Chapter 333: A Great Surprise from the Queen!

Outside the window, the night falls.

In the study, the lights are lit, casting a warm glow. The Queen, draped in a scarlet robe, sits before the desk, earnestly reading letters sent from the front lines.

Luo Zijun sits quietly beside her, looking through the letters she has finished reading.

Once the Queen finishes reading all the letters, he begins to discuss their contents with her.

Luo Zijun discusses them with her as he reads.

There is no one else in the room.

Chen Fei, Ningfei, and Princess Qingya left after finishing their meal.

Originally, the Queen had other plans at that time, but she suddenly changed her mind.

After the three of them left, the Queen said to him: "This is bait; I cannot let you eat it all at once. It will not be too late to eat it when you return."

Luo Zijun is actually already full.

The table is full of delicacies, and he has eaten until he is nearly ready to vomit. Although there are different delicious dishes every time, who could endure overeating for a whole month?

"Once you have been out for a while, you will naturally be hungry again."

The Queen seems very confident.

Luo Zijun thinks to himself: Could it be that there is nothing outside? Although it might not be as good as the Royal Palace, with his abilities, he surely won't go hungry, right?

The two talk and discuss affairs of state, and before they know it, night has arrived.

After all state affairs have been discussed, Luo Zijun finally cannot help but ask: "Your Majesty, can you tell me about that merchant caravan now?"

He is leaving tomorrow.

Yet until now, he still does not know the situation of that merchant caravan, not even how many people are in it or how they are going.

The Queen smiles slightly but does not answer. She picks up her teacup, sips it slowly for a while, and then looks at him: "Luo Qing, there is no need to be anxious. Since I have already promised you, I will naturally not go back on my word. I said that I would give you a surprise tonight."

Luo Zijun has no choice but to say: "What surprise does Your Majesty wish to give your subject? Princess Qingya and her sister? I am willing to accept, but I hope Your Majesty can inform me of the serious business first."

The Queen looks at him with a look that is not quite a smile: "How did you know, Luo Qing, that it was about the Qingya sisters? It seems you have a special fondness for sisters."

Luo Zijun sighs and says: "Every time I come to the palace, Your Majesty says you will give me a surprise tonight, and every time the surprise is some noblewoman I saw in the afternoon. How could I not guess?"

The Queen laughs: "It is a pity you guessed wrong, it is not the two Qingya sisters. Because I have decided that I cannot let you have your way for now; you can only enjoy them when you return."

Luo Zijun asks in confusion: "Then who is it?"

The Queen is all smiles: "Luo Qing can take a guess."

Luo Zijun carefully recalls every noblewoman in the palace—besides the Queen, the Imperial Concubines, and other consorts, there are also the princesses, some noblewomen under house arrest, and...

Could it be...

His heart suddenly skips a beat, and he says: "Could it be... the Dowager Consorts?"

The Queen and the Consorts are all young girls in their teens, at most no older than twenty, while the Dowager Consorts are also not very old, ranging from twenty to thirty, and at most no older than forty.

The mother of the two Princess Qingya sisters, the Dowager Noble Consort, is only thirty-two years old.

Given the Queen's style of doing things lately, such a violation of common sense is indeed possible.

"The Dowager Consorts?"

Hearing this, the corners of the Queen's mouth twitch slightly, and she looks at him with a meaningful gaze: "Luo Qing, I didn't expect you to even set your sights on those Dowager Consorts. You really are someone who refuses no one—as long as it is a woman, it is fine?"

Luo Zijun is somewhat embarrassed: "I... I was just guessing."

The Queen's expression suddenly turns strange: "Luo Qing, you wouldn't have taken a fancy to the mother of the Qingya and Jingya sisters, would you?"

Luo Zijun: "... No, I haven't even met her."

The Queen snorts coldly and glances at him sideways: "But you have already met her beautiful little princess. If the daughter is like this, the mother shouldn't be bad either, right?"

Luo Zijun does not want to discuss this topic anymore and says respectfully: "Since I guessed wrong, I ask Your Majesty to enlighten me."

The Queen stares at him for a while longer and suddenly says: "Since I said before that whatever I have, I will give to you and will never be stingy, I naturally will not lie to you. After you return from there, the other women in the palace, including those Dowager Consorts who have been widowed for years despite their youth, are yours to choose from."

Luo Zijun says: "Your Majesty, actually I..."

"Enough, no need to quibble. Now, it is time for me to give you your surprise."

The Queen interrupts him, a flash of cunning appearing in her charming peach-blossom eyes.

Luo Zijun holds his breath and stops speaking.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

The Queen suddenly claps her hands three times toward the door.

"Creak..."

The door opens, and a slender, familiar figure walks in from outside, supported by an old nanny.

Then, the door closes.

Luo Zijun looks at the person who entered, somewhat surprised: "Jia Guifei?"

He wonders secretly in his heart, what kind of surprise is this? Hasn't Jia Guifei been discussing state affairs with him for quite a while now? And she has even unlocked many skills.

Today, Jia Guifei is draped in a purple-red floor-length robe, covered in jewelry, looking as graceful, luxurious, and curvaceous as ever.

She enters the room, first bows her head to pay respects to the Queen, and then, with a blushing face, shyly calls out to him: "Young Master Luo."

The relationship between the two has long been extraordinary, but every time they meet, this Imperial Concubine blushes and acts shy, not daring to look at him. It always takes an hour or two of being together before she slowly lets go and becomes a bit more bold and proactive.

"Imperial Concubine, long time no see."

Luo Zijun bows in return, his heart full of confusion.

The two have indeed not seen each other for several days. Before, they met every day and talked all night long very happily. He had thought that he was too rough that night and had hurt her, or that she had grown tired of him, which was why she hadn't come recently.