tkworld Chapter 187 Accepting with a Smile
Chapter 187 Accepting with a Smile
Shen Shixi loosened his grip, rubbed his shoulders, and scoffed, "You're quite self-aware, aren't you? Get off now. Isn't riding a horse better? Why do you insist on riding your beat-up donkey? Don't you have any shame?"
She cupped Li Yuange's lips and kissed him, giving him a small bite. "Li Yuange, you're so good!"
He then got off and rode the donkey.
The donkey was very obedient. Shen Shixi sat sideways on it, and it walked at a steady pace. The neighing of people and horses around it did not disturb it at all. It was a very intelligent animal.
Shen Shixi was dressed in riding attire, her hair styled in a ponytail that swung behind her, with a red ribbon and black hair fluttering in the wind, giving her a somewhat otherworldly and ethereal appearance.
Her donkey walked beside Li Yuanke's carriage, its face covered by a thin veil, not out of shame, but to shield it from dust.
Pei Xunli was also ordered to accompany the emperor this time. He rode a tall horse and when he saw Shen Shixi, his eyes flashed with hatred.
Having fought with Shen Shixi for many years, he loathed and hated Shen Shixi to the extreme.
His sixth brother, who was his own brother and had always been close to him, died at the hands of Shen Shixi. His body has never been found.
My sister died at Shen Shixi's hands.
He couldn't even beat a woman!
His uncle, Duke Shen, Gao Shizhong, was with him and also saw Shen Shixi. He whispered, "We can't let our guard down as long as this woman is alive. She's a vengeful person. We have to act as soon as possible. Even if we can't kill her, we should cripple her."
Pei Xunli said, "We'll see this time. We've already set up a tight net in Bingzhou and will definitely not let her escape. I want to see if our Emperor will be terrified if he knows that she has such a powerful force behind the scenes, and whether he will still dare to share a bed with her."
Gao Shenxing, Gao Shizhong's son, lingered on Shen Shixi's slender figure with a look of lust. "She's a beauty. She was beautiful even when she was a child. No wonder the Emperor can't forget her."
Even though it's a worn-out shoe, I don't mind.
Pei Xunli chuckled and warned, "I advise you to give up that idea. She's not a beauty; she's a tigress. You'd better not let her set her sights on you."
Unfortunately, Gao Shenxing had already caught Shen Shixi's eye.
[Heh, very well, you dare to covet my eyes? Looks like this good-for-nothing doesn't really want these eyes. I don't mind granting your wish, heir of the Duke of Shen's mansion, nephew of the Gao family. Ah, I was just looking for something to do, and here I've caught a big fish!]
Li Yuanke's heart pounded as he listened inside. He lifted the carriage curtain and looked out. The other person suddenly woke up and quickly leaned down on the horse.
Gao Shenxing never expected to be caught red-handed by the Emperor.
After stopping for a bite to eat, Li Yuanke took Shen Shixi to his car, where the two took a nap.
In the afternoon, Li Yuanke reviewed memorials, and since there weren't many ministers to see, Shen Shixi didn't leave.
She was very free, so she had someone bring her playing cards over and pulled Li Fude and her cart.
It means you play a card, I play a card, and if the card I play is exactly the same as the card played before, then all the cards in between are mine.
Whoever gets all their cards taken by the other loses.
When playing cards, Shen Shixi would also explain Arabic numerals to Li Fude, explaining that 12345 corresponds to one, two, three, four, and five. At that moment, Li Fude thought, no wonder the Emperor dotes on Consort Chen so much; Consort Chen is truly the best person in the world.
For no other reason than that Consort Chen never looked at the eunuchs with strange eyes, and always treated them with respect and equality.
After Li Yuanke finished his work, he spent time playing with Shen Shixi.
After playing with the trolley, Shen Shixi played blackjack with Li Yuanke and even dragged Li Fude into playing with them.
After she taught the two men how to play Dou Dizhu (a card game), and even had a prize, she won more than twenty taels of silver from the two of them, the caravan arrived in Bingzhou.
This day happened to be March 16th, and Shen Shixi's birthday was in two days. Li Yuanke ordered that they rest here for three days.
Shen Shixi handed the winnings to Li Fude, saying, "Give them back to your father-in-law!"
She didn't say "reward". Li Fude was Li Yuanke's personal attendant.
Li Fude was overjoyed. "Oh my, this is the prize you won! How can I give it to you?"
Shen Shixi smiled and said, "If Father-in-law wins next time, just buy me something delicious."
Spending money is secondary; the greatest joy for a servant is to receive such a special favor from his master.
Li Fude put the silver away and patted his purse carefully.
Li Yuanke couldn't bear to look. "Did I shortchange you? You're spineless. Look at you, you only got a little over twenty taels of silver, and more than half of that is yours!"
That's right, Li Fude lost the most. It wasn't that he lost on purpose to please his masters; he was genuinely inexperienced.
Consort Chen even taught him how to count cards, but before he could learn it, the Emperor did, so how could he not lose?
Fortunately, the stakes weren't too high, but once there was a wager, it became very exciting. Along the way, Li Fude lost nearly twenty taels of silver. As the chief eunuch, he didn't rely on a salary for food, and for an ordinary family, that amount of money would be enough to cover their expenses for several years.
Looking out the car window at Bingzhou City, Shen Shixi called Bai Ping over, "Go and inform the charity to prepare; we're about to take action!"
Bai Ping replied "Yes," and rode away.
Cao Ruiyuan, the governor of Bingzhou, was a protégé of Prime Minister Pei. He led all the officials of Bingzhou to greet him for ten miles. Colorful flags were waving, the roads were clean and tidy, and there were no ragged people among the people along the way. It was clear that a lot of effort had been put into the process.
Li Yuanke did not want to harass the prefectures along the way, but he had to come to Bingzhou.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with the local officials, he got back into the carriage. The emperor, some of his officials, and the Imperial Guards entered the city, while the rest of the people set up tents outside to rest.
The city certainly can't accommodate everyone in a short time.
Shen Xianzhang received special care from the emperor and was also among those entering the city to rest. He also needed to communicate with the local academies to see what impact the adjustment of the examination syllabus would have on local students.
The emperor and his entourage were accommodated in the government office. The initial plan was to have a wealthy family's villa, but Li Yuanke rejected that.
He didn't want to be a wise ruler; rather, he preferred to avoid trouble and seek temporary peace, knowing that it would lead to a lot of problems later.
Things from the imperial family aren't cheap, so why would they let you live in their villa for free?
The banquet was held at the government office. Li Yuanke only brought Shen Shixi with him and had her sit next to him. The Pei family members were very uncomfortable when they saw this. Even if Consort Chen was present, she should not sit at the same level as the Emperor.
That's a privilege reserved for the Empress.
But clearly, Li Yuanke didn't mind, and Shen Shixi was also unperturbed. Pei Xunli wanted to remonstrate, but was stopped by Prime Minister Pei.
How could there be no singing and dancing at a banquet? Eight girls filed in and began to perform. Their skills were truly excellent, and you could tell from their eyes that they were definitely not from a brothel.
After the dance was over, as the women knelt to express their gratitude, they all secretly glanced at the emperor, their hearts fluttering.
Cao Ruiyuan boldly suggested, "Your Majesty, these eight women are all daughters of prominent families in Bingzhou. Knowing that Your Majesty was coming, they specially choreographed this dance to present to Your Majesty. Please accept it with a smile."
The implication is not that they welcome the song and dance, but rather the people.
Good heavens, eight of them at once! A diverse array of beauties, each with their own unique charm. That scoundrel Li Yuanke is in for another stroke of good fortune with women!
Li Yuanke glanced at her.
When Prime Minister Pei saw this, he thought to himself, "Indeed, Consort Chen has the final say in the harem." He then stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty's harem is not full, and your offspring are few. We hope that Your Majesty will consider the well-being of the country and grant our good intentions."
[Prime Minister Pei truly lives up to his reputation as prime minister after so many years; he can even make persuading someone to be lustful sound so refined and elegant. His words are worth ten thousand soldiers!]
Shen Shixi picked up her wine glass, took a small sip, and then Li Yuanke snatched the glass away from her.