“Your Highness the Noble Consort, His Majesty is currently discussing matters with his ministers. It would be best if you came back a little later,” Fang Lu said respectfully, a horsetail whisk resting in his hand. “This slave will be sure to inform His Majesty that Your Highness came by.”
Fang Lu had accompanied Emperor Yuanshou for over a decade and was one of the people His Majesty trusted most. Naturally, Noble Consort Yan dared not offend him. In private, she had used heaven knows how many methods to curry favor with Fang Lu, but the man was completely impervious to both the soft and the hard approach. Loyal only to the Emperor, he resolutely refused to pull close to any of the imperial concubines.
Noble Consort Yan curved her eyes into a smile. “Then I will trouble Eunuch Fang. In half a shichen, this Consort will come again.”
Half a shichen later, Noble Consort Yan got her wish and saw Li Yi.
Li Yi was dressed in an ink-black casual robe embroidered with sea and dragon motifs, his hair bound by a jade crown, and his expression cold and stern. He tossed a memorial to the side. “Hanyuan Hall is not a place you should be coming to.”
Noble Consort Yan smiled with soft, bewitching charm. “Your Majesty has not set foot in the inner palace for so long, this Concubine missed you. Today, this Concubine had the palace servants make ginseng soup and pastries, specially coming to see Your Majesty.”
Li Yi had always been highly suspicious. Only after the eunuch beside him tested it for poison did he partake in the food Noble Consort Yan had brought.
Noble Consort Yan stood carefully to the side, serving him. “Your Majesty, this Concubine coming here this time… is also because there is a matter I cannot resolve and must seek your guidance on.”
“Speak.”
Noble Consort Yan carefully checked Li Yi’s complexion before saying, “Noble Lady Wu ran into the Empress today. The maid by her side was beaten by the Empress until her cheeks were swollen, and Noble Lady Wu’s own hands were trampled and injured by the Empress. This Concubine currently manages the Six Palaces in the Empress’s stead; if an ordinary concubine had injured Noble Lady Wu, this Concubine would have a way to handle it, but…”
Li Yi ordered, “Send word to Zhengyang Palace: the Empress is grounded for one month, and one month’s stipend is deducted.”
Noble Consort Yan’s tone grew slightly tense. “Your Majesty, isn’t this punishment a bit too light? You haven’t seen Noble Lady Wu’s injuries—all ten of her fingers are bruised purple, and they were nearly broken. If she hears of this punishment for the Empress, it will surely chill her heart…”
“Then how does the Noble Consort wish to punish her?” Li Yi lifted his eyes. “Strip her of her status as Empress, and then confer the title of Empress upon you?”
Noble Consort Yan trembled all over, her legs turning into jelly as she dropped to her knees. “This Concubine… this Concubine absolutely had no such intention!”
“Hanyuan Hall is absolutely not a place for a concubine like you to act presumptuously. Noble Consort Yan, withdraw.” Li Yi took the tea the eunuch handed him and rinsed his mouth. “As for the Empress’s matters, I have my own discretion.”
Keeping a smile plastered on her face, Noble Consort Yan slowly backed out.
Once outside Hanyuan Hall, Lülu supported Noble Consort Yan. “Your Highness, by acting this way, is His Majesty protecting the Empress?”
“He has always loathed the Empress, where would protection come from?” A trace of humiliation and anger flashed through Noble Consort Yan’s eyes.
When she first entered the palace, she had thought she was the center of everyone’s universe and that the Emperor would surely fall madly, hopelessly in love with her.
But after these years of interaction, Noble Consort Yan had finally come to understand: the Emperor was a true solitary monarch, cold in heart and cold in nature. It was absolutely impossible for him to love only her. Li Yi’s mind was deep and his head was remarkably calm; he did not indulge in feminine beauty, and she would never be able to guess his thoughts.
Noble Consort Yan’s nails dug deeply into her palms. Ultimately, she said with bitter resentment, “Let’s return to Yuhua Palace first.”
By the time Li Yi finished dealing with all the state affairs, it was already evening. Fang Lu asked, “Your Majesty, will you summon any concubines for the night?”
Li Yi thought of Noble Consort Yan’s gaudy face, then thought of that flock of mediocre, heavily powdered women in the harem, and a trace of disgust involuntarily swept across his heart.
“No need,” Li Yi said. “Send someone to summon the shadow guard by the Empress’s side.”
Within half a shichen, Xunxue quietly arrived at Hanyuan Hall.
She knelt on the ground, not daring in the slightest to raise her head to look at the exalted man sitting above.
A scroll of scripture in his hand, Li Yi asked, “Did the Empress act up again?”
With her forehead pressed against the carpet, Xunxue answered before she could overthink, “The Empress had a conflict with Noble Lady Wu today. Noble Lady Wu used Noble Consort Yan’s name to bully others first, and her words were disrespectful to the Empress, so the Empress had the servants punish Noble Lady Wu a little.”
After that came a long silence.
“For the time being, restrain her. Do not let her randomly beat or kill people anymore.” Li Yi hid the disgust at the bottom of his heart very well, but Xunxue, who was naturally sensitive, still detected it. She heard the man’s deep, cold voice add, “That medicine, remember to put it in her food.”
Xunxue bowed deeply once more.
Stepping out of Hanyuan Hall, a crescent moon hung in the deep blue night sky. Under the moonlight, the snow gleamed with a silver glow. Xunxue walked all the way back to Zhengyang Palace.
The sound of the Xun floated out from Zhengyang Palace. The Empress lived deep in the palace; day and night, she only had a group of palace maids for company, with absolutely nothing to busy her hands with. Such days were dry and boring. Xunxue had also learned that the Empress liked musical instruments and would have the maids play music when she was bored.
Aunt Yun had said that the Empress was proficient in everything—zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting—and was even more skilled in singing and dancing. Over the years, with no one visiting Zhengyang Palace year-round, the Empress was like a solitary orchid in a deep valley, quietly blooming and admiring her own fragrance.
She had just returned to her quarters when the maid Xia Lian asked, “Xunxue, where did you just go? Just now, Her Majesty was bored and wanted you to tell her a story, but we couldn’t find you anywhere.”
Xunxue had not been gone for long, but it was still enough to draw suspicion.
Xunxue said, “I ate too much for dinner and went out for a walk to digest. Has Her Majesty gone to sleep yet?”
“Her Majesty should be going to bathe, Aunt Yun is serving by her side,” Xia Lian replied. “You’d better go quickly and explain yourself to Her Majesty. Otherwise, if Her Majesty gets angry later, she will definitely slap you silly.”
Xunxue hurriedly went to Qi Yue’s room. At this hour, Qi Yue was indeed about to bathe and sleep.
Aunt Yun had removed her hair ornaments and was currently wiping away Qi Yue’s light makeup with a handkerchief. Xunxue said, “This servant heard Your Majesty was looking for me? Just now, this servant ate too much and went for a walk to digest.”
Qi Yue nodded. “It is fine now. You may withdraw.”
Xunxue wasn’t very willing to leave. She said, “Is Your Majesty going to bathe? This servant will attend to you.”
Qi Yue replied, “Having Aunt Yun here is enough.”
Xunxue could feel that the Empress favored her quite a bit, and she herself felt a great deal of pity and fondness for the Empress. From the very first glance, she had been captivated by her. Xunxue, who had always been absolutely loyal to the Emperor, was actually willing to defy the Emperor’s orders for the Empress’s sake.
She insisted, “Aunt Yun has been busy all day and must be very tired. Let this servant attend to you.”
Too lazy to think about whatever this girl Xunxue’s intentions were, Qi Yue placed her hand in Xunxue’s. “Let’s go together.”
Once they reached the bathing room, Xunxue went to help Qi Yue take off her clothes. But the moment she got down to the inner garments, Qi Yue said, “This Empress will do the rest myself. Go out. When this Empress requires you to come in and serve, you may come in.”
Xunxue nodded and backed out.
Half a shichen later, Qi Yue dried her body and came out.
Xunxue found the Empress truly strange. She always avoided others when dressing and undressing; aside from Aunt Yun, there was likely no other palace maid who had ever seen the Empress’s body.
In other palaces, there were plenty of eunuchs who served their mistresses while bathing and changing clothes. But in Zhengyang Palace, eunuchs were rarely even allowed inside the rooms.
Xunxue brought up the doubts in her heart to Xia Lian.
Xia Lian had grown quite close to Xunxue these past few days. The two were of similar age and on good terms.
Xia Lian lowered her voice. “Our Empress is so beautiful. In the past, there was actually a palace maid who coveted Her Majesty and deliberately groped her while changing her clothes. It angered Her Majesty so much she immediately had the person dragged out and given dozens of strokes of the wooden board. Although they say men and women must maintain their distance, even between women, one cannot get too close.”
Xunxue’s eyes went wide.
Xia Lian added, “Palace maids stay in the palace year-round. Some find eunuchs to be paired-eating partners, while others remain entirely alone. After a long time, naturally, some couldn’t bear the loneliness and set their sights on Her Majesty. Haven’t you heard that in the previous dynasty, there was a Noble Lady who, unable to win the Emperor’s favor, had an improper relationship with another concubine in the same palace?”
Xunxue knew quite a lot of things, but she had genuinely never thought about it in that direction.
Lying in bed that night, Xunxue secretly thought of the Empress’s cold, movingly beautiful appearance, then thought of the Emperor, and then thought of Xue Ying.
For no reason at all, she felt a little unhappy.
The Empress’s beauty was outstanding, far more captivating than Noble Consort Yan, who was currently the most prominent figure in the palace. If the Emperor were to actually see her, she would surely gain his favor.
But if the Emperor never saw her, this Zhengyang Palace would forever remain like the Cold Palace, and they would have to rely on that castrated eunuch, Xue Ying.
Xunxue couldn’t help but suffer from insomnia.
Three days later, Xue Ying visited the Empress once again. Still wearing that blue-grey robe embroidered with white cranes and holding his horsetail whisk, he was exceptionally respectful as he knelt at the Empress’s feet.
Qi Yue sat on her throne, drawling lazily, “You’ve finished making the dress this Empress wanted so quickly?”
Translator’s Anecdote:
Our little assassin Xunxue is out here catching feelings and losing sleep! The Empress really has everyone completely wrapped around her little finger, doesn’t she? 😏