The night wind was still, and a bright moon hung in the sky.
On the corridor before the main hall, bright sandalwood palace lanterns carved with gilded entwined floral patterns swayed gently in the breeze.
Qingyun and Nuanxue stood watch beneath the corridor when they suddenly heard their mistress's sobbing from within the room. Their hearts sank immediately, but then they heard the emperor's gentle voice coaxing and soothing her, quickly calming her down. Only then did the two of them relax.
Both of them sighed inwardly with admiration—their mistress truly deserved her reputation as the woman who had captured the hearts of every young lord in the capital.
Now even the emperor, known abroad for his indifference to women and his unpredictable temper, had fallen for her, speaking to her so softly and tenderly.
But just as the two were lost in their thoughts, with a creak, the carved ebony lattice doors behind them suddenly opened. The emperor emerged from the main hall, wearing only a thin sleeping robe beneath a dark cloak embroidered with dense golden and silver dragon patterns.
Qingyun and Nuanxue turned to see the emperor coming out at this hour and assumed he was calling for water to be brought inside. Blushing furiously, they hurried forward and curtsied in greeting.
Xie Chongyuan knew these two were the maidservants who had accompanied his consort into the palace as part of her dowry. His expression indifferent, he instructed them: "Go inside and attend to your noble consort."
His voice was calm as he left this single command, then strode swiftly away from the main hall.
Li Youfu had been dozing by the corridor pillar. Hearing the commotion, he quickly rose, straightened his three-peaked hat, and followed behind.
Steeling himself from behind, he gathered his courage and ventured with a puzzled expression: "Your Majesty, are you returning to Zichen Palace?"
That shouldn't be right—today the emperor had seemed very pleased with the noble consort.
He had served at the emperor's side for so long and had never seen such a gentle expression on his face before. Moreover, with a consort of such peerless beauty, could the emperor truly remain abstinent tonight, like Liu Xiahui?
Xie Chongyuan was unaware of the thoughts churning in Li Youfu's mind. He commanded in a low voice: "I shall sleep in the eastern side hall tonight. Have someone make the arrangements. Also, the noble consort was somewhat startled earlier—later, deliver a bowl of calming soup to her on my behalf."
Having said this, Xie Chongyuan seemed to think of something. Under the night sky, a flicker of discomfort crossed his stern features. He cleared his throat, then continued: "And also, go to the Imperial Medical Bureau and request the finest cooling, swelling-reducing salve to send to the noble consort."
Li Youfu was even more bewildered upon hearing this, but dared not overstep by asking questions. He simply acknowledged the orders and went to carry them out.
Qingyun and Nuanxue watched the emperor's retreating figure as he swept away his sleeves, exchanging panicked glances. They sensed something was wrong.
Both assumed their mistress had incurred the emperor's displeasure and hurriedly pushed open the hall doors to enter.
Inside the main hall, candlelight flickered. Beyond the curtain of white jade and crystal beads, the inner chamber was utterly still.
Ming Hua sat wrapped in a brocade quilt patterned with clustered flowers on the daybed in the inner chamber. Her usually radiant, lovely face was flushed crimson, tears streaking across it, her expression somewhat dazed.
The young lady's watery, apricot-shaped eyes were red like a little rabbit's, her cherry lips swollen and red, and the conspicuous red mark at the corner of her eye was especially alarming.
"What happened to the noble consort's face?" Nuanxue exclaimed in fright, hurrying forward to carefully dab away the tears on Ming Hua's cheeks with a handkerchief.
Her own tears welled up immediately from heartache, and she angrily scolded: "How could His Majesty treat the noble consort so roughly?"
Qingyun was the eldest of the three and was usually more composed than Ming Hua and Nuanxue. Unlike Nuanxue, she managed to hold back her tears.
She tucked a few strands of hair that had stuck to Ming Hua's face with tears behind her ear, her expression equally anxious and pained.
"Today, His Majesty seemed so gentle and considerate toward the noble consort in front of others—so attentive and thoughtful. Who would have thought that behind closed doors, he would be as rough as the rumors claim."
"The noble consort has such delicate skin—how can she withstand such rough treatment from His Majesty? We must inform the Duke and the Lady about this at once!"
Hearing the two misunderstand, Ming Hua hastily shook her head and waved her hands, explaining anxiously: "No, no, it's not what you think. His Majesty is very kind—he treats me very well…"
As she trailed off, she shyly raised her hand to touch her lips, which were only now beginning to throb faintly.
Thinking of how Xie Chongyuan had so embarrassingly sucked and nibbled at her lips, and the tingling, numbing sensation that had spread through her body, her face flushed crimson. She bit the brocade quilt, too shy to speak, unsure how to explain.
Seeing her mistress so bashful, Qingyun suddenly recalled that Chuntao, a maidservant she was close to in the Duke's household, had looked exactly like this in the first few days after her marriage.
Realizing that her mistress had simply been loved too fiercely by the emperor, leaving those marks behind, her own face reddened as well.
Nuanxue also began to understand something. She wiped away her tears, her little face flushing with embarrassment as she muttered quietly: "Then… then why did His Majesty leave so soon? Why didn't he stay to keep the noble consort company? Is the noble consort feeling unwell?"
Ming Hua lowered her little head, biting back a smile, then shyly and hesitantly told them about how nervous and embarrassed she had been earlier, how Xie Chongyuan had not forced her, and how he had even said that from now on, whether she attended him at night would be entirely up to her wishes.
By the end, Ming Hua had hidden herself beneath the brocade quilt patterned with clustered flowers, and said in a bashful whisper: "It seems A-die and A-niang really weren't deceiving me!"
"His Majesty truly is not only handsome and dignified in appearance, but also a very fine husband!"
After hearing their mistress's explanation, Qingyun and Nuanxue finally let out a collective sigh of relief in their hearts. They had never imagined that someone as noble and majestic as an emperor would show such respect and consideration for their mistress's wishes and feelings.
It seemed the emperor would indeed treat their mistress well in the days to come.
Qingyun went to the yellow rosewood cabinet carved with entwined peony patterns nearby and found a new set of nightclothes for Ming Hua, replacing the wrinkled cloud-silk nightgown she was currently wearing, as well as the peach-pink undergarment that the emperor had left twisted and askew.
When Qingyun saw that the ties of that peach-pink undergarment had already been roughly snapped by the emperor, her little face flushed crimson. She thought to herself that with the emperor being so impatient in his desires, she would likely need to prepare many more undergarments for their mistress in the future.
Nuanxue went out to summon the young palace maids waiting outside to bring in water for Ming Hua to wash with, and she herself carried in a vermilion lacquered carved food tray holding a bowl of medicinal soup and several small celadon jars, entering with a beaming smile.
"This is longan, lotus seed, and lily soup that His Majesty sent with Eunuch Li for the Noble Consort, along with some cooling and swelling-reducing salves. He said they are to calm the Noble Consort's spirits and reduce the swelling."
"His Majesty even thought of such small details—it truly shows how sincere he is toward the Noble Consort!"
She drew near, looking at their mistress's red and swollen lips, set the food tray down on the small table beside the daybed, and said with a teasing smile: "In a moment, this servant will apply some salve to the red marks on the Noble Consort's lips and the corners of her eyes."
"Tomorrow morning, you still need to go to Yanfu Palace to present tea and pay respects to the Empress Dowager—we can't have anyone laughing at you."
Qingyun wet a cloth and gently wiped the tear stains from Ming Hua's little face, then teased: "His Majesty is so dashing and debonair, so imposing and distinguished, and now he is so considerate and respectful toward the Noble Consort. Is the Noble Consort now quite satisfied with His Majesty as her husband?"
Ming Hua shot Qingyun a reproachful glance, but in the end, she shyly lowered her eyes and gave a small nod of her head.
Afterward, she drank the calming longan, lotus seed, and lily soup, and had Nuanxue carefully apply salve to her lips and the corners of her eyes, then climbed onto the daybed to sleep.
The young lady had risen early that morning to dress and enter the palace, then undergone the investiture ceremony—she had been tired the entire day, and just now had been tense and frightened the whole time. Now that she had finally relaxed her taut nerves and drunk the calming soup, her head had barely touched the soft pillow before she fell into a deep slumber…
The night was thick and heavy, the bright moon hung high.
On the ebony wood daybed inlaid with eight-treasure patterns in the inner chamber of the eastern side hall, Xie Chongyuan could not sleep. The moment he closed his eyes, his mind was filled with the young lady's shy, delicate little face and her warm, fragrant, exquisitely beautiful figure.
The deep night of late spring and early summer was still cold and chilly.
But the restless heat in his body was growing increasingly unbearable, and his heart was agitated to the extreme—like a man who had walked alone for days under a blazing sun in the desert.
Xie Chongyuan rose and went to pour himself an entire pot of cold tea from the ebony wood side table, but still felt it did not quench his thirst. He could only summon Li Youfu, who was on duty outside, and ordered: "Go and prepare some ice water. I wish to bathe and change clothes again."
When Li Youfu realized the emperor wanted to bathe in ice water, he cautiously admonished: "Your Majesty, your old wounds flare up every time the weather turns cold and rainy. It is now deep in the night with heavy dew—ice water may not be suitable. Would this servant order them to bring up some warm water instead?"
The emperor had been severely wounded on the battlefield. Though he had narrowly escaped death's door back then, the wounds had been too deep. Now, though fully healed, they still ached whenever the weather turned overcast and rainy.
Xie Chongyuan suppressed the restless heat in his heart and said coldly: "I think you have grown far too comfortable in your position as chief eunuch. Go and do it at once—do not make me repeat myself!"
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger! This servant will go at once!" Li Youfu sighed inwardly, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his hand, and hurried away.
In the bathing chamber, candlelight flickered dimly. Behind the zitan wood black-lacquered gold-painted screen embroidered with landscapes, a bathtub filled to the brim with ice water emanated wisps of cold vapor mingled with the faint scent of ambergris.
Xie Chongyuan closed his eyes, trying to focus and calm his mind. His arms, with their clearly defined, solid, and powerful muscle lines, rested on the rim of the tub. He had already been soaking in the ice water for nearly half an hour, yet the restless fire in his heart still could not be suppressed.
All these years, he had been leading troops in battle, with no time to spare, and had never given thought to matters of romance, nor had he ever encountered a young lady he fancied and wished to take as his wife.
But he had trained in martial arts year-round, was strong and robust, and was a normal man with abundant vitality. On ordinary nights or upon waking in the morning, he often had such episodes, but at most, two cups of cold tea had always been enough to suppress it.
In the half year since his ascension to the throne, there had been palace maids who, relying on their looks, recklessly tried to climb the ranks by crawling into his bed, as well as ministers who, seeking to curry favor or plant spies at his side, sent all manner of women before him.
No matter how alluring or seductive the woman, he would only remain unruffled and summon the guards to take her away. Never had there been a night like this one, where he was bewitched, unable to forget, turning it over and over in his mind.
He wondered if the young lady had cast a spell on him, for from the very first moment he laid eyes on her, it seemed his soul had been stolen away.
The young lady's soft, seductive moans seemed to linger in his ears, and Xie Chongyuan's heart was in turmoil.
In the end, as if resigned to his fate, he sank his hand into the water, his mind involuntarily replaying the young lady's lovely figure and her gentle, warbling voice.
After about the time it takes two cups of tea to cool, his Adam's apple bobbed, and with a flushed face, he let out a muffled groan, finally releasing the restless heat that had been coursing through his body.
Gazing at the sullied surface of the water, he let out a self-deprecating laugh.
He had always looked down upon men who were slaves to lust, who were stirred by beauty, yet now he found himself in such a sorry state.
The young lady had done nothing at all, and yet he had lost his heart, lost his soul.
Looking back now, the version of himself from a few days ago, who had voiced objections to the young lady and insisted on not marrying her, seemed like nothing short of a joke.
At around 5:45 in the morning, the sky gradually began to show the pale light of dawn.
Ming Hua, who had been curled up in her floral brocade quilt, her little face flushed from sleep, was lifted up by Qingyun and Nuanxue and began to be dressed and made up.
This was her second day in the palace. Although there was no empress to pay respects to or serve tea, she still needed to go to Yanfu Palace to pay her respects to Xie Chongyuan's birth mother, Empress Dowager Dezhuang.
Though she had heard that Empress Dowager Dezhuang was the most kind and benevolent of people, this was her first time paying respects since entering the palace, and Ming Hua wanted to arrive a bit early to show her respect for her elder.
Qingyun styled Ming Hua's hair into an elegant and refined, yet not lacking in nobility, "morning cloud near fragrance" bun, and paired it with a set of crabapple pearl flower gold step-shakes that matched the pale pink cloud-patterned brocade palace dress embroidered with spring crabapple blossoms. It was simple, elegant, and dignified.
"I heard that today happens to be a day off from court, so His Majesty doesn't need to attend the morning assembly."
"I just saw Eunuch Li delivering the washing supplies to the East Side Hall. I reckon His Majesty has only just risen. Would the Noble Consort like to invite His Majesty to join her for breakfast?"
Upon hearing this, Ming Hua cast a playful glare at Qingyun in the bronze mirror.
Her expression was a bit uncomfortable, and she pretended to be reserved as she instructed Nuanxue beside her: "Go quickly and invite His Majesty over. Since His Majesty is staying at Yilan Hall, it's only proper that I attend to him."
"Then I'll go to the East Side Hall right away to invite His Majesty on behalf of the Noble Consort!" Nuanxue put down the lip color and face powder she had been selecting for Ming Hua, and happily left the main hall, heading toward the East Side Hall.
Although His Majesty was now attentive to their young lady, their young lady still hadn't shared the imperial bed.
The emperor's heart was unpredictable. They still hoped their young lady would soon be summoned to the imperial bed, and then give birth to a prince, so she would have a child to rely on.
That way, with the position of the Duke of Supporting the Nation's household in court, it wouldn't matter whether the emperor's favor lasted long, or whether new women entered the harem.
Xie Chongyuan usually rose at 6:00 AM without fail.
But last night, he hadn't gotten into bed until around 4:00 AM, and had even had a very absurd dream. Today, he was unusually sluggish, and it was already past 6:00 AM when he woke.
He had already washed and was about to head straight to Zichen Palace to review the memorials that had piled up yesterday, and then summon several ministers to discuss affairs, but unexpectedly, Li Youfu came in to report that the Noble Consort's personal lady-in-waiting was requesting an audience.
He wondered if the medicine he had sent over last night had been of any use to the young lady.
Just now, he had been looking for an excuse in his mind, thinking of stopping by the main hall to see how the young lady was doing before returning to Zichen Palace, but thinking of his rashness last night, he was afraid of frightening her if he went.
Upon hearing that the visitor was the young lady's personal lady-in-waiting, he didn't hesitate and directly summoned her in, thinking he could ask how the young lady's injuries were.
But unexpectedly, it turned out the young lady had sent someone to invite him over for breakfast!