The hall was unusually quiet, and those below watched the music and dance in the midst with complex feelings, finding little taste in the spectacle.
Seated on the throne, he counted the Shichen and felt it was about ti. His patience exhausted, he prepared to rise. Glancing down, he saw the Dancing Girl in the hall moving gracefully, her skill superb, and he couldn’t help but praise, "The dance is good, the Music Bureau has done well, reward them."
Upon hearing this, the group of Military Generals were a bit stunned, thinking to themselves, could it be that His Majesty simply watches the dance for the dance itself? They exchanged glances and could see the understanding in each other’s eyes, and couldn’t help but give a thumbs up. His Majesty is truly noble, such an artistic realm is sothing they would not learn in their next lifeti.
The Civil Officials saw the Emperor reward the dance without lust and were extrely relieved, thinking, a wise ruler should be like this.
The Chief of the Bureau of Music and the others were overjoyed and imdiately knelt to show their gratitude.
"Rise."
"Thank you, His Majesty, for your grace."
The Emperor looked forward to seeing his Little Concubine and was in a good mood as he stood up, saying, "We cannot hold our liquor well, you may do as you please," and then purposefully glanced at the group of old n.
The old n who had intended to delay him suddenly fell silent, knowing that with their age they had beco adept at reading the room, understanding when to push their luck and when to stop, and right now His Majesty’s glance was telling them it was ti to stop.
Xue Ping, standing in a corner, felt as if he had been pardoned. He had been hoping for the Emperor to leave, but Minister Fan and those venerable elders were extraordinarily long-winded, their enthusiasm too great, always finding so pretext to hold the Emperor back. And as long as the Emperor did not leave, who would dare to do so?!
The officials rose to see off the Emperor: "We respectfully see off His Majesty, wishing our Emperor boundless longevity."
Once the Emperor left, the hall relaxed even more, with people linking arms and even starting to play drinking gas.
After waiting a while, Xue Ping pretended to be overwheld by alcohol, and when no one was paying attention, he took the opportunity to slip out of the Main Hall. Stepping outside, he had no ti to wipe his sweat before he heard soone inside notice his absence:
"Eh, where is Master Xue?"
"He was just here, perhaps he has gone to relieve himself?"
"I’ll go check."
He broke into a run, fearing discovery, running for dear life, only stopping beside his carriage outside the palace gate, gasping for breath, his life almost half lost.
Xue Ping’s coachman hurried over to support him: "Master, are you alright?" Why had his own master run out like he was being chased by a ghost, while the other officials had been carried out, drunk and insensible, their faces flushed and reeking of alcohol, obviously having consud a great deal.
Xue Ping stumbled a few steps, still out of breath, and clutched the coachman’s hand urgently, urging, "Quick... quick, back... back to the residence!"
"Ai, ai, ai, yes, young master, let support you as we walk," the coachman nodded and bowed hastily in agreent, walking with most of Xue Ping’s body leaning on him.
In the end, Xue Ping still found it too slow, so he simply had the coachman carry him on his back to the front of the carriage where the coachman lifted him into the compartnt, and before he was fully seated, Xue Ping urged the coachman to set off imdiately.
With a flick of the reins, the coachman drove the carriage away at a swift pace. He did not know why his master was in such a hurry, but he felt that it was unusual.
Outside Qianqiu Hall.
Lian Hua, with Xiao Jizi and a few others in tow, hurried out, heading straight for the Purification Room outside Qianqiu Hall. There was urgency on her face as she urged, "Quick, quick, quick." She was almost out and in a rush, barely holding it in.
It was her own fault for being so engrossed in watching "Single Blade eting" that she ignored her need to pee and didn’t want to leave. Only after watching almost all of it did she allow herself to leave, not to ntion she had drunk quite a lot of water and was holding a lot in. Now, she couldn’t hold it any longer.
Ever since she had a baby in her belly, it had beco difficult for her to hold it in.
When she told Consort De that she needed to step out, Consort De, noticing her pale complexion, thought sothing had happened to her and that soone had made her uncomfortable. With a command, Consort De imdiately had the theater’s exits blocked, leaving Lian Hua blushing all over her face. She could only stamr and get close to Consort De’s ear to explain the situation, which caused Consort De to burst into laughter.
Consort De teasingly asked Lian Hua if she needed company, saying she was still sowhat worried.
Blushing to the tips of her ears, Lian Hua repeatedly declined. She wasn’t a child who needed help peeing, and if Sister Consort De was with her, perhaps she would be so embarrassed she couldn’t pee at all.
Lian Hua’s departure not only caused the Emperor to be concerned, Nanny Qi to worry, but Consort De was also constantly on edge, fearing soone would secretly harm Lian Hua. The Main Hall’s feast was hastily cleared up due to a sudden change in plans, and Consort De personally went out to arrange things, thoroughly checking both the perforrs and the theater, just to prevent anyone from finding a loophole and harming Lian Hua.
The planner lurking in the shadows never found an opportunity to strike, thanks to Consort De’s tight security.
The layout of the entire Qianqiu Hall featured the Main Hall in the center, with Side Halls on the east and west sides. In front of the hall was a broad plaza where, to the east, stood the theater, and to the west, various activities were set up. Two lamp-lit corridors led from the outside to the Main Hall, each adorned with colorful lanterns of different styles. In the center of the plaza, eight potted landscapes were arranged according to feng shui, planted with water lilies that are quite lovely when they bloom in sumr, but at that ti, the flowers were gone, leaving only the water. Qianqiu Hall had no enclosing walls, and behind the hall was a series of artificial mountains forming a crescent shape surrounding Qianqiu Hall and separating it from the Imperial Garden, creating a backdrop of mountains and a foreground of water, in terms of feng shui.
Qianqiu Hall had a specially designated Purification Room for the masters, located on the inside of a walled enclosure on the northeast corner of the artificial mountains. The entire Purification Room was set into the belly of the artificial mountain and from outside, one could not tell it was a Purification Room. Its hidden position shielded it from prying eyes, avoiding indecorous views and preventing the sll of waste from spreading. Inside the Purification Room was an office that was serviced daily by soone in charge of cleaning. The floor was covered with a layer of fragrant wood ash, which absorbed waste silently and wrapped it to remove odors. The setup was quite ticulous.
On the inside of the artificial mountain wall, there was Qianqiu Hall, while the outside connected to the Imperial Garden. From outside the Imperial Garden, only the artificial mountains were visible, not the Purification Room. To get to the Purification Room, one had to go around from the front of the Main Hall, as the two sides were not interconnected and one could not cross the artificial mountains to get into the Purification Room.
Lian Hua, on her way from the east side of the theater in front of Qianqiu Hall, had to pass through a long, serpentine corridor that wound behind the hall and through a path that andered through a scenic spot to reach the Purification Room.
As they rushed along the corridor, they encountered a palace maid bowing her head and curving her back to pay respects: "Greetings to Beauty Lian." Her voice was flat and unremarkable, with no distinctive features.
Lian Hua’s mind was completely occupied with her urgent need, and as she passed by the palace maid, she hastily said, "Rise." If she didn’t get to a toilet soon, she was really going to pee herself. It felt like a poke in the lower abdon would make it co out, oh dear, she had really held it too long this ti and wouldn’t dare do it again.
As the group passed by the palace maid, Xiao Jizi made a point of glancing at her, but couldn’t make out her face. He had a feeling sothing was off but didn’t have ti to think it through.
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