12dz Chapter 297 A Warm Atmosphere
Chapter 297 A Warm Atmosphere
In reality, Liu Xie was just an ordinary-looking man. It was only because he took good care of himself over the years, and with the emperor's halo shining upon him, that he became the most handsome man in the empire. It's understandable that these young female soldiers had such fantasies.
At 7 o'clock, as dawn broke, Liu Xie, Zhao Yu, and his secretary Ouyang Qian, who had just gotten up, had breakfast together. Zhao Yu went to the study to read, while Liu Xie and Ouyang Qian left the inner palace and headed towards the Imperial Advisory Office building located on the outer perimeter of the palace.
Ouyang Qian was the emperor's secretary, the deputy commander of the palace guards, and Liu Xie's concubine. Over the years, she helped Liu Xie handle countless trivial matters, and was an invaluable assistant to him.
The two walked side by side, and Ouyang Qian hugged Liu Xie's arm as she walked, complaining, "Your Majesty, it's been so long since you've spent the night with me!"
Liu Xie said with a wry smile, "How long has it been? Less than 10 days, right? You greedy cat, aren't you a bit too thirsty?"
Ouyang Qian protested, shaking Liu Xie's arm and saying, "I've done so much for you, and you won't even spend a little more time with me?"
"I can't make that decision. The order of your turn has been arranged by the Empress. It won't be your turn for a couple of days, will it?"
Ouyang Qian's eyes darted around, glancing at her surroundings. The female guards pretended not to see her. Ouyang Qian whispered in Liu Xie's ear, "Honey, I spent several months making one of those office uniform suits you told me about before. Would you like to see it?"
Liu Xie was taken aback. He looked down at Ouyang Qian, who was looking at him expectantly, and asked, "Did you really do it?" Ouyang Qian nodded, her face flushed and her eyes filled with shyness.
Liu Xie asked Ouyang Qian with surprise, "What have you done? Does anyone else know?"
"I always have the fabric woven by a textile factory, and then I secretly make them at night so no one else knows. But the clothes you're talking about are so revealing, and I've never seen anyone make them before. I used up so much fabric just looking at your simple sketches to make a set that I was satisfied with. I also picked out the most elastic silk thread from the silk factory to weave a pair of sheer stockings, and I secretly made a pair of gold-plated stiletto heels at the leather factory. The heels are 12 centimeters high, and I'm sure you'll love them."
Having been away from modern society for many years, Liu Xie's mind flashed with an image of Ouyang Qian wearing a three-piece OL uniform, her slender legs clad in transparent stockings, and walking towards him in 12-centimeter high heels. He couldn't help but swallow, wanting to nibble at Ouyang Qian's red cherry lips.
Seeing Liu Xie's reaction, Ouyang Qian was surprised that her revelation had caused him such excitement. She quickly covered his mouth with her hand and whispered, "Come see me in a couple of days, and I'll wear it for you!"
Looking around at the female guards who were all ears, Liu Xie knew this wasn't the time for intimacy. He suppressed his desire and said to Ouyang Qian, "Qianqian, don't lie to me. If it's not true, I'll punish you properly!"
"How could Qianqian dare to deceive the Emperor? Just please don't ruin the uniform I worked so hard to make. I don't want to do it again. It really takes so much time and effort!" Ouyang Qian said coquettishly.
"Don't worry, don't worry, I'd never want to break it!" Liu Xie pinched Ouyang Qian's cheek and laughed. The two of them walked towards the Imperial Secretariat's office building, laughing and joking. When they were close to the building, they separated and resumed their roles as emperor and secretary as they entered the office building.
Amidst the salutes of the guards, Emperor Liu Xie arrived at the top floor of the building, opened a large door, and walked in.
This is the fourth floor of the Imperial Household Department office building, the entire floor dedicated to the emperor's personal office. The central entrance leads to a reception room, to the left is the office, and to the right are a restroom and restroom. The entire floor is decorated in a very luxurious yet warm atmosphere. Outside the window, a row of early spring bonsai trees has begun to sprout, bringing a touch of spring.
Entering the rest room, he took off his coat, felt the temperature inside, and instructed the orderly to lower the fireplace temperature. Then he went to the largest office on the left to begin his day's work. An assistant secretary who had arrived early knocked on the door of the emperor's office with a stack of newspapers, placed them on Liu Xie's desk, and then left.
These newspapers were the latest daily publications, along with internal reports that were not suitable for public release. Liu Xie glanced through them for a while. The front pages were mostly war bulletins issued by the Ministry of National Defense, followed by news about Cao Cao's conscription to form four independent divisions, as well as news about inventions and the construction of new factories and groups in various regions.
At 7:50, Ouyang Qian knocked on the door and came in to report that Xi Zhicai had something to report. Liu Xie put down the newspaper in his hand and followed Ouyang Qian out. He saw Xi Zhicai, the director of the Imperial Advisory Office, pacing anxiously back and forth in the reception room with a document in his hand.
Upon seeing Liu Xie, Xi Zhicai didn't even have time to bow before shoving the documents into Liu Xie's hands and saying, "A huge mess has broken out in Guanghan, Yizhou!"
As Liu Xie had Xi Zhicai sit down, he read the contents of the document. It clearly stated that Xu Jing, the elderly township head of Guanghan, disregarded the age gap and took Honglian, who was only 16 years old, as his concubine. He doted on her, which led to trouble in the backyard. Xu Jing's wife, Zhang, beat Honglian to death while Xu Jing was away.
When Xu Jing returned from his business, he heard that his beloved concubine had been beaten to death by Zhang Shi. Enraged, he threw a porcelain bowl, which hit Zhang Shi on the head. Zhang Shi, who was over 50 years old, followed in Hong Lian's footsteps.
Zhang's family was a wealthy and influential family in Guanghan. When they heard that their daughter had been beaten to death by Xu Jing, they were naturally outraged. They mobilized all their connections to pressure Xu Jing, insisting that he personally go to Zhang's family to apologize.
Xu Jing had served as the township head in Guanghan for several years and wielded considerable power. He was unwilling to back down and clashed with the Zhang family head-on. The two families, involving thousands of people, turned Guanghan into chaos within days.
One day, Zhang's shop was vandalized; the next day, Xu Jing's nephew was beaten half to death while out. Seeing that things were going badly, the yamen tried to maintain order while reporting to the Yizhou provincial government via telegram.
Since the case involved a township head and a deeply entrenched powerful family, the Yizhou provincial government dared not be negligent. They dispatched capable officers to Guanghan to assist in maintaining order and mediating the conflict, while simultaneously reporting the matter to Wang Feng. Wang Feng, realizing this was no ordinary criminal case involving a township head, submitted the report to the Imperial Advisory Office, and ultimately, Xi Zhicai delivered the document to the Emperor.
Although he knew that women had a low status in ancient times, this was the first time Liu Xie had ever seen a man in his sixties marry a 16-year-old girl as a concubine, leading to the tragedy of the two women dying one after another.
The crux of the matter is that Xu Jing disregarded the age difference, tricked and deceived a 16-year-old girl into marrying him, leading to domestic strife and ultimately a tragedy. A man in his sixties, shamelessly taking a 16-year-old girl as a concubine—could he possibly satisfy her sexual needs?