radicalducati Chapter 247 Li Yuanke: It would be so much better to be sick every day!
Chapter 247 Li Yuanke: It would be so much better to be sick every day!
Pei Gao continued, "Last Mid-Autumn Festival, at the palace family banquet, the Empress merely asked her why she hadn't arrived earlier, and she gave the Empress a good scolding in front of the imperial family members."
The Emperor didn't speak up for the Empress at all; the Empress was so aggrieved that she had nowhere to complain!
Pei Xunli was furious. "Mother, why didn't you tell your son about this? If I had known, I would have found several censors to scold her to death! The Emperor is clearly favoring his concubine over his wife!"
Gao Shizhong added fuel to the fire, saying, "His Majesty is directly slapping Pei in the face by bestowing upon her the title of Imperial Noble Consort. Where in history has this ever happened? It's an act of tyranny!"
Pei Gao glanced at her husband and said, "So what if I said it? So what if the censor impeaches us? Has that bitch Shen ever been afraid? Besides, half the court officials are practically hers, and the military generals all wish they could be her devoted followers."
The best course of action now is to use her name to bring down that illegitimate son. Empress Wenzhen accompanied the late emperor through thick and thin, and in the end, the throne went to the son of another lowly woman. I wonder if Empress Wenzhen, if she knew this in the afterlife, would resent her good elder brother!
Pei Xiang lowered his eyes, his hands on his knees gripping the hem of his robe.
It must be said, Pei Gaoshi is a talented person!
She knelt down, weeping, "My lord, how many of my sons, daughters, nephews, and nieces died at her hands back then? My lord, you have the nation and the world in your heart, while I am but a woman confined to the inner quarters. I only want revenge for my children. I will never let the Shen family live under the same sky!"
Prime Minister Pei helped her up. "Has the Princess Consort of Jin been chosen?"
Pei Gao wiped away her tears. "I asked the Empress to sound out the Empress Dowager's opinion. There is no definite candidate yet. Choosing the Wang family from Taiyuan is not out of the question. In the future, we can send the twin sisters into the palace. They will definitely be useful in a critical moment."
Mentioning his twin sister, Pei Xunli's heart skipped a beat, and he clenched his fists uncomfortably.
I quickly felt relieved again!
With the greater cause at hand, how could he afford to care about such things!
Prime Minister Pei then said, "Then let's hurry!"
Pei Gaoshi agreed.
Gao Shizhong asked, "Is this plan feasible? Didn't Her Majesty the Empress say that the Empress Dowager also intends to hold a selection of concubines, but the Emperor has refused?"
Prime Minister Pei said, "There is no one left in the harem. At this critical juncture, not only do we need to send people into the harem, but the Emperor also needs to win people over so that he will surely agree to the selection of candidates next year. We must prepare the candidates carefully."
Pei Gaoshi also agreed.
Prime Minister Pei continued, "Prince Chang Le is approaching twenty years old and has yet to choose a principal wife. With Lady Xie in the palace, she is always causing trouble, which must be worrying the Empress Dowager. The Shen family still has a daughter of marriageable age who might be able to win the Empress Dowager's favor."
This was meant to annoy Shen Shixi and avenge her for bullying the Empress.
Pei Gao's eyes lit up. "I understand!"
Prime Minister Pei stood up. "From now on, you can make your own decisions!"
Inside the Qianyuan Palace, Shen Shixi was also discussing the severe drought with the emperor. "The drought certainly affects more than just one or two prefectures, but only the prefect of Huai Prefecture reported it. The other prefectures didn't report it at all, which indicates that there's something wrong behind it."
Li Yuanke leaned against the headboard, bent one leg, and pulled Shen Shixi into his arms.
He slipped his hand inside her skirt.
He continued, "The Pei family of Henan is a prominent clan in the region, and the Pei Gao family is a prominent clan in Hebei. If they can't even control the local areas, how can that be justified?"
Shen Shixi patted his hand. "Li Yuanke, your illness is cured, isn't it? Can't you get up?"
She got up to help Li Yuanke, but he pulled her into his arms. He rubbed his forehead, "Ouch, my head hurts. Can you take a look? Do I have a fever again?"
"I think you're just being horny!" Shen Shixi said angrily. "Stop pretending. I don't want to show you the memorials anymore. How can you bully people like this?"
Li Yuanke laughed, pulled her up, and pinned her to the bed. "Make sure your man has a good meal so he'll have the energy to work!"
Shen Shixi kicked him, "Fine, you bastard, you can do this kind of thing, and you still pretend to be sick, and you still make me do chores. Li Yuanke, if you don't give me some benefits, see if I'll let you off the hook?"
Li Yuanke was overjoyed to kiss her, as if he had gotten a tremendous advantage. "If you missed me, you should have just said so, and I would have given it to you!"
He was laughing heartily, his eyebrows and eyes were full of smiles, and his eyes reflected an enlarged image of Shen Shixi's face.
As the two pressed together, his brows furrowed, and a muffled groan escaped his lips.
Red waves overturned the quilt.
The two kissed passionately, inseparable.
Although Li Yuanke had been ill, he was still young and well-rested. Even so, he was left breathless by her antics. He slapped her and said, "You bastard, trying to murder your husband?"
Shen Shixi was actually very tired, but she refused to admit defeat and bit his shoulder, saying, "I've done so much work for you, and you're not even willing to sacrifice your looks to repay me? Humph, you're so stingy!"
"Didn't I go easy on you? With you always needing to rest or take a break, how can I not feel uncomfortable?"
"You're still not satisfied with me? Oh, I see. With so many women in your harem, who are you eyeing? I'll leave right now and make room for someone else... Ouch, Li Yuanke, you dare pinch me!"
Li Yuanke pinned her down, nailing her firmly to the bed.
Shen Shixi was speechless; her mind suddenly went blank, as if her soul had flown away.
……
In the second round, Li Yuanke was finally satisfied.
The two soaked in the hot spring for a while, then ordered their meal.
Li Yuanke still had a slight cough, but it wasn't too serious. The soup was rock sugar and snow pear, the dish was stewed radish, and the staple food was tangerine peel and poria porridge, along with a coarse grain steamed bun.
Shen Shixi ate a lavish meal: stir-fried garlic eel, shrimp with green snails, cherry pork, and braised chestnut chicken. The food was glistening with oil and smelled delicious, making Li Yuanke's meal look like something a beggar would eat.
He was furious. "Can't I even eat something good? I used up so much energy just now, I need to replenish myself!"
Shen Shixi said, "Aren't you sick? You haven't fully recovered, and you're already causing trouble. I regret it now. It's all your fault. If you develop any health problems later, it will be too late to regret it when you're old."
"Regret my ass! When I'm old, I'll be just as good!"
He pointed to the eel segment, "Give me a bite of this!"
These dishes were all made according to Shen Shixi's requirements. Whenever she lived in Qianyuan Palace, the East Kitchen would be bustling with activity, as various dishes were made according to her requirements every day, and her cooking skills improved accordingly.
This stir-fried eel with garlic is a new dish that Li Yuanke has never tried before, and he is very tempted by it.
Shen Shixi picked out a piece of food for him, which he ate, but he wanted more. Shen Shixi refused to give him any, which made him very angry.
"I've never seen anyone as heartless as you. I've been sick for so long, and you haven't even been able to afford a decent meal."
I got hungry very quickly after eating.
Shen Shixi had someone bring him some white radish and honey water. He drank it, frowned, and said, "What is this stuff? It tastes awful!"
Shen Shixi was reading the memorials, so she rolled her eyes at him and ignored him.
When Li Yuanke was sick, he became very dramatic, acting like an unreasonable child.
Shen Shixi summoned Liu Jingzhong, the Vice Minister of Works, and inquired about the progress of the asphalt project.
They had consulted Shen Shixi many times before about this matter, and they had mastered the technique, but the current climate was not very suitable.
Liu Jingzhong replied, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the asphalt paving project can proceed. However, the current weather is not suitable, and we should wait until spring when the weather is warmer."
Indeed it is.
Shen Shixi said, "Then I will teach you another method to make something called cement. You take people to Huaizhou and build a cement factory in a place far from human habitation. Recruit local people and use grain or silver to pay for the work, and make cement."
Repair the roads over there, and return only when the people have a good harvest.
Liu Jingzhong asked, puzzled, "Your Highness, is there something wrong in Huaizhou?"