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"Empress! There's no need to wait!" At that moment, another palace maid knocked and entered the hall, then bowed slightly to Concubine Yang
"Empress! There's no need to wait!" At that moment, another palace maid knocked and entered the hall, then bowed slightly to Concubine Yang Jieyu, saying, "His Majesty went to see Empress Dowager tonight!"
"Good! Understood!" Concubine Yang Jieyu did not speak, but her most loyal maid nodded to the other maid and replied. However, Wei Tingyu keenly noticed that Concubine Yang Jieyu's expression showed no hint of disappointment. Instead, she seemed to let out a sigh of relief, as if a great burden had been lifted?! What's going on here? Wei Tingyu was momentarily stunned. Did he just stumble upon some palace secrets on this trip? Concubine Yang Jieyu actually dislikes the old emperor? Judging by her relieved expression, it seems she might even detest the emperor, right?! Interesting! Truly interesting! Wei Tingyu's eyes lit up at the thought. His trip truly wasn't in vain!
After the maid who delivered the message left, Concubine Yang Jieyu's personal maid respectfully asked her, "Empress! It's late. Please bathe and change."
"Alright!" Concubine Yang Jieyu nodded gently, and at the same time, let out a heavy sigh. From her perspective, another day of her youth had silently slipped away! Life in this cage was truly as hard to endure as a year passing in a day!
After receiving her affirmative reply, her personal maid immediately clapped her hands. Then the hall doors opened, and a line of eunuchs, led by female officials, entered carrying wooden buckets still steaming with hot water. Soon, the large wooden tub in the side hall was filled with warm water, artfully sprinkled with flower petals.
"Oh, right! Master!" After all the servants were dismissed, only Concubine Yang Jieyu's personal maid remained. She watched her mistress slowly rise and continued, "This is a tribute sent by the Imperial Household Department today!" As she spoke, she took a delicate small wooden box from a nearby cabinet and presented it to Concubine Yang Jieyu.
"What is this?" Concubine Yang Jieyu was startled, then asked as she opened the wooden box. What greeted her eyes were three beautiful glazed bottles, each containing a thick liquid of purple, pink, and red.
"According to the people from the Imperial Household Department, this is called perfume!" The maid smiled and nodded, "Just spray a little on your body, and you'll smell fragrant all day!"
"Really?" Concubine Yang Jieyu's eyes immediately lit up. Although she didn't like the old emperor and had no intention of vying for favor with the Empress or other concubines, what woman in her twenties didn't love beauty? Hearing that it could make her smell fragrant all day, she was naturally pleased! The maid smiled and quickly took out one of the purple bottles, spraying it lightly twice on Concubine Yang Jieyu.
"It truly smells wonderful!" Concubine Yang Jieyu was startled, then a bright smile bloomed on her face. At this moment, she didn't need to feign anything for anyone; her expression was the truest reflection of her inner feelings.
Wei Tingyu, seeing this from the rafters, was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected the perfume he exchanged from his system to end up in Concubine Yang Jieyu's hands as a tribute. This must be Dou Zhao's doing, right? That little girl is doing great business; it's even caught the attention of the Imperial Palace! And the first few bottles she made weren't sold, but rather offered as tribute to the various noble ladies in the palace… Excellent! No wonder her business can grow so large! It was absolutely the right decision to entrust the perfume business to this wife. Hasn't the path widened now?! Now even Concubine Yang Jieyu likes perfume so much; this item will surely become popular throughout the realm very soon!
"Why are the three bottles different?" Concubine Yang Jieyu asked, smelling the strong lavender scent on her body. This fragrance made her feel utterly relaxed and at ease!
"Because the scents are different!" The maid had naturally been thoroughly instructed by the Imperial Household Department when she received these tributes, so she smiled and said, "This dark red bottle is rose-scented, and the pink one is peony!"
"As for this purple bottle that Master just sprayed, it's said to be called 'xun…' 'lavender'?"
"Yes! That's the name!" The maid recalled as she spoke, as she had only heard of lavender for the first time, so she wasn't very familiar with the name.
"Never heard of it! It must be a tribute from a foreign land, then?" Concubine Yang Jieyu blinked and muttered to herself.
"That must be it!" The maid smiled and quickly added, "I heard from the Imperial Household Department that this lavender scent is the most precious! There are only three bottles among the tributes!"
"One bottle was given to the Empress Dowager, one to the Empress, and one to you, Master!"
"It is said that the scent of lavender has a calming and refreshing effect, spraying a little will help you sleep soundly at night!"
Wei Tingyu laughed upon hearing the maid's words. Good heavens, Dou Zhao! This little business is truly being run impressively! She even developed these additional effects for the perfume herself? He hadn't told Dou Zhao about these things, so it must have been Dou Zhao's own idea! He had to admit, that girl was truly a business genius!
Just as Wei Tingyu was feeling this surge of emotion, Concubine Yang Jieyu put the perfume bottle back, then slowly rose and walked towards the adjoining room. By now, the area behind the screen was shrouded in mist from the steam rising off the warm water in the wooden tub. Even with Wei Tingyu's excellent eyesight, he couldn't see clearly now. After all, at most, he could only see far and accurately; the ability to see through steam had not yet been developed.
And it was within this swirling mist that Concubine Yang Jieyu slowly shed her clothes, revealing a flawless, pure white back… This scene made Wei Tingyu almost bleed from his nose! It was precisely this hazy, indistinct feeling that was more stimulating than seeing it directly!
Then Concubine Yang Jieyu, with the maid's assistance, removed the phoenix hairpins and ornaments from her coiled hair. Her unrestrained black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, reaching her waist! What a beautiful scene of a lady bathing! Especially when this is the current Emperor's Concubine Yang?! Her 'married noblewoman' attribute is truly maxed out! Even Wei Tingyu, who was accustomed to grand spectacles, found his heart involuntarily pounding faster.
After being helped into the wooden tub by the maid, Concubine Yang Jieyu gently closed her eyes. This was her most pleasant and comfortable moment of every day!
"Master hasn't smiled like this in a long time!" The maid couldn't help but feel happy looking at the smile on Concubine Yang Jieyu's face.
"Really?" Concubine Yang Jieyu, who had closed her eyes, opened them slightly, looked at the maid who had been with her since childhood, and nodded, "Perhaps this perfume truly has some miraculous effects! I feel even more at ease today than usual!"
"Master now enjoys the Emperor's favor! Within these Six Palaces, even Empress Dowager must show you some deference!" The maid smiled even more broadly upon hearing this, "If you ask me, Master's comfortable days are still ahead!"
"You know how to talk!" Who doesn't love to hear a few kind words? Concubine Yang Jieyu also laughed directly, but still nodded to the maid, "You go out first. I'll call you when I'm ready!"
"Yes!" The maid said no more, bowed respectfully, then turned and exited, closing the door from the outside and standing guard at the entrance. After all these years, she knew that her mistress disliked having anyone attend her while she bathed! Only when she was finished and needed to get up and dress was someone required to assist, due to the intricate nature of the palace attire.
Upon hearing the door close after the maid left, Concubine Yang Jieyu's previously faintly smiling face grew calm again. After all, how could she speak of her inner sorrows to this maid? That old emperor was already over fifty when he took her into the palace, and he had long been impotent due to excessive indulgence years ago! She was merely a facade he intentionally maintained to conceal this fact! The entire Harem thought that Concubine Yang Jieyu received boundless affection, and that the Emperor, besides visiting the Empress, came only to her. In reality, only she and the Empress knew that the Emperor avoided other women simply because he didn't want his impotence to be known by more people!
Moreover, Concubine Yang Jieyu was very clear about her future. When the old emperor passed away and the Crown Prince ascended the throne, the Empress would naturally become the rightful Empress Dowager, enjoying the tribute of the entire realm. But she, this Concubine Jieyu, seemingly favored but privy to the Emperor's secret, would most likely be ordered to be buried alive with him by an imperial decree! Because only that way could the old emperor's shameful secret be kept forever. The Empress, as the new emperor's mother, would naturally consider the imperial family's reputation, so she would certainly not leak the secret! It's just a pity that her entire life has been wasted; now, her twenty-something year old beauty can only gradually turn into a red-faced skeleton within these palace walls!
Thinking this, Concubine Yang Jieyu felt a bit helpless, and gently lowered her head to look at the water surface in the tub. She used her hand to push aside a few floating flower petals, simply wanting to glimpse her own unappreciated beauty once more!
However, the next second, Concubine Yang Jieyu's body suddenly trembled, because she clearly saw a figure on the crossbeam above her through the reflection in the water!
"Ah!" She never dreamed that someone would be hiding on the rafters inside the Imperial Palace's inner chambers! Concubine Yang Jieyu was immediately startled, instinctively looking up and gasping in surprise.
Wei Tingyu was also filled with vexation at this moment! Who would have thought this woman would unexpectedly discover his presence while taking a bath? It seems he still lacks experience as a 'gentleman of the beams'! To actually expose such a speechless flaw!
Of course, the instant Concubine Yang Jieyu cried out, Wei Tingyu swiftly leaped down from the crossbeam! He paid no mind to anything else, and with a splash, he plunged into the tub, sending water flying everywhere! At the same time, he quickly extended his right hand to cover Concubine Yang Jieyu's vermilion lips!
At this moment, Concubine Yang Jieyu truly saw who had arrived! He was dressed in dark male attire, and looking at his physique and figure, he was one hundred percent a man! Of course, his face was still adorned with a jade fox mask! In the misty bath, he looked quite eerie. Didn't this plot resemble those stories about monsters eating people in certain novels? And those victims were often delicate, tender-skinned women… Thinking this, Concubine Yang Jieyu became even more flustered, desperately trying to push the other party away, for their current proximity was indeed too close! One must know that the old emperor, knowing his impotence, had never had intimate contact with her! At most, they would share a bed, but even then, there was always enough space between them for another person! Therefore, for Concubine Yang Jieyu, this Jade-Faced Fox Gentleman who had descended from the heavens was the first man to truly have skin-to-skin contact with her in her entire life. However, she currently felt no maidenly shyness, only immense terror in her eyes!
Her struggles naturally couldn't push Wei Tingyu away, but they caused the warm water in the tub to splash everywhere! Wei Tingyu, at this moment, was vexed. After all, when he rushed down, he landed directly in the tub, and his clothes below his chest were already completely soaked! Now, after being splashed by Concubine Yang Jieyu's frantic movements, even his face and hair were inevitably dripping wet! Well then! He went through all that trouble to sneak into the Imperial Palace and got a free bath! And this bath even came with the beautiful Concubine Jieyu as a companion! Thinking about it that way, it doesn't seem like a loss at all!
"Master? What's wrong?" Concubine Yang Jieyu's struggles naturally caught the attention of the maid guarding the door. She quickly asked a question towards the inside of the hall. After all, in her memory, Concubine Yang Jieyu's bathing had never caused such a loud commotion!
"Shhh!" Wei Tingyu put his left hand to his mouth, making a shushing motion, then pointed outside. The meaning was clear: If you keep making so much noise, the people outside will really rush in!
Upon seeing Wei Tingyu's gesture, Concubine Yang Jieyu also instinctively stopped struggling. Because in the current situation, this intelligent woman quickly understood. If this scene were truly seen by others, she would be the one to suffer in the end! This Fox Gentleman, since he had the ability to silently enter her hall, might also have the ability to silently slip away! But what about her? To be seen, a dignified Concubine, bathing in a tub with a man? Would anyone believe she was innocent? Moreover, Concubine Yang Jieyu was already well aware of the imperial family's way of handling things: your innocence isn't important; the imperial family's face is paramount! Even if she were innocent, even if the old emperor truly believed her, it wouldn't stop him from silencing her and all the palace servants who witnessed this for the sake of the imperial family's reputation! At that time, even her maternal family would be implicated, and it was even possible that they would be annihilated!
Thinking this, Concubine Yang Jieyu quickly shot a glance at Wei Tingyu, signaling him to release her mouth, assuring him she wouldn't scream. Wei Tingyu, seeing this, naturally moved his right hand away. Indeed, communicating with a smart woman saves time and effort!
"Nothing!" As soon as Concubine Yang Jieyu's mouth was freed, she immediately turned and shouted towards the outside of the door, "Just keep a good watch at the entrance!"
"Yes!" The maid and the few female officials outside exchanged glances, but hearing their master speak, they naturally could only comply.
"Phew…" Seeing that the maid and female officials did not rush in, Concubine Yang Jieyu finally let out a heavy breath, then turned her head to look at the Jade-Faced Fox Gentleman before her! Her heart was now in utter turmoil, for in this grand hall, only she and the other party, a lone man and woman, were together in a single bathtub! The other party had clearly snuck into the hall; otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to act as a "gentleman of the beams." And the most alarming thing was that she herself was completely naked at this moment!
Thinking this, Concubine Yang Jieyu grew even more nervous. What was this person's purpose in sneaking into the Imperial Palace in the dead of night? Was it for wealth or for lust? Or was he here to assassinate? If it's the last one, he might just kill her to silence her! Thinking of this possibility, her current naked predicament was nothing! Concubine Yang Jieyu nervously swallowed hard!
"You… who are you?" Of course, just being nervous was useless. Concubine Yang Jieyu, after all, was someone who had seen great spectacles, and now she managed to forcibly compose herself. She looked at Wei Tingyu and asked, feigning calmness, "Breaking into the palace at night is a capital offense!"
However, Wei Tingyu's keen ears could already hear Concubine Yang Jieyu's heartbeat noticeably quickening. At the same time, he glanced slightly downwards, discovering that the water in the tub only reached just above Concubine Yang Jieyu's chest, while the floating rose petals conveniently concealed her alluring body. Good heavens! He hadn't seen clearly from above! Now that he was down, he realized that this Concubine Yang Jieyu truly had skin like beautiful jade! Her skin condition was outrageously good! Of course, he didn't know about the old emperor's impotence, nor did he know that the Concubine Yang Jieyu before him was still a virgin! So, he could only grumble a few words inwardly, that old geezer truly has good fortune with women!
"If you leave now… This concubine… will pretend I saw nothing…" Concubine Yang Jieyu saw that Wei Tingyu did not speak, but his eyes glanced at the few petals floating in front of her chest, as if trying to penetrate the obstruction of the petals with his gaze. She immediately grew nervous again. At the very least, it was confirmed that this man before her was definitely a lecher!