"I heard that you are pregnant?" Sima Jiao asked.
Who the hell told you that I was pregnant? Don't you have any idea whether I'm pregnant or not? When Liao Tingyan heard Sima Jiao ask this question, he almost couldn't control his ferocious expression.
She forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty is joking with me. How could I be pregnant?"
Isn't it a bit unscientific that she has gained weight? In which Mary Sue novel, a beautiful woman would gain weight just because she is told to? No, no, no, if we analyze it rationally, she has not gained much weight. It is because she had a good figure and a thin waist before, so she posted a picture of Qiu Liao, and recently she has been sleeping with Sima Jiao all day, so she has a small belly. When the weather gets hot next summer and she can't eat, her figure will naturally return to normal.
It must be like this.
While Liao Tingyan was comforting herself, Sima Jiao said, "Oh," and looked at her belly. He even touched it, pinched it, and said, "No wonder I felt a lot softer when I held you. It turns out that you have grown a circle of fat on your belly."
Liao Tingyan: “…” His self-consolation failed and his mentality collapsed.
Sima Jiao: "No wonder, you eat so much every day. I've never seen anyone eat more than you."
Liao Tingyan was furious. Does this dog emperor still know how to talk? Isn't he good at reading people's expressions? How come he can't see that she can't stand it anymore? ! And whose fault is this? This man doesn't like to eat all day, but likes to watch others eat. Every time he sees her eating, he is like those big guys in the modern world who watch food broadcasts and give gifts. He keeps giving her treasures and always asks the kitchen to make all kinds of delicious snacks and dishes. He has made her fat and he still has the nerve to complain here!
Sima Jiao saw her expression clearly and suddenly laughed out loud. He reached out to hug her, but pretended to hold her waist and lifted her up a little before putting her down again, saying, "You've really gained weight. I can't hold you anymore."
This series of blows made Liao Tingyan lose her mind and rushed forward with her teeth and claws bared. Sima Jiao opened his arms to catch her and laughed, "Don't be impulsive, how can a weak and gentle concubine be so fierce."
Damn your grandma's legs! Liao Tingyan concentrated his energy and prepared to break his waist.
Sima Jiao: "Are you really that angry? Then I'll take you to see the treasures and give you anything you like."
Not all women would give up their anger after receiving an incredibly expensive gift, but Liao Tingyan would.
One hundred and eight pearl curtains were found in the emperor's private storehouse. They were said to be treasures from the previous dynasty, and were once the favorite collection of a certain empress dowager. Liao Tingyan happily had them packed and prepared to hang in the bedroom of the Hibiscus Palace.
"But you have been sleeping in my inner hall all the time. If you hang it here, you can't see it." Sima Jiao suggested: "Why not hang it in front of the hall door as a door curtain?"
Liao Tingyan thought it made sense, so he had it hung in front of the palace gate so that it could be seen when entering and leaving. Because Sima Jiao was very casual about these treasures, throwing them around to make noises and throwing them into the water to catch fish, Liao Tingyan also became casual about it, but the palace maids were much more careful, even Gui Ye was very careful when she passed through the pearl curtain to enter the palace every day.
Because Liao Tingyan is currently the person with the highest position in the harem, theoretically speaking, all matters in the harem should be under her control. However, because Sima Jiao's harem is very harmonious, there is nothing that requires her to step in at all, and all other minor matters are handled by the Inner Court. Therefore, the only thing Liao Tingyan needs to do now is to accept greetings from the beauties in each palace on the first and fifteenth day of every month.
Originally, everyone was paying respects in the outer hall, but later, seeing that it was getting cold, Liao Tingyan let them in. In this short period of time, the beauties were shocked by what they saw.
That incense burner seemed to be a precious decoration of the Xuanwu Palace in the previous dynasty. It is said that the incense burning in it has a special fragrance. The imperial concubine actually used such a large piece of pure white fur to step on. The unique carved jade flower bracelet on the imperial concubine's wrist seemed to be specially carved by Sima King for his beloved queen four generations ago, and it cost thousands of precious jades to get such a bracelet...
This time, the beauties came to pay their respects, and before they entered the door, they saw the pearl curtain hanging at the entrance of the Hibiscus Palace. They all had some vision and knowledge, and they couldn't help but be amazed when they saw that this pearl curtain with extraordinary origin and incomparable value was used to hang the door of the palace. One beauty touched the pearl hairpin on her head with an unpleasant look on her face. The pearl on the hairpin was shiny and bright, and it was a top-grade oriental pearl that was hard to find. She used to show it off and wore it every day, cherishing it very much. But now, seeing that every pearl on the pearl curtain was more beautiful than the one on her head, but the imperial concubine used it as a door curtain, she felt a burning sensation on her face.
After several months of peaceful life, many beauties began to have their own little thoughts in private. Now seeing that the imperial concubine is so favored, the Hibiscus Palace is full of rare toys, and His Majesty allows the imperial concubine to throw all kinds of treasures around, they can't help but feel jealous.
Who says they have no chance to be favored
With people's hearts so unstable, Liao Tingyan found that there were more beauties around her. After eating, she went to the garden to digest her food. In such a large garden, she never met anyone before, but now she can see shy beauties around her every time.
Even she felt something was wrong and asked Guiye: "My dear ladies, do you have any ideas? I see they are very active recently."
Gui Ye looked solemn, "They are probably jealous that the Imperial Concubine is the only one favored by His Majesty. The Imperial Concubine needs to be careful of them competing for favor!"
Liao Tingyan: “…”
The palace fighting drama is finally online? But isn't their way of competing for favor too unusual? If they are competing for favor, then why didn't any beauties appear when Sima Jiao accompanied her to visit the garden, but she could encounter many beauties when she took a few palace maids out for a walk, and these beauties seemed to be trying to please her
"Your Majesty is very powerful. I dare not dream of your grace. I only wish to serve the Imperial Concubine..." The beauty expressed her feelings in a subtle way. When she mentioned Sima Jiao, she trembled twice. That's right, they dare not flirt with Emperor Sima Jiao. After all, the experience of the predecessors was too tragic. The beauties who are still in the palace today can't forget the dark period before Imperial Concubine Liao entered the palace. So change your thinking. Since you can't get the favor of your Majesty, it's the same to get the favor of the Imperial Concubine. It can also improve your treatment and status, and it's not so dangerous to your life. It's much more feasible!
Liao Tingyan: If I heard correctly, these beauties seem to want to get close to me
After some time of observation, Liao Tingyan found that the beauties were indeed vying for favor, but they were not vying for Sima Jiao's favor, but for her. Everyone wanted to stand out in front of her, but no one dared to compete in front of Sima Jiao. Even if they occasionally met Sima Jiao, these beauties would honestly shrink aside, watching with their eyes and noses.
Liao Tingyan didn't know what Sima Jiao had done before to make these beauties so scared, leading to such a weird scene of vying for favor. She only knew that she was surrounded by beauties recently, and she felt a little guilty when she saw Sima Jiao. Well, her sexual orientation was normal, and she had never touched Sima Jiao's concubines. Even if some of those beauties were really cute, gentle and attractive, she had no idea!
"Have you been visiting the Imperial Garden often recently?" Sima Jiao asked her.
Liao Tingyan nodded honestly: "Yes, but the Imperial Garden is too big, and I haven't even walked halfway through it yet."
"I also heard that many beauties often 'encounter' you in the garden?" Sima Jiao asked again.
Liao Tingyan laughed dryly: "Ahahaha—it seems so."
Sima Jiao sighed and pulled her to his side. "Don't pay attention to them. Don't think that they are really weak just because they look weak. No one who can survive in my harem until now is a simple person. If you believe them, you will be used. They are good at deceiving people with their appearance and good at lying. You can't do anything, so it's best to stay away from them to avoid being bewitched by their sweet words."
Liao Tingyan: “…” Am I a mentally retarded person in Sima Jiao’s mind
Is that "can't do anything" describing her? Even if she really only showed the ability to eat and sleep after entering the palace, we can't underestimate her like that. After all, she also experienced workplace struggles in her original world.
Also, he previously warned her that all ministers were bad people and she was not allowed to speak in the court. Now he warns her that all beauties in the harem were bad people and she was not allowed to make friends in the harem. Does this person have paranoid delusions and think that no one in the world can be trusted, or is this a common problem among emperors
Sima Jiao looked at her for a while, and seemed to have given up the idea of educating her. He said, "You look confused, and I guess you don't understand. Forget it, just do as you like. If you don't like any of them, just tell me and I'll kill them."
Ignoring his next sentence, Liao Tingyan suddenly realized that in both of their minds, the image of each other seemed to be mentally retarded.
With Sima Jiao's words, Liao Tingyan felt a little weird when he "accidentally" met beauties again. He always felt that those weak and vulnerable little lambs were wolves in sheep's clothing.
"My Lady, look, it's snowing!" A maid from Hibiscus Palace brought a branch of red plum blossom into the palace with a smile. "There is very little snow this year. It's been so long since the beginning of winter, but the red plum blossoms are blooming early. I passed by the plum garden and saw that the flowers were blooming beautifully, so I cut two branches for you."
Another waitress said, "I heard that the red plum blossoms in the plum garden are blooming especially well this year, but the red plum blossoms are most beautiful in the snow. It would be a bit monotonous to cut them and place them in the palace like this."
Liao Tingyan had nothing to do, and when she saw the red plum blossoms and heard what the two maids said, she became interested and wanted to go and see the red plum blossoms. The two maids holding the flowers looked at each other quietly, smiled and helped her out.
The snow was not heavy, just some fine snowflakes floating. Liao Tingyan did not take the sedan chair, but changed into a pair of leather boots, wrapped in a thick cloak, and prepared to walk over with a small hand warmer. Gui Ye was still by her side, as were the two maids holding flowers and a team of palace servants who were responsible for holding an umbrella for her.
There were indeed many plum blossoms in the plum garden at this time, but because of the cold weather, it seemed that no one was there except them. There was only a thin layer of snow on the ground, and the plum branches were covered with a crystal white.
Liao Tingyan wandered around the plum garden for a while, and felt that there was nothing to see, so she wanted to go back. At this moment, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a white shadow passing by not far away. She turned her head and saw a small white-haired animal running into the woods, leaving a few footprints on the ground.
"What is that?" Liao Tingyan asked curiously.
"It looks like a white fox?" said a waitress.
"White fox?" Liao Tingyan was interested. He turned around and led a few people over there. "Let's go take a look."
They walked through the woods and saw a long corridor and a six-sided pavilion. This was the place for viewing the scenery in the plum garden in winter. There was a wall and a flower window on one side, and the other side was open. Liao Tingyan saw a line of plum blossom footprints on the floor tiles and walked up. She failed to find the white-haired animal, but when she walked to the flower window, she heard the sound of two people talking on the other side.
She looked out through the flower window and saw two maids cutting plum branches under the plum tree with their backs to her. One of them said, "It is said that the imperial concubine is pregnant. I don't know if it is true. What do you think, sister?"
"If it's true, it's too pitiful. Who knows what kind of weird child will be born." Another older maid sighed: "After all, your majesty's bloodline is a taboo..."
Liao Tingyan: Wait a minute, isn't this a typical plot to stir up trouble? Next, these two people will definitely reveal a shocking secret for her to hear.
Thinking of this, Liao Tingyan turned around and left without hesitation.
The more you know, the faster you die, so hurry up and leave!