That night, Qing Luo stayed overnight in the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
She didn’t leave the entire night, and it wasn’t until dawn the next day, when Emperor Zhangping rose, that Qing Luo also woke up.
To be precise, Qing Luo was only half-awake.
She was still completely muddled, trying hard to open her eyes, only to close them again quickly.
Her eyelids kept fighting, and she was also fighting with sleepiness.
Emperor Zhangping found it both irritating and amusing.
Alright, with her looking so tired and unclear, he wouldn’t expect the Little Attendant to help him dress.
Someone who couldn’t even undress him certainly couldn’t manage the more complex task of dressing him.
His gaze fell upon the red marks on the Little Attendant’s neck, and there were also scattered marks on her jade-like arm where her sleeve had slipped down.
Thinking about how he had indeed been a bit excessive last night, asking for her several times without softening even when the Little Attendant cried until her eyes were red, Emperor Zhangping’s displeasure vanished, replaced by a rare tenderness.
Never mind, he had indeed tired her out.
He would allow her to be pampered this one time.
“Send her back to Xianfu Palace when she wakes up,” Emperor Zhangping specifically instructed a palace maid from the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
This was the most thoughtful thing he could do for the Little Attendant at the moment.
Before leaving, he remembered the pair of jade bracelets the Little Attendant wore on her wrist.
As he had imagined, they were indeed very beautiful, with her fair wrist like frost and snow, adorned with green adding a touch of charm.
Emperor Zhangping sent Zheng Fu to the private treasury to pick out another pair of bracelets as a reward, and also to send some fashionable clothes and fabrics.
During these two nights of serving him, Emperor Zhangping noticed that the Little Attendant was wearing old clothes from last year.
Although they looked quite good on the Little Attendant, he felt it wasn’t appropriate, as if it was slighting her.
She would look even better when dressed beautifully.
With the master’s command, the servants naturally obeyed and promptly went to deliver the rewards.
Thus, when the rewards arrived at Xianfu Palace, Qing Luo was still sound asleep on the dragon bed, completely unaware.
After waking up, Qing Luo was quite reluctant to leave the dragon bed.
The dragon bed was so comfortable to sleep on, much better than her small, narrow, and hard bed.
It was a pity that such a comfortable bed wasn’t hers.
Qing Luo felt deeply regretful and increasingly thought that serving the Emperor was really good; besides getting rewards, there was also the benefit of sleeping well.
Zhu Lan greeted her with a joyful expression, “Little Master, Eunuch Zheng has sent many rewards. Would Little Master like to take a look?”
Rewards!
Upon hearing these two words, Qing Luo’s eyes lit up.
She loved receiving rewards; they were a symbol of delicious food and getting rich.
The fabrics, of course, went without saying; Zheng Fu had personally selected them, all were beautiful and fashionable silks and satins.
In addition, there was a pair of mutton-fat white jade bracelets and a gold filigree ruby hair ornament.
As for delicacies, they were naturally indispensable.
The meals sent this time were different from yesterday’s dishes, but all were equally delicious.
With the fashionable fabrics, Zhu Lan quickly started making summer clothes for her Little Master, while Xiao Guizi was busy with other matters.
Unable to find anyone to read to her, Qing Luo felt quite bored and with no phone to play with to pass the time, so she chatted with the good pregnancy system.
“I’ve used two fertility pills. Does that mean I’m 100% pregnant?”
One time was fifty percent, so two times should add up to one hundred percent, Qing Luo thought.
So now, she should already have a little bun in her belly.
[That’s not how it’s calculated, host. The first time using the fertility pill is naturally the most effective. The effect diminishes with subsequent uses. Twice, the probability is about ninety-five percent.]
“Oh no, then it’s very likely hopeless.”
Qing Luo felt that hope was slim, after all, wasn’t Emperor Zhangping somewhat infertile?
[Relax, host, what’s meant to be will be. Everything has its own destiny.]
…On the other side, after learning that Qing Luo had served the Emperor again, most of the Imperial Concubines no longer dismissed this Attendant Pei of Xianfu Palace.
On the contrary, they all began to take her seriously, subtly feeling that a new favored consort might suddenly emerge in the imperial harem.
Many concubines had no impression of this Attendant Pei.
Only those concubines who entered the palace in the same batch still remembered Attendant Pei’s outstanding beauty during the selection and her extremely dull personality.
They secretly wondered if the Emperor’s preferences had changed, and now he only liked such a’saw-mouthed gourd’ (a quiet person).
Were the gentle, warm, and charming ones no longer appealing?
At this moment, almost all the Imperial Concubines regretted not having ‘fallen into the water’ that day.
Otherwise, it might have been themselves who caught the Emperor’s eye, truly a great opportunity missed.
Who would have thought the Emperor would coincidentally pass by there that day?
That night, Emperor Zhangping did not summon Qing Luo for service again, nor did he summon any other Imperial Concubines.
Emperor Zhangping was a diligent and benevolent Emperor.
A major event had occurred in the imperial court, so he naturally had no mood to visit the imperial harem.
A small border kingdom suddenly invaded the Dayong Dynasty.
Court officials were divided into two factions: the war faction and the peace faction,each holding their own arguments.
The war faction looked down on the peace faction’s cowardice, while the peace faction insisted that war expenses were huge and it was unnecessary to spend such a vast sum to fight a small country a thousand miles away.
Neither side could persuade the other, and they argued loudly, turning the solemn court into a marketplace, bickering without reaching a conclusion.
After letting the officials argue for two days, Emperor Zhangping finally slammed his hand down and decided that they would go to war.
Rather than negotiating from the start, it was better to scare that small country into submission before talking.
As for military expenses, they would make the other party compensate for them in full during the peace talks.
Without spending much from the national treasury, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue fully supported it.
Prince Rong voluntarily requested to lead the army to battle.
The next day, Emperor Zhangping personally led his civil and military officials to see him off, bestowing upon him the title of Grand General of All Troops Under Heaven, granting him the tiger tally to command military power, and placing twenty thousand troops under his command…
And on the second day that Qing Luo did not serve in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, it was time again to pay respects to Consort Rou.
This time, Qing Luo arrived neither early nor late.
Ahead of her were only Noble Lady Zhang and Attendant Chen.
Everyone else had not yet arrived, and the main hall’s doors were still tightly shut, showing no signs of opening.
Attendant Chen seemed intent on provoking Qing Luo, deliberately finding fault.
Even though Qing Luo was only a few steps behind her, she spoke sarcastically, “Serving the Emperor certainly makes a difference. Airs are being put on now; where is the cautious demeanor from before? Can’t keep up the act anymore, can you?”
In her opinion, Qing Luo had always been the first to arrive for greetings.
That kind of deference should have continued, but after only two nights of serving the Emperor, she even dared to be late for greetings, especially arriving later than her, making her wait, which made her even angrier.
Qing Luo pretended not to hear, performed her courtesies to Attendant Chen, and then, ignoring Attendant Chen’s reaction, greeted Noble Lady Zhang.
Noble Lady Zhang was easy to get along with, speaking gently and pleasantly, which made Qing Luo happy to chat with her for a few extra words.
“Sister Pei, these bracelets are truly beautiful. They must be a gift from the Emperor, you are truly blessed, Sister.”
Noticing the jade bracelets Qing Luo was wearing, Noble Lady Zhang praised her, her tone sincere, with a nostalgic smile in her eyes.
When she first entered the palace, she too had been favored for a period, and the Emperor had also gifted her many jewels and accessories, including a pair of jade bracelets that she had cherished and only worn for major banquets.
Although she no longer had the Emperor’s favor, she still had a beautiful past.
Noble Lady Zhang knew that she was aging and losing her looks, and new women were constantly entering the palace.
It was impossible for her to regain favor, but relying on this memories could still bring her some comfort.