When Emperor Jingren woke up, he did not have the headache from being drunk. Instead, he felt refreshed. The experience in the hunting ground yesterday did not leave any shadow in his heart. On the contrary, he slept very well that night.
Thinking that the Queen had always been self-disciplined and never drank, but she indulged herself with him yesterday, she probably wanted to comfort herself after the assassination that happened during the day. The Queen's way of comforting was different from others, but Emperor Jingren was very pleased. Lying on the bed and thinking back to the Queen's lips last night, the corners of her lips slightly curled up, and it was obvious that she was in a good mood.
After lying down for a while, he heard some noise outside. The queen had finished her exercise and even bathed. Emperor Jingren was actually a little dissatisfied with this. He hoped that when he woke up one day, he could see the queen sleeping beside him. But it never happened once. He was either woken up by the queen to exercise, or he saw the queen exercising in the martial arts field after waking up.
After the bath, the queen had a very fresh scent. Since she didn't need to get up to attend court, Emperor Jingren lay on the bed and watched the queen walk towards him step by step and sit beside the bed. After the queen sat down, Emperor Jingren grabbed her hand and said with some displeasure: "Why didn't you call me to get up for morning exercise today?"
The queen held Emperor Jingren's hand, and her big hand just happened to completely wrap around Emperor Jingren's hand. She explained, "Your Majesty was drunk yesterday. When I woke up in the morning, I saw that Your Majesty was sleeping soundly. I was reluctant to wake you up, and wanted you to sleep a little longer."
"Well," Emperor Jingren nodded in a deep manner, "Drunkenness is harmful to the body. It is better to be moderate in such drinking contests in the future. Even if the Queen is a heavy drinker, she must remember that alcohol is harmful to the body."
"That's right. But it's not a bad idea to do it occasionally." The Queen smiled at Emperor Jingren, looking very happy.
Thinking of the countless intoxicating kisses last night, Emperor Jingren's face flushed slightly. He was a little depressed that he got drunk and did nothing, but he had never had such a kiss before, so this was fine.
So Emperor Jingren said, "It's okay to do it occasionally."
His face was obviously slightly red, but he kept a serious look on his face. The queen stared at him for a while, and couldn't help but lean over...
"Your Majesty," Eunuch Lian's voice came from outside the door, "Commander Yan requests an audience."
Emperor Jingren, who had wanted to get close to the empress early in the morning, frowned slightly, but quickly suppressed his emotions, stood up and dressed expressionlessly. The intimate feeling just now disappeared, and he was the majestic and wise Emperor Jingren again.
Emperor Jingren's brows had long been relaxed, but the empress's brows were slightly wrinkled. The serious Emperor Jingren rarely showed any different emotions, but because someone asked to see him, he turned back into the emperor whose reason surpassed emotion. Wouldn't it be a bit tiring to live like this
Emperor Jingren naturally could not meet Yan Xu in his bedroom, so after he got dressed, he went to the study next door to summon Commander Yan. The empress stayed in the bedroom and ordered the maids and eunuchs to clean up the room.
Eunuch Lian originally planned to serve Emperor Jingren, but was called down by the Queen.
"Eunuch Lian," the queen said calmly, "I have kept you and Xiao Shunzi because although you two have your own little thoughts, you have always been loyal to your duties and have never tried to hurt His Majesty. You are the ones who use incense the most in the palace, but you have never used it. This is why I have kept you."
"Really?" There was no one around, and Eunuch Lian's tone was without any respect. Instead, he looked up at the queen and said, "We are all starting from the same starting line, and each relies on his own ability. The queen used her status to attack others. This... well, of course, is understandable. But I am curious about one thing. The queen is a man. If His Majesty finds out, will the queen not use incense? The queen only allows the county officials to set fires, but not the people to light lamps. This is a serious double standard."
Facing the threat from Eunuch Lian, the Queen didn't care at all and continued, "Eunuch Lian, don't worry about the relationship between me and Your Majesty. I just want to tell you that when Your Majesty is resting in the future, unless it is extremely urgent, you must wait until Your Majesty gets up. Your Majesty is very self-disciplined and will never be lazy. He just takes a break occasionally. Please Eunuch Lian, please take Your Majesty's health first. If there is a next time, I think I need a eunuch who can care more about Your Majesty."
Although the Queen was in charge of the harem, there were several important eunuchs that the Queen could not touch, and the seal was one of them. Eunuch Lian was the most trusted person of the late Emperor. He watched Emperor Jingren grow up, and the friendship between them since childhood was not ordinary. The Queen could not change him with just a few words.
But in the same way, Doctor Chen was the chief judge of the Imperial Hospital, and was originally the most trusted doctor of Emperor Jingren. Now he was also sent away. As long as the means were appropriate, it would not be difficult to replace the eunuch. The most important thing was that the Queen was in great favor and His Majesty trusted her.
Eunuch Lian's face changed, and he whispered angrily: "I really don't know how the queen deceived His Majesty's trust with such honor. If it weren't for... help, I'm afraid that others would know that you are a man at a glance, right? I thought my appearance was bad enough, but I didn't expect that the queen would be so miserable even if she chose talent instead of appearance. With your honor, it doesn't matter how high your martial arts are. Once your identity is exposed, will His Majesty still let you be the queen?"
"Eunuch Lian doesn't need to worry about this, but there is one thing I think Eunuch Lian might want to know." The Queen said, "Everyone who comes here can choose between appearance and talent, and Eunuch Lian said to the public that he chose talent instead of appearance, but in fact, your movements and tone are not old at all. You are clearly a young man with the face of an old eunuch. I'm afraid you chose both talent and appearance, right? Eunuch Lian, why do you think you can have both talent and appearance?"
"Because..." Eunuch Lian looked at the Queen and suddenly revealed an incredible expression.
"It seems you have guessed it," the queen said with a faint smile, "You can choose more because there is someone who did not choose anything. Because of the fact that no one chose anything, I know that after giving up everything, you will get the position that is easiest to achieve your goal. And those who are greedy and want more will only be the least likely to succeed."
“But, but your skills... Could it be that?” Eunuch Lian’s old face was squeezed like a dried orange peel, and he looked at the queen tremblingly.
"I have always been myself, unlike you who have looks and talents that do not belong to you." The Queen waved her hand and said, "Eunuch Lian, you should go down and think carefully. Should you be loyal to me and be my eyes and ears, or dream of the impossible success and go against me. You know, if you fail here, you will just have nothing. But... there, I can really make Eunuch Lian regret for the rest of his life."
"This..." Eunuch Lian froze for a moment, then lowered his head and said, "Madam, please allow me to think about this carefully."
"Okay, but my patience is limited, Eunuch Lian, please don't delay deliberately. Also, I know that Eunuch Lian is very tight-lipped. He won't say a single word of what he can't say, right?" As the queen spoke, she placed her palm on the low table in the room. With a slight force on her palm, the solid wood low table broke into pieces!
"I, the old servant, know."
Eunuch Lian walked out of the room with his back bent, very frightened.
On the other side, Yan Xu reported the results of the investigation to Emperor Jingren. After the report, Yan Xu could not help but overstep his authority and said, "Your Majesty, I think Your Majesty should increase the number of guards, and bring more skilled guards around. However, I don't know to what extent the person behind the scenes has infiltrated. For Your Majesty's safety, I am willing to stay by Your Majesty's side day and night!"
In extraordinary times, some guards would indeed guard the emperor at all times. Generally, at such times, the emperor's privacy would be exposed to the guards. Some cruel emperors would even castrate the secret guards who guarded them every day to prevent them from having any improper thoughts about the concubines.
However, Emperor Jingren was not such a person. He rarely used secret guards in the palace. Even if he sometimes summoned the secret guards on duty, it was not for guarding but for other things that needed them to do. He thought about it and nodded, "Add one more group of people to each team of the Ming guards, and double the number of secret guards in the palace. I appreciate Commander Yan's loyalty, but the Imperial Guards still need you to lead them, and you don't need to follow me all the time."
"Your Majesty!" Yan Xu knelt on his knees and clasped his fists, "I am concerned about your Majesty's safety. I am willing to hand over the command to my subordinates. I only want to be your Majesty's personal bodyguard at this moment to protect your safety!"
Emperor Jingren said angrily, "Nonsense! You are in charge of 100,000 guards, 24 guards, and the most important Jinyiwei. You have multiple responsibilities and cannot afford to be negligent. I gave you the command of the guards because I believe in your ability. You have to take responsibility when you are in a position. How can you shirk your responsibility at will? Don't mention it again at this time. If you do, I will doubt whether you have the heart to be a guard!"
Yan Xu: “…”