Chapter 39 Serving in the Bedchamber Serving in the Bedchamber

In early June, the beautiful men entered the palace for selection.

Beauties from various provinces were lined up in the imperial garden, waiting for the Emperor to choose.

Yue Shen sat lazily in the main seat, looking absent-minded. Qin Qing, however, was in a good mood.

Many of the beautiful men before them were ordinary men from the common people with no background, with only a few eye-catching ones being sons of prefects, not enough to compete with the Qin family. Even if they entered the harem, they couldn’t stir up much trouble.

The one with real competitive power was Lan Xuezhao, standing in the first row. His appearance was bewitchingly beautiful, with the corners of his mouth slightly curled up, a pair of amorous and deep eyes like peach blossoms, and a small mole at the corner of his eye that seemed to smile even when not smiling. Paired with a set of blue Miao clothing, with peach blossom embroidery on the cuffs, a silver necklace, and a silver flower in his hair, every step he took sounded like bells, pleasantly melodious, unlike the flowing Central Plains attire, yet possessing a unique mysterious beauty.

Qin Qing’s nephew Qin Zhengya, though beautiful, paled in comparison to Lan Xuezhao, appearing bland and tasteless.

However, he wasn’t worried. Even if Qin Zhengya’s appearance was inferior to Lan Xuezhao’s, he could still ensure he took the position of the Imperial Consort.

“Your Majesty, you can leave the tokens now,” Yu Zhi said from the side.

Yue Shen glanced at him indifferently, looking at the sea of men before her, feeling irritated. In her eyes, these were not the envied blessings, but burdens, existences that could threaten her at any time. Fortunately, Qiu Shuzhi had secretly given her contraceptive medicine a few days ago, otherwise she wouldn’t have had the confidence to let these men serve in her bedchamber.

She slowly walked down the steps, turning a circle among these men, but didn’t see the Qin family’s man. She turned back to look at Qin Qing.

That fox-like man was wearing a smile, and Yue Shen’s face fell, displeased.

Seeing Qin Qing like this, he probably planned to directly let his nephew bypass the selection and be named Imperial Consort.

Yue Shen smiled silently. Even if you let your nephew be the Imperial Consort, so what? He’s still just an empty shell.

She didn’t ask, continuing to wander casually among the beautiful men.

These men were all wearing rouge and perfume, each stronger than the last, piled together like falling into a heap of pollen, making her repulsed.

They were all vulgar beauties, a hint of indescribable coldness flashed in Yue Shen’s eyes.

The smell on these people was unbearably vulgar. She already had a cleanliness obsession, so she became even more picky about these men. Just thinking about these men having to serve her naked in the future made her feel nauseous.

Enduring waves of nauseating malice, she left tokens for several sons of prefects, seeing their joyful smiles, feeling slightly moved in her heart.

If only Qiu Shuzhi were here, she recalled the cold fragrance in the imperial study. Only her scent could soothe and calm her heart, only Qiu Shuzhi could cure her cleanliness obsession.

Finally, she left a token for Lan Xuezhao.

Lan Xuezhao bowed slightly, the bells on his wrist tinkling softly, full of charm: “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The cloying voice made Yue Shen frown slightly, and she turned and left.

Qin Qing looked at the list of those Yue Shen had chosen, everything was within his expectations.

The next day, taking advantage of Yue Shen coming to pay respects, Qin Qing asked, “Now that Your Majesty has selected the beautiful men, what titles should be bestowed upon them?”

Yue Shen had anticipated he would ask this: “This child thinks that Lan can be titled Noble Consort of Beauty, and the rest of the beautiful men can all be titled Zhao Yi. What does Imperial Father think?”

Qin Qing smiled gracefully: “Your Majesty is indeed thoughtful, but the harem already has consorts, and cannot be without an Imperial Consort for a day. It’s time for Your Majesty to name an Imperial Consort.”

“This grieving one has a nephew, of beautiful appearance and well-versed in male virtues and precepts since childhood, skilled in handling harem affairs. He would be most suitable as Imperial Consort. What does Your Majesty think?”

“It’s all up to Imperial Father.”

That day, the Emperor issued an imperial edict to the Qin family, welcoming Qin Zhengya as Imperial Consort.

The Qin family had produced three generations of Imperial Consorts, their prestige unmatched for a time. Even the disciples of the Qin family became more arrogant, almost to the point of walking sideways.

The young Emperor’s ceremony for welcoming the Imperial Consort was also extremely luxurious, with the betrothal gifts being extravagant, a hundred million taels each of gold and silver.

Qiu Shuzhi roughly calculated in her heart, this wedding had cost nearly five million taels, almost emptying the national treasury.

However, it was after all the young Emperor’s marriage, and the ancients always attached great importance to etiquette, these things were unavoidable.

On the wedding night, Qin Zhengya sat before the bed in his wedding attire.

The red candles flickered ambiguously, shining on Yue Shen’s soft yet sharp profile. Since entering the bridal chamber, Yue Shen had been sitting on the edge of the bed, never once looking at him.

Although Qin Zhengya didn’t have extraordinary looks, his appearance could only be described as plain and elegant, but as a young master from a noble family, his every move was extremely dignified, indeed having some of the steadiness of an Imperial Consort.

He knew he was just a pawn of the family, his purpose was to bear Yue Shen’s child, to be a tool for giving birth to daughters. Therefore, he wasn’t surprised by Yue Shen’s reaction. They were both unfortunate people, unwillingly married as husband and wife.

Seeing Yue Shen drinking alone, he silently came forward, poured the union wine, and held it to Yue Shen’s lips: “Your Majesty, you should rest now.”

Yue Shen’s furrowed brow deepened, a sudden flash of inexplicable anger in her eyes.

She swatted his hand away, spilling the union wine on the floor.

“Are you so impatient?” Yue Shen said mockingly.

“This servant didn’t mean that,” he murmured.

On their wedding night, such humiliation from his wife-master was something even Qin Zhengya had never experienced before. No matter how dignified and steady he was, he was still an inexperienced man.

Yue Shen sneered, pushing him onto the bed: “Take it off yourself.”

Qin Zhengya didn’t dare resist, tremblingly taking off his outer clothes.

“Keep going,” she continued.

Qin Zhengya looked up fearfully, his hands tightly gripping the collar of his inner clothes, but finally took off all his clothes under her cold gaze.

“Lie down,” she said.

Qin Zhengya obediently lay down, repeatedly telling himself in his heart that he was just a tool, don’t be afraid, it’s just one night, just need to get pregnant.

Yue Shen expressionlessly took off all her clothes, pulled down the bed curtains, and straddled him.

The sudden heat was somewhat difficult for her to adapt to, and even more so for the person beneath her.

What should have been the most wonderful thing in the world for ordinary people was like torture for these two.

Yue Shen endured the nausea that was about to surge from her throat, and began to move rhythmically, every minute and every second was agony.

Qin Zhengya tightly closed his eyes, tears silently sliding from the corners of his eyes, wetting the pillow.

“Why are you crying, what are you crying for!” Yue Shen furiously gripped his throat, her pent-up anger rarely erupting.

Qin Zhengya, his throat tightly locked by Yue Shen, suddenly couldn’t breathe, helplessly opening his mouth.

“Is being Imperial Consort wronging you? If you think it’s unfair why did you enter the palace? Being a whore and still wanting to act virtuous!” Yue Shen cursed in a low voice, grabbing a nearby pillow and violently covering his face.

Qin Zhengya was almost suffocated by the sudden action, his limbs stretched taut, the instinctive reaction making the stimulation below more intense.

The carved bed creaked, Yue Shen tilted her head back looking at the canopy of the bed, seeming to have thousands of thoughts flash through her mind, finally turning into the image of one person.

When it was over, Yue Shen released the pillow. Qin Zhengya gasped for fresh air like a dying man, his tears ruining his makeup, making him look even more disheveled.

“Have the servants bring water for me, I want to bathe and clean up,” Yue Shen coldly looked at the naked Qin Zhengya, her disgusted gaze as if looking at something dirty.

“Yes,” Qin Zhengya silently wiped away his tears, crawling out of bed to instruct the servants to prepare hot water.

Watching the palace servants gradually walk away, he covered the purple bruises on his neck, and finally couldn’t help but cry.

While the entire officialdom relaxed because of this wedding, Qiu Shuzhi continued to bury herself in her work as the Assistant Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. She was meticulous in her work and could handle human relations flawlessly. Even if Gu Zheng wanted to deal with her, he had no excuse. Days passed steadily like this.

According to the customs of Da Qi, after the Emperor’s new marriage, he should parade through the streets with his new Imperial Consort, accepting the worship of all people. Yue Shen and Qin Zhengya were naturally no exception.

Recently, the weather had been getting hotter. The drought that had shown signs in early spring was fully exposed in summer. The drought in Hebei was extremely severe, but the money that should have been used for drought relief was all used to prepare for the wedding, causing many refugees from Hebei to flood into the capital.

The Shuntian Prefecture attached great importance to this parade, fearing that some careless refugee might disturb the imperial procession. They mobilized almost all their manpower, and even Qiu Shuzhi was no exception.

She was arranged on the left and right of the imperial guards, with the Embroidered Uniform Guard in flying fish suits beside her, and not far away, Yue Guanyi in official robes on a tall horse.

He had become much thinner than before, his jawline more defined, the large official robes hanging loosely on him, like covering a skeleton.

Yue Guanyi’s gaze met hers for an instant, his breathing suddenly quickening. Today she wore a fitted outfit, with a long sword at her waist, not like her usual ethereal immortal appearance, but more like a dashing female knight.

He bent down and said a few words to Chang’an beside him.

Soon after, Chang’an rode his horse to her side and offered the horse to her: “Official Qiu, His Highness requests your presence.”

“Thank you,” Qiu Shuzhi took the reins and mounted the horse, passing over the procession to his side. As she passed the Emperor’s carriage, the long curtains were slightly lifted by the wind, revealing the two sitting inside. Yue Shen was expressionless, Qin Zhengya looked sorrowful.

“Your Highness has lost a lot of weight recently. Have you been taking good care of yourself after falling into the water?” Taking this opportunity, she could finally speak to him, making up for some of her guilt.

Yue Guanyi shyly lowered his head: “It’s kind of Official Qiu to still remember this palace. Don’t worry, this palace’s health is fine now.”

Is that so?

She looked at Yue Guanyi’s official robes that almost didn’t fit him anymore, so thin that a gust of wind could blow him away. Such a person, let alone protecting the Emperor, even self-preservation was doubtful.

“This official has a few hundred-year-old ginseng at home. Although not as precious as the imperial medicines, they can still nourish the body and replenish qi and blood. If Your Highness doesn’t mind, this official will present them another day.”

“Not at all!” Yue Guanyi looked at her, pleasantly surprised, so excited he almost bit his tongue.