Shuixian trembled slightly, seemingly startled by the blunt question. Her cheeks flushed crimson instantly, her gaze flustered as she averted her eyes.
She gently bit her lower lip, hesitating for a moment:
“But Attendant Song said… she was to serve Your Majesty tonight…”
She deliberately mentioned Attendant Song, redirecting the conflict.
Sure enough, Emperor Zhaoheng recalled the ostentatiously dressed figure outside the hall, feeling a wave of irritation surge within him.
His gaze fixed intently on Shuixian’s blushing face, domineering and forceful: “I’m only asking if you want to? As long as you nod, tonight, I want only you.”
Shuixian’s ears turned red. She lifted her glistening eyes, quickly glancing at Emperor Zhaoheng.
Then, under his possessive gaze, she nodded ever so slightly.
Emperor Zhaoheng’s eyes darkened abruptly. Without another word, he leaned down, his long arm slipping beneath her knees while the other wrapped around her slender waist, effortlessly scooping her up into a horizontal carry!
“Ah!” Shuixian gasped softly, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck.
Emperor Zhaoheng carried her as he turned and strode out of the West Side Hall.
Outside the hall, Consort Yi and the meticulously dressed Attendant Song were anxiously waiting.
When they saw Emperor Zhaoheng emerge carrying Shuixian—who wore only plain clothes with her hair slightly disheveled—their expressions instantly froze!
Consort Yi’s face turned ashen.
Attendant Song looked as if struck by lightning; her carefully applied makeup couldn’t conceal her jealousy!
Shouldn’t the Emperor have favored her tonight?! How could it be that lowly maid!
Emperor Zhaoheng didn’t even glance at them. Holding the warm, fragrant softness in his arms, he coldly commanded: “Prepare the Imperial Carriage to Qianqing Palace!”
The biting cold wind in the courtyard couldn’t extinguish the raging jealousy burning in Attendant Song’s heart!
She watched helplessly as Emperor Zhaoheng carried Shuixian onto the Imperial Carriage as if cradling some rare treasure.
The bright yellow curtains fell, completely cutting off her view and crushing all her expectations and fantasies for the night.
The carefully chosen dress, the coquettish poses practiced countless times… all had become a colossal joke!
“How could it… how could it be her?!” Attendant Song’s voice twisted with extreme fury, “It should have been me! Consort Yi, didn’t you say… didn’t you say His Majesty would summon me tonight?!”
Consort Yi watched Attendant Song’s near-hysterical state, feeling equally perturbed.
Emperor Zhaoheng taking Shuixian away had completely caught her off guard.
But now, she was more concerned about Attendant Song’s reckless words, fearing she might say something inappropriate in the courtyard.
“Silence!” Consort Yi grabbed Attendant Song’s wrist tightly.
“Do you want the entire palace to witness your disgrace? Come with me inside!”
Without allowing any protest, she practically dragged the distraught Attendant Song into the main hall’s inner chamber, dismissing all the palace servants with a wave.
Only the two of them remained in the inner chamber. The heating stove burned brightly, yet it couldn’t dispel the pallor on Attendant Song’s face.
“Your Highness!” Attendant Song violently shook off Consort Yi’s hand, her chest heaving violently, no longer able to restrain herself.
“That lowly maid Shuixian! She’s nothing but a shameless seductress! How dare she steal my opportunities again and again?!”
“Your Highness, look at her—she dared to seduce the Emperor with her hair disheveled! She’s just a vile…”
“Enough!” Consort Yi slammed the table abruptly, her face dark as stormy waters. “How dare you speak such vulgar words in my presence! You are a lady from a respectable family, not some market shrew!”
Attendant Song flinched at her sharp rebuke, yet burning humiliation kept her indignation simmering.
Consort Yi took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the fury stirred by the emperor and Shuixian’s disruption of her plans. Her expression swiftly shifted to one of helplessness, her voice softening slightly:
“Sister Song, calm your anger. The fault lies with me—I failed to judge character properly and provided inadequate guidance.”
She sighed, her tone filled with self-reproach. “I originally thought Shuixian, whom I brought into the palace, was honest and dutiful. Letting her appear before His Majesty would have been a blessing for her.”
“Who could have imagined… Ah, I misjudged her. I never expected her to possess such cunning methods, such… shameless ambition to win favor! It has caused you grievance, sister. I… am truly ashamed to face you.”
Her apology seemed to shoulder the blame, yet every word poured oil onto the flames of Attendant Song’s rage.
Indeed, as Attendant Song listened, her hatred for Shuixian surged to towering heights!
She felt convinced that even Consort Yi had been deceived by Shuixian’s pitiable facade.
“Your Highness, this humble one… this humble one does not blame you!”
Attendant Song’s voice trembled with tears, brimming with resentment. “It’s just… just that I cannot swallow this insult! Look at what happened today before His Majesty… I have been utterly humiliated!”
“All the servants in the palace witnessed it! How… how can I maintain my standing in the rear palace from now on?”
The thought of the news about her failed attempt to serve the emperor spreading made Attendant Song wish she could tear Shuixian apart.
With red-rimmed eyes, Attendant Song glanced meaningfully at Consort Yi.
“Moreover… Your Highness, the tributes my father sent into the palace were no small amount! I ask for nothing else, only an opportunity to serve His Majesty—surely that is not too much to ask?”
“Your Highness… you must give me a definite answer!”
She dared not threaten Consort Yi directly, but her words carried a veiled challenge.
A cold gleam flashed instantly in Consort Yi’s eyes!
How dare this Attendant Song! To use the gold and silver she had accepted as leverage against her?
“Attendant Song!” Consort Yi’s voice turned icy. “Mind your words! I appreciate your father’s sentiments, but matters of serving the emperor concern His Majesty’s will. How could I arrange such things arbitrarily?”
Her gaze turned piercingly cold, a stark contrast to her earlier gentleness, making Attendant Song feel as if she had been plunged into an icy abyss.
“Your Highness, please calm your anger!”
Attendant Song paled even further, her voice shaking with fear. “This humble one… misspoke! I was merely blinded by rage for a moment—I never meant to question Your Highness!”
Only then did the ferocity in Consort Yi’s eyes slowly recede.
She picked up the slightly cooled teacup from the table, took a sip, and resumed her usual composed tone:
“Rise. Since this is your first offense, I will not pursue it. However, in the depths of the palace, you must always remember what should and should not be said. Otherwise, trouble will come from your own mouth, and no one can save you.”
Setting down the teacup, her tone turned soothing. “The matter of serving the emperor cannot be rushed. Today, His Majesty… was merely momentarily bewitched by that wretched maid.”
“Your family background and appearance are both excellent, why fear lacking opportunities? Return and rest well, calm your heart.”
Attendant Song felt as if granted a pardon, not daring to say more, only murmuring meekly in response:
“Yes, yes. Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness. This humble one takes her leave.”
Today she had startlingly realized the inherent cruelty within Consort Yi. A cold sweat broke out over Attendant Song, leaving her with a chilling sensation down her spine.
Attendant Song fled in panic, her retreating figure revealing her terror as if escaping for her life.
Inside the inner chamber, only calculation remained in Consort Yi’s eyes.
Sitting alone in the inner room, candlelight cast flickering shadows across her face.
“Xuemei,” Consort Yi called in a low voice.
Xuemei, who had been waiting outside the door, immediately entered without a sound, standing with hands respectfully folded. “Your Highness.”
Consort Yi’s gaze was profound and inscrutable: “Spread my word – henceforth… anything delivered from Attendant Song’s side shall not be accepted. Return everything in its original state.”
A flicker of surprise passed through Xuemei’s eyes, but she immediately lowered her head in response: “Yes, this servant understands.”
Consort Yi waved her hand, and Xuemei withdrew silently.
The inner chamber returned to silence once more.
Consort Yi picked up the cup of long-cold tea but didn’t drink it, merely watching the tea leaves floating and sinking in the cup, her eyes dark and unreadable.
Attendant Song’s words about gold and silver had pierced her heart like a thorn.
This fool was already becoming somewhat uncontrollable.
She needed to carefully consider whether maintaining close relations with Attendant Song was worthwhile.
In Qianqing Palace, Shuixian knew nothing of what had transpired in Changxin Palace.
The bright yellow bed curtains hung low, isolating the outside world’s disturbances. She was immersed in Emperor Zhaoheng’s intense desire, suppressed for several days, with no leisure to think of other matters.
Her dark hair spread across the pillow, making her unpowdered face appear even more luminous. Her slender white fingers clenched nervously.
Emperor Zhaoheng stood beside the bed, his tall figure enveloping her.
“Afraid?” His deep voice resonated in the quiet inner chamber, carrying a slightly hoarse magnetism.
Shuixian curled up slightly, her entire body like a cooked shrimp, allowing his gaze to sweep over every curve.
She whispered but firmly, “With Your Majesty here, this humble one… is not afraid.”
These words of dependence instantly pleased the Emperor.
He chuckled lowly and leaned down: “Very good.”
Emperor Zhaoheng’s scorching breath brushed past her ear, arousing tremors throughout Shuixian’s body…
……
“Bring the handkerchief.”
Emperor Zhaoheng slightly raised himself, and seeing Shuixian’s confused expression, he personally retrieved a snow-white silk handkerchief from beneath the pillow.
The moment that pure white appeared in the bright yellow world, Shuixian understood.
She hadn’t expected this item to be prepared beneath the pillow.
If she hadn’t come today, then…
“Don’t be distracted.”
Emperor Zhaoheng whispered in her ear, unable to resist punishing her wandering attention.
Only when Shuixian couldn’t help but ask did he answer hoarsely.
“That handkerchief has been under the pillow for nearly half a month, prepared ever since Xian’er was recuperating in Qianqing Palace.”
At that time, Shuixian hadn’t fully recovered, and it wasn’t that he intended anything, but rather feared overestimating his self-control.
After all, the self-control the Emperor had once prided himself on always crumbled when faced with her.
Shuixian misunderstood his meaning and lightly pushed his chest, only to invite more thorough retaliation.
After a long while, when the moon had climbed the wall, Emperor Zhaoheng turned and sat up, using a towel prepared earlier by the bed to wipe the moisture from his chest.
Shuixian lay exhausted on the inner side of the bed, feeling Emperor Zhaoheng lie back down beside her and pull her firmly into his embrace.
She spoke weakly, “Your Majesty… this is my first time…”
“I won’t trouble you further.”
Emperor Zhaoheng leaned down to kiss her cheek, then placed his palm on her lower abdomen. His deep voice, accompanied by the slight vibration of his chest, clearly reached her ears.
“Xian’er, bear me a child.”
Shuixian could roughly guess.
When Consort Yi first presented her to the emperor, the excuse must have been her supposed fertility.
This was the only way an emperor with lingering feelings for the previous emperor’s noble consort would tolerate summoning a palace maid.
An emperor rumored to be infertile both in the harem and the imperial court desired nothing more than an heir of his own.
Based on her previous life, if nothing went wrong, a single night of favor would be enough for her to conceive Emperor Zhaoheng’s imperial heir.
Not to mention this time, it hadn’t been just once.
Shuixian’s voice was languid as she leaned against his chest, “Of course.”
She said, “Shuixian also wishes to bear Your Majesty a child.”
Shuixian needed a child even more than Emperor Zhaoheng did. Only then could she, with her servant background, firmly establish herself in the palace.
That evening, after bathing, Shuixian dragged her weary body back to Changxin Palace.
Low-ranking consorts didn’t have the right to stay overnight in Qianqing Palace—this was a rule set by ancestors that even Emperor Zhaoheng couldn’t violate.
Exhaustion permeated her entire being. The moment she stepped into the West Side Hall, she saw Xuemei waiting inside with a medicine bowl.
Seeing Shuixian return so late, Xuemei’s face showed no expression as she handed over the medicine bowl.
“Madam, this is the fetus-protecting medicine specially bestowed by Her Ladyship.”
Fetal-protecting medicine? The kind that could change the color of a silver hairpin?
Shuixian didn’t understand why Consort Yi wanted to harm her.
But just like in her previous life, from beginning to end, Consort Yi never needed a reason to harm her.
Remembering to play her part, she accepted it with a grateful expression and drank the entire bowl of medicine in front of Xuemei.
Xuemei waited patiently until Shuixian handed back the empty bowl, but still didn’t leave.
She said calmly, “Madam, is there anything you need this servant to report to Her Ladyship?”
Since Xuemei had asked, Shuixian could only swallow the last of the medicine and smile, “Nothing. It’s very late already, I need to rest.”
Only when Shuixian spoke did Xuemei curtsy.
“This servant takes her leave!”
After leaving the West Side Hall, she went to the main hall.
It was nearly the hour of the Ox, with the moon high in the sky, yet Consort Yi still hadn’t retired. Candlelight flickered from the inner chamber.
Xuemei entered and knelt before the bed, “Reporting to Your Ladyship, this servant watched Shuixian drink the medicine.”
“I know.”
Consort Yi fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, “What time is it now?”
“Reporting to Your Ladyship, it’s nearly the hour of the Ox.”
The hour of the Ox?
Consort Yi on the bed tightened her grip on the quilt corner. Making a rough calculation of the time, a cold glint flashed in her eyes.
The Emperor… actually favored Shuixian so much?
That wretched servant! How dare she receive the Emperor’s favor!
All thoughts about needing children to consolidate status, about doing things for the family… were now cast aside by Consort Yi. Only one thought remained!
She wanted Shuixian dead!
“After this, every time she serves the Emperor, you must bring her that bowl of fetal-protecting medicine.”
“You must ensure she drinks it!”