Du Gu Luanyue was originally at the palace banquet, but was taken away from it by Mu Rong Min's men and told to wait in a room.
She had no idea what Mu Rong Min was up to. But when she tried to call out, she found that even Aunt Mei Jiang wasn't outside. Du Gu Luanyue felt something was off and looked around the room.
The light in the room was rather dim, as if they didn't want to light too many candles.
Mu Rong Min emerged slowly from the shadows, scaring Du Gu Luanyue greatly. "Your Majesty, you scared me to death. Why did you summon me here for no good reason?"
Mu Rong Min walked over slowly, his deep and unfathomable eyes fixed on her. "Luanyue, you're my understanding flower. Help me with something tonight."
Du Gu Luanyue instantly became alert. "Your Majesty, please speak."
Mu Rong Min said, "You're the princess who came here from the Southern Chu for a political marriage. You have no children with me. Now that the third prince has been made the crown prince, when I'm gone in the future, the harem will surely belong to the new emperor's biological mother.
Concubine Wei of the Wei family has her powerful family behind her. You're alone in the harem. You should understand what you'll face in the future, right?"
Du Gu Luanyue nodded. "I naturally understand."
Mu Rong Min took step after step towards her, smiling sinisterly. "I'm now giving you a chance to gain a foothold in the court. Do you want it?"
She unconsciously tightened her grip on her palms. Mu Rong Min was indeed acting strangely today. "Please be straightforward, Your Majesty."
Mu Rong Min reached out his arm to embrace her waist, pulling her closer to him. He hooked his chin and slowly whispered in her ear,
"The prime minister will come to this room later. Feed him the wine I've prepared in advance. I have my own ways to make him loyal to the emperor first, and then to you. It'll also be a support for you in the future."
Du Gu Luanyue was utterly confused. "Your Majesty, what do you mean? What kind of wine should I feed him? Why should your prime minister be loyal to me? I don't understand."
Mu Rong Min slowly ran his fingertips across her extremely beautiful and charming face.
"I'm sure you've heard how my first crown prince was deposed. It was because he wanted to weaken my power.
Now that my third son has become the crown prince, I hope there'll be someone in the court who's absolutely loyal to me and also to you. After all, you're not from the Wei family. You have no powerful backer from the Northern Yan behind you. You only belong to me.
I know the prime minister is lecherous. And you, the queen, are the most beautiful woman in the Southern Chu. Isn't it okay to play a little act with me?"
Du Gu Luanyue quickly stepped back but found her body had gone weak. She looked at Mu Rong Min in disbelief, and the incense in her nose exuded a strange and alluring fragrance.
"Did you put something in the incense in this room?"
Mu Rong Min picked Du Gu Luanyue up horizontally and threw her onto the bed. Looking down at her from above, he said,
"I have the crown prince to oversee the state affairs. In the future, I'll focus on seeking immortality. But I can't be without informants in the court to prevent the crown prince and powerful ministers from weakening my power.
The prime minister's family is on par with the Wei family. I've got his weakness, and with your testimony, why should I worry about not being able to control him?"
Du Gu Luanyue was lying on the bed, unable to move. Her eyes were red with anxiety.
"Mu Rong Min, I'm your legitimate wife and the queen of the Northern Yan. Are you crazy? You have so many concubines and maids of honor in your harem. Instead of sending them, you're sending the queen of a country!"
Mu Rong Min smiled faintly. "Send?
Who said I'm sending you? I'm going to catch them in the act. And it has to be someone of your status for the prime minister's weakness to be the most serious.
Don't be afraid, Luanyue. It'll be over soon. I'll treat you the same as before in the future. I won't despise you."
A tear full of hatred welled up in Du Gu Luanyue's eyes on the bed. Her voice suddenly turned cold.
"Mu Rong Min, in your heart, is there any woman in the world who can compare to Lu Wanyin?
You've suffered a lot from Lu Wanyin. You've never won her heart in your whole life. So in these years as the emperor, you've never really cared about women, right?
Everyone is just a tool for you to use. You don't care about anyone, right?"
Mu Rong Min's face suddenly changed when he heard the name Lu Wanyin. "You shut up! Lu Wanyin, I hate her for my whole life. She's an ungrateful woman!"
After saying that, he left. Not long after, the prime minister of the Northern Yan happily entered the room.
The room was dimly lit. Du Gu Luanyue's phoenix crown had been removed, and only her perky breasts were particularly noticeable in the hazy light.
The emperor had said he would bestow a peerlessly beautiful woman on him. And the young Taoist priest Cihe had even brought a pot of excellent wine for him to drink. After drinking the wine, he had become dizzy and ended up here.
Du Gu Luanyue quickly shouted, "Prime Minister Ning, I'm the queen. Look clearly!"
Prime Minister Ning was a man older than Mu Rong Min, about forty - five years old. He was well - known in the court for his lechery.
Prime Minister Ning laughed. "No matter what, how could the emperor offer the queen to his ministers for entertainment? Do you think I'm stupid?"
His whole body was tense. There was also something added to the wine he had just drunk. His eyes were full of lust.
"Not to mention, you really do resemble the queen's charming and peerless beauty. The emperor treats his subjects well. Good emperor, good emperor!"
All the palace servants near the wing - room had been dismissed. Mu Rong Min still knew that Du Gu Luanyue was the queen of the Northern Yan. He cared about his reputation, but the matter still had to be done.
Du Gu Luanyue was now completely limp. A wave of heat rushed from her chest. She didn't have much strength left to shout loudly.
She watched helplessly as those wrinkled and fat hands undid her belt. After all, she was a high - born eldest princess. Being so humiliated by Mu Rong Min at this moment, the hatred in her heart welled up.
"Prime Minister Ning, if you dare to take another step towards me, I'll send someone to massacre your entire Ning Mansion tomorrow." She gritted her teeth and said word by word.
But Prime Minister Ning couldn't listen anymore. Under the effect of the golden pill, he just wanted to have sex quickly.
"Beauty, are you still imitating the queen?"
His hand finally reached out towards Du Gu Luanyue. She closed her eyes in despair.
...
Huo Wei couldn't find Du Gu Luanyue at the palace banquet, and there was no one in the Fengluan Palace either. He instantly became anxious. Could she be having a tryst with Sheng Yunqi?
That scoundrel Sheng Yunqi would surely never miss any opportunity.
Huo Wei searched all the palaces and rooms near the palace banquet but still couldn't find Du Gu Luanyue.
If he found out that Du Gu Luanyue was having a tryst with Sheng Yunqi, he would twist Sheng Yunqi's neck off tonight.
Sheng Yunqi walked leisurely, wearing a moon - colored brocade robe and holding a golden pill in his hand.
As he was walking, he was grabbed by his lapel by Huo Wei and pressed into the grass cage. "Where's the queen? Do you know?"
The golden pill was knocked to the ground. Sheng Yunqi fell into the mud and said painfully, "How would I know? You crazy dog. Are you going crazy again?"
Huo Wei said, "I'm not joking with you. She's been missing for a while. I've searched everywhere she might be, but I can't find her. Even that old maid beside her is gone."
Sheng Yunqi was stunned for a moment. "Even Aunt Mei Jiang is gone?"
His mind was working hard. Suddenly, he grabbed Huo Wei's lapel with both hands.
"Oh no! Mu Rong Min asked me for some aphrodisiac pills this afternoon. But recently, Taoist Priest Yanxu told him not to take such things anymore and that he should stop for a while.
Mu Rong Min said it wasn't for himself and asked me to send them to the wing - room at the back of the Zichen Hall. Could there be any connection?"
Even if the emperor wanted the queen to serve him in bed, he wouldn't send her to the wing - room where the servants lived. Now that Du Gu Luanyue was missing, he didn't know if there was any connection.
Huo Wei threw Sheng Yunqi aside and kicked him when he got up. "It's all your fault. You schemed against me and didn't let me move freely in the harem. Now I have to climb over the wall. How much time will it waste!"
Not bothering to beat Sheng Yunqi up anymore, he rushed straight to the wing - room behind the Zichen Hall.
Huo Wei climbed in through the back window and could already hear some indecent sounds.