Chapter 218 Rafting
Yihuan was on her way to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager. Just like when she was in the palace, she only summoned the concubines collectively on the first and fifteenth days of the month, but she would go to greet the Empress Dowager every day. This is filial piety.

"Your Majesty, Changchun Fairy Pavilion has been very lively these days. The Empress Dowager said that she likes the company of young girls and has met all the ministers' daughters. Now people in the garden are saying that the Empress Dowager wants to choose a concubine for the Emperor." Yuxue spoke quickly, holding back her anger.

"Why is our Miss Yuxue so angry?" Yihuan breathed in the fresh morning air and ignored Yuxue's words.

"My queen! Not only the young ladies from the official families outside the garden, but even the beautiful ones in the garden have started to move." Yuxue counted on her fingers, "I have received four or five bracelets and seven or eight pairs of earrings in the past few days, not to mention all kinds of strange and weird things."

"Your Majesty, why did you ask me to keep it?" Yuxue was puzzled.

Yihuan shook her head: "First, I can't openly go against the Empress Dowager, otherwise the Emperor will become a nobody. Second, it will also let you all save up your own dowries, so we can have the best of both worlds."

Yuxue blushed and stamped her feet. She was always shy when talking about her marriage.

"I won't marry." Yuxue said sullenly.

"Don't try that on me. Your sister Yuxiao has said time and again that she won't get married. Now that she has a son and a daughter, it would be great for her to be the grandmother. Don't worry, I will make sure you all find a good home." Yihuan laughed as she thought about Yuxiao's children. The two children were more naughty than the other, which had nothing to do with Yuxiao's calmness. It was quite interesting.

"Your Majesty, what if the Emperor really takes a concubine?" Yu Xue was still worried.

"Silly Yuxue, you didn't see clearly. According to the emperor's personality, he would not mention the talent show in the three years after the late emperor passed away. As for those who did not go through the talent show, either their background was so great that the emperor had to compromise, or the emperor liked them very much."

"No matter which one it is, I can't do anything. Let's just wait and see what happens."

After saying this, the master and his servants arrived at the Changchun Fairy House. Although it was still early, the house was already bustling.

When Yihuan entered the room, she saw several unfamiliar women. She recognized the one sitting at the very end, who was Wu Ya Huixia.

It seems that the empress dowager still wants to take care of her mother's family. However, Huixia is a girl made of wood. She just keeps her head down and does not show any courtesy to the empress dowager, making her uncooperative attitude clear.

Yihuan gave the gift and left without disturbing the Queen Mother from observing the girl.

After returning to Bitong Academy, Yihuan sat in front of the dressing mirror and touched the corners of her eyes. There were already some slight wrinkles there, which was a gift from time and no one was immune to it.

Compared with those tender young women, Yihuan was indeed not young enough, and Yinzhen was still in his prime, the most attractive in everyone's eyes, so as soon as the empress dowager revealed a little bit of information, countless people flocked to her.

Yihuan said she would wait and see what would happen, but she was still a little annoyed. She thought about it and gave the order that she would go to the pavilion in the center of the lake for a boat ride today.

The servants moved quickly, and Yihuan had her lunch in the pavilion in the middle of the lake. What she saw were lotus leaves spreading out across the entire surface of the lake. These were planted by Yinzhen and his brothers in the past, and now they have flourished and become a sight in the Old Summer Palace.

"Are there any dancers in the garden? Let them go up to the pleasure boat and pick the best singer." Yihuan leaned back in the chair, enjoying Yuling's massage.

"Yes."

Yinzhen was touring the garden with the current Prince Yi and several trusted ministers. They happened to walk nearby and heard the sound of drums and music, so they all came to the lake to join in the fun.

Although they were quite far away, Prince Yi could tell at a glance that the person in the pavilion was the Empress, so he looked away: "The dancers trained in the garden have a unique wild charm. No wonder the Empress's sister-in-law likes them too."

The others suddenly realized what was going on and went to look at what the most favored empress in the harem looked like, but unfortunately they couldn't see clearly from the angle. Yinzhen waved his hand, indicating that they could go home and rest, and he boarded the boat and sailed to the center of the lake.

Suddenly, there were two more people on the lake. Yihuan could still see them. She reached out and pulled Yinzhen up. Su Peisheng settled the boat and stood beside Yuling in an orderly manner.

Yuling took two steps forward, and Su Peisheng sensed it and immediately gave her a smile.

He knew that he had offended the Queen Mother with Qianqian's incident last time, and he saw that the palace maids around her were no longer enthusiastic.

The breeze blew from all directions, and Yinzhen felt very relaxed. He reached out and touched Yihuan's hand, which was a little cold: "The wind on the lake is strong, you have to wear more clothes if you want to come and play."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I know what's going on." Yihuan felt the warmth in her palm and suddenly smiled mischievously, "Come to think of it, I'm hiding here."

Yinzhen looked at her in confusion.

"There are so many beautiful ladies in the palace now, the emperor must think I am an eyesore, but I do have some self-awareness."

Yinzhen suddenly realized what was going on. He looked at Yihuan meaningfully and asked, "Are you jealous?"

“Who’s jealous?!” Yihuan exploded like a cat whose tail was stepped on.

"Silly girl." Yinzhen pulled up Yihuan's collar a little, "You've been sitting here for a long time. Go back. I want to take a nap."

Yihuan looked at the boat parked on the lake and suddenly had an idea: "Your Majesty, how about we rest on the boat? Think about it, the lake is floating, surrounded by large lotus leaves, and it doesn't matter where it floats, it's free."

"Hmm." Yinzhen thought for a moment, "It's not impossible."

Although it is called a small boat, the one Yinzhen was sitting on was not the kind that could only carry one person. Instead, it had an inner room and a deck, and was almost a smaller version of a pleasure boat.

The inner room was just as Yihuan had imagined. There was a single bed and a coffee table. Although it was a bit simple, it was very interesting.

Yinzhen gestured to Yihuan to lie on the inside, which was actually against the rules. Logically, Yihuan should lie on the outside to make it easier for her to serve tea and water to Yinzhen.

However, Yihuan did feel tired, so she didn't bother to be polite with Yinzhen. She took off her coat and got into bed.

Seeing this, Su Peisheng stopped the maid who wanted to go in to serve and quietly closed the cabin door.

The light in the room dimmed instantly. Yihuan yawned and was about to close her eyes when she suddenly felt a warm hand on her waist, and the hand was slowly moving up.

Yihuan woke up immediately and looked up at Yinzhen.

Yinzhen turned over and pressed Yihuan under him, a low laugh coming out of his mouth. He leaned over and blocked Yihuan's mouth as she tried to accuse him.

Looking from afar, the boat was swaying on the lake.