Chapter 23
**Chapter 23: This Prince Will Only Accompany You Tonight, Nothing Else**
The light was dim, and the Yan Wang scrutinized Zhang Yue's face.
Zhang Yue was not bad-looking, but unfortunately, she was too thin, and her skin was unnaturally pale. In her bright, large eyes, there was a glimmer of greed for power that truly repulsed the Yan Wang.
This Zhang Yue was much like the other concubines who had served him before—ambitious and self-important, but eventually losing their vibrancy and becoming dull and uninteresting.
The Yan Wang felt a wave of boredom wash over him.
He waved his sleeve dismissively. “Just stay put.”
Turning, he left the sleeping quarters, intending to visit the neighboring Fangfei Garden to find Shen Wei.
Outside the hall, the chief eunuch Fu Gui, along with the maidservants Fang Er and Cui Er, were patiently waiting for orders. Typically, after the Yan Wang spent the night with a concubine, he would call for water to bathe and cleanse himself.
Hot water had already been prepared outside, ready for the Yan Wang's summons.
“Fu Gui, do you think my Zhang Zhuzi can be as favored as Shen Zhuzi next door?” Fang Er asked Fu Gui in a low voice.
Fu Gui chuckled and replied honestly, “Your Zhang Zhuzi is far from being on the same level as Shen Zhuzi.”
Having served by the Yan Wang's side for many years, Fu Gui had never seen a concubine as special as Shen Wei, whose methods of vying for favor were both innovative and perfectly timed.
Unbeknownst to him, the Yan Wang had developed a deep attachment to Shen Wei.
Just earlier, as he passed by Fangfei Garden, Fu Gui noticed the Yan Wang's gaze lingering on it several times.
Fang Er pouted, clearly dissatisfied. “They’re all concubines; how different can they be?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the door to the Rose Garden opened, and the moonlight cast a particularly cold and handsome glow on the Yan Wang's face.
“Go to Fangfei Garden,” he commanded.
Fu Gui thought to himself, as expected, and quickly led the guards to the neighboring Fangfei Garden.
Fang Er and Cui Er were left dumbfounded.
The Yan Wang had barely spent half a tea's worth of time in the Rose Garden; how could he leave so suddenly?
Just as the Yan Wang stepped out, a loud crash echoed from inside the room.
Zhang Yue had thrown down a blue-and-white porcelain teacup from the table.
She had thought that tonight she would successfully serve the Yan Wang and gain his exclusive favor. But to her utter shock, the Yan Wang had no intention of spending the night with her and had simply abandoned her.
Zhang Yue clenched her fists, her teeth nearly biting into her own flesh with rage. “Shen Wei! It must be Shen Wei targeting me on purpose! She deliberately stole the prince away, wanting me to lose favor!”
Her hatred surged, filled with resentment.
...
The Yan Wang never cared for a concubine's feelings; he came and went as he pleased, always following his whims.
No one could criticize his capriciousness.
He entered Fangfei Garden.
The courtyard was filled with blooming white gardenias and vibrant crape myrtle, bursting with life. The Yan Wang felt a sense of familiarity as he gazed at the flourishing vegetable seedlings.
It was as if he had returned home.
He didn’t want to disturb Shen Wei; he was curious about how she spent her nights alone when he wasn’t there.
The lights in the sleeping quarters were still on, the candlelight soft and bright, filling the room with a faint scent of mugwort and gardenias. Shen Wei sat at her writing desk, holding a fine wolf hair brush, a strand of hair falling across her forehead as she focused intently on practicing her calligraphy.
Her eyes were slightly red, and she occasionally wiped them, as if she had just been crying.
The Yan Wang's heart stirred.
So, during the nights when he wasn’t there, his Wei Wei had been quietly shedding tears.
He couldn’t help but imagine: *She is just a weak and pitiful woman, unable to have her husband’s full attention, watching helplessly as he favors other concubines. Shen Wei, not daring to feel jealous, can only hide away and cry alone.*
“Still practicing your writing?” the Yan Wang asked with a smile.
The brush slipped from Shen Wei's fingers and fell onto the rice paper with a loud thud, leaving a stark black ink blot on her freshly written characters.
Her eyes were still red, and her rosy lips parted in surprise, clearly not expecting the Yan Wang's sudden arrival.
Then, with delight, Shen Wei dropped the brush and rushed over. “Your Highness, you’re back!”
The Yan Wang wrapped his arms around her slender waist, teasingly pinching her little nose. “If I hadn’t come, would you still be secretly crying?”
Shen Wei shook her head in denial. “I wasn’t crying; you must have seen it wrong.”
She truly hadn’t cried.
Who he chose to sleep with didn’t matter to her. The redness around her eyes was simply from accidentally poking herself with the brush while practicing.
After rubbing her eyes a few times, they had turned red.
“You’re really stubborn,” the Yan Wang shook his head, seeing her trying to act tough despite her red eyes.
He walked over to the desk to examine Shen Wei's calligraphy. She was still practicing “Spring Banquet,” having filled three pages, but her handwriting remained crooked and ugly, almost unbearable to look at.
The Yan Wang glanced at Shen Wei’s beautiful face, then at her ugly writing, and sighed softly. “Come, let this prince teach you how to write it again.”
The candlelight was gentle as the Yan Wang had Shen Wei sit in his lap, holding her delicate hand, guiding her stroke by stroke.
As they wrote, they ended up on the bed...
Shen Wei, her clothes shed, shyly hid under the covers, her eyes filled with a mix of bashfulness and fear. “My writing is so poor; please don’t punish me, Your Highness.”
The Yan Wang swallowed hard.
For some reason, he suddenly felt that he was no longer a prince, but Shen Wei's tutor, and she was his student.
Looking at her shy and timid expression, the Yan Wang pinched her fair chin and playfully scolded, “After teaching you so many times, you still haven’t improved. You deserve to be punished.”
And so, the punishment lasted until the early hours of the morning.
The Yan Wang found it incredibly enjoyable, relishing the experience of taking on a different role with Shen Wei, discovering a pleasure he had never known before.
As a man of ancient times, the Yan Wang had no idea that this behavior was called—role-playing.
The two of them played until deep into the night, calling for water several times before finally falling asleep together. The next day, the Yan Wang went to court, while Shen Wei, rubbing her sore waist, began her morning run around Fangfei Garden.
Just then, an unexpected guest barged into Fangfei Garden.
Zhang Yue stormed in, furious. “Shen Wei, how shameless can you be! Last night, the prince clearly stayed with me, yet you still dared to seduce him to your shabby garden!”
Zhang Yue had been holding in her anger.
Only after the Yan Wang left that morning did she dare to confront Shen Wei.
Shen Wei paused her run, took the towel from Cai Ping to wipe her sweat, and replied leisurely, “The prince’s legs are his own; he can go wherever he pleases. If you’re unhappy, why not confront him directly?”
Zhang Yue was momentarily speechless.
As an ordinary concubine, she had no courage to confront the Yan Wang. She glared at the red marks on Shen Wei's neck and scoffed, “I’ll go tell the Wang Fei and see how she punishes you!”
With that, Zhang Yue turned to leave.
Shen Wei didn’t care; she continued her run to keep fit.
“Master, what if the Wang Fei believes Zhang Yue’s slander and punishes you?” Cai Lian asked, a bit worried.
Shen Wei replied nonchalantly, “The Wang Fei won’t pay any attention to a concubine’s clumsy attempts to vie for favor.”
This Wang Fei was “as indifferent as a chrysanthemum.” The more Zhang Yue acted “arrogantly,” the less the Wang Fei would take her seriously.
Sure enough, Zhang Yue went to the Wang Fei, crying and complaining, but the Wang Fei was in no mood to listen.
Seated in the main position, the Wang Fei rubbed her temples wearily. “Who the prince favors is no one’s business.”
Tears streamed down Zhang Yue’s face. “But the prince’s heart is tied to that vixen Shen Wei!”
Seeing her sobbing, the Wang Fei felt annoyed and snapped, “Crying won’t help. You should think about how to make the prince come to your Rose Garden instead. Liu Mama, take Zhang Yue out.”
Zhang Yue left the Wang Fei’s quarters in tears.
After Liu Mama returned, the Wang Fei set down her teacup and instructed, “Zhang Yue is truly useless. In a while, arrange for a new girl to come in—it's been two years since a child was born in the Yan Wang Fu, and my mother is already quite displeased with me.”
The Wang Fei was anxious.
Although Shen Wei was favored, the Yan Wang had given her contraceptive medicine; Zhang Yue was beautiful but lacked intelligence; and the other concubines in the inner court were all slacking off, with no signs of pregnancy.
The lack of children in the Yan Wang Fu would ultimately reflect poorly on the Wang Fei. If this continued, the Empress would surely grow dissatisfied with her.
Liu Mama comforted the Wang Fei, “Don’t worry, Wang Fei. I’ve already picked out a girl. She hails from Jiangnan and is on her way to Yanjing.”
The Wang Fei sighed.
She stood up and, with Liu Mama, headed to the study to supervise the lessons of the two children.
...
Back in the Rose Garden, Zhang Yue racked her brain for ways to win favor. Every day, she took her maidservants out, pretending to “accidentally” run into the Yan Wang in the garden.
Luck was on her side; ten days later, Zhang Yue finally regained the Yan Wang’s favor.
That night, the Yan Wang stayed in the Rose Garden.
Zhang Yue served the Yan Wang nervously and awkwardly. But she never expected the Yan Wang’s stamina to be so formidable...
When she was a maid, she had been malnourished and thin. After enduring a beating and spending a month recovering, she had become even more frail. When the Yan Wang lightly pinched her waist, it felt as if her face was about to contort in pain.
After just one encounter, Zhang Yue fainted.
The Yan Wang looked at the unconscious Zhang Yue, his interest waning. The maidservants brought in hot water, and after bathing and changing, the Yan Wang could have stayed in the Rose Garden as usual.
But as he surveyed the old, yellowing wooden bed, the not-so-new red bedding, and the half-dead woman on it, he suddenly found it all quite unappealing.
He preferred to stay with Shen Wei.
In Shen Wei’s quarters, fresh flowers were always on the desk, the bedding was clean and fragrant, and even the pillows were just the right softness. Every time he slept in Shen Wei’s bed, the Yan Wang always had a good night’s sleep, waking up refreshed and ready to handle state affairs the next day.
As summer approached, the mosquitoes grew more numerous. Even the Wang Fei’s quarters had mosquitoes. Yet, in Shen Wei’s room, there were none, only the refreshing scent of mugwort.
“Boring.” The Yan Wang left the Rose Garden, intending to find Shen Wei in Fangfei Garden.
The eunuchs and guards carried lanterns as they walked through the night.
Shen Wei awaited the Yan Wang at the entrance of Fangfei Garden, the moonlight soft around her, her small face pale. The Yan Wang stepped forward and took her hand. “Are you still feeling unwell?”
Shen Wei’s cheeks flushed, and she shyly lowered her head. “It’s all your fault...”
It turned out that last night, the Yan Wang had stayed in Fangfei Garden, and in their passionate entanglement, he had accidentally injured her leg.
The Yan Wang, feeling sorry for Shen Wei, personally lit a lamp to apply swelling ointment to her injury. Shen Wei’s face was as red as a rose... The Yan Wang gazed at her flushed cheeks, so stunningly beautiful that it was utterly captivating.
Unable to resist, he took her again several times.
As a result, Shen Wei’s injury became increasingly swollen...
“Your Highness, please let me rest tonight,” Shen Wei said, rubbing her sore waist and looking reproachfully at the Yan Wang.
The Yan Wang, seeing her picturesque features, felt a surge of compassion. “Tonight, I will only keep you company, nothing else.”
Shen Wei lightly pressed her red lips together. “But last night, you said the same thing, and in the end... hmph.”
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