Chapter 2: Frivolous

  The crescent moon glides over the treetops, slowly rising to the sky, and the twinkling stars are densely covered in the velvet-like night sky, emitting a faint glow.

  The Imperial Guards were stationed outside the Forbidden City, while the palace guards and female attendants were responsible for patrolling the inner palace, with a clear division of labor and an orderly arrangement.

  At this time, inside the palace, lanterns were suddenly lit up, decorations were colorful and magnificent, solemn and extraordinary.

  Tens of thousands of palace maidservants bustled about within the palace, while all the officials in the court brought their families to gather at the Imperial Scenic Garden, celebrating the joyous occasion of Empress Shang's coronation as Grand Empress.

  This dynasty is different from other countries, since its founding, the emperor has been respectfully called "Dà Jūn", the master of the six palaces is called "Dà Fēi", which is also the empress, holding the imperial seal and the jade book. Below the Dà Fēi are three high-ranking ladies-in-waiting, followed by attendants, palace maids, female officials, and concubines. The lowest rank is that of a seamstress, slightly higher than a palace maid. Although they are the emperor's women, their status does not even reach that of ordinary female officials within the palace.

  The current monarch, surnamed Yin, named Jinrui, is already middle-aged. The harem is not prosperous, with only a few dozen people, and there are only two sons and two daughters under his knees. Since he ascended to the throne, the position of the empress has been vacant until today when the Grand Consort was formally established.

  Before this, there were only two ladies in the harem who qualified to contend for the position of Da Furen. One was Yǐn Fūrén, who had been in the palace the longest and had the deepest seniority, but she had no children; the other was Hàoyuè Fūrén, the current Da Furen, who was the first lady to be granted a title, and had a son named Sù, only eight years old, born very lovely, and was the darling of Dà Jūn.

  Although Lady Huá's qualifications for controlling the six palaces are very high, there are still many people who speak out against her. In their eyes, she is a descendant of the ancient Turks, an uncouth and ill-mannered barbarian, a woman who recklessly sets up a harem to deceive the monarch, an overambitious and demonic woman!

  Now looking at the officials filling the whole garden, how many of them are truly here to offer congratulations?

  After the ancestor worship, Yu Yu was granted the imperial seal, awarded the treasure book, and received the court's homage. A series of lengthy and complicated rituals later, the palace feast was about to begin, with civil and military officials taking their seats in order.

  Tonight's enthronement ceremony is quite grand, it can be said to be unprecedented in a prosperous era! However, it also does not conform to the royal family rules. The enthronement ceremony should have been held during the day, but the Empress Dowager said, 'They just can't bear to see me take power, meddling with the six palaces. I want to stand out from the crowd and do what others can't. Night is good! The night color belongs to me, I am destined to be a midnight rose, tenacious and gorgeous!'

  The imperial concubines in the harem, along with the two princesses, are about to take their positions.

  Standing below, Ge Shu looked up at the high-ranking woman with phoenix clothes and feathered crown, who was dignified and elegant. Their eyes met, and she nodded before leaving the Royal Scenic Garden.

  A gentle breeze blew, lifting the hem of my clothes, fallen flowers like cotton, exuding a faint fragrance, piercing into my nostrils.

  Ge Shu Wu Luan walked quickly in the long corridor, his sharp eyes scanning around as if looking for someone.

  At this time, a lazy and pleasant male voice suddenly came, "Hey! Isn't that the famous Geshu? You're so carefree, you actually have the leisure to stroll around in this garden!"

  Before he arrives, his voice is heard; just by listening to his voice, one can guess that the person who has come must be a handsome young man with an impressive appearance.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, when the moonlight shone on the man's face, it revealed a countenance of utmost elegance and beauty. The dark green brocade robe he wore under the moonlight was extremely eye-catching.

  He walked in with a gentle pace, his peach blossom eyes rippling with spring waves, and accidentally dazzling people with his enchanting gaze.

  "See Your Highness!" Geshu Wuji said coldly, his words humble but lacking a hint of respect.

  She usually doesn't get along with this eldest prince, who is named Lang and is in his early twenties. His mother died early, and although he is the eldest, he has a frivolous nature and his behavior is often improper, bringing shame to the imperial family. Moreover, he has always been hostile towards the Grand Empress Dowager and is her enemy.

  She finished her bow and was about to brush past him, but the man blocked her way. "Hey! Don't be in such a hurry!"

  He took a few steps closer to her, pretending to be unsteady on his feet, and pounced forward. Just as the man's palms were about to reach her chest, Geshu Wuren spun around with the wind and saw that the man had fallen to the ground, landing on his face!

  "Ah yo! You've killed His Highness, you did it on purpose!" The man knelt on the ground, wailing and howling like a beast in heat.

  Ge Shu Wu Luan had no intention of listening to his nonsense accusations, stroking the hilt of the sword at his waist with his fingers, as if counting the cool patterns on the hilt. "Who is intentionally doing this, Your Highness knows very well in your heart! This official has something urgent to attend to and doesn't have time to fool around with you here!"

  "Do you think I, the emperor, am willing to play with you? Hmph! I, the emperor, saw that you were dressed like this, neither male nor female, and out of curiosity, wanted to test your body to see if you are indeed a eunuch in disguise!" The man leaned on one hand, lazily reclining on the stone floor, his expression as if the cold stone was a soft, fragrant bed.

  He raised an eyebrow, a sly smile spreading across his lips as he gazed ambiguously at the woman's attire, his eyes roaming up and down her body before finally settling on her chest.

  Tonight, she wore a dark official uniform, the same one that was delivered at noon, with a silver crane embroidered on the dark background, and the style leaned towards men's clothing, without complicated wide sleeves and cuffs. The vertical collar and narrow shoulders made her figure look tall and slender, and the sword worn around her waist added an air of inviolable authority to her already impressive demeanor.

  She was the first and only female official in the imperial court who was allowed to wear a sword by the emperor, so her power can be imagined!

  Originally a beautiful long hair like a waterfall, at this moment it was tied into a simple bun, high on the top of her head, a plain silver pin firmly fixed in place, without a single strand of loose hair, revealing a sharp and clean oval face, phoenix eyes slender and beautiful, elegant eyebrows, nose like jade, lips like cherry blossoms, skin not as white as snow, but fine and firm. Overall, she can't be called a stunning beauty, but she is indeed an elegant and lovely woman.

  Exquisite facial features paired with a unique and stylish outfit, exuding an inexplicable charm from the inside out.

  He was used to seeing her in women's clothing, and occasionally saw her dressed like this, the stunning beauty was beyond words. What was wrong with him? It wasn't as if he had never seen a woman dress up as a man before, so why did he find her so stunning? And yet it was his arch-nemesis's hawk dog, it must be that tonight's moonlight was too beautiful, so it also beautified the person in front of him.

  The moon is to blame for the trouble, and the sow beats Diao Chan!

  At the time when Man's God was walking too far, Gesu Wujuan really wanted to punch him and knock out his front teeth. If he had been touched and verified, it would not have been as pleasant as a cup of Crane Top Red!

  At present, she has important things on her body and no time to engage in a war of words with him. A cool breeze blows by, and when he looks again, the woman is already far away.

  "Hey! Gu Shu Wu Luan, don't go, quickly help the emperor up, dead woman, fake eunuch..." Only the angry voice of the man was left lingering in the air filled with the scent of flowers.

  Not seeing Master Su's figure for half a day, on such an important day he dares to be absent. It seems that the result of adults being extremely doting to children is being willful and arbitrary!

  In Geshu Wu's mind, she thought about where the young master might be at this moment. Several urgent and disordered footsteps entered her ears, and soon a figure rushed towards her side.

  "Yuanyuan, sister Yuanyuan..." The boy panted and called out, his sweet and sticky voice sounding very pleasant.

  He was born with an extremely likable appearance, combining the best features of a king and a great queen. To describe him as handsome would be insufficient; he is so beautiful that he seems like an immortal who has walked out of a painting.

  Although he is young in years, his stature is much taller than that of children of the same age.

  "Xiao Er, you're so disobedient! Today is the day of your mother's coronation ceremony, where have you been for half a day?!" Although Geshu Wuji's words were severe, his eyes had already softened. He couldn't help it, every time he met her innocent big eyes, his heart would turn to mush.

  "Don't be angry! Last night, Xiaozhi and I caught crickets all night. It's not that I overslept until now, it's just that those detestable palace servants didn't dare disturb my rest, so I missed the ceremony for Mother's title conferment." By this time, Gongzi Xiu had finally caught his breath, but his pale face still looked a bit worn out, and it seemed he really hadn't slept well.

  The sound of silk and bamboo instruments gradually approached, the woman tidied up the slightly disheveled finery for the young boy, urging him: "Alright, hurry up! The banquet has already begun, remember to say a few pleasant congratulatory words later, don't let your mother lose face in front of everyone!"

  "Oh, I see!" Gongzi Xu responded with a smile, taking Geshu Wuji's hand and walking away.

  Such an unseemly tug made Geshu Wuji want to withdraw his hand, but he was pulled even tighter. In the end, she helplessly sighed and could only let him pull her along as they continued walking.

  The serene moonlight stretched out the silhouettes of the two people, and from time to time, their gentle conversations floated through the quiet night.

  "Oriole sister, this official uniform of yours is so majestic!"

  "Huh? Is that so? This was made according to your mother's instructions, you know. The Grand Empress Dowager has always been one of a kind, with all sorts of novel ideas, as if she wasn't meant for this era..."