Chapter: 159.2 out of 171

Wei Luo and Zhao Liuli continued talking. She eventually asked Liuli about her wedding with Yang Zhen. Zhao Liuli looked embarrassed, but there was a smile in her eyes. “Imperial mother doesn’t want to be separated from me. She wants me to stay with her for a bit longer. So, my wedding will be May of next year.”

Zhao Liuli would be eighteen years old next year. This age was slightly old to be getting married. However, she was a princess with a noble status, so it could be considered reasonable. It was only that Yang Zhen was quite pitiful. He had to wait another year before he could marry his fiancée.

A short while later, Empress Chen finished practicing equestrian archery and returned. She took a handkerchief that was embroidered with dogwood flowers from a place servant. As she wiped her sweat, she asked the two of them, “What are you two girls talking about? This empress sees that Liuli’s face has turned red.”

Zhao Liuli wouldn’t allow Wei Luo to tell, so Wei Luo only faintly smiled and stayed silent.

It wasn’t suitable for Zhao Liuli to stay outside for too long. Not much later, she was sent back to Chen Hua Hall by a mama.

After Zhao Liuli left, Empress Chen picked up Liuli’s small, white and blue porcelain bowl and drank a few sips of sour plum soup. She looked at Wei Luo and said, “This empress already knows about Chang Sheng and your matter.”

Wei Luo subconsciously straightened her back. Sitting upright and still, she said, “Imperial mother, I also have words that I want to say with you about this matter.”

Empress Chen could guess what she wanted to say and interrupted her. She indicated that she didn’t need to worry by saying, “Since you need to improve your health, this empress will have people deliver nourishing medicinal herbs. The medicinal herbs available outside of the palace aren’t as comprehensive as inside the palace. If you’re lacking in anything, tell this empress. There’s no need to be polite with this empress.”

Seeing that Wei Luo was startled and seemed confused, she lightly laughed and said, “Previously, this empress was too insistent and put you in a difficult position. Now, that this empress knows it’s because your health isn’t good and the matter can’t be rushed. It’s more important to focus on improving your health first.”

Wei Luo opened and closed her mouth before she finally said, “Imperial mother, aren’t you anxious about having a grandson?”

Empress Chen honestly said, “Of course. But is there any use in this empress feeling anxious? There’s nothing that can be done. This empress can’t force Chang Sheng to accept concubines.” The empress was an open-minded person that wouldn’t stubbornly insist something like that.

“Besides, if this really happened, not only would Chang Sheng object to this empress’s action, so would you. This empress has no desire to do such an arduous and thankless task.”

Wei Luo hadn’t expected that Empress Chen would be so open-minded. On the contrary, her initial worries had been unnecessary. She was very moved by Empress Chen’s words. She went forward and knelt down to sit next to Empress Chen. She looked like a sweet, obedient child. This was the first time she acted so intimate. “Imperial mother, you treat me so well. Older brother Prince Jing and me will definitely be very filial towards you in the future.”

Empress Chen very naturally hugged her and stroked her hair like a mother doting on her daughter. She said with a smile, “Hmm, if this empress didn’t say these words, were you deciding to not be filial towards this empress in the future?”

Wei Luo shook her head and honestly said, “I’ll still be filial, but I probably won’t be whole-heartedly filial.”

Empress Chen laughed without restraint. She like forthright girls like Wei Luo the most. She had long become annoyed with seeing the sham gestures of politeness in the imperial harem.

Wei Luo and Empress Chen talked for a while. An hour passed without them noticing.

Wei Luo looked towards the training area’s entrance. Emperor Chong Zhen had already left.

Seeing that it wasn’t early anymore, just as Wei Luo was about to stand up and bid farewell, a palace servant wearing a green round-neck robe rushed over here and said to the empress, “Your Majesty, seventh princess and the two female officials that teach etiquette have fallen into a dispute. Seventh princess is about to punish the female officials.”

Empress Chen faintly furrowed her eyebrows and said, “What happened?”

The palace servant reported the matter to the empress in full detail. It wouldn’t be good for Wei Luo to continue to listen, so she tactfully left the training area.

When she reached the entrance, the wind stirred up the dust and dust blew into Wei Luo’s eye. She stopped walking and furrowed her eyebrows in discomfort.

Jin Lu asked, “Miss, what happened?”

Wei Luo said, “Dust blew into my eye. Jin Lu, help me blow it out.”

Jin Lu carefully looked at her eyes, and gently blew at Wei Luo’s left eye. “Miss, is that better?”

Wei Luo couldn’t resist rubbing her eye. Her eyes were red and her eye didn’t feel better until a while later. She finally said, “It’s okay. Let’s continue walking.”

As soon as she looked up, she saw a handsome solder wearing scale armor that went past his waist at the entrance. His bright eyes were looking at her through his pointed iron helmet. However, his gaze was a bit too excessively frank and made her feel uncomfortable.

He didn’t return to his senses until a nearby person called out, “Military Officer Chen”. He smiled at Wei Luo before looking away.

Wei Luo didn’t notice his smile, much less take it seriously. After leaving the training area, she departed from the palace.

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Recently, Wei Luo had eaten many nourishing herbal supplements and drank numerous tonics. In addition to the ginseng and angelica sent by Empress Chen, there had been the fleeceflower root and caterpillar fungus Zhao Jie had sent people to Suzhou find and bring back. The money spent on just one day’s worth of Wei Luo’s herbal supplements would be enough for a normal family to buy a lifetime of rice.

However, it was difficult to avoid not getting tired of eating the herbal supplements. So, Zhao Jie had the cooks to figure out ways to incorporate the herbal supplements into their meals. In order to nourish her body faster, Wei Luo didn’t complain much. She usually drank whatever was made for her to drink.

And so, three months passed like this. Wei Luo’s little face become rosy and lustrous. She became even more beautiful than before. It could be seen that Doctor Sun’s words were very reasonable. It was very important for a woman to enrich the blood and qi. She would be a huge disadvantage if her qi and blood were deficient.

Right now, it was late autumn. The ground was covered in a golden layer of ginko leaves in the outside courtyard. Outside, there was the sound of the chilly wind blowing by. Inside, Wei Luo was sitting in Zhao Jie’s embrace. There was a slice of ginseng in her mouth and she was currently reading an invitation card in her hand to House Chen’s Marquis Guang Xin’s grandson one-month-old birthday celebration.

Marquis Guang Xin was a distant cousin of Empress Chen and they only had the slightest bit of familial connection. However, Emperor Chong Zhen had suppressed the House Chen greatly back then and this Marquis Guang Xin didn’t have any true power. By the time the title of marquis had reached this current generation, it might be that family’s last generation. They completely depended on their family’s territory to support them. They probably wouldn’t be able support themselves for much longer. For the sake of the next generation, their only choice was to seek connection and cling to a powerful person like Zhao Jie.

Wei Luo casually flipped over the invitation and asked for Zhao Jie’s opinion, “Do you want to go?”

Zhao Jie increasingly liked to touch Wei Luo’s little face. Her satiny face was fairer than a peeled hard-boiled egg. He unconcernedly said, “Didn’t you say you were bored yesterday? It’ll be good for you to go out and relieve your boredom.”

Wei Luo considered for a moment, “Then, let’s go. I’ll have Jin Lu prepare a gift.” After saying this, she wanted to jump down from Zhao Jie’s lap, but Zhao Jie stopped her by holding onto her waist and pressed her back down to her original position. She tilted her head and asked, “Is there something else?”

Zhao Jie’s hand slipped into her shirt. His palm caressed her satiny skin that felt like tasty, succulent, tender tofu. He lowered his head and buried his face between Wei Luo’s shoulder and neck and sniffed the scent of her neck. “You’ve been eating herbal supplements for so long, let me see if you’ve grown bigger here.”

Wei Luo hurriedly stopped his hand and scolded him for being indecent. “Its still daytime!” Besides, he knew why she was eating supplements. There was no reason for him to say nonsense.

But, Zhao Jie didn’t care if it was daytime or nighttime. He placed Wei Luo onto a small, vermillion-lacquered table with curved edges, removed her clothes, and his hand went inside her pink undergarment embroidered with golden thread. He pushed the cloth away and sucked that spot.

Wei Luo didn’t want to be heard by the servant girls that were standing outside at the doorway. She raised her hand and muffled her voice with the back of her hand. Her other hand tightly clutched the edge of the table. She quietly said, “Don’t bite. It hurts…”

Zhao Jie seemed as if he deliberately wanted to tease her. Although he loosened his grip, his mouth started to slowly move downwards.

Wei Luo’s entire body stretched taut and involuntarily lightly trembled. She had to suppress her voice. She couldn’t make any sound that was too loud. She was as pitiful as a bullied kitten. A long time later, her body softened and she collapsed onto Zhao Jie’s shoulder while quietly panting. Her eyes were covered in a thin layer of misty tears. She looked both pitiful and cute.

Zhao Jie held her head to kiss her and forced her to sample the taste of herself.

He kissed Wei Luo until her body softened even more and she felt light-headed. When she had slightly returned to her senses, Zhao Jie was carrying her into the study.