With the renovations to the Palace of Longevity complete, the ceremony conferring Achu with the rank of consort, placed entirely under the supervision of the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household Department, was held as scheduled.
Achu wore a bright-yellow brocade court robe, three coils of court beads around her neck, and a glittering array of jewels. With every step she took, her skirt swayed with graceful movement, like a brilliant cloud flowing lightly through the air, rippling with endless charm. The tassels on her sapphire-blue headdress swayed gently in time with her steps, displaying a peerless magnificence, as though an immortal had descended into the mortal world.
“Your Highness, be careful. Allow this servant to support you.” Jinzhong hurriedly extended both hands, his eyes fixed intently on Achu’s steps as he acted with utmost caution.
Achu tightened her grip on Jinzhong’s hand and stopped before a tall bronze mirror that was as high as a person. At that moment, a gentle breeze stirred the pale-blue gauze curtains, making everything around them appear half-hidden and indistinct.
Achu’s slender fingers habitually reached up to touch Jinzhong’s ear. “Do I look beautiful today?” She never used the term “I” reserved for a woman of her rank when speaking to those close to her.
Jinzhong’s body jolted. The ear Achu touched seemed to have been set aflame, making every inch of his skin tremble.
“You look absolutely beautiful. In this servant’s eyes, Your Highness is an immortal fairy. No one can compare with you.” Jinzhong’s gaze concealed a burning desire he had suppressed for a long time, but he still forced himself to restrain it.
Today was Achu’s ceremony of elevation to consort. It would be troublesome if they got too carried away and left any marks.
Achu was stirred by the restraint in Jinzhong’s eyes. He was seducing her so openly; it seemed such a pity not to do anything. She blinked and leaned toward him.
Jinzhong’s breath caught. Reason told him to move away and not cause Achu trouble, but after swallowing hard, he allowed Achu to wrap her arms around his waist and press him against the bronze mirror. Their fingers interlaced as they began to entangle themselves in an impatient kiss.
Just then, the gentle breeze stirred the gauze curtains again, half-concealing the two figures. In the haze, the intimate atmosphere grew ever more intense, as though the entire world had been reduced to the two of them.
No one would ever imagine that here in the Palace of Longevity, the lofty and breathtakingly beautiful Consort Baochen was wantonly kissing a young eunuch and doing everything lovers were meant to do together. It was utterly outrageous.
Afterward, the corners of Achu’s eyes were faintly flushed. She breathed lightly between her lips and teeth, and her brows and eyes were filled with languid, alluring softness. She sat lazily before the dressing table and called softly, “Yingwan.”
Wei Yingwan pushed aside the gauze curtain. The scene before her did not shock her in the slightest. Ignoring Jinzhong, who was half-kneeling beside Her Highness and ingratiating himself with her, she displayed all the composure of a senior palace maid and said without changing expression, “Your Highness, this servant will redo your makeup.”
Yet when her gaze fell upon the lipstick smeared messily across Achu’s lips, she could not stop complaining inwardly: “Eunuch Jinzhong is truly so clumsy. He can’t even properly attend to Her Highness in a matter this important, and has left her in such a state. Does he not know what day it is today? He has absolutely no sense of propriety. How could Her Highness possibly be willing to favor him?”
An ordinary palace maid who encountered her mistress secretly carrying on with a eunuch would have been frightened into trembling. Wei Yingwan, however, was different. After thinking it over carefully, she decided that the Emperor must simply be inadequate, forcing her own mistress to seek pleasure with a eunuch instead. Thus, Wei Yingwan felt such pity for Achu that she could scarcely bear it.
Not only did she look for opportunities to let Achu and Jinzhong spend time together, she also considered that Eunuch Jinzhong was a eunuch serving before the Emperor and was therefore rather busy. He could not possibly appear whenever Her Highness needed him. So, in secret, she selected quite a number of young eunuchs with clean family backgrounds, handsome and refined appearances, and various skills, including applying makeup, styling hair, telling stories, and tending flowers and plants.
For this occasion, Wei Yingwan had arranged quite a few of them among the staff of the Palace of Longevity. Their looks were in no way inferior to those of Jinzhong and Li Yu. Since they were younger, they also possessed a few more of the freshness and appealing innocence of youth. They would surely ensure that Her Highness could live comfortably and freely in her own palace.
Of course, neither Achu nor Jinzhong knew anything about this. Their relationship had previously been so carefully concealed that, apart from Aunt Fang knowing a little about it, no one in the inner palace was aware. No one would ever believe that the Emperor’s favored consort had once been in a eunuch marriage with a eunuch. Even those who had happened to see the two of them meeting alone in the past would never have thought much of it. They were worlds apart—how could they possibly have become involved? The connection was simply impossible for anyone to imagine.
“Jinzhong, you should go back first.” After finishing her preparations, Achu lightly pointed at the corner of Jinzhong’s mouth. “There’s still some lipstick there. Remember to clean it off properly.” The Emperor would be coming later, and it would not be good if Jinzhong stayed here too long and exposed them.
The corner of Jinzhong’s mouth curved upward. He kissed Achu’s fingertip and said, “This servant obeys.”
After Jinzhong left, Achu looked at herself in the bronze mirror and confirmed that her expression was completely normal. Then, with one hand resting on Wei Yingwan’s, she took a deep breath and stepped outside.
Meeting the dazzled and lovestruck gazes of the assembled consorts, Achu revealed the shallow dimples in her cheeks. They were like ripples spreading across a clear lake, carrying a touch of pure, delicate beauty that effortlessly tugged at everyone’s heartstrings.
Even Yihuan, who was always aloof and held no one in her eyes, stopped waving her fan. Her gaze became dreamy. She was a hopeless romantic by nature. Back then, she had fallen in love with the Emperor at first sight and chosen to enter the palace to become his woman, without resentment or regret. Now she was equally captivated by Achu’s breathtaking beauty. It had nothing to do with romance; merely looking at Achu caused endless inspiration to gather in her heart, filling her with indescribable delight.
Achu’s smile was simply too beautiful and too guileless. The Emperor, seated on the platform, gazed at her with affection and could not help but come down personally to support her. How could he possibly have imagined that the cuckold’s hat he wore was sitting so firmly on his head? Achu felt a faint sense of guilt over it, so she became gentler in her words and actions toward him, secretly filling the Emperor with joy. He only felt that his recent efforts had touched Achu, and he had never imagined that the feeling of mutual love could be so wonderful.
Because of what he had experienced as a child, he had never enjoyed the love of his parents. He did not know how to love someone, nor did he understand how to treat people well. Whenever he interacted with others, he had always retained seven parts calculation and never offered his true heart. Yet now, he faintly understood that the feeling he had allowed to take root and grow within him was love.
He wanted to see her smile. He wanted to see her as she was now—noble and dignified. He wanted to give her all the splendor and prosperity he could offer, and he wanted to walk hand in hand with her until the very end.
He took her hand, pretending to be unconcerned as he thought that it seemed the date for conferring the title of Imperial Noble Consort would have to be moved up as well. He did not care how astonishing his thoughts were. When an emperor loved someone, he wanted to give her everything.
Everyone remembered that the grandeur of this consort-conferring ceremony had been unprecedented—solemn and magnificent.
The Emperor personally accompanied her hand in hand. The high-ranking officials of the court all turned out to make offerings and report to the rear hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple. She was granted a two-character title, placed under the Bordered Yellow Banner, bestowed the Shumulu clan surname, and given treatment equal to that of a Noble Consort. One honor after another made it known to the world how deeply the Emperor favored Consort Baochen.
Even outside the Forbidden City, stories began to spread of Consort Baochen’s breathtaking beauty.
The palace passage was long and narrow. The wind drifted quietly through it, carrying a hint of coolness.
On his way back to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Jinzhong encountered Jinbao.
“Get that smell off you.” Seeing Jinzhong’s beaming face, Jinbao spoke coldly. “And if you don’t want to harm her, stay away from her as soon as possible.”
Both of them knew perfectly well who “her” was.
“You’re meddling in affairs that don’t concern you.” Although the two of them were both disciples of Li Yu, their relationship was no more than ordinary. The only time they had cooperated amicably was when they had joined forces to get the Emperor to go to Yikun Palace.
Previously, Jinzhong had been unable to understand why Jinbao had helped him that time. But now, what he had failed to understand had become clear.
Jinzhong could see how much Jinbao cared about Achu. He lifted his chin slightly, smiling with considerable satisfaction as he exposed Jinbao’s thoughts in a single sentence. “You’re jealous of me.”
Jinbao was silent for a moment. He had originally thought that once Achu became a consort, she would sever her dealings with Jinzhong. That would have been the sensible thing to do. After all, no one would want to keep Jinzhong around as a stain on her reputation.
But unexpectedly, she had not even been willing to kill him. She had continued to maintain their former relationship. Jinbao could not describe the complicated feeling in his heart, but he understood that he longed for the one and only favor Achu showed Jinzhong.
Jinbao said slowly, “If you want to protect her in the inner palace, you alone aren’t enough.” The Empress, the Noble Consort, and Consort Chun were none of them easy to deal with. The schemes of the inner palace were impossible to guard against. Jinzhong was still only a young eunuch of the Hall of Mental Cultivation; he was fundamentally incapable of protecting her.
Since this concerned Achu, the smugness disappeared from Jinzhong’s face. Clever people did not need many words.
“What do you want?”
“You know what I want.” Jinbao’s voice was low and resolute.
“No!” Jinzhong refused without the slightest hesitation.
Jinbao did not become angry. He had known that Jinzhong would not be moved so easily. “Think about it carefully. Do you really intend to harm her for the sake of your own selfish desires?”
Seeing Jinzhong’s expression begin to soften, Jinbao pressed his advantage. “Besides, I don’t expect to accompany her at her side the way you do. I only wish for her to truly notice me”—rather than sweep her gaze over him without the slightest ripple, as if he left no impression at all.
Jinzhong narrowed his eyes. His gaze became deep and complicated, and his voice turned distant. “I won’t help you.”
Jinbao’s lips curved into a smile instead, because he knew Jinzhong had yielded. Although Jinzhong would not help him, he would not stop him from currying favor with Achu, either. Everything would have to depend on Jinbao himself.
And this was a beginning.