Chapter 65: Tsk, isn't he worried about draining his essence?

Chapter 65
My, isn't he afraid of draining his vitality?

Following the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhao Yi became exceedingly busy—busy summoning consorts to attend to him in bed.

Perhaps it was that gathering the other day that suddenly made him realize just how many of his consorts had been neglected, prompting him to try and spread warmth to each and every one of them in turn.

After bestowing his favor upon Noble Lady Liu that evening, he had come straight to Ye Wanwan’s quarters, but alas.

"Your Majesty, this concubine has caught a cold. Please stay back lest you catch it too."

Zhao Yi: "..."

Ye Wanwan only resented that Yan Chen’s medicine for colds was too effective, curing her discomfort so quickly. For the first time, she felt that being sick for a few more days might not have been a bad thing.

Since things failed at Ye Wanwan's place, Zhao Yi began summoning others to serve him, changing companions every single day for half a month without a single repetition. No one managed to obtain exclusive imperial favor, perfectly showcasing both the ruthlessness and the boundless love of an emperor.

My, isn't he afraid of draining his vitality?

While it was only natural for an emperor with his three palaces and six courtyards to share his favors evenly, sleeping with a different woman every single day and having so many people touch his body suddenly made Ye Wanwan find the whole thing rather filthy.

It was probably a matter of mindset. Back when her unrequited yearning had twisted into an obsession, she had never seen a single flaw in Zhao Yi, scheming by any means necessary just to win him over. But now, she was genuinely grateful that he had spared her.

If she had truly served in his bed only to watch him go off to sleep with others one by one, it would simply be too revolting.

After much hustle and bustle, Ye Wanwan finally added some new faces to her palace. The eunuchs were sent by the Imperial Household Department for Ye Wanwan to choose from.

Since they were not her own trusted aides, Ye Wanwan picked four who looked decent enough to keep, placing them all under Yan Chen's supervision.

She also selected two older wet nurses or maids. While they were originally only responsible for sweeping and cleaning, Ye Wanwan directly promoted them to serve by her side.

Having spent a lifetime doing hard labor in the palace, the two women never expected such good fortune in their old age—being promoted to work beside a noble consort. Their status was naturally incomparable to before, and they were utterly overjoyed.

Ye Wanwan had her reasons for choosing these two. As a noble consort, she needed to have a couple of older women by her side, yet she detested old crones like Nurse Yang and Nurse Li who were full of rigid rules, constantly lecturing their superiors with a set of tedious principles that made them thoroughly obnoxious to look at.

These two women had previously only been responsible for sweeping and cleaning, so they knew nothing about lecturing on rules. Furthermore, their status was low, meaning anyone looking to recruit or utilize pawns would never choose them.

With a clean background devoid of messy entanglements or ulterior motives, they were simply waiting to be cultivated for her own use.

Aside from Ye Wanwan, no one else would have elevated them to this position. If they failed to show gratitude and loyalty, she could simply have them beaten to death with a staff.

Fortunately, both women looked kind-hearted and amiable. Though somewhat gossipy, that happened to be their greatest asset.

Because no one paid attention to them, they often caught wind of things others missed and observed details others failed to notice. Listening to their chatter was quite entertaining, and who knows, it might even unearth something useful.

As for the rules? Ha! Having lived to this age in the palace, what rules could they possibly not understand?

Aside from them, there were also two maidservants—the only ones who truly knew nothing of these things, yet they were the ones Ye Wanwan had been longing for.

These were the two maidservants, Dongyu and Que'er, found for her by her cousin-in-law Wu Yu. Both possessed some martial arts skills. Compared to someone like Yan Chen, they were at best a bit stronger than ordinary people, but that was more than enough for the inner palace.

Since she was the one specifically requesting maidservants, Zhao Yi was bound to investigate them. If they were masters of martial arts, Zhao Yi might suspect her of harboring ulterior motives; but since they only knew a few rudimentary moves, it fell well within Zhao Yi's tolerance.

Within this imperial palace, living right under Zhao Yi's nose, dark schemes and covert plots would get her nowhere—she had to rely on open and aboveboard strategies.

---

In late autumn, the season of harvest was also the season of hunting.

Every year around this time, the emperor would personally visit the imperial estate to inspect the crop yields, offer sacrifices to the god of agriculture, and then commence the annual hunt.

In addition to bringing officials, he would also take along several consorts.

The empress was pregnant, so naturally, she could not endure the rigors of travel. Following the empress dowager's persuasion, the choice fell upon Ye Wanwan. Since Ye Wanwan was going, Jiang Feixue naturally would not be left behind.

Apart from them, there were also Consort Shen and Jieyu Ji, making a total of four women.

The names of the other two had been chosen by the empress, and both were people at odds with Ye Wanwan. The malice behind this scheme was clear at a glance.

Ye Wanwan had no objections. Going out for a stroll wasn't a bad idea; staying cooped up in this palace would drive anyone half-mad.

As for those two women—the more people, the better. Oh, the more people there were, the livelier it would be.