Red Chamber 13
Just as she had embedded three Skill Cards into her Skill Slots, Aunt Jin, who was directing the Junior Eunuchs to tidy up the Western Warm Chamber, sensed the change.
Originally imposing, with an additional five points of perception, her gaze grew even sharper. A Junior Eunuch carrying a vase felt his legs go weak under her stare and nearly dropped the vase in his hands. Fortunately, someone nearby caught him in time; otherwise, he would have been dragged away for a beating.
The Western Warm Chamber had already been newly renovated, and now it only needed a few additions.
By the time Shui Cong returned in the evening, the Western Warm Chamber had been properly arranged. The only thing missing was some books on the shelves. Shui Cong walked around inside: “Tomorrow, I’ll have Chang’an bring you a few books. What kind do you like?”
“Poetry, landscape travelogues—anything will do.” A Yuan tugged at Shui Cong’s sleeve, coquettishly saying, “This servant isn’t picky. As long as it’s a book, this servant loves to read.”
Shui Cong lowered his gaze to the fair, delicate hand gently swaying his sleeve. He felt Noble Consort Lin’s voice was sweet and soft, making his heart itch with delight. He immediately cleared his throat lightly: “In that case, I’ll have someone bring them tomorrow.”
The Imperial Study had plenty of books. Since Noble Consort Lin loved reading so much, she likely wouldn’t be bored in the future.
“Then this servant thanks His Majesty.” A Yuan smiled charmingly and performed a curtsy, her tone carrying an intimacy that was already different from when they first met yesterday.
Shui Cong not only didn’t find it disrespectful but instead felt a smile curl at the corners of his mouth. His demeanor was no longer deliberately formal, carrying a touch of casualness.
The two lingered in the Western Warm Chamber a while longer. Shui Cong even helped A Yuan rearrange things, directing several Junior Eunuchs into a flurry of activity. It wasn’t until dinnertime that Shui Cong reluctantly led A Yuan out of the Western Warm Chamber.
Since Shui Cong was dining at Yongshou Palace that evening, they had imperial cuisine. The dishes were far more numerous and delicious than the Stipend Allocation for a noble consort.
A Yuan ate to her heart’s content, and Shui Cong was also encouraged to eat a bit more.
After the meal, the Emperor and his consort strolled hand in hand in the courtyard to aid digestion.
Shui Cong, still unwilling to give up, casually brought up Lin Ruhai again. Of course, the focus wasn’t on Lin Ruhai himself but on the salt administration in Yangzhou.
Jiangnan Prefecture had always been exceptionally wealthy. Moreover, with Consort Dowager Zhen’s maternal clan, the Zhen family, entrenched in Jinling for many years, Jiangnan had become the Retired Emperor’s purse. Shui Cong had long harbored ambitions for Jiangnan Prefecture but had struggled to find someone capable to rely on.
Unexpectedly, a breakthrough emerged.
A civilian Imperial consort selection had given him an opportunity.
Especially since Lin Ruhai was in charge of salt administration—this could be considered the main economic lifeline of Jiangnan Prefecture.
When it came to government affairs, A Yuan naturally had to play dumb. After all, she was just a young lady from the inner chambers. Even if she could explain the ins and outs to the young Emperor, she couldn’t say too much now. Otherwise, if the young Emperor’s suspicion flared up later, she would be the one to suffer.
So she shifted the topic to Lin Han, feigning a casual sigh: “This servant has heard that my cousin is a Tanhua (third-place scholar). He must be extremely learned. This servant was thinking it would be wonderful if my brother could study under him, but…”
Shui Cong’s eyebrows twitched slightly, and his eyes brightened.
He had been worrying about how to establish a connection with Lin Ruhai! Wasn’t this an opportunity?
“But what?”
A Yuan smiled and shook her head: “This servant just thinks… Father probably wouldn’t allow it.”
“Why not allow it?” Shui Cong stopped walking and looked at A Yuan with some confusion. Since they were of the same clan, supporting each other was only natural. Why did Noble Consort Lin’s father seem rather indifferent toward Lin Ruhai’s branch of the family?
“Your servant has two younger brothers below me. Since we are not born of the same mother, so…”
Her words were ambiguous, and Shui Cong inevitably misinterpreted them.
As the saying goes, with a stepmother comes a stepfather. He feared that the father likely wanted his two younger sons to study under Lin Ruhai, while paying less attention to the eldest son who had lost his birth mother early. Combined with the fact that Noble Consort Lin had come to participate in the Imperial consort selection, it seemed her stepmother was no easy character.
Though he was the Emperor, he was not arrogant.
Since the founding of this dynasty, he knew better than anyone what ultimately became of the Candidate Maidens selected from the common people in the two previous Imperial consort selections.
Thinking of this, he reached out and pulled A Yuan into his embrace. “Rest assured, I will not let you meet such a fate.”
He was still young and in good health, unlikely to pass away early. These commoner Candidate Maidens would certainly not end up as burial companions. Even if they failed to gain favor in the future, they could still live peaceful lives.
A Yuan had no idea where the young Emperor’s imagination had wandered, but it did not stop her from playing along.
She nestled in the Emperor’s arms with an expression of complete reliance. “Your servant believes in His Majesty.”
Shui Cong tightened his arms around her.
After their walk to aid digestion, the atmosphere between the Emperor and his consort grew even warmer.
Each went to the Water Chamber to bathe. By the time A Yuan emerged, Shui Cong had already changed into fresh sleepwear and was leaning against a long pillow, toying with a handheld object. At the sound of her approach, his gaze immediately shifted to her.
A Yuan also wore gauzy sleepwear, her long black hair cascading down her back. In the candlelight, the scenery beneath the sheer fabric was faintly visible.
Shui Cong felt his mouth go dry.
“Come here.”
A Yuan obediently walked over. The moment she drew near, the Emperor pulled her into his embrace. The Warm Passion Liquid on her wrist and behind her ear once again took effect. The Emperor felt as if a fire were burning in his heart and, without another word, lifted her up and carried her directly behind the bed curtain.
Unlike the Auspicious Cloud Pattern bed curtain in Qianqing Palace, the one in Yongshou Palace was embroidered with pomegranates and bats—a straightforward symbol of “many children and abundant blessings.”
Under such a bed curtain, Shui Cong’s eyes grew tinged with red.
A Yuan raised her hand to touch the Emperor’s cheek, only for him to seize it and plant a kiss on her wrist.
A Yuan: “…”
Goodness, he always managed to step right on a landmine.
Shui Cong did not feel he had fallen into a trap. He believed it was simply because he was new to such matters, which made him crave more after tasting their sweetness. Yet he still had self-control; during the day, he could focus on reading memorials and studying. It was only behind the bed curtain that he allowed himself a little indulgence.
But what did it matter?
Once the bed curtain was drawn, aside from himself and Noble Consort Lin, even Chang’an would not know what transpired inside. So what if he indulged a little?
Shui Cong grew increasingly excited, like a powerful water buffalo with boundless energy.
Receiving the Emperor in her own palace was different from attending the bedchamber in Qianqing Palace. At Qianqing Palace, after their business was done, she had to move to another room to sleep. In her own residential palace, once water was called for, they would sleep embraced together.
Though sleeping while holding each other felt somewhat uncomfortable, such post-intimacy comfort was the best way to deepen affection. So, even if it was uncomfortable, she endured it!
A night of soft jade and warm fragrance, with quilts tossed and crimson waves churned.
The next day, Shui Cong went to court refreshed and clear-headed. A Yuan only lifted her head when he got up to dress, receiving the words “Go back to sleep, no need to attend to me” before tucking her head back under the covers and enjoying a comfortable extra sleep.
By the time she woke again, the sun was already high in the sky.
With no mistress in the Imperial harem, A Yuan didn’t need to pay respects to an empress. Moreover, her rank and title were too low to qualify for paying respects to the imperial concubines at Ningshou Palace. Living alone in a main hall of her own palace, A Yuan’s life was simply too comfortable.
So comfortable that she had completely forgotten there were still thirty-seven Candidate Maidens sleeping on communal platforms in Chuxiu Palace.
The news of A Yuan’s successful attendance at the bedchamber and her imperial decree appointing her as a Noble Consort had also reached Chuxiu Palace, and none were without envy.
Some of the more spiteful ones directly mocked Wang Xiling: “Weren’t you close with that Noble Consort Lin? Why haven’t you seen her promote you, have you move out of Chuxiu Palace, and go live in Yongshou Palace too?”
Wang Xiling was angered upon hearing this and also felt regretful.
Back then, she had only thought to cast a wide net, catching fish everywhere, maintaining good relations with everyone on all sides. Who could have imagined that once Noble Consort Lin gained favor, she would cause the Candidate Maidens in Chuxiu Palace to be completely forgotten by His Majesty.
If she had known earlier, she should have clung tightly to Noble Consort Lin’s coattails. If she could have won Noble Consort Lin over, wouldn’t she have been promoted?
But no amount of regret was useful now. His Majesty simply hadn’t remembered them. They still had to sleep on communal platforms, and as the weather grew hotter, everyone’s moods became increasingly irritable, leading to more frequent friction among them. Even with the old Matron’s suppression, several incidents still erupted.
The most serious one involved two Candidate Maidens fighting. One of them fell onto a step, directly breaking half a tooth and leaving a gash on her face, completely disfiguring her.
Finally, Shui Cong remembered he still had thirty-seven Candidate Maidens awaiting his favor.
It was just that recently he had been passionately involved with Noble Consort Lin.
Noble Consort Lin was beautiful in appearance, gentle in temperament, highly learned and talented, and her family clan was capable and influential. It was only right that he favored her more.
But he couldn’t really let those thirty-plus Candidate Maidens remain cooped up in Chuxiu Palace. So with a wave of his hand, he directly assigned them to Zhongcui Palace, Chuxiu Palace, and Xianfu Palace, placing twelve Candidate Maidens in each palace. Apart from the main halls at the front and back, which couldn’t be occupied, all the side halls and smaller rooms were filled. Only the injured Candidate Maiden was sent to Yanqing Hall on the east side of Yuhua Pavilion to recuperate.
Yanqing Hall was extremely small and had no main gate. One could only enter through the small door on the northeast side of Yuhua Pavilion or the small door at the southwest corner of Qixiang Palace. However, since Qixiang Palace had no imperial concubines residing in it and was currently in a sealed state, entry was only possible through Yuhua Pavilion.
Thus, she was effectively outside the Eastern and Western Six Palaces and no longer considered an imperial concubine.
Who knows where she would be assigned after recovering.
A Yuan felt somewhat alarmed and uneasy. Why did she sense something wasn’t quite right?
Could it be that this young Emperor was a romantic at heart? Had he inexplicably fallen deeply in love with her? Otherwise, why would there be signs of exclusive favor?
To be honest, even if the young Emperor dared to act this way, she didn’t dare accept it.
After all, above them in the palace was the Retired Emperor, watching like a tiger ready to pounce. What if he used her as a scapegoat, calling her a calamitous seductress who led the nation astray, and the young Emperor a foolish ruler bewitched by her? The young Emperor might only be deposed, but she would truly die!
She hadn’t even completed her mission yet and absolutely couldn’t lose her life! Before the Emperor consolidated absolute power, she still needed to lay low and develop cautiously, must absolutely not stand out like a tree in the forest, must absolutely not stand out among the crowd.
Thinking this, she immediately began taking the Pregnancy Aid Pills again.
Since she could neither refuse the Emperor’s favor nor fully accept it, the only solution was to get pregnant.
As long as she conceived a child, she would only need to protect the child.
As for whom the Emperor would favor afterward, she truly didn’t care much. As she had said before, she was here to complete tasks and earn Points, not to fall in love with the Emperor.
Not to mention that the Emperor would later establish an empress, and there was also the legendary virtuous consort Jia Yuanchun waiting in the wings.
Feeling the urgency, A Yuan worked hard to prepare for pregnancy while also writing a letter. She then retrieved the Gray Matron Card from her storage, selected a gray card with the skill [Secret Messenger], and activated it.
This [Secret Messenger] was a gray skill with no special description, but it could still handle small tasks like delivering letters.
A quarter of an hour later, another honest and simple-minded Granny Hui made contact with Aunt Jin.
In less than two days, Lin Han, who was waiting for news at Fuwang Restaurant, once again received a letter from his younger sister.