An Lingrong's Rebirth: The Lock of Qingqiu

"My lady, this is a letter from my brother." An Lingrong put down the spices in her hand. She had become addicted to making spices recently. She heard Qin Sanyue's surprised voice in her ears.

An Lingrong washed her hands and opened the letter. Her eyebrows rose and her eyes were filled with joy. She was right about Qin Xiaofeng and he was promoted again. However, when she replied, An Lingrong deliberately mentioned the four words "Wanpin's father". The literary inquisition was launched to contain E Min and rescue Zhen Yuandao. Invisibly, fate has linked Qin Xiaofeng and Zhen Yuandao together.

The Emperor and Concubine Wan are back to normal. Yesterday, after dinner, the Emperor put down the memorials from the Yangxin Palace and took Concubine Wan to the Imperial Garden to check out the crabapple flowers all over the ground. The weather was turning cold and it was late autumn. Many crabapple flowers had withered. The Emperor personally used a triangular shovel to crush the withered petals and leaves, dug a hole under the still living flowers, filled the hole with the broken petals and leaves to use as fertilizer.

Not far away, the maple leaves are as red as blood. When the wind blows, the maple leaves flutter down, alternating between deep red and light yellow. The scenery is picturesque. But ever since Xia Dongchun was given a slash of scarlet by Concubine Hua beside this maple tree, this whole piece of land has looked solemn and thrilling.

Wanpin looked up at the sky. It was clear and blue, with clouds and sky connected. The natural sky had become an ink painting. The palace in the distance looked even more magnificent under the sunlight.

"Wanpin, what are you looking at?" The emperor straightened his waist and asked Wanpin with a silly smile.

"Your Majesty, I feel that today is really special. With Your Majesty by my side, even the scenery around me has changed. It has become particularly moving and dazzling." Wanpin smiled sweetly, but she staggered. Fortunately, the emperor was quick-witted and supported her in time with his slender arms, and Wanpin was saved.

After the emperor's five fingers loosened from Wanpin's waist, Wanpin blushed, but found that the emperor was smiling at her foolishly. That smile had an intriguing deep meaning. Wanpin realized it, and when she lowered her head, she saw five muddy finger prints on the clean clothes around her waist. She was a person who particularly liked cleanliness, and then a feeling of discomfort surged up in her heart.

"Your Majesty, your clothes are dirty. I have to go back to the palace early to change into clean clothes. If other people in the harem see me like this, I will be laughed at again." Concubine Wan urged.

"I didn't even say that Wanpin's clothes were dirty. Who else in the palace has the guts to say that about Wanpin? It's just a trivial matter. What Wanpin should care about is my opinion, not the opinions of other people in the palace. Do you understand?" The emperor said disapprovingly. Tired of standing, he put down the triangular shovel, took a few leaves and spread them on the ground, then sat down in the flowers. Looking from the outside, only the small half of the emperor's hat could be seen sticking out of the flowers.

"Wanpin, sit down and rest for a while like me." The emperor took out a box of mung bean cakes from his arms, which made Wanpin laugh out loud again.

Wanpin whispered: "The emperor today doesn't look like an emperor, but more like Silang."

The emperor's eyes were filled with affection and smile: "Then, Wanpin, do you like the emperor more, or Silang more?"

Wanpin blushed slightly, and said in a very gentle voice: "I like Silang more."

“Hahahaha…” The emperor opened his mouth and laughed, but before he could laugh out loud, Concubine Wan covered his open mouth.

"I dare not sit on the muddy ground, for fear of dirtying my clothes." Wanpin tried hard to steady her body which was being pulled by the emperor, but she was no match for his strength and was pulled down. When she sat down, she felt the ground under her body was as soft and elastic as a ball of cotton. Wanpin jumped up as if she was stung by a bee, but was pulled down by a powerful force again.

......

"Oh, she climbed onto the dragon bed by seducing the emperor, and in the blink of an eye she was made a concubine, and even had a new palace. I never thought that a slave who served her master could also fly up to the tree and become a phoenix!"

A woman's sharp voice came from outside.

"Who is this?" the emperor asked quietly with a frown.

"Your Majesty, it's Concubine Qi." said Concubine Wan, who was forcibly pulled down and sat on the emperor's lap.

Wanpin twisted her body and tried to stick her head out to look outside, but the emperor held her down again and said, "Don't move. Have you forgotten that your clothes are dirty? I'll ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to make you a few new clothes as compensation. Oh, and I'll ask the Embroidery Court to embroider a pair of mandarin ducks on the waist of your clothes as a souvenir."

Wanpin whispered, "Your Majesty, do you like the belt that I gave you last time?"

The emperor pushed Wanpin's body outwards, lowered her body, and undressed her, causing Wanpin to blush again: "Your Majesty, there are many people watching here, please don't take off your clothes."

"Good luck to Lady Qi." A familiar voice came from outside, and Concubine Wan was immediately attracted.

"Oh, this string of pearls on your neck, isn't it Wanpin's? How shameless! As Wanpin's maid, you don't even think about Wanpin. Not only have you taken away the emperor's favor, but you are also like this..." Concubine Qi was getting more and more outrageous.

The emperor's face gradually darkened, his eyes were full of murderous intent, and Concubine Wan also became angry.

The emperor said in a low voice: "Wanpin, look, I'm wearing two belts today. You embroidered Silang on the belt. I dare not wear it outside, so I tie it inside. Wanpin is really thoughtful. I like this belt very much, but I can only wear it in private."

The emperor pulled open his clothes, revealing the word "Silang" on the ice silk belt, which made Concubine Wan blush again. The emperor ignored the noisy sounds outside and just lowered his head and chuckled.

"Lady Qi, this was given to me by Concubine Wan. She said that this was a little token of her gratitude for my many years of service to her. What's wrong with that? Is there anything wrong with this?" It was Liu Zhu's voice, not loud, and neither humble nor arrogant.

"Jita, Suomi, go up and slap him in the face! Since you don't know the palace rules, you will learn your lesson only after being taught a lesson. Today, Concubine Wan is not here, and the Emperor and the Empress are not here either, so I will teach you a lesson on their behalf." Noble Lady Qi shouted angrily.

Wanpin could no longer sit still and was about to push aside the flowers to see what was going on. However, when she looked down at her disheveled appearance, she hesitated.

At this time, a low-pitched but extremely clear voice came: "Slap? Lady Qi, whose face are you going to slap?"

"Liu Zhu is favored by the Emperor and was originally a concubine appointed by the Emperor, but she calls herself a slave in front of everyone. I want her to learn her lesson, so that she won't fall into the hands of the Empress next time. If the punishment is too light, she will have her hands and feet cut off, and if the punishment is too heavy, she will become a floating corpse at the bottom of a well!" Concubine Qi explained seriously.

"Qin Sanyue, go up and slap him in the face. Two slaps will be enough. Only reward Concubine Qi, and don't implicate the servants." An Lingrong said lightly.

"Lipin, are you going crazy? What do you want to do? Get out of the way, Qin Sanyue, if you dare to take another step forward, I will call for help. I tell you, the Emperor and the Empress are nearby." Concubine Qi said in a panic.

Wanpin's eyes were in a panic, and she struggled hastily, but was forcibly held down by the emperor: "If Concubine Qi threatened you, would it scare you? Don't go out, isn't there a steward outside? Wanpin, you just have to accompany me well, and we will sneak out from the flower field at the back."

Qin Sanyue raised his hand and lowered it, two crisp sounds were heard, and Concubine Qi closed her mouth, leaving five deep finger marks on her face.

Qin Sanyue gnashed her teeth and said, "Do you know why Concubine Li asked me to do it? First, according to her position, Concubine Qi did not greet Concubine Li, so she deserved to be beaten; second, can the Queen be used to discuss things openly? Beating you today is to save you, why don't you get out now!"

Concubine Qi quickly left with the guitar and Suomi, and Liuzhu thanked An Lingrong for rescuing her.

An Lingrong sighed softly, "This is the first time I've asked Qin Sanyue to beat up a concubine in the harem. They are all the emperor's people, living in the same palace, why can't we live in harmony?"