FIFTEEN

Lou Che's entourage got back on the journey back to the capital city from Lingnan province. Purposely setting the trip back home in the slowest and most pleasurable he could get, he planned out to make a stop in each big city so he could reach the capital close enough before the spring began.

His trusted taijian had to travel before him to set up his lodging and the most important part was that the taijian had to prepare the amusement for him. Lou Che liked them young and strong.

Most of them did not even like to do it with a man. But Lou Che has the power and a lot of money to spend on them. All of them always ended up addicted to getting into Lou Che's bed after they found that it was the easy way to get money. Their sensual activity even enlights some of them. They found their own true self and became Lou Che's regular partner whenever Lou Che was in town.

The entourage has reached the biggest city in Jiangnandong province. Lou Che was excited to enter the boarding house that had already been prepared because he needed a good warm bath. He liked to take care of himself.

He liked it when he heard the women inside the harem praised his face. He liked it when other royal family members praised his body build. Anything related with appearance, he did not mind trying.

His carriage stopped right in front of the boarding house that was situated on the main road. Even though he never put any royal banner to act low, people on the busy street acknowledge the entourage must be related to the royal family.

Lou Che jumped out from the carriage and straight away entered the boarding house. He has stayed there before so he knew exactly where to go. Ignoring the boarding house owner and their employees who greeted him, Lou Che stormed up to the stairs, walked along the alley and met his taijian that was already waiting for him right in front of the bedroom that was assigned to be his this time.

"Have you prepared my bath?" Lou Che asked him as he took off his winter cloak.

The taijian received the heavy cloak then bowed a little deeper than usual. "Nu has prepared the bath. But…"

The atmosphere was strange. Lou Che always thought the worst that could possibly happen. Lifting up his chin, straightening up his back, Lou Che took a long breath before the taijian lifted up his face and continued.

"The Grand Chancellor's fu has sent a New Year gift for Fuma." The old taijiang said it carefully.

At that moment Lou Che became reluctant to enter the room. He never liked The Grand Chancellor and The Grand Princess. The pair always seemed intimidating. Just like this, finally he got the spine-chilling gift from them like they wanted to let Lou Che know that they have been watching him closely.

It was hard to swallow his own saliva. Lou Che waved his hand so the taijian moved aside. With his heart beating fast, Lou Che opened the door with both his hands. The sound of the opening door was even creepier. Unwittingly, his forehead was already wet with sweat.

A large tub was filled with warm goat milk. A familiar young lad stood next to it. Very familiar in his eyes until Lou Che gasped. The same lad that he used a few weeks ago was not like the very first time he met.

Now the lad looked decent with some expensive clothing, just like the son of some wealthy family. His face was no longer pure and naive. He smiled at Lou Che in seductive way.

"Gongzi, I am your gift. I am here to serve you." The young lad kneeled down with both hands thrust a letter up.

Lou Che stepped forward but did not touch the letter. Instead, he just looked closely at the seal that was used to glued the letter. The red marks got even clearer as he was getting closer. The symbol of The Grand Chancellor's fu.

***

Her husband's return was sooner than she had expected. By the time Lou Che's taijian reached their mansion and informed her that soon Lou Che would enter the imperial city gate, Li Xi Shi was not ready yet.

This time she has been very determined that the moment Lou Che reaches home, he would be astonished by her appearance. Therefore she quickly changed dresses, applied some makeup, and made sure her hair was perfect before she stood and waited in the front hall.

Her effort seemed to be useless. Lou Che's reaction was not like she had expected him to be. The moment he jumped out from the carriage, Lou Che looked very much haggard. There were dark circles under his eyes.

When Lou Che reached her hands, Li Xi Shi was shocked that the tips of his fingers were so cold. There was no smile on his face. Lou Che took a look at her face, then came down to her dress, before returning his eyes back on Li Xi Shi's face.

"Apparently, my wife has been using some cream that I left behind." Lou Che titled his head to give a closer look. "The skin is getting radiant and the spring dress is beautifully made perfect for the body."

"Husband, please get inside. Both your hands are so cold. Your face looks thinner than before you left. You make me worry. The weather is still cold. Was the journey rough? The servants did not serve you well?!" Li Xi Shi pulled his hands as she led towards the main chair in the room.

As soon as Lou Che took his seat, Li Xi Shi poured warm tea in a cup and then passed it to Lou Che's hand. She did not take her seat and stood in front of him while waiting for his response.

Just staring at the cup on his hands, Lou Che locked his lips tightly. Fine wrinkled lines appeared on his forehead. Naturally Li Xi Shi touched it and pondered how hard it was for Lou Che to do his business.

"Everything was fine." Lou Che let Li Xi Shi caress him. He knew how she adores him. He adored his wife too but not in the same kind of love like she was over him.

Straightening her back, Li Xi Shi turned her head to check the people who were moving Lou Che's trunks. The head steward along with Lou Che's taijian were arranging which trunks need to be stored at the storeroom, and which trunks need to be unloaded at the main hall.

Her eyes stuck at one person she never knew was working for either her or Lou Che before. A young man wore neat clothes and stood idle beside the head steward and the taijian.

"Who are you?" Li Xi Shi's question stopped the conversation between head steward and personal taijian. Both senior servants of the house turned their focus to the young man next to them.

The young man bowed his head deeply towards Li Xi Shi. Instead of kneeling down, he lifted back up his head and tried his best to reply to Li Xi Shi's question. "My name is Ah Ke, furen."

"Why did you not give proper respect toward gongzhu?!" Dai Mao mama stepped forward. Her intonation made Ah Ke awkwardly kneeled in confusion.

Actually, Li Xi Shi was not angry over something this simple. She was not a person who did not know compassion toward people bellowed her. It was just Lou Che's reaction after her question which made her hint something was dubious.

Lou Che put down the cup in a rush until the cup spilled all over the table. He jumped up from the chair and stood beside Li Xi Shi all of a sudden. Li Xi Shi caught him acting strange as sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Both of you should teach him proper respect." Suddenly, Lou Che scolded the head steward and his personal taijian. After that he quickly turned to Li Xi Shi, took her hand, gave gentle taps on her hand and smiled widely. His tiredness changed drastically to cheerful.

"I took him from the port in the southern province. He is just a homeless orphan but he seems to have the intention to work hard. I bought him from the boarding house there." Lou Che explained while turning Li Xi Shi's back against them.

Lou Che tried to cover Li Xi Shi's gaze on Ah Ke by embracing Li Xi Shi under his arms. He led her to leave the front hall.

"My lovely wife, I bought some stuff from outside for you to see. I also bought rare items for us to present to muhou." Slowly, they stepped out from the front hall and moved towards the main resident.

Naturally smiling, Li Xi Shi blushed happily at Lou Che. She got easily distracted and the new young boy was no longer in her mind. Li Xi Shi got excited once again, thinking that Lou Che might have been in the mood to have an intimate moment with her.

"Muhou must be very happy. I cannot wait to see what gifts hubby has prepared for her." Li Xi Shi put one arm around Lou Che's waist

Lou Che pinched her cheeks and made her blushed even more. "I bought so many items for you, but my wife is a considerate person who thinks about muhou before herself. So, I also prepared some for muhou. I am very proud to have you as a wife."

"Husband, I am very happy you are back. I promise to be more attentive to you." Under Lou Che's embrace, Li Xi Shi made a turn. Her hands hugged Lou Che tightly. She put her face on his chest. "I have been missing you dearly, husband. Please travel less this year, stay with me."

They stopped in the middle of their way to their private quarter. The romantic scene was displayed in front of their servants. Dai mao mama retreated quietly along with other servants. The view of spring flowers blooming in their garden made their silhouette even beautiful to see.

Lou Che put his chin on top of her head. Both of his hands circled her body. His hug made her warm and Li Xi Shi enjoyed every second of it. Even though Lou Che stayed quiet and did not answer her plea, Li Xi Shi made sure he followed what she wanted.

They hugged for a while without anyone daring to disturb them. One was full with a happy smile and imagined a son or a daughter would be born soon. One was thinking a completely different thing with a hard face stoned full of trouble.

***

Inside Kui Yuan Hall, The Empress was relaxing, sitting on a stone chair, facing toward her new additional flower plant that The Emperor sent to her. The flower has not completely bloomed yet but she still adores it dearly.

Every year, at the beginning of the spring, The Emperor always sent flower plants for The Empress. Even though the person was not there to enjoy it together, The Empress never dwelled. From the day she wed Li Yuan Tian, she knew all along that her husband would never belong entirely to her.

For about thirty years they together, from witnessing Li Yuan Tian went to wars, became the right hand The Late Emperor conquered the previous empire and established a new dynasty, until crowned as The Dragon Heir. The only thing The Empress was resentful about was her failure to give son to The Emperor.

The first and the second of her pregnancy were stillborn sons. The third pregnancy was Li Xi Shi Gulun gongzhu. After that she has to accept the fact that the two fei gave The Emperor two healthy born sons sequentially.

She gave up trying. She knew that she no longer could compete with both Jing Gui Fei and Shu Gui Fei. All women in the harem were much younger than her. She knew she would not win. The wise move she chose was to be more reserved.

"Huang Hou niang niang, He Lu gonggong from Zhong Jing Hall came by on behalf of Jing Gui Fei to ask permission to not attend the routine greeting. Since returning to the palace, Jing Gui Fei has not been well." Mu Tong mama informed the news calmly.

She turned her head to face Mu Tong, her personal mama. Mu Tong and Dai Mao were part of her dowry that she brought on her wedding day. Both have served her almost for her entire age. When Li Xi Shi left the palace to be with Lou Che, The Empress bestowed Dai Mao to serve Li Xi Shi.

Jing Gui Fei did not like Shu Gui Fei who has a bold and loud personality. While Shu Gui Fei openly showed disrespect toward her, Jing Gui Fei maintained her manner according to harem protocol. If there was a greeting schedule within the harem, Jing Gui Fei always made sure she would attend it.

"Ever since Duan Wang Fei got miscarriage, Zhong Jing Hall became dead air. Jing Gui Feidid not join the winter festival as she grieved for the unborn grandchild. She might think after coming back from the winter retreat Duan Qin Wang would already calm down and visit her to greet and together receive new year blessings from Huáng shang. Turned out Duan Qin Wang went straight to attending the first new year assembly, greeted Huáng shang, and avoided Zhong Jing Hall." The Empress recalled.

She knew what Jing Gui Fei had done. It was wrong and unwise but it has been done. The plot to kill Duan Wang Fei who turned out that she was pregnant, Jing Gui Fei was lucky enough The Emperor covered her sin by sending her out of the palace to pray for the unborn child.

But for Duan Qin Wang, he was on the edge. His mother's act not only made him lose an heir but also exposed Jing Gui Fei's intention to smooth his way to the throne. A move which made Duan Qin Wang lose respect. Since then, The Emperor had prejudice against him and Jiang Gui Fei.

Mu Tong mama gave her hand so The Empress could hold on to her as she was trying to get up. Slowly, they walked along the yard.

"Bengong always thought Jing Gui Fei is smarter than any other consorts here inside the palace. This reckless act proves that my thought is wrong." The Empress muttered.

"Now, no one dares to approach Zhong Jing Hall, should nubi inform and request someone from the imperial taiyi to check Jing Gui Fei?" Mu Tong asked carefully.

Both of them stopped in the middle of the yard. As she gave a moment to think thoroughly of her next move, Mu Tong waited in silence. This habit was taught from before she became part of the Li family line. Her maiden family line was Confucius's descendants.

"Mu Tong mama can request imperial taiyi to come and examine Jing Gui Fei, after that mama needs to lead the taiyi to pass Kui Yuan Hall. There is something in bengong's mind." The Empress gave the order after thinking carefully.

Mu Tong's eyes swifted up and met The Empress's eyes.

"Bengong noticed Li Xi Shi is trying to make an effort to gain Lou Che's affection. Especially after Lou Che returned from his winter trip to the southern province. Li Xi Shi's appearance was fresher than she used to be. It seems like that foolish girl has returned to be playful like she once was and is trying to keep Lou Che from going for a trade trip." The Empress explained.

The Emperor once promised her that their only child together will always stay close within their eyesight and it did come true. Li Xi Shi was supposed to be happy with her husband who would not dare to share their love with other women. But as years went by and Li Xi Shi did not get pregnant, The Empress became worried.

Even though no one dared to look down at Li Xi Shi Gulun gongzhu in front of her parents. But The Empress was not close minded to not knowing the gossip outside the palace. The noble families started to talk about the possibility of Li Xi Shi gulun gongzhu to be barren and Lou Che was too afraid to offend The Emperor and The Empress if he took another woman.

Mu Tong nodded in agreement. "Nubi has noticed that too. But Lou Che fuma seemed different than usual when we saw him before at the New Year banquet at Linde Hall."

"You mean Li Xi Shi turned attractive while Lou Che turned languorous?! Bengong noticed it too and worried. If bengong makes a special request for imperial taiyi to come and discuss Li Xi Shi and Lou Che's health, it would just add more rumour. Bengong does not want anyone to make ridiculous rumors about gongzhu's ability to bear a child. It is better to use Jing Gui Fei to cover up my original intention."

The more she explained her thoughts on this matter, the more she raised her voice out of anger. She was calm and wise but ever since she heard a rumor saying that gongzhu might be barren and people put their pity on Lou Che for being in a hard place to find a concubine to continue his family line, even The Calm and Wise Empress cannot hold up her emotion.

"Nubi understands." Mu Tong nodded once again. She held The Empress's hand tighter. "Huang Hou niang niang, please rest inside. The coldness of the beginning of the spring could harm the body. After niangniang rest inside, nubi will personally make a trip to the imperial taiyi's office."

Being led back to her main quarter, inside The Empress's mind was only thinking about Li Xi Shi and her husband.