<h4>Chapter 1960: If Two People Share an Eternal Love Then…</h4>


    “But…” Zhao Xu looked embarrassed. “But today is the first day of the new year, so I should sleep in the empress’ pce.”


    Ning Shu: →_→


    Frick, you even want someone to beg you to go when you want to leave?


    Jesus!


    “The emperor should hurry and deal with government affairs. Maybe it’s something important. There’s always the 15th of the new year,” Ning Shu told Zhao Xu shyly. “If two people share an eternal love then there’s no need to be together all the time.”


    “Ahem. The empress truly is virtuous,” Zhao Xu said as he turned and left.


    Ning Shu stared at Zhao Xu’s back and rolled her eyes.


    “Your Majesty…” Qiu Ling looked at Ning Shu helplessly.


    Ning Shu turned her head. “It’s time to prepare for the pce’s Mid-Autumn banquet. Tell the servants to do it well.”


    This banquet would serve as an unexpected excuse to free Attendant Zhou. In the end, Zhao Xu was still thinking about her.


    However, even if she was freed for a time, she could still be locked away again. When the bird flew out of her cage, Ning Shu would shove her back in.


    The consorts and concubines of the pces were very busy in the time leading up to the banquet. They would stand before Ning Shu when they had nothing else to do, crying that their clothes were too old and that their jewelry was missing.


    Ning Shu asked the clothing bureau to make two outfits for each imperial concubine. This diverted the concubines’ attention. They were either busy getting clothes made and procuring new jewelry, or they were rehearsing the dance assiduously in an attempt to show the others up in front of Zhao Xu and gain his favor.


    At any rate, the entire harem was busy.


    On the night of the fifteenth day, the banquet took ce. The pce was gorgeously decorated and brightly lit with beautiful women singing and dancing.


    Ning Shu and Zhao Xu sat at the top, looking down upon the rows of concubines below. In the middle, dancers enchanted the audience with their outstanding performances.


    Ning Shu nced at Attendant Zhou. Attendant Zhou was very beautiful but was seated at the back due to her status. At that moment, she seemed to create a world of her own by just sitting there, her temperament exceptional.


    On asion she would secretly sip a bit of fruit wine, causing her face to flush and giving her the alluring charm of a drunken beauty.


    Ning Shu noticed that Zhao Xu’s eyes were drifting towards Attendant Zhou.


    Even at the back, Attendant Zhou’s beauty and drunken naivety made her stand out.


    Consort Zhuang rolled her eyes at Attendant Zhou’s act.


    She was d that she chose not to ally herself with such a person. Consort Zhuang had already disliked Attendant Zhou, and with how Attendant Zhou behaved now she was sure she wouldn’t get so much as a drop of the shared stew.


    Consort Zhuang came from a general’s family, so she couldn’t act the way Attendant Zhou did.


    Just then, a team of dancers slowly walked. The dancers were swinging their long sleeves, graceful and colorful, in time to the music.


    “Attendant Zhou, is this fruit wine that good? I think you already had several sses,” Zhao Xu asked Attendant Zhou aloud.


    Attendant Zhou turned her head to look at Zhao Xu with a dazed expression. Her face was flushed and her beautiful eyes were like silk. She quickly stood up. “This subject, this attendant, has never had this kind of fruit wine before.”


    Zhao Xu smiled. “Drink less. This wine is sweet, but its effects aren’t mild.”


    Attendant Zhou smiled brightly. “This attendant understands.”


    “Attention, Host. There are assassins in the crowd-be prepared to rescue the emperor,” the favored concubine system said.


    Trantor: Kaho


    Editor: Shark