It's truly incredible.
Five years ago, on Emperor Jingxuan's birthday banquet, Yun Wan accompanied Old Madam Lu to the palace to offer birthday greetings.
The banquet was grand, lasting from noon until evening. The old madam had a couple of drinks with other court ladies and couldn't hold on any longer by evening.
Yun Wan supported her to a side room to rest. After attending to the old madam and getting her to sleep, Yun Wan took a stroll around to get some fresh air. Unexpectedly, she accidentally heard someone mentioning words like 'Your Majesty' and 'opportunity'.
Not wanting to get involved and having no interest in palace secrets, Yun Wan planned to leave as soon as possible.
However, the more cautious she was, the more mistakes she made.
After noticing footsteps approaching her, Yun Wan quickly covered her face with her sleeve and ran in the opposite direction.
It was a bamboo forest, lush and green. The only drawback was that there was no place to hide.
Yun Wan still remembered that she ran desperately forward at that time, not knowing where she was at all, until she saw a bamboo attic.
She could still faintly hear footsteps behind her, so she didn't hesitate to enter the attic, hoping to hide there.
The attic had only one floor, and its bottom was suspended in the air. One had to climb the stairs to get up.
Yun Wan, who was already extremely tired from running all the way, collapsed against the door after entering the attic. Exhausted, she didn't notice anything strange in the room.
By the time she came to her senses, it was already too late.
She had inhaled the sleeping incense and, in a daze, had an intimate encounter with a man who was also drunk and under the influence of the sleeping incense.
And this man was actually the host of today's birthday banquet - the current emperor, Emperor Jingxuan!
The dragon - patterned imperial robe on him and the unique ambergris all indicated his identity.
Yun Wan didn't drink alcohol and woke up first. Then, there was a fire in the palace and assassins appeared. Taking advantage of the chaos in the palace, she managed to escape without being noticed.
After leaving the palace and returning to the Duke's Mansion, Yun Wan suddenly realized that the handkerchief she had casually carried was nowhere to be found. Moreover, the emperor's jade ring was still on her.
Yun Wan didn't dare to show any sign of strangeness and didn't let anyone notice. She just regarded it as a big dream and pretended that nothing had happened after waking up.
She thought she could hide it for a lifetime and that she would never have any more connections with the master of the imperial city. However, as fate would have it, by some strange coincidence.
Now, she had actually become his concubine.
"So, it was stuck on Madam's chest and came back home with Madam."
Emperor Jingxuan sighed, his gaze falling on her collar, and said in an unclear tone, "It had intimate contact with Madam and accompanied Madam for five years, yet Madam was so heartless as to throw it away and toss it into the horse stable!"
Yun Wan:.........
It had come full circle.
But she had nothing to say about this question. She had already explained it.
Seeing her expression, Emperor Jingxuan knew that she had no idea why he was angry.
His anger only grew instead of subsiding. Yun Wan thought things were bad.
Did he still feel dissatisfied? Did he think it was a humiliation?
Under Emperor Jingxuan's cold and gloomy gaze, Yun Wan got up and knelt down, saying meekly, "Your humble concubine didn't mean to hide it. I'm not the one who schemed against you back then. I originally wanted to keep this matter a secret for a lifetime, but unexpectedly, you found out."
He was in a fit of anger. Yun Wan knew that the most urgent thing was to dispel his doubts and not let the incident five years ago become a rift between them. Just like the incident of climbing into the bed, she couldn't give him the impression that she was promiscuous and frivolous.
Anyway, she should present herself as a 'forced' victim.
"If Your Majesty minds this, your humble concubine has nothing to say and is willing to accept the punishment. I only beg you not to implicate the innocent."
Implicate the innocent.
Emperor Jingxuan's face darkened slightly and he suddenly paused.
In a split - second, Emperor Jingxuan narrowed his eyes slightly. "Madam, tell the truth. Is there still something you're hiding from me?"
Yun Wan shook her head frankly. "No."
Emperor Jingxuan curled his lips. "Really nothing?"
Yun Wan didn't know if he was deliberately testing her or if he had found out something else. Suddenly, she became extremely cautious and said, "I've already confessed my biggest secret in this life to you. What else do you think I can hide from you?"
Emperor Jingxuan asked, "When is Lu Changsui's birthday?"
Mentioning A Sui, Yun Wan then realized his sharpness. He had so quickly associated it with the child.
"March."
There was nothing to hide about this. It could be easily found out.
Hearing this, Emperor Jingxuan stared at her intently.
Yun Wan remained calm and said, "I know what Your Majesty is suspecting, but I grabbed two doses of contraceptive decoction after I went back that day. So, as for A Sui..."
Her meaning was self - evident.
"Moreover, my husband was seriously ill at that time, and the old madam wanted my husband to leave a descendant."
The implication was that although Lu Fenglan was seriously ill, he still had the ability to have sexual relations.
Yun Wan spoke ambiguously, thinking that this didn't count as lying to him.
It was true that she took the contraceptive decoction, and it was also true that the old madam wanted to leave a descendant.
She didn't know if what she was doing was right, but now that she had just been named a concubine, she was attracting too much attention. A Sui's identity as a child of the Lu family would better protect him.
Hearing that she had taken the contraceptive decoction, Emperor Jingxuan was angry and disappointed.
He was angry that she was so rational. After having an intimate encounter with him, she took the contraceptive decoction. He was disappointed that Lu Changsui was not his son.
He said coldly, "Don't tell me about your affairs with him."
Well then.
"If he's not, it doesn't matter. There will be plenty of time for me and Madam in the future. Maybe Madam is already pregnant with my child."
After saying that, he snorted.
Yun Wan moved her lips but didn't pour cold water on him.
When she got up this morning, her menstrual period had arrived.
"I haven't asked Madam yet. What did you say to Lu Yuanduo near the Lu family's stable today?" Emperor Jingxuan asked casually.
Yun Wan was stunned. "Didn't Your Majesty's people tell you?"
She knew there were his people in the Lu family, but she didn't expect that he would even know about her conversation with Lu Yuanduo. Suddenly, she felt uncomfortable.
Emperor Jingxuan smiled meaningfully. "Is Madam reluctant to say or doesn't want to tell me?"
Hearing this, Yun Wan felt a bit annoyed and blurted out, "This has nothing to do with this matter. Don't be unreasonable—"
Emperor Jingxuan was stunned, looking incredulous. "You think I'm being unreasonable?"
Realizing she had spoken out of turn, Yun Wan quickly denied it. "No..."
The next second, he was furious. He stood up abruptly and said, "Is it me being unreasonable, or is Madam feeling guilty?"
A man can tell what another man is thinking at a glance. He could tell at a glance that Lu Yuanduo had feelings for her.
"Your Majesty!"
Yun Wan was incredulous. "You can't slander me just because you're angry!"
Emperor Jingxuan opened his mouth, left a sentence 'Madam, you'd better watch your step' and then left with a flick of his sleeve.
Seeing his master coming out in a huff, Jiang Fusheng was extremely nervous.
He had heard the argument between the two masters just now. Although in the end, his emperor left in a fit of anger.
After leaving the Zichen Palace, Emperor Jingxuan suddenly felt a bit regretful, but as an emperor, he couldn't go back, or where would his face be?
So, he simply went to the Hall of Diligent Government.
He couldn't concentrate on the piles of memorials. Emperor Jingxuan summoned the Xuanlong Guards:
"Go and investigate what happened around the time Madam was pregnant back then, as well as everything about Lu Changsui from his birth until now. The more detailed, the better."
His eyes were deep as he thought of A Sui's eyes.
The faster Madam denied it, the more he felt there was something fishy.
