhen Zhen thought that Wang Xiao Hu¡¯s name was too lame, and not suitable for Kun Ning Palace, so she followed Feng You De¡¯s name and changed his name, (You Cai, You = Have, Cai = Wealth. Ji Wu Jiu couldn¡¯t believe that Ye Zhen Zhen thought this name was very elegant. Although Wang You Cai¡¯s announcement gave people goosebumps, even the birds flew away, Ye Zhen Zhen seems to have missed it. That is why when Ji Wu Jiu went in, he saw Ye Zhen Zhen sitting down, eyes staring at something and seems to be lost in thought. Walking towards her slowly, and saw in front of here there was a chess board with 9 boxes. On the board there was from randomly placed pieces with numbers on them. That board is different from normal board, but it is a combination of 9 smaller 9 box chess board, with a total of 81 small boxes in a square, and in each small square a chess piece with number can be placed in. (Sudoku) Ye Zhen Zhen was still deep in thought, with a deep frown, and didn¡¯t know Ji Wu Jiu was there. Ji Wu Jiu also didn¡¯t hope that Ye Zhen Zhen will realise herself, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen got shocked and turned towards him, stood up in a hurry and paid her greetings. Ji Wu Jiu only continued to frown. ¡°You have arrived, why did the eunuch outside did not announce?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen said. ¡°How Disrespectful¡± Ji Wu Jiu said while showing her 2 fingers, this would be the 2nd fault in his books for her. Ye Zhen Zhen, sticked her tongue out at him, Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s gaze returned to the chess board ¡°Is this a 9 boxed chess board?, Though it does not really look like it¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t, this is called Sudoku, its created by someone called Shi Tian Chang, in this small boxes vertically should have 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and cannot be repeated, and in each 9 boxes board, its also these numbers that cannot be repeated. It seems interesting, JI Wu Jiu walked closer to the table and took a chess piece, and started thinking. Ye Zhen Zhen advised him ¡°This game has different levels, since this is your first time, why don¡¯t we start at the beginner¡¯s level, I have a manual book here, there are all sorts of levels. ¡°You talk too much¡± Ji Wu Jiu said, and then placed down a chess piece on the board. Ye Zhen Zhen thought, I was trying for half a day, it is not possible that you are able to solve it. Ji Wu Jiu kept placing the chess pieces on to the board, and in a short while the board was completed. ¡°So easy¡± He can¡¯t help but to comment. Turning his head, he saw Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s face in awe. Beautiful like a flower, eyes shining. Ye Zhen Zhen, was never one to know how to act elegant, whatever she found nice will be placed onto her hair, clear jades, colourful gems, delicate and intricate designs, are her choices. If a normal person were to place it like her, one would think that the woman got rich suddenly and wanted to show off, but when Ye Zhen Zhen has a very exquisite face, when she uses them, it does not seem weird at all, and in the exact opposite, it suits her very well, and manages to carry them very well. Ji Wu Jiu suddenly remembered something she once said. ¡°This luxurious things, its like it was made specifically for me¡± .. ¡°Your majesty, your majesty, this is supposed to be a 2¡± Ye Zhen Zhen said pointing to a small box. Jiu Wu Jiu returned to his senses and placed a 2 into the small box, then thought for a bit and shifted his body abit. He was still not used to be too close to Ye Zhen Zhen. Time places quickly while playing, it was already dinner time, Ji Wu Jiu was lazy to change place so he decided to have dinner at Kun Ning Palace. He thought that his act of playing the game in Kun Ning Palace was kinda shameful, as he neglected his work, then thought that this was Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s game so it counts as her attracting him to play, so Ji Wu Jiu decided to involve Ye Zhen Zhen and added another stroke in his little black book. Ye Zhen Zhen didn¡¯t know what he was thinking, and was too lazy to try to understand, eating is an important thing, must focus. She didn¡¯t like people to purposely serve her food¡ª where this service should only be provided with those that are paralyzed. Normal people also will not really like if someone to serve you every single item on the menu. That¡¯s why both of them was holding their own chopsticks and helping themselves. Ye Zhen Zhen likes to eat meat, and asked the kitchen to make braised meat, and not sure what did the chefs do, but the meat was very tender and almost melts in the mouth, and was very fragrant. That;s why Ye Zhen Zhen was very happy. Even when she eats alone, the people surrounding her will also feel very hungry, Ji Wu Jiu also ate a little more than normal. He also liked that braised meat, and ate quite a few pieces. Ye Zhen Zhen was not too happy someone was sharing her food, therefore she took the remaining pieces and placed it into her bowl. Almost overflowing it. Su Yue saw and quickly ordered someone to bring in another bowl. This two person was very heated up in eating, but Feng You De who was outside was in a dilemma, he couldn¡¯t guess the emperor¡¯s thinking, that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t ask him to flip name plates, and also not sure if what he is thinking is what the emperor is thinking. After dinner, both Ji Wu Jiu and Ye Zhen Zhen was started to feel awkward. If he didn¡¯t flip any names and have dinner at Kun Ning Palace, it means that he will be staying over at the empress¡¯s palace, but Ji Wu Jiu didn¡¯t mean it that way, and Ye Zhen Zhen also wish it was that way. That time during the marriage night was still painful for her. Remembering it make her looked at Ji Wu Jiu Ji Wu Jiu¡±¡­.¡± ¡°Your majesty, I heard that Xian Concubine is not feeling too well, are you not going to visit her?¡± Faster go¡­. ¡°Ji Wu Jiu didn¡¯t answer, and instead asked another question, ¡°In this inner palace, who do you hate the most?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen looked at him, with accusing eyes. It was very obvious. Ji Wu Jiu was trying to calm himself, and asked ¡°What I meant was, which woman do you hate?¡± ¡°Zhuang Consort¡± she replied quickly ¡°Why?¡± ¡°She speaks to eloquently, I can¡¯t win her¡± Ji Wu Jiu, smirk and nodded, stood up and left That night, the emperor didn¡¯t not flip and name plates but went to Han Guang Palace. Zhuang Consort was both happy and shocked, it has been some time since the emperor visited her. Because there was many choices and she was not extraordinarily pretty, talents are normal, although knows what to say, but more frequently used to bicker with others therefore she was not doted on much. Not only that the emperor stayed at her place that night, he also promoted her rank to concubine level, now as Zhuang Concubine, the same rank as Li Concubine and Xian Concubine. But what made Zhuang Concubine confused was that, according to the emperor , the reason for her promotion was because of the empress. After hearing this , Li Concubine did not treat Zhuang Concubine like before, when speaking to her, it was weird too. Zhuang Concubine was not happy, she didn¡¯t think she did anything wrong, last time when she was helping Li Concubine, they were very close, and Li Concubine actually treated her like a maid servant. Now because of these rumours, Li Concubine totally changed. Now that the both of them are of the same rank, how dare she still show power in front of me. That¡¯s why, Zhuang Concubine no longer listens to Li Concubine. Looking at the both of them having an internal fight, Ye Zhen Zhen was happy inside. Also the 1 big 12 small toads that was supposed to be given to Li Concubine was finally gifted to someone. When they arrive on 2 separate trays in front of Zhuang Concubine, she went pale. After seeing this gruesome matter, all the other concubine and consorts were also afraid, all placed on a firm heart and wanted to report to the emperor. Chapter 9 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 9 JULY 30, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Today is the ninth day of the ninth month, not only today is the Chong Yang Festival, it was also Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s birthday, After today, he will turn 20. Normally for men at the age of 20 they have a coming of age ceremony, but as an Emperor with huge responsibilities, he already had his ceremony a few years back. Therefore this year for his birthday, the celebration is not as grand. During the day, to have a family gathering at the inner palace and at night to celebrate with the minister, that would be all. The family gathering would of course be organized by Ye Zhen Zhen. The birthday celebration reminds Ji Wu Jiu of the present he received from Ye Zhen Zhen, it was a own made gun. Ji Wu Jiu also tested it with real gun powder, it was quite nice to use. Of Ji Wu Jiu would know what was Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s intention; See, you didn¡¯t let me reference the other drafts you have, I still can create a gun, now you will know what is called super clever and intelligent. He is at the point where he knows what sort of expression will appear on Ye Zhen Zhen when she says this sentence. Laughing coldly, gunpower is something that can kill, she really dared to gift something like this to me as a birthday present¡­really.. really¡­. Sigh.. Besides the gun he received from Ye Zhen Zhen, he also received various gifts from his other small wives, there were some self made embroidery, drawings, antiques, and etc. Xian Concubine, gave him a piece of jade accessory, which was initially made to be a pair of dragon and phoenix, Xian Concubine gave the dragon shaped one to Ji Wu Jiu and kept the Phoenix one for herself. Of Course Ji Wu Jiu would have understood what she meant, but it was such a cheesy gift, in the end he just gave it to Feng You De to be kept, and didn¡¯t not wear it. His romantic side will only come out when there is something important, for an example, before any intimate ¡°business¡±. After hearing about it, Ye Zhen Zhen only thought Xian Concubine was stingy, only giving half of the item. Actually, what Xian Concubine did was not right, if they were normal citizens using the dragon and phoenix jades as a couple gift was fine, but in the palace the emperor is the dragon and the phoenix would be the empress, and at this moment she is still far from being the empress. Although many others thought that Ye Zhen Zhen will surely sooner or later drop from the empress position, however she is still in that position so it seems that Xian Concubine can¡¯t wait to be the phoenix. Although what she meant for it was just to remind Ji Wu Jiu of their love¡­. After much thought Xian Concubine also let out a cold sweat, scolding herself for being reckless. Luckily Ye Zhen Zhen did not take this matter seriously. His favourite gift that was still the one he gave himself. A few days ago the head of the main 3 army camp, Ye Lei Ting did a little mistake, so Ji Wu Jiu used a ¡°not competent¡± fault and sent him far away to Ning Xia to be a lieutenant there. Although there was an increase in rank, to most people it was still a severe punishment. The 3 main army camps are elite forces and have a few hundred thousand army, it definitely cannot be compared to the Ning Xia army camp. Why did Ji Wu Jiu want to find fault with Ye Lei Ting? This Ye Lei Ting originally comes from a family that produces good general, also he was capable, strong in martial arts, strict army ruling and held a high position at a young age. But it was too bad that he has family ties with Ye Xiu Ming, although during his father¡¯s generation there did not really had a good relationship with Ye Xiu Ming, but it changed with Ye Lei Ting. Really, looking for punishment. That¡¯s why Ji Wu Jiu punished him. Initially Ye Xiu Ming wanted to help Ye Lei Ting, but it was Ye Lei Ting who personally asked to be transferred to Ning Xia, ending his own career. So, Ye Xiu Ming couldn¡¯t do anything and can only curse Ji Wu Jiu for being foxy. After Ye Lei Ting left, the new person he choose was Fang Xiu Qing¡¯s brother in law. That¡¯s why Ji Wu Jiu slept very well for the past few days, feeling revitalized. When he saw Ye Xiu Ming, he was able to have small chats with him, and was very happy when he saw Ye Xiu Ming being unhappy. Back to topic, about the family gathering. The weather was great, with blue skies. The summer¡¯s humidity is gone, the autumn¡¯s air surrounding the atmosphere, one of the most comfortable weathers in the year. Initially Ye Zhen Zhen wanted to held the banquet inside Yan Chun Ge, but since the weather was good she got her people to take everything outside to Tai Ye Pond to enjoy the breeze and scenery. All the ladies from the inner palace payed extra attention to their dressings and appearance, happily greet the emperor with prosperous words. Ji Wu Jiu was in a good mood, and let out a seldom seen smile, making the atmosphere even better. Autumn is when the chrysanthemums blooms best, Ye Zhen Zhen ordered people to place them around the banquet, also added some green peony, and many other types of flower varieties. Ji Wu Jiu took a sip of chrysanthemums wine, and happily asked his wives to make poems with flower as a topic. The consorts happily agree, and especially those with high talent. Thinking that in a little while, they would get the attention of the emperor. Between them, Wang Zhao Yi stood up, looking at the pot of green peony, looking a far in deep thoughts made her look attractive. Wang Zhao Yi entered the palace when she was 13, although Ji Wu Jiu has a wide chest and accepts most types of woman, but towards a child he just couldn¡¯t do it, that¡¯s why she was only allowed to serve the emperor 2 years later. It was only recently that she was promoted from the fifth grade Mei Ren to forth grade Zhao Yi. Although she was not as pretty as Li Concubine, but she is very talented in the arts and literature field, so Ji Wu Jiu will occasionally change his taste and dote on this talented girl. Suddenly with a glimmer in her eyes, it seems that Wang Zhao Yi got something and took the brush to write out the words. After that, Ji Wu Jiu looked at Ye Zhen Zhen at his side, and only saw her frowning and drawing nonsense on her paper. His mouth curved up a little, showing a smile that was not easily detected. After an incense stick time, it was time to submit their work. After checking them Ji Wu Jiu decided Wang Zhao Yi wrote the best, and the last person was naturally Ye Zhen Zhen, though luckily what she submitted wasn¡¯t the drawings that she was doing earlier. Ye Zhen Zhen was never a talent girl, even when she was at home and her father tried to turn her into one, it didn¡¯t work. Ye Zhen Zhen also told her father ¡°As a girl, without talent means she is benevolent¡± Ye Kang Le couldn¡¯t help but laughed, ¡°so everyday ignoring your duty as a lady and playing with swords and guns means that you are benevolent?¡± Ye Kang Le was frustrated, their family was all into the arts and literature, and never produced any strong generals, but why did this girl turn out to be Mu Lan? Ye Zhen Zhen didn¡¯t really bother as she was pampered by Ye Xiu Ming, naturally what she wanted to do, she will, what she didn¡¯t want to do, she won¡¯t. Ji Wu Jiu loudly read out Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s work, all the ladies was trying their best to not laugh. He also commented ¡° My Empress¡¯s knowledge, on literature I am afraid did not grow after the age of 7¡± Ye Zhen Zhen has a thick face, without any change in her expression ¡° It was said that too much literature only brings trouble, it might not necessary be good¡± thinking a little it sounded like she scolded her own family as well, added ¡°but of course not those that really uses it for the country and people¡± This time Li Concubine agrees with Ye Zhen Zhen, because if not for her, she would have been the worst. She hated making poems the most. Looking at Wang Zhao Yi, she could not help but to keep repeating in her heart ¡±bitch..¡± After that, they started another round of games which was for one to say a sentence with regards to flower and according to the word count, following how they sit, the next person would have to drink a cup of wine and continue with the game if the last word falls on them. Wang Zhao Yi got twice, and each time her sentence would end at Ji Wu Jiu, and when he drinks his eyes will look at her and making her go all shy, both of them exchanging glances was so intense that it seems that sparkles will ignite soon. Li Concubine was not happy, even Xian Concubine was not in a good mood anymore. The other ladies followed as well to try to end the sentence at Ji Wu Jiu, and in the end made the birthday boy drank a lot of wine, but what made Ye Zhen Zhen angry was, everytime Ji Wu Jiu finished drinking, he will always make sure that the sentence ends at her. Therefore after a few rounds, how many cups of wine Ji Wu Jiu drank, that was how many cups of wine Ye Zhen Zhen had to drink. Li Concubine was starting to get bored and hurriedly catch an opportunity ¡° Today, it is your majesty¡¯s birthday, I would like to play a song to celebrate¡± Although Li Concubine might not be strong in literature, she is very good with the Zither, to the point where even Ji Wu Jiu was shocked. She has the ability to make people drunk with her skills. That¡¯s why Ji Wu Jiu gestured for them to stop the game and to listen to Li Concubine play. This time, Xi Consort smiled ¡°If only Li Concubine playing the Zither is too simple, I am willing to sing along to her song¡± Ji Wu Jiu allowed as well, because Xi Consort was good at singing too. Then, Ye Zhen Zhen added ¡° There is music, there is song, if there will be someone dancing, that would be best¡± Xian Concubine was happy, she has a good body to dance and when she dances it was very beautiful, she dances Ling Bo Xian the best, even JI Wu Jiu praised her previously. ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I have already prepared¡± Ye Zhen Zhen stopped Xian Concubine. ¡°A few days ago I found a very pretty dancer, today would be just right to let the emperor enjoy¡±¡±. While saying she gestured, and a dancer walked towards the pre prepared dance floor, and started dancing along to the music. Whether this dancer was pretty or not, JI Wu Jiu still couldn¡¯t tell, because all his attention was given to the hair style. Ye Zhen Zhen saw Ji Wu Jiu turning purple, and explained with a smile, ¡°I asked the dancer to combed this 18 circle style, thinking it should be able to brighten up the atmosphere some more. What do you think of it your majesty?¡± ¡°It was hard on you to prepare this, although I am not sure how does 18 circle hair style looks like, but I think it shouldn¡¯t have been simply tying 18 circles on the head¡± while looking at her. He starts to be astonished by her, this woman really has the wits to attract/diminish his appetite. (this part is abit hard to translate, I am not sure if he meant, she was getting more attractive or she was able to make the pretty dancer not attractive to him..sorry) On the dance floor, the dancer was dancing with 18 circles on her head, and was under a lot of stress, she was afraid if she angered the emperor, her head will be gone. Actually this hairstyle is not ugly, just very funny.. The dancer was wearing a yellow chiffon dress, with graceful dancing skills, and great body. It is just that the hairstyle made it looked very weird with the combination. Most of the people were trying to cover their mouth, trying to stop laughing, but once they saw the black faced Ji Wu Jiu, they didn¡¯t dare to laugh, and it was suffering to stop laughter. Ye Zhen Zhen saw that Ji Wu Jiu was finally going to be unhappy, was then only she became happier. Towards this emperor, her feelings towards him was very complicated, although she dislikes him, she also don¡¯t dare to do anything that is too over so she only occasionally do small things to make him angry. The life in the inner palace was too boring, she needed to find something to put her thoughts on. Howevere, Ji Wu Jiu ¡®s feelings towards Ye Zhen Zhen was also very complicated, always gritting his teeth on matters regarding to her, but also in the same time couldn¡¯t do anything about it. At first he thought that she was stupid, but actually she was very ¡°super clever¡±; he was also afraid that she will do or plan anything behind his back, but she always place her ¡°clever¡± at the front, very honestly, showing everyone. Actually this is something that surpasses clever. Now, both of them was in their thoughts, and suddenly their eyes met, and then both turn their eyes away again¡­. Note: This chapter there was alot of parts that were very difficult to translate word by word, so some parts i turn them into summary instead, like the wine drinking game¡­ and some others.. but the story line flow remains ~ hehe Chapter 10 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 10 JULY 31, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Even until the dinner banquet with his ministers, Ji Wu Jiu can still vaguely see the spinning circles. Ye Zhen Zhen is really like a curse. She also gifted him the dancer, and because of his status and pride, he had no choice but to accept it. Even thinking about it makes him speechless. Originally, Ye Zhen Zhen only wanted to anger the emperor a little, but accidently hurt another person.. Li Concubine.. Li Concubine counted her toads and compared with Xian Concubine¡¯s, and found out that Xian Concubine has more, although Zhuang Concubine has more than both of them (13 toads one shot previously), that was another case. That means, ever since Xian Concubine entered the palace, she served the emperor more than her. Li Concubine was afraid that she will lose power soon, and furthermore the emperor¡¯s attitude towards her has also cooled down more if compared with previously. She needs to think on how to win over Xian Concubine as well as to attract the emperor¡¯s attention again. To play the zither during the birthday celebrations was such a good opportunity, as she was the best in the inner palace she believed. The plan started well, until Ye Zhen Zhen called out the weird dancer. Everyone¡¯s attention was only given to the dancer, wherever she danced towards, the people¡¯s eyes will surely follow. The emperor also stopped her zither playing, which is the first time since she entered the palace. The plan to shine again was a failure, hating on Wang Zhao Yi, Xian Concubine as well and of course she hates the empress the most. Then, the next day the empress was sending out gifts to each palace. The empress¡¯s family is very rich, besides food, Ye Zhen Zhen doesn¡¯t really care about the other things, and when she is in a good mood, even without proper reasons she will distribute some gifts to the other consorts in the palace. So now, the maid servants and eunuchs was carrying these gifts and heading towards the palaces of the other consorts. In order to show hierarch, the gifts for the 3 concubines, will be brought by the closest maid servants and eunuchs of the empress. The one that went to Lu Hua Palace is Su Yue. She was followed by 2 little eunuchs, carrying brocades, jewelry and etc, while she wasn¡¯t carrying anything. After reaching Lu Hua Palace, she bowed a little and said ¡°This is the gifts bestowed by the empress, to thank your hard work during the birthday celebration yesterday, please check them niang niang¡± The moment she mentioned ¡°birthday celebration¡± Li Concubine¡¯s face changed. Actually Su Yue did it purposely, although she has a mature attitude, and normally the one that advices Su Feng not to be rash, but she is still young, and didn¡¯t like Li Concubine much anyway, so she thought she wanted to anger her a little using words for the empress. Thinking that she is from the empress¡¯s side, even before beating dogs you have to look at the owner, most people would not dare to do anything. But.. she was wrong.. Li Concubine is not most people¡­. So after receiving the gifts Li Concubine said ¡°Thank you you majesty¡± then turned towards Su Yue, ¡°I didn¡¯t know that the maid servants from Kun Ning Palace knows only this much about palace rules, didn¡¯t even kneel after meeting me¡± The moment Su Yue heard this, she knows something bad will happen, and immediately kneeled ¡°My apologies niang niang¡± Kun Ning palace¡¯s maid servants was all thought by Madam Tan who was from the Empress Dowager¡¯s palace. Of Course they all are well aware of palace rules. ¡°It is because I was in a hurry to present the items to niang niang, I ask for forgiveness¡± But then again, for Su Yue to receive this scolding is a little hard to accept as well. Although maid servants are required to pay proper greetings when seeing concubines, but they are the empress¡¯s main maid servants, and today was ordered to send gifts from the empress, that¡¯s why bowing a little should have been enough, most concubines will not take this matter seriously. Although the palace rules are strict, it does not mean all rules must be follow rigidly. ¡°Such an ignorant servant, still daring to make excuses after making a mistake, Fan Chun, slap her!¡± Li Concubine didn¡¯t want to let go of this chance. Li Concubine¡¯s personal servant Fan Chun, was in a dilemma while looking at Su Yue, ¡°Niang niang¡­¡± This is the empress¡¯s people, do you think the people that you have upset in the palace is very little. ¡°Slap now!¡± Li Concubine was very angry, of course advices won¡¯t go in. Fan Chun was the main adviser for Li Concubine, this girl still had some intelligence, she is considered half, while the other was Zhuang Concubine, but it was too bad that Zhuang Concubine wanted to take a lead as well. Anyway, Fan Chun always helped Li Concubine plan, and normally most of the time Li Concubine will listen to her, but when her temper is here, she would not listen to anyone, not to mention she was only a maid servant. That is why Fan Chun knows that whatever she says now would be useless. All she could do was stopped talking and walked towards Su Yue, lifted her hands and slapped her lightly. She now only hopes this slap would not leave her hand print on Su Yue¡¯s face, and that Su Yue won¡¯t report this to the empress. ¡°You didn¡¯t eat rice ?¡± Li Concubine was not satisfied Fan Chun couldn¡¯t help, sighed and with a loud ¡°Pa¡±, slapped again. Finally Li Concubine was feeling a bit more satisfied. *** Ye Zhen Zhen was holding Su Yue¡¯s chin, looking at the swollen face, squinting her yes, and said angrily ¡°Who did this?¡± Su Yue also didn¡¯t know what to say at this point. She felt that today it was her fault first, letting someone hit her one or twice would be fine. The empress¡¯s status is currently not stable yet, she shouldn¡¯t create extra trouble, that is why in the afternoon she was staying away from the empress, and only left Su Feng and another main servant to be by the empress. But who would have known after being asked by the empress a few times, Su Feng accidently slipped about Su Yue, and also asked the empress to help Su Yue. ¡°Niang Niang don¡¯t be angry, it was me who first made a mistake, and made Li Concubine angry, next time, I will surely act properly and not give you any more problems¡± ¡°Hitting you meant that she hit me¡± Ye Zhen Zhen said coldly, ¡°No matter what, I am still the Empress, who ever dares to bully people from Kun Ning palace, really lived too long!¡± Su Yue paled, and kneeled, ¡°NIang niang, don¡¯t be angry!, It was all my fault, niang niang¡¯s status is still not stable, there is many people thinks that you should not be here, the emperor could not protect you, you shouldn¡¯t act rashly..¡± ¡°Of course I will not do anything to Li Concubine now¡± Ye Zhen Zhen gestured for the emotional Su Yue to stop. Now the most dangerous person that is challenging her empress position would be Xian Concubine, such a good knife, why should I throw it so fast¡± After listening to her, only was Su Yue able to calm down. She knew although that the empress is a little weird but she will still consider the big picture. ¡°However,¡± Ye Zhen Zhen said seriously ¡°This matter I will surely revenge¡± Su Yue wanted to advise the empress again, but then an eunuch came in to speak on behalf of the emperor. The emperor wants the empress to meet him at Bi Xin Pavilion. As long as it is Ji Wu Jiu taking the initiative to look for her, it would not be good news. Making such a mental preparation Ye Zhen Zhen rushed to Bi Xin Pavilion. Bi Xin Pavilion was placed on a manmade island in Tai Ye Pond. During summer, at the pavilion the scenery was very good and the pond water would be emerald green, calm and gentle. But why is he here now? Ye Zhen Zhen couldn¡¯t guess what did Ji Wu Jiu wanted on her way here, until she reached only she saw that the Emperor was with Wang Zhao Yi. ¡°Greetings to your majesty¡± ¡°Empress, you may rise¡± Straightening her body, realizing the atmosphere was a little weird. Looking around, on the table she saw a scenery drawing drawn by Ji Wu Jiu, and another drawing has a pair of mandarin ducks strolling on grass, should be drawn by Wang Zhao Yi. ¡°Such a great pair of Mandarin ducks!. Ye Zhen Zhen exclaimed. Wang Zhao Yi got embarrassed and turned red, looking at Ji Wu Jiu for a bit and looked down, and her gentle eyes seems to have a glimmer of sharpness and hate. Ji Wu Jiu also felt a little embarrass, accordingly he and Wang Zhao Yi is not a pair of scandalous adulterous. Both of them where just having a chat and drawing session, for him to release some stress, there should be nothing wrong. Although the location is abit quiet, though it should not be enough to be called a pair of wild Mandarin Ducks. However, the little guilt feeling in his heart.. why is it there? ¡°Your majesty, why did you call me over in a rush, is there any matter?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen asked looking at Ji Wu Jiu. Ji Wu Jiu looked serious ¡°Empress, look at it yourself¡± Feng You De lead Ye Zhen Zhen down the stairs. Nearing the edge Ye Zhen Zhen saw, and pondered. Why is there people dying every few days, and not to mention one dying worst then the other, it would be such a tiring life. Chapter 11 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 11 AUGUST 4, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 The emperor once again reprimanded the empress in public. This time it was because of the corpse found at Bi Xin Pavilion. The body was tied both hands and legs, mouth stuffed, and thrown into the pond, and was discovered by Ji Wu Jiu while it floated up, and was immediately ordered to be brought up. Normally, at the inner palace, any maid servants or eunuch passing away is nothing new, but if it was found personally by the emperor, than it mill make matters complicated. Furthermore this corpse is a close maid servant to Wang Zhao Yi, when she saw it she nearly fainted. After scolding, Ji Wu Jiu asked Ye Zhen Zhen to investigate the case. And that the palace actually have someone so cruel to take lives, he added another order for her to reorder the inner palace to restore peace. After receiving the order, Ye Zhen Zhen could only laugh coldly in her heart. As a person above all, JI Wu Jiu would never place such importance on a mere maid servant¡¯s life, he surely is trying to make her troubled that is all. To reorder the inner palace? Definitely he is trying to use this chance to find fault if she didn¡¯t do it properly, but if she do it too well, she would make a lot of known and hidden enemies. Even as an Empress, her position was not stable, the emperor does not dote her, the empress dowager does not like her, and with all this matters it is really going to be hard to stay here. ¡°This Ji Wu Jiu is really too cunning, not a good person!¡± Ye Zhen Zhen, scolded out, as she can¡¯t take it anymore Su Feng paled, and immediately closed the empress¡¯s mouth, ¡°My empress, you shouldn¡¯t!¡±, Although they are at Kun Ning Palace, but who knows if there are any ears here sent by the emperor. Such rude words should not even be thought of, mentioning the emperor¡¯s name is even worst, daring to say it out like this, not sure if she should be called brave or foolish. Su Yue was shocked and she was already kneeling, ¡°My empress, you are a smart person, for once I will say truthfully. In this inner palace, there is no one that is not cunning or evil? Even for Li Concubine is she was foolish or innocent how would she reach her position now. You are the head of the inner palace, the higher the position the more dangerous it is, there are countless pairs of eyes staring at you! I have followed you for so many years, I am well aware of your temper. You are brought up in Ye Manor like a jewel, if when you made mistakes, no one in the Ye Manor actually punishes you. But in the palace it is different, nobody will overlook your mistakes, everyone also wants to win over you, also wants you to die¡± Ye Zhen Zhen got shocked, ¡°still dare to say me, you also said what you shouldn¡¯t have said¡± ¡®It is because I can¡¯t help it, please listen to my advice, I know that you understand fully in your heart, but its just that you can¡¯t swallow it, but if it were to continue I can only be afraid of the consequences.. Even if you don¡¯t think for yourself, you need to think for Ye Manor as well¡± ¡°Stand up first¡±, Ye Zhen Zhen said, while looking at Su feng, who immediately helped Su Yue stand. Ye Zhen Zhen sighed and continued ¡°Everyone thought that I would be able to protect Ye Family, but I can¡¯t even protect myself, how am I to help Ye Family?¡± To be a powerful political family, it almost always require a weak emperor, but Ji Wu Jiu is a very healthy, keen and good emperor, and he definitely would never allow any family to grow strong. If Ji Wu Jiu is a cunning tiger, then Ye Xiu Ming would only be considered a female lion. Not that Ye Zhen Zhen does not believe in her grandfather, but it is a fact. Time is standing by Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s side, it would not be possible for Ye family to win. Not to mention, the more power you have the more trouble you would get, then Ye family now even have an empress, using the ¡°family¡± status, how is it possible that others would not feel jealous. Sighing again, Ye Zhen Zhen thought that this chess move of placing her as an empress, was done wrongly by her grandfather. *** ¡°How can a good person be a good emperor¡± Ji Wu Jiu said after listening to the report, while placing his brush down. In a low voice, almost like talking to himself, but also seems like telling the people there. There were only 2 eunuch¡¯s there at the moment, and both of them also does not have the right to comment. ¡°You may go¡± The eunuch kneeling, stood up and left, while still bending his waist. If Su Yue were to see his face, definitely she will know that he is no stranger. There is only 2 person left in the room, Ji Wu Jiu said, ¡°the empress is an understanding person¡± ¡°She is still Mr Ye¡¯s granddaughter¡± Feng You De replied. Though this sentence is merely pointing out the facts, but there seems to be more to it, it was like to remind him to keep his distance from her. Ji Wu Jiu, looked at Feng You De, said what was her servant¡¯s name again? Su Yue? ¡°Yes that is the name¡± ¡°It clashes with Xian Concubine¡¯s name¡± Feng You De thought that the Emperor really thinks a lot about Xian Concubine, even to this extent. Su Yue is the personal maid servant of the empress, whether name clashes or not is decided by the emperor¡¯s one word, as there are a huge difference between an empress and concubine, even if Xian Concubine is being doted on, she is still only a concubine. He thought that the emperor will give order to Ye Zhen Zhen to change Su Yue¡¯s name, but after waiting for a while, the emperor still did not say anything. He looked up and found that Ji Wu Jiu has already picked up his brush and continue looking through the documents. ¡°¡­.¡± Feng You De don¡¯t know whether he should ask the emperor, after contemplating for a while, and finally have the courage to ask, Ji Wu Jiu looked at him with a cold glare. Feeling a chill, he quickly looked down again. Ji Wu Jiu flipped open a document, it came from the newly appointed 3 main camp head soldier, asking the emperor to personally visit the army camp to motivate the soldiers. This is the type of people that he wants, someone who know what to do. *** These days, there are rumors flying in the inner palace. Everyone is saying that the maid servant that died at Bi Xin Pavilion has spoked to Ye Zhen Zhen through a dream, to tell her about what happened, and also told her the murderer. But the people around the empress has very tight lips, no matter how they tried to ask about the case no answers were given. Only Su Feng, who slipped a little that the murderer clashes with the flower god. This sentence has then been spread about by the servants throughout, to the extent that even if the empress does not punish the murderer, the flower god will do it. Actually this matter is very amusing, there are many ways to clash with the flower god, it could be birthdate clash, or fate clashing, or that day that time accidently clash¡­ Which type was the empress referring to? Ji Wu Jiu after hearing about this, only laughed a little. This type of drama to create ghosts and gods, we shall see what will happen. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s drama was actually very simple, she didn¡¯t really want to investigate the case, and the people that died without reason in this palace are too many. She only wanted to look for a scapegoat, to answer Ji Wu Jiu. As for what type of scapegoat¡ª- of course is the one that she dislike. These days, the one that she dislikes the most would be Fan Chun, the maid servant who slapped her Su Yue. And Fan Chun¡¯s name can be somehow be related to clashing with the flower gods. Today, Ye Zhen Zhen was talking a walk with Wang You Cai in the imperial gardens, from far she saw a big built person leading a troop of army passing by, and they also saw the empress¡¯s entourage, and quickly went aside. In the inner palace the guards can move around their designated areas, and if not necessary they are to avoid contact with the ladies in the inner palace. ¡°Captain Lu¡± Ye Zhen Zhen called the person leading the troops. Lu Li heard her calling, walk towards her and kneeled ¡°Your majesty¡± The person kneeling is wearing a dark red palace uniform, on the uniform there was an embroidered an image that represented the 4th rank martial minister rank. This person has a big built, and when he walks he has an air of superiority, when kneeling his back is straight, not even slightly moving. Looking at the people who she grew up with greeting her according to the rules, Ye Zhen Zhen felt a little awkward. Looking at the back of his head, ¡°Raise your head¡± ¡°I do not dare¡± ¡°Cous¡­..¡± ¡°Niang-niang!, niang niang.. .. is there anything I can help you with?¡± ¡°Do you know anyone from Da Li Shi (something like FBI)?¡± Da Li Shi is in charge of investigations. ¡°In Da Li Shi, I have some connections, is there something wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing much, just want to you to help me ask if anyone from Da Li Shi is interested to be an eunuch.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± After sending Ye Zhen Zhen off, Lu Li can finally feel better, after thinking, he frowned and shook his head, Zhen Zhen is a very straightforward person, in this inner palace one would not know how much she will need to suffer. After walking for a while, suddenly there was a maid servant running towards her ,and whispered to Ye Zhen Zhen. ¡°Bring her¡± Ye Zhen Zhen replied. After a while, a maid servant was sent to her, looking pale, after seeing Ye Zhen Zhen, she kneeled on the ground and started knocking her head to the floor, ¡°Please have mercy, please have mercy¡± ¡°Which palace are you from?¡± ¡°Your majesty, I am from Ci Ning Palace¡± Ye Zhen Zhen stopped asking and gestured ¡°bring her out¡± This was really unexpectied, Ye Zhen Zhen didn¡¯t think that simply giving out some seeds will attract a bird on it¡¯s own. The maid servant in bright daylight, was burning incense and memorial papers in the imperial garden, not even sure if she wanted to fall into the trap herself or really got scared by the rumour, thinking that she really angered the flower god. Therefore, this case no longer needs to be investigated further. Anything that happens in the inner palace, there will be no one daring enough to try to blame Ci Ning Palace, therefore she should be the murderer. Just that, being able to catch and tie up another person, stuffing the mouth and quietly thrown into the pond, shouldn¡¯t have been done by a mere maid servant. But why did the empress dowager want to harm Wang Zhao Yi? This is harder to understand, Wang Zhao Yi does not have a high rank, and also not very doted on, and have just only showed herself a little, not even possible to effect anyone. Ye Zhen Zhen couldn¡¯t think of an answer, and could only take it as that unlucky maid servant saw something that she shouldn¡¯t have. No matter what, it is the end of the story, giving face to Ci Ning Palace, and able to close Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s mouth. As for to reorganize the inner palace¡­.. hehe.. you want me to reorganize, I will ¡°properly¡± organize it for you. Chapter 12 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 12 AUGUST 4, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 9th September, clear skies. Early in the morning, Ji Wu Jiu lead a group of people and headed towards the 3 main army camp. If anyone woke up early today, they would have seen the emperor. Wearing a gold robe and shoes, riding on a pure white horse, with a treasure sword on his waist. Although his attire gifts of the royalty feel, but it seems that the citizens like it very much, that¡¯s why there was a lot of ladies looked at him with gazes full of admiration, until the people standing next to them pulled their sleeves reminding them to greet the emperor. ¡°Long Live the emperor¡± The dragon embroidered robe and armor has long gave out Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s identity. He was in a good mood, even if there was people gawking at him, he did not feel offended. Carefully guiding his horse, in order to avoid any casualties with the citizens. In front opening a path, and guarding at the back was all well trained guards, then there were also some hidden armies around protecting him, that is why even blind people would know his identity, but still he needs to be protected. Until they finally left the city gates did he flew with his horse towards the destination. When the emperor was busy meeting the army outside, Ye Zhen Zhen was not shaking her legs in the palace. Actually, it was the busiest day since she has entered the palace. Reorganizing the inner palace would be; anyone that will harm Kun Ning Palace, thinking of how to get rid of them; anyone that will hinder her rivals; thinking of how to make them stay; everyone needs to be properly placed and no longer taking any chances. She has to make sure everyone is well placed so that not all will aim at her only, as well as creating some rumors that there are people that reported the news to the empress so she has no choice to take action, sending Xi Consort¡¯s people to Li Concubine and sending people from Li Concubine to Xian Concubine. Anyway, after this ¡°reorganization¡± Kun Ning Palace¡¯s servants was left with only half, the rest were outside kneeling waiting for the decision of Ye Zhen Zhen, there were all sorts of mistakes and faults that were placed on to them. As the head of the inner palace, Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s place is full of spies from everywhere, this she knew right from the first day she entered this place. Those that were chased out however, she is also not 100% sure that they are spies, but anyone that she suspects even a little, will be best if they were kicked out. There are also some that were brought here from other palaces, all are those that acts snobbishly and creates trouble making people dislike them, therefore a lot of people agreed to her punishing them. This also counts as her pleasing the mass. Today, would be the biggest palace punishment given in the hundreds of years of the Da Qi Empire. Outside Kun Ning Palace, a floor full of kneeling servants, the atmosphere was really tense. A lot of people came to watch as well, there was eunuchs as well maid servants and also some concubines and consorts, but not daring to stand to near, afraid of getting the bad luck. Wang You Cai was holding a list of names checking with the kneeling people there, and when he called their names, the person will reply ¡°I admit my mistake¡±. All of them was kneeling in a very neat formation, almost like the army¡¯s formation at the army camp. The last one to be called is Fan Chun, she was kneeling in front of the rest, almost like the leader amongst them. After all the names have been called out, the punishment starts. The punishment is separated into 3 stages, 20 hits, 40 hits and 60 hits. (The olden days punishment hitting the back with wooden logs) First the 20 hits, then the 40 hits receivers are made to get ready. Listening to the rest getting hit, those that were watching, some were afraid, looked away and even closed their ears, and was thinking why did they even come here in the first place. As for those waiting for their turn, they took it even worst, most of them was in cold sweat, some were crying some screaming, some even wet their pants. After 20 hits, most people will be left without energy to scream anymore, after this group of people are brought away, then it was the next group¡¯s turn. After the 40 hits turn finish it was the last groups turn, 60 hits, and only Fan Chun one person. The mental torture she received from the earlier groups, made Fan Chun faint, but after 1 hit, she woke up again and screamed. ¡°Stop it, all stop it¡± Li Concubine rushed over, Wang You Cai gestured, and 2 strong eunuch stopped her. ¡°Daring to ask your majesty, what did Fan Chun did wrong?¡± ¡°A! A! A!¡± Ye Zhen Zhen smiled and reply in the midst of Fan Chun¡¯s screams ¡°A consort¡¯s miscarriage case, Wu Zhao Yi poisoned case, Xi Consort¡¯s palace arson case, Hui Consort falling in to the water case, all are related to her!¡± Ye Zhen Zhen just said a few. Actually she didn¡¯t investigate this cases thoroughly, but thinking that Li Concubine aren¡¯t really afraid of anything in the palace, anything bad that happen most of the time can¡¯t not be related to her. Not to mention, even if you are not involve, I just wanted to put salt to your wounds. ¡°Xi Consort¡¯s palace fire was not done by her!¡± ¡°Does that mean the rest of it is true?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Li Concubine, I am fine¡­¡­A¡­.!!!!¡± ¡°You¡­ are framing her!¡± Li Concubine said struggling, eyes nearly popping out with anger. Ye Zhen Zhen smiled ¡°You dare to speak to me with this manner!, Su Feng, slap¡± ¡°Yes¡±, Su Feng walked towards her, bringing up her hands, Li Concubine laughed coldly ¡° You Dare?¡± Su Feng is still only a maid servant, her hand stopped in midair, contemplating to continue or not. ¡°She don¡¯t dare, I dare!¡± Ye Zhen Zhen walked towards her, raised her hand and slapped. The slap¡¯s sound was covered by Fan Chun¡¯s scream, so there was no dramatic effect, but Li Concubine¡¯s face was starting to swell, and 5 fingerprints was forming. ¡°If you dare, try to hit me one more time!¡± ¡°Alright¡± Another slap was given. A lot of people saw Ye Zhen Zhen slapped Li Concubine twice, most of them feel better. ¡°You, You, You,.. Very good, wait for the emperor to come back, after he comes back¡­.¡± ¡°The emperor will be returning shortly¡± Ye Zhen Zhen waved her hand ¡°Li Concubine is not feeling well, someone please send her back to Lu Hua Palace¡±. After Li Concubine is sent back, Ye Zhen Zhen turned and faced Fan Chun ¡°Just now the 2 slaps for your master was because of you, I will deduct 20 hits for you¡±. IF she really get hit 60 times, it might take her life, Ye Zhen Zhen still need this person to help advise Li Concubine, still does not need her to die. After the punishment was over, Fan Chun got carried back to Lu Hua Palace, and the people see that it is over they also left. Ye Zhen Zhen returned into her palace drank some tea to rest, and also ordered Wang You Cai to bring over the new eunuch that just entered the palace she wants to personally choose some new ones. ¡°NIang NIang¡± Su Feng suddenly kneeled and looked sad. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen asked placing her cup down and asked. ¡°I am useless¡±, Su Feng thought about her actions just now, that she got scared by Li Concubine and did not hit her. ¡°Stand up, you did not do anything wrong, I didn¡¯t think properly, if you really hit her, she will definitely hate you, next time she will definitely revenge, what happened to Su Yue, I don¡¯t want it to happen to you as well.¡± After what she said, both Su Yue and Su Feng looked at her touched. Su Yue suddenly thought of another thing and frowned ¡°Niang Niang, today you slapped Li Concubine, really made alot of people happy, and making it to such a big fuss, if Li Concubine were to report it to the emperor¡­¡± Ye Zhen Zhen replied bravely ¡°she will confirm report to him, but i dare say he confirm would not help her do anything¡± JI Wu Jiu this person, she does not dare to say she understands him fully, but can guess his temperament. He can punish Ye Zhen Zhen with alot of reasons, but definitely would not include this type of things. To dote on concubine is one thing, facing the ministers is another thing. Li Concubine was rude to the empress in public, shouting and not minding her usage of words, therefore is the one at fault and to be punished by the empress, there is truly nothing wrong. If the emperor were to reprimand the empress because of a few cries from Li Concubine, then the emperor would be facing a title of ¡°lusting towards woman and ignoring the country¡±, a whole bunch of ministers is still waiting for him. That is why today Ye Zhen Zhen dared to embarass Li Concubine in public. Although the method was a bit simple and crude, but it feels awesome! *** When Ji Wu Jiu returned from the army camp, he felt that the palace felt abit different from normal, it seems like some people are weak and floaty.? Not understanding why, changed his clothes and wanted to take a scroll in the palace, but saw Li Concubine coming over while crying. Accordingly, today the empress did such a big act, the people that wants to report should be many, but all also knew that Li Concubine got embarrassed by the empress as well as the 2 slaps, thinking that they did not receive any worst than her, they just thought of standing back and wait to see the tattle tale from Li Concubine. She also, not bothered to think how others think, her palace both masters and servants also got hit, and by the person who is the not doted empress, she can¡¯ stand it anymore. Once she heard that the emperor is back, she immediately rushed over. Ji Wu Jiu listened to Li Concubine¡¯s report, consoled a few sentences and asked her to return to her palace. Then asked Feng You De to investigate what really happened. Feng You De returned quickly, bringing a few witness with him, to report what happened today to Ji Wu Jiu in detail about what Ye Zhen Zhen did, including who got changed from which palace to another, punished who, and what Li Concubine said to get slapped, etc etc.. Hearing it Ji Wu Jiu thought that Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s punishment was for those that could not be trusted, or arrogant normally, it was hard on her to find so many people, to create such a big show, looks like his orders to ¡°reorganize the inner palace¡± tasks has been completed by her. That woman is clever, although she created such a big fuss, in actual she didnt really offend that many people. But.. Ji Wu Jiu suddenly realised and asked ¡°What about the 3 eunuchs i placed in Kun Ning Palace?¡± Feng You De answered ¡± There was 2 that got 20 hits and sent to other place, and the other¡­. ¡°So..?¡± ¡°the other one, because he looks too ugly according to Ye Zhen Zhen and since she didnt want to see him often, he was sent to guard the doors outside her palace and also to order the eunuch if the empress were to make any mistake, he must immediately report to the emperor¡±. Chapter 13 Empress with no Virtue ¨C Chapter 13 AUGUST 4, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 When Ji Wu Jiu reached Lu Hua Palace, he saw Li Concubine still crying, both eyes swollen red, her pretty face also lost colour. He felt his heart soften. ¡°Your majesty¡±, While wiping her tears she said softly. Most probably because she cried too long, she voice sounded abit hoarse already. She is still his woman, so he didn¡¯t want to be too harsh. He sat down, and allowed Li Concubine to climb into his bosom, a delicate body is now laying gently on him. ¡°Your majesty, you must help me!, Li Concubine stated clearly. Although he does not like Ye Zhen Zhen, but if the empress wants to punish a servant she really does not need Li Concubine¡¯s permission. Futhermore as a concubine, she also fight back against the empress in public. Originally, he thought Li Concubine was a clever girl who knows how to take care of his heart and listens well, she is pretty too, so he doted on her a little more, but who knew she would be like this now, losing her temper and not following the rules, really not presentable. With these thoughts in mind, he slowly push away the woman in his arms. Also, towards why Ye Zhen Zhen want to punish Fan Chun, Ji Wu Jiu knew as well. That is why when he see Li Concubine now, the feel is not as good as before, Ye Zhen Zhen is the empress, in the palace the only person that can bully her is only Ji Wu Jiu, who is Li Concubine. Li Concubine felt that the emperor¡¯s reaction was abit weird, she looked at him with teary eyes, ¡°Your ma.. majesty..¡± ¡°Looks like you still didn¡¯t realise your mistakes¡± Ji Wu Jiu said, ¡°then you are grounded in your palace for 2 months, please reflect¡± *** What happened in Lu Hua Palace was spread throughout the palace in a day, most people changed their opinion about Ye Zhen Zhen and respected her more. Initially they thought that there will be a war between Ye Zhen Zhen and Li Concubine, but who knew it was just one side that was strong. Thinking that Li Concubine got hit, and that she was once the most arrogant one amongst consorts, who knew that today she would be under the reign of the undoted empress. The empress really has her ways. A lot of people are counting themselves lucky for not offending her last time, and those that got punished who wanted to report to the emperor, all stopped as they have seen what happened to Li Concubine. Even with many people now respecting her, the empress is not too happy ¡°Will being grounded be too serious? I have already punished her¡± The most important part is if Li Concubine is no longer in the picture, then who will help her go against Xian Concubine?¡± Ji Wu Jiu was sitting at the desk playing with a globe, this Kun Ning Palace really have a lot of interesting things to play, ¡°where did this thing came from?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s inner thoughts he would know very well, because he understood that¡¯s why he would not let her get it. ¡°A western merchant gift it to me, he also gift many other types of play things, I wanted to send to you, but it got stopped by the ministry of household affairs, so I let them choose a few, treating them like it was something I bought¡± ¡°Why did it get stopped?¡± Ji Wu Jiu asked while playing with the round globe, making it spin around. On in there was the maps of his country and some others that he knew, but also some that he was not familiar with. ¡°I think it was because the merchant said something that didn¡¯t make sense so they didn¡¯t let him register¡± Though the merchant was stopped, but the item still reached the empress, and also went into his view, what motive did the merchant have? What motive did the empress have as well for doing so? As the emperor, it is unavoidable that he thinks too much, Ji Wu Jiu looked at Ye Zhen Zhen, ¡°What do you think my empress?¡± ¡°I think it is very fun¡± Ye Zhen Zhen replied honestly, and walked towards the globe ¡°that person said the earth is round, there are a lot of square lands, that is similar to those under our feet, but there are also some covered by the ocean, the ministry people said that he was talking nonsense. Also that the western gods does not ride on clouds, but have wings instead, and the people over there don¡¯t like to wear clothes¡± ¡°You think it is believable?¡± ¡°How would I know, I did not see it myself. But then again the world is big, since did not see it personally, I can say I don¡¯t know, and naturally I wouldn¡¯t know if it is real. Your majesty take a look at this¡± Ye Zhen Zhen said, and gave Ji Wu Jiu a stick like item. That item is made from copper, both ends has a glass piece, Ji Wu Jiu does not know what was that, placing on his hands, it seems that it can be treated as a weapon. Ye Zhen Zhen brought him to the window, and took the item and placed it at Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s eyes. Because he was a bit tall, that¡¯s why her shoulder¡¯s are getting tired, and shivered abit. JI Wu Jiu just held her hand and closed in, and held the single binocular. Ye Zhen Zhen ¡°¡­¡­.: Ji Wu Jiu looked to the side and saw her serious face, and slowly curved up his lips a little. ¡°Your majesty, what did you see?¡± Ji Wu Jiu squinted his eyes, and tried to see through the glass, and saw through the item, this item can actually allow him to see further things nearer, very clear. In his view, there was an eunuch he never see before walking towards Kun NIng palace¡¯s back hall, looking back and front, and shook his sleeves a little, then left with his head down. His actions were very small, if from far it would not have looked suspicious. Ji Wu Jiu moved his eyes and stopped at Ye Zhen Zhen. Ye Zhen Zhen didn¡¯t understand and asked ¡° whats there?¡± She took the binoculars and looked carefully, but couldn¡¯t see anything. ¡°Let¡¯s go out and see¡± Ji Wu Jiu said, stopped abit and added ¡°Feng You De, call the imperial doctor¡± Kun Ning Palace¡¯s back garden was not big, the flowers and grass was fluttering with the wind, but Ye Zhen Zhen normally sit here to sun bath. The clear autumn afternoons, with a big day bed, laying on it to look at the blue sky making one feel to be able to fly in the sky, but always stops at the start of a flying gesture, as the calmness and wind will bring you to sleep deeply. Kun Ning Palace is located in the middle of the inner palace, left and right are palaces for the other consorts, front is Gan Qing Palace and back is the imperial garden, although there are special walkways outside her walls, but because of convenience, there are people crossing the gardens of Kun Ning Palace as well. Therefore, although inside her palace is guarded strictly, there are still people that can pass through outside, and it could be anyone. Today, Ye Zhen Zhen was standing in front of the garden, and saw Ji Wu Jiu walking towards somewhere, and the imperial doctor went to dig out some soil, and brought to smell at his nose, and used his nails to get some and placed on to his tongue. ¡°Your majesty, in the soil someone placed a slow effect poison, if smelled frequently will make someone weak and easy to fall ill, and also¡­¡± ¡°And what??¡±¡± ¡°Unable to be pregnant¡± Ji Wu Jiu paled. Ye Zhen Zhen got shocked as well ¡°Will it kill?¡± ¡°Er.. if always in the long term.. ¡° the doctor was trying his best to reply. Ye Zhen Zhen did not wait for his reply and placed her hands out ¡°Fast, help me check!¡± Got really scared eh~! Ji Wu Jiu thought in his heart. The Ye Zhen Zhen who is afraid to die finally got diagnose by the doctor as nothing wrong, it looks like this poison was only placed not too long ago. Ye Zhen Zhen finally felt relieve, tomorrow she will get people to dig up the entire garden, and change all the soil. ¡°Thank you your majesty¡± Ye Zhen Zhen said sincerely, because he could have not told her at all. ¡°If you want to create chaos in the inner palace, you must first protect your life¡± Ji Wu Jiu knocked her head alittle and left. Now Ye Zhen Zhen got a bit confused. Ji Wu Jiu and her have never been on good terms, both of them understood this very well, but why today he helped her? He could have just been an observer, it was a slow poison anyway, there should be nothing wrong in the mean time, and wont die so fast. Furthermore, what if she died, wouldn¡¯t he feel its more appropriate? Then again, they are a married couple, and if she died and he clapping happily, Ye Zhen Zhen felt it would be too obnoxious. However, Ji Wu Jiu was thinking differently; What ever happens between him and Ye Zhen Zhen are their business, other people does not need to bother. First it was Li Concubine thinking that she was doted on tried to embarrass the empress, then now someone tried to harm her quietly, this inner palace really has skillful people with all sorts of tricks, once they know Ye Zhen Zhen is not doted on, they all want to step on her as well, they really forgot who is the actual master of the palace. Clever people hates other people trying to act clever and play tricks in front of them, therefore in the eyes of Ji Wu Jiu, so comparing with these people Ye Zhen Zhen who always does think proudly and with such a straightforward manner, it appears that it is quite cute. Realizing that he placed the word ¡°cute¡± together with Ye Zhen Zhen made him feel a bit uncomfortable. So all the way from Kun Ning Palace, his emotion changed a few times, although most people would not be able to detect, but Feng You De has followed him for many years, so he could feel that there was some conflict in the emperor¡¯s mind. ¡°Feng You De¡± Ji Wu Jiu called after returning to his chamber ¡°Yes your majesty¡± ¡°Find me an eunuch, could be a maid servant dressed up as one too, his right hand has a birth mark. After you found out, no need to let anyone know, no need to bring him here, you only need to tell me which palace he is from¡± ¡°I understand¡± ¡°Also send someone to ministry of household, I want to meet the western merchant¡± ¡°Yes your majesty¡± Chapter 14 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 14 AUGUST 5, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Ji Wu Jiu met up with the western merchant Matthew at Wu Ying Hall, and did not invite Ye Zhen Zhen, but she put on a thick face and went. Wu Ying Hall is in the front of the palace, the place where the emperor works, normally woman are not allowed to enter, except for Ye Zhen Zhen. That is because Da Qi was founded by a female emperor, so the term ¡°woman cannot interfere with court matters¡± can¡¯t really be used. Furthermore this dynasty has a history of formidable empress that helped overlook the court matters. But if all the ladies from the inner palace also wants to add in their opinions in the court matters, it would be troublesome as well, so someone clever thought of a plan. The empress as the mother of the country, would be allowed to participate in the matters related to the country, and can be considered to help the emperor to relieve some burden, as for the rest of the woman in the inner palace, they should do what they normally do that¡¯s all. So the empress¡¯s status in the palace is a bit complicated, she is the head of the inner palace, leading the rest of the other woman, and she can also enter the front palace, and help give advice with matters related to the country with the request of the emperor. Actually, besides those woman that has a hidden agenda they would not really be interested in the court matters. So all these years the rule of only allowing the empress to enter did not really face any problems from the court ladies. Today, Ye Zhen Zhen held down her dislike of Ji Wu Jiu and still went to Wu Ying Hall. Matthew is a tall, ginger haired, blue eyes, pale skin, big built and with an eerie feel surrounding him. These years, following the grow of Da Qi, and opening of the ports allowed many types of merchant to enter. Ji Wu Jiu and Ye Zhen Zhen had so far only heard about them, this would be their first time meeting one. As a smart merchant, Matthew properly learnt how to greet the emperor according to the rules and regulations. He knew that it is a very rare opportunity, at this mysterious and big eastern country, he is going to be the first European to meet the leader of the country. It seems that he could see shimmering gold ingots on his hand soon, as well as the boot licking that will come from the nobles soon. Normally those people would only be polite when they want something new from him. Ha! Ha! Ha! This type of thoughts, it made him happy for just thinking about it. That was why when Ji Wu Jiu thought Matthew will be the same as the stories he heard about westerners where they are arrogant and does not bow to others was shocked when he actually kneeled down and paid his greetings ¡°Greetings to your majesty, may you live tens of thousands of years¡± Ji Wu Jiu ¡°¡­¡­¡± The person kneeling on the floor with the ginger hair, was doing it with the right posture. ¡°You may stand, sit¡± Then, outside came a loud announcement ¡°The empress has arrived¡± the moment the announcement ended, a woman dressed in the full formal attire entered. Matthew suddenly remembered someone told him ¡°You must not stare at the empress, and you must not kiss her hands! Let¡¯s put it this way, if you even touched a corner of her dress, the emperor will definitely cut off your head¡± Therefore, even before Matthew can sit down properly he quickly got up, bowed towards the empress and greeted her ¡°Your majesty, may you live a thousand years¡±. His eyes saw her robes and shoes, the intricate and detailed design of them made him can¡¯t help but to admire them, agreeing that she is the highest ranked woman in this country. Ye Zhen Zhen first greeted the emperor, then after only looked at the merchant ¡°Stand up, have a sit and talk¡± Ji Wu Jiu did not feel bitter towards Ye Zhen Zhen who came without invitation. Both of them were chatting with Matthew, asking this and that, and he would answer, the atmosphere was quite good. Ji Wu Jiu also asked about Matthew¡¯s home country¡¯s cultures. So he replied what ever he could. But truth to be told, Europe in front of the strong countries really didn¡¯t have much to tell, especially in front of this long historical place. Though some scientific invention would be the plus points, but presenting them here would just be some sort of show. Ji Wu Jiu was only so so with what he heard but Ye Zhen Zhen was very much interested, she also asked about their sea expedition journeys, as well as fight between the few countries in Europe for the ocean territory. The European country¡¯s history is rather complicated and involves a lot of war, so no matter how well they describe it, smart people would definitely catch the bloody history involved. Ji Wu Jiu is the smartest amongst the smart people, that is why he find that something is not right: These people are very brave and cruel, their sea army seems to be very strong, and if one day our prosperous country has been chosen by them¡­ Ji Wu Jiu closed his eyes.. So the emperor also joined in the discussion, the atmosphere getting heated up. After Matthew left, JI Wu Jiu looked at Ye Zhen Zhen calmly ¡°You are very clever¡± ¡°Thank you for the compliments your majesty¡±, I already told you many times I am super clever. No, not only clever. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s specialty lies on her not locking herself in a fixed square only, but being all over the place, thinking about everything. The Da Qi dynasty¡¯s people normally follow rules and thinks about, family, country and world problems but who knew the way of thinking should be to open up to everything. As a head of a country, one must be open minded as well, there are still good things that we can learn from another that may seem worst then us. Even if they were barbarians, there are also things that we can learn from them. ¡°Your Majesty¡± Ye Zhen Zhen suddenly said breaking his line of thoughts. ¡°hmm?¡± Ji Wu Jiu turned and looked at Ye Zhen Zhen. ¡°I heard in a few days you will be going to hunt?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen said with glittering eyes and a sweet smile ¡°I also admired your majesty¡¯s martial skill, I really want to see with my own eyes how your majesty ride the horse and pull the bow at the same time¡± ¡°Such a rarity to hear compliments from the empress¡¯s mouth¡± Ji Wu Jiu replied. He knew what Ye Zhen Zhen is thinking, but purposely didn¡¯t say anything about it. Bei Yan is around a hundred miles from the capital, under the Yan Mountain. There are many mineral stones there, and the ground are quite even, the royal family marked out a piece of land, to let people raise some deer, rabbit and all. During autumn, the emperor will bring along some ministers to hunt there. Taking the lesson from the previous dynasty that placed martial skills aside, this dynasty takes martial skills seriously all the man from royal families takes pride in being good in both literature and martial arts. Every year this time, it would be the opportunity for the royal family males to show off their skills in front of the emperor. Ye Zhen Zhen before getting married, her brothers will also bring back some souvenirs home, she always wanted to experience it a little, but never had the chance, the people at home was always afraid she would get hurt. Looking at Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s face full of anticipation, Ji Wu Jiu said ¡°I want to test you first, if you answered them right, I will bring you along¡± ¡°What type of test?¡± ¡°Now the season for farming is over, the court wants to ask the farmers to fix the Yellow River. I plan to ask the workers to build a dam, and to make a water reservoir, that can help stop flood and to have water for drought. What do you think?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen agreed ¡°this is a good idea, you are very wise¡± ¡°En, ¡° Ji Wu Jiu nodded, ¡°but this is a very big construction, and there is no one in charge yet, who do you think should this person be?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The answer cannot be simply replied, especially when Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s second brother works in that department. After thinking, she replied, ¡°this¡­ I am not sure of the people there, how can I give my opinion, your majesty you are clever, you would definitely find someone suitable¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t answer?¡± Ji Wu Jiu asked. ¡°No.. your majesty, why not you change a question?¡± ¡°Fine, this construction will require a lot of money, but there are other places that will require food rations as well, empress, what do you think we should do in order to make sure the money and rations will not thin down along the line?¡± To handle corruption matters, this matter cannot be cleared of properly, from last time countless capable ministers are also troubled with this matter. Ye Zhen Zhen think a little longer and said ¡° Why don¡¯t we take a more drastic measure?¡± ¡°O? how so?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t need to support the funds from here, hold the money at our finance department first. The construction can be done by the people nearby there, and let the state people there take care of it themselves. Those who participate in the building of the water reservoir, the whole family will be free from tax for 2 years according to the numbers in the family, it can be reduced or increased. Wait until the next year, when they collect tax, the local tax government just have to minus out the tax money from their accounts and the finance department will only need to note down and do the accounting. The farmers after autumn harvest until the next year spring, will have some free time in the middle, since nothing to do they will also just be loitering around, there should be many people that takes the initiative to take this job. With many people joining, the work progress will speed up, perhaps by next year summer the work would be completed already¡± Ji Wu Jiu was tapping the table lightly, without a clear expression. ¡°O, right, if nearby there are army camps, and if they have nothing to do, they can go work too, just to take is as an exercise for health¡± Ji Wu Jiu suddenly nodded, smilling at Ye Zhen Zhen ¡°this is good¡± Ye Zhen Zhen got surpised, according to her experience Ji Wu Jiu is not a person who likes to smile, once he smiles nothing good will happen. She does not feel too good, ¡°I just said it simply, your majesty does not need to take it too serious as well¡± ¡°No, you answered very well¡± he stood up ¡°Let¡¯s go, accompany me to visit the empress dowager at Ci NIng Palace¡± I just saw her this morning¡­ Ye Zhen Zhen thought unwillingly. At Ci Ning Palace, the empress dowager are seldom able to see the emperor and the empress coming together, and JI Wu Jiu even seems to be in a good mood. She doesn¡¯t feel good about this, but on her face you wouldn¡¯t be able to tell, and when facing Ji Wu Jiu, she smiled liked a blossoming flower. ¡°It was hard on you to visit me even if you were busy with work¡± ¡°What are you saying mother, looking at you all healthy makes me able to do my work better¡± This two person starts to perform the loving act between a mother and son. Ye Zhen Zhen was starting to get bored, looking at them caring for one another, but not saying a thing. She knew that it will be hard for the empress dowager to like her due to where she came from, so in the end she don¡¯t even want to waste her energy to make the empress dowager like her. ¡°This was given to me by Xian Concubine few days back, this praying beads, look at it in detail, it also has a nice faint smell, while I pray it almost seems like I can see the Buddha. She really is thoughtful.¡± The empress dowager starts to say, praising the praying beads but not forgetting to bring up Xian Concubine together. ¡°As long as you like it¡± Ji Wu Jiu always never take the Buddha chants/prayers seriously, but because the empress dowager is his real mother, he also won¡¯t say anything rude. ¡°Xian Concubine is really likeable¡­ are you both doing well?¡± In Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s heart she was thinking, in front of the empress you are saying things like that, what cunning plans are you thinking about your majesty. ¡°I have not seen her these few days¡± Ji Wu Jiu answered honestly. The empress dowager let out a big sigh. Ji Wu Jiu added ¡°mother, the matters in the inner palace, I will know what to do, other things are also properly done by the empress, you don¡¯t need to worry¡± Ye Zhen Zhen raised her ears, why does she feel Ji Wu Jiu is implying something else? Looking unhappy the empress dowager replied ¡° You are my child, how can I not worry?¡± ¡°To let you worry, I feel bad. But the empress needs to do what she has to do since she holds the title, and not letting her hide behind you and be lazy¡± Ji Wu Jiu said while taking a look at Ye Zhen Zhen. Ye Zhen Zhen upon receiving the glance from Ji Wu Jiu, ¡°Yes, mother you don¡¯t have to worry ,if you worry too much you will make me feel terrified¡± Only some will understand what is implies, the empress dowager after listening to Ye Zhen Zhen almost couldn¡¯t control her facial expression anymore. Ji Wu Jiu felt surprise, don¡¯t tell me she found out? Then they continued some small stalk, then Ji Wu Jiu brought Ye Zhen Zhen leave with him. When they leave he asked the empress dowager for a person, a not eye catching eunuch. Ye Zhen Zhen couldn¡¯t guess why, thinking maybe that eunuch angered Ji Wu Jiu, looks like the little eunuch will receive some bad luck. The moment he reached Gan Qing Palace, Ji Wu Jiu ordered one eunuch to be flogged to death. Tsk tsk.. so cruel.. Ye Zhen Zhen thought after hearing about this. Note: Aww, she doesn¡¯t know he killed the eunuch for her¡­ hehe.. Chapter 15 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 15 AUGUST 6, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Ever since Li Concubine got grounded, Ye Zhen Zhen couldn¡¯t see her and Xi Consort bickering, so she has less entertainment. Seeing that the empress is stronger than Li Concubine, and that there is Xian Concubine that is doted as well, most people thought that LI Concubine will no longer be able to make a come back. There was an obvious power shift that divided the people in the inner palace to 2 sides, the empress or Xian Concubine. Today, Ye Zhen Zhen was walking around the inner palace, wanting to look for an open place to train her archery skills. When passing by Han Guang Palace, she looked up, admiring the work of the name board. Hundred of years ago, there was an emperor, that has very good hand writing skills, and decided to write the name boards of each palace in the inner palace. The name board in front of her now, is really admirable, Ye Zhen Zhen nodded with agreement while looking at the board. Outside Han Guang Palace ,there was an eunuch that saw Ye Zhen Zhen, perhaps he was too nervous that is why instead of greeting the empress he went ¡°The empress has arrived¡± Zhuang Concubine heard and quickly rushed out, and greeting her along with her servants. Ye Zhen Zhen ¡°¡­.¡±. I really was just passing by only. But now, she has no choice but to drop in Han Guang Palace and to sit for a while. Zhuang Concubine immediately brought up some pastries, Ye Zhen Zhen took a bite, it was quite good. ¡°This pastry is made from this year¡¯s Gui Hua, I am not very skilled, am not sure if the empress will like it.¡± Ye Zhen Zhen a little surprised ask ¡°you made it?¡± Zhuang Concubine nodded ¡®I made it personally¡± ¡°Very good¡± ¡°Thank you for the praises your majesty, but it was thanks to the flower¡¯s freshness¡± Actually this pastry was made for Ji Wu Jiu, it is not hard to make, but just takes up a lot of time and effort. That is why since the flower has been plucked in august, she could only produce one small plate in this one month plus. Ji Wu Jiu has never praised her handwork, but she knew he liked to eat it, and every year he will also finish the pastries she sent to him. Ye Zhen Zhen got happier after eating something good, so she started to chat with Zhuang Concubine. Zhuang Concubine got shocked, as one should know that the empress is not a tiger made from paper, and normally she is not closed with anyone, today she purposely came to my palace, perhaps¡­.. ¡°I heard previously Li Concubine angered you, making you shocked, are you feeling better now?¡± Zhuang Concubine suddenly brought up another topic. ¡°Thanks to your concern, I am good¡±. What do you mean you heard, you saw it yourself.. Ye Zhen Zhen thought. Sighing Zhuang Concubine added ¡°Li Concubine is very temperamental, these years I have told her before, but she never listens. After you have arrived and stabilized the inner palace, she is already considered to be in more control. You need to know last time, she was worst then now.¡± Ye Zhen Zhen did not reply while chewing her pastry. She knew Zhuang Concubine is using Li Concubine¡¯s history to surrender to her. As long as she ask, Zhuang Concubine will surely tell all the shocking bad history of Li Concubine, that might even make Li Concubine to never make a comeback. Ye Zhen Zhen knew from the start that Zhuang Concubine will be like this. A concubine that did not come from a powerful family, and not really doted on, and only wanted to live a bit more comfortable in this inner palace, a powerful back up would be required. Under the expectant eyes of Zhuang Concubine, Ye Zhen Zhen slowly said ¡°Your pastries is very good, please give me the rest of them as well¡± In order to survive in the inner palace, it is normal to look for allies, but if one to accept just anyone, then there is a chance that the allies would be the one that will bring you down. Li Concubine just got punished, Zhuang Concubine is already in a hurry to change sides, it shows that this person¡¯s loyalty is very limited. Also Ye Zhen Zhen haven¡¯t find out much about her strengths. Besides Zhuang Concubine, those who wants to get Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s attention are many. Ye Zhen Zhen know that if she were to gather people to side her in open, then Ji Wu Jiu will dislike her even more, and won¡¯t only find small troubles for her. Also personally she does not want to be involved in the fights in the inner palace. The reason they fight is solely to gain power and doting. As for power she does not need to fight for it already, as for the emperor¡¯s love, she doesn¡¯t even want it, therefore as long as the small wives does not bring her any trouble she will be happily watch the show from afar. So Ye Zhen Zhen has always treated those people that wants to ally with her coldly. ¡°Niang Niang, the empress seems to be doing nothing, after punishing Li Concubine.¡± Qiu Feng asked while holding a cup of tea for Xian Concubine. ¡°She is the empress, of course she can do nothing, and only react when there is something¡± Xian Concubine said, frowned and shook her head. If Ye Zhen Zhen does not take the initiative to act, then she also shouldn¡¯t be proactive as well. Ji Wu Jiu likes woman that is obedient¡± ¡°Even so, you are still important in the emperor¡¯s heart. Yesterday he already sent someone to ask if you would want to go see the hunt¡± The emperor, will think of you no matter what he does¡± Qiu Feng said with a sweet mouth. So what, the emperor flipped the name plate of Wen Jie Yu, thought Xian Concubine. Ji Wu Jiu, this person can sometimes be romantic and sweet, sometimes can be cold as ice, she no longer knows how to make him happy. Of course Qiu Feng would know what Xian Concubine is thinking, so she consoled ¡°daring to advice you, you don¡¯t have to think too much. Even the common people has a few wives, furthermore he is the emperor. It is not possible for him to only dote on one person, as long as in his heart you are there, thinks about you, and helps you if anything happens, then it is enough¡± Xian Concubine nodded, but still let out a sigh. *** If the two main power in the inner palace is not doing anything, the rest of the people also feel helpless and can¡¯t act as well. Ye Zhen Zhen finally found a nice place to train her archery skills; Beside Jing Yun Gate, there is an empty land in between Qian Zhao San Hall and the Eastern Palace of the crown prince, it is vast and long, not to mention archery training, it can be used for horse riding as well. This part belongs to the front palace, so people from the inner palace cannot come here; also the Eastern palace is vacant now, Jing Yun gate is also a closed gate, rank 2 and below ministers are not even allowed to come close, that is why this place has very little people passing by, the perfect place for her. Ye Zhen Zhen made Wang You Cai stand far from her, she pulled her bow, and aimed. The arrow flew out and stopped at Wang You Cai¡¯s hat. Wang You Cai¡¯s whole body was shaking. Su Yue and the rest was clapping and cheering at the back. After that Ye Zhen Zhen thought it was fun enough, so she let the eunuchs from Kun Ning Palace to stand in a row, she took 3 arrows and let them out at the same time, 3 of the eunuch¡¯s hat also got hit by the arrow. Another wave of cheering and clapping can be heard. Inside Eastern Palace, side hall. Ji Wu Jiu walked around the hall, and stopped in front of a drawing. In the drawing there is a girl wearing a red cape standing in the middle of a snow path. In her hand there is a white vase, and in this vase there was a blooming plum blossom. The girl in the picture smiling towards the person beyond the drawing. While in deep thoughts about the drawing, Ji Wu Jiu suddenly heard from outside loud noises. ¡°Who is outside?¡± ¡°Your majesty, the empress is training her archery skills¡± Daring to make a fuss in this place, there could only be that woman. Ji Wu Jiu shook his head. ¡°Your majesty, should I go stop them?¡± ¡°No need, it is normally quiet here, it is good to add some noises too¡± Ji Wu Jiu said and sat down. Although there is no one that stays here, but there are people cleaning it everyday so it is clean. Thinking back about the 10 years that he stayed here, it was still very clear and he could remember each part detail. That time he was also very busy, everyday he was at Wen Hua Hall learning about the court matters, or listening to Ye Xiu Ming that old fart¡¯s lecture. The hatred he have for Ye Xiu Ming started then, no matter who it is, if to be scolded by that old fart everyday, will also start to have negative feelings towards that person. It is such a pity, Ye Zhen Zhen had to be that person¡¯s granddaughter. It seems that Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s thought has floated quite far. After a while, voices can be heard from outside. ¡°This is where the emperor used to stay¡± This is Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s voice. ¡°When the emperor was a crown prince he stayed at Duan Jing Hall, this place is the side hall, it is one of the place where the servants may live. Li Concubine and Xi Consort also stayed here before¡± Ye Zhen Zhen held her bow and arrow to the side, Wang You Cai immediately take it from her. She walked towards the side hall, and looked at the words on the name board, it is not from that emperor years ago, it looks like Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s handwriting instead. Ji Wu Jiu raised his hand to stopped Feng You De that was going to go out. He sat in front of the window, and looked at Ye Zhen Zhen silently. Her hair was tied up in a simple bun, making her look fresh, her clothes were tightly fitting her, showing her figure, very enticing. She just exercised, so her breath was still not very stable, and has natural blush on her face, and with small sweat droplets forming on her forehead, with a pair of very big and clear eyes, looking at the name board lost in thoughts. ¡°Empress, you stared at it for so long, you don¡¯t know the words?¡± Ji Wu Jiu asked from the window, mischievously. Ye Zhen Zhen then only realized he was there. The afternoon sun was shining into the window, shining on to his face, taking off the serious face he has normally, making him look gentle and easy to approach. Almost like a person picking flowers that came from a drawing. Looking at Ji Wu Jiu, Ye Zhen Zhen suddenly smiled, and thought that he was just a flower picker (to imply that he have a lot of woman). ¡°it seems to fit the occasion¡­¡± Ji Wu Jiu is unsure why, but he felt that he just got flirted with¡­ Note: Oh my, the words are getting harder to translate¡­ there are more and more words with no direct translation.. so i have to rephrase them to make them at least mean the same.. the best i can.. i hope it doesn¡¯t run to much.. but if one to read it in chinese, it would be much funnier or serious in certain parts.. sigh.. i am not up to par yet.. T_T Chapter 16 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 16 AUGUST 7, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 September 19th, another day with good weather, At dawn, the emperor and the ministers headed towards Bei Yan. The citizens in the capital have something to look at again. Ye Zhen Zhen, Xian Concubine, Xi Consort, Wen Jie Yu and Wang Zhao Yi also followed. Besides Ye Zhen Zhen the other woman can ride the horse only, but not able to even pull a bow, they only went to see. The emperor¡¯s big and small wives each has a carriage, and the most luxurious one would be for Ye Zhen Zhen. Inside, Ye Zhen Zhen flipped open the curtain, to take a look outside, initially thinking that she will be able to see how normal citizens live day to day live, the hustle and bustle, but all she could see now was a floor of black hair facing them. Lu Li passed by while riding a horse, when he turned back to take a look, his eyes matched with Ye Zhen Zhen, he quickly turn his gaze away, only showing his side profile to her. He gave her a slight smile and left. Ye Zhen Zhen felt down while looking at him leave. As an empress now, he is her subject, the most intimate interactions that they can have would only be smiling from a far, though this would also be considered too much. Once they were studying together, training martial arts together but now, it could never be that way again. The entourage of people begins travelling, there were a few elder ministers that want to proof that they are still capable of riding horses and refused to sit in carriages. Therefore this entourage could not speed up even if they want to, they only reached Bei Yan in the afternoons. There was already an organized banquet here, under the emperor¡¯s instructions the prepared dishes are brought up, the emperor and the ministers need to first eat and drink before starting to hunt. Ye Zhen Zhen and Ji Wu Jiu sat together on the top, below them at both sides were the rest of the consorts, after that were the ministers. Ye Xiu Ming is a high ranked minister, so it is normal for him to be sitting in front of the other ministers, and Ye Zhen Zhen can see him easily. Looking through the crowd again, she can still manage to find her father, as for her brothers, not sure where they are at.. Although only a glance, she is already happy. The reason why she followed Ji Wu Jiu out is not to hunt, but more to meet her family. After entering the palace, she realized how much she misses them, and how much her family has doted on her. Just not sure when she will be able to meet her mother and grandmother again. After enough food and drinks, the hunt starts. JI Wu Jiu did not rush to join the hunting group, but he sat at observation deck. Looking at the group of youngsters riding horses, they are all sons of royalty of ministers, all the families future, at this type of occasion they are all trying to compete against one another. Some soldiers started the hunt by blowing some trumpets, the horses started to move towards the forest leaving a dusty air. Xian Concubine and the rest watched with shocked. The gentle woman, really did not see this type of occasion before. Ji Wu Jiu brought Xian Concubine down the deck, Feng You De had already prepared two horses and waited for them, one is a red strong horse for Ji Wu Jiu, another is a white horse for Xian Concubine. She was wearing a sky blue outfit, pairing with this horse, she really looked like a fairy, very good to look at. Ji Wu Jiu admired her for a while. Men, they will never think that their woman is too pretty. Xian Concubine got embarrassed by his stare ¡°Your Majesty, why are you not riding the horse yet?¡± Ji Wu Jiu agreed and ride the horse in a swift movement. Both of them, one white horse, one red horse, they looked very good together, and very eye catching. Ye Zhen Zhen was looking at them as well, to be more accurate she was looking at a flower on top of her head. In order to ride a horse, Xian Concubine had a simple hair style, and did not have decorations, but only used an ornament to hold down the hair and at the end used a small yellow flower, giving off a very cheerful and cute look. The flower was also chosen very carefully, the name is called ¡°Ling Ling Xiang¡±, another name would be ¡°Xing Tou Xiang¡±, because if you were to wear it on your head, it can get rid of the sweaty smell of the body, used at this type of occasion is very matching, in case Ji Wu Jiu got tired from riding the horse, and want to be intimate¡­¡­ One must agree that Xian Concubine is very considerate. But, she wouldn¡¯t have thought that, wearing a yellow outfit besides Ji Wu Jiu, there is a big hornet. That is why Ye Zhen Zhen was staring at her head, that is because the flower on her head attracted a perverted hornet, circling around her buzzing. Trying to fly towards the flower. Actually is the hornet was to be replaced by a butterfly, it would be a very nice picture. Xian Concubine realized there was something buzzing, the moment she turned her face around ¡ª oh dear! That is why following her natural instinct, the elegant fairy on the horse started to scream, also according to natural instinct she was waving her hands around. Ji Wu Jiu got shocked by her actions, while trying to console the shocked Xian Concubine, he was looking at here thinking why she is she making such a big fuss, wanting to know what is happening. Suddenly, something flashed through, directly towards Xian Concubine, Ji Wu Jiu was too far from her and couldn¡¯t stop it, and when he see properly, Xian Concubine was already too shocked to move. Her hair is already crooked, the little yellow flower is also missing, only the hair ornament is still there, on the hair ornament there was a small arrow, that passed through the hair ornament, and the hornet had a horrible death as he was turned into a skewer with the arrow going through his body. Xian Concubine can only look at Ji Wu Jiu with tears that are going to fall. Ye Zhen Zhen passed by with her horse leisurely, smiled ¡°No need to thank me¡±. In a red outfit, on a white horse, but the horse is of course bigger than Xian Concubine¡¯s. Xian Concubine finally got back her senses¡± Thank thank thank you¡­ your majesty¡± Ji Wu Jiu looked at Ye Zhen Zhen ¡° you brought Hidden Arrow?¡± ¡°Ha.. ha.. this¡­ ¡° Ye Zhen Zhen regretted helping already. Hidden Arrow is a hidden weapon, besides the guards, other people that appears to be in the same place with the emperor are not allowed to carry around, if not that person would be treated as wanting to treason. Who made the emperor¡¯s life the most important. Under Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s glare, Ye Zhen Zhen unwillingly throw the hidden arrow on the floor. Still dare to be angry! Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s lips moved up. Ye Zhen Zhen changed her horse¡¯s direction and move towards the forest. A few soldiers followed her on horse, they quickly disappeared into the forest far from Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s sight. Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s gaze returned to Xian Concubine, his face has an impatient expression. Men, normally will be willing to dote on their woman, but it has to depend on the situation, now he wants to ride the horse and hunt, to do some manly things, and not stay her to be intimate with women. Xian Concubine was very thoughtful ¡°Your majesty, I got shocked earlier, not feeling too well, and want to return to rest first, I don¡¯t think I can accompany you¡± JI Wu Jiu nodded ¡°Alright, you go back first, Feng You De get the imperial doctor to have a good look at Xian Concubine¡± After that he left her there and went to hunt. Xian Concubine see him leave, although it can¡¯t really be seen but she seems disappointed. *** Bei Yan¡¯s hunting ground does not only include the forest, but a large area with different parts separated by a few different patches of woods. Because the hunting grounds is very big, so the hunters that enters the forest will naturally be separated, to move on their own so that there would not be any cases where they all attack the same animal. Furthermore those animals are just some rabbit and deers that are easily bullied, and they are raised by humans, a little stupid, when they see people they don¡¯t even know how to run, just staying there and waiting to be hunted. But nearer to the mountains, there are some wilder animals here, like wolfs or wild dogs. Those that are a bit more courageous will head towards there, thinking that it is better to get a wolf then many rabbits. Ye Zhen Zhen reached her as well, but not on purpose. She lost her way. The horse that she was riding is a very good one, fitting for an empress, and since Ye Zhen Zhen has not ride for a long time, she was riding too happily and lost her guards. After passing through two grasslands and three forests paths, Ye Zhen Zhen found out that the trees are getting more thicker and does not look like human made. The thick forests cuts out a lot of sun making it dark and quiet. Ye Zhen Zhen shivered, and started to feel cold. She looks around and did not find any animals around, and on the trees there aren¡¯t even a single bird. The surrounding air seems to be moving, and the gentle horse starts to move about. Ye Zhen Zhen held on to the reign, trying to calm the horse, so that he doesn¡¯t move too much. Looking around she saw something orange. ¡°A wu¡ª¨C¡° A low but scary roar can be heard, it seems like even the earth is shaking. Ye Zhen Zhen finally understood why there are no other animals near here. A roar will make all the animals run away! This is the tiger¡¯s territory! The horse beneath her has started to lose it, and started running, this type of horse can easily make rider drop to death. Ye Zhen Zhen did not have time to think much and acted on instinct, taking out her whip and used it to grab on to a branch and got down from the horse. The running horse alerted the tiger, and he found Ye Zhen Zhen very quickly. Ye Zhen Zhen ¡°¡­..¡± Should have gotten down from the horse a little later, just now she acted too fast without thinking. To exchange glances with the tiger is really stressful, her hands are full of sweat. Taking a deep breath forcing herself to calm down, and tried to count the weapons she have on her body, bow and arrow, knife, whip, gun¡­ these should help increase her chances? To be honest although Ye Zhen Zhen was happy with going to hunt, but before this the most ferocious thing that she hunted before is the hornet on Xian Concubine¡¯s hair. That is why now to face the king of the jungle, although she is brave, she got scared as well. What if I ¡­. Run? Can I out run a tiger¡­¡­. ¡­..climb tree? What if while climbing the tiger caught up and bite of her butt¡­. After thinking for a while, Ye Zhen Zhen decided to be the hunter. She first prepared the gun, and placed it by her feet for standby, then taking out her arrow and aimed¡ª Although out side the Eastern palace where she trained she was very skillful, but that was a non-moving target, the little eunuch will not move even if they peed their pants. But now it is different, the opponent is a tiger, a very flexible and ability to avoid, and would definitely not stay in a place and await the arrow. The arrow misses the tiger, actually her skills was not too bad, but the tiger really is lucky. Another roar came, and he started to run towards Ye Zhen Zhen. It getting nearer and nearer, the arrow can¡¯t be used anymore. Ye Zhen Zhen threw it away and took the gun. Aiming at the tiger and shoot. This time the tiger tried to avoid but didn¡¯t manage to do so fully, and got his at it¡¯s front leg. However, even after getting shot, the tiger still continued chasing her, not even bothered to lick his wound. Although the gun has a good aim, the fire power is still not strong enough to kill a tiger in one shot. Ye Zhen Zhen wanted to refill the gun again, but the tiger did not give her enough time and was gonna push her down. With speed she roll to the side and avoided. But before allowing her to even breath the tiger¡¯s big and heavy tail swiped towards her, she didn¡¯t know the tiger would be this cunning, although her body managed to avoid the tail her leg couldn¡¯t, after getting swiped by the tail her calf sent a shivering pain, her bone should have broken. The tiger faced Ye ZhenZhen, attacking her soon. As long as he comes over she will definitely die. Ye Zhen Zhen has a broken leg, she can¡¯t hide move much. Touching around her waist, the whip is no longer useful now, she should still have a knife. But¡­ where is it? The knife is gone, it dropped when she was avoiding the tiger just now. ¡­¡­ The sky wants me to die..! The fear of death creeps into her heart, Ye Zhen Zhen turned cold, her heart seems to have stopped. The tiger finally started his action, using all his power he pounced on Ye Zhen Zhen! In that moment, Ye Zhen Zhen didn¡¯t even have the time to think, closing her eyes, her mind was blank. Note: Hehe climax ~~~~ when shall i update next.. muahahahahahaha. Hehehe ~ Chapter 17 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 17 AUGUST 9, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Ye Zhen Zhen thought that the tiger would bite off her neck, but who knew that the tiger would just give her a bear hug. Under the huge body, she nearly vomited blood due to his weight, after waiting for a while, she still didn¡¯t find any movement from the tiger. Slowly she opened her eyes, and blinked. What she saw was the white chin of the tiger, by her nose she caught a sniff of what only a wild animal would smell like.. and blood. The tiger was on top of her, not moving. Ye Zhen Zhen was not sure what happened. Thinking hard, and trying her best to move her body to get out¡­ she didn¡¯t want to be squashed to death, after avoiding being eaten. Suddenly, the ground had a loud ¡°de¡±¡±de¡±¡±de¡± horse hoof sound, the sound getting closer. Soon, the tiger was lifted from her body. A few soldiers dragged the tiger aside, Ye Zhen Zhen looked at the tiger, and saw that it remained the position just now, both eyes still wide open, looking still very scary. On his head, in the middle there was an arrow, it was shot through the skull of the tiger, must have been a very powerful arrow. Along with the brain juices, blood was seeping through. The arrow was made from iron. The design of this arrow is bigger than the normal arrow, very powerful stronger than normal arrow by 3 times, but it would require a very strong person to shoot this arrow. On the arrow¡¯s body there are 2 engraved words, not very clear from far, but without checking it, Ye Zhen Zhen already knew what it says on the arrow. There are two types of arrows that only the emperor uses, one is called ¡°Fei Mang¡± another ¡°Liu Xing¡±, the first is very powerful but short distanced, the latter is light, can shoot very far,accurate but far less powerful. The arrow in view now is none other than ¡°Fei Mang¡±. But to be able to shoot ¡°Fei Mang¡± with such accuracy, the archer¡¯s skill is very high. After moving the tiger¡¯s body, no one dared to get close to Ye Zhen Zhen. Her husband is looking at her, no one would dare to touch her.. Ji Wu Jiu was on top of the horse, his expression was dark, he felt that there was something stuck in his chest, that he couldn¡¯t let out, in the end he just scolded her ¡°Foolish!¡± Even he would not dare to fight a tiger alone, this woman¡­ really don¡¯t know what is called danger. Ye Zhen Zhen was lying on the ground, with a pale face ¡°Your Majesty, my leg broke¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Ji Wu Jiu took a deep breath, hardened his expression and got down from his horse, and checked Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s injury, after confirming that she is only injured at the leg, ¡°Won¡¯t die¡± With a solemn face, his handsome features got distorted due to his anger, with a dark expression. The whole feel he is giving out is really scary, making people hard to even breath around him. Ye Zhen Zhen has never seen such a Ji Wu Jiu before, her heart took a shiver. Ji Wu Jiu ordered someone to get a tree branch, and personally tied it on Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s calf. After that, holding her arms, he carried her up (princess style). Although this was one of the rare occasions to be intimate with her, he was angry as well, such conflicting emotions. The Ye Zhen Zhen now can only think of quickly getting out from this place, so she didn¡¯t think too much of what he did. Ji Wu Jiu was holding her hands, she got surprised and ask ¡°Eh, your majesty, why is your hands so cold?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± JI Wu Jiu didn¡¯t answer her, he placed Ye Zhen Zhen on the horse, and climbed up himself, and placed her in his arms. Although it was quite taxing to this all by himself, but she is the empress, if possible another man should not touch her. ¡°Your Majesty, are you very cold?¡± Seeing that Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s face is still not in a good mood, Ye Zhen Zhen asked again. According to her, this question should be a type of caring, to show how much she worries. ¡°Don¡¯t talk¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Ye Zhen Zhen didn¡¯t know why he was so cold towards her. Murmuring to herself, ¡°it is not something embarrassing also, I am cold too¡­¡± Hearing what she said, Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s first reaction was to get a few clothes from the soldiers to help cover her, but then again she is the empress, it would be unthinkable to put another men¡¯s cloths on her. His own cloths are emperor¡¯s robes, also can¡¯t let her waer.. Sighing, he hugged Ye Zhen Zhen even closer to himself. This group of people returned to the Xing Palace, because of Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s injury they can¡¯t move too fast, if not her condition will turn even worst. Also because of her leg injury the whole way she have to sit with both legs facing to one side, but after a while it was too painful for her, Ji Wu Jiu can only hold on to her legs with one hand, so that her legs are more comfortable, another hand was holding the reign controlling the horse. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s hands was on his waist and lying on his chest. The actions of these two people were very intimate but slightly weird as well, the soldiers at the side all act like they didn¡¯t see and slowly kept their distance from them. *** When the both of them reached Xing Palace, it was already evening. The sun was setting, with a red sky. Ji Wu Jiu looked down at Ye Zhen Zhen and found that she actually fell asleep. Even with her position, she also can fall asleep, she really is very skillful. The sunset rays was lighting her face, adding a more gentle feel to her strong facial features, the autumn wind was slightly blowing her hair, making her itch and her frowning abit, unconsciously shifting in the arms of Ji Wu Jiu. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Besides unable to cry or laugh, JI Wu Jiu¡¯s heart felt something different happening inside. If someone is able to sleep peacefully in your arms, what does it mean? *** The emperor hunting down a tiger got spread throughout the camp very fast, showing his capability. Ever since his return, all the ministers was showing up to congratulate him, and comparing him to the previous emperors, and came to a conclusion: You are in the same group as them. Though this couldn¡¯t really be counted as boot licking, the ministers of this country has been educated to love the country and always will expect something out of the emperor. Also these ministers that are able to be at their position today, would have fought in the court for a few decades, surely they know what and what not to say. JI Wu Jiu is strong in both literature and martial skills, full of talent, also very mature for his age, definitely a good exemplary emperor. They definitely have to be on his good side. Always hearing good things about him, he also didn¡¯t think too much about it anymore. Ye Xiu Ming, that old fart also headed towards him, and forcing himself to praise the emperor as well. Ji Wu Jiu answered half heartedly. Ye Xiu Ming is his teacher, no matter how much he dislikes him, he still have to give him some face. This was also what made JI Wu Jiu different: In the court, no matter who also he can scold, only Ye Xiu Ming he can¡¯t if not he will be placed with a title of not respecting his teacher, and will give a new gossip topic for the ministers. That is why he can only scold his granddaughter. After the words of praise, Ye Xiu Ming, finally asked about Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s condition. ¡°The empress hurt her calf, the imperial doctors checked, and already joined back the leg, and she is resting now. If teacher is worried, you can go have a look. Her father must be worried too, ask him to go together as well¡± ¡°I humble thank your majesty graces¡± This was really counted as a grace, in normal circumstances the empress should not be allowed to meet any ministers at court, not even her father. That is why when Ye Zhen Zhen saw her father and grandfather, she was very happy, and hurriedly let them forgo the greetings and shoo-ed everyone else out, the three of them sat down to chat. This year Ye Xiu Ming is already 60 over years old, healthy, lively, and a very experienced background, giving of a very strong and powerful image. Though in comparison to Ye Kang Le, his son who appears to be much more humble and easy to approach. The both of them asked her about her injury in detail and gave a few advices. Ye Kang Le, seeing that his beloved daughter got hurt, was also feeling down, thinking about what happened scared him as well, lucky the emperor was there in time. After a little small talk, Ye Xiu Ming suddenly got serious and asked Ye Zhen Zhen ¡°yesterday the emperor during the morning court, mentioned that you gave the idea for the water reservoir?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen surprised ¡° What idea?¡± ¡°The one that asked the farmers to be free from tax instead of getting money from the treasury¡± ¡°Yes, there is such a thing, what happened?¡± Ye Xiu Ming let out a deep breath and said ¡°Zhen Zhen ah.. you got tricked¡­ I got tricked as well..¡± Ye Zhen Zhen asked unsure why ¡°I only said a few ideas, and this was not hard to think of, the emperor would thought of it too¡± ¡°Of course he would have thought of it, but he purposely wanted it to come out from your mouth¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The person in charge of this case was not decided till now, because it is a big project that is why both me and Fang Xiu Qing also recommended someone to the emperor. After half a month, we finally got the job to be given to your second brother¡± Ye Zhen Zhen finally understood, this was a hole that was already dug by Ji Wu Jiu. Her second brother Ye Mu Fang, is the second head in charge of the works department, although still young, his job position is considered high. Ji Wu Jiu would have known that Ye Xiu Ming would recommend his grandson that is why he thought of a plan to trick them, looking like he complied to Ye Xiu Ming, letting him think that he got a good task for his grandson, but actually just a rotten egg. Why rotten? It is common knowledge that in order to finish a job properly it would be unavoidable to bribe some state ministers to help ease the jobs. These are rules of the political world. Now with the plan Ye Mu Fang will not have money in hand, and still would need to complete the job properly, it would definitely be harder. Although Ye Family is powerful, but its power is mostly held in the capital or big states, not possible to overlook every single corner of the country. The project of this size would involve a lot of people and without money it would be very hard to do the job smoothly. This is not the worst part. Besides the works department, another department is involved; The finance department. Everything involving the calculations of tax, money, treasury department are under the control of the finance department, if the finance department does not cooperate, it will make the job even harder to complete. And will Finance department cooperate fully with Ye Mu Fang? We shall ask the minister of finance, Fang XIu Qing to answer this question. Fang Xiu Qing, smiled without saying a word. Great, the idea if was told by Ji Wu Jiu earlier, Ye Xiu Ming would definitely not let Ye Mu Fang do these tasks, although the person in charge can be chosen as him, but he will have his ways to change it, but this idea came from the empress, Ye Xiu Ming didn¡¯t have the chance to fight, when the emperor started to praise the empress for being able to think of such a good plan, and that Ye Xiu Ming has such a clever granddaughter. Ye Xiu Ming nearly vomited blood in the court. But no matter what happens, he had to be patient. Ye Zhen Zhen, her second brother, her grandfather, also fell into the trap Ji Wu Jiu prepared. That idiot actually dug such a big hole to fit so many people. He really is too hateful!!! Note: Aww.. just when we thought they will start to be lovey dovey.. sigh.. T_T Chapter 18 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 18 AUGUST 10, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 In order to showcase the power and strength of an empire, the Xing Palace was rather large for a hunting ground. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s room is directly beside Ji Wu Jiu. Both of their rooms are very big, and are well decorated as well. In front of Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s room there were a few armed soldiers guarding, not moving with a straight face, almost like a tree. Below the window a tiger was lying there, the arrow on his head earlier has been removed. There were people walking pass the door every now and then, everyone¡¯s gaze will fall on the tiger, and then after they will pass by. In their hearts thinking who will Ji Wu Jiu give the tiger too. According to customs, every year during the hunt, the emperor will give away the things that he hunted himself, to the ministers. Even if it was a pigeon it, it was still from the emperor. Last time Ye Xiu Ming and Fang Xiu Qing has both received them before, though both of them will receive similar items so that they appear to have equal power, but this time it is different, there is only one tiger, who will the emperor gift it to? Besides Ji Wu Jiu, everyone else was thinking about this matter. At night, Ji Wu Jiu did not return to his own room, but went to Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s place. Seeing that she was being cold towards him, and did not respond will to him, he felt bored and went to Xian Concubine¡¯s room. Xian Concubine was removing her make up when he came in, Xian Concubine saw Ji Wu Jiu from her copper mirror and quickly pushed Qiu Feng away, and greeted the emperor. She was wearing thin clothes, hair untied, with no make up, making her look rather pitiful. Ji Wu Jiu helped Xian Concubine up, and his gaze got attracted to an accessory on the table. A hair ornament, with a hole in the middle. The one that Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s arrow gone through. Seeing her hair ornament, Xian Concubine also felt that she was embarrassing earlier on, and quickly changed the topic ¡°Your majesty, I heard that you caught a tiger today?¡± ¡°En¡±. If it was not for him manage to arrive on time, Ye Zhen Zhen would have been swallowed by the tiger. ¡°Congratulations your majesty, you are truly brave and heroic¡± Ji Wu Jiu held up that hair ornament, and looked at it carefully. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s unwillingness face from this morning floated into his mind, if he did not make her get rid of the hidden arrow, most probably she would not have gotten herself into that situation. Ji Wu Jiu let out a sigh, and threw the hair ornament back to the table. *** Ji Wu Jiu announced that he will gift the tiger to Ye Zhen Zhen. Most people felt surprised, thinking about the rumor about Ji Wu Jiu not liking the empress, on how much can that rumor be trusted, and in the same time congratulating Ye Xiu Ming. Ye Xiu Ming, held his beard and laughed ¡°What happens between the husband and wife, we don¡¯t really have a say¡±. Although that was what he say, but in his heart he was thinking about Fang Xiu Qing¡¯s daughter, thinking that she isn¡¯t that good after all. Currently Xian Concubine¡¯s expression is not too good as well, but lucky for her it was dark so it cannot be detected easily. Tonight¡¯s banquet was held outside, they all held a fire and gathered around to drink some wine and to eat meat. Ye Zhen Zhen was holding on to a roasted lamb leg, and eating with great appetite, that definitely can¡¯t showcase her being the mother of the country. She thought it through, Ji Wu Jiu was originally not someone good, earlier on she fell into his trap, but it was because she was not clever enough, next time she just have to be more careful, that¡¯s all. Furthermore, he did save her, although the reason she nearly died, he also plays a part. Anyway, not thinking about it would be best. Ji Wu Jiu turned and saw the earnestly roast lamb eating Ye Zhen Zhen, and shook his head. *** After three days, the whole entourage went back to the capital. The imperial doctor brought a chair with wheels for Ye Zhen Zhen, can be sat on, and also can be pushed around, as well as arm rests, very convenient to be used. Ye Zhen Zhen like it very much, and immediately give him some gifts. Today, Ye Zhen Zhen brought the rest of the court ladies too Ci Ning Palace to greet the Empress dowager, she was sitting on the wheelchair, pushed by Su Yue and the rest of the ladies followed behind her. Ji Wu Jiu already finished his morning court, and was at Ci Ning Palace as well, because Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s leg is not well yet, she does not need to perform the greetings, and Su Yue pushed her to her position. Chatted with Empress Dowager a bit and wanted to leave. This type of thing, she has to do daily, it was rather boring. However, today the empress dowager was treating her with much care, and asked about her injury in detail. Hearing that she will need at least 3 months to recover, she frowned and forced herself to show that her heart aches for Ye Zhen Zhen and said ¡°It is not convenient for you to move around, it is quite pitiful, to injure bones is not something easy to heal, you will need to recuperate properly¡± Ye Zhen Zhen really don¡¯t what is the empress dowager acting for, and looked at Ji Wu Jiu for a clue, but Ji Wu Jiu just blinked without an expression. ¡°That is why before the you are healed, you no need to come here everyday¡± ¡°Thank you for your grace mother, but this injury is nothing serious, will just need a little bit more effort, I would not dare to lack in the greetings¡± ¡°Your fidelity I am well aware of¡± the empress dowager said and waved her hands ¡°normally you have to handle the things in the inner palace, it must have been very tiring, now you are injured, you should take this chance to recover, and should not allow them to disturb you over the small things. I was thinking, what not you let Xian Concubine take over your job for a while, what do you think?¡± Ah, now we know why.. Ye Zhen Zhen guessed that the empress dowager would have such an act, it must have been hard on her to only say after so many days. She looked at Ji Wu Jiu, and found that he was looking at her as well, with a calm expression. Ye Zhen Zhen smiled and said ¡° Your majesty, what do you think?¡± ¡°Since the empress is injured, she should rest¡± ¡°Since your majesty and mother are so caring towards my injury, then I will gladly accept, and take this chance to be lazy for these few months¡± The empress dowager nodded and smiled ¡°it should be so¡± ¡°But¡±, Ye Zhen Zhen looked at Xian Concubine, ¡°the things in the inner palace that needs to be done is very complicated, I am not sure if Xian Concubine will be able to take it?¡± Xian Concubine, replied ¡°Although I am not as clever, but I am willing to help your majesty to lessen your burden¡± ¡°Since you are not clever enough, I am afraid that you alone would not be enough¡± Ye Zhen Zhen smiled, and looked at Xian Concubine¡¯s change of expression, then looked at the person next to her ¡°Zhuang Concubine¡±. ¡°I am here¡± ¡°During the my resting period, you and Xian Concubine will work together¡± Ye Zhen Zhen said and turned towards the empress dowager ¡°Mother, what do you think?¡± You already gave out the order, why bother ask me, the empress dowager thought. ¡°A good idea¡± Zhuang Concubine know that Ye Zhen Zhen is siding her, so she decided that she will definitely do her job well and keep track of Xian Concubine, and properly help the empress. Ye Zhen Zhen also did not have a choice, the empress dowager and Xian Concubine has joined hands, definitely they would want to endanger her, so she can¡¯t sit and wait. As long as Zhuang Concubine is obedient, and does not trouble her further, she can still be considered as a good weapon. Further more the grounded Li Concubine would be another problem later. As soon as she gets out, the first person she will look for revenge would definitely be Ye Zhen Zhen. As whether Li Concubine will be in grace again, Ye Zhen Zhen thinks she most probably will. She found out that Ji Wu Jiu as an emperor, actually does not care about women, in his heart all he thinks about is the country and how to manipulate people. As long as the woman is pretty enough, and treats him good, he will receive everyone. Ever since Xian Concubine and Zhuang concubine took over the inner palace matters, Ye Zhen Zhen got more free time and could do things that she likes. The first thing she did was to research on how to make the gun shoot more than once each time. The accident that happened in the hunting grounds was too engraving, if her gun can shoot more than once, most probably the hero now would be her. Although her idea is good, it is not something that could be done in a day or two. So everyday she will think for a while, and when she gets tired she will do other things, such as bringing in Matthew to the palace and chat. Matthew brought her a lot of things from his country. Such as books and drawings, but it was too bad that the books that he brought in were all written in Latin words. Matthew is also considered half unable to read. As it was different from his mother tongue, so when he tried to read it always got stuck, but he still had to explain the meaning to Ye Zhen Zhen. This two person played well together, Ye Zhen Zhen thought that the thinks that came from the books were very interesting, although some may be weird, but some are also very fun. She was most interested in their astrology and mathematics. As for Matthew, this guy was actually a flirt, once he sees pretty ladies, he will be very keen. In his home country, he can still be considered handsome. Matthew¡¯s first impression on Ye Zhen Zhen was already that she was very pretty, but he could not portray his feelings out loud. Everyday he has to endure his thoughts and slowly started to turn perverted. But before he can become crazy, another person got crazy first. Help!!!! Can someone tell him why the emperor ordered people to hit his butt!! ¡°Ouch!, help me your majesty (towards the empress)!¡± ¡°Stop¡± Ye Zhen Zhen shouted. But Ji Wu Jiu with a black face was looking over, who would dare to stop. Ye Zhen Zhen thought that Ji Wu Jiu is really weird, she did not make him angry also, just that she was with Matthew in Wu Ying Hall, chatting about a drama, both of them were chatting happily and suddenly this person suddenly came in, looked at them once and without saying another word, he ordered Matthew to be dragged out and flogged. ¡°Your majesty, if you have something to say, let it out, don¡¯t keep it to yourself, you will feel frustrated¡± Ye Zhen Zhen said helplessly. ¡°You are the empress, who ever (men) see you more than once should be killed¡± Ji Wu Jiu looked at Ye Zhen Zhen, with a pair of cold eyes. He is a man, he can only understand too much about the way Matthew looked at Ye Zhen Zhen, ¡°so, not killing him today, can be considered giving you face already¡± ¡°What type of crime are you naming him, without proof! You just don¡¯t like me, why don¡¯t you hit me, why are you implicating the innocent!¡± Ji Wu Jiu ignored Ye Zhen Zhen, and seeing that the person hitting finally counted to 40 hits, he left. Ye Zhen Zhen was speechless, and made a decision to create some trouble back for Ji Wu Jiu. Note: In this chapter we have a jealous (though he may not realise it yet) Ji Wu Jiu.. kekekeke Chapter 19 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 19 AUGUST 11, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 After getting hit, Matthew no longer enters the palace. Ji Wu Jiu looked for another westerner for Ye Zhen Zhen, this time he is a priest, also known as the western monk. This person is rather elderly, wearing a black robe without a belt, and wearing a rosary on his neck. His hair is very thick, almost like a sheep, and has a full beard, that covers his mouth. Seeing him will give off a feeling of ¡°even if you did any mistake, don¡¯t worry the god will forgive¡±, that¡¯s what Ji Wu Jiu thought. Ji Wu Jiu forgive him for that, and introduced him to Ye Zhen Zhen. This person is not good looking if compared to Matthew, you have to focus in order to look through his facial hairs. ¡°The way he walks looks like a big sack that turned into a demon¡± This was what Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s first impression of him was. That sentence made Ji Wu Jiu spit out his tea again, and since then, every time he saw the priest he will think of the walking sack. Almost like a curse that can¡¯t be stopped. Mr Beard is called ¡°Mr Dou¡±, this was how Ye Zhen Zhen calls him too. Ye Zhen Zhen actually likes Mr Dou better than Matthew, because he can read, and knows a lot. Ye Zhen Zhen especially like when they ate together, when she sees him trying his best to put food into his mouth without the food touching his beard. After observing for a few days, Ji Wu Jiu found that Ye Zhen Zhen was satisfied, and he himself was satisfied about it, and thought that this would be the end of the case. But, Ye Zhen Zhen thinks otherwise. Although she doesn¡¯t half a small chest, but her forgiveness isn¡¯t too big, so she did not forget that Ji Wu Jiu is a very self centered person and how he punished the innocent Matthew. Thinking that she must get her revenge this round. Such a coincidence, the moment she feels sleepy someone gave her a pillow. These few days something happened, that allowed Ye Zhen Zhen to laugh at Ji Wu Jiu. We must start the story few days back, when Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s female family members are allowed to visit. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s grandmother, mother and 2 other sister in laws entered the palace. Her third brother hasn¡¯t gotten married. The old madam no longer cared that she was the empress and immediately hugged her and cried non stop. The other three woman followed and cried together, Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s mother cried the most. They scared Ye Zhen Zhen, she don¡¯t know who she should console anymore, finally with the help of the maid servants they brought along, they finally ceased the crying. Then they started to chat. Woman, when they gather together, they will talk about the usual, whats happening at other families and what not. Then the topic lead to the empress dowager¡¯s niece who got her marriage canceled. The lady is called Xu Wei Rong, same age as Ye Zhen Zhen, and was promised to another family¡¯s son, who knew that the news of the promise being broken, would be so near the wedding date some more. ¡°I heard that it is because the man¡¯s side got a deadly disease, and seeing that the wedding is near, he cancelled it to save Xu Wei Rong¡­ .. ¡° ¡°What type of sickness did he get?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen asked.. ¡°It isn¡¯t disease¡± her eldest sister in law said. ¡°the man eloped with another girl¡± ¡°!!!¡± Ye Zhen Zhen opened her mouth in shock ¡°really?¡± But.. if that really happened, the family would have kept it real quiet, how did others find out?¡± ¡°It really is so.. there is no wall that can block the wind¡± Mother answered Ye Zhen Zhen closed her mouth and shook her head, ¡°that guy really is useless, throwing his family, as well as dragging down an innocent girl with him¡± ¡°You should stop pitying others first, think about yourself, you silly girl¡± Grandmother tapped Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s forehead. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°She is the empress dowager¡¯s niece, the emperor¡¯s cousin¡± ¡°¡­¡­. The empress dowager won¡¯t get her in the palace right?¡± Ladies facing this type of matter really is unlucky, definitely there will be people saying things, but if she is accepted to enter the palace, then the story would be different. Old Madam Ye, with a worried face nodded her head. Ye Zhen Zhen was abit speechless, trying hard to find the good things about the palace, why is all the woman trying their best to squeeze into here. Thinking that Ji Wu Jiu will have another pretty small wive, Ye Zhen Zhen was even more speechless. If she can do something about it¡­¡­ Matters concerning about taking new consorts for the emperor, the empress actually has a say. If she purposely stop it, even if Ji Wu Jiu were to bring in the girl, he can¡¯t give her too high of a position also. But before this, Ye Zhen Zhen still wanted to know how Ji Wu Jiu wants it to be, and as long as she acts the opposite way, then it would be good enough¡­ ¡°Your Majesty, I heard about Xu Sisters case, a good lady, meeting with such an unfortunate fate, really is horrible¡± Today Ji Wu Jiu came to Kun Ning Palace to check on the well being of the disabled person and heard this question coming out from Ye Zhen Zhen. ¡°She is elder than you by two months¡± Ji Wu Jiu replied slowly, while cooling down his tea, vapor building up in front of his, making it blurry. Ye Zhen Zhen unconsciously touched her nose, ¡°that.. few days a go I heard mother talking about her, she is a clever and pretty, talented girl¡± ¡°This matter, mother has already mentioned to me¡± I knew it! Ye Zhen Zhen eyes were rolling ¡°then, what does your majesty thinks?¡± Ji Wu Jiu placed his teacup down ¡°This type of matter, the empress can take charge, no need to ask me¡± ¡°We are talking about getting you a consort, of course we have to ask for your opinion¡± Ji Wu Jiu did not answer, and looked at her calmly, with eyes that seems to be able to see everything. Ye Zhen Zhen is not good with going around the bushes, and felt abit guilty under his gaze, and avoided his eyes. ¡°She is my playmate when we were younger, quite cute, of course I would hope for her to enter the palace to keep me company. Empress, see what you should do¡± Then she can¡¯t let her enter the palace. Ye Zhen Zhen thought. Xu Wei Rong is Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s cousin, he did not have any brothers or sisters, so he is a bit closer with Xu Wei Rong, but their relationship would only be brothers and sisters. As soon as he heard he needs to take her as his woman, he will have a guilt feeling of incest, and honestly did not want her to enter the palace. But, the inner thoughts of Ye Zhen Zhen he saw through, that is why he said the opposite. Thinking that, that silly woman don¡¯t even know how to lie, Ji Wu Jiu looks down at her. *** The empress dowager tries her best to get Xu Wei Rong to enter the palace, the empress tries her best to stop it. This was the latest gossip in the palace. Ji Wu Jiu faked the ¡°can¡¯t wait to get a new pretty gal face¡± while standing aside. Sometimes he will comment on Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s actions. One time he knocked her head and said ¡°Jealous Wife¡±. This news was quickly spread, and the title Jealous wife was placed on to Ye Zhen Zhen. She was thinking whether she once again fell into Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s trap, because if this title got solid, then next time when he wants to demote her from the empress position it would be easier. (Last time one can ask for divorce if wife is easily jealous, as men are allowed to have a lot of concubines.) That is why Ye Zhen Zhen starts to contemplate. The moment when Ji Wu Jiu wanted to shamelessly announce that he wanted to give up getting a concubine because he got pestered by the Jealous Wife too much, a person that he did not include in his place stood up. Xian Concubine gave her opinion, ¡°Although the inner palace matters should be decided by the empress, but since I am taking care of the matters as well now, I can¡¯t help but to say a word of fairness¡± Xian Concubine has her own plans, although Xu Wei Rong entering the palace may endanger her position but since the emperor likes it, then most probably the woman will enter the palace in the end, why not she help him now and still can obtain a title of benevolent. Ye Zhen Zhen no longer wants to carry the title of Jealous Wife, so she let it be. Ji Wu Jiu :¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ This time he took the stone and slammed on his own feet, thinking about how to torture Ye Zhen Zhen he forgotten about another clever person. But¡­ Xian Concubine this time, got too clever. Ye Zhen Zhen was feeling down, why is he still unhappy when she finally agreed? This fella really is hard to make him happy. She is now in Kun Ning palace, facing a table full of drawings. Drawings of her gun that can shoot more than once. She told this matter to many people, but they did not believe her, not even Ji Wu Jiu. This is the sad story of a genius, Ye Zhen Zhen thinks. JI Wu Jiu was looking at her now, his white face looks abit tired, because of Xian Concubine¡¯s interference, he is not in a good mood. He also don¡¯t know why he wandered to Kun Ning Palace, this woman don¡¯t even know how to make him happy, all she thinks about is how to trouble him. ¡°Your majesty, are you not busy lately?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen asked. Ji Wu Jiu suddenly thought of another thing, ¡°you always give jade toad to other people?¡± Recently he has been receiving reports from his small wives about receiving toads from the empress, although this animal is supposed to be a prosperity animal, and they can¡¯t really deny it, but after receiving too much of it, they will still feel goosebumps. Wang Zhao Yi, even placed the big jewel encrusted toad at her bedside, and that night that toad even entered Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s dreams. Repeated reports finally conditioned him to relate Toad to his bed business, will make Ji Wu Jiu hard to focus during his business, and then his lower body will be less active. Infront of him, the consorts don¡¯t dare to say anything, but at the back, they hint the kitchen that the emperor is abit weak lately¡­ This type of topic will damage the emperor¡¯s reputation, so they also can only help by placing more nutritious food into the emperor¡¯s daily meal. Therefore, Ji Wu Jiu ate a lot of those things without knowing, but sometimes he will wake up in the middle of the night feeling very hot. We need to know, now it is already early winter. Hearing from Ji Wu Jiu about the toads now, Ye Zhen Zhen answered ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Is there any special reason behind?¡± Cannot mention ¡°fertility¡±, if not it would be telling the emperor that his future children are toads, also cannot mention ab out wealth, why would the emperor¡¯s woman need to be wealthy?¡­ thinking about it hard, Ye Zhen Zhen said ¡°the meaning is that they are all toad and you are a swan, ¡± ñ®¸òó¡Ïë³ÔÌì¶ìÈâ¡° it means that the toads want to eat swan meat. Although not nice to hear, but it is still words of flattery. This person, she really dares to say anything. Ji Wu Jiu not getting angry and continued asking ¡°What about you? You are a toad as well?¡± ¡°I am your empress, of course I am a swan as well¡± Ji Wu Jiu smiled, ¡°What about Xian Concubine? She is a toad as well?¡± Suddenly thinking about what Xian Concubine did, he frowned. Ye Zhen Zhen looked up, from her drawings to Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s face and replied while smiling ¡°Xian Concubine is the moon¡¯s Chang Er fairy¡± ¡°You see her so?¡± ¡°But then again, story states that when Chang Er escaped from the moon, in the end she turned into a Yue Jing, another name for toad¡± So, still a toad! Ji Wu Jiu got very happy from her nonsense, and felt better. Dinner time is approaching soon, he did not move and had dinner together with Ye Zhen Zhen at Kun Ning Palace. After dinner, both of them looked at each other. Ye Zhen Zhen thought that he would be like last time, after dinner he will go, but did this it seems like he does not seem to want to leave. Ye Zhen Zhen could only shout out to Feng You De outside, ¡°Feng You De, bring the name plates over, the emperor haven¡¯t flip them¡± ¡°No Need¡±. Feng You De just only looked up , Ji Wu Jiu stopped him. Ye Zhen Zhen had a bad feeling, ¡°Your Majesty, you are not gonna take a walk outside?¡± Ji Wu Jiu looked at her, with a hint of smile creeping up ¡°We are a pair of swans right? Don¡¯t tell me you want me to go look for a toad?¡± Chapter 20 Empress with no Virtue ¨C Chapter 20 AUGUST 12, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Ye Zhen Zhen finally understood what trouble is coming from mouth. Frigidly she look at Ji Wu Jiu, ¡°your majesty, my condition now¡­ ¡° she said while looking down, stopping her gaze at her leg. She is already a disabled person, please don¡¯t bother me further. ¡°It is just to rest her tonight, where is your mind floating too?¡± Ji Wu Jiu looked at her and the smile in his eyes got more bright. Ye Zhen Zhen lowered her head, what else can she think of, then she realized, Ji Wu Jiu only wants to disturb her. Inside it was bright under the candle light, showcasing the red face of Ye Zhen Zhen, and seeing her blushing so, Ji Wu Jiu did not continue the teasing. Although this woman is normally very thick face, but that type of things, she still only experienced it once before, and also not to mention it stopped halfway¡­ Ji Wu Jiu found that his thoughts has wandered too far, quickly focused, and ordered Feng You De to bring over his documents to Kun Ning Palace, he wants to read through them here. Ye Zhen Zhen asked Su Yue to prepare what was necessary and did not bother with Ji Wu Jiu anymore, and continued to ponder with her drawings. Both of them was busy with their own things, and the atmosphere was very quiet. Not sure how long pass by, Ye Zhen Zhen got really sleepy, but since Ji Wu Jiu did not say he was sleepy, she couldn¡¯t really go sleep first. After that she really couldn¡¯t take it anymore and with sleepy eyes she look at Ji Wu Jiu, to find out that he was looking at her as well. Because she was too sleepy, her eyes can barely open, so Ye Zhen Zhen couldn¡¯t really tell what Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s expression looked like, and since she does not really bother about him also, ¡°Your majesty, please rest early, you still have to attend the morning court tomorrow¡± Ji Wu Jiu, lowered his head, picked up his brush and continue to write, saying ¡°Empress, if you are tired, you can sleep first, don¡¯t need to bother about me¡± Ye Zhen Zhen did not even reply, and allowed Su Yue and Su Feng to help her prepare to sleep. After a while later, Ji Wu Jiu stretched his stiff body, and decided to sleep as well. A few maid servant quickly served him and after he climbed on the bed, they put down the yellow bed net/cover. Both of their even breaths were interlacing with one another, beyond the bed net, there was only a small light wavering around chasing people off to the dreamland. Slow wind blowing outside, on the sky there was a new moon, with thousands of stars lighting up the sky, like the candles brightening the sky, guarantee to bring good a night of good sleep. Ji Wu Jiu suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes were darker than the night but there was a glimmer of light from them, with a hint of disbelieve. On his thigh, there was a hand that quietly creeping over. With lean and small fingers, soft and warm, and it was moving and touching his outer thigh part, and finally stopped at the knee. Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s heart beat begin to rise, and he turned to look at Ye Zhen Zhen. Her eyes was closed, and seemed to be in deep sleep, but she seems to be frowning, seems like she was uncomfortable. It wouldn¡¯t be that she wants it? Ji Wu Jiu got shocked by his own thoughts, but deep inside it was undeniable that there was a growing anticipation. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s fingers started to move, on his thigh, moving a bit, stopped, and moved a bit again. Ji Wu Jiu starts to feel itchy from her movements, that itch was going upwards his thigh, he couldn¡¯t help but to swallow his saliva. Still itchy. Ye Zhen Zhen unconsciously, started to scratch. Ji Wu Jiu can only grab her hand. And a thought quickly pass through his mind, and then holding her hands he placed it on her legs, Ye Zhen Zhen scratched for a while, and finally her frown was gone and she continued to sleep. It was indeed her legs being itchy, she scratched the wrong person. Ji Wu Jiu was not sure if he should cry or laugh. He tried to sleep again, but no matter what he couldn¡¯t fall back to sleep. (Below storyline is for mature audience only, kindly skip this part, if you are not comfortable although it will relate to the next chapters somehow.. ¡°blush¡±) The blood in his body starts to heat up, although the hand on his thigh is gone, but the feeling of being touched is still here, can¡¯t be forced away either. If just now, her hands were to move up another inch. ¡­ . . . . Once this weird thought came about, he couldn¡¯t suppress it anymore. Ji Wu Jiu tried to control himself to not think about it, but if her hands were to move up an inch more, it will definitely touch¡­ Realizing the changes in his own body, Ji Wu Jiu once again got frustrated. Ever since he got the throne, in the bed business he has never purposely suppress it nor be overly indulge by it, this type of thing to him is like eating, hungry then eat, and one should not eat too full. So normally he rarely gets frustrated over this matter. But now, to be only touched for a bit, he got such a big reaction, he was really surprised himself. But of course, it was because no one took the initiative to touch him before. Taking a deep breath, Ji Wu Jiu tried to calm himself down, but what he got in exchange was his little brother standing up even taller. No matter how rational a man is, once all his blood rush downwards, the mental power that controls his body movement will move downwards as well. Although he has a strong will power, Ji Wu Jiu is also just a man. His gaze suddenly changed, and looked at Ye Zhen Zhen who was beside him. Someone was still in deep sleep, and wiped her own drool as well. Ji Wu Jiu sat up, stretched his hands to the back of her neck, and press on her acupuncture spot that allows one to sleep better a few times. Then he took her hands, and placed them between his legs. Inside, the dimly lit and tiring night, and quiet bed suddenly moved, like a stream of pale yellow waterfall , with boiling heat coursing through, then waves of heavy breathing can be heard. *** (It is save to read now? .hahahahaha) Although the previous night Ji Wu Jiu did not sleep well, but when he woke up he found that he was very refreshed. Looking at him Feng You De thought that the emperor looks better today and in a better mood, not in a hurry nor rush, thinking perhaps the things that he had been eating recently has finally been used properly. Thinking that the acupuncture spot he pressed yesterday night was still working, cause when Ji Wu Jiu woke up in the morning, it did not wake Ye Zhen Zhen, Su Yue wanted to wake her up, Ji Wu Jiu waved his hands and ordered Su Yue to let her continue to sleep. Ji Wu Jiu was feeling refreshed, but once he think of what he did yesterday night, he starts to feel restless. By his side, he has never been lack of women, to do it himself was really a first for him, not to mention it was done while holding Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s hand, he still feels something is not right. But now the fact is in front of him, he was in the mood, and there was no way to release it, furthermore, he did enjoyed it¡­ So Ji Wu Jiu was in deep thoughts. His thoughts continued all the way from Kun Ning Palace to Huang Ji Hall, and finally got disturbed by Ye Xiu Ming and Fang Xiu Qing. Ji Wu Jiu was sitting at his throne, without any expression looking at them bickering . These two old fellas, is considered the most powerful in court besides him, but now they are both in a heated discussion with words with hidden meaning thrown here and there. The people around them also don¡¯t dare to enter their argument, so they looked at Ji Wu Jiu without a sound. Ji Wu Jiu was looking at them as well Their argument topic was still about the repairmen of the water reservoir. Ye Mu Fang, already went to Shan Dong, and the moment he reached there, he was faced with a problem, Ye Xiu Ming confirmed that it was Fang Xiu Qing doing some hanky panky, so he reported to the emperor, claiming that Fang Xiu Qing is not thinking about the citizens but for himself only, and strongly advise Ji Wu Jiu to change the plans on the project. No matter if it was done by him, Fang Xiu Qing would never admit, so he was fighting back and saying that Ye Xiu Ming was framing him, lying to the emperor, and not following the edict. Seems like the ability to frame one another is quite strong in the both of them. Actually, this case was not serious, but Ye Xiu Ming wanted to take this opportunity to warn Fang Xiu Qing to not over do things, and secondly there was a saying that the children who knows how to cry would get candy, that is why he wants to mention it more often in front of Ji Wu Jiu, so even if he were to grant one of his 10 whining it would still be good. Ji Wu Jiu had enough, and stopped both the old fellas, and ordered an edict to: Give another batch of money to Ye Mu Fang¡± Although he dislikes Ye Family, but he does not like personal grudges disturbing the real work. No matter what this project should be completed as soon as possible, Fang Xiu Qing can create obstacles but he has to know when to stop as well, it cannot hinder the project¡¯s speed. That is why Ji Wu Jiu showed Fang Xiu Qing, to warn him what is the emperor¡¯s bottom line. After the morning court, Ji Wu Jiu went to the imperial garden for a walk. Passing by Han Guang Palace, looking at that place, he suddenly remembered something. He turned and ask Feng You De, ¡° I remember previously Zhuang Concubine will make some Gui Hua pastries, that was very suitable for me, why there are none this year?¡± ¡°Your majesty, this year Zhuang Concubine made them, but¡­ the empress ate them all.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± As an emperor, surely he can¡¯t do something scolding the empress for eating a few pastries, but he still unknowingly headed towards Kun Ning Palace. Seeing that Wang You Cai wanted to take a deep breath to announce his arrival, Ji Wu Jiu waved his hands and made Wang You Cai swallow the breath. Ji Wu Jiu walked towards the window and heard people talking inside. In the room, Ye Zhen Zhen was in thoughts, looks like she was trying to remember something. Su Yue does not know what happened yesterday night, but thinking about Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s temper, she got worried and asked ¡°niang niang why are you lost in thoughts?¡± ¡°Su Yue, I had a dream yesterday night¡± ¡°What dream?¡± ¡°I dream that there was 2 walnuts¡± ¡°Niang niang you want to eat walnuts? I will ask someone to bring them over¡± ¡°No¡± Ye Zhen Zhen shook her head, and said ¡°I was just holding them in my hands, did not eat them¡± ¡°It seems like the veins in your hand are stucked, needs to be exercised. Why not we ask Wang You Cai to look for some antique walnut, and to move them in your hands, it is good for health.¡± Ye Zhen Zhen looked at her hands weirdly ¡°but¡­. I think, I really have felt the two walnuts¡­.¡± Listening till this part, Ji Wu Jiu got stiff. Although his steps were light, but his movement was fast, Feng You De was almost running to chase up, and looking at the emperor¡¯s expression, seems like.. a bit .. stiff? Like he is trying his best to suppress something¡­. Kun Ning Palace and Gan Qing Palace is not too far from one another, only a corridor away. When Ji Wu Jiu finally arrived at Gan Qing Palace, he couldn¡¯t take it anymore and laughed to himself in front of his table, trying still to control his laughter his shoulders shook along with it. Feng You De was really worried, the emperor¡¯s body seems to have recovered, don¡¯t tell me the virus got transferred to his brain?¡­.. Note: Last time, people used walnuts to massage and were used like the now common acupuncture balls that are made of steel. Also, this story has a lot more steamy parts coming up later¡­. so will you guys need a disclaimer everytime? Chapter 21 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 21 AUGUST 17, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Note: Hello, things to do will be catching up with me soon.. there will be less updates as well. Sigh.. the responsibilities of an adult.. T_T.. hahahahaha¡­. enjoy this chapter and don¡¯t read it too fast.. haha.. so that i can slowly catch up with the translating.. There will not be any fixed updates, as i cannot promise at the moment, but ! i will not abandon it¡­ so i think it will be safer for you to subscribe and wait for an email notification.. haha ~ though i would not mind if you want to stalk this page as well. Will try to squeeze in another chapter this week. Thanks to all that have been reading so far !!! ¨C 17/8/2015 Now back to the story~~~~~~~! Ever since Xian Concubine and Zhuang Concubine started to take care of the inner palace, they praised and punished accordingly, a very job well done, Xian Concubine really played her role well, most people also praises her capability. However, the only thing that most people don¡¯t know why is that, JI Wu Jiu has not flipped her name plate for a while now. ¡°NIang Niang, after that time the emperor spend a night in Kun Ning palace, it is nearly half a month that he did not enter Yao Yue Palace.¡± Today, Qiu Feng brought up this topic again, full of worry in her tone. ¡°Could it be, the empress said something to the emperor?¡± Xian Concubine was in deep thoughts, but she can¡¯t think anything through. Not to mention she is doing her work properly, and there should be nothing that could be used against her, and by only depending on the emperor¡¯s negative feeling towards the empress, there should be nothing she could say that will easily change his mind. ¡°Niang NIang, the empress is someone that is hard to guess, and not easy to handle as well¡± Xian Concubine continued pondering, thinking that perhaps she did something wrong, that angered Ji Wu Jiu. But what on earth is he so mindful about?¡­ Then, from outside a maid servant walked in and said ¡°Niang niang, there is someone from Han Guang palace, Xiao Zhu, kneeling outside, she says she has something to report¡± Xian Concubine and Qiu Feng exchange glances, both thinking that there is something wrong. Zhuang Concubine is on the empress¡¯s side, Han Guang Palace and Yao Yue Palace are not in good terms with each other, this is something the entire palace knows, why when something happened at Han Guang Palace, she came to Yao Yue Palace to report? ¡°Let her in¡± ¡°Yes¡± From her appearance, Xiao Zhu is a second ranked maid servant, should be doing some tougher work in Han Guang Palace. She was kneeling and shivering on the floor, and said a few words stuttering. Xian Concubine and Qiu Feng¡¯s expression got serious. ¡°You are sure, you saw it with your own eyes?¡± This case involves a lot of people, if there were any mistakes even losing one¡¯s head would be considered light¡± Xian Concubine her tone very serious. ¡°Replying to niang niang, what I said was true, if I lied, than let me die ,and not reincarnate forever¡± Qiu Feng scolded ¡°How dare you, in front of niang niang, what nonsense are you spouting?¡± Xiao Zhu got shocked and started to knock her head on the ground, ¡°I am wrong, I am wrong¡± ¡°I will only ask you this¡± Xian Concubine got up, and looked at her ,¡±this matter why did you not notify Zhuang Concubine?¡± ¡°I.. I know that you are the most fair and righteous.. so.. ¡° ¡°Understood, I know already¡± Xian Concubine stopped her. Even if Xiao Zhu doesn¡¯t say it, she also knows why, no matter who wants to deal with who, this time it seems that someone wants to use her to sharper her knife, but why not we go with the flow.. Thinking until that point Xian Concubine said ¡° Qiu Feng, bring her along, we are going to Han Guang Palace now¡± ¡°Yes¡± *** ¡°Xian Concubine sis, suddenly coming over to my Han Guang Palace, is there any thing important?¡± Zhuang Concubine asked, still with the unflattering tone. She was taking an afternoon nap, Xian Concubine suddenly bringing over people to her place, must not be something good. ¡°There is indeed something, that I have to come here to ask you properly, to have disturbed your nap, I hope you will understand¡± Zhuang Concubine smiled upon hearing her reply ¡°what is the matter that Xian Concubine wants to know?¡± Xian Concubine, asked ¡°Sun Gui Ren is staying here in Han Guang Palace right?¡± ¡°Sis, you really are asking questions that you already know the answer. Lu Zhu, go ask Sun Gui Ren to come out, do not let Xian Concubine wait too long¡± ¡°Hold on¡±, Xian Concubine called back the maid servant that was just heading out, ¡°sis, may I ask where is her room?¡± ¡°Not to hide anything from you, this is a big matter, I need to bring some people to check her room, if it were to offend you, I hope you will understand¡± She already say until like that, Zhuang Concubine can¡¯t really object, and followed Xian Concubine and headed towards the side courtyard where Sun Gui Ren lives. In her heart she was thinking that since Xian Concubine dares to openly come to Han Guang Palace to look for trouble, that means this matter really is not small. Realizing this, she gave a glance to Lu Zhu, where she understood and slowed down a few steps, and stopped beside a smart maid servant and whispered ¡°later if anything is amiss, quickly run to Kun Ning Palace to inform the empress, be smart don¡¯t let others find out¡± They reached the courtyard, Xian Concubine means to turn the issue bigger, and the moment she entered she ordered for the room to be thoroughly searched, so the eunuchs and maid servants immediately rushed in and started to search the room, their seriousness in this search matter has made them not know what happened behind. The maid servant that was ordered by Lu Zhu was standing at the back of some people, but saw Qiu Feng finding a men¡¯s clothing set, and not waiting for Lu Zhu to remind her, she immediately rushed out of Han Guang Palace and ran to Kun NIng Palace. On the other hand, Xian Concubine was looking at the man¡¯s clothing in Qiu Feng¡¯s hand, frowning she turned towards Sun Gui Ren, ¡°Is there anything else you can say?¡± Sun Gui Ren kneeled, with a shocked expression ¡°niang niang, I don¡¯t know where that item came from, I am framed!¡± Seeing that Xian Concubine does not seem to be bothered by what she said, she faced towards Zhuang Concubine, and held her dress ends and cried, ¡°Zhuang Concubine, I am staying in Han Guang Palace, you should know well about how i am, please help me say something!¡± Zhuang Concubine can only shake her head, this Sun Gui Ren really is muddled in her head, this thing happened in Han Guang Palace, she as the head of this place also needs to try to not be involved, so she shouldn¡¯t say anything at this time. Sighing Xian Concubine added ¡°Framed or not, we will know after investigating, someone go get the emperor, Qiu Feng, bring a few people and guard Han Guang Palace, maid servants and eunuchs can come in, but cannot go out¡± Zhuang Concubine¡¯s face changed, ¡°Sis, what does that mean?¡± ¡°Sis, do not think too much, truthfully I also hope that this matter is not real. But if Sun Gui Ren really have something with someone, in order to avoid the news from leaking out, and to let the someone know and to run away, why not we guard here, and does that are not involved can also avoid being involved.¡± ¡°If so, why not we invite the empress here as well..¡± ¡° I don¡¯t think we should, firstly the inner palace is under our supervision now, it would not be nice to disturb her over this matter, secondly, if Sun Gui Ren really have something going on with other men, surely it would not be a matter that was recent, if the emperor knows about it, would only be afraid that the empress will be reprimanded by the emperor, it would be better if he doesn¡¯t meet her now¡± Her words seems to be so thoughtful and kind, like she is helping and thinking for Ye Zhen Zhen, but actually what was her intention, everyone knows inside. Zhuang Concubine knows that Xian Concubine is trying to use this opportunity to show her capabilities to the emperor as well as to add a kick to Ye Zhen Zhen, although she is anxious now, she can¡¯t do anything as well, as this thing happened at her palace, she knew she can¡¯t be free from getting involved as well. *** Inside Kun Ning Palace. ¡°What did you say?!¡± Ye Zhen Zhen stood up from her chair out of shock, and the pain coming from her leg got her to shout out further. Su Yue immediately hold on to her ¡°Niang niang!¡± Su Feng looked at the maid servant ¡°You are speaking the truth, of what you seen correct?¡± ¡°Its real, I won¡¯t see wrongly¡± Su Feng frowned, turned and asked ¡°niang niang, would it have been just an eunuch¡¯s clothing?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen shook her head, ¡°even if it is an eunuch¡¯s cloths, to put it inside a Gui Ren¡¯s room it is against the rule as well¡± Su Yue said ¡°Weird, such a big thing happened, why no one came to Kun NIng Palace to report?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen smiled coldly, ¡°Zhuang Concubine can¡¯t win against Xian Concubine. She really is in a hurry, she already wants to go against me so quickly?¡± ¡°niang niang, you don¡¯t have to worry, this matter whether it is real or not, it should implicate Kun NIng Palace¡± ¡°Not necessary¡± The case happened at Han Guang Palace, Zhuang Concubine confirmed will be involved, and if anything goes wrong, only Xian Concubine be left in charge of the inner palace. Zhuang Concubine is Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s people, and with such an event this empress will lose one of her wings as well as her pride. Furthermore, Ji Wu Jiu loves to look trouble with her, and now that there is such a nice opportunity for him, will he let it go easily? This case involves the emperor wearing a green hat, can be said that it is more serious than the previous cases, as the empress, she would not be able to run away from another round of scolding. Not to mention no one really knows what Xian Concubine is thinking now, as she may appear to be fair and justice but may have hidden some knives in her sleeves. This case has many holes still, Sun Gui Ren most probably is framed by someone, therefore, will Xian Concubine wrongly accuse someone if she is incapable to solve this case? Thinking twice about it, Ye Zhen Zhen decided that to wait at Kun NIng palace is not the way, therefore she knocked on her chair, ¡°lets move to Han Guang Palace¡± *** Inside Han Guang Palace, Ji Wu Jiu was sitting at the top, and looked upon the matter with a cold attitude. Sun Gui Ren cried till she has no voice left, kneeling and crying that she was framed, with a hoarse voice, quite painful to the ears truthfully. Beside her kneeling was Xiao Zhu, and earlier on she has repeated what she said at Yao Yue Palace. Xian Concubine let out a deep breath, and said ¡°Sun Gui Ren, since the witness and evidence is here, it is best you just admit¡± ¡°Your majesty, your majesty, I really am framed, you must help me¡± Ji Wu Jiu looked at Sun Gui Ren coldly, ¡°You said you are framed, but is there any evidence?¡± ¡°I¡­.i¡­.¡± ¡°That means you don¡¯t have¡± after saying that, Ji Wu Jiu laid back to the chair, looked at Xian Concubine and kept quiet. The meaning should be, you decide what to do. Xian Concubine, receiving the message from Ji Wu Jiu, she felt calmer. Actually, she also knows that there is something wrong, but in front of her was a chance, she should use it properly. After sleeping one night at Kun Ning Palace, he has not been to her Yao Yue Palace, although she said that Ye Zhen Zhen would not be able to persuade the emperor, but in her heart she still does not feel comfortable. So now with this chance she wants to use it to show Ye Zhen Zhen. Xian Concubine¡¯s tone got more serious ¡°Sun Gui Ren, who is the other person?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have!!¡± ¡°I know that the empress normally is very kind to all of you, but you all are getting too arrogant, and no longer afraid. I am not same with the empress¡¯s, not so good tempered, today, if you don¡¯t speak the truth there would be worst punishment awaiting you.: Here it comes! This evil woman will not let the empress go, Zhuang Concubine calmed herself and said ¡°The empress is very busy, surely it would be impossible to know every little detail that happens in the palace, than only it will allow these people to act like this¡± ¡°What you said is true, the empress does not have 3 heads and 6 hands, of course she can only look over the things that are happening directly near her¡± Zhuang Concubine was speechless. What Xian Concubine meant was very obvious, this case happened under Zhuang Concubine¡¯s eyelids, you can¡¯t even take care of your ownself, now you still want to help others? Ji Wu Jiu merely raised his eye brows and took a sip out of the tea cup he just held. Xian Concubine looked at Ji Wu Jiu, and saw that he does not have any expression, so she tries to ask, ¡°Your majesty, according to you, how should we deal with this case?¡± ¡°Now the inner palace is under the care of the both of you, you can decide¡± Ji Wu Jiu placed down the teacup, and looked at Xian Concubine peacefully, ¡°but since you have decided that she has committed the wrong doing, than be sure to find out the other person involve as well.¡± Xian Concubine nodded, ¡°I understand¡±. Now this matter would be a bit more troublesome, if Sun Gui Ren was really framed, then from where will she find the other man out? Furthermore, Ji Wu Jiu is very clever, even if it was a fake one, she would need to be very careful about it, and cannot allow for any loophole. No matter what, it has come to this stage, it is already too late to change her decision. So Xian Concubine said ¡°People, bring Sun Gui Ren to the criminal department to force the truth out of her. As for Zhuang Concubine sis¡­.¡± Zhuang Concubine stood up and kneeled, ¡°Your majesty I did not know it happened, please punish me¡± ¡°Since you accepted your fault, then you will have no income for half a year and will be grounded for a month¡± Ji Wu Jiu just finished his sentence, when a voice can be heard from outside, a sweet voice that also carries a hint of power. ¡°Wait¡ª¡ª¨C¡° Chapter 22 Empress with no Virtue ¨C Chapter 22 AUGUST 18, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Ji Wu Jiu just finished his verdict, when he heard the ¡°wait¡± beyond the door, all in the hall also turned and look at the door. Ye Zhen Zhen was slowly pushed in by Su Yue. She was wearing a dark red robe, embroidered with colourful small birds, that were very cute, she was wearing a outer clothing that has one gold embroidered phoenix, with a pearl encrusted on the phoenix¡¯s head, looking very peaceful. Her cloth¡¯s was meant to bring a meaning of a hundred birds looking at the phoenix. Ye Zhen Zhen glanced through everyone that was there and ended with Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s face. He was looking at her as well, but his gaze was on her hands. In her soft and snow white left hand, she was holding two walnuts. The diameter of the walnuts is around one a half inch, the shape is like a peach bun, the skin colour is very red, the pattern and texture of the walnuts are also very smooth, and shiny. This type of walnut is the best there is in terms of antique walnuts, and looking at its surface, it surely has been used for many years, really the cream of the crop. But, these walnuts is slightly bigger than the normal walnuts, as Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s hands are considered small, and to hold both and still turning them around, it seems that it is slightly uncoordinated. Zhuang Concubine and Xian Concubine stood up to greet her, and Xian Concubine had to move to give her space as well, to give her the second best seat in the hall. Ye Zhen Zhen was pushed by Su Yue to Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s side, and stopped. The whole time, Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s eyes has only been following Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s turning left hand, with smile that is slowly creeping up on his face. Ye Zhen Zhen thought that Ji Wu Jiu only wanted the good things in her hands, so she pretended that she didn¡¯t notice. After both Zhuang Concubine and Xian Concubine sat down, she finally said ¡°Your majesty, is there any thing that I can¡¯t see here?¡± Xian Concubine immediately tried to answer ¡°I ask for forgiveness, your majesty, I made the decision, afraid that I will disturb you so I did not inform you.¡± ¡°I was speaking to the emperor¡± Ye Zhen Zhen started with showing some power first. Xian Concubine¡¯s head dropped ¡°I apologize¡± Ji Wu Jiu said ¡°we are trying to investigate a case here, both evidence and witness is here, what you think my empress?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen ordered someone to bring up the evidence, looking through it, and then turned towards the kneeling maid servant Xiao Zhu, smiled and said ¡°I actually have a question I want to ask the witness¡± Xiao Zhu heard Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s voice tone and knew it wouldn¡¯t be good, so she looked on the floor and didn¡¯t dare to look up. ¡°I ask you, you said you saw a man entered Sun Gui Ren¡¯s room, was when exactly and and from where?¡± ¡°Your majesty, I saw him entering yesterday at 9.20, I personally saw him entered from the window.¡± At 9.20, the main gate is not locked yet, this man went into Han Guang Palace proudly? Did he think that the guarding eunuch¡¯s are blind?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen said and her tone got more stronger. ¡°I think he climbed the wall¡­¡± ¡°This is also another possibility¡± Ye Zhen Zhen nodded, ¡°I ask you again, did you happen to see that person¡¯s face properly?¡± ¡°Replying to your majesty, the sky was dark, without proper lighting, I did not manage to see his face properly, but I remember he was wearing the guard¡¯s clothing¡± Ye Zhen Zhen looked at the clothes held by Su Feng, it was a guard¡¯s clothings. ¡°then did you see him leave?¡± ¡°I have not seen anyone leave¡± ¡°Why did you only notify now?¡± ¡°I was afraid I saw wrongly, and wrongly accused Gui Ren, so I was contemplating¡± After some thinking, Ye Zhen Zhen continued ¡° according to you, he climbed over the wall to enter, and since it didn¡¯t rain yesterday, then there should be some foot prints on the wall. Wang You Cai, bring a few people with you and look for clues, if you find it, then fine.. if you can¡¯t find it¡­. ¡° her voice was gradually lowered and she did not complete her sentence. ¡°I, I also didn¡¯t know how did the man came in, I only saw that he was under the window, I ask your majesty to check properly¡± ¡°Of course I would investigate properly, I would not accuse the innocent, but¡± She stopped and continued ¡° I would not let go of any ill intention person.¡± She then asked Su Feng over, and whispered to her. Su Feng nodded and went out. Arching his brows, Ji Wu Jiu asked ¡°so, will the empress be reinvestigating this case?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen took a sip of tea, and answered ¡°to reinvestigate or not, the evidence will talk. Furthermore Xian Concubine is a clever person, the case that she has gave verdict to, definitely would be trustworthy¡± Xian Concubine¡¯s complexion got dark, she used her handkerchief and wiped her mouth, cleared her throat just only wanted to say something, when Ye Zhen Zhen added ¡°Your majesty, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Therefore Xian Concubine¡¯s words were swallowed back. She turned to Ji Wu Jiu, he seem to be in a good mood, although he tried to hide his facial expression, but his eyes shows that he is happy, to the point where he did not say anything eventhough Ye Zhen Zhen just spite her, and he was only interested in looking at the show now. Xian Concubine felt her heart turn abit cold. After a while, Wang You Cai came back and said ¡°Informing your majesty and the empress, I have searched through properly, we did not find any evidence of people climbing the wall¡± Ye Zhen Zhen saw Xiao Zhu and Xian Concubine seems to have something to say, so she took the initiative to help them ¡°even if there isn¡¯t, it also can¡¯t prove much, perhaps this person has a very good martial arts, that can step on snow without leaving traces.¡± That skill only existed in legends, although that was what Ye Zhen Zhen said, it was still not really possible, especially in the ears of the expert JI Wu Jiu. But he also did not say anything and only looked at Ye Zhen Zhen, with a heart to tease her, ¡°so that is all?¡± ¡°Of course not, let¡¯s move to the evidence, this is a guard¡¯s clothing, but the person who place this item there forgot about something. This set of cloths is new, there is still the new clothes smell, it should not have been worn by anyone before. If Sun Gui Ren really had something with that guard, the cloths should be worn before, and should appear worn.¡± ¡°If Sun Gui Ren made that item for him?¡± Xian Concubine asked. ¡°Good question, from the material and sewing techniques of this cloths, it should not be from our palace. It should be distributed by the guards office. Clothes from the guards office are normally made by outside and was given the job by the finance department to the local seamstress.¡± Ye Zhen Zhen looked at Xian Concubine when she said the word finance department, and looked at Xian Concubine with a hidden meaning. There was a lump of blood stuck in the throat of Xian Concubine, and even if she wants she can¡¯t get it out. The empress only looked at her, and did not mention that she was suspicious, so she didn¡¯t and couldn¡¯t deny. Looking at Ji Wu Jiu again, he was looking at her too, then immediately Xian Concubine¡¯s eyes got red ¡°Your majesty¡­.¡± ¡°If you want to exchange lover¡¯s gaze, please wait till later, I am still doing serious investigating here.¡± Ye Zhen Zhen suddenly said. Xian Concubine closed her mouth. ¡°Therefore this cloth is from the guards office, and was given to the guards. Not something made by Sun Gui Ren, also not taken off from the soldier, also not possible that Sun Gui Ren got someone to get it for her to gift him ¡ª this type of present the other has plenty, how would she be gift him these. Then all is left is one possibility¡± Ye Zhen Zhen stopped and took a sip of tea. ¡°What is the possibility?¡± Ji Wu Jiu asked. ¡°Most probably it was the guard got muddle head and placed his new clothes here at Sun Gui Ren¡¯s room, and ask her to help him keep it first. ¡° Although this might not be really possible but at this moment this should be the only reason left. Sun Gui Ren thought that there was hope, but started crying again ¡°I am framed!!¡± ¡°You close your mouth¡± Ye Zhen Zhen frowned, ¡°all you said was that sentence, so bothersome¡­ Xian Concubine, what do you think about my explanation, can it be accepted?¡± Xian Concubine replied while nodding ¡°It seems like this could only be the reason, your majesty is wise¡± ¡°Wrong¡± Ye Zhen Zhen laughed, ¡°I am wise, but that explanation was a huge mistake. This cloths is identical with the guards clothings, that is true, but it is not any of the palace¡¯s guards cloths¡± Hearing her explanation, even Ji Wu Jiu got shocked, ¡°Why are you so sure?¡± ¡°Your majesty have you forgotten? All the guards in the palace have identity numbers, this number is given to the guards to keep track of their identity and this number is sew on to the collar of their clothes. Normally it can¡¯t be seen properly, but if something unfortunate were to happen, it is useful to differentiate their identity then.¡± Ji Wu Jiu looked at Ye Zhen Zhen ¡°of course I know the guards have identity numbers, I didn¡¯t know it was sew on the collar¡± ¡°Your majesty, you are so busy with the court matters, of course it would be normal for you to be not clear with these matters¡± Ye Zhen Zhen said and flipped the clothes again, ¡°The collar of this cloth do not have any numbers, surely it was stolen before reaching the guard¡¯s office, at the finance department.¡± Finance Department was mentioned again, Xian Concubine¡¯s face is almost green in colour. ¡°I daresay, Sun Gui Ren perhaps you have offended someone, that person wanted you to die, so they thought of something so evil, that implicated the emperor¡¯s name, such evil people. However this plan has so many faults, Xian Concubine did not properly investigate and made you took the fault, and did not put the emperor¡¯s pride into account, it was a little too foolish. ¡°Ye Zhen Zhen said and smiled at Xian Concubine. Xian Concubine immediately kneeled ¡° Your majesty, I was too anxious to protect your face, and wanted to quickly settle the case. Although the evidence is not trustworthy, there is still the witness, Xiao Zhu said she it herself?¡± And she looked at Xiao Zhu, in her heart thinking, as long as Xiao Zhu kept on saying she saw what happened, then even without the evidence, according to Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s personality surely he would not end it easily. ¡°Really, I saw it personally¡± Xiao Zhu immediately said. ¡°Really? Su Feng?¡± ¡°I am here¡±, Su Feng walked over, in her hands there was a pouch, and was brought forward to Ye Zhen Zhen. ¡° Your majesty, I gotten this from Xiao Zhu¡¯s living quarter.¡± Xiao Zhu upon seeing that item, her face changed, without any strength left in her, she just sat on the floor. Ye Zhen Zhen took the pouch, opened and search through, besides the quite a sum of money, there was also a good grade jewelry, she looked through the pouch again and looked at Xiao Zhu, ¡°you are just a small maid servant, where did you get so much money and these jewelries?¡± Surely you didn¡¯t steal them did you?¡± ¡°No, no , no,.. I didn¡¯t.. ¡° Xiao Zhu shook her head and denied. ¡°Of course I know you didn¡¯t, someone asked you to frame Sun Gui Ren, and gift you these items. Sun Gui Ren was leaving in the side court, with very little people by her side, that allowed you to plan this, is that correct?¡± Xiao Zhu kept shaking her head ¡°I did not.. I did not¡­ ¡° ¡°I suspected you from the start, so I let Su Feng searched your room, and these are the clues. Since you aren¡¯t able to tell where these things come from, then why don¡¯t you let me help you investigate? Just now you have already seen my capability, with this pouch and the jewelries, if I want to know where it came from, it would not be hard. I will give you another chance, if you speak the truth now I will spare your life, if I were to get the answer myself¡­ hehe¡­.¡± Although Ye Zhen Zhen purposely tried to force out a cold laugh, to create a scary effect, but due to her voice problem, her laugh did not appear to have the effect she wanted, but more like a female, making everyone in the hall feel goosebumps on their hands. Ji Wu Jiu thought that there was a worm climbing on his body, and quickly stopped Ye Zhen Zhen ¡° If you don¡¯t want to speak the truth, then flogged to death immediately. Feng You De.¡± ¡°Here¡± ¡°I will say, I will say, !! Your majesty please spare me, empress niang niang please spare me!!!¡± Xiao Zhu cried non stop on the floor. *** Ye Zhen Zhen, Ji Wu Jiu, Xian Concubine, the three of them was returning to their own place. Ji Wu Jiu and Ye Zhen Zhen was heading to the same place, and headed towards the east. Xian Concubine was standing at her place and see them leave together, with a sad expression. ¡°What is that in your hands?¡± Ji Wu Jiu was looking at her left hand, he couldn¡¯t take it anymore and asked. ¡°Walnut, this is ¡®Man Tian Xing¡±, Wang You Cai said it is hundred over years, holding it the hands, the feeling is rather good¡± Ye Zhen Zhen was praising the walnuts, and looking up she saw Ji Wu Jiu looking at the walnuts in earnest, so she looked down again and said ¡°Your majesty if you like it, I will ask him to search some for you¡± ¡°No need, I have them myself¡± Ye Zhen Zhen was looking down, and did not see the smile creeping on his face, ¡°Your majesty, I have something I don¡¯t understand¡± ¡°what?¡± ¡°Today, Xian Concubine was investigating the case, as per your level, it is not possible that you couldn¡¯t tell that Sun Gui Ren was innocent, but¡­¡± ¡°But did not do anything?¡± Ji Wu Jiu continued for her. Ye Zhen Zhen nodded. ¡°You were to anxious¡± Ji Wu Jiu answered Ye Zhen Zhen was trying to understand his words, Anxious? Anxious?? She was anxious to clear this case properly, if she was not anxious, slowly investigate.. slowly investigate.. in the end, by the time the truth comes out¡­ Sun Gui Ren would have been wrongly accused, and be sent to the criminal bureau and be treated by the punishments. In another words, till that time, the case that was personally gave verdict by Xian Concubine, her personally wearing the green hat for Ji Wu Jiu¡­ then¡­ Xian Concubine¡¯s fault would be bigger than now¡­. Ye Zhen Zhen got shocked. Ji Wu Jiu wants to punish Xian Concubine? This Ye Zhen Zhen could have guess a little, because this half a month plus, JI Wu Jiu did not go to Yao Yue Palace, but she don¡¯t know what Xian Concubine did wrong to Ji Wu Jiu. But¡­ he didn¡¯t have to hate it that much right? Xian Concubine was someone he dotes on, and also to punish her, he wanted to sacrifice an innocent person as well.. This man, how can he be so cold hearted. Chapter 23 Empress with no Virtue ¨C Chapter 23 AUGUST 19, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Disclaimer : Starting part of this chapter may not be too suitable for underage people. Read at your own risk? Hahaha.. This chapter is very fluffy to me! That night, Ji Wu Jiu, slept at Kun Ning Palace. Ye Zhen Zhen believed her broken leg would hinder him from doing anything, so she allowed him to do what he wants. In the middle of the night, Ji Wu Jiu woke up. No one touched him, nor was he getting warm, but he still woke up, with wide eyes looking up and thoughts floating away. Suddenly in his views he saw a floating pair of hands, snow white and soft. Truthfully, the emperor¡¯s bed business is much more open than the normal people, their face are thicker too, not really bothered or afraid that other people might see. But now, he is stealthily holding a woman¡¯s hand and doing that, it truly isn¡¯t something he should be proud of, it made him appear to unsatisfied in that matter. However, the thing he is doing now, although not something to be proud of, and kind of not right, he finds it quite exciting, and it was something that he has never experienced before with other women. That was why he was very happy, and confused. Ye Zhen Zhen still does not know that happened. When she woke up in the morning she only felt that she had a nice sleep. After having breakfast, Wang You Cai hurried in to report ¡°Your Majesty, Sun Gui Ren committed suicide!¡± Because she just had breakfast, all her blood was going to her stomach, so her reaction was very slow. ¡°Which Sun Gui Ren?¡± ¡°The Sun Gui Ren from Han Guang Palace, the one who got accused yesterday¡± ¡°Died?¡± ¡°Not yet, people helped her done already, Zhuang Concubine got someone to report to you immediately. Do you want to go and take a look?¡± ¡°No need, to commit suicide early in the morning, I think she does not really want to die. You go and report this matter to the emperor. Su Yue, pick a few jewelry and gift Sun Gui Ren, and say, that her innocent are known in both the emperor and empress, in the future there would not be anyone daring to gossip about her, and ask her to sincerely care for the emperor, don¡¯t need to think about others, and not allowed to make me and the emperor worried¡± Both of them left quickly. Ye Zhen Zhen thought that although what Sun Gui Ren did was quite fake, but she was the victim yesterday, most probably Ji Wu Jiu will give her some face and do something about it. Exactly like how she thought, Wang You Cai returned and said that the emperor promoted Sun Gui Ren two ranks up as a 5th rank Mei Ren, and gave her a title ¡°Zhen¡±, seems like the cold person who was watching Xian Concubine bully another person was another person. Seeing that Ji Wu Jiu was being so generous today, Ye Zhen Zhen also granted her more gifts, thinking that he seems to be in a good mood today. She was actually thinking about another matter, and seeing that he is in a good mood, she would talk with him about it as well. ¡°You want to add western teaching at Guo Zi Jian?¡± Ji Wu Jiu was listening to Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s advice, and was surprised. Guo Zi Jian is the school for future politicians, and has only had taught about Chinese literatures, and to suddenly add a unknown western teaching there, even if he as the emperor were to agree, the old ministers and teachers there might not necessary accept. ¡°Yes, recently I have been going through some western people¡¯s history, although some is very bad, but there are also somethings that are worthy to learn. I as a woman, learning these things may not be useful, why not let our Da Qi men be exposed to these to learn something new. Western teaching does not need to be a compulsory subject, just put it at Guo Zi Jian, and let Mr Dou teach, anyone interested can just join if they want to. When ¡°As a woman¡± came out from Ye Zhen Zhen, Ji Wu Jiu heard her tone was very unwilling, and he thought it was funny. He kept quiet for a while, and answered, ¡°This matter needs to be properly planned¡± ¡°Do not drag it too long, the faster the better. If you are afraid people cannot accept it, then why not let me be the leader of the western studies, and let Mr Dou be a teacher only. I will carry the hat of the empress, I think they would dare to say anything¡± Ji Wu Jiu shook his head, ¡°You are a ¡°woman¡±, to mix around with men, it would not be good, as for freedom of speech it is not something that can be stopped completely, it is better to go with the flow¡± ¡°then, your majesty¡­.¡± Ji Wu Jiu looked up, and gazed into her eyes and asked ¡°why don¡¯t you first tell me why are you so anxious?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen took a deep breath, and looked back seriously, ¡°Your majesty, in this world, there is a place we don¡¯t understand, but they are observing us. What is scarier is that they have strong arm power, they can build stronger and bigger war ships than us, and they also have gun powder that are equally strong as us, this type of opponent, although not enemy now, we still have to be on our guards. Instead of waiting for them to attack us first, why don¡¯t we first understand them so that we can prepare first¡± ¡°How do you know if they will attack us?¡± ¡°Their king is supportive of public criminals like stealing, their pirates/criminals, as long as they bring back money, they can be big heroes, and be respected by the citizens, is that not enough? Etiquettes cannot win over crime, towards these type of people, we can only use force against them. The reason why they haven¡¯t attack us yet, is not because our Da Qi has strong arm forces and still can win over them, but because the cost to fight with us all the way from the west would be very costly, not something they can afford right now. Although this is now, but who can know what will happen in the future, so that is why now we must first take actions and to guard¡± Ji Wu Jiu was quiet, and did not speak for a while. ¡°Your Majesty?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen thought that he was trying to think of ways to reject her idea. He stood up from his chair and walked towards her, with slow but strong steps. Ye Zhen Zhen looked at him walking over, and not sure why she looked down and not facing him, and stared at his shoes, and seeing it get closer by the moment. ¡°You think very far ahead¡±, pausing for a while Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s voice was heard again on top of her head ¡°I cannot compare¡± Ye Zhen Zhen saw the closed up belt of his, black based with 2 golden embroidered dragons, with a huge pearl in the middle,¡­ ¡°your majesty, you overly praised me, I am a slow and straight person, what I see I will say, cannot be compared to your majesty, you must have more thinks to consider¡± Most probably after getting praised by her, Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s mood got better ¡°I want to gift you something, what do you want?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen did not give him face ¡°no need, I do not lack anything¡± ¡°I want to gift you, look up¡± Ye Zhen Zhen looked up at him. Today he was wearing a dark red robe, material of the clothes, she can¡¯t tell, but it was soft and fitting, with dark embroideries. His outfit made him look calm and now as strong as the dragon robes, bringing out an air of laziness. Now, his bend his body, looking at her, with curved lips and smiling eyes. Looking up at his handsome and calm face, Ye Zhen Zhen continued to look at him, and he was looking at her without saying anything as well. After a while, her shoulder got stiff, and her head is getting heavier. Therefore looking at his handsome face, Ye Zhen Zhen starts to think of many things.. Why is his face so nice to see¡­ ¡°What are you thinking of?¡± Ji Wu Jiu suddenly asked. ¡°You are really good looking¡± ¡°¡­.¡± As he was never praised straight to his face before, Ji Wu Jiu was stunned for a moment. Ye Zhen Zhen thought that she really got muddle head, to actually say such things. She does not dare to look at Ji Wu Jiu anymore, and looked down, and to allow the peony on her hair face Ji Wu Jiu instead. Ji Wu Jiu finally came back to senses, it seems like he got flirted with again? As the emperor, he surely can¡¯t be flirted with by a woman. Thinking about that, he brought up his hands and held on the Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s chin, and slowly made her look up and looked into her eyes, ¡°I have a good looking face? So this was the present you wanted?¡± Not waiting for Ye Zhen Zhen to react, he bend down and gave her a light peck on her cheeks. This was the first time she got kissed by someone, she felt that there was a soft touch on her face, Ye Zhen Zhen blushed and turned away from him. His lips stretched all the way to his ears, and asked ¡°Was that enough?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen did not reply, and wanted to leave, Ji Wu Jiu did not let her go, like a playboy that teases girls, he used some strength to held her chair down. Ye Zhen Zhen had no choice but to hold his arms with her hands, to avoid him initially but he also changed his position, Ye Zhen Zhen was speechless, and since she did not want to be taken lightly by him, she was trying her best to not lose. When Feng You De brought in tea, he saw the scene of both of them fighting, and scared him, he fell to the ground kneeling, ¡°your majesty¡­.¡± How can you use strength¡­ ¡°empress niang niang¡­ ¡° why did you raise your hand towards the emperor. Ji Wu Jiu stopped, took a cup of tea and just before he wanted to take a sip, he saw the unhappy face of Ye Zhen Zhen, so he gave the cup in his hands to her and took another for himself. To Feng You De, the emperor and the empress seems to be in a good relationship, why is the both of them putting up an act, who is it for? Taking a sip of tea, Ye Zhen Zhen just wanted to saying goodbye, a maid servant from Ci Ning Palace came in and greeted them. ¡°Empress, the empress dowager requires you to drop by Ci Ning Palace to discuss about something¡± ¡°What is the matter?¡± ¡°It is about Miss Xu¡¯s title when she enters the palace, in detail¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go together¡± Ji Wu Jiu said, and personally pushed Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s chair. Ye Zhen Zhen was thinking in her heart that this time, Ji Wu Jiu will use her as his gun again, although she thinks she will be able to fire up accordingly, just not sure where the gun will be facing this time round. While thinking, she took a look at the back, and saw the hands on her wheel chair handle, long fingers that turned white due to using too much strength can be seen. If you don¡¯t want to push don¡¯t have to force yourself, Ye Zhen Zhen scorned. Chapter 24 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 24 AUGUST 20, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 When Ji Wu Jiu wore plain clothes to visit the markets to see how the citizens are doing, he once saw people at the market haggling prices, like a war, and never ending, it can be compared with the bickering of the ministers at court. Today, he was lucky to be able to witness the haggling process of inner palace women; The empress dowager and the empress was negotiating about what level title and how should Xu Wei Rong enter the palace. Ye Zhen Zhen was thinking, no matter what Xu Wei Rong is still related to the empress dowager, she will be closer to empress dowager compared to Xian Concubine, so it will be best to not have a high position for that woman, if not there will be more problems later. Furthermore, even if the emperor wants to give title to any woman, she can¡¯t enter with a high title from the start, Xian Concubine was a different case, she was brought in with that title thanks to Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s marriage to the emperor. Xu Wei Rong¡¯s father is just a small minister, definitely did not make any big contributions to the country, and also not to mention was pushed down by Ye Xiu Ming, so the empress dowager cannot use the family status as a reason. Ye Zhen Zhen was clear that although she was not officially in bad terms with the empress dowager, but they both know they don¡¯t like each other, so she didn¡¯t really give face to her, so she was trying her best to haggle with her. The empress dowager said that Xu Wei Rong ¡°Gentle and humble¡±, Ye Zhen Zhen replied ¡°all the woman in this palace, which one is not gentle and humble¡±, the empress dowager said ¡°good in literature and arts¡±, Ye Zhen Zhen replied ¡° why not ask her to become a female scholar, and help the emperor at the court, it would be the same, why should a woman with such knowledge be covered by the woman that only knows how to be pretty here¡±, the empress dowager said Xu Wei Rong is ¡°a well known pretty maiden in the capital¡± Ye Zhen Zhen laughed coldly ¡°if the whole capital knows she is pretty, looks like she has been showing her face very frequently¡±.. Empress dowager :¡­¡­. Empress dowager can¡¯t continue saying anything. She is a normally quiet person, meeting Ye Zhen Zhen , this type of straightforward person that does not even takes time to take a breath before replying, and what ever she says is a strong wind that will slap the other persons face, making her unable to withstand anymore. Therefore, the empress dowager look at Xian Concubine. Xian Concubine was brought here purposely, thinking that it would be better if there were someone backing her, but who knew that Xian Concubine will remain quiet as well. Of Course Xian Concubine understood what the empress dowager wanted, but these two days, she slowly came to a realization, on to why the emperor was angry with her, most probably because he didn¡¯t liked her interfering with Xu Wei Rong¡¯s case, if that is the case, she shouldn¡¯t say anything now. Also she found out, Ye Zhen Zhen appear to be abit crazy ,and will sometimes speak nonsense but in reality she really is someone clever, she, Fang Liu Yue did things too rashly, and made a mistake, next time definitely no more. That¡¯s why Xian Concubine was sitting down quietly, not looking at anyone, not saying anything. The empress dowager than turned to look at Ji Wu Jiu, supposedly Xu Wei Rong is brought in by the empress dowager for the emperor, the emperor will only be required to wait for the pretty maiden to be sent to his arms, and previously he was not involved as well, but now if he takes the initiative to give the title to her, the empress would not be able to do anything. However, the person who said that he wanted his cousin sister to enter the palace, today he is like Xian Concubine, only sitting and not saying anything. The empress felt weird that the two of them who proposed the idea are now keeping quiet, initially she thought she will win the argument, but now she wants to vomit blood from the words that are coming out from Ye Zhen Zhen. Both of them continued to negotiate, one of them wants to give Xu Wei Rong a second rank title, another one wanted to simply give her a ninth rank Shu Nu, and according to both sides argument, the rank starts to head to the middle, in the end they finally came to an agreement, sixth rank, Cai Ren. Coming out from Kun Ning Palace, Ji Wu Jiu said, ¡°It didn¡¯t know that your haggling skills were so great¡± Thinking about how the empress dowager was early, she was actually rather tired, but hearing the praise from him now, she got abit happy, and said rashly, ¡°of course, next time if you divorce me, I will be a merchant, I think I will be able to get a fortune at least¡± Ji Wu Jiu stopped walking, and frown ¡°When did I say I want to divorce you?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen looked down, thinking in her heart, it would be too late, when I hear you say that. Seeing Ye Zhen Zhen not saying anything, JI Wu Jiu opened his mouth and wanted to say ¡°I would not divorce you¡± but he felt that even if he said that, the both of them would not believe it as well, so he closed his mouth and continued to be silent. *** When Ye Zhen Zhen returned to Kun Ning Palace, she was down, thinking that everyday passing by like this was truly pointless, she has to fight back the various smart people in the palace, and also to avoid the traps set by JI Wu Jiu, and also the scariest was not sure when will he let the knife he is holding drop. He can let her live, he can also let her die. Ye Zhen Zhen thought that maybe she needs to attract his attention as well, but thinking back, on how Li Concubine boot licks to him, on how good Xian Concubine treats him, he has never been soft hearted to them, what would it be for Ye Xiu Ming¡¯s granddaughter? Ye Zhen Zhen starts to get moody, and wants to go out, so she made Su Yue and the rest stay at Kun Ning Palace, alone she went to Tai Ye Lake. Su Yue was worried, so she stood outside Xi Hua Gate, and look at her from afar. It was early winter, it was dark at the side of Tai Ye Lake, even the sky was gloomy, Ye Zhen Zhen mood was getting worse. She stopped her chair by the side of the lake, and looked at a big bird nest that was on the tree, the leaves have all dropped, so there was nothing covering the bird nest. Ye Zhen Zhen was holding her gun, and wanted to test it out on the bird nest. The gun has been reloaded by her a massive container with gun powder that can shoot a few times. She held the gun and tried to aim, towards the bird nest and shot. Peng! The gun let out a black smoke, and started to shake, Ye Zhen Zhen felt that there was a pain of something tearing apart between her thumb and pointing finger, not knowing her own reaction the gun flew from her hands. Her natural reaction was to go backwards, however the chair was not stable enough for the sudden action, she lost her balance and fell into the water. Putong! Su Yue say these scene from afar and got scared, but when the lake made a huge water splash, she finally reacted ¡°Niang Niang!, anyone here? The empress fell into the water!¡± Nearby a few maid servants and eunuch ran towards Ye Zhen Zhen. Before they were even near, they say at the side of the lake there was someone jumping into the water, and in a short while, Ye Zhen Zhen was brought up by that person. Ye Zhen Zhen was not in any danger, she only drank a few mouthfuls of water, but she was very cold, her hands and leg were in pain. After shaking of some water from her hair, she looked up and say who saved her, then cannot take it anymore she started to cry, ¡°Cousin brother, wu, wu, cousin brother!¡± In her heart there was many unhappy things, and felt that something was tying up her heart, that made her unable to breath, so she can only cry, her tears cannot be stopped. Lu Li has never seen her cry like this, and thought she was scared, and slowly pat her back, tone down his voice and consoled her ¡°don¡¯t cry Zhen Zhen, don¡¯t cry, all is well¡± Su Yue was leading a group of maid servants and eunuchs, running towards them, ¡°empress!¡± She looked into the lake and saw that the wheelchair is broken, and even if they bring it up, it cant be used anymore. Su Yue quickly called the people at the back ¡°You guys, carry the empress back to the palace¡± Lu Li let go of Ye Zhen Zhen, and a few eunuch came forward, carrying Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s arms and legs separately, one of the eunuch did not use his strength properly and touched her broken leg, and in exchange Ye Zhen Zhen screamed in pain, her crying increased. Lu Li was unhappy, and pushed away the eunuchs, and carried Ye Zhen Zhen up, and seeing that she was finally quiet in his arms, he frowned and sighed. Su Yue was abit worried, ¡°Lieutenant Lu¡­ ¡° he is a man, to hold the empress like this, it would not be proper. Ye Zhen Zhen stopped her, ¡°I want to return faster¡± her voice still sounded like she was crying. Lu Li did not put Ye Zhen Zhen down, and said ¡°let¡¯s go¡±. The empress was already hurt, needs to quickly returned to the palace to be taken care of, people should not say much about this most probably. From Tai Ye Lake to Kun Nin g Palace there are two routes, one is from the imperial garden, and another is via the front palace. Lu Li looking at the shivering and wet person in his arms, didn¡¯t want to use the longer route, so he bring Ye Zhen Zhen through the doors towards the front palace, and when he pass by Yang Xin Hall, he saw that Ji Wu Jiu was heading towards Yang Xin Hall. ¡°Greetings to the emperor!¡± Because he was carrying Ye Zhen Zhen, he couldn¡¯t kneel down. ¡°What happened?¡± Ji Wu Jiu saw Lu Li carrying a girl from a far, so when he walked near, he saw that the woman was actually Ye Zhen Zhen. ¡°Replying to the emperor, the empress was unlucky and fell into the water, Lieutenant Lu is sending the empress back to the palace¡± Su Yue answered. JI Wu Jiu looked at the person in the arms of Lu Li quietly. Her clothes was all wet, sticking to her body, and her forehead had wet hair sticking onto it, with a pale face: her whole body turning green from the cold, and was shivering non stop in Lu Li¡¯s arms. Not knowing why also, Ji Wu Jiu felt that this scene was a bit uncomfortable to him. He walked towards them, and took Ye Zhen Zhen into his arms from Lu Li, and looked at Lu Li without an expression. Lu Li immediately kneeled ¡°I was too anxious to save her, and offended the empress¡¯s body, please punish me your majesty!¡± Ji Wu Jiu looked down at Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s crying face ¡°Forget it, it is even¡± ¡°Thank you your majesty¡± Ji Wu Jiu carried Ye Zhen Zhen and walked towards her palace, in between the tall red walls and empty corridors, they brought up colours to the scenery. The cold wind was blowing towards them, when it hit Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s body she was going to be numb from the cold. Ye Zhen Zhen was then a bit impatient, and said ¡° Can you be faster, I am dying of cold here¡± Ji Wu Jiu replied ¡°You don¡¯t want your legs anymore?¡± Not wanting to say anything, she closed her eyes, today it seems this road is especially long, like it has no ending. After walking a while, Ji Wu Jiu suddenly said, ¡°why did you cry just now?¡± Why do you bother, Ye Zhen Zhen thought. ¡°I have never seen you cry before, my empress¡± Note: i am so tempted to translate the following chapters.. but my work T_T. arggh.. dilemmaaaaa¡­ maybe after lunch hour.. ehehehehehe Uhm, in case you guys don¡¯t know, i post up the moment i finish translating them, and each chapter takes around 1 hour or so (depending on the length) and seldom edit them.. hahaha¡­ so if there are any spelling mistakes or grammar errors, kindly forgive. I will somehow next time, someday, fix them.. i hope? kekekekee Chapter 25 Empress with no Virtue- Chapter 25 AUGUST 20, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 ¡®Replying to your majesty, the empress got a cold, will need to recuperate for a few days, I will go open a remedy for this, what is important is to be mindful of fever. Also the leg injury on the empress leg has still not recovered properly, and entering cold water and getting cold wind, will need to be extra careful next time, in order to avoid any side effects later.¡± The doctor said after carefully checking Ye Zhen Zhen. Ye Zhen Zhen already changed into dry clothes, with 3 layers of blanket on her, like a small mountain. Now only did she felt abit warmer, and colour has returned to her face. Su Feng and another maid servant was using dry clothes to help her dry her hair. Her hair is long and thick, not easy to dry. Ji Wu Jiu saw the bandage on Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s hand and asked ¡°The wound on your hand, what is that about?¡± ¡°Your majesty, the empress¡¯s hand there is a part where it split, most probably she hit somewhere when she fell into the water¡± Ye Zhen Zhen slowly opened her eyes, and explained ¡°it was caused by the gun, it exploded and caused my hand to split¡± ¡°You are too over!¡± JI Wu Jiu scolded. Explosion is not a small thing, if light one will sustain injuries, if it was stronger one could lose their life, there was once a person that got exploded badly, when he was testing the gun. Today, Ye Zhen Zhen only injured her hand, it can be considered very lucky. Seeing that he wants to scold her somemore Ye Zhen Zhen quickly covered her head with the blanket, and kept quiet. Ji Wu Jiu was speechless, and pat her head twice, ¡°come out, don¡¯t fake death¡± Ye Zhen Zhen suddenly thought of something, and showed her head and told Wang You Cai ¡°quickly go and get me back my gun¡± Wang You Cai, just wanted to go out when Ji Wu Jiu called him back, ¡°hold it. Feng You De, you go and take, after that keep it at Gan Qing Palace¡± Ye Zhen Zhen was unhappy ¡°that belongs to me¡± ¡°Even you belongs to me¡± ¡°¡­.¡± JI Wu Jiu straighten up, and calmed Ye Zhen Zhen, ¡°alright now, rest first, you are no longer allowed to play with guns, this is my order¡± *** At night, Ye Zhen Zhen really got fever, her whole body was very warm, and she was mumbling. Ji Wu Jiu stretched his hands and touched her forehead, and got up and asked the maid servant to bring over the medicine. Though, Ye Zhen Zhen was in a daze from fever, she still refused to drink the bitter medicine, so when Su Yue fed her a spoon, she pushed it away, in the end she decided to closed her mouth tight, and made the medicine hit her mouth and spilled on the pillow. Can¡¯t help it anymore, Ji Wu Jiu can only hold her in his arms, and held her chin with one of his hands, to force her to open her mouth. Su Yue then feed the medicine into her mouth, and because her jaw was held and she can¡¯t spit it out, with a few movements from her throat, she finally swallowed the medicine. Ji Wu Jiu then helped pat her chest to avoid her from choking. After a while, the both of them finally got the whole bowl of medicine down her throat, before Ye Zhen Zhen starts to sweat, the both of them already sweat first. Ji Wu Jiu ask Su Yue to hold outside, and he placed Ye Zhen Zhen back to the bed, and cover her up with the blankets. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s fever made both her cheeks red, eyes tightly closed and at the corner of her eyes there were signs of tears forming. Normally this woman is like a little tiger, it really was a rare sight of seeing her being weak. After lying down, Ye Zhen Zhen started to mumble again, Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s ears perks up and tried to listen and hear her saying ¡°Grandfather, don¡¯t marry me go to the emperor¡± Sighing, Ji Wu Jiu mumbled to himself ¡°you don¡¯t want to marry me, I also didn¡¯t want to marry you¡± Just that, now the rice has been cooked, both of us are a married couple. Even though there are many woman in the inner palace, but only you, will be buried together with me later. People say, 10 years of cultivation you will get a friendship, and 100 years of cultivation you will share the same bed¡± , don¡¯t know how long did the both of us cultivate in order to gain this life¡¯s faith. This faith, however would have been better if it didn¡¯t happen. *** The next day, when Ye Zhen Zhen got up, she found up that it had snowed the whole night, the whole place was covered in snow. Her fever has gone, and although the doctor asked her not to go outside, afraid of her getting cold again, but Ye Zhen Zhen does not want to miss the first snow this year, and wants to go out to walk. Su Yue did not manage to persuade her, so she can only wrap her up properly and pushed a warmer into her arms, and after properly checking and making sure it would be alright, only let Wang You Cai pushed her out. Ye Zhen Zhen said she wants to go see the plum blossoms, so Wang You Cai pushed her to the imperial garden where the plum blossoms are planted, although she did not go far, she has already met a few groups of people. Ye Zhen Zhen was wearing a leather hat, with a fox muffler, with a tiger skin cape, and her whole body, only her eyes was exposed, so she appeared to be like in a parade that got greeted by people here and there. Actually the plum blossoms that are in bloom are not too many, only a few that were anxious to bloom. Initially Ye Zhen Zhen was abit moody, there are many place to admire the snow scenery, why did everyone go towards the plum blossom garden, was the inner palace filled with people that like plum blossoms? When she saw Ji Wu Jiu, only did she realized, why everyone is gathering here. Ji Wu Jiu saw Ye Zhen Zhen from a far, the tiger on her was really obvious. ¡°Greetings to the emperor, I am still injured so I cannot greet you properly, I beg for your pardon¡± Ye Zhen Zhen said, but since her mouth is covered, her voice appeared to be rather down. ¡°Are you better now?¡± Ji Wu Jiu said, and placed a hand onto her forehead to check. This morning when he woke up her forehead was still warm, now it seems the fever has fully subsided, undeniably, this woman¡¯s body is really not ladylike. His action was rather intimate, Ye Zhen Zhen was not used to it. Also not used to it were the people that were watching their interaction. Xian Concubine, Xi Consort, Wang Zhao Yi, Wen Jie Yu and others, which they all also accidently met JI Wu Jiu here, and seeing how good Ji Wu Jiu is treating Ye Zhen Zhen, they are all shocked. Zhuang Concubine was there too, this woman was very smart, she took the initiative to stand beside Ye Zhen Zhen, and helped her fixed the clothes wrapping her. Ye Zhen Zhen was satisfied and started to glance through the women there. Xian Concubine already has a feel of cold and clear beauty, now she is wearing a silver cape made from fox, and with 2 plum blossoms on her hair, in the snow scenery, not only men even if the eunuch saw they will also feel their hearts beating faster. Thinking about it, most probably Ji Wu Jiu will take the chance to forgive her. Ji Wu Jiu was in a good mood, he wants to bring his big and smile wives to take a walk at the plum blossom garden. Before they reach the garden, they saw a girl coming from that direction, wearing a red cape, and holding a white porcelain vase, in the vase there was a red plum blossom. The girl was pretty and looks gentle, such exquisite face, if not Li Concubine than who else? Ye Zhen Zhen then only remembered, Li Concubine¡¯s grounding period is over. Li Concubine walked over with the vase, and everyone thought she would gift it to the emperor, but who knew she would kneel in front of the empress and said ¡°Your majesty, I saw that this plum blossom was blossoming prettily, so I took it and wanted to send it to Kun NIng Palace personally, but didn¡¯t know I would meet you here. Although not much this is my sincerity, I hope your majesty would accept it¡± ¡°Wang You Cai, why are you not helping Li Concubine up,¡± Ye Zhen Zhen was thinking, this time Li Concubine really acted well, on such a cold day, she still kneeled on the snow, such bravery. Wang You Cai quickly helped Li Concubine up, and a maid from Kun Ning Palace immediately took the vase from her. Ji Wu Jiu saw Li Concubine and raised his eyebrows ¡°why empress has plum blossom, I don¡¯t have?¡± LI Concubine looked at him and smiled ¡°Your majesty, if you like I will just go pluck another one for you¡± ¡°No need, I remember in your palace there is also one plum blossom tree¡± JI Wu Jiu was holding Xian Concubine and walked towards the garden, Ye Zhen Zhen purposely slowed down and looked at Li Concubine¡¯s back, thinking who was so clever to give her the idea, was it really the maid servant Fan Chun? Ji Wu Jiu only punished her because she angered the empress in public, too rude, now she came to the empress and appeared to be good, to show Ji Wu Jiu, most probably what anger he has will be gone by now. Furthermore she is such a beautiful lady, she was prettier than the flowers, even if the fairies saw they will like her. ¡°Niang niang, what are you thinking of?¡± Zhuang Concubine asked ¡° I was thinking this Li Concubine really looks like a plum blossom fairy today¡± Zhuang Concubine pouted ¡°No matter how good she is in acting it, she still isn¡¯t a real fairy¡± Ye Zhen Zhen knows that this time Li Concubine will make a return for sure, Xian Concubine also will return most probably, also there is the cousin sister of Ji WU Jiu, will be entering the palace in a few days. This time round the inner palace will definitely be lively. One man need to deal with so many woman, it seems like it is not easy to be an emperor, really a test to man¡¯s body. However, this all has nothing to do with her, she only hope that this women will know how to act, and don¡¯t make any troubles for her. Chapter 26 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 26 AUGUST 21, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Based on appearance, Xu Wei Rong can really carry the name of being exquisite, tall and slender body, oval shaped face, snow white skin like a peeled hard boiled egg, and a pair of shining eyes. Early in the morning when she greeted Ye Zhen Zhen, supposedly her rank as a Cai Ren should be standing, but being considerate that she just received her first night, Ye Zhen Zhen let her sit. Xu Cai Ren is the niece of the empress dowager, the emperor¡¯s cousin sister, that is why even Li Concubine and Xi Consort don¡¯t dare to do anything yet. So that is why even though yesterday night the emperor slept at her place yesterday, today there were no sour words passing by, Kun Ning Palace was in peace. However, even with seeing others were being cautious with her, Xu Cai Ren was not happy inside. Yesterday night, it is true that Ji Wu Jiu slept next to her, but did not touch her at all, and as a woman, it is not nice to go seduce him as well. Ye Zhen Zhen as usual gift her some items. Ji Wu Jiu has already notified earlier that she cannot give jade toads anymore, so today the gifts were not anything special, Xu Cai Ren only took a look and ask her people to keep it, and stood up to thank the empress. Thinking that because of Ye Zhen Zhen, herself can only be placed as a sixth rank Cai Ren, she doesn¡¯t really have that good of a feeling towards Ye Zhen Zhen, but because of her status, she has no choice but to give face. The rest of the consorts starts to chat, Xi Consort said ¡°I saw, the gifts that niang niang gave, there was a scented wood bead bracelet, it seems that the emperor also has one?¡± Wen Jie Yu add on, ¡°it really is, I saw the emperor wearing it few days ago¡± Ye Zhen Zhen have too much treasures herself, most of them she can¡¯t really remember. But towards Su Yue and Su Feng, she believes that they will not gift away things that Ji Wu Jiu give her personally. The bracelet is not given by Ji Wu Jiu to her, but a gift from another country, there are only 2 pieces, Ji Wu Jiu thought that the scent of the bracelet is very nice so he kept one for himself, and the rest of the items was sent to Kun Ning Palace to be decided by the empress. That¡¯s how the other bracelet came to Kun Ning Palace. Hearing about that, Xu Cai Ren immediately wore it after returning to her place. In the evening she went to visit the empress dowager alone, Ji Wu Jiu was there also, the three of them had a little chat. Xu Cai Ren was trying to observe Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s wrist, and found out that he really was wearing an identical bracelet. When they left Ci Ning Palace, Xu Cai Ren did not bother about their difference in status and rushed towards Ji Wu Jiu and held his arms. Since she has always done this before. ¡°Whats so amusing?¡± Ji Wu Jiu asked. ¡°Cousin Brother¡± Xu Cai Ren held his hands up, and also showed her hands, ¡°take a look¡± Ji Wu Jiu heard that she called her cousin brother and not the emperor, was already abit uncomfortable, and then now he saw that the both of them are wearing the same thing, he asks ¡°where did you get it from?¡± ¡°The empress gift it¡± The empress having that item is not weird, Ji Wu Jiu took his hands back, and didn¡¯t say anything. Xu Cai Ren got closer to him, and smiled prettily, ¡°cousin brother and sister, a matched made pair¡± Ji Wu Jiu stopped, and pushed her away gently, ¡°was that sentence said by the empress?¡± The rejection of the other party was too obvious, Xu Cai Ren looked down and said ¡°this sentence is not good?¡± ¡°Not good, do not say it again anymore¡± Ji Wu Jiu said, without realizing her disappointment, he took off his bracelet and placed it into her hands, ¡°since you like it so much, I will give this to you too¡± and left without bothering to see her reactions. Xu Cai Ren looked at the bracelets in her hands, and gritted her teeth. Her anger was rising. Her, Xu Wei Rong are childhood friends with Ji Wu Jiu, there are the true matched made in heaven pair, the one that should be at his side should be me.. Just because Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s grandfather is powerful in court, that was why cousin brother married her. How can this matter be accepted so easily by her! *** Ye Zhen Zhen don¡¯t know what happened to Ji Wu Jiu, he brought a lot of documents with him to Kun Ning Palace to look through. Although outside it was dark already since it was winter, but inside Kun Ning Palace, with all the candle and lights around, it was very bright. There was a pot of Narcissus flower near the entrance, the white petals are releasing gentle scents that are truly refreshing. Ye Zhen Zhen was thinking, no wonder everyone wants to be the empress, only with this Kun Ning Palace itself, she will not allow herself to be demoted. When Ji Wu Jiu came over, Ye Zhen Zhen was playing Hua Rong Dao (a Chinese movement game like Unblock Me). The game she was playing was made to be harder by the local teacher, making it more complicated and hard. Ji Wu Jiu saw her playing it, walked over and helped her win the stage in a few moves, in exchange of Ye Zhen Zhen flipping her eyes. After a while of work, Ji Wu Jiu gave Ye Zhen Zhen a few documents, ¡°I see that you seem to be very free, and have nothing to do, why not you help me¡± Ye Zhen Zhen receive them, but before even reading them, she felt that Ji Wu Jiu has a bad intention. The experience from avoiding traps, definitely raised her awareness. The contents of the documents seems to be normal, all with contents that requires approval from the emperor. But looking at in detail, Ye Zhen Zhen found the trap. One of them was by Fang Xiu Qing, something about changing the main soldier at Da Tong. The initial main soldier was taking the countries money as his own, so without further a due, Ji Wu Jiu sent someone there to take his head off, and to calm the army there. Now the position is empty, so Fang Xiu Qing, wrote in to suggest Li Xu as the new main soldier. This is the problem, Li Xu is her eldest brother, Ye Xin Fang¡¯s in laws, can be counted as under the Ye Family side, but why did Fang Xiu Qing suggested him? This Li Xu, althought Ye Zhen Zhen never see him before, but heard of him before. According to what she knew, he was a brave but temperamental person. Da Tong is a border army, there will be rebellious citizen there. As the main soldier there, that person would have to handle these situations well. Ji Wu Jiu should not agree to this matter. Furthermore in the army there is no such thing as being individualist, if the head makes a mistake the other soldiers will need to be responsible as well. Ye Zhen Zhen thinks that the Fang Old fox, was really good in planning, giving such a huge problem to Ye Family, but of course for this matter, we still need to wait for the final decision by Ji Wu Jiu, but.. this idiot to give her this to see, what does he wants? What can Ji Wu Jiu wants? Now he has thought it through, Ye Zhen Zhen is Ye Xiu Ming¡¯s granddaughter, but since that she is now his wife, woman that are married off are water that is poured out, no matter what, this woman belongs to Ji Family now, since it is like that, he doesn¡¯t want to trouble her anymore. But then again, since she married him, then she only needs to be by his side, and cannot side her maternal family anymore. That is why he took that document to test Ye Zhen Zhen. The standard answer should be, Ye Zhen Zhen push back the decision making to Ji Wu Jiu, and implies that no matter what you do, I will support your decision; also even if not the standard answer, if Ye Zhen Zhen agrees to Fang Xiu Qing¡¯s suggestion, Ji Wu Jiu can accept it also. But, Ye Zhen Zhen gave an answer that was not listed in his mind : She raised her brush, and placed a big X on the document and said ¡°Li Xu is brave but not smart, not possible to take on this post. I think Minister Fang¡¯s is not so wise after all¡± This is Ye Zhen Zhen afterall, Ji Wu Jiu thought, such straight forwardness, now even giving any extra thoughts or to cover anything, not to give him a good time. *** Although bone breaking injuries requires 100 days to recover, but Ye Zhen Zhen has a very good body to begin with, adding the great medicines that are provided, it was only 2 months plus that her legs are full recovered. This fella has chosen a very special way to celebrate her ability to jump around again. It seems, that evening Ji Wu Jiu was working hard in Yang Xin Hall, and a Kun Ning Palace was seen running into his office, ¡°Your Majesty, the empress has gone crazy!¡± Ji Wu Jiu threw his brush, and rushed to Kun Ning Palace. Feng You De was holding a black cape chasing after him, to help him wear on. Outside Kun NIng Palace, there was already a small gathering, there was masters and servants as well, all of them were looking up, and mouth open unconsciously, looking like a young bird waiting to be fed. Ji Wu Jiu looked up as well, and saw that on the roof there was a person standing, he immediately shouted ¡°Ye Zhen Zhen, you come down now!¡± Ye Zhen Zhen seems to have not heard what he said. She was standing on the roof, left hand on her waist, and right hand holding a gun, and facing the sky she was laughing, ¡°Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!¡± The people below were getting more afraid. Kun Ning Palace was big and vast, making Ye Zhen Zhen look small on it. The roof was not stable, and was high up, even it is someone skilled in martial arts, they are need to be extra cautious, not to mention we are speaking of the empress right now¡­. Su Yue was worried till the point of crying, in a matter of seconds, Ye Zhen Zhen gone missing in front of her eyes, the whole Kun Ning Palace had so many people, but none of them knew when she went up, and how she went up. Wang You Cai was leading a few eunuchs and ladder, and was trying to climb up the to the roof. Ye Zhen Zhen suddenly shoot the gun towards the sky. Peng! Peng! Peng! The eunuch that just reached the roof got scared by the sound, shivered and dropped down with another eunuchs, and fall on top on the rest that was holding the ladder, making them turn into a ball of people. The people watching were shocked, and all of them took a step back. Besides Ji Wu Jiu, standing still, without any fear. His eyes looked straight up towards the person on the roof, his lips lifting. She actually succeeded. Enough of playing, Ye Zhen Zhen placed the gun on her waist, and started to think of ways to get down. When she came up, she used a chain claw, and she herself knows a bit of martial arts, it was not that hard to get up here. But now, to go down, there seems to be a bit of a problem. Wang You Cai brought the eunuchs to climb the ladder again. This time around Ji Wu Jiu did not bother about this pride as an emperor and ran to towards the end of the roof, opened his arms and shouted to Ye Zhen Zhen. ¡°Jump down¡± Ye Zhen Zhen knows that Ji Wu Jiu is good in martial arts. So she was not worried at all, opened her arms and jumped down, like a bird flying down. The people watching got shocked again. Ji Wu Jiu looked up and saw Ye Zhen Zhen that was falling from the sky. This view make her looks pretty almost like a drawing. The time seems to have stopped at that moment, and in the midst of the moment he seems to have heard his own heartbeat. Putong, Putong, Ye Zhen Zhen has accurately fell into the arms of Ji Wu Jiu, when she fell into him, he spun the both of them one round, one of his hands removed the gun on her body and stopped. Ji Wu Jiu then carried her princess style, and was not in a rush to put her down, but to look down and asked ¡°how many shots?¡± ¡°Six¡± She answered clearly. This time around it was Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s turn to laugh ¡°Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!¡± His laughter was clear and brought in a power, that was charismatic. Although it was not painful to the ear, but it coming from Ji Wu Jiu the people there was not able to believe it. The spectators there felt a goosebump and sighed, it¡¯s the end, it¡¯s the end, another got crazy as well¡­. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahaa¡­ translator has gone crazy from this chapter as well. ???? Chapter 27 Empress with no Virtue ¨C Chapter 27 AUGUST 23, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 DISCLAIMER ¨C This chapter contains slightly above 18 contents. Not detailed, but.. still.. yeah ~ don¡¯t say i didn¡¯t warn. (blush~) The multiple shot gun¡¯s design and drawings has all been sent to the respective department to be produced, those arms makers knows what they have received well, although they don¡¯t know where did the drawings come from, but as long as they look through it properly, they will find out that it is has a high potential to be better, the detailed drawings can be understood, not lacking in power, and able to shoot more than one round, it truly is something that was not heard or seen before. Besides a few details, they only needed to enhance the beauty of this gun, and to guarantee that its outlook will not affect the soldiers fighting spirit while using them. JI Wu Jiu has never been this excited, because he knows what does the gun¡¯s capability truly means. Arm power has always been a powerful weapon, but since it was very troublesome to be used, that it can only shoot one round each time, that was why at the real war it has many limitations, and cannot be used alone, and normally requires pairing with other types of weapons. But now, with this new gun, everything would be different. JI Wu Jiu can almost imagine, if there are any enemies attacking Da Qi, when they are faced with these new weapon, they have no choice but to be pushed back by its power, thinking about this already made his blood boil with excitement. Although the occupation of being an emperor normally requires him to suppress his emotions, but at the end of the day, he is still a hot blooded male. That is why Ji Wu Jiu decided to properly award Ye Zhen Zhen, he was prepared to give what ever she asks for. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s request was not high, ¡°give me a general position¡± JI Wu Jiu agreed, and gave her a list of positions to choose from. Ye Zhen Zhen didn¡¯t think it was good to take a position that was too high or that will attract attention, so she decided on a fifth rank general. Although she got the title, but without the General seal she was a bit unhappy. So Ji Wu Jiu gave her a Tiger Seal to make her happy. The people who normally carries this seal is the emperor¡¯s side kicks, and they can go in and out of the army as they wish, without announcing who they are, and never stopped. In the future, whenever he remembers this event, he will solemnly regret. *** With a blink of an eye, it was already the winter solstice, it was one of the most important days of the year, every year this day, the emperor will lead his ministers and perform a grand rite. In order to prepare for this rite, Ji Wu Jiu has gone through three days of cleansing, (vegetarian). And because the rites has to be performed right before sunrise, so he had to get up really early, and allow people to help him dress up the complicated rites clothings, and head towards the rites area. Now, it was still very dark outside, for someone to be climb up from the warm blankets, really requires lots of courage. Ye Zhen Zhen once again realizes, to be an emperor is really a tough job. The way women celebrates this festival is easier; Eat and play. Ye Zhen Zhen first went to Ci Ning Palace to perform the greetings, and then leading the rest of the ladies to Yan Chun Pavilion to watch the operas. She was in the mood, so she started to award people around her, the ladies quickly stood up to thank her, one of them Wang Zhao Yi performed a big greeting of thanks and straight away fainted. The maid servants helped the fainted Wang Zhao Yi back to her palace, Ye Zhen Zhen ordered the imperial doctors to have a look at her, and after a while a maid servant came to report, ¡°Congratulations your majesty, Wang Zhao Yi has the dragon heir¡± The people there that was originally chatting all turned quiet. On the stage the actor was singing ¡°today to be able to find such a handsome man, next time surely you will be wearing the wedding headdress and await to be the scholar wife, and have a son, double happiness¡­.¡± Ye Zhen Zhen smiled and said ¡°It really is good news, people ~ award!¡± Ji Wu Jiu does not have any child till now. He had a little princess but did not reach the age of one. Another 2 consorts once was pregnant, but they never manage to give birth. That¡¯s why this is a very important news. But then again, he may not necessary think so as well. If he really wanted children that badly, everyday if he was hardworking in making them, definitely would not be without reward by now. Ye Zhen Zhen gifts more items to Wang Zhao Yi and personally went to visit her. Although Wang Zhao Yi¡¯s body was weak but she was full of vigor. In this palace, I am afraid a lot of people would not be able to pass this festival happily, Ye Zhen Zhen thinks in her heart. As for herself, she didn¡¯t really bothered about it too much, as she didn¡¯t plan to have a baby for Ji Wu Jiu anyway. Next time no matter which consort¡¯s son got selected and next time were to be the emperor, as long as she has not passed away, she will still be the empress dowager, but only one that will be in the same status as the emperor¡¯s birth mother. If not, she can also snatch other consort¡¯s son to adopt. But now it is still too early for that, who knows what will happen in the future, Ji Wu Jiu most probably won¡¯t die anytime soon.. That is why after Ye Zhen Zhen return to Kun Ning Palace, her appetite grew and ate a lot of dumplings, not even the slightest bit of moodiness. Su Yue did not feel so tense after seeing her eat, although she is still abit worried, the empress is passing the days without worries, abit too much.. Because she ate too much today, so she slept a little later at night, and was reading a book. Just when was reaching the climax part, from her back suddenly came a hand, and held on to the book that she wanted to flip. Ye Zhen Zhen got shocked, and turned to look, Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s side profile was right next to her, the normally white face, now has a hint of redness on them. ¡°Your Majesty?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen was still not back to her senses yet. ¡°En¡± Ji Wu Jiu was bending his waist, his other hand also stretched over, almost wrapping Ye Zhen Zhen into his body. ¡°Your majesty, why did you come here?¡± ¡°The banquet ended, I came here to visit¡± Ji Wu Jiu replied, Ye Zhen Zhen took a whiff of alcohol scent from him, looks like he drank quite a lot today. Turning a few pages of the book, he threw it aside and placed his hands on the table instead, securing Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s position in between him and the table. Ye Zhen Zhen wanted to push away his arms, after pushing for a while, his hands did not even move. She turned around and looked at him, and found out his gaze is not as clear as usual, now with a sense of mysterious, and was looking at her smiling but not smiling. He is indeed drunk. Ye Zhen Zhen wanted to make him leave faster and asked ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go visit Wang Zhao Yi?¡± ¡°Why do I have to go?¡± ¡°She is pregnant¡± ¡°En¡± ¡°En, means what?¡± Ji Wu Jiu did not answer, and suddenly he bend his head down, and pecked Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s lips. Ye Zhen Zhen did not have time to react, and only felt that something soft touched her lips, and she can smell a faint alcohol scent. She was shocked from getting kissed. JI Wu Jiu laughed, and carried her up from the chair, and walked towards the bed. Now Ye Zhen Zhen finally understood what he wants to do, and was struggling in his hold ¡°your your your your ma ma ma jesty¡­ ..:¡± ¡°en, I am here¡±. Ji Wu Jiu placed her on the bed, and he himself came on top. He did not really put any pressure on her, and was using his hands to hold his body. He got closer and was kissing her neck, his lips almost touching the skin on her shoulders. Ye Zhen Zhen felt stiff, ¡°Your majesty, please wait!¡± JI Wu Jiu¡¯s lips reached her ears, and asked while blowing into her ears ¡°what happened?¡± Voice husky. ¡°I¡­ am not feeling well today¡± ¡°I will make you feel well¡± he said and his lips are already nibbling on her ear lightly. Ye Zhen Zhen was not at the stage where she can understand this type of cheesy words yet, but his action made her whole body felt like there was thousands of centipede crawling on her body, very uncomfortable. Cannot take it anymore, Ye Zhen Zhen made a lie ¡° I, I , I , am on my period¡± ¡°really? I will need to check it personally then¡± which there after he started taking off her clothes. ¡°Your majesty, I don¡¯t want to service you, you have so many women, why don¡¯t you look for them¡± Ye Zhen Zhen said straightforwardly. Ji Wu Jiu kissed her cheek ¡°No one is better than you¡± We must say, men wears their chivalry on their body, when they remove their clothes they remove it together. Ye Zhen Zhen was on the verge of crying, Ji Wu Jiu was calm. He simply thought Ye Zhen Zhen was shy, after trying a few times, she will realise the sensation. The woman¡¯s body infront of him now is very pretty, compared to what he remembered, compared to what he imagined, the real one was way better. Ye Zhen Zhen understands that she can¡¯t avoid it anymore, since they are a married couple, they have to go through the ritual. She was trying to suppress the negative feelings and closed her eyes, thinking she won¡¯t die from this anyway. Feeling that her body has something new entering, a feeling of disgust could not be controlled and was bursting out from her body, like a flood covering everything. The feeling was going through her whole body and internal organs, then she felt her stomach was in pain, and without thinking she pushed the person on her and got down from the bed, and vomited into her pot. JI Wu Jiu ¡°¡­¡­¡± Being stopped by this type of method while he was busy, he even had the feeling to murder people now. And when the blood finally went back upwards, he finally can think rationally again, and when he saw what Ye Zhen Zhen did, he still wanted to die with her now. Ye Zhen Zhen was only wearing a light robe, this was because JI Wu Jiu was in a hurry and did not have time to remove, and her pair of smooth white long legs was exposed, was kneeling infront of the pot, and still vomiting non stop. Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s expression was at its worst, and his voice also seems to be carrying ice, ¡°you hate me this much? Hate me still you need to vomit?¡± What replied him was another round of vomiting sound. Note: Sigh, I pity Ye Zhen Zhen¡­. But I pity Ji Wu Jiu also¡­¡­. Sigh ~ we will have to wait further for more progress for the both of them¡­ Chapter 28 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 28 AUGUST 24, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 The emperor is rather hot tempered lately. Recently, no matter in the matters of court or the inner palace, as long as anyone met Ji Wu Jiu, will also have this type of thoughts. He pulled a very long face, with a unpredictable expression, seems to be suppressing some sort of anger, almost like a volcano that would erupt anytime soon. The people in Gan Qing Palace, even to walk now they have to be super careful, afraid that making any noise will make the emperor unhappy, then it would truly be troublesome. Therefore the eunuchs and maid servants that enters Gan Qing Palace, are quiet as a feather, like floating on the floor. The atmosphere truly makes people uncomfortable. When Fang Xiu Qing left Gan Qing Palace, he found out that he was scared too. He took up one of his sleeves and start wiping his forming sweats. The Gan Qing Palace is where the emperor resides, the normal ranked ministers does not have the right to enter but Fang Xiu Qing as one of the high ranked ministers, will sometimes be called upon by the emperor to enter this place, to discuss about matters. Actually when this two fellas get together, most of the time they are discussing on how to go against Ye Xiu Ming, this time it was also the same. But what got Fang Xiu Qing astonished was that these few days the emperor was being very straightforward, with speed he settled a few people from the Ye supporters, those who deserved to be flogged, was flogged, those deserved to be sacked was sacked from their positions, and also took the opportunity to bring the defense ministry to his side. This way the departments under Ye Xiu Ming would only be left with three, now he has the support to finally fight back Ye Xiu Ming. It is just that Ye Xiu Ming still holds some influence in the court, so when Ji Wu Jiu made his decision, a lot of ministers starts to curse/scold him. And he can¡¯t really flog them, the more you flog them, the more happy they get, returning home they will still show their butts to their wife and boast, take a look, the emperor hit me, thinking that to work for the emperor is a really glorified job! Ji Wu Jiu thought that this group of ministers is not only admonish, but they are truly low, truly truly low! If it was the usual, he will just be patient with it, since he has been doing so for so many years already, an emperor¡¯s hardship is not only these things. But this time, he was not in a good mood. He already has a pit of anger in his stomach that he does not know how to release, such a coincidence there are people that walk towards him asking for it, it was a really good chance. The minister can¡¯t be hit right? Then his dad can be hit right? His son can be hit right? His brother, uncle, cousin, friends¡­. Also can be hit right? Although you may be an honest minister, but to be in the world of politics, no one¡¯s butt is really clean, it was easy to find faults, and when Ji Wu Jiu chose his victims, he only choose those that are healthy and would not have any after effects from the flogging, and he will also limit it to twenty hits, only enough for them to go home to complain. Then finally the minister¡¯s arrogance was finally diminished by this weird method by the emperor. Ye Xiu Ming was angered by this method, and closed himself in the room for two days, to ponder, and kept repeating, ¡°that small rascal!¡± Ye Kang Le heard from the door, and immediately ordered people to guard all sides, this type of words if heard by the emperor can lead to the implication of the whole family. It was lucky that Ye Xiu Ming has not lose his rational from the anger, in his heart, who that small rascal refers to, he himself knows that would be sufficient, there was no need to say it out loud. If anyone wants to find fault, their house has a lot of grandchildren, just picking one of them also can the small rascal. Honestly, Fang Xiu Qing admires Ji Wu Jiu a little, he thinks to himself, if he was placed at that spot, with so many ministers scrutinizing him, he might not be able to think of such a good plan that was not only evil but able to keep the situation under control. He has always thought that he will be a good emperor, if not he also will not stand by his side, to fight with Ye Xiu Ming. But just not sure why the normally good tempered emperor seems to be not in control of his temper, and everyone seems to anger him. He really is still young, not mature enough. Actually, to be fair, the ministers¡­. are innocent. To be looked down by woman that way on the bed, most probably this type of event would only be understood by eunuchs. After wiping his sweat, Fang Xiu Qing looked at Feng You De who brought him out, smiled and said ¡°Feng Gong gong, every day you are taking care of the emperor, such dedication makes me feel less worthy.¡± Feng You De smiled, ¡°sir, you are too humble, to take care of the emperor is our duty¡± Fang Xiu Qing continued ¡°Feng Gong gong, the emperor recently, how is his health?¡± ¡°Minister Fang, to be so worried about the emperor, really shows your loyalty¡± Feng You De smiled and continued ¡°Do not worry, the imperial doctor said that the emperor¡¯s health is very good, he is not in a good mood, because there is something that he is keeping in his heart.¡± ¡°Not sure what causes the emperor..¡± ¡°This I am not sure, I only know since the winter solstice night, after he came out from Kun NIng palace, he is already like this¡± Fang Xiu Qing understood from this one sentence. They all are clever people, there is no need to say things so clearly. He looked left and right and asked, ¡°then my daughter did not cause any problems?¡± ¡°Minister Fang, what are you saying, Xian Concubine is the treasure in his majesty¡¯s heart, just recently she helped look over the matters of the inner palace, very wise and did not cause others to worry¡± Fang Xiu Qing stopped asking, and bid goodbye to Feng You De. Seeing that Feng You De finally left, he turned around, and saw an eunuch from Gan Qing Palace, hiding behind the wall and was looking towards him. Feng You De scolding ¡°Why are you not inside to and await for orders, creeping here to in such a suspicious manner, if his majesty saw you like this what would happen, you don¡¯t want to live anymore?¡± Yu Ji walked forward and apologized ¡°Feng Gong gong, I am not on duty today¡­ the emperor has not been in a good mood recently, what actually happened?¡± Feng You De knocked Yu Ji¡¯s forehead ¡°you are only to honestly do your duty, things that shouldn¡¯t be ask, don¡¯t ask¡± Yu Ji saw that there were no one here, lowered his voice and said ¡°not that I want to interfere, gong gong, don¡¯t tell me you have never thought.. towards that type of matter?¡± ¡°What are you actually trying to say?¡± ¡°His majesty has not visited any consorts for a few days already¡± Feng You De suddenly has a thought, don¡¯t tell me the emperor is weak again, and will need some nourishments? But for a young man, to keep being nourished in that area, will it cause any problems¡­ ¡°Gong gong, you don¡¯t understand, Women, are like dishes, if ate too much you will find it bored, maybe it¡¯s time to change the taste?¡± ¡°Change what taste?¡± ¡°Wild taste¡± Feng You De suddenly understood what Yu Ji meant, and raised his hands and whacked him, ¡°I will hit you, you shameless beast, how dare you speak of this! Full nonsense! The emperor will definitely chop of your head if he found out!¡± Finally Feng You De gave him a kick ¡°get lost¡± Yu Ji ran away, and left Feng You De alone in the walk way, with a face that was hard to figure out. *** Ji Wu Jiu was seating in a pavilion holding a zither. Ding Ding Dang Dang, music was coming from the zither, very pleasing to the ear, but within that, you can slightly feel some sort of killing intent? Xu Cai Ren was dancing along with the music. She was wearing a green dress, material very soft, moving along with her body while she danced. Ji Wu Jiu was not paying attention to her, his eyes were not looking anywhere, his fingers playing the instrument was increasing in speed, the sound was slowly becoming like a few thousand horses running towards their enemy. Xu Cai Ren¡¯s movements started to get messy, and eventually could not follow, a misstep and she fell. The music suddenly stopped. Ji Wu Jiu was looking at Ye Zhen Zhen who was standing not too far away, his fingers was pressing on to the zither¡¯s string, and the tight string was starting to cause his fingers to ache. He was not in a good mood, but who knew, Ye Zhen Zhen was not happy too. From her opinion, when doing that type of thing with man, and will feel disgusted is a type of weird disease, and Ji Wu Jiu is the root of the disease. Therefore as long as he appears, it will remind her ¡°You are ill¡± How can she be not angry? Xu Cai Ren was helped up by the servants there. She looked at Ji Wu Jiu, pouting and said ¡° Cousin brother, you played too fast just now¡± Ji Wu Jiu got up and went towards her, holding on Xu Cai Ren, ¡°are you okay?¡±. Although talking to her, his gaze was at Ye Zhen Zhen, and when he saw Ye Zhen Zhen face¡¯s was not fine, he then held on to Xu Cai Ren¡¯s shoulder, and allowed her to lightly lie into his arms. Xu Cai Ren blushed, and shyly looked up at Ji Wu Jiu. Ye Zhen Zhen was looking at them, thinking, since she can¡¯t bully Ji Wu Jiu, then she can only bully his beloved cousin sister¡­ Furthermore, this Xu Cai Ren has long required a punishment. Although this person was only a sixth rank Cai Ren, but holding on to her status as the empress dowager¡¯s niece, and was childhood friends with Ji Wu Jiu, she was not following the palace rules properly. She and the empress dowager has together come up with a lot of small moves, thinking that I can¡¯t see it through?, I am such a genius! ¡°Cousin brother, let¡¯s go¡± Xu Cai Ren said. ¡°Meeting me, you don¡¯t have to kneel and greet me already? Cousin sister?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen said and walked towards them. Xu Cai Ren stole a look at Ji Wu Jiu, the latter released her and said, ¡°what the empress say was right, we should not forgo the rules¡± Xu Cai Ren should not be considered arrogant, she is still not at the position to do so, to be honest for Ji Wu Jiu to look at her only, will also make her very happy. So this time, she was obedient and kneeled down to give the proper greetings to Ye Zhen Zhen, ¡°greetings to the empress¡± Ye Zhen Zhen did not allow her to stand up, looked down and smiled ¡°Since you call the emperor as cousin brother, why don¡¯t you call me as cousin in law?¡± In a moment Xu Cai Ren¡¯s face turned bad, to call Ji Wu Jiu cousin brother still brings about a tone of flirtying, but if she were to call Ye Zhen Zhen as cousin in law, doesn¡¯t it mean that she could only be Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s cousin sister. ¡°I don¡¯t dare: ¡°Don¡¯t dare? I see that you are calling cousin brother with ease, why did you dare then?¡± Xu Cai Ren kept quiet for a while, and seeing that Ji Wu Jiu did not show any signs of helping her, she can only answer ¡°I admit my mistakes¡± ¡°Good that you know, if everyone in the palace are like you, not knowing their place, won¡¯t it be hectic. You and the emperor has a strong bond, I didn¡¯t want to punish you initially, but if I don¡¯t punish you today, if the others all learn from you next time¡­¡± ¡°I accept any punishment¡± ¡°Since its like that, go outside Kun Ning Palace and kneel for 4 hours¡± After exiting Kun Ning Palace it would be the imperial garden, this is where there are most people passing through in the palace, Xu Cai Ren¡¯s kneel has made her famous, those who knew or didn¡¯t know her, now all know who is she. During winter, the floor would be very cold, although Xu Cai Ren was wearing a thick layer of clothes, she was still shivering from the cold. She turned pale from the cold, only her eyes seems to contain vigor, looking at Kun Ning Palace, staring into the main hall. Ye Zhen Zhen was looking from the side, turned and asked Ji Wu Jiu, ¡°are you not worried?¡± ¡°Why should I be?¡± Both of them looked at each other in silence for a while, and then both of them had a similar flashback, both face turned black, turned around and did not look at each other anymore. Heng! Chapter 29 Empress with no Virtue ¨C Chapter 29 AUGUST 24, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Ever since she got punished to kneel in front of Kun Ning Palace, Xu Cai Ren caught a cold, she rested for a few days to get better. When she saw Ye Zhen Zhen again, she was more polite, not even a little feel of grudge can be felt. Only disappointing those that was waiting for a show. But again, although Xu Cai Ren¡¯s backing was strong, but according to the ranking, no matter what she can¡¯t go against Ye Zhen Zhen. The person who was most frustrated was none other than the empress dowager. From her point of view, Ye Zhen Zhen punishing Xu Cai Ren, was like slapping her personally. The worst part was that Ji Wu Jiu actually didn¡¯t stood up and help Xu Cai Ren, she really don¡¯t know what he is thinking. The empress dowager was trying to look back her son¡¯s actions in detail, thinking back he was really weird recently, really understanding him less and less. This should be understandable actually, Ji Wu Jiu was granted the position of crown prince at the age of 18, and after that he was sent to live in eastern palace, and because he is the only person that can take on the role of crown prince, with no other candidates, above him, his parents, below him the ministers, even the normal citizens placed high hopes on him. That is why he was working like a dog everyday, and the time spent with his mother can be said to be very less, naturally will be less close compared to normal mother and son. The empress dowager heart was not stable. She thought both Xian Concubine and Xu Cai Ren can be brought up, now the most important matter is to bring down Ye Zhen Zhen. Just that both Xu Cai Ren and Xian Concubine did not move according to her wishes, to work together. They are not close to each other. Xian Concubine does not wish to have any relation with Xu Cai Ren; similarly Xu Cai Ren thinks that Xian Concubine is overly cautious and would not be easy to communicate with her. Actually, ever since she entered the palace, she was observing the rest of the woman in the palace, after much observation, she finally found a good sword. ¡°Someone like Li Concubine, with high rank, with the emperor¡¯s doting, straightforward character and stupid women, of course would be a good sowrd¡± inside Kun Ning Palace, Ye Zhen Zhen, who was holding a box the size of a fist said. The little box is box with many tricks, Ye Zhen Zhen just got it recently, she likes it very much. Su Yue heard her words, frowned and said ¡°Niang niang, what you mean is, Li Concubine will join hands with Xu Cai Ren?¡± ¡°80%, will. Both of them has grudge against me, one with high position, another with hidden thoughts and evil, getting together truly match them, to commit crime together¡± ¡°Then, your majesty what should we do? Su Feng said a little anxious. ¡°What else can we do, to defend when they attack, as long as the emperor does not side them, just two woman, I still can handle¡± Just afraid that if anything were to happen, JI Wu Jiu might come and add another leg, not to mention their relationship now is not very good. Thinking about that, Ye Zhen Zhen thought that the case was not so simple. When the emperor was mentioned, Su Yue frowned more, ¡°niang niang, the emperor has not stepped into Kun NIng Palace for a few days already¡± Last time, even though he doesn¡¯t sleep over much, but he will still drop by every two days to walk one round, now.. ¡°It¡¯s better if he doesn¡¯t come, i like quiet¡± Su Feng suddenly lowered her voice ¡° Niang Niang, I heard from Yu Ji from Gan Qing Palace, the emperor went out from the palace today, and some more went to a very uncommon place, making it very mysterious. Where do you think he went?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen stopped moving her fingers, looked at Su Feng ¡°How would we know where the emperor goes? Even if we know, we should not simply tell others. I think that Yu Jiu is not a good person, you better don¡¯t communicate with him anymore¡± Su Feng nodded, but still was very curious in her heart. Where on earth did the emperor go? *** In our life, it is hard to be predicted, Feng You De was standing in front of Cui Fang Lou, thinking about life. He has already lived for a few decades, and he has never thought that one day he will come to a brothel. Of course, he was here to accompany the emperor. Earlier, after much contemplation, he finally shyly approached the emperor with this matter, and never thought that the emperor would agree. For the emperor, to roam around in this type of place is really not something to be proud of, that was why Ji Wu Jiu did not even bring a single guard, and only brought Feng You De with him. But towards the guards, no matter what, the emperor¡¯s safety is the upmost importance, that is why they still quietly followed him. Guards, they are best at being hidden in the crowd, Ji Wu Jiu was deep in his own thoughts, so he didn¡¯t realise them following him. So that is why, now one emperor plus one eunuch was standing in front of Cui Fang Lou. Ji Wu Jiu does not have many life experiences, this is the first time he went to a brothel. He never needed to come to this type of place to look for girls, just that there are some words that he cannot say to the ladies in his palace, that is why he must come out here to ask. Stiffing his face, he went in, the moment he reached the main lobby, he was crowded by a group of women, some was holding his arms, some his shoulders, one who was extra brave was even touching his chest. Feng You De quickly pulled these women away, but did not manage to pull all, Ji Wu Jiu has a form of attraction that makes these women keep sticking to him. It is not that these prostitutes are very thirsty, just that Ji Wu Jiu was truly attractive, and his charisma was really attracting them as well. Not to mention for him to pay for them, even if they are required to pay for him, they would be more than willing. So many women¡¯s scent all mixed together was a bit too much for his nose. Ji Wu Jiu from his shocked stage finally came back and was able to quickly get rid of the women sticking to him. The ladies were then all at the side whining. The madam then quickly approached him ¡°This gentlemen, looks like this ladies did not enter your eyes, I am not sure what type of lady are you looking for?¡± Feng You De replied ¡°get the best one here will do¡± ¡°Such a coincidence, today our Cui Fang Lou¡¯s best lady was looking for a soul mate, would you like to take a look?¡± Ji Wu Jiu, although has never entered a brothel before, also know what the best lady meant, so he nodded, and let the madam bring them to the back garden, and wait. There was already full of people, all waiting for the best lady to appear. Actually this Liu Yue lady, was originally a musician here, very talented, many rich people were using money on her. So the madam force her to take customers as well, so she got angry and said that her first man must be someone she likes. The madam thinking that in the future this lady will also be under her anyway, so she allow her to do as she wishes. That is why today there is such a scene. Ji Wu Jiu just only sat down, then the Liu Yue lady came out, and saw him immediately. Politely saying a few words, her gaze stopped at Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s sitting area . Everyone got soft from the gaze of the pretty lady, except for Ji Wu Jiu, who was still calm. After that, he was some how called into the ladies room. Rationally, Liu Yue lady was really pretty, but in Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s life, what he did not lack was pretty woman. Once he entered the room, he placed a stack of money, ¡°I want to ask you a few question¡± Liu Yue saw the money, her face got dark, ¡°Sir, I am not money minded, I initially thought that you would be different from those man, who knew.. ¡° ¡°I ask you, how only would a woman give her all to a man?¡± This type of question asking towards a prostitute, the person would definitely take it as a hint, Liu Yue poured a cup of wine for Ji Wu Jiu, and said ¡°to be honest, although I got to be sold here, I really never got intimate with men before¡± This sentence was very obvious : I am still a virgin. If for most normal men, when they hear this they would be very happy, but when Ji Wu Jiu heard it, he was very unhappy, and was looking at Liu Yue with disdain. Liu Yue ¡°¡­.¡± Ji Wu Jiu found out that what happened was slightly different from what he thought it would be, he wants to correct it. Then, the madam leading a girl came in with a few dishes and was serving Ji Wu Jiu happily. In this area of business she has survived for so many years, her ability to judge people is very good, this gentlemen is definitely someone with a good background, rich if not noble. Ji Wu Jiu called out to the madam ¡°go get me someone full of experience¡± Liu Yue¡¯s facial expression got very bad. The guard that was hiding on the roof heard him, and think in his heart. The emperor¡¯s taste is really strong. An experienced lady was quickly brought in, this lady is called Hong Yun, appearance seems to be elder then Liu Yue by a few years, wearing a peach colored dress, with a thick make up, when she walked in her waist was moving left and right. The moment she came in, she wanted to approach Ji Wu Jiu, but he quickly responded and did not allow her to come close, and quickly sat down, pushing her on to another chair as well. ¡°Sit properly, answer me this question, and this money would all be yours¡± Hong Yun took a look at the money on the table, and was happy till she almost can¡¯t close her mouth, ¡°tell me, I would answer you without hesitation¡± ¡°How do I make a women give me her all¡± Stunned for a moment, she laughed ¡°ai yo, what are you saying, which woman would not give everything to you?¡± Was his identity been busted? Ji Wu Jiu gaze got serious. ¡°Sir, you are so handsome, I really can¡¯t think of any woman that would not fall for you¡± ¡°¡­..¡± so this was the case. Ji Wu Jiu sat down on a chair, looked down and said ¡°there is a woman, she¡­ doesn¡¯t seem to be willing to be touched by me. ¡°As a lady, most probably she is just shy?¡± ¡°She is already married¡± Embarrassed to admit that she is his wife¡± Inside Hong Yun¡¯s heart, she thought, really can¡¯t tell that he has such a good vibe around him, but actually he is an adulterous that is courting other people¡¯s wife. Her face not showing a sign of what she thinks, smiled and said ¡°If like that, most probably her heart already has someone¡± ¡±Shut Up!¡± Ji Wu Jiu suddenly hit the table and shouted. The cup on the table vibrated accordingly and made ding ding dang dang noise. Hong Yun got scared by his sudden outburst. She used a handkerchief to close her mouth, to smile apologetically, but she just couldn¡¯t do it. Currently the other person is having a very dark face, his gaze like a sharp sword, making people shiver from within. She also thinks that he might actually kill her, and it seemed like an easy task for him. No, not only angry, Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s shoulder was shaking slightly, He does not want to believe, he wants to ignore it, he purposely avoided it, and suddenly now someone to so straightforwardly say it out loud, like a wall that he tried to build so hard now having a large crack, making him unsure of what to do now. Such dissapointment, such anger, shock, as well as¡­ not sure of what to do¡­. Note: Hehehehehehe ~ let him first feel the pain !!!!! kakakaka Chapter 30 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 30 AUGUST 25, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Although Li Concubine is a little weak in the brain, but she is not entirely foolish, furthermore she has Fan Chun by her side to advice her, so she is rather cautious towards Xu Cai Ren. Especially when this Xu Cai Ren, is someone under the empress dowager. Xu Cai Ren did not hide her intentions, ¡°towards you I have no ill intentions.. it is just that I want to revenge¡± Li Concubine remembered the day she got punished to kneel on the cold winter day, so she believed her a little and asked ¡°people who can help you are a plenty, why did you look for me?¡± ¡°I know that you also want to revenge¡± Xu Cai Ren¡¯s words hit the mark, Li Concubine although have not displayed any forms of dissatisfaction, but in her heart towards Ye Zhen Zhen, that hatred has not diminished at all, just that considering how Ji Wu Jiu has just only treat her better recently, and that Ye Zhen Zhen is too cunning and fierce, so she is still contemplating and did not dare to act rashly. Now, to be reminded by Xu Cai Ren, the fire in her heart started to rise again. ¡°Do you have any good plans?¡± Li Concubine asked ¡°Now, there is a chance to execute this plan, just that¡­. I want to borrow something from you¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Xu Cai Ren took a look around, walked to Li Concubine¡¯s ear and lowered her voice, and said something. Li Concubine¡¯s face changed, and looked at her suspiciously, ¡°how did you know that item is with me?¡± ¡°Sis, don¡¯t worry, I found out accidently as well¡± ¡°If so, what do you want to do?¡± Xu Cai Ren then started to explain the plan to Li Concubine, and Li Concubine only nodded along. *** Today the sky was calm, but brought along wind blowing around, it was a good weather. Ye Zhen Zhen brought a few people with her and was flying kite at Ying Hua Hall. This place was initially meant for Buddhist prayers, but not sure why, the empress dowager does not come here anymore, so this place was rather abandoned, only left a few maid servants and eunuchs tidying up the place and lighting incense. Ye Zhen Zhen was playing with the kite outside, and the people inside Ying Hua Hall that heard the noises came out to join the fun as well, looking up in the sky they saw a huge flying lion. The lion was made in detail, flying around with arrogance, making people think that it was a mystical animal made by the gods flying down to earth to play. Ji Wu Jiu was standing not too far from them, with a wall in between them, was looking at the sky too. Ye Zhen Zhen then kept the lion, and fly another kite, shaped of a bird man. This type of bird man was called angel in the west, with gold hair, white and plump, and on the back there is a pair of white wings, it was very pretty and cute. The bird man was naked, only with his crossed legs he was covering the important part. Although not wearing any clothing the figure was just a child, so everyone did not think too much about it, all open their eyes wide to see. Now the body of the kite is crooked, so the balance was lost, and after a few rounds of trying also it did not fly up, Ye Zhen Zhen changed its knot a few times, and finally got it up in the sky, but the string broke. The kite floated in the air for a while, and fell after, landed on the top of Ying Hua Hall¡¯s main gate. Ye Zhen Zhen turned and look at the kite, and counted the height of the gate, and decided not to take it personally. Her legs has finally healed, she can¡¯t take the risk anymore. Then she look at the servants around her, seems like one is worse than another. Ji Wu Jiu saw, and decided to help, but would not think that before he can move towards there, he heard Ye Zhen Zhen suddenly called towards a direction ¡°Lieutenant Lu, come over here¡± Lu Li jogged over ¡°greetings to your majesty¡± Ye Zhen Zhen smiled and waved her hands, ¡°Go help me get the kite down¡± ¡°Yes¡±, the moment he said that, he has already jumped up, and people there only saw something a blur and then when they refocus, he was already standing on top of the wall. Lu Li took the kite and jumped down, passing back the kite to Ye Zhen Zhen, Su Yue was thinking to take it, but Ye Zhen Zhen was a step faster and took the kite back, smiling like a flower ¡°many thanks¡± ¡°I do not dare¡± Ye Zhen Zhen holding the kite and looked at Lu Li, and asked ¡°How did the injury on your neck appear?¡± ¡°Replying to your majesty, I was sparring with my colleagues, and got a little injured¡± Ye Zhen Zhen frowned ¡°Lieutenant Lu trains the martial arts to protect the emperor, such loyalty should be awarded. Wang You Cai, go to Kun Ning Palace and take the Hua Yu paste to award Lieutenant Lu¡± ¡°Thank you for your majesty¡± Lu Li kneeled again, she was looking down, on her face was a gentle smile. This smile, no one saw, besides someone not too far away from them. Ji Wu Jiu was gritting his teeth, his gaze scary. Then, a eunuch from Gan Qing Palace ran over ¡°Your majesty, your majesty¡± Feng You De made a gesture to the eunuch to ask him to be cautious, so the eunuch closed his mouth and ran over, and said ¡°Your majesty, not good¡± ¡°what happened?¡± Feng You De ask ¡°Wang Zhao Yi had a miscarriage¡± *** Wang Zhao Yi stays at Yu Hua Place, considered to be in the more quiet and hidden place of the inner palace. Ye Zhen Zhen heard Wang Zhao Yi miscarriage, and immediately rushed over. But out of the ordinary there are already many people gathered here, and seems to be waiting for her to arrive only. Ye Zhen Zhen had a bad feeling, Because even the empress dowager is here. The empress dowager was worried, she was afraid Ji Wu Jiu will side Ye Zhen Zhen. Furthermore, this was a serious matter, she coming over to settle the matter, is not a weird occurrence at all. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s leg just only pass through the door, she already heard the empress dowager shouted ¡°you evil woman, still don¡¯t kneel immediately?¡± ¡°Mother, you sure are in a hurry, my other leg is still outside the door¡± Ye Zhen Zhen smiled. She walked in and greeted everyone there, and stood still ¡°not sure, who made you angry mother?¡± ¡°You still dare to ask? I ask you, why did you harm Wang Zhao Yi? Everyday I pray in hopes that the emperor will get a son or two, but for years the flower only budded but never bore fruit. It was not easy for Wang Zhao Yi to finally get pregnant, but you got jealous and anxious, and dared to harm her life!¡± Ye Zhen Zhen understood what happened from what she said. Her job as the empress is surely eventful, everyday someone wants her to take blame for something. She walked one round and her gaze pass through Ji Wu Jiu, seeing that he is not saying anything, but seems to be in a bad mood. Looks like he quite care for this child. She thought. Ye Zhen Zhen laughed coldly ¡°These words, I do not dare take the blame, Mother, everyday you are praying, but it doesn¡¯t seem that Guan Yin Goddess wants to bless the emperor, the could only be either one of these reasons, either the goddess is not effective, or your heart was not sincere, this has nothing to do with me, you say that I harmed Wang Zhao Yi, do you have any evidence?¡± ¡°Of course there is evidence, me and the emperor will not blame the innocent, doctor!¡± ¡°Here¡±, a young doctor walked forward ¡°replying to the emperor, empress dowager, empress, Wang Zhao Yi loss a lot of blood, and got scared, that is why the baby could not be safes. The injury is at the shoulder and got hit by a gun, the bullet got into the skin, will need to operate to get it out¡± Ye Zhen Zhen closed her eyes. ¡°You heard?¡± Empress dowager was angry and hit the table. ¡°In the entire inner palace, only you play with gun power, if not you who else could it be?!¡± Actually not only Ye Zhen Zhen has gun, those higher rank guards will also have. Lu Li has one, and also a few of the men under him also have. If following this condition, there are at least two suspicious guard, one is Captain Xiao who was in charge of the security here, and another would be Lu Li, who is allowed to go anywhere in the inner palace. Ji Wu Jiu looked at Ye Zhen Zhen expecting her to come out with this point. But she did not, she only bite her lips and asked, ¡°were there any witness?¡± Witness was also available. Wang Zhao Yi¡¯s maid servant came and told what happened. Today, when Wang Zhao Yi was returning from greeting Xian Concubine at 15.20, and when she just reached Yu Hua Place¡¯s door step her shoulder got shot, she screamed and fainted on the spot. What happened after, everyone knows. ¡°Are you sure it was 15.20?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen asked ¡°Replying to your majesty, even if not accurate it should not be too far¡± ¡°Such coincidence, at 15.20 I was playing kite, where will I have the time to come to Yu Hua Place¡± Li Concubine said, ¡°This type of thing, of course the empress would not do personally¡± ¡°If so¡± Ye Zhen Zhen turned and look at the kneeling maid on the floor ¡°anyone of you saw clearly who the eunuch was?¡± ¡°Replying to your majesty, we all got shocked, and when we are back to our senses we also only cared about our lady, and did not see¡± Looks like it would be hard for Ye Zhen Zhen to be cleared of the accusation. But actually only for everyone here, except for herself and Ji Wu Jiu, who knew of something else: Although she has gun, but she does not have the bullets. Ever since she quietly completed the design for the multiple shot gun, Ji Wu Jiu although happy, but still ordered her to stop playing with such dangerous weapons. If she really wants to play, she can play with the gun but the gun powder and bullets, she don¡¯t even have to be bothered about using them. He also purposely ordered a few people to make sure she does not obtain the bullets no matter what. So actually she does not have the ability to be the culprit. But this evidence is too special, and only Ji Wu Jiu can testify. If Ji Wu Jiu is not willing to say, then everything else does not matter. From Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s reaction ever since she entered the room, most probably he will pretend to not know. Ye Zhen Zhen holding to a slight chance looked at him and ask, ¡°Your majesty, do you have anything you want to say?¡± ¡°This sentence I also want to ask you, you don¡¯t have anything else you want to say?¡± Looks like he really wants to be an observer only. Ye Zhen Zhen scoffed and said ¡°I currently do not have anything to say¡± ¡°that means you admit the crime?¡± the empress dowager was abit anxious. ¡°Something that I have not done, I would not admit forever. But because the criminal is well prepared, and want to frame me, and I cant find the loop hole in such short notice, and I ask for a few days, I will thoroughly investigate this case¡± ¡°If so, I will give you 3 days, after 3 days I want an explanation for the death of the emperor¡¯s child¡± ¡°5 days¡± ¡°5 day then¡± Ye Zhen Zhen returned to Kun Ning Palace in deep thoughts, thinking about the case all along, and who would most probably be the criminal. Ji Wu Jiu goes the same direction as her, so the both of them were walking together, but did not converse a single word. Ye Zhen Zhen wanted to bid farewell with him in front of Kun Ning Palace, but didn¡¯t know he will follow her into Kun Ning Palace, and ordered everyone else out. ¡°Congratulations to the emperor, looking at me fighting alone is it very fun?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen said. Ji Wu Jiu though did not answer what was asked, looking straight into her eyes he asked ¡°you like your cousin brother, correct or not?¡± Note: I personally feel that the whole time, he was actually not worried about his child, but more to how Ye Zhen Zhen will react and if she will say out her cousin¡¯s name for the gun instead. He is still angry/jealous from the kite scene. Chapter 31 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 31 AUGUST 26, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Ye Zhen Zhen was shocked for a moment. Ji Wu Jiu then repeated what he said again, this time with a more confirmation tone, ¡°you like your cousin brother, my empress¡± the last words that came out of him was pushed out. Ye Zhen Zhen eyes grew big and replied angrily ¡°what nonsense are you spouting!¡± ¡°Both of you grow up together, studied and trained together, he taught you your martial arts, you even know what number is sewed on his collar, it shows how close the both of you are, you don¡¯t believe anyone, but you believe him, when your life was endangered when you met the tiger, also you didn¡¯t cry, but you easily cried in front of him, you are worried about him, seeing that he got injured, you gift him expensive herbal medicine, you cover for him, even if you have to take on the accusation also would not question his trustworthiness. Correct or not?¡± Slowly he cornered her to a corner of the room, his tall build was towering over her. In his voice there was a suppressed anger tone, making his voice lowered, the effect towards Ye Zhen Zhen was as though there was a hammer waiting to hit her heart. Because they are in close proximity, their foreheads are almost touching, looking straight into her eyes, coldly, and when he spoke his breath falls upon Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s face, it was supposed to be warm but it reminded her of a poisonous snake. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s body started to shiver, not sure if it was because she was angered or because she was scared. He continued ¡°your father even wanted to marry you off to him, but too bad you ended up marrying me, very sad for you right?¡± While he said that his lips actually curved up into a small, despite a cold smile. Ye Zhen Zhen finally found her courage and returned his gaze, lowered her voice and said ¡°you are seriously spouting nonsense!¡± ¡°Cousin brother and cousin sister, a match made in heaven, is the true nonsense. What I have said was only the truth.¡± He held her chin up, and was brushing against her snow white skin, ¡°if not, you are willing to proof it to me, that I was only talking nonsense, you and him does not have that sort of feelings, and your heart is filled with only me? Your husband.¡± He took her hands and placed it on his waist, one hand holding her face, and moves his head lower, as though as he was going to kiss her. Ye Zhen Zhen was pushing down her feelings, closed her eyes tightly and started to frown. Ji Wu Jiu though, did not kiss her, with a scoff he let her go, and took a few steps. Taking a good look at her with eyes as cold as the winter waters. Ye Zhen Zhen was clenching her fists, looked down and did not say anything. ¡°Ye Zhen Zhen, when you are alive you belong to me, after you die you will still be my ghost¡± No matter what, and no matter who is in your heart, this fact will never be changed. The more you like him, the more you will suffer, because you will never get him, and he will never get you. What I can¡¯t get, other people don¡¯t even have to bother to think about it! *** Ye Zhen Zhen locked herself up in the room for one whole day, not having appetite to eat. Su Yue thought that she was worried about the case, consoled her a little. And seeing that she was not saying anything, and was in a more depressed mood than previously, she could only leave her alone, and discuss what to do with Su Feng and Wang You Cai. Nothing came out from their discussion, because the most important witness was the emperor, and neither one of them has the courage or power to speak with the emperor directly. Su Yue asked Feng You De earlier, about the emperor¡¯s attitude, but he did not answer, because¡­. He himself don¡¯t know what the emperor means. Actually Ji Wu Jiu wasn¡¯t going to let her take the fault, he just wanted to keep her on her toes for a few days, and when she cannot find any solution, he will save her. Only at the very last moment, will she understand who is the one that can she truly depend on. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s depression lasted for one day, and slowly she came back to senses. The most important thing now is to remove the accusation , if not to take on the crime of harming imperial consort and to murder the emperor¡¯s child, she would not be too far away from getting demoted. Wang Zhao Yi already woke up, just that she was very weak, and could not even get out of the bed. Ye Zhen Zhen went to visit her, and ask her some things. Wang Zhao Yi answered while crying, and held on to Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s sleeve and said ¡°Your majesty, you must help me, look for the real criminal!¡± Ye Zhen Zhen was abit shock, ¡°Why did you think that it was not done by me?¡± ¡°You are normally good hearted, surely you would not do something as evil as this¡± ¡°¡­.. Speak the truth¡± ¡°If you really wanted to harm me, you would be more cautious than this, and try to not leave any clues behind, why would you so openly use the gun?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen nodded. Such a big loophole, even Wang Zhao Yi knows, then the other people would definitely know as well, just that even if they know, they have to pretend they don¡¯t know. They want to push me to the end of the road. Ye Zhen Zhen ponders. Just that, I purposely want to live properly, and live better and longer than everyone. Ye Zhen Zhen scoffed. She called Wang Zhao Yi¡¯s personal maid to the gate, and ask another maid servant to act out the scene. Then after thinking for a while, she said ¡°Wang Zhao Yi was shot on the back of her shoulders, and since the bullet¡¯s direction from up to down, means that the person must have shot her from the back on a higher position¡± She stood at the gate, and look at the opposite direction, it was a tall wall. Lying on top of the wall to shoot, would be a matching position. Beyond the wall is a quiet walkway, Ye Zhen Zhen brought a few person over to the location roughly to where Yu Hua Place is located, and examined the wall. Besides the foot prints following the walk way, there are a few foot prints was facing towards the wall, at a certain place. And also foot prints on the wall where the foot prints on the ground ends. Ye Zhen Zhen asked Wang You Cai to bring over the ladder, and she went up personally, and examined in detail. There were 2 roof tiles that were chipped, Ye Zhen Zhen touched it a little, and there was still broken dusts there, it means the tiles were chipped not too long ago, it seems like it was caused by something hard and sharp. Then she suddenly thought of the flying claw. It meant that the criminal used the claw to climb up the wall, to harm Wang Zhao Yi. This walkway is very quiet, and not many people pass by, but normally there should be guards near this area as well. And if anyone were to turn and look here, surely they would have spot the criminal. Ye Zhen Zhen ordered people to get her the eunuch that was on guard duty that day, and ask him if anyone suspicious passed by. The eunuch denied, so Ye Zhen Zhen did not ask and let him go. ¡°Niang niang,, if that person was lying, then what should be do?¡± Su Feng asked. Ye Zhen Zhen smiled ¡°not if, but confirmed. He is hiding the criminal¡± Someone has definitely pass through, and he said no one. Even if the person climb the wall from the other side, it was hard not to be found out. And from the foot prints left on the wall, the criminal¡¯s martial arts is not very good. That is why, if to say the eunuch on duty did not see anything, that would be impossible. ¡°Niang niang, so what should we do now?¡± Wang You Cai understood and quickly asked. ¡°Few of you, quietly find out, who is this person close with, and who did he communicated with recently, the more detail the better. Especially those that has connections with weapons, and also those that knows what is gun powder or bullets, that type of person¡± ¡°Niang niang you are saying¡­..¡± ¡°Correct, the gun that I have lost, Feng You De may not have found it, I am afraid it has fallen into the hands of someone else.¡± The bullets that Ye Zhen Zhen used in that gun is different from the ones in a normal gun, it was smaller, and the bullet that was removed from Wang Zhao Yi¡¯s body was the same type of bullets that she used to test her multiple shot gun. Although there was a slight accident with the gun that day, but the body of the gun was not destroyed, with a little fixing it would be possible to use it again. Not to mention there was some gun powder and bullets left in the gun. It should be, someone found the gun, and kept it for himself after fixing it, and used it this time, not only can get rid of the child in Wang Zhao Yi, but also to frame Ye Zhen Zhen. Wang You Cai was astonished, what happened now is so similar to the evil thing that he has done previously. Not saying anything anymore, he thinks that the empress is very wise. So this time Wang You Cai was even more concerned about the case then Su Yue and Su Feng. Although Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s connections and relationship with the inner palace people is not really good, but the people under her was very good with the palace¡¯s maids and eunuchs. Not for anything else, but because the empress was rich. Ye Zhen Zhen purposely gave them a sum of money to buy the hearts of others. Do not say that money is not dependable, in many cases, money is the only thing you can depend on. Su Feng , Su Yue and Wang You Cai the three of them, originally under the empress, and have never shown power, this type of people, if they don¡¯t have the hearts of the people, what type of people will? That was why under their search, Ye Zhen Zhen quickly got the answer. In Li Concubine¡¯s palace there is an eunuch called Chen Ke, like weapons, and has also once bought a weapon guidebook from outside, which has detailed drawings of all sorts of weapons. The more important part was that this person and that guard eunuch has a good relationship. It was Li Concubine! This woman just passed a few comfortable days, she started to again. Because she was afraid it will alarm Li Concubine, Ye Zhen Zhen did not go to Lu Hua Palace to catch Chen Ke, but to wait at a path where he will definitely pass through, knocked him out and placed in a sack and brought him to Kun Ning Palace. Chen Ke was already feeling guilty inside, when he was released from the sack, he was scared until he was speaking incoherent words. Ye Zhen Zhen did not waste time with him ¡°admit to the crime, I will spare your life, do not admit, die¡± ¡°i..i.. do not understand what your majesty is talking about¡± Chen Ke does not dare to admit, after he admit, confirmed he will not live ¡ª¨C To harm an imperial consort, this type of crime it was enough for him to die a thousand times. ¡°Seems like you do not believe me? I will only say this one time, if you admit I can get you out of the palace earlier, and help you go far from here, change your name and all. Li Concubine has some power in the palace, but her hands can¡¯t stretch beyond that. She can¡¯t.. I Can¡± Chen Ke remained quiet. ¡°You think that you will live if you don¡¯t admit? Even if I don¡¯t kill you, as long as I show any signs of suspicion, Li Concubine would most probably not let you live?¡± Chen Ke¡¯s expression seems to be in pain, inside this palace, he was not looking to be someone, but only wanted to peacefully live, but it really was so hard. Earlier on Li Concubine used his life to threaten him, and made him do that, now he is threaten by the empress. This servant¡¯s life are really hard to live. Seeing that Chen Ke is contemplating, Ye Zhen Zhen ask Wang You Cai to bring in a bucket, inside it was a fired up coal stack. Wang You Cai placed the bucket in front of Chen Ke, Ye Zhen Zhen smiled ¡°I have eaten too much pork legs, I have always wanted to try the taste of human¡¯s hands, why not you give me the chance?¡± The moment she completed her sentence, Wang You Cai catch on to his hands and was moving towards the coal, Chen Ke shocked started to shout and struggle, but was caught by two strong eunuchs at the back, unable to move. Compared to oral threaten, nothing is more successful than the torture right now, Chen Ke was looking at his hands almost touching the coal, and feeling the heat from the coal, he finally shouted ¡° I will tell, I will tell, I will say everything¡± We cannot deny, there are less truly hard boned people. That multiple shot gun was really found by Chen Ke. That person loves guns like wives, but in Da Qi, towards the ownership of a gun was very strict, he could not own one, when he coincidently found one, even though he knew it belonged to the empress, but because he loved it too much, and wanted to play a bit with it only for a few days and will return after. But who knew, he got found out by Li Concubine, and she thought that since this item was lost by the empress, then there was no need to return it, and who knew if it could be used in the future, so she ordered Chen Ke to fix it. Chen Ke was happy initially and fixed the gun. After that Wang Zhao Yi got pregnant, Li Concubine was very jealous, and wanted to frame the empress, so she used this one stone killing two birds plan, and hurt Wang Zhao Yi to frame the empress. After listening to his recall, Ye Zhen Zhen ask ¡°Where is the gun? I think the evidence would have been destroyed?¡± Chen Ke replied ¡°Li Concubine did ask me to destroy the evidence, but I couldn¡¯t do it, and kept it secretly, right now at where I live¡± Ye Zhen Zhen thinks that this person was really brave, but this way it was way easier to deal with the case. *** Today, Ye Zhen Zhen gathered everyone at Kun Ning Palace and infront of everyone she interrogated Li Concubine. Ever since Li Concubine found out Chen Ke went missing yesterday, she realise something was wrong. But then again, thinking that the evidence was destroyed, as long as she insist that she was framed, most probably the empress can¡¯t do anything to her. Therefore she stood up to the empress without a change of expression. But what she did not know was that Ye Zhen Zhen ordered people to get the evidence and Chen Ke admitted in front of everyone, that the item was found by him and used to harm Wang Zhao Yi, as well as show the evidence that Li Concubine wanted him to destroy. Also this gun was found in Lu Hua Palace. Li Concubine¡¯s face darken, although was denying, no one believed her anymore. The evidence was very solid, Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s enemy also can¡¯t help her say anything, and can only see how the empress punish her. The whole time Ji Wu Jiu was acting mute, and in the end only said, ¡°Li Concubine is demoted to be Su Jie Yu, the rest the empress may settle¡± Ye Zhen Zhen ordered people to bring Su Jie Yu outside Kun Ning Palace and to be flogged 40 times. The person that was going to act out the punishment has already communicated with Ye Zhen Zhen, to use all their might to hit her, as long as in the end she is still alive. After 40 hits, Su Jie Yu was already very pale, with weak breaths. To be hit infront of so many servants, is much more embarrassing then getting demoted. ¡°Su Jie Yu harmed imperial consort and bloodline, she was not supposed to be forgiven. Just that the empress dowager and the emperor is kind, today I have punished her with 40 hits. In the future if anyone dares to do anything that should not be done, I will definitely not forgive!¡± Although there were many people there, not a sound can be heard. Ji Wu Jiu was standing next to Ye Zhen Zhen, looking at her. Her charismatic expression, really looks like a little tiger. Her eyes were shiny, under the thick eyelashes, looks like a glittering black pearl, making people subconsciously fall for her. Ye Zhen Zhen did not realise Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s gaze, full of power she said ¡°Today I will end it here, next time if anyone wants to do anything againsts the rules, I will definitely let them die beautifully!¡± Ye Zhen Zhen let everyone off after her warning. Today to show her power a bit, surely there will be calmer days for some time. After everyone left, Ji Wu Jiu was still standing there looking at Ye Zhen Zhen. She then asked ¡°Your majesty, do you have anything that you want to say to me?¡± ¡ª-Sorry. Ji Wu Jiu opened his mouth, but that word was stuck in his throat, and could not be pushed out no matter what. Chapter 32 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 32 AUGUST 27, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Ye Family¡¯s madams, visited the empress again. Ye Zhen Zhen was observing her grandmother, her mother as well as her sister in laws, they all seem to have a good complexion. Actually she was most worried for her grandfather, Ji Wu Jiu recently has turned the court upside down, and made Ye Family suffered a bit, this type of thing, it was hard for her not to find out also. Ye Xiu Ming was someone stubborn and willful, to be bullied by Ji Wu Jiu, definitely he would be angry. That is why Ye Zhen Zhen discreetly asked about her grandfather¡¯s condition, and finding out that he is still very actively angry, she was supposed to be worried, also feels less worried now. If he is still active that means he is still healthy. Ye Xiu Ming was not only affected by Ji Wu Jiu, but by Fang Xiu Qing as well. Fang Xiu Qing is a man, so old madam also do not know how he should scold him, so she decided to attack his wife instead, holding on to Ye Zhen Zhen and reminisce the days where that woman once targeted her father, Ye Kang Le, and he under the oppression of the old madam did not marry her. A case of breaking a couple was spoken in such a proud tone, Ye Zhen Zhen did not know what to say. Even her mother was embarrassed, but seeing old madam was very happy, she did not stop her as well. Although not sure what really happened, Ye Zhen Zhen thinks that Fang Xiu Qing and her grandfather¡¯s bad feelings did not grow on that surely. Of course not, Ye Xiu Ming and Fang Xiu Qing¡¯s relationship now, actually started because of work. When Fang Xiu Qing just entered the court, Ye Xiu Ming actually think that he has a good future, and the both of them were on good terms as well. It was just that the both of them have very different political views, so they slowly fall apart. Ye Family has deep roots, so the way Ye Xiu Ming deals with matters are not so forefront and straightforward, because he has to consider many sides, and this Fang Xiu Qing, thinking that he is carrying the burden of the welfare of the world, was much more fierce in his decisions. So the both of them started to have very different opinions and did not confer to one another, slowly they have turn to what they are today. This type of contradiction is very hard to resolve, except to kill off one of the parties. And when Ji Wu Jiu adds himself into this case, then it got even messier. Actually Ji Wu Jiu did not only use Fang Xiu Qing to control Ye Xiu Ming, but is actually wary of Fang Xiu Qing as well, if not to chase away a minister and to raise a minister himself, for fun? Thinking about the relationship between the three of them makes Ye Zhen Zhen headache. The three most clever people in the country are busy fighting against each other, every sentence or glance also seems to have a hidden meaning, even thinking about it sounds scary. Ye Zhen Zhen consoled old madam a few words and changed the topic to another direction. Madam Lu, then spoke about her brother, which was Lu Li¡¯s Father, he recently was required to go to Dun Huang to settle the rebellions there, talking about the conditions of the warfare there, where the opponents are not good in war, but good in escaping, so there was not much that has been done now. Lu Li¡¯s father is someone who has much experience in the warfare, so he was personally chosen by Ji Wu Jiu to handle this matter at Dun Huang. Upon hearing this Ye Zhen Zhen came to realize, why Ji Wu Jiu only demoted Su Jie Yu even though she made such a big mistake, it seems that her father is left to take care of the borders, so he can¡¯t punish the daughter to harshly. She initially thought he didn¡¯t want to harm pretty girls. Also thinking back on how Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s attitude towards Wang Zhao Yi¡¯s miscarriage, in her heart she concludes that, that person really lost his heart while being the emperor. *** That is why at this moment, the heartless emperor at Cui Fang Lou sneezed. ¡°Sir, did you catch a cold?¡± Hong Yun asked him. If it was another man, she would have already sat in his arms and used her handkerchief to help him wipe his nose, but the man in front of her now, seems to hate being touched by people. Hong Yun normally likes wealthy and big spender type of men, but towards Ji Wu Jiu there is some sort of force around him that scares her, and makes her afraid of getting close to him. ¡°No worries¡± Ji Wu Jiu took out his handkerchief and wipes. A simple movement, was turned into a beautiful scene by him. The white handkerchief in his hand was made with high quality silk, this type of silk has very low production rate and was very expensive. Can be considered as only available to the royalty, normal citizen no matter how rich they are they would not be able to buy it. Hong Yun was looking at him while holding on to her chin, till he place his handkerchief back into his sleeves, she said ¡°sir, not to hide anything from you, I have stayed for many years in this Cui Fang Lou, meeting uncountable men, but none of them are as honorable as you¡± People, as long as they have money, they will try to live better. But some people no matter how they try they still can¡¯t be compared to those that are naturally honorable. As an emperor, Ji Wu Jiu is normally immune to such praises, so he did not reply to her praise but said ¡°let¡¯s talk about the important matter¡± Hong Yun laughed ¡°Sir, please speak, I will listen¡± ¡°I want to get her¡± Hong Yun thinks, man are truly bad, what they can¡¯t get will always be the best. If to his appearance and wealth, what type of pretty lady can¡¯t he get, why must he want the married woman. Also not sure which unfortunate lady got picked by him, I will help you lady, don¡¯t have to thank me. Therefore Hong Yun smiled ¡°to ask me this question, you got the right person. Woman, they like men who are very cold, the more you ignore them, the more they will notice you. You scold her, shout at her, disgrace her, she will listen to you instead¡± Ji Wu Jiu was a man that slept with many pretty ladies, although he is not clear with everything between the feelings of a man and woman, but still¡­ in his mind he imagines, if he were to scold Ye Zhen Zhen, shout at Ye Zhen Zhen¡­ the consequences would be terrible! Ji Wu Jiu stood up, and took another stack of money from his sleeves and slammed it on the table, with a fake smile he said ¡°what a good answer, these money, use it properly while you are still alive. If this way is not useful, the next time I would come and get your head.¡± He left after leaving those words. Hong Yun was shocked till she almost fainted over, how can he threaten someone like that! Easily taking other people¡¯s live, that was too much. But why did she think that he could really do it¡­. ¡°Sir, please stop¡± No matter what, when your life is threatened, other things can be ignored. Hong Yun said ¡° this matter we need to talk it through, I dare to ask, that person.. e.. madam.. what type of person is she?¡± What type of person is Ye Zhen Zhen? Ji Wu Jiu was abit lost, he feels that no matter what words he used to describe her would also not be sufficient, the words really can¡¯t be placed on her, they seem to lose it¡¯s meaning once they are paired with her. Ye Zhen Zhen¡­¡­ is¡­ Ye Zhen Zhen. Ji Wu Jiu sighed and said ¡°You only need to know, she is someone that is very hard to please¡± Hong Yun thought that what he said was completely useless, if a married woman was so easily settled by you, then only that would not be normal. She smiled ¡°no matter how hard it is to please her, it is not impossible. There is a saying even the female martyr is afraid of annoying man¡± When she mentioned the word female martyr, she glanced at Ji Wu Jiu, and seeing that he does not seem embarrass by this word, but was seriously nodding and said ¡°That makes sense¡± Hong Yun finally gave up trying to bring him back to the good ways, and said ¡°that is why, sir as long as you always appear in front of her, be good to her, make her happy, as time goes by even the stones will be melted¡± ¡°How to be good?¡± ¡°Gift her items, what she likes, giver her, needs to share the same interests with her. Also, you must be gentle, not to say anything but you came here twice, but I have never seen you smile before, I wanted to ask if you know how to smile¡± ¡°As long as I smile it would be enough?¡± ¡°Correct, as the saying one do not hit a smiling person, if you always smile to her, than she would not really reject you so harshly¡± Ji Wu Jiu nodded, ¡°thanks¡± He place the money in Hong Yun¡¯s hand, turned and let. Hong Yun was happily holding on to the money and looked towards his back and added ¡°Remember, you must not give up! If you were not successful, it must be you did not insist long enough, definitely not my problem!¡± The last word was the most important point. Ji Wu Jiu nodded, and jumped down from the second floor, and landed on the floor with stable. Hong Yun was shocked, and so were the rest of the people there, except for Feng You De. Feng You De was waiting alone in a corner, and kept staring at the woman that wanted to touch him. Ji Wu Jiu ignored everyone¡¯s gaze and towards Feng You De ¡°Go¡± Feng You De was very sad, the emperor came out so fast, it looks like he really can¡¯t¡­ Ji Wu Jiu was quiet the whole way, and suddenly his lips curved up and he smiled. Feng You De was in deep thoughts, thinking whether he needs to employ a Taoist to do some exorcism, it seems Gan Qing Palace has some dirty things¡­ So the both of them were quiet the whole way. When Ji Wu Jiu returned to the inner palace, he seriously started practicing his smile. With his lips curved up, and glimmering eyes, he looked at the eunuch who was standing at the door of Gan Qing palace. The eunuch immediately kneeled down shivering ¡°Your majesty have mercy!!¡± Ji Wu Jiu ¡°¡­.¡± Chapter 33 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 33 AUGUST 27, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 After Su Jie Yu got hit 40 times, she was not able to get down from her bed a good few days. During the days she was recuperating, from the whole inner palace only Xu Cai Ren came over to visit sometimes, and it was also with hidden bad intentions, it can be seen how ¡°good¡± her relationship with the rest are. She was sad, and can¡¯t help but blame Xu Cai Ren, the person who planned the idea for her. Thinking that she will need to punish her next time she sees her, but who knew that person will come by to visit her. But before Su Jie Yu can open her mouth to scold her, she took the initiative to kneel infront of her bed, and slapped herself. Su Jie Yu was shocked, the anger that was built in here got diminished to half, ¡°what are you doing!¡± ¡°Little sis was useless, I have sis you suffer!¡± Xu Cai Ren said with tears streaming down. Su Jie Yu scoffed and kept quiet. ¡°I am still new in the inner palace, I didn¡¯t know the empress is so cunning. Today, my intention to come is not to get your forgiveness, just hope that you don¡¯t keep the anger in your heart, if you are not feeling good, now you can hit me a few times, to release your anger¡± Su Jie Yu this person, has a similarity with Ji Wu Jiu, like people to lower themselves in front of them. The lower the person goes, the more satisfied they get, and their ears will also get softer. She was infected ever since she entered the palace, she is like that towards Ji Wu Jiu, and the moment she turns around, the people under her will do the same. Honestly speaking, there is something called karma, today so many women lower themselves towards Ji Wu Jiu, next time there would definitely be a woman that would be able to make Ji Wu Jiu lower himself to her. This was life. Not to mention, the Xu Cai Ren infront of her now although was thickening her face to say pleasant things, so after placating Su Jie Yu the both of them then continued with a session of cursing and gossiping about Ye Zhen Zhen, almost to the point where they can stand shoulder to shoulder to fight against her. After coming out from Lu Hua Palace, Xu Cai Ren slowly walked back, she saw in front there was a group of guards passing by, and the leader was someone strong, with good leadership feel. ¡°That is Lieutenant Lu?¡± Xu Cai Ren asked ¡°Yes he is¡± The maid servant by her side answered. Xu Cai Ren has heard about Lu Li before, he is one of the popular bachelors in the capital, good family, good attitude, with a bright future. Previously when her parents were deciding her marriage partners, he was one of the choice, but¡­.. ¡°I heard he is cousins with the empress, most probably their relationship should be very good¡± Xu Cai Ren stared at Lu Li¡¯s back figure, and murmured. No matter if their relationship is good or bad, using the fact that they are cousins, and both of them always meeting in the palace (albeit not intentionally), to place a fault on to Ye Zhen Zhen should not be a hard thing to do. Cousin brother is easily suspicious, rather believe things that did not happen then to miss out, not to mention this type of indecent things. Xu Cai Ren gritted her teeth, her gaze turning into murderous intent. Ye Zhen Zhen, I will definitely bring you down! *** Considering that the empress has just recently showed her power, so recently the people in the inner palace was very quiet on the surface and people do not dare to scheme anything. But of course, that was only the surface. But actually the people are quite in a mess? As everyone know, the everytime the emperor smiles, most of them time he wants to bully someone. But these two days his mouth is always carrying a slight smile, and it looks very scary, it meant.. someone will be really unfortunate! Just that, why the emperor until now is not taking any action¡­. Ji Wu Jiu did not comment on this weird atmosphere, but he also realise that smiling might not work. Because when he smiled at Ye Zhen Zhen, what he got in returned was a frowning Ye Zhen Zhen and ¡°who are you planning to trouble now?¡± Furthermore, it was quite tiring for his face. So Ji Wu Jiu was not in a good mood. Other than that, there was something else that made him feel even worst. As an emperor, to have multiple wives is very normal, at night to occasionally visit different woman is also very normal. But¡­ no matter which woman he was with, he will subconsciously imagine that the woman is Ye Zhen Zhen. This¡­. This type of thing, is really embarrassing, and should not be known, but at the end Xian Concubine found out. That night when the both of them was active on the bed, and during the most important part Ji Wu Jiu closed his eyes, and with a very satisfied face said ¡°Zhen Zhen!¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Xian Concubine felt that she was poured by a bucket of ice water, from head to toe. She looked at Ji Wu Jiu with disbelief, and eyes filled with sadness, and disappointment. When Ji Wu Jiu realize what he has done, immediately pulled a long face, and didn¡¯t even console Xian Concubine, tidied up hurriedly and returned to Gan Qing Palace, not staying the night. Xian Concubine was laying on the bed, tearing up. She can accept that she has to share him, but she can¡¯t accept herself to be used as someone else¡¯s replacement. Everyone say the emperor dislikes the empress, but the truth seems to be so. Evidently the emperor¡¯s heart cannot be known. Xian Concubine held onto the blankets and murmured ¡°then, you shouldn¡¯t blame me for being cold hearted¡± The next night, Ji Wu Jiu was loitering in Kun Ning Palace. When it was time, Ye Zhen Zhen was hinting him but he does not leave. The both of them did sleep on the same bed before, but that time Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s leg was injured so Ji Wu Jiu couldn¡¯t do anything to her but.. this time it is different¡­ Now, Ji Wu Jiu was sitting on the table, only wearing his inner clothes. Under the warm lightings, it made his facial expression very gentle, and got rid of the coldness he carries during the day. ¡°Come over¡± He called Ye Zhen Zhen, his voice carrying a hint of pamper-ness. Ye Zhen Zhen replied honestly ¡°Your majesty, you know that I have a weird sickness, I cant service you¡± She will vomit if she tries.. ¡°Come here, I won¡¯t touch you¡± Ji Wu Jiu promised Ye Zhen Zhen was thinking, if you touch me I will vomit for you to see. So with less worries she got onto the bed. Because all the people serving them was sent away by Ji Wu Jiu, he personally removed her outer clothes, and folded them. This made Ye Zhen Zhen abit shocked. Then, he lay with her on the bed and held her in his arms, hugging her tightly. Ye Zhen Zhen felt her whole body stiffen. Ji Wu Jiu whispered in her ears ¡°sleep, I said that I won¡¯t touch you¡± For now.. Ye Zhen Zhen was very worried, but after being stiff for a while, sleepiness took over, so slowly she drifted off to sleep. With her in his arms, Ji Wu Jiu can¡¯t fall asleep. He thought that he really deserved what he did, there were so many women he doesn¡¯t find them, but must crazily go for this woman. Now, to have her in his arms, but can see cannot eat, This is definitely a type of sickness! Seeing that the person is in his arms already, it placated his feelings a little, but.. not enough.. way not enough. He felt that in his heart although not painful but seems to feel very empty, the closer he got to her, to more empty he felt. She was so near, yet so far from him. He moved his arms a little, and in exchange he heard a sigh indicating uncomfortable-ness. Ji Wu Jiu looked down, and kissed her black hair, mouth contemplating, but slowly it went down to her neck. He took a deep breath, and he was filled with her scent, light and not very obvious but was capable of grabbing his soul. Therefore, a little brother on his body that was asleep, suddenly woke up and raised his head¡­.. *** The next day after the morning court, Ji Wu Jiu found out that Ye Zhen Zhen was not there when he went to Kun Ning Palace, the maid servants said that she went to Tai Ye Lake to ice skate. For a man to chase a woman, the most important part is only one: One must frequently promote their existence. JI Wu Jiu was very clear about this point, that is why he changed his clothes and headed towards Tai Ye Lake. Many people has gathered here already. Ji Wu Jiu found Ye Zhen Zhen has this ability, wherever she goes the people will follow. No matter how quiet or dying that place might be, she can also turn it into a happening place. The frozen Tai Ye Lake, has formed a thick layer of ice on the surface, and people can go on without worries. Ye Zhen Zhen asked for a pair of skate shoes to be made, under the shoes was a piece of wood with curved up endings, looking like a small boat. The wood was polished well, and on the ice it was very easy to move. Wearing this shoes, she was happily moving about on the ice. But no matter how good, for a person to skate for the first time, there will be times where she lost her balance and moving back and forth. Ye Zhen Zhen nearly fell a few times, but somehow manage to stand back. Wang You Cai leading a few other eunuchs was standing on the ice, originally to help protect Ye Zhen Zhen, but they themselves were falling here and there. Slowly being able to control her body, Ye Zhen Zhen left Wang You Cai and the rest, and was rushing forward, from far it was like a red cloud passing through very fast, or a bird carrying a flower flying through. Ji Wu Jiu took interest into the skating and also walked on to the ice, slowly walking towards the middle. Today he was wearing a white robe, his black hair down, calmed face, with an elegant demeanor walking on the ice, almost like a fairy. ¡°Your majesty, move away, move away quickly!¡± Ye Zhen Zhen was shouted while skating with speed. She found out the shoes are not listening to her and couldn¡¯t be stopped! Seeing Ji Wu Jiu appearing in her sight, she wanted to avoid him but couldn¡¯t, so she can only ask him to move away. Thinking, for Ji Wu Jiu it would be easy for him to avoid. But Ji Wu Jiu seems to be too shocked, and stood still at his spot. A a a ¡ª- peng! Ye Zhen Zhen with a very heroic posture fell onto Ji Wu Jiu, under the force the both of them fell, Ye Zhen Zhen straightened her waist, to find out she was riding on Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s body. E¡­¡­. And he seems to be enjoying it? Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s was laying straight on the ground, and was looking at her. Her back was facing the sun, and this winter sun was especially warm, and made a surrounding ray on her body, the ray pass through her shoulders and fell onto his eyes. So his eyes were rather painful now, and could not see properly, but the situation in right now, appears to be something red on something white, like a sunset on the cloud, making him thought that they are in a heavenly scenery. ¡°Your majesty, are you alright?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen saw that Ji Wu Jiu was in deep thoughts, afraid that he might have hurt his brain. She used her hands to lightly tap his face. ¡°You¡­.¡± Ji Wu Jiu opened his mouth, though did not continue. At the same time, Ye Zhen Zhen realize that she performed a misconduct again, she wanted to climb up from his body, but would not have thought that the moment she moved, he suddenly moved and holding her they roll around and ended with her being under him. Now the both of them are even closer to one another, his hot breath was on her face, she turned her head away feeling uncomfortable. ¡°What¡¯s with me?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen asked. Ji Wu Jiu opened his hands, in his palm there was a hair ornament. It was dropped by Ye Zhen Zhen when they were rolling. He placed the hair ornament back on to her hair, and helped her tidied up her messy hair. Then suddenly he looked down, and before she can react, his lips were at her forehead, gentle and polite, and did not move even after some time. You would definitely not be able to leave my palms. Chapter 34 Empress with no Virtue ¨C Chapter 34 AUGUST 28, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 To make a complain report requires skill. You can¡¯t say what you want, but you have to truly consider what the other person is more sensitive to, for an example¡­.. ¡°Your majesty, I heard that the empress before she married was very close to lieutenant Lu and are cousins?¡± In Ci Ning Palace, Xu Cai Ren was massaging the empress dowager with her hands. The empress dowager eyes were closed but when she heard what Xu Cai Ren said, she opened her eyes. Xu Cai Ren frequently visits Ci Ning Palace, first to act as a filial niece towards her aunt, as well to gain favor from the empress dowager, and not to forget she can see Ji Wu Jiu more often. Before she entered the palace, she was thinking that they would be a loving couple but it did not happen as she wanted, he seldom visits her. Ji Wu Jiu was looking down and his hands slowly moving the cup in his hands, and replied liked it was no big deal ¡°her family really has a lot of brothers and sisters. But since she entered the palace, then she is part of the royal family, there is no need to discuss those. You have nothing better to do already, why bother asking about those things?¡± Xu Cai Ren didn¡¯t know one sentence from her can cause Ji Wu Jiu to reprimand her, so she lowered her head ¡°I am wrong¡±. Her hands unknowingly increased strength. The empress dowager pulled her hand down, held it and slowly patted her hands, turned and looked at Ji Wu Jiu ¡°blood are thicker than water, how can we break away from family so easily¡± then she look at Xu Cai Ren ¡°was the person you mentioned Lu Li? He and the empress are truly cousins¡± XU Cai Ren suddenly nodded ¡°it seems like the empress and Lieutenant Lu really has a good relationship¡± Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s expression turned sour, he placed the cup in his hand down on the table, the tea in the cup could not take the action and spilled out, and some got into his hands and the table. Xu Cai Ren stunned. And looked at the empress dowager with a scared look. The empress dowager is not afraid of Ji Wu Jiu, who ask her to be his birth mother. She consoled Xu Cai Ren again, and towards Ji Wu Jiu she said ¡°what are you angry about!¡­ Wei Rong, was there something you want to say?¡± Xu Cai Ren was contemplating and carefully took a peek at Ji Wu Jiu. ¡°Do not be afraid, just speak out, I will back you¡± Ji Wu Jiu although still with a dark face, did not stop her however. Xu Cai Ren then continued ¡°actually¡­ it is nothing big. Just that two nights ago, I don¡¯t feel well, so I wanted to go to Ying Hua Hall to pray abit. But the moment I entered, I heard there was a happy conversation going on inside the hall. I got very curious, so I eavesdropped for a bit, and because I was too far, I could not tell what they were talking about, but I can tell that the voice belonged to the empress, and she called the man cousin brother, that is why I ask that question earlier¡± The empress dowager¡¯s face turned serious, ¡°child, there is somethings that you have simply say¡­ are you sure you saw it yourself?¡± Xu Cai Ren nodded, ¡°I did see it personally, if you do not believe me, then I will swear¡± she said and starts to raise her hands to swear. The empress dowager quickly stopped her ¡°alright alright, I believe you, but this involves the royal family¡¯s pride, you definitely can¡¯t tell other people¡± then she asked Ji Wu Jiu ¡°emperor, what do you say?¡± JI Wu Jiu stared at Xu Cai Ren for a while, making Xu Cai Ren shivered and afraid to return his stare. Hearing that the empress dowager was speaking to him, Ji Wu Jiu stood up, and answered ¡°I would not dare to bother you, I will definitely investigate this case properly, mother please rest well, I will leave first¡± Seeing that Ji Wu Jiu has left, Xu Cai Ren started to massage the empress dowager again. Her face is no longer calm like just now, she frowned and reprimanded Xu Cai Ren ¡°when you want to act, why didn¡¯t you inform me first, if today I did no support you, a small little Cai Ren, will never be allowed to discuss about the empress in front of the emperor¡± ¡°I am wrong! Because I was afraid of implicating you that is why¡­.¡± ¡°What implicate, I am his birth mother, what can he do to me!¡± ¡°Yes, the emperor is a filial son, he would not do anything to you for the empress¡± That sentence was pleasing, the empress dowager nodded and smiled. After a while, she got worried again ¡° its just that, although you said those words earlier, I do not think that the emperor will believe so easily¡± ¡°Do not worry, as long as we let the emperor see it for himself, even if he doesn¡¯t believe he will have to believe¡± *** Facts shows that the empress dowager still understands her son very well. Ji Wu Jiu rationally will not really believe what Xu Cai Ren said. Both woman that does not like Ye Zhen Zhen was putting up a show in front of him, it was very obvious that they what they wanted to do. He is not stupid, actually he is way more clever than normal people. But although his rationality does not believe, it does not mean his feelings also does not believe. Although he can ignore, telling himself that was just gossip, but Xu Cai Ren¡¯s words still went in straight into his mind. In a quiet night, in a quiet hall, only one man and one woman, happy conversations¡­ in his mind he kept replaying the scenes like it was real. Not only that, he even dubbed the scene, the woman in his mind was using a charming voice calling ¡°cousin brother¡± so sweetly and lovingly. After doing his work for a while, what he himself is thinking also he is not sure off already, then he threw his brush, and the brush rolled around on the documents, causing a streak of red lines. ¡°Feng You De, go to Kun Ning Palace and get me someone, I have something to ask¡± Ever since the person he place at Kun Ning Palace was gotten rid of by Ye Zhen Zhen, he placed another one there again, but because Ye Zhen Zhen was very cautious, his people was not able to get close to her. ¡°Replying to your majesty, the empress, these few days every night will leave the palace at 7.20pm , and return at 9.50pm in the night¡± ¡°Do you know where she went?¡± ¡°I do not know¡± ¡°Alright, all can leave¡± After getting everyone to leave, Ji Wu Jiu was in a daze at his sit. 7.20pm to 9.50pm, it was the time that he will not be in Kun Ning Palace. Recently he has been sleeping at Kun Ning Palace every night, originally he wanted to read his documents at Kun Ning Palace, but it was inconvenient to transfer these documents here and there, and also that Ye Zhen Zhen does not like it, so he will do his work in Yang Xin Hall and after in the night he will go back to Kun Ning Palace. That time, Ye Zhen Zhen would be in deep slumber already, her body was very warm when he held her in his arms, he will get warm very fast too, both of them will sleep like that, the feeling was very secured and nice. Originally he thought their relationship was improving, but didn¡¯t know what Ye Zhen Zhen was doing everynight when he was not around. What did he do wrong? Ji Wu Jiu unconsciously grabbed on to the chair¡¯s handle with much force. The truth is infront of him, if he wants to investigate, he definitely would be able to do so. But he was not sure if he really wanted to investigate. After all¡­. What if it was real? What can he do to her? Thinking about it, Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s gaze suddenly changed, and the strength of his hands increased, ¡°pa¡± the item in his hands got broken into two. *** At the same time, somewhere in the inner palace, Lieutenant Lu was looking at an embroidered pouch in his hands, and asked the eunuch in front of him ¡°you were saying, the empress ordered me to go to Ying Hua Hall at 7.50pm to meet, and to discuss about something?¡± The eunuch answered ¡°Exactly¡± Lu Li placed the pouch into his sleeves and replied ¡°thank you, I will definitely meet her on time¡± The eunuch went off. Lu Li took out the pouch and pondered. This was definitely Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s personally made pouch, but her behavior he was clear, normally she was very careless, for her to drop this somewhere was not weird, and to let someone find it to be used in an evil way¡­ Furthermore Ye Zhen Zhen is not someone rash or stupid, to meet a man at night at a quiet place, something like this she would definitely not do. Even if she really needed to see him, she would also do it properly, she will either send Wang You Cai or Su Yue that level of people to convey the message, why would she send an eunuch that he didn¡¯t know, something was not right. Therefore, there must be some scheme behind this. But since it involves Zhen Zhen, then no matter what he will have to go, and if someone really wanted to use the matters of male and female to accuse zhen zhen, then it is best to get rid of the person quicker. *** After dinner, Ye Zhen Zhen rested a while, then took a book and left the palace, and only brought along Su Yue with her. The winter night was very cold, both of them were tightly wrapped, Su Yue holding the lantern, and another hand holding Ye Zhen Zhen, and tried to convince her ¡°Your majesty, tonight it is so cold, why not we don¡¯t go tonight?¡± ¡°No, I have to be commited¡± These few days where did Ye Zhen Zhen go? Answer : Ying Hua Hall To do what? Answer: Practice martial arts. God knows from where Wang You Cai manage to get a martial arts book ¡°Ying Yang Jing¡±. The book was quite thick and the pages have turned yellow, with some holes that seems to have been eaten by insects, it looks like an old book, making people think that it had aided in the previous jianghu matters.. all in all this book was giving out a feel of ultimate martial arts book. On the book it was written, to practice this skill, you must find a quiet and uninterrupted location, the best was deep in the forest, or waterfall area, places that Ye Zhen Zhen can¡¯t go. So she can only find a quieter place in the inner palace, and concluded at Ying Hua Hall. That is why these few days, every night she will come to Ying Hua hall to practice. ¡°Ying Yang Jing¡± is a type of inner kung fu, so she would only be required to meditate and all is good. No one stays at Ying Hua Hall at night, only an eunuch guards this place, but on such cold days, that guarding eunuch has earlier hide himself somewhere to keep warm. Lu Li got close to Ying Hua Hall¡¯s garden, and found out that there was light coming out from there. In the garden there was a huge tree, but is naked of leaves. He saw Su Yue beyond the tree who was standing outside the hall. She was very cold, shivering and rubbing her ears. He walk towards her ¡°Miss Su Yue¡± Su Yue saw who he was from the light and surprised ¡°Lieutenant Lu? Why would you be here?¡± ¡°I happen to pass by¡± Lu L said and took out the pouch and gave it to her ¡°Keep this properly, do not let the empress lose her things¡± Su Yue took it and check it, even more surprise ¡°this is really what we dropped a few days ago, why is it in your hands?¡± Lu Li just wanted to answer, but heard Ye Zhen Zhen asking from inside ¡°Su Yue, who is outside?¡± Su Yue saw that Lu Li shook his head, so she answered ¡°niang niang there is no one¡± ¡°if no one, then there must be a ghost speaking?¡± The door open from inside and when she saw Lu Li, she smiled ¡°cousin brother, it¡¯s you¡± ¡°It¡¯s me, Zhen Zhen¡± Lu Li smiled, ¡°but, I cannot stay here for long, you have to take care of yourself¡± Then he lift his arms up, and nearly wanted to touch her head like how he used to, but luckily he stopped in time, and did not move. ¡°Cousin brother, wait for a while¡± seeing that he wants to leave, Ye Zhen Zhen quickly say, she pass the martial arts book to Lu Li ¡°have look and tell me how is this ¡°Ying Yang Jing¡±¡± Lu Li flipped the book, and returned it back to her ¡°it is just some basic inner skill, it is good for you to practice them too¡± ¡°This is an ultimate martial arts book¡± ¡°Is it, then most probably I did not see properly, Congratulation cousin sister obtaining ultimate martial skill¡± Then, from far a male voice can be heard ¡°It looks like I did not come at the right time¡± Ye Zhen Zhen suddenly felt something was not right, this timing, this place, this scene, her relationship with her cousin brother¡­.. it was too easy for people to misunderstand. Furthermore, Ji Wu Jiu has already suspected that she and Lu Li has some sort of romance going on. Ji Wu Jiu walked out from behind a tree, not sure if it was due to anger or from the cold, his face was pale, and he seems to give of a very cold feeling. But due to the weak lighting, Ye Zhen Zhen could not see his expression properly, and only thought that his eyes is as cold as ice, and sharp as arrow, and directed at her, making her feel scared. ¡°Your majesty¡­¡± This time she is gone for, Ye Zhen Zhen really needs to explain properly. However before she can speak, suddenly outside there were many lights. Two groups of eunuchs was holding lanterns to make a road, closing in the empress dowager was holding a maid servants hand and walking towards the, with a serious face. Ye Zhen Zhen suddenly understood. This was very obvious a trap, they have properly planned this, to frame her of adultering and to make sure she is cornered truly. Note: Cliff hanger ~ till¡­¡­.. (normally i don¡¯t post on weekends)¡­. hehehehehehehehe¡­ enjoy~~ Chapter 35 Empress with no Virtue ¨C Chapter 35 AUGUST 28, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 ¡°Mother, why are you here?¡± Ji Wu Jiu ¡®s face got even more serious after seeing his mother here. Although he was not happy to see the scene, but he really didn¡¯t want his mother to find out. ¡°Why can¡¯t I come, although I did not bother about the matters of the inner court since a long time ago, but I will also not allow anyone to disturb the peace of the inner palace, so I would definitely be strict this time and not allow any obscene things to happen here, that will make us royal family lose our face and bloodline¡± The empress dowager walked closer, and looked at the people there, and did not stop talking, and sarcastically said ¡°I didn¡¯t know it would be so happening at Ying Hua Hall, empress, even if you want to meet up with Lieutenant Lu, you should have avoided the Buddha¡± Her words were very unpleasing to the ears, even if they meet up they don¡¯t need to avoid the Buddha, it seems like they were definitely doing something bad. Ye Zhen Zhen felt her body turned cold, she was never in such a defensive state. Clenching her fists, to force herself to calm down, cleared her voice and said ¡°mother, you think too much, I was practicing my martial arts here, it was a coincident to meet Lieutenant Lu here. Everyone knows that he is skilled in martial arts, so I just asked him some advice. I think the Buddha would not be angry over this type of matter.¡± The empress dowager scoffed ¡°coincident? Lieutenant Lu is not on duty today, how was it coincident?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen also scoffed ¡°mother you really know everything, even when Lieutenant Lu is on duty, also you know so well¡± In another words, this scheme was acted out by you. In terms of speaking, the empress dowager truly can¡¯t fight over Ye Zhen Zhen, she turned and look at Ji Wu Jiu, ¡°you empress and her childhood friend meeting up here, you have nothing to say?¡± Ji Wu Jiu was looking at Ye Zhen Zhen all the while. Although hearing the empress dowager¡¯s word made him unhappy, but at this moment, he just really want to know what really happened. Taking a deep breath he said ¡°Empress, I will give you a chance to explain yourself¡± ¡°You really came here to listen to me explain?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen looked at him coldly, and added ¡°if so, why did you not hear what I explained just now?¡± It was obvious you are in the same gang as the empress dowager, why are you still acting. Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s face darkens. The empress dowager shouted ¡°how dare you, speak to the emperor like that! Really not bounded by rules eh! People, catch that adulterous couple!¡± The people then wanted to move over to Ye Zhen Zhen, and she with wide eyes, took one step forward and shout ¡°who dares!¡± Her powerful voice really scared the people there, and making them contemplate. She is still the empress, if they were rude to her now, next time if she return, to kill them would be too easy. Ye Zhen Zhen looked at the empress dowager and said ¡°mother, you are thinking for the inner palace, I can understand, but to catch someone without evidence or witness, I am afraid that would be not following the rules¡± If you can, bring out the evidence! The empress dowager knew she would say that, gestured and said ¡°check his body¡± Of course the him, refers to Lu Li, one cannot simply check the empress¡¯s body. Believing the saying that if they are really in any sort of romantic relationship, they would exchange token of love. Therefore if on Lu Li¡¯s body now, can find any sort of item that belongs to Ye Zhen Zhen then todays case would be settled. Su Yue was so nervous that she almost can¡¯t feel her heart beating anymore. She saw a few eunuch rushing to Lu Li and was searching thoroughly on Lu Li¡¯s body, she held on to the pouch tighter. Lucky, real lucky, he gave her the pouch when he reach, if not the crime will never be washed of. This empress dowager, her plan is really evil! The eunuchs has completed their search, and expected there was nothing. Even if they can¡¯t find it, it was find, the empress dowager thought, this time really cant let Ye Zhen Zhen go. So she said ¡°then lets ask Lieutenant Lu to explain, why are you here at night, and was happily conversing with the empress?¡± Actually, just now after greeting the empress dowager, Lu Li has been quiet all this while, now he finally opened his mouth ¡°replying to your majesty, emperor, I received an order from the emperor to come her, as for why, I do not know¡± Hearing these words, the empress dowager stunned for a while and turned to Ji Wu Jiu. Ji Wu Jiu was also stunned ¡°I have never ordered you anything, nor said anything close to this¡± ¡°I do not dare to speak any lies. Today there was an eunuch holding an item to tell me about this matter, although I was not sure, but I do not dare to oblige, so I acted according to that person¡¯s saying and came here, only to find the empress being here. I see that your majesty was not arriving, so I took courage to ask the empress, and she was holding to a martial arts book and asked me a few questions about it, then your majesty and the empress dowager arrived¡± His words were spoken so bluntly, even Ye Zhen Zhen started to believe it. But to use an item to give the order was abit weird. The emperor does not lack any paper or ink, to write a note or what, or to ask his close eunuchs to pass the message, but for an item and order to be passed like that¡­ After hearing Ji Wu Jiu asked ¡°o?, what did that eunuch give you?¡± Lu Li opened his hands, and on it there was a white, with 1 inch diameter, round shaped item. Feng You De walked forward and took the item, and gave to Ji Wu Jiu. That was a white jade, with a dragon engraving dress ornament, white and warm, definitely of high quality and hard to find. That was not the main point, the main point is this item does belong to Ji Wu Jiu. Jade that was made for the emperor, to be worn at specific occasions or seasons based on colour. This jade was white colour, it was worn by him during the autumn season, and since it has entered winter already, he has ordered it to be kept already, so he did not know why it would reach Lu Li. Ji Wu Jiu¡¯ face flashed through a suspicion. Not only him, the people around them looking at the jade was also starting to think what happened. The empress was thinking, maybe my son is on the same side as me? But to use this method is too easy to be found out; Ye Zhen Zhen thinks, so it was Ji Wu Jiu doing this, but to place her into this trap, it was really to cruel. Only Lu Li, who was still in calm composure, showing his innocent. Ji Wu Jiu held the jade and said ¡°must be someone falsifying my order, you may rise¡± ¡°thank you your majesty¡± ¡°Do you know that eunuch, do you remember how he looks like?¡± ¡°Replying to your majesty, I do not know him, but I remember him¡± ¡°If so, then I will need to investigate properly, who is the fella that has so much courage, that dared to falsify my order.¡± In the empress dowager¡¯s heart she can¡¯t accept this ending, but ever since Lu Li took out that jade ,she already know the case was close. No matter if the order was real or not, he already has the reason to appear here, this was already enough. Furthermore, just now when the eunuch searched his body, they already nearly took off all his clothes, also they didn¡¯t manage to find anything. That person, really was too cunning. Since it was just a misunderstanding, then I am not worried anymore. Empress to practice your martial arts here everyday, it is still better to be more careful¡± The empress said slyly. ¡°thanks for worrying, mother. As a honest person, surely the Buddha will look over me, and nothing would happen for sure¡± Ye Zhen Zhen also learned how to scold people humbly. So the empress dowager who came with her head held high, left with her dropping head. After the empress dowager left, Ji Wu Jiu who was standing away from her, turned back and called her, ¡°still not leaving?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen then started to walk, when passing by him, he wanted to hold her hands, but got brushed off by her quickly. Ye Zhen Zhen said in a low voice ¡°Despicable¡±, her tone was full of disgust and hate. JI Wu Jiu didn¡¯t know why but his heart felt a prick, very uncomfortable. When he returned to his senses, he realized she has misunderstood him, so he quickly rushed to her. ¡°I ¡­ I really didn¡¯t know about the jade¡± Did not answer him. ¡°How would I help other man to meet up with my wife?¡± Still did not answer. Su Yue was worried , looking from the side, the emperor was already like this, niang niang shouldn¡¯t you give him some face.. furthermore, the jade was obviously not provided by the emperor. How would Ye Zhen Zhen not know about that. Although she does not believe Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s character, but believes in his intelligence, even if he wants to trap her, he would not give the jade, it was such a loop hole. Even so, she was still very angry, although the trap was not planned by him, but he still came to catch them! Furthermore it seems like he really wanted her and cousin brother to have something. Lu Li was standing in front of Ying Hua Hall, looking at the back of the 3 of them. Ji Wu Jiu wants to hold Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s hands, and was pushed away by her a few times, and in the end he held onto her hand tightly not letting go, so the both of them continued to bicker and was lost in sight in the darkness. Lu Li looked down and laughed. Besides himself, most probably no one else will know how the jade got into his hands¡­. He stole it. Yes stole. Lu Li was skilled in martial arts, his flying skills were exceptionally good. Also not to mention he knows the palace in the back of his hands. To steal something that was heavily guarded was also an easy job for him. Also he has counted the timing properly, when Ji Wu Jiu was working in Yang Xin Hall, was the best time, as there will be less guards at Gan Qing Palace, and without Ji Wu Jiu, this leader, it was way easier. Lu Li was an honest person, and have never stolen anything before, but this time it was different, he had to steal, for Ye Zhen Zhen. This type of blaming the empress of committing adultery , if it can happen once, it can happen twice, why not first put on a show, to demonstrate their evil heart to the emperor, and to get rid of the emperor¡¯s worries towards her, next time even if there will be people were to report about this type of things again, the emperor would also not believe them easily anymore. Also, he has already realized Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s presence earlier. He knew that the emperor is easily suspect others, and if he were to act too proper in front of Ye Zhen Zhen, he will notice, and will only make Ji Wu Jiu suspect that he is hiding something, so being natural was the best. Also Ji Wu Jiu knew Lu Li¡¯s martial skills, so he did not dare go too near, most probably he did not hear what they said. Luckily this time nothing happened, zhen zhen you have to be more careful. Lu Li was thinking alone. Real author¡¯s note : I want to explain a little of Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s attitude matters. I think a lot of friends put too much hope on to Zhen Zhen. She is only a smarter girl compared to the rest. Also this girl grew up in a very good environment, rich, and the whole family dotes on her, and did not really put too much expectations on her strictly, just like a flower grown in a greenhouse. So it made her attitude a bit more pampered, and act as she likes, and sometimes what she says are not processed by the brain. You see the things that she plays with, none of them are normally played by ladies from rich families, but she likes them, and her family also does not reprimand her as well. This type of people to be thrown into the inner palace warfare, would require some training, not possible for her to win everyone at the beginning. So she is considered to be only in a defensive mode in the palace, keep getting framed for this and that, also she was lucky that she is rather smart and a little lucky, so she managed to escape each round. But of course it could not be like that forever, because people needs to grow, being targeted a few times, slowly she will be better. Understanding that you guys like to see the empress being the most powerful one and obeyed by everyone in the palace, but one must understand that the storyline needs to be based by the character. The empress is not a perfect person, she has many weaknesses. I have always thought that a person with weakness is a true complete person. Although you guys might not care about the character¡¯s behavior or attitude, whether it was complete or not, but as an author I have always hope that I can face the challenges of an author. I hope everyone understands. Translators note: I purposely translated the author¡¯s thoughts, because it seems very fitting to do so. ^.^ Now seriously happy weekend, next update will be on Tuesday afternoon +8GMT. Happy weekend, and long holiday for Malaysians ~~ hip hip hurray!!!! (Merdeka!!) Chapter 36 Empress with no Virtue ¨C Chapter 36 SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Disclaimer : May contain some scenes not suitable for children.. though not detail. Read at your own risk ???? Thus with his thick face, Ji Wu Jiu followed Ye Zhen Zhen back to Kun Ning Palace. He is not good at comfort woman, most of the time when he really needs to, he would just use candied words, now towards the angry Ye Zhen Zhen, he really don¡¯t know what he should do. To explain, he has done it already, and normally he is the less talkative type, so he does not feel like repeating the same words. The atmosphere was really awkward. Ye Zhen Zhen was very tired and have climbed on to her bed and slept. Ji Wu Jiu was by her side, in deep thoughts. Today, that case, there should be something more to it. Firstly, why would the empress dowager able to accurately appear on time to Ying Hua Hall? Second, who was the one who used his jade to falsify his orders and got Lu Li to appear there? The first was easier to clear, in this scheme surely the empress dowager is involved. Then was it her that asked someone to steal the jade to pass the fake order? It doesn¡¯t seem possible¡­. As long as Lu Li take out the jade, then he can explain the misunderstanding immediately, it doesn¡¯t seem like it was used to trap someone. Also, not to mention when the empress dowager ask people to search Lu Li, it was almost as if, she is guaranteed to get something.. Gathering all this thoughts, Ji Wu Jiu came up with something : Most probably the empress dowager did order someone to falsify the order, just that not the emperor¡¯s order but the empress¡¯s, and use something that belonged to Ye Zhen Zhen. But what he couldn¡¯t have thought is that Lu Li found out the plan, and changed Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s item with his jade, and change the whole situation around. Here we should acknowledge Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s rational and logic thinking powers, if he is not an emperor, he would definitely be suitable to take on a job as a police detective, or something. He should be someone as well. Therefore, the jade could have been stolen by Lu Li, or someone from Gan Qing Palace could have stolen it and passed it to Lu Li. No matter which was it, the people at Gan Qing Palace should be properly re-trained. The moment he thought of how Lu Li took the jade, and told such a big lie, Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s first reaction was actually not angry, but felt lucky. The anger in his heart also dissipated quite a lot, and decided to act stupid this time round, and not punish Lu Li. Then after, when he thought of how the empress dowager wants to use the method of placing a green hat on to her own son to scheme her daughter in law, he got angered and slammed the table. Although he initially decided to be a filial son, but it doesn¡¯t mean he will allow himself to be controlled by the empress dowager. The person beyond the mosquito net seems to be disturbed by his action, and made some noise indicating that she is uncomfortable. Ji Wu Jiu then quietly removed his outer clothes and climbed on to the bed as well, squirming into the blanket, and held Ye Zhen Zhen tightly in his arms. As though as ease was achieve suddenly, he took a deep breath. Placing his chin lightly on her collar bone, he quietly whispered to her ears ¡°did you know, I was really afraid that it was real¡± What replied him was only the other person¡¯s even breathing. ¡°Luckily it was not¡± He added *** The next day, afternoon, Ye Zhen Zhen heard that near the plum blossom garden, a eunuch hanged himself to death, the empress dowager asked the Lieutenant Lu to check whether it was the same eunuch that falsified the order. ¡°So was it or not?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen asked Su Yue. She did not go to the scene, but Wang You Cai did went and see what happened and met with Lu Li. ¡°Yes, and no¡± Wang You Cai answered. ¡°O?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen placed her cup down and asked, a bit curious ¡°how so?¡± Wang You Cai lowered his voice and said ¡°it is like this niang niang, Lieutenant Lu ask me to ask you, is there anyone you want to finish off¡± Ye Zhen Zhen rolled her eyes, and smiled ¡°cousin brother, is really detailed¡± The empress dowager wants to kill off that person to keep her from being involved, so that eunuch that was hanged would most probably be the person who falsified the orders, and since the only witness is Lu Li, if he said it was him, then it would be him, if he said it is not, then he will not be. If he denies, then another person would be caught to be investigated¡­ Lu Li has passed a few years in the palace, so he sees things better and clearer compared to Ye Zhen Zhen. The fights in the inner palace, their schemes and plans, is not any less than those at court. And the women that can exist in the inner palace, they definitely would not be clean from any schemes or plans, nor are they innocent or na?ve. As for the servants that would be missing or lost due to their plans, those would be uncountable, not enough pity to be given as well. Lu Li does not want to be involved in these, but for Ye Zhen Zhen he is willing to do it this time. Through this case, Ye Zhen Zhen also received some wake up call. If it was not for cousin brother¡¯s intelligence, she would really be framed now. Realising that she was truly not careful previously. Once at home, she can do what ever she likes, and no one would dare to do anything to her, but now to be in this place, she can no longer do as she likes. She knew that the inner palace was a place full of traps, schemes and danger, but that was only on the surface, not detailed enough. Previously the other cases she managed to turn the situation around herself, has made her a bit careless, and proud. Last night, has finally woke her up to the real cruel happenings that can happen in the inner palace, and made her realize if she make any small mistakes will lead to big repercussions, and could also involve her family. These type of thoughts make her feel that she really dislikes the life in the inner palace. But dislike is dislike, she will still need to face the reality. She cannot die, and cannot be disposed of. She has to be extra careful, plan carefully, and live properly, and stay at her position. In her heart, she was thinking if she will ever be able to leave this place during her live. But then, this wish is really too farfetched, and not possible. To be honest, sometimes she really wants to gather all the women that creates trouble, tie them up and feed them to the pigs. ¡°Niang niang? Niang niang?¡± Wang You Cai called Ye Zhen Zhen, as she appears to be in a daze. Returning to her senses, Ye Zhen Zhen said ¡°go and tell Lieutenant Lu, thanks for the thoughts, but those people I want to finishi off, I can deal with them myself, make sure he doesn¡¯t do anything¡± Lu Li is only the head of the guards, if he were to be involved with the inner palace, most people will use him as an excuse to create more problems, she does not want anything to trouble him. This case, she wants to revenge herself. Although she can¡¯t do anything to the empress dowager now, but to give warning to the little shrimps under her is still possible. At night, Ji Wu Jiu arrived earlier than normal. He stopped the announcement of his arrival, and walked straight in, and seeing Ye Zhen Zhen in a daze in front of the lights, he asked ¡°what are you thinking about?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen saw him, and greeted ¡°your majesty¡±, with an expressionless face. Ji Wu Jiu knows that in her heart, she is still unhappy about yesterday, and he does not know what he should do to console her, he himself is also abit angry, angry that she is still angry at him. JI Wu Jiu sat down, and took the ¡°Yin Yang Jing¡± book and look through, the inner kung fu that the book is talking about is very normal, most probably this book was bought from a bookstore outside. This type of book would only cost a few liangs, so say that it is some sort of ultimate skill, the woman should have been duped. Ye Zhen Zhen suddenly asked ¡°Your majesty, can you tell me, about the case yesterday besides the empress dowager, who else is involved?¡± Ji Wu Jiu sold out Xu Cai Ren without second thought, ¡°There is still Xu Cai Ren, both her and the empress dowager was acting in front of me, that is why I mistook their rumors¡± At the same time removing himself from the case. Ye Zhen Zhen nodded, and decided to properly punish this Xu Cai Ren this time. Actually, even if Ye Zhen Zhen don¡¯t touch Xu Cai Ren, Ji Wu Jiu has decided to punish her as well. Previously towards Xu Cai Ren, he still had some brother and sisters relationship, although did not touch her body, but wanted to slowly progress her position, to allow her a peaceful live in this palace. But this time, she really went overboard, to frame the empress, to let the emperor wear the green hat, and to lead the empress dowager to scheme for such a plan¡­ she really thought she was the only one that knows how to scheme, the rest are all stupid?! Ye Zhen Zhen saw that Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s face was slowly showing a sign of anger, and did not know what he is thinking about. To interact with him now is rather boring, so she decided not to bother about him, and went to bed to sleep. Who knew, Ji Wu Jiu very quickly went over, and tightly held her in his arms, his legs were also on her body. Ye Zhen Zhen was not used to it, and tried to push him away, but he held her extra tight, and at the end spoke to her ears, ¡°stop messing around, sleep¡± Ye Zhen Zhen was left speechless, but since she can¡¯t avoid it, she slowly and simply accepted it, yawned, and very quickly fell asleep. Because he held her too tight, she did not sleep properly, it was almost like sometimes there was a string that was tied around her tightly. Midnight, she woke up from the heat, but not fully awoken. In between being awoke and sleep, she felt that on her legs there was something hard, that was making her uncomfortable, and subconsciously her hands went to move that thing, but no matter what, that thing did not move away, so she decided to pull that thing hard. Her ears suddenly came a shout of pain from Ji Wu Jiu. Ye Zhen Zhen initially thought she was dreaming, and took some time to wake up. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and saw Ji Wu Jiu was laying side ways, with his body curled up. Both his hands was holding his crotch area, and seems to be in deep pain. ¡°What happened to you?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen asked, ¡°¡­..¡± Ji Wu Jiu was in deep contemplation, it was not hard to explain with words. Ye Zhen Zhen thinks that something is truly wrong, so she called out ¡°Call the imperial doctor!¡± The doctor in charge rushed over despite the cold wind, and was fully awoken by the time he reached Kun Ning Palace. When he saw where Ji Wu Jiu was hurt, he got shocked, looking down, his eyes kept rolling, in his heart he was very curious, and the emperor and the empress, what on earth did they do¡­. The doctor tried his best to not show his curiosity, straightened his face and was helping Ji Wu Jiu check his injuries. He gave his prescriptions, and then only called in Ye Zhen Zhen, and looking at the both of them, ¡°Your majesties, I hope both of you will rest for a few days, bedroom activities should be stopped these few days, and also next time¡­ please be more gentle¡± Ye Zhen Zhen has already found out earlier that she was the one to be blamed, and hearing the doctor¡¯s wear, she nodded her head seriously. Ji Wu Jiu suspects that Ye Zhen Zhen did not understood what the doctor said. After the doctor left, Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s pain has lessen greatly, his body has a layer of sweat now, due to the pain earlier, there was still droplets of sweat on his forehead. Worried and sorry, Ye Zhen Zhen kneeled on the bed and helped him wipe of his sweats. Seeing Ye Zhen Zhen doing that, his heart felt like it was flooded with warm water, warm and very comfortable. ¡°Still painful?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen asked carefully. ¡°Pain¡± Ji Wu Jiu purposely answered in a pained voice, his facial expression showing an equally pained expression. Ye Zhen Zhen got even more sorry, ¡°I am sorry.. I really didn¡¯t do it on purpose¡± Ji Wu Jiu looked at her, with his eyes half closed. His eyes were very bright, with a slight shine of gentleness, but she did not see them, still engrossed in using her handkerchief to wipe of his sweat on his forehead. Suddenly he held her hands. ¡°Whats wrong?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen wanted to free her hands, but did not manage. Ji Wu Jiu used some strength and pulled, Ye Zhen Zhen did not manage to react, so she fell into his arms. He held her tightly into his chest, and holding her down, not allowing her to move. ¡°Zhen Zhen, don¡¯t be angry anymore¡± Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s voice was heard above her head, most probably due to the pain earlier, his voice carries a tone of huskiness. Ye Zhen Zhen was leaning on his chest, did not answer, but only nodded her head lightly. Her chin knocked onto his chest twice, weakly, but caused his heart to heat up. This pain was worth it, Ji Wu Jiu thought. Although.. it was really painful¡­¡­.. Chapter 37 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 37 SEPTEMBER 2, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Early in the morning, Feng You De was leading an imperial doctor with a full white beard to Gan Qing Palace. This doctor¡¯s surname is Tie, the head of the imperial doctors, and also the strongest in skills. Earlier on, he heard that the emperor wanted to meet him, he roughly guessed that it would most probably be about the night two days ago¡­ about that night where the emperor and empress, when they played abit over board, he has already heard about it from Doctor Tie. But far from his expectations, the emperor did not ask him to check his body, but gave him a book.. ¡°Yin Yang Jing¡±? This book was taken from Ye Zhen Zhen by Ji Wu Jiu. Originally he saw that the book was very normal, but after a while he found out there was something extra about this book, just that no matter how he flips the book, it seems the skills that the acupuncture points that this book involves are not really used to train internal kung fu, so that is why today he found a professional to look through it. Doctor Tie, flip through the book, closed it and returned the book back to Feng You De. ¡°So?¡± Ji Wu Jiu asked ¡°Replying to your majesty, this book truly can help to cultivate a little of internal kung fu but it would not be effective. The main purpose is¡­.¡± He tried to properly rephrase his words, ¡°used to balance yin yang¡± Balancing Yin Yang? Ji Wu Jiu looked at Doctor Tie skeptically: Don¡¯t tell me it is about what I am thinking about? Doctor Tie nodded: Exactly what you are thinking about! He took the book from Feng You De again, opened it and showed Ji Wu Jiu ¡°this book is called Yin Yang Jing¡±, actually this was a combination of 2 books, the front part was ¡°Yang Jing¡±, to be practiced by males; the back part is ¡°Yin Jing¡±, practiced by females. After cultivation, in due time, it helps to bring the Yin and Yang together¡± In other words, it was something that helps the bedroom activities! Ji Wu Jiu murmured to himself ¡°no wonder now a days she is very manly in her behavior, she went and studied the ¡°Yang Jing¡± part¡± Doctor Tie didn¡¯t really understand ¡°sorry, but what you mean is¡­.?¡± ¡°nothing, Feng You De, award¡± After the doctor left, Ji Wu Jiu took the book and split it into 2, ¡°Yang Jing¡± he kept for himself, ¡°Ying Jing¡± he plans to return it back to Ye Zhen Zhen. Although the book has not been returned to her, he can¡¯t help but be anxious about the harmonization of the Yin and Yang. Then he went to Yang Xin Hall, but didn¡¯t realize after looking through a few documents, Ye Zhen Zhen personally came to Yang Xin Hall to look for him. Ji Wu Jiu was very surprised, one needs to know Ye Zhen Zhen seldom take the initiative to visit Yang Xin Hall. ¡°Is there a reason you came to look for me?¡± ¡°Nope¡± ¡°Then you miss me ?¡± ¡°I came here to watch something¡± Ji Wu Jiu didn¡¯t understand. He took something from his table and passed it to her ¡°why not take a look at this first, should be more interesting¡± Ye Zhen Zhen took it and glanced through, there were 3 documents, two of them came from 600 miles express mail, and another is 800 miles express mail, they came from Gan Su, Da Tong, Liao Dong, the contents were about a similar thing. Beyond the borders there were armies approaching them, and to timing was actually quite similar as well. These three places is located at the northern borders of Da Qi, the south, middle and north, the distant between them is a thousand miles, if there are army movements there at all three places at the same time, then it is worth to be contemplated. The opponents of these 3 places are the southern Tu Lu Fan, northern Mongolian Da Da Bu, as well as the eastern Nu Zhen tribe, all the head of their regions, armies are strong too. Ye Zhen Zhen looked at the documents carefully, and worriedly said ¡°this groups of barbarians would not attack us Da Qi at the same time right?¡± Ji Wu Jiu nodded, this woman indeed understand the root of the problem, this was what he was most worried about. He asks ¡°If there were to attack at the same time?¡± ¡°If yes then we would need to defend all three sides, and not to mention these three places are very far, not able to help one another. At that time when our armies are separated to different locations, we would be in a disadvantage. Also not to mention we need to leave a portion of them in the capital to protect it, because if any of the three locations has been won over, the other 2 sides would definitely not be able to help, and also not enough time, so the capital can only protect itself¡± But if really so, then the armies that are separated into 3 different locations would be even more dangerous. Ye Zhen Zhen frowned. ¡°You said it very well, come here¡± Ji Wu Jiu gestured ¡°Sit over here¡± Ye Zhen Zhen know that he wants to show her something, so she sat next to him, the dragon chair is very wide, two person sitting side by side, does not make it crowded also. JI Wu Jiu opened up a map infront of them, there was markings made on three places on the map. Looking at the map he said ¡°what I am curious is, if it is real, then why will they join hands to attack Da Qi¡± To go to war, the risk is very high. These barbarians have a harsh life, during winter if they ate too many lambs, then during spring they would have to spend it in hunger. So every two to three days they will go into Da Qi and steal things, and sometimes they will get something good. But war would be different, it would require countless amount of people¡¯s live to change, unless the wages is huge, if not it was not worth it to try. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s finger gestured on to the map, and said ¡°don¡¯t tell me they want to take over our land? Their appetite is really big¡± ¡°It should not be that simple¡± Ji Wu Jiu ponders for a while and asks ¡°how do you think we should place our armies?¡± ¡°I do not know these stuffs¡± ¡°No worries, just tell me your opinion¡± ¡°Tu Lu Fan compared to the other two is abit weaker, and is the furthest from our country, after they extend to Ha Mi, did they only have interactions with Da Qi. There is General Lu and General Su guarding there, and keeping them away from the borders should not be a hard thing. As for the other 2 places it would not be easy, I think we should place an army in the middle of Xuan Fu and Da Tong, as a second layer of defense. It is near to the capital as well, so there should not be any mistakes. Also, Da Da Bu¡¯s armies is also scary, so there should be elite forces to guard there. As for Liao Dong¡­.¡± Ye Zhen Zhen was contemplating a bit. ¡°Continue¡± ¡°I do not really know about Nu Zhen tribe, but with the rough terrain there, they shouldn¡¯t be able to attack us there.¡± After Ye Zhen Zhen finished, she saw Ji Wu Ji was looking at her, so she asked ¡°how did my explanation go?¡± A face asking for praises. ¡°Not Bad¡±, Ji Wu Jiu nodded, ¡°but I think you missed out something, at war, we should not depend too much on the geographical reason, in the end the factor that determines wining or losing, is people¡± Ye Zhen Zhen was not happy with his reply a little. One of Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s hand held on to her shoulders, pointed at the map and said ¡°Tu Lu Fan, seldom wages wars with us, this time most probably they were threatened by someone, or used by someone, this two should be investigated further, Da Da Bu¡¯s internal management is having conflict now, their leader and prime minister is not in good terms, a few ministers are also wavering, and wanted to treason, we can use this point; Nu Zhen tribe, their army and horses are strong, all of them are loyal and full of ambitions, they are the most dangerous group out of the three of them. That is why ¡° he concluded ¡°Tu Lu Fan and Da Da Bu, is not worrisome, they are just chess pieces in this game, only Nu Zhen tribe is the one we should be vary about, we will need to properly fight with Nu Zhen, and let them realize the true power of Da Qi, so that next time they will consider it properly¡± Ye Zhen Zhen was abit astounded with all these information ¡°What¡¯s wrong¡± Ji Wu Jiu can¡¯t help but brushed her chin a little. This movement was very light. ¡°You are very good¡± Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s clear eyes were clearly indicating her sincerity. Although this person is bad, but he has some real capabilities. To be praised by Ye Zhen Zhen so straightforwardly, Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s heartbeat sped up. He looked at her and said ¡°if so, why not award me with something?¡± ¡°What award do you want?¡± ¡°Kiss me¡± He pushed his face over. Ye Zhen Zhen was not used to how that person can change from a capable emperor, to a gangster in just a few seconds, frowning she pushed his face away. Then, suddenly there were noises of people speaking outside, in the conversation include crying noises from a woman. ¡°Who is making fuss outside?¡± Ji Wu Jiu shouted Ye Zhen Zhen though, in her heart she said, its here! Feng You De, spoke through the door, ¡°Your majesty, Xu Cai Ren wants to meet you¡± ¡°No¡± Ji Wu Jiu, still have not decided how he wants to punish her. Therefore, outside Feng You De¡¯s advice can be heard ¡°Xu Cai Ren, you also heard it yourself, please return¡± ¡°I won¡¯t, I want to meet the emperor! Your majesty, cousin brother! Your cousin sister is bullied by the empress!¡± She actually managed to lose the eunuchs, opened the door and went in. Ji Wu Jiu was shocked by the entrance of something, e no.. someone. This person¡¯s hair seems to have dropped all, more or less, and was only left with a few strands, appearing to look like a few grass that was dying soon on a vast land, it was better to have none; not only so, her eyebrows was also gone, in a glance the pair of eyes was like it was placed on an empty face, with two black holes, with water coming out from it, her skin was pale, most probably because of the hair loss. ¡°Your majesty!¡± Xu Cai Ren was struggling to rush to Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s side, and was held down by the eunuchs that rushed over. Feng You De took a look at Ji Wu Jiu, the latter nodded his head, so he left with others. Xu Cai Ren was sitting on the floor, crying non stop. Ye Zhen Zhen was sitting properly on the dragon chair next to Ji Wu Jiu, looking at Xu Cai Ren, and asked smilling ¡°cousin sister, did you take wrong medicine? Why did you suddenly turn bald? Although it is rather interesting¡± ¡°It was you, you evil woman!¡± Xu Cai Ren glared at Ye Zhen Zhen, so angry that she wants to eat her raw, but Ji Wu Jiu was still here, she came here to ask for his help, that is why she is trying her best to control herself from going over to Ye Zhen Zhen to bash her up, she turned to Ji Wu Jiu, face full of tears. If it was when she still have hair, she most probably would still be able to bring up some pity, but now¡­ it was rather¡­. Xu Cai Ren cying hard ¡°Your majesty, your majesty, the empress gave me poison, that caused me all my hair to drop, your majesty please help me!¡± Ji Wu Jiu turned and look at Ye Zhen Zhen, ¡°you did it?¡± ¡°So what if I did it, if she can plan to trap me, I can¡¯t give her a little poison?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen broadly admitted what she did and also added oil to the fire, ¡°not to mention, she also used you, this also is considered to help you revenge¡± In her heart, she knows Ji Wu Jiu hates it when people try to outsmart him, this time he would not help Xu Cai Ren. Indeed, Ji Wu Jiu nodded ¡°Makes sense¡± Xu Cai Ren did not believe Ji Wu Jiu would actually act like that, ¡°your majesty, your majesty! You have to help me, the empress she¡­¡± Ye Zhen Zhen stopped her with a smirk ¡°I, advice you to stop the pestering, justice or not, it is not decided by you. Why didn¡¯t you think, if I can make you lose your hair, I can also make you lose your head! I have already soften myself, and kept you alive, you did not repent but came here to make so much noise. You should keep your tail and be a human properly, when your hair grow back, it would be fine again¡± Ji Wu Jiu wanted to laugh from her weird speech, stopping himself from laughing, he cleared his throat and called Feng You De in, ¡° Xu Cai Ren¡¯s hair has all dropped, not pleasing to the eyes, from today onwards she will be demoted to 8th Rank Xuan Shi, no wages for half a year, and grounded for 3 months¡± Xu Cai Ren was dragged out while crying. Ye Zhen Zhen felt that she finally managed to get her revenge. She leaned on the dragon chair, relaxed her body, and closed her eyes, her nerves were in a lazy mode. The more he look at her, the more he likes her. One of his hands was placed on the chair, the other held on to her should, looking at her side profile, the more he looks at her, the more he wants to kiss her. No rush, now it is not the right time. ¡°Your majesty, what are you thinking about?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen asked. ¡ª¨C I am thinking, one of these days, I will definitely hold you down on this dragon chair, and properly love you. (wink wink¡­ hahahahaha) Chapter 38 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 38 SEPTEMBER 3, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Disclaimer : Slight adult contents in the middle of the chapter, each chapter as funny as usual.. hahaha Ever since Ye Zhen Zhen knew about Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s talent in handling wars, her impression about him turned slightly better, and will occasionally loiter around in Yang Xin Hall, to discuss some questions with him. Her job as an empress was not really busy, most of the things was settled by Su Yue, Su Feng and Wang You Cai, and some times she will trouble Zhuang Concubine, and the things that truly require her are very little. So, from time to time she will come and disturb Ji Wu Jiu. Though, Ji Wu Jiu does not consider this as a disturbance, and to be honest, he thinks the way Ye Zhen Zhen thinks is very miraculous, can think of what others normally won¡¯t think of, and most of them makes him surprise, in a good way. For an example, this time; When planning the strategy to go against Tu Lu Fan, besides using the general to fight them on the surface, Ji Wu Jiu also wanted to set traps for them to fall into. ¡°Tu Lu Fan will most probably attack Dun Huang, this place is located on the west of Da Qi, so as long as we guard the route from Ha Mi to Dun Huang, then we can trap them there¡± Ji Wu Jiu explained. ¡°Then what about Da Da? They will attack Xuan Fu or Da Tong?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen asked. ¡°Da Tong¡± ¡°Why are you so sure?¡± ¡°Have you forgotten? The main general in Da Tong is Li Xu, this person is very good in attacking, but not good in defending, very brave but not smart¡± Ji Wu Jiu said, stopped a while and continued ¡°such a great loophole¡± This person is too cunning, Ye Zhen Zhen thinks. Suddenly an idea came to her mind, she said ¡°actually if we know where they will pass by for sure, we don¡¯t necessarily use army to defend against them. We can bury some bomb on their route, and bomb them¡± Ji Wu Jiu nodded, upon hearing her words ¡°this is a good idea¡± ¡°Furthermore, the best would be if this bomb does not require people to light up manually, as long as they step on it, then they should be blasted apart¡± Ye Zhen Zhen added. The more he thinks about it, the more Ji Wu Jiu thinks that this idea is workable, and immediately called the arm power makers to discuss about the possibility, Ye Zhen Zhen was listening by the side, and occasionally add her ideas. At the same time, Zhang Feng also brought along a good news, the multiple shot gun has been tested and it was very successful, a few days later he will submit in an official request to mass produce this gun, once the emperor approves. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s eyes shimmered when she heard about this, and looked at Ji Wu Jiu earnestly. Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s got soft hearted by the way she looked at him, so he asked for another gun for her, but of course only the gun, no bullets. *** Recently, towards Ji Wu Jiu, the empress dowager seems to understand him less. Her son, since last time has never dote on any woman fully, but now, he has slept in Kun Ning Palace every night for almost a month now. Not sure what that little demon did what to the emperor, making him almost not recognizing his own mother. Therefore the empress dowager decided to advice Ji Wu Jiu and reminded him to rain fairly. Results was, Ji Wu Jiu, not giving her any face replied her ¡°mother, you worry too much, the empress is my wife, the relationship between us is very good, mother you should be happy for us instead¡± Using this type of words to shut the empress dowager¡¯s mouth is still quite useful, because in status, only Ye Zhen Zhen is the most suitable to be with Ji Wu Jiu, and only her have the advantage to keep the emperor to herself, she is the main wife afterall. Of course, Ji Wu Jiu understands what is to rain fairly, before knowing Ye Zhen Zhen, he has always been like that, but now there is a little problem, no matter which woman he goes with will also end up with him thinking that the person under him is Ye Zhen Zhen, this makes him think that he himself has some sort of illness too. But, to so frantically only wanting that one woman¡¯s body, most probably it really is some type of illness. However, no matter what, towards this type of issue, Ji Wu Jiu decided to follow his heart, what he wishes to do, he will do. And the thing that he wants to do the most now, is to make Ye Zhen Zhen his. Although the progress is not too smooth now, but at least she does not reject his touches anymore, sometimes when he gets a little more intimate, she will also accept. Also, at night when he sleeps with Ye Zhen Zhen in his arms, it was a good feeling too, his sleeping quality was very good too. After she falls asleep he can still be more intimate, to satisfy his needs dryly¡­ If worst comes to worst, when his little brother can¡¯t take it anymore, he will¡­.. uhm¡­ you know¡­ Though this type of night life looks like someone is truly ill, but Ji Wu Jiu is happy. He thinks that he and Ye Zhen Zhen are living the life of an old couple, waking up together, sitting together, eating together, although the conversations between them are not many, but they seem to know what the other is thinking about and are very compatible. The above was all along only Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s one sided thinking. Ye Zhen Zhen did not realze what he does to her. Recently she was studying about the Nu Zhen Tribe most of them time reading books. Ji Wu Jiu asks her why she is studying about them, she answers ¡°knowing your enemy, will never lose against them¡± Ji Wu Jiu thought it was funny ¡°you will not be required to be in the front line, to know about the enemy would not be under your job as well¡± Ye Zhen Zhen answered ¡°it is still best to understand more, who knows if one day it might be useful¡± Ji Wu Jiu thought that what she said made sense, so he also went over to study together. The both of them were next to each other studying the same book, and would occasionally lift up their heads to speak a sentence or two, to discuss abit. Both of them, one red dress, another yellow robe, when they are squeezed next to one another, it looked like a plate of tomato fried egg. Su Feng will come in quietly to help them change or refill their tea, and steal a look at the both of them. The male is handsome, the female is full of vibrant, like a pair of god and goddess from the heaven, and on earth it would not be possible to find another pair. The candle lights shining upon their face and body, under this warm light, it was almost like a very nice drawing. This was truly a pair of match made in heaven, Su Feng thinks in her heart. *** The empress dowager did not manage to get Ji Wu Jiu to visit other women, so she decided to take another route, to start with the people beside him. She first called upon Feng You De. Actually, Feng You De towards the emperor doting only on the Empress, has his own thoughts as well. If the emperor found out that he is not able to¡­ in that matter, instead of letting all the woman know, it would be better if only the empress alone knew. Feng You De was contemplating, not sure if he should inform this matter to the empress dowager. The emperor is very prideful, and the empress is very young and thin skinned, so she wouldn¡¯t tell anyone as well, if the both of them were to drag this matter, then the emperor¡¯s illness would not be able to be cured, this time around, why not we let the empress dowager make the decision. Therefore Feng You De only said this to the empress dowager ¡°The dragon seed is weak¡± The empress dowager was shocked, this was not a small issue, one must understand that until today, the emperor still do not have a single child, at such a young age, he is already¡­. Surely there must be a way to cure !! But only to rely on Feng You De¡¯s saying, the empress dowager does not really believe fully, so she asked the imperial doctors, to find out about the emperor¡¯s health. ¡°Replying to your majesty, the emperor is very healthy, empress dowager, you do not have to worry¡± Doctor Tie replied. The empress dowager purposely tried to shake him ¡°you still think I don¡¯t know? If you guys dared to lie in front of me and delay in curing the emperor, I will definitely not forgive you all!¡± Looks like the emperor¡¯s little brother being pulled was made known to the empress dowager, Doctor Tie thinks for a while, and replied ¡°replying to your majesty, the emperor really injured the dragon root, but as long as he recuperate for a while, he will definitely recover properly¡± Hurt his dragon root! The empress dowager eye¡¯s flipped and fainted. Doctor Tie, checked the empress dowager, and she also slowly got up. Doctor Tie knows that she is like this because she is truly worried about the emperor, so he patiently explained Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s situation to her in detail, and the empress dowager only thought that he was lying to console her, and felt even worse after listening to him. So the empress dowager decided to not mention about raining fairly to Ji Wu Jiu at this moment, in order to rain fairly, one must first have rain. News cannot be hidden, soon almost everyone in the inner palace, started to gossip with the little facts they know, and concluded.. The emperor¡­ he can¡¯t¡­. This news in within three days has been quietly distributed throughout the whole palace, Kun Ning Palace¡¯s servants also know about it, Su Yue tried to ask Ye Zhen Zhen about it, and what she got as an answer was Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s cluelessness. Su Yue was speechless, and asked bluntly ¡°niang niang, the emperor, can or can not?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± ¡°NIang NIang!, You need to know, you must know!¡± ¡°Ok, I will go ask him later¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Su Yue thought Ye Zhen Zhen was just joking. She was thinking, if the empress don¡¯t know whether he can perform or not, that means the emperor did not touch her, and the emperor to stay here every night but did not touch her, it concludes to this¡­ the rumors are true. Today, afternoon, Ji Wu Jiu once again went to Kun Ning Palace to eat, after eating he asked for tea. Su Feng¡¯s tea brewing skills are the best in the inner palace. Ji Wu Jiu found out, no matter from which point, Ye Zhen Zhen seems to be enjoying life better than him the emperor. Ye Zhen Zhen ordered everyone to go out and said ¡°Your majesty, they all said that you cannot perform¡± ¡°Pu¡ª¡° the tea that Ji Wu Jiu just sipped was spat out. He took out his handkerchief and wiped his mouth, and looked at Ye Zhen Zhen without any expression. Ye Zhen Zhen looked at him calmly, and waits for his answer. Ji Wu Jiu is not sure if he should be angry or happy, he stood up and headed towards Ye Zhen Zhen, said ¡°you close your eyes¡± Ye Zhen Zhen closed her eyes. She felt Ji Wu Jiu took her hands, and placed it on something, then that thing turned bigger and harder¡­. ¡°Truth against rumors, you come and feel it yourself, whether I can or cannot¡± Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s voice carries a hint of smile, and also seems to be suppressing something as well. Although Ye Zhen Zhen has not much experience on this matter, but she also knows what it was, she quickly withdraw her hands, and opened her eyes, and the feeling of dislike can be seen on her face. Her reaction really hurt Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s feelings, in his heart a feeling of anger was slowly growing, as well as an unstoppably desire. He thinks he will not be able to suppress it any longer. *** If we were to say that if there is anyone who do now know about the emperor not being able to perform, then that person would be Su Jie Yu. These days she is recuperating with closed doors, even Xu Cai Ren did not come to visit, and only heard later than Xu Cai Ren was demoted as Xuan Shi, and was also grounded. So when Su JIe Yu finally recovered, she went to visit Xu Xuan Shi, these two people when they meet they shared their stories and in the end, ended up crying together. Su Jie Yu then accidently touched Xu Xuan Shi¡¯s bald head, with the baby hair growing, the more she touched it the more addicted she got into touching them. Xu Xuan Shi¡¯s hair has already grown a thin layer, from far, it looked like a furry melon, So even if there was no order from Ji Wu Jiu to be grounded, she would not get out of the room as well. After visiting Xu Xuan Shi, Su Jie Yu started to think of how to get back the emperor¡¯s heart. She finally understood, there was no point in revenge, the most important thing now is still to grab a hold of the emperor After that she did something stupid, something so stupid that Ye Zhen Zhen regrets so much that she did not kill her earlier. Note: Jeng Jeng Jeng, what could that stupid thing be? Muahahaha ~ Chapter 39 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 39 SEPTEMBER 4, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 December 12th, another snow fall. The whole palace seems be covered by a pair of swan¡¯s wings, white and peaceful. The weather after the snow is extra refreshing, all the servants were attracted out to take walks and to stretch their bodies. At the eastern side of the palace, there is a small garden called Luo Chun Yuan, according to the stories, it seems an emperor has built this garden for a concubine that he liked last time. This place is rather secluded, also simple and small, there are some plants here but not as interesting as the imperial garden¡¯s, so there are very little people that head over here. But there is a small pavilion here called Fu Wang Pavilion, very well built. This pavilion is built on top of a man made hill, quite spacious inside, and also is considered the tallest place in the inner palace, when one stands in this pavilion, you would be able to see the entire inner palace. Looking at the people walking around in the palace, Ji Wu Jiu will have this feeling of being able grasp everything under his control, almost like he is the one that can decide all their fates. Why do people love power so much? Because with power, you will gain control, to be able to control the life and death of many people, will help them gain security and accomplishment. Men, from the very moment they were a monkey, they have already been separated according to status, to obtain power. This fact has been driven into their blood and bones, after thousands and thousands of years, it is still so. That is why, to fight for power or control is born within any males. It is just that some people are restricted by certain conditions, and will reduce their capability to fight for power. Ji Wu Jiu is standing on the highest peak of the Da Qi empire, to objectively discuss about his conditions, it is formed by finance, army, science, population, and others, if to say that he is also at the highest position of power in the whole mankind, it is not wrong to say so as well. To stand on the place he is at now, he has already been forced to be involved in any sorts of power struggle, to scheme and plan against others, full of experience, and also smarter than the rest, even Ye Xiu Ming and Fang Xiu Qing, this two current ministers are also being controlled by him, he really is a very capable little rascal. This also caused a very sever outcome: He is used to scheming and trapping people to keep them under his control. However, in this world not everything can be controlled by him, and also not everything or matter can be schemed upon. A very long time later, Ji Wu Jiu will frequently think back, if he had understood those principles, then there would not be so many obstacles that happened. *** Knowing that Ji Wu Jiu will occasionally go to Fu Wang Pavilion to look at the people under him, is not many, Su Jie Yu who has been with him for many years, would be one of them. That is why, not too long after Ji Wu Jiu stood at Fu Wang Pavilion, Su Jie Yu came up. She was personally carrying a tray, with 2 big cups with cover on top; Fan Chun was following her at the back, after reaching, she placed two fox seat covers on to the stone chairs there. Su Jie Yu put down her tray, massaged her arms, smiled and said gently ¡°Your majesty, it is very cold here, drink a cup of hot tea to warm yourself up¡± Ji Wu Jiu sat next to the stone table, Su Jie Yu opened up one of the cups, inside there was another cup of tea being warmed up with hot water, so much water, it must have been hard for her to carry it up. She dried up the smaller tea cup, and with both her hands she placed it in front of Ji Wu Jiu. When it comes to being gentle and caring, Xian Concubine carries it best with her mouth, while Su Jie Yu carries it best with her hands. It has been years, how many faults has she made, how many people has she angered, till Ye Zhen Zhen entered the palace did she only face many challenges, that is because she always has the capability to soften Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s heart. With this cold weather, what is needed is none other than a cup of hot tea to warm up. Ji Wu Jiu took the tea, and take a look at the tea, the colour was reddish, smells very nice, it was Shi Qi Red tea. This type of red tea has a nickname ¡°Qun Fang Zui¡±, it is a type of famous tea, every year the best tea will be sent into the palace for the imperial family. This type of red tea is not the best, but Ji Wu Jiu really likes the colour and smell, that is why this time Su Jie Yu really provided what he liked, seeing that after smelling it Ji Wu Jiu took a sip, she finally calmed down. Then, someone else climbed up as well. Ye Zhen Zhen was dressed up like a fur seller by Su Yue again. She was holding a heater in her hands, on her head she was wearing a fox hat, and when she saw Ji Wu Jiu and Su Jie Yu in the pavilion, she immediately turned around and tried to leave. Ji Wu Jiu called her ¡°Empress, why not come and sit together?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen didn¡¯t want to bother about them initially, but afraid that Su Jie Yu will scheme something, so she sat down at the side. Perhaps the flogging that she received was still in her mind, when Su Jie Yu saw Ye Zhen Zhen, she appeared to be not at ease. ¡°I did not know that the empress would be coming over, so I have only prepared 2 cups of tea, I hope you forgive me¡± ¡°She brought her own¡± Ji Wu Jiu saw Wang You Cai holding a big cup. He knew what was held inside that cup, it was her Da Hong Pao. (another type of red tea, Chinese tea¡­ has tooooo many types) The most authentic Da Hong Pao, is from Wu Yi Mountain, and the trees are very tall, monkeys are trained to pick this tea, and requires many steps to produce, and this creates high grade Da Hong Pao tea. This type of tea, every year it only produces not more than 1kg, and all are to be submitted to the palace for Ji Wu Jiu, and can be said that it is the emperor within the teas. Few days ago, Ji Wu Jiu gave some to Ye Zhen Zhen, Su feng used milk to cook the tea, and strained the tea leaves, and added some milk, warmed it up and gave to Ye Zhen Zhen to drink. Ye Zhen Zhen liked this type of milk tea the most, Ji Wu Jiu does not like the smell of milk, so after trying one time, he does not drink it anymore. But, he likes to see Ye Zhen Zhen drinking them. When she drinks the milk tea, some will be left on her lips, then subconsciously she will use her tongue and lick one round, and every time she does it, Ji Wu Jiu will feel his throat tighten. Therefore, he took all his beloved Da Hong Pao tea and gave it all to Ye Zhen Zhen. Su Feng gave Ye Zhen Zhen a small cup of milk tea, and after drinking it, as usual Ye Zhen Zhen will lick her lips, and did not realize Ji Wu Jiu was looking at her. Suddenly, she heard Su Jie Yu screamed ¡°Your majesty, becareful!¡± Seeing carefully, someone actually came up from the back of the pavilion, holding a sword aiming at JI Wu Jiu. Su Jie Yu was seating next to Ji Wu Jiu, when Ye Zhen Zhen heard her scream, Su Jie Yu already rush over to block the back of Ji Wu Jiu. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s reaction was very fast, with a twist of her wrist, her cup fly out, and it flew towards the assassin, the assassin then use his sword to block, and missing his opportunity, Ji Wu Jiu has already stood up and was fighting against him. Ye Zhen Zhen saw that the assassin was wearing guard¡¯s cloths and felt that something is not right. Although the assassin is now going against Ji Wu Jiu that has no weapon on hand, it was still very hard to win over Ji Wu Jiu, and very soon was at the losing end. Ye Zhen Zhen wants to capture him alive, so she also joined in the fight. With the both of them together, the opponent has no way of wining, and was hit by Ji Wu Jiu, and when he was almost going to fall of the pavilion, this man made hill is very tall, and people falling down from here, will definitely die. Ye Zhen Zhen without thinking, rushed over to catch him. Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s heart almost leapt out from its place, caught her wrist and pulled her back, perhaps he was shocked so the strength he used was very strong, both of the people was pulled back. The assassin fell onto the floor, holding his injured part, coughing non stop, Feng You De and Wang You Cai, rushed over and removed his weapon, and held him down. ¡°You are crazy!¡± Ji Wu Jiu reprimanded Ye Zhen Zhen angrily. Ye Zhen Zhen saw that the assassin¡¯s jaw moved a little, and shouted ¡°Do not let him suicide!¡± Ji Wu Jiu with quick moved walked over, one leg stepping on the assassin¡¯s shoulder, raising his feet a little, aiming at his lower jaw and kick it a little, and what could be heard next was a Ka Ca sound and the assassin¡¯s jaw has been dislocated. Feng You De search his mouth, and took out a small black packaging, on it there was 2 teeth marks. What is inside is most probably poison. He wanted to bite through the packaging, but did not make it in time. Ye Zhen Zhen finally let out a breath. The guards below immediately rushed over and took the assassin away. Ye Zhen Zhen asked, while following from behind them ¡°Do you guys know him?¡± ¡°Replying to your majesty, he is a third rank guard, Kang Cheng Lu¡± Then Ye Zhen Zhen ordered them ¡°Guard him properly, make sure he does not have the opportunity to commit suicide!¡± Su Jie Yu finally came back from being scared, and climbed into the arms of Ji Wu Jiu to cry. Ji Wu Jiu did not push her away. With one hand he held onto Su Jie Yu, and looked at Ye Zhen Zhen, ¡°why are you afraid that he will suicide?¡± ¡°I am scared of not having any evidence¡± Ye Zhen Zhen replied. ¡°Why are you scared of not having any evidence?¡± Ji Wu Jiu asked again. Ye Zhen Zhen thought that Ji Wu Jiu is very bothersome, so she did not reply him and asked to leave. After returning to Kun Ning Palace, she is still worried. If assassins appeared in the palace, then Lu Li will not be able to run off from the responsibility of not doing his work properly, there could also be people that will say that the assassin is working with Lu Li, and if it continues so, then most probably Lu Family and Ye Family will be involved as well. Ye Xiu Ming is a minister that has served three dynasties and teacher to two emperors, he can be said to be not afraid of any crime accusations, however there is one accusation that even him can¡¯t take, that would be treason. Not to mention his status with the imperial family is very sensitive, if he were to be blamed to treason, some people would actually believe. That time, Ji Wu Jiu would not need to do anything, the whole nation¡¯s saliva would be able to drown Ye Xiu Ming. Actually what Ye Zhen Zhen is afraid of is, Ji Wu Jiu purposely change the facts from white to black. He is the emperor, and wary of the Ye family for a long time now, if this time he used it as an opportunity to get rid of the entire Ye Family, it would not be a hard thing to do. Ye Zhen Zhen got more afraid as she thinks about it, the room is actually warm, but she still felt cold throughout. Cannot be like this, must be able to find the true criminal before Ji Wu Jiu do anything! Thinking till this part, Ye Zhen Zhen found out a loop hole: Why does the assassin want to kill Ji Wu Jiu? To kill the emperor so openly like this, either there is a deep hatred towards the emperor, or he wants to treason. When Ji Wu Jiu was coronated, he has pardoned the country once, and when he got married, he did it again, he did not do any cruel things, even if he has to kill someone, those who are killed are big criminals and deserves to die, so to kill someone that was innocent, this possibility is very low. To say treason, that it would be very weird. To commit treason, there is two ways, one is the citizens calling for a revolution, another would fighting over the throne. Now the days are peaceful, the citizens are living well, who would even bother to go start a revolution. As for the throne, if one wants to fight for it, the first part you must be a person that is qualified to take over the throne. The empire must be passed on to someone that has the bloodline, Ji Wu Jiu not to mention brothers, even a sister also he doesn¡¯t have, and those at the side are too far, no one is eyeing at the throne as well. Wanting to kill the emperor? Ok, fine, then who would be the emperor after killing him? Do you think you can become if you wish to be? Who would be willing to accept you simply? Ye Zhen Zhen found out that she fell into a black hole again. Not to mention to find out the real mastermind, for her now to find out the motive of killing the emperor also she is not sure¡­ Wait¡­ kill ¡­ kill?¡­ If ¡­.The main motive is not to kill people? A door seems to have opened infront of Ye Zhen Zhen. She thought of how Su Jie Yu trying to block the attack of the assassin and how smooth her actions were. Su Jie Yu, a weak woman, that never practiced the martial arts before, how can her reaction be quicker than her, and Ji Wu Jiu? The assassin was behind Ji Wu Jiu and Su Jie Yu, in order to see the assassin, she must first turn back, if there was nothing why did Su Jie Yu turned back? Also, the place that the assassin appeared was directly opposite Ye Zhen Zhen, if to say the first person to spot the assassin, then it should have been her wouldn¡¯t it? Also, for a cowardly, unskilled, slow reaction woman, to see someone jump out from no where, the first reaction shouldn¡¯t it be just mindless scream? How can she skipped this step and immediately guard Ji Wu Jiu? How can she be so sure that the assassins target is going to be Ji Wu Jiu? All this coincidence fall onto a line now, Ye Zhen Zhen finally found a possible and logical answer: Su JIe Yu got crazy from trying to gain the emperor¡¯s favor, not sure who¡¯s idea did she get it from, or perhaps it was her own plan, and in the end she did such a foolish plan, wanting to act out a scene, using the method of saving Ji Wu Jiu to gain his favor again. If it really was no, then Su Jie Yu is really stupid to no extend. The plan might look like it could work, and if it were successful, then it would definitely make her climb up her posts again, but has she never think about it failing? If it was exposed, then there would be unlimited people involved. This was trying to kill the emperor, who cares if it was real or not, it was definitely unforgivable, if really exposed, then General Su will definitely not be saved, even the entire Su Family would also be required to be used as a wager. Therefore, it is very important to get the criminal to admit to the crimes when he is alive, and not let this matter implicate the Ye Family. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s mind was only full of these thoughts while she walk back and forth in her room. Note: Ladies and gentlemen ~ that was the stupid thing that Su Jie Yu did¡­¡­ Chapter 40 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 40 SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 The emperor was attempted assassination, all ministers were silent initially. When they heard that the assassin was an imperial guard, then discussions were made. Now a days, many people has remained distances with Ye Xiu Ming without any traces, because they don¡¯t know how the emperor will treat him later on. Ye Xiu Ming and Lu Li is not involved directly, so he did not hide themselves from people, and did what he was supposed to do. Although on his face he did not show any anything, but inside he is calculating what to do. To be honest, Ye Xiu Ming actually suspect on whether or not Ji Wu Jiu arranged for this act himself. Now the assassin is being locked up in jail, and no one can enter without imperial edict; Lu Li was also grounded at home and watched by a few guards. Also due to reasons, the women of the Ye Family are not allowed to enter the palace, and so they cannot get news from Ye Zhen Zhen. Therefore the Ye Xiu Ming now is a bit thrown of balance. Actually inside the palace, Ye Zhen Zhen is also equally thrown of balance. Although she is rather confident with her guess, but¡­. There is no evidence. Now cousin brother is being grounded, if the crime is made true¡­ she really can¡¯t think of what would happen. No, she can¡¯t stay here and just keep thinking about it, first she will meet with Su Jie Yu. Ye Zhen Zhen brought along enough people, and went to Lu Hua Palace. Su Jie Yu, because of blocking for Ji Wu Jiu that time, has brought upon some attention from him to her, but Ye Zhen Zhen could not detect any happiness from her, but instead she was appearing a bit scared. This has helped justify Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s guess further. Since the guard did not die on time, Su Jie Yu was afraid the guard will sell her out. Ordering everyone to leave the room, Ye Zhen Zhen said ¡°I was very curious, what did you give to Kang Cheng Lu, that made him willing to die¡± Su Jie Yu¡¯s hands clenched on to her sleeves ¡°Niang niang, I am not sure what you are talking about¡± ¡°Don¡¯t act, you are not an actress, your acting skills are very bad¡± ¡°Niang Niang, did you misunderstood something? If I have been rude to you before, I first apologize to you, and if you are still angry, then feel free to punish me, but this type of accusation, I cannot accept¡± ¡°Su Jie Yu, aren¡¯t you afraid of involving General Su?¡± ¡°I did nothing wrong, so I am not afraid¡± Ye Zhen Zhen blinked and looked at her ¡°It looks like I need to force it out of you¡± Su Jie Yu shivered ¡°niang niang, you¡­ what do you want to do?¡¯ ¡°What I want to do?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen lift her eyebrows, with a cold smile ¡°few days ago I managed to obtained a very interesting book, called ¡°Ancient Torture Log¡±, right in time for me to learn about it from Su Jie Yu¡± Su Jie Yu pitiful looked behind Ye Zhen Zhen, with a tone of crying she called out ¡°Your Majesty¡± and ran towards his arms. Ye Zhen Zhen turned back, and saw Ji Wu Jiu patting Su Jie Yu¡¯s shoulders, and looking at Ye Zhen Zhen asked ¡°What did the empress want to learn from Su Jie Yu?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen haven¡¯t answer, Su Jie Yu spoke first ¡°Your Majesty!, the empress want to torture me.. niang niang said, it was me that causes Lieutenant Lu to be framed, and wanted to make sure I will not beg to live or can¡¯t beg to die. But I really don¡¯t know what did I do wrong. Your Majesty, can you please ask the empress, to properly explain herself, so that even if I were to die, I will know the reason!¡± While saying these she was crying, with tears that comes on demand. Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s eyebrows twitched the moment he heard the word ¡°Lieutenant Lu¡±, He pushed Su Jie Yu away ¡°you leave first¡± The two of them were left inside the room, Ji Wu Jiu walked to Ye Zhen Zhen, and looked at her face, with a heavy tone he said, ¡°To torture the imperial concubines? Because of him, you can do anything¡± Ye Zhen Zhen took a deep breath, looked up at him ¡°Your majesty, I do not believe that you did not find the loopholes for this case. Su Jie Yu is a suspect, I want to interrogate her, there is nothing wrong¡± Ji Wu Jiu did not say anything. ¡°Or to say, you actually wanted to use this opportunity to flood where you wish?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen scoffed. ¡°Is that how you see me? To be willing to turn white to black, using any type of method?¡± Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s voice carries a upcoming anger burst. Ye Zhen Zhen replied ¡°Is it not?¡± ¡°If so, then I should not let the empress be disappointed¡± ¡°You..!¡± Ye Zhen Zhen gritted her teeth, her chest heaving up and down due to anger, ¡°I will definitely investigate this case properly, and will not let any innocent people be bullied¡± ¡°I cannot wait¡± Outside, Su Jie Yu was standing in the garden, wanted to eavesdrop but didn¡¯t dare to, shen then tried stretching her neck to listen to what¡¯s happening inside, but did not manage to hear their voices, she was a bit disappointed. Suddenly, the door opened loudly from inside, Ye Zhen Zhen came out angrily and without even sparing a glance at Su Jie Yu, she left. Ji Wu Jiu was standing at the door, looking at her back figure, his expression was very bad as well. Su Jie Yu then got a little happy from other¡¯s disaster. She walked to Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s side and gently called ¡°Your majesty¡±. Ji Wu Jiu held on to her arms and with a very gentle voice he called her ¡°Rou Zhi: Su Jie Yu hearing him calling her her real name, she felt abit sweet in her heart ¡°I am here¡± ¡°General Su spend his life in the warfare, for the country, I really do not wish at the end of the day all he gets was to be appointed the title of treason¡± Ji Wu Jiu said, and pushed her hands away. This word was like a sky of lighting shooting down, Su Jie Yu¡¯s face turned pale ¡°Your.. your.. ma.. majesty¡­.¡± ¡°Therefore, you decide what to do¡± After that, Ji Wu Jiu did not look at her, and left. His steps were slow, his back was straight, a long shadow was stretched on the floor due to the sunset, adding on the messy tree branches, it made him appear to be a bit down. Su JIe Yu¡¯s body loss its strength, slowly sliding down the floor along with the door sill, eyes lacking of vigor. *** In front of Ji Wu Jiu there was a sword. It was a normal sword, made by the arm forces department. The blade of the sword is silvery white, but under the light, if you were to flip it around, you will be able to catch a glimpse of greenish light. Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s fingers were gently knocking on the table top, gaze falling upon the sword, in deep thoughts. How can he not see through Su Jie Yu¡¯s plan. He knew, all the woman in the palace is scheming, in front of him doing all sorts of shows, in order to please him, in order to get him favor, in order to fool him, to control him¡­ Except¡­ for her.. Except for Ye Zhen Zhen. She has never schemed anything on him, because she has never bothered about him. In her eyes, in her heart, there is no place for him. Every time he thinks about this, he gets angrier than getting schemed by the rest, a layer of fire is enveloping his body, and the layer is getting thicker, sooner or later, it would be uncontrollable and erupt. Lu Li. Ji Wu Jiu realized that this name is stucked in his throat like a thorn, cannot be swallowed or removed, and when touched, he will feel very bad and his temper will rise. In his whole life, this was the first time Ji Wu Jiu wished that someone will vanish in this world, to thoroughly vanish. That night, the emperor brought along a sword to Kun Ning Palace. Feng You De¡¯s heart was kept in caution, not daring to calm down at all. He called all the secret guards, and at night, a group of men was all huddling on top of the roof or under windows of the empress¡¯s palace, really unsightly. That is also because there is no other choices. Feng You De¡¯s worst case scenario that he thought would happen, did not happen, the emperor did not go to get the life of the empress. He only slammed the sword on the table, and said to Ye Zhen Zhen ¡°This is the sword used by the assassin that day, there is poison on it¡± Ye Zhen Zhen immediately sat up straight, with a serious face, upon hearing those words. His reaction made Ji Wu Jiu feel a little better, he said ¡°therefore, he really wanted to kill me¡±. Ye Zhen Zhen closed her eyes ¡°Your Majesty, I could not think of the reason of why the assassin wants to kill you, but I can think of the reason of why you would put poison on the sword¡± ¡°¡­.¡± She does not believe him, she does not believe him. She has never been worried about his life or death. All her worries goes only to Lu Li, and only left suspicions towards Ji Wu Jiu. Ji Wu Jiu suddenly felt his heart was super cold. Suppressing the anger that was coming up, he coldly said ¡°Ye Zhen Zhen don¡¯t tell me you have forgotten, who is your man¡± Ye Zhen Zhen upon hearing those words also got angry ¡°My man will not everyday think of ways to harm my whole family!¡± ¡°I have never thought of harming your family¡± Ji Wu Jiu looked at her, his eyes was like ice that was buried under thousand years of snow, so cold that it can cut through bones. He added ¡°But if the empress keeps forcing me, I really don¡¯t mind to try¡± Seeing her expression change from his words, Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s heart can¡¯t help but feel sad again. :If so, then your majesty will you let me meet the assassin?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen asked. ¡°Up to you¡± *** The next day, Ye Zhen Zhen was carrying his edict to meet with the criminal. Kang Cheng Lu is a big criminal, he was locked in a special steel cage, making it not possible to escape. He was tied to a steel post, on his gray clothes there were streaks of blood. Although he was tortured earlier, he was still awake. When he saw Ye Zhen Zhen, he could still smile ¡°greetings to the empress, please forgive me for not being able to kneel to pay my respects¡± Ye Zhen Zhen asked ¡°why did you want to kill the emperor?¡± ¡°This question, has been asked by many people, what your majesty thinks the reason is, then be it so¡± ¡°What Su Jie Yu gave you, I can give you 10 times, as long as you are willing to tell out the whole story¡± ¡°Your majesty, I think you should not waste your energy. The days I have left is very little, even if I have a back as big as the sky, I will not have the chance to enjoy them¡± To try to assassin the emperor, whether he fess up to the crime or not, he will still have to die. ¡°I do not know what reasons that you cannot say, but do you know this time, how many people will be involved into this case? And how many more people that will have to give up their lives?¡± ¡°Thanks for the reminder, I have remembered something¡± Kang Cheng Lu looked down, the days he spent in this steel cage has made him one round thinner, his skin is wrapped tightly on to his bones. Perhaps his body was in deep pain, when he speaks his voice was not stable ¡°yesterday someone met me, promising to keep me alive, and ask me to frame Lieutenant Lu and Minister Ye. I know I committed grave mistake, but Lieutenant Lu has always treated me well, so no matter what i will not frame him even if it costs my life. Even so, it doesn¡¯t mean that, that person would not try other ways to frame him, what I can do is up to here, I hope you will be strong niang niang. I have commited such a big mistake, and involved Lieutenant Lu, and will not be able to repay this life, I hope in my next life I will be able to pay back¡± Ye Zhen Zhen was getting anxious and angry as she hears his words. This person really knew how to excuse himself, thinking that he can repay his mistakes in his next life. But he can still be considered someone that is good, since he did not blame others in order to save himself. Then, who was the person that wanted to buy him up? The answer was too obvious. That person that can bring an edict along to enter the jail and to be able to save guard his life, and whole heartedly only wanted to frame Lu Li and Ye Family¡­ besides Ji Wu Jiu, who else could it be? Ye Zhen Zhen returned to Kun Ning Palace in deep thoughts. JI Wu Jiu really wants to start, she does not know what she should do. She realized, that actually if he really wanted to, she really can¡¯t do anything to defend, and can only beg. Although now Kang Cheng Lu did not comply, but that person doesn¡¯t seem to be trustable as well, if rounds and rounds of torture was placed upon him, who knows how long his bones will be hard. Su Jie Yu, right there is still Su Jie Yu, must open her mouth! Ye Zhen Zhen suddenly stood up ¡°Lets go to Lu Hua Palace¡± Lu Hua Palace was already in a mess. When Ye Zhen Zhen rushed to Lu Hua Palace, she was nearly knocked over by a maid servant, Wang You Cai¡¯s reaction was fast, and pushed the maid servant, making her fall to the floor. The maid servant immediately kneeled and apologized to Ye Zhen Zhen ¡°What happened!¡± ¡°Replying to your majesty, Su Jie Yu was poisoned to death, I was on the way to Kun Ning Palace to report¡± Ye Zhen Zhen rushed in, and saw Su Jie Yu¡¯s body has already harden, and not sure what type of poison did she took, there was no signs of her being poison on the body, her face was still red, with a pretty appearance, almost like she was just in a deep sleep. Even Su Jie Yu died, one more step, the whole Ye Family will be gone for. Ye Zhen Zhen felt as though her soul has flied off, she said at the bed side of Su Jie Yu and stared at the body. After a while, the imperial doctor arrived, and found out that the in Su Jie Yu¡¯s tea there was poison. Ye Zhen Zhen also did not bother to ask on further. After a while, Feng You De arrived, bringing along Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s edict, and praised Su Jie Yu, and gave her back the title of concubine, and was to be buried according to the rank. She was still someone that you favored upon, now that she is dead, you did not even bother to come and see her, not sure if your heart is cold or you are feeling guilty. It seems that an emperor¡¯s heart is indeed hard. Ye Zhen Zhen was thinking and laughed coldly. Note: Sigh, the trust between the both of the main characters are not yet built.. they still don¡¯t believe one another, she thought he was trying his best to bring Ye Family down, he thought she loves Lu Li, when she was only thinking about the family as whole.. Sad chapter as well, a character has ended her part of the story¡­ Next chapter¡­ is full of angst.. so I am planning to get chapter 41 and 42 out together.. maybe today or maybe tomorrow.. gotta go get some work done first =D Chapter 41 Empress with No Virtue ¨C Chapter 41 SEPTEMBER 8, 2015 ~ LAMLAM1990 Hello, initially i wanted to post 2 chapters in a go, but today i won¡¯t have time anymore, and since i have completed this chapter yesterday, i will post it up first. The next chapter will come tomorrow¡­ Hehe.. sorry just couldn¡¯t find the time to get chapter 42 done.. but i am sure u guys will re ¨C read this chapter.. =X Please read the following chapter at your own risk, will contain angst and some adult scenes. Ji Wu Jiu regretted saying those words towards Ye Zhen Zhen. She has already suspected him from the start, and for him to purposely say those words, he is afraid that she will only suspect him more. All in all, it was becasuse she has never believed him in the first place. Most probably ever since she entered the palace, she has always been wary of him, afraid that he will harm her, or harm her maternal family. This time, he was only afraid that she will think too much. Ji Wu Jiu was getting reckless. It was not that he has never thought of bringing Ye Family down, even he wants to, it will never be using this type of method. No matter what, Ye Xiu Ming was once his teacher, he would not be such so cold hearted to give the name of treason towards Ye Xiu Ming. That is why, it will be best if he were to discuss it properly with her. With this intention in mind, Ji Wu Jiu reached Kun Ning Palace. Facing a candle light, Ye Zhen Zhen was sitting while holding her chin with her hands in a daze, her eyes were rather bright, but her face was full of worries. Ji Wu Jiu did not allow anyone to announce his arrival. Upon seeing Ye Zhen Zhen looking like that, his heart softened, walking towards her he held her shoulders down, and said ¡°Zhen Zhen, we should stop fighting¡± Ye Zhen Zhen raised her eyes, and coldly looked at him ¡°Your majesty, you are very cunning¡± Not understanding why, he sat opposite her and asked ¡°Empress, kindly explain?¡± ¡°Su Jie Yu was awarded death by you right?¡± ¡°She decided herself, both you and me understood this point well. If she does not commit suicide, the entire Su Family would definitely be implicated¡± ¡°So, it meant that she killed herself due to the crime? That means this case should come to an end soon, when will you sentence Kang Cheng Lu?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen asked eagerly. JI Wu Jiu looked down for a while and answered ¡°The truth cannot be exposed now, and Kang Cheng Lu also won¡¯t die yet¡± ¡°That is right, the time to use him has not arrived¡± Ye Zhen Zhen sarcastically said. Taking a deep breath Ji Wu Jiu, while telling himself that he must remain calm, he said ¡°you think too much, I do not plan to use Kang Cheng Lu for anything, it is just that this is a very complicated plan, Su Jie Yu was also used by others. That assassin¡¯s sword has poison, very deadly. He really wanted to kill me¡± He stopped at this point and took a look at Ye Zhen Zhen, and saw that her face was full of disbelief. Not sure why but in his heart the fire in heart can no longer be suppressed and was leaking out. Ye Zhen Zhen scoffed ¡°Then, someone taking an edict to enter the jail, and tried to lure Kang Cheng Lu by promising to protect his life, and in exchange to make him say that the mastermind is Lu and Ye family, what do you think of this matter then, your majesty?¡± Ji Wu Jiu felt that he was really going to erupt soon, his hands were curled into a tight fist, and because he was using a lot of strength, his fists are starting to shiver, he gritted his teeth and said ¡°I will only ask you one thing. I was nearly killed by an assassin, did you even feel a tiny bit of worry over me?¡± ¡°I will also only ask you this, this time what would it take for you to not harm Lu and Ye Family?¡± Ji Wu Jiu suddenly laughed. His laughter was quiet, and his face was cold and bitter, with a hint of mockery. He stood up and slowly walked up to Ye Zhen Zhen, looked down and smiled towards her, but in his eyes there was no hint of smile at all, only eyes that were filled anger and ruthlessness. ¡°As long as you please me comfortably, who you want me to release, I will release, how about that?¡± Ye Zhen Zhen looked at him with widened eyes, her first reaction was uncertainty, then she understood, after that she got a little angry. Ji Wu Jiu almost immediately regretted what he said. His remaining rationality told him, he should not have said that, and he should not hope for her answer as well. Between him and her, it should not be this way. But, his rationality did not remain for long¡­ Ye Zhen Zhen stood up, her hands holding his shoulders, she tip toe-ed and kissed him. The expression that Ji Wu Jiu was trying his best to withhold collapsed at this very moment. In his brain, it seems that there was a strong wind blowing, a wind that blew away all his sense, and was only left with a man¡¯s most natural reaction. One of his hands locked her head¡¯s position, and another hand has wrapped around her waist, forcing her to stick to his body. Ye Zhen Zhen does not know how to kiss, so she only pressed her lips on this his, her thick and long eye lashes was shivering. JI Wu Jiu¡¯s lips were slowly taking her lips in, slowly and tantalizingly tasting them. Ye Zhen Zhen does not know what reaction she should make, and could only let him do all the work. But after a few tries of trying to get his tongue to enter her mouth, he was blocked by a set of teeth that were clenching hard. So, Ji Wu Jiu can only hold her chin and forcefully open her mouth to make her accept him. His plan worked, his strong tongue entered her mouth quickly. Tasty.. too tasty, it was hundreds and thousand of times better when comparing to what he imagined, comparing to what he dreamt of. He himself unsure of what is going on, but he used a lot of strength and using his tongue he thoroughly swept through her mouth making Ye Zhen Zhen a little pained and numb. In her heart, a feeling of disgust was creeping out again. But this time she was not worried, since she didn¡¯t eat much today, even if she were to vomit, nothing much will come out. Because her mouth was blocked, Ye Zhen Zhen was slowly losing oxygen. Ji Wu Jiu¡¯s breath was heavy, and his and her breath were released on to each other, both mixed up thoroughly, very hard to differentiate, almost seems to be combined together, and to never separate. Ji Wu Jiu has never experienced this typed of kiss before, almost like a fight, trying to fully obtain the other, and swallow them whole. Only with a kiss has made his brother grew. He felt that there was two soft object rubbing against his chest, he carried Ye Zhen Zhen up, and proceeded to the bed. When Ye Zhen Zhen was laid on to the bed, she has already completed her self-counselling session. To do this type of thing in between a married couple, it is really normal, it is just that whenever she is treated this way by Ji Wu Jiu, she will feel like vomiting, that is why she didn¡¯t like it. But now, since there is no way of avoiding it, then all she can do now is to accept it, although her stomach is really uncomfortable now, but it can be considered much better than to be tortured already. When Ji Wu Jiu was undressing Ye Zhen Zhen, his fingers were shaking, his heartbeat speed increases, his breath even heavier. He has been wanting this person for too long, until he has a feeling of it not being real at this very moment. She is mine, she really is mine now. However, at the same time, another voice seems to appear in his brain: Stop now, stop, If you don¡¯t stop now, you will definitely regret it. ¡ª¨CHow is it possible to stop now! Ji Wu Jiu lays himself on top of Ye Zhen Zhen, kisses her cheeks, eyebrows, eyes, and finally stopping at her ears, to nibble her earlobes. He thinks to himself; he needs to be more gentle, be more gentle towards Ye Zhen Zhen. Though, Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s body is stiff, and not giving any reaction or reply. He looked up, and saw on her face, the expression of disgust, her face was very painful to him, it hurt his heart. Ji Wu Jiu turned Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s body to the side, and then he went behind her and lay sideways as well. This way, he won¡¯t be seeing her expression. When Ji Wu Jiu entered Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s body, he subconsciously let out a sigh of satisfaction, though in his heart, there was a growing feeling of sadness. Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s body was straight, burrowing her heads but not moving. This round of love making, was only one sided. This thought almost made Ji Wu Jiu crazy. In his heart he hates this situation very much, tortured even. However, his body¡­. was enjoying it very much. Countless emotions and feelings were coming up, almost tearing him apart into two. One who was very much enjoying Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s warmth and another was looking at them calmly, smiling, with a look of pity and coldness. ¡°Zhen Zhen, Zhen Zhen¡­¡± Ji Wu Jiu called her name, with a husked voice. Ye Zhen Zhen did not answer him. ¡°Zhen Zhen look at me, Zhen Zhen¡± Ye Zhen Zhen still did not look up, still decided not to move. Ji Wu Jiu can only continue to call her name, again and again, until the tone changes. Ye Zhen Zhen still did not answer. When he finished, Ji Wu Jiu held on to Ye Zhen Zhen, his whole body relieved, his chin lightly brushing against her shoulders, taking in deep breaths. He turned Ye Zhen Zhen¡¯s body around, wanting to kiss her. Then, what he saw was a face full of tear stains. Ji Wu Jiu got flustered, feeling as though someone took a piece of his heart out, it was very painful. He simpley took a blanket corner and helped her wipe her tears, ¡°Zhen Zhen¡­¡± ¡°I bid farewell to you, your majesty¡± Ye Zhen Zhen closed her eyes, and turned her face away, in her voice there was a strong nasal sound. Ji Wu Jiu saw that she has made up her mind, and was afraid that she will be angry and disgusted with him. Holding on to the pain in his chest, he got down from the bed. Standing in front of the bed now, he saw that her face was not a blushing red that was supposed to be there after¡­ but instead a pale white. He covered her with a blanket and said ¡°then¡­ I will leave first, tomorrow I will come and visit you¡± With her eyes closed, Ye Zhen Zhen did not reply. When he left Kun Ning Palace, it was already late into the night, outside it has started to snow. The entire palace was quiet, with only the lanterns were lit, looking like eyes of ghosts. The snow has piled up into a thick layer, noises can be heard when movements are made. Walking towards Jiao Tai Hall, Ji Wu Jiu stopped. JI Wu Jiu looked up at Jiao Tai Hall, suddenly his body fall back, his whole body now laying on top of a pile of snow. ¡°Your Majesty!¡± Feng You De put down his lantern anxiously, and wanted to help Ji Wu Jiu up, but was stopped by a gesture made by Ji Wu Jiu. ¡°You go on ahead, I want to be alone¡± Although Feng You De is a little worried, but he still can¡¯t go against the emperor¡¯s orders. So he left the lantern with Ji Wu Jiu and went back to Gan Qing Palace first. Ji Wu Jiu was laying on the snow, with some snow starting to enter his clothes via his collar. The back of his neck is very cold now. Although there was no moon, but with the layer of white surrounding him, it was not really dark. With his eyes wide opened, he continued to lay there. He starts to think about the building behind him, thinking about the person inside that building. Thinking about her body .., thinking about her body scent, thinking about how disgusted she looked. As well as her face full of tears. He lifted his arms and covered his face, turned sideways and curled up his body. Zhen Zhen, Zhen Zhen. The energy in his body seems to be draining away, almost like something important to him is going further away from him. He does not understand. He finally obtained her, but somehow to him it was more like losing her. Note: There¡­ finally the consummation of their marriage for real¡­ but not how many would have wanted or expected it to be.. .it was really hard to translate these scenes¡­. Hmm .. >.