The Emperor's Favorite Concubine Rules the World

  As the night deepened, the lights in the Xiang Mansion all went out at this time. In the biting cold air, Jiang Sheng hummed a little tune as he walked unsteadily towards the servants' quarters.

  From the side gate of the Xiangfu to the lower house, there is still a distance. Jiang Sheng hummed the new tune he had just heard, and in his mind, Peony's slim waist appeared again. How slippery her body was! When her legs wrapped around his waist, that feeling was really worth dying for!

  Jiang Sheng only felt a wisp of evil fire rising from his lower abdomen, and he deeply exhaled several mouthfuls of turbid air. He raised his eyes to find himself unknowingly standing at the entrance of the inner courtyard. The inner courtyard was where the women of the manor resided, and it was not permitted for servants to enter at will. His gaze pierced through the flower-patterned wall, straining to look inside, but ultimately saw nothing but a pitch-black darkness.

  With a sigh of regret, Jiang Sheng casually spat out a mouthful of saliva towards the door and turned to walk towards his own quarters.

  With a "thud", Jiang Sheng only felt a pain in his back, and immediately he was stunned. He slowly turned around to see a piece of broken tile at his feet. "Who is it?!"

  A chilly wind blew by, and a faint voice called out, "Is that Young Master Jiang?"

  This Young Master Jiang naturally referred to Jiang Sheng, only because his mother was an old lady in the mansion - the housekeeper of the inner courtyard, Xia Rou. So, relying on his mother's prestige, Jiang Sheng, who is now barely twenty years old, has already become a small manager in the outer courtyard. Hearing this voice, Jiang Sheng's rising anger was suddenly suppressed.

  He took a swig of wine and swallowed it down, "I'm the boss here, who are you?"

  In the inner courtyard separated by a wall, a soft and sweet voice whispered, "Master Jiang, please keep your voice down, I was sent by Sister Jinse and have been waiting for you for a long time."

  Zither? !

  Jiang Sheng heard the two words and immediately dispersed a few points of his drunkenness, hastily rushing several steps to the foot of the courtyard wall. "Jin Se? What does that little girl want to tell you?"

  Jiang Sheng and Jin Se were cousins, they had met each other in their early years. Jiang Sheng had been admiring Jin Se's beauty for a long time and wanted to marry her through Xia Ru's arrangement. Unfortunately, Jin Se was now following Miss Gu, and it was no longer possible for Xia Ru to arrange the marriage as she pleased. Thinking of this, Jiang Sheng became even more anxious in his heart.

  "It seems that young master really likes Jin Se sister, no wonder Jin Se sister asked me to give this handkerchief to you, it was embroidered by Jin Se sister for several nights."

  Ginger was overjoyed in her heart, "Where is the handkerchief? Bring it quickly!"

  A small hand stretched out from the flower wall, pale and thin, with a piece of butterfly-patterned cloth between its slender fingers. Jiang Sheng snatched it away under the faint moonlight, feeling it carefully with his fingertips.

  "Brocade zither! It's a brocade zither embroidered by her, haha, no mistake!" Jiang Sheng was overjoyed, the brocade zither had actually taken the initiative to give him a gift, thinking back to when she wouldn't even bother to look at him!

  "Girl, does your sister Jin Se have any other messages for me?"

  Inside, a soft sigh, "Oh dear, Master almost forgot to tell me that Jin Se sister said she won't be on duty beside the young mistress tomorrow evening, and if you have time, you can go to the ancestral hall to find her."

  Jiang Sheng knew that in the past few days, several maids in the courtyard had been sent to the ancestral hall during the day to sort out the items for the year-end ancestor worship ceremony, and there would be no one at night, it was indeed a good place for a secret meeting!

  Ginger smiled and said, "Thank you, girl. In the future, I and your sister Jin Se will not treat you unfairly. Go tell your sister that I, young master, will definitely go find her."

  The people inside heard this and chuckled a few times, "Alright alright, it's too cold tonight, I'll go back first. Young Master Jiang must definitely go find Sister Jin Se tomorrow night!"

  The sound of footsteps on the snowy ground grew fainter and fainter, Jiang Sheng put the handkerchief in his hand to his nose and took a deep breath, suddenly feeling a burst of fragrance overflowing, his heart surged, Jin Se! Jin Se!

  Jiang Sheng didn't sleep all night, and when the first ray of morning light entered his small cottage, he sobered up a bit. How did Jin Se suddenly send him gifts? With doubts in his mind, Jiang Sheng arranged today's shift at the outer courtyard and then asked someone to enter the inner courtyard. He wanted to ask his mother if she had already discussed it with Jin Se.

  With great expectation, Jiang Sheng did not wait for his mother to come out. The little maid who brought the message said that Xu Dama in the inner courtyard was ill, so she had to hand over the task of buying goods to fill the treasury for the New Year's needs to Xia Dama. Today is the day when Xia Dama went to Tancheng to sell jade on behalf of Cai Furen. She left before dawn and probably won't be back for three or two days.

  Hearing that the fat difference had fallen on his own mother, Jiang Sheng's joy in his heart exceeded his doubts. Moreover, now that the handkerchief was already in his hands, he wouldn't die if he went to take a look at night.

  Thinking so, Jiang Sheng made up his mind to go to the ancestral hall tonight.

  Almost with anticipation, when the sunset slowly fell below the horizon, Jiang Sheng put on new clothes and prepared to go out for a date. However, at this time, Master Gu Zhongzheng returned home unexpectedly. Originally, this matter didn't need Jiang Sheng's attention in daily life, but today not only did Gu Zhongzheng come back alone, he also seemed to have brought a noble guest with him. Gu Zhongzheng ordered someone to arrange the rarely used large study room.

  The master's order dare not be disobeyed, Jiang Sheng had no choice but to reassign the personnel. This delay caused him to leave for the ancestral hall when the sky was already darkening.

  The ancestral hall of the Xiang family is located in the deepest part of the compound, along the inner courtyard's flower wall, and after walking straight for a while, you can see a place with lush cypress and pine trees. Among the greenery, an old courtyard sits there, which is where the ancestral hall of the Xiang family has been passed down through generations.

  It was late, and the temple was quiet inside. The dense ancient trees outside added to the eerie atmosphere. Jiang Sheng took out a handkerchief from his pocket and unconsciously put it back to his nose for another sniff.

  I don't know what kind of fragrance this handkerchief has been scented with, but it's so captivating that he can't help but sniff it repeatedly.

  With a creak, the temple door was indeed unlocked. Jiang Sheng's heart skipped a beat as he caught the pungent scent of incense and called out softly, "Jin Se..."

  No one responded to the first call, and Jiang Sheng only felt that the fragrance of the grass and incense on the handkerchief was very familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on how it was familiar.

  The spacious main hall was empty, but at the corner of the small door, a faint light had fallen. Jiang Sheng's eyes narrowed and he quickly walked towards that place.

  "It's better for Xu Damao to find someone else from now on. I still have to attend to the young lady later tonight!"

  Before he even got close, a voice filled with resentment and grievance burst out. Jiang Sheng's heart skipped a beat as he quickened his pace, and when he reached the small gate, he saw that it was indeed Jin Se!

  Perhaps it was because of the silence behind her for half a day, Jin Se turned around in confusion, and when she saw that it was Jiang Sheng standing there, her eyes widened in surprise, "Brother?"

  Jiang was born with a smile, walking slowly in, and covering the wooden door, "Still know how to call brother, not bad for brother to spoil you!"

  Jin Se's eyebrows furrowed slightly, "How did you get in here? Outsiders aren't allowed to enter this temple casually!"

  "You can all come in, I'm not an outsider, why can't I come in?"

  Jiang Sheng's oily mouth and glib tongue had been seen through by Jin Se early on, so she didn't bother to say much to him. "There are some old items in this ancestral hall that need to be put away, I've followed the young mistress for many years, it's only right that I do my best for her. That's why Madam Xu sent me over, and soon she'll probably come over too. You'd better leave early."

  Jiang Sheng didn't know why, but he just felt that as soon as he entered the inner room and saw Jin Se, his whole body was a bit hot. At this moment, this feeling was even more obvious. He chuckled and said, "Of course I'm going to leave, but sister, you called me over, don't you have anything to say?"

  Jin Se stopped, "Did I call you over? When did I call you over?"

  Jiang Sheng's eyes changed, "Last night, you sent someone to wait for me at the flower wall in the inner courtyard and even gave me a handkerchief, wasn't it?"

  Jiang Sheng immediately pulled out the handkerchief, and Jin Se took it over to examine it. She muttered to herself, "This is strange, I did have a handkerchief like this, but it's been old for a long time, and now I don't even know where it is. How could it be in your possession? And why would I send someone to deliver such a thing to you at night? Moreover, the embroidered flowers on it look strange..."

  Jiang Sheng was stunned, thinking back and forth, then looked at Jin Se's face again, and his earlier doubts grew even more. However, his expression fell into Jin Se's eyes and became a secret calculation. Jin Se turned around and coldly snorted, "I don't know where this handkerchief came from, but it's definitely not mine. And I advise Brother Jiang to give up on me early, because in the future, I will definitely be following Big Miss."

  These words fell on Jiang Sheng's ears, and Gu Da Xiaojie's future position would not be low. Jin Se thought that Jiang Sheng understood very well in his heart. He smiled coldly and said, "How? Do you still want to follow Da Xiaojie to fly up the branch and become a phoenix, to be someone else's concubine? You don't even look at Da Xiaojie's fate, let alone your own weight. Do you think that the Wang Hou Fu Yuan is something you can enter? Moreover, Da Xiaojie will not stop at this in the future!"

  Jin Se's face turned red, and her eyes were filled with even more anger. "Jiang Sheng, you'd better get out of here quickly! Whether I'm a concubine or a maid, it's none of your business. With your sloppy appearance, I wouldn't give you a second glance!"

  At this time, Jin Se was facing away from Jiang Sheng. From behind, Jin Se's neck was slender and straight, her back was smooth and delicate, and her waist was even more beautiful and elegant. A light red gauze was draped over her outer robe, symbolizing the senior maid of the inner courtyard. At this moment, she stood like this, with a hint of anger in her tone, but to Jiang Sheng, it seemed as if she had a fatal allure.

  "Jin Se"

  The voice close to her ear startled Jin Se, and before she could even turn around, a pair of large hands had already wrapped around her waist. Jiang Sheng's arms were sturdy and powerful, and with just a slight tightening, he made it impossible for her to move again.

  The intimate touch instantly increased Jiang Sheng's body temperature by another degree. When his large hands fell on Jin Se's chest, there was a moment of clarity in his mind - the familiar scent he had smelled earlier seemed to be from the Peony House.

  The night was dark and the wind was strong, in the midst of the heavy darkness, everyone in the Xiang family had their own busy affairs, no one knew what was happening inside that gloomy and ominous ancestral hall.

  Inside the courtyard, Xu Danni stood on the high platform as soon as it got dark, gazing in the direction of the ancestral hall. When she saw the flames bursting into the sky, her calm eyes suddenly lit up, and she remembered what that person had said: "If Xu Danni believes in Yun Xi like this, then Yun Xi doesn't need to come to congratulate you on your birthday in this cold weather. Within three days, Madam will naturally believe in Yun Xi."

  In an instant, a series of cries of surprise came from within the Xiang family compound - the ancestral temple was flooded!

  Digression

  I'm so sick that I couldn't even do my part-time job, so I took a leave and stayed in bed with the blanket on, hehe, can I say that sentence again? Please collect and support me~.