Chapter 266: Where is the Warm and Cozy Little Cotton-Padded Jacket?
The Jin Kingdom Emperor led Shen Ruoxi towards Xingnong and Shen Hanyu, then the four of them ascended the high platform together, formally accepting the obeisance of all the civil and military officials, the imperial consorts, princes, and concubines of the court: “Respectfully welcoming the Emperor, Empress, and Princess Xingnong back to the country!”
Just now, the crowd had followed the Jin Kingdom Emperor’s carriage not far behind. Before the Emperor disembarked, everyone had hurriedly gotten off their carriages, arrived at their respective positions, stood in order, and waited for the formal ceremony.
As for Chu Tiankuo, he left the carriage before entering the second gate and returned to the Chu Kingdom’s delegation.
The Jin Kingdom Imperial Palace was very large, having undergone several expansions. Therefore, there were some houses and palaces between the first and second gates. They were later renovated and used specifically to receive envoys from various countries. This made it more convenient to monitor the movements of the envoy delegations, rather than having the post houses for receiving envoys built outside the palace like other countries.
On the high platform, Shen Ruoxi was a bit nervous seeing so many people. However, both Xingnong and the Jin Kingdom Emperor were holding her hands, and with two people standing beside her, she felt less nervous. Even for Xingnong’s sake, she couldn’t lose face.
The Jin Kingdom Emperor, his eyes full of majesty, looked at the crowd below and said calmly, “Rise.”
Everyone stood up, and then they began to examine the legendary Empress and Princess.
With just one glance, some people gasped slightly, while others were stunned.
Truly beautiful!
Beautiful beyond words.
It seemed that all adjectives were insufficient to describe the beauty of the two people on the platform.
Seeing everyone’s reaction, the Jin Kingdom Emperor felt secretly proud!
He knew everyone would be astonished when they saw his Empress and Princess!
However, he was also reluctant to let people look too much, so he hurriedly said:
“I am tired today. Everyone, please return for now! Tomorrow, enter the palace to attend the imperial banquet, to welcome the Empress and Princess.” After the Jin Kingdom Emperor finished speaking, he pulled Shen Ruoxi and turned to leave.
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Everyone came back to their senses and responded in unison. Then they glanced again, each with their own thoughts, stood up, and either retreated or moved forward.
The attendant serving the Jin Kingdom Emperor spoke in a low voice at the right moment, “Your Majesty, both Kun Ning Palace and Heavenly Star Palace have been cleaned, and the palanquins are ready. Your Majesty, Empress, and Princess, you can go back and rest for a while.”
The Jin Kingdom Emperor turned to Xingnong and said, “Xingnong, will you stay in Heavenly Star Palace today? Then you can see if you like it. If there’s anything you’re not used to or don’t like, remember to tell Father Emperor. Tomorrow, Father Emperor will accompany you to walk around and choose another palace you like.”
Hearing this, Xingnong just nodded without saying anything.
It didn’t matter where she stayed, as she wouldn’t be staying long anyway.
Shen Hanyu then said, “Imperial Sister, I’ll escort you back to Heavenly Star Palace.”
The Jin Kingdom Emperor was very pleased to hear this, “Then take good care of your Imperial Sister and see if she needs anything.”
Shen Hanyu immediately replied, “Don’t worry, Father Emperor.”
Shen Ruoxi said to Xingnong, “Xingnong, have a good rest. If you need anything, come to Mother.”
Xingnong nodded.
At this moment, two groups of people walked over.
The group on the left was led by Noble Consort Liang, consisting of imperial consorts and concubines, about twenty or thirty people.
The group on the right was led by Shen Hanyu, with princes of various ages.
Shen Ruoxi looked at the two “aggressively approaching” groups, realizing that these were probably the Jin Kingdom Emperor’s consorts and sons.
She couldn’t help but ask the man beside her in a low voice, “Are they all your consorts?”
Shen Ruoxi already knew that the Jin Kingdom Emperor had twelve sons. He had said that the mothers of his twelve sons were all different, so she assumed he only had a dozen or so consorts.
But…
This large group, how could it be just a dozen or so? It was more like dozens!
She couldn’t help but start counting heads in a low voice, “One, two…”
The Jin Kingdom Emperor instantly became nervous. Should he let her count them all?
On the way, he had told Shen Ruoxi that he had many consorts in his harem. Shen Ruoxi was a bit unhappy at the time, but well, he was the Emperor. Which Emperor didn’t have a bunch of consorts in his harem? She understood somewhat, so she asked him how many.
Seeing that her expression had changed, the Jin Kingdom Emperor didn’t dare to say how many. Most importantly, he couldn’t even remember how many he had!
He only remembered that he had twelve sons, and the mothers of each prince were different. So he only remembered these twelve consorts.
He didn’t like going to the harem either, and he hadn’t favored many. Those he had favored all had children, so he thought there should be around a dozen or so consorts.
Why were there so many now?
The Jin Kingdom Emperor couldn’t possibly let her count them all. He hurriedly coaxed her, “We’ve been traveling all day, both Xingnong and you are tired. Let’s hurry back to the palace to rest, shall we?”
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Xingnong said calmly, “I’m not tired.”
The Jin Kingdom Emperor: “…”
Where was the warm and cozy little cotton-padded jacket he was promised?
Shen Ruoxi also said, “I’m not tired either.”
She just wanted to understand the situation, it wasn’t about being jealous. It was pointless to be jealous, but she was definitely feeling upset. So Shen Ruoxi made up her mind that after Xingnong’s competition was over, she would return to Peach Blossom Village with her. Out of sight, out of mind.
She didn’t want to be this Empress anyway!
The Jin Kingdom Emperor looked at Shen Hanyu.
Shen Hanyu was also helpless!
At this moment, Noble Consort Liang led the group and stopped three steps away. She curtsied and said, “Your servant greets Your Majesty, Your Highness the Empress, and Your Highness the Princess.”
The princes also bowed one after another, “Your sons greet Father Emperor and Mother Empress.”
Then everyone greeted Xingnong, “Imperial Sister/Imperial Older Sister, I am your First Imperial Brother, Second Imperial Brother/Seventh Imperial Younger Brother.”
The Jin Kingdom Emperor said with a stern face, “Rise!”
Noble Consort Liang knew his temper was short, so she didn’t waste words and hurriedly said, “Your Majesty, the banquet is ready. Will Your Majesty and the Empress bathe and change clothes before dining?”
It was almost lunchtime. She initially thought the Emperor would invite everyone to dine together, to welcome the Empress and Princess and for everyone to formally get acquainted.
The Jin Kingdom Emperor suppressed his impatience, “No need! The Empress and I are tired. We will have lunch at Qian Qing Palace. We will meet formally at the family banquet tonight. You may all leave!”
Only a few consorts could attend the family banquet tonight, so there wouldn’t be such a large group, which was scary!
Not to mention his Empress, even the Jin Kingdom Emperor felt upset. Usually, even during the grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to Heaven, there were rarely so many consorts appearing at the same time.
But it was also he who had issued the decree for everyone in the palace to welcome them. He regretted it immensely.
“Yes!” Noble Consort Liang didn’t understand why the Emperor was angry and hurriedly responded.
The Jin Kingdom Emperor didn’t forget to tell Shen Hanyu, “Escort your Imperial Sister to Heavenly Star Palace!”
“Yes!”
The Jin Kingdom Emperor held Shen Ruoxi’s hand and strode towards the palanquin, preventing her from continuing to count.
Shen Ruoxi: “…”
Wait, she hadn’t finished counting!
Shen Ruoxi looked back as she walked.
Seeing this, the Jin Kingdom Emperor simply picked her up horizontally and placed her on the palanquin.
A group of consorts: “…”
The Emperor actually carried the Empress onto the palanquin?
What happened to the Emperor being cold and emotionless, not understanding how to cherish women?
At this time, Shen Hancheng came to Xingnong’s side and said in the gentlest voice he could manage, “Imperial Sister, I am your First Imperial Brother. I’ll escort you back to Heavenly Star Palace to rest.”
The princes reacted and enthusiastically flocked to Xingnong’s side, “Imperial Sister/Imperial Older Sister, I am…, I’ll escort you back to Heavenly Star Palace!”
Xingnong: “…Greetings, Imperial Brothers!”
“Greetings, Imperial Sister/Imperial Older Sister!”
“Imperial Sister, let’s go! Heavenly Star Palace has been renovated! You can go and see if you like it!”
“Imperial Sister, and there’s also the Imperial Garden. We’ll take you to see if you like the flowers there, or if there’s anything you want to plant.”
Thus, Xingnong was surrounded by a group of Imperial Brothers and escorted to Heavenly Star Palace.
