What was wrong with the Emperor?
This question not only swirled in the minds of the imperial harem’s concubines but also troubled the Emperor himself.
Xie Zhihang was not a man who indulged in wine and women. Spreading his branches and scattering his leaves was his duty as Emperor, and his time in the harem was merely for appropriate recreation and relaxation. Of course, he appreciated beautiful women, but he was not one to become infatuated. If the heavens demanded he be celibate, he would do so for the sake of the dynasty. The problem was, he simply couldn’t stand how terrifying every day had become.
Take, for instance, a night seven days ago. Fu Gonggong had entered, bowing with a tray of Jade Tokens. He knelt to pay his respects, holding the tray high above his head for the Emperor to make his choice.
Xie Zhihang casually picked one. It was the Jade Token of Jiang Pin.
A short while later, just as Xie Zhihang finished his calligraphy practice and stepped onto the long corridor for a breath of fresh air, he saw the dolled-up Jiang Pin being carried into Weiyang Palace. She lifted her head, and upon seeing the Son of Heaven, she gave the Emperor a bewitchingly flirtatious wink.
A second later, Jiang Pin passed by again, winking flirtatiously x2.
Xie Zhihang stood there, expressionless, and waited. Sure enough, he saw Jiang Pin, wrapped up like a burrito, pass by once more. It was as if she had become a member of the bedchamber-attending assembly line, proceeding in an orderly fashion, invariably casting a coquettish glance his way in the process.
He just stood under the tree and watched Jiang Pin pass by seven times.
Jiang Pin wasn’t just here again; she was here again, and again, and again, and again.
Faced with the beautiful lady’s alluring glances, Xie Zhihang no longer felt any amorous sentiments, only speechlessness.
After she passed by for the seventh time, Yinglu approached with his head lowered to inform the Emperor, “Her Ladyship Jiang Pin is awaiting Your Majesty on the bed.”
But he heard the Emperor say, “Send Jiang Pin back.”
Yinglu was speechless.
Seriously? Your Majesty, are you just toying with people?
Of course, the Son of Heaven could summon and dismiss his concubines at will, but Jiang Pin was the Empress Dowager’s niece. Jiang Pin was easy to deal with, but the Empress Dowager would surely demand an explanation. Yinglu’s face remained impassive, but his heart was in agony. If he had the necessary equipment, Yinglu would have wanted to handle the matter on the Emperor’s behalf—not for the beauty, but just for a peaceful night where everyone was happy.
He didn’t understand why the Emperor could turn a blind eye to such a beauty.
The Emperor, too, felt that no one else could possibly understand the visual experience of watching a beautiful woman pass by seven times, throwing seven flirtatious winks—
That’s about enough. Any more winks and it’ll just be annoying.
…
Because of this strange phenomenon, the Emperor’s life was turned upside down.
He pretended nothing was wrong, but secretly conducted many experiments.
First, the Emperor named this strange occurrence of time reversal “Rewind.” He observed that the probability of a Rewind was highest when he flipped a Jade Token, perhaps implying that the heavens did not wish for him to favor the concubines of the harem.
The Emperor ordered the early execution of a death-row prisoner, then deliberately flipped Shufei’s token, wanting to see if a Rewind could reverse life and death, while also trying to find a pattern to its occurrence.
However, no Rewind occurred this time.
No matter. There were plenty of death-row prisoners.
The second time, he flipped Jiang Pin’s token. This time, it Rewound twice. The prisoner, who had been decapitated before the first Rewind, was not only alive and kicking after the second, but his neck was also perfectly intact, without a single mark from the blade.
It could turn back the universe and bring the dead back to life!
If he could claim this power for his own, wouldn’t he be able to double the use of his limited time?
The Emperor’s heart pounded wildly.
His first thought was how to use it to achieve the Xie family’s grand imperial hegemony.
Unfortunately, imagination was bountiful, but reality was stark.
After all, he couldn’t speak of such supernatural matters to others, and the Emperor was a man who was particularly good at keeping things to himself. His main job was still handling court affairs, and he could only squeeze out time to study this matter, so his efficiency was very limited.
He hadn’t figured out the pattern of the Rewinds, and the Emperor was about to break.
Because he wasn’t visiting the rear palaces and had often committed the act of summoning a concubine to Weiyang Palace only to have her carried back untouched, the Empress Dowager, with a stern face, summoned the Emperor to Changle Palace. “We thought Your Majesty was no longer willing to even come to Changle Palace.”
The Emperor exhausted his rhetoric. Just as he saw the Empress Dowager’s brow relax, just as she was about to be placated…
In the blink of an eye, he was back in front of the main hall of Changle Palace.
He looked up and watched in despair as the Empress Dowager said in a stuffy voice, “We thought Your Majesty was no longer willing to even come to Changle Palace.”
…
At the same time, Yun Jiao was happily munching on a Pumpkin Crisp.
Attendant He rested her chin in her hand, watching Yun Jiao’s carefree appearance. “The assessment is tomorrow. If you don’t pass, you’ll have to stay in Chu Xiu Palace for another seven days. Are you really not worried at all?”
“I’m quite happy staying in Chu Xiu Palace.” Yun Jiao swallowed the Pumpkin Crisp.
“The palaces are first come, first served. If you’re assigned late, you’ll be sent far, far away. You might not even get a proper palace.”
The rear palaces were full of minor residences with names like “Pavilion” or “Lodge.”
Unfavored, low-ranking concubines were stuffed in there to spend the rest of their lives.
“If you live far away, you’ll have to walk for an hour just to get to Jianzhang Palace for morning greetings.”
Seeing that Yun Jiao was still unmoved, Attendant He dropped a bombshell. “Besides, Wet Nurse Ye said that Her Majesty the Empress will give preferential treatment in palace assignments to those with good written test scores. You’ve performed well in every other area; there’s no reason to drop the ball on the written test.”
Her words were a sudden awakening for the little salted fish.
Yun Jiao was so startled she almost dropped her Pumpkin Crisp. She hadn’t thought of that. According to the rules of Yan Chi, even those who had never attended to the Emperor had to go pay their respects to the Empress daily. Those below the rank of pin were not granted a Sedan Chair and had to rely on their own two feet, rain or shine. That made the palace assignment critically important. She did not want to wake up an hour earlier than everyone else promoção in the winter.
“Thank you for the reminder, Sister He. I will study hard.”
For the sake of sleeping in, even a salted fish had to pull herself together!
The assessment day arrived in a flash.
Coincidentally, this day was a martial arts training day the Emperor had scheduled for himself.
A strong physique laid a solid foundation for managing a myriad of state affairs. No matter how busy he was, the Emperor would squeeze in time to complete his horse-riding, archery, and martial arts lessons. He had done so for ten years, and his training intensity was no less than that of a military general.
But as long as it was training, it was never not arduous.
The Emperor couldn’t bring himself to enjoy it; he could only endure it, finishing the lessons he was supposed to complete.
Today, he had drawn his bow a hundred times. His arms were so tired he couldn’t lift them, but he had finally finished for the time being.
Just then, a lightness spread through the Emperor’s entire body!
Then, he discovered that the martial arts master in the training grounds, who had just left, had returned and was respectfully kneeling to greet him. “Greetings to Your Majesty.”
The martial arts master, who was not told to rise for a long time, felt a sense of unease.
Is His Majesty in a bad mood today?
The Emperor standing before him appeared as steadfast as a mountain, but in reality, his soul had checked out for a little while.
His most hated archery practice, which he had just painstakingly finished, had been Rewound!
The muscles he had worked so hard to build were trained for nothing!
“Rise. Come and practice with Us.”
The martial arts master rose ઉત્પાદન, trembling. The Son of Heaven before him was looking down at him, his magnificent eyes now exuding a hint of iciness. “This servant obeys.”
Two hours later, time flowed backward again.
The Emperor’s hands, hidden beneath his dragon-embroidered sleeves, were trembling slightly. What in heaven’s name does the old man in the sky want from me?!
…
“Alright, I’ve finally memorized all the questions.”
After memorizing the exam questions until she knew them by heart, Yun Jiao confidently began her third attempt at the written assessment.