The next day happened to be a day off, and Ning Chen didn't have to go to court, so Yuan Jiu didn't wake him up outside.
As for Ye Jun, he usually slept until noon when he didn't have to get up early to pay his respects, so the servants of Yuxiu Pavilion didn't call him.
As a result, the two of them slept until almost lunch time.
In the end, Ning Chen woke up first.
I moved my arm, and it was completely numb.
Being pressed by the woman in his arms for a whole night was somewhat unbearable.
I wanted to pull it out gently, but the movement woke Ye Jun up.
"What time is it? Why hasn't the emperor gone to court?"
Ye Jun twisted his body, turned his back to Ning Chen and buried his face in the soft pillow, obviously not having gotten enough sleep.
"I am taking a day off today, but you usually sleep like this?"
He expressed a bit of disgust, but did not get up. He turned sideways and hugged the person.
It's early in the morning, with a beautiful girl in my arms. I didn't do anything last night, so it's inevitable that my mind is distracted.
Through her pajamas, she pinched her hands dishonestly.
Ye Jun hummed twice, turned to face Ning Chen, raised her legs and hooked them around his waist, and leaned her head against Ning Chen's arms.
How can I resist such initiative
So there was a harmonious and beautiful exercise on this cold morning.
Perhaps Ning Chen had been holding it in for too long, and he was a little too violent, causing Ye Jun to scratch several red marks on his shoulders and back, not to mention the marks on his neck.
"Are you born in the year of the dog?" Ning Chen gritted his teeth.
I didn't feel any pain just now, but now that the passion has faded and I'm stained with sweat, I feel a little uncomfortable.
Ye Jun rolled her eyes and weakly poked his chest, "Your Majesty always asks this question, so I would like to ask you, is Your Majesty a wolf? So ferocious."
After saying this, he lifted the quilt and pointed to the red marks on his chest and waist. These were done by a wolf just now.
Ning Chen touched his nose, feeling a little embarrassed.
He simply put on a shirt and called someone in to help him wash up.
The servants in Yuxiu Pavilion were quite discerning and had prepared hot water and a bathtub early in the morning. They also had a few pots of charcoal burning in the bathroom, which was now warm.
The two of them went in and took a comfortable bath.
After lunch, Ning Chen returned to Jiuchen Palace to handle government affairs.
But before leaving, he specifically asked to come back in the evening.
Ye Jun naturally had no objection to being noticed by the financial sponsor.
Giving a sweet kiss before leaving made that person unable to concentrate on reading memorials the whole afternoon.
Ning Chen has to work hard, but Ye Xiaoyao is idle.
I was very bored in the afternoon, so I asked Lumei to find some red paper and asked all the maids in the room to cut window paper-cuts.
Luhe is deft and the ones she cut out are the most beautiful. She also cut a small figure for the rice cake, which is very cute.
Ye Jun was not good at these things to begin with. After fiddling with them for a long time, he just cut out a weird plum blossom and a word "Fu" and then threw down the scissors and stopped playing.
He simply sat aside holding the dog, watching the maids haircutting their hair while chatting.
At this time, Luzhi remembered something.
"I went to the laundry shop to get something today and heard some gossip. It was quite confusing."
"What's the matter? Tell me now, don't keep me in suspense."
Nan Zhi loved listening to gossip, so she immediately moved closer to her.
Lu He hesitated to speak and looked at Ye Jun first.
"Looking at you, it must be some big deal. Tell me." Ye Jun sat up straight and became interested.
Only after getting permission did Lu He speak.
"As for the Empress' pregnancy, all the affairs of the harem are now managed by Consort Shu, Consort Wende, and Consort Jing. Consort Wende is favored and has given birth to the eldest prince, so it's fine for her to be in charge of things on weekdays, but now it's the end of the year, so it's most convenient for her to make friends with the royal family, ministers, and nobles outside. Besides, everyone is guessing who will take her place if the Empress can't go to kneel in the Imperial Ancestral Temple this year?"
After these words were spoken, the room suddenly became quiet.
Obviously everyone understands the deep meaning of this.
Ye Jun put the rice cake down, took a sip of tea, lowered her eyes and smiled, "It seems that someone is not used to Concubine Wende being favored, and doesn't want the Queen to take good care of her pregnancy."
But this method worked so well that Concubine Wende couldn't help feeling proud when she heard it, which caused dissatisfaction among the other two concubines.
If the Queen listened to this, she might worry that Concubine Wende would become too powerful and would think about taking back some of the palace power. But how could she keep a safe pregnancy if she did that
However, this method is really simple and it plays with people's hearts. As long as you don't take it seriously, nothing will happen.
"Just pretend you don't know about this. Just keep a close eye on Yuxiu Pavilion. If anyone starts gossiping, send them back to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I don't want anyone without a brain to serve me."
"Yes, I will remind you again later." Huiyue responded.
The last incident with Liu Zhi proved that Yuxiu Pavilion was not guarded tightly enough, so we could take this opportunity to strike again.
If there are any who look dishonest, just kick them out.
The master and his servant were chatting in the room when someone came outside.
It's the nanny from the needlework bureau who's here.
"I pay my respects to Concubine Ming. These are the winter clothes that Concubine Ming requested this year. They are all ready and I have sent them to you."
Ye Jun stood up calmly and walked forward to take a look.
There are four sets of clothes in total, all of which are this year's popular styles. Each set is different and has its own characteristics.
It is obvious that the needlework bureau has put a lot of effort into it.
I reached out and touched it, and found that the material was of high quality, with fine stitching and a soft touch.
"Thank you for your hard work, Ma'am. This dress is very well made." Ye Jun smiled.
"Oh, being able to serve the Concubine is a blessing that we have accumulated over several lifetimes!" After saying this, she motioned to the little palace maid behind her to bring up another tray, "These are the hand warmer bags that I sewed with the leftover fabrics from my clothes. Do you like them?"
There were four of them neatly placed on the tray, and they were indeed made of the same fabric as the clothes, so they matched perfectly.
Ye Jun couldn't help but pick it up and take a closer look, "This is quite exquisite."
After looking at it, he casually took out two small gold ingots from the box on the table and stuffed them over.
"It's the new year, Madam, you've worked so hard, this is a small token of my appreciation."
When the nanny from the needlework department saw the gold, her eyes widened and she expressed her gratitude in a hurry.
This is two taels of real gold, isn't it much less valuable than silver
Of course, it wasn't just given to her alone. She was also given twenty taels of silver, which she was asked to distribute.
"What's going on? Tell me what's going on."
Suddenly, a man's voice was heard outside the house. When I turned around, I saw Ning Chen, dressed in a dark blue robe, walking in.
Everyone saluted hurriedly.
Ye Jun bowed not too seriously, then walked forward and brushed the snow off his shoulders with the handkerchief in his hand.
"I was stuck in the house all afternoon, and it started snowing outside. The emperor came all the way here without an umbrella."
"It's okay. It was just a little snow that suddenly fell on the way."
Looking down at the woman in front of him, Ning Chen's heart couldn't help but soften. He glanced back and saw several sets of clothes on the table.
"Those are for New Year's wear? Why are there only four?"
As soon as these words came out, the people from the Needlework Bureau turned pale with fright.
Ye Jun swung her handkerchief and hit him on the chest, "I am a fifth-rank official. Apart from the winter clothes I should make, this is the only allowance for clothes I will wear during the New Year!"