Of course she did not want to go.
She was Jing Xin, not Jing Xin from the original story. She had only known Qi Shen for a short time, and she was not ready to be forced into that sort of thing yet.
Rubbing her neck, Jing Xin said, “If Eunuch Cang does not explain things clearly, how would this consort know? It is already late, and the Son of Heaven has been burdened by state affairs all day. Let His Majesty rest early.”
Every palace servant in the room froze in shock.
Was this playing hard to get, or outright refusing imperial favor? Neither made any sense.
Cang Ji stared at her in disbelief. Even after much persuasion, he still failed to convince Jing Xin, and in the end he could only return anxiously to receive punishment.
The scene he had witnessed in Ziyan Palace left him utterly terrified to admit that he had failed to bring Jing Xin back.
The usually cold and ruthless Son of Heaven was dressed in a moon white sleeping robe. Seeing Cang Ji kneeling and bowing, he assumed Jing Xin had followed behind him. Reclining lazily against the dragon bed with one arm beneath his head, he closed his eyes and ordered, “All of you, withdraw.”
In the past, this was when Cang Ji would lead the palace servants outside to wait. Inside the chamber, Jing Xin would naturally light incense and attend to the emperor herself. They only needed to remain outside and listen to the stormy sounds echoing from within.
Cold sweat poured down Cang Ji’s back. He quickly raised his eyes for a glance. The Son of Heaven’s robe hung loosely open, exposing the sharply defined muscles of his chest, radiating the mature strength and dangerous allure of a grown man.
The man on the dragon bed sat with his long legs crossed. His senses were keen, and he immediately noticed the strange atmosphere. Lifting his eyelids, he glanced toward Cang Ji.
“Where is Consort Jing?”
She had not come?
“Replying to Your Majesty, Consort Jing said that Your Majesty has been exhausted from state affairs and instructed this servant to have the attendants serve you and let you rest early. Therefore… she did not come.”
Large beads of sweat dripped onto the floor. Cang Ji, already well into his thirties, suddenly felt as though his life had reached its end beneath the sinister chill spreading through the hall.
Qi Shen had already sat upright, and the hall fell into an eerie silence.
After a long while, he finally asked, “What was she doing?”
His voice was calm and detached, without the slightest trace of anger.
But Cang Ji understood better than anyone that this kind of stillness, a voice without even the smallest ripple, was when the Son of Heaven was truly enraged.
Usually, whenever someone angered him like this, that person lost their head.
Fighting to suppress the trembling in his shoulders, Cang Ji answered, “When this servant arrived, Consort Jing was painting…”
“Painting?” Qi Shen let out a cold laugh, recalling how she had said she wanted to become a good person.
Could she become a good person? She had killed so many people, and all the cruel things she had secretly done to please him were not things he was unaware of.
Become a good person?
Very well then, he would see exactly how she intended to do it.
Picking up an outer robe, he draped it casually over his shoulders and strode into the pitch black night outside the hall.
Cang Ji hurried after him. “Your Majesty, are you going to Tangcui Palace? This servant will send word ahead so Consort Jing may come out to receive you…”
“I am going to see exactly what kind of masterpiece she has painted!”
He intended to tear her painting to pieces with his own hands.
The lanterns beneath the corridors of Tangcui Palace burned brightly. When the young eunuch guarding the entrance saw Qi Shen, he hurriedly prepared to announce his arrival, only to be silenced by one cold, sinister glance from the emperor.
None of the palace servants dared inform Jing Xin that the emperor had arrived. All of them were ordered to remain waiting in the courtyard.
Qi Shen walked into the music room.
The room was brightly lit. The soft couch where they once tangled together in passion had disappeared, and there was no longer a zither in the hall. The seductive crimson curtains had been replaced with pale ivory drapes, while all four wooden doors stood wide open, allowing the gauzy curtains to sway gently in the night breeze.
The moon hung bright in the sky.
Jing Xin sat before an easel, completely absorbed in painting. Her focused expression was beautiful beyond words. It was the first time he had ever seen her like this. Between moonlight and night shadows, she seemed breathtakingly close yet impossibly distant.
Her fair fingers held the brush lightly. When the evening wind blew loose strands of hair across her face, she absentmindedly tucked them behind her ear without taking her eyes off the canvas.
Suddenly, Qi Shen did not feel quite so angry anymore.
The white cat sleeping on Jing Xin’s skirts suddenly bared its teeth at him and hissed twice in an adorably fierce manner.
Disturbed by the sound, Jing Xin looked up. Yun Juan rarely behaved like this. Following the cat’s gaze, she lifted her eyes and froze slightly when she saw Qi Shen.
His dark blue outer robe embroidered with golden dragon patterns hung casually over his shoulders, while underneath he wore only a sleeping robe. His sash had not been tied properly, and his loosened collar exposed the wild lines of his chest described so vividly in the novel.
The original author had already shaped Qi Shen into a flawless male supporting character. He practiced swordsmanship regularly, and the muscles covering his body were powerful without appearing excessive, carrying a perfectly restrained sensuality.
Jing Xin set down her brush and rose to her feet.
His expression was frighteningly dark. Was he here to trouble her? Dressed like this and coming all the way here… he could not possibly be planning to spend the night with her right here, could he?
All four doors stood open, moonlight flooding the courtyard outside. Fortunately, she had already moved the soft couch away. Surely he would not sleep with her in a place like this.
Jing Xin bowed respectfully. “Your Majesty, are you angry?”
Knowing he responded better to softness than confrontation, Jing Xin tilted her chin slightly upward, her eyes filled with delicate grievance.
“I did not go to attend to Your Majesty tonight. You would not punish this consort for that, would you?”
His broad sleeves fluttered in the night breeze. Jing Xin stepped forward to help him fasten his sash properly and straighten his collar.
Qi Shen caught her hand.
His deep eyes stared directly into hers. “Have you considered the consequences of refusing to attend my bedchamber?”
Jing Xin shook her head. “This consort was not refusing to attend Your Majesty. I wished to prepare a gift for you.”
Qi Shen narrowed his eyes, clearly wearing an expression that said, Let me see how long you keep pretending.
Jing Xin gently took his large hand and led him to the easel. “This is the gift this consort prepared for Your Majesty.”
Thankfully, she had finished it all.
She carefully observed Qi Shen’s expression. The moment he saw the painting, something flickered briefly in his gaze.
The painting depicted one corner of the palace walls beneath a full moonlit night.
Countless stars filled the sky. A little boy sat alone in the courtyard on a swing, his appearance obedient and delicate, his smile innocent and adorable.
Among the flowers behind him were white rabbits, squirrels, snakes, and all kinds of other animals. Every creature appeared peaceful, existing together in perfect harmony.
Looking closer, that harmony existed because of the little boy.
Flowering vines spread from beneath his feet, and the blossoms flourishing behind him all seemed to bloom through the power of his smile.
The vines continued growing outward. The animals lounged lazily among the branches and leaves while the vines stretched beyond the palace walls, where cheerful children climbed and played on them.
Beyond the children were bustling streets and alleyways, a prosperous and peaceful kingdom untouched by curfew.
All of that flourishing prosperity depended entirely upon the flowering vines blooming beneath the boy’s feet.
There were also palaces within the painting. Through open windows, a man and woman glared coldly at one another, trapped in their own adult world, neither paying any attention to the little boy in the painting.
Yet beneath their palace lay a bottomless abyss, supported only by the flowering vines growing from beneath the boy’s feet.
Qi Shen had never seen a painting like this before.
Grotesque, yet strangely harmonious.
Impossible to fully understand, yet sharp enough to carve into the heart like a blade.
He felt pain, but also an astonishing sense of relief, the relief of finally being understood.
He resembled the little boy in the painting.
He wanted to laugh freely, yet was always forced to face the endless cold conflict between the man and woman behind those palace windows.
He longed to play with the other royal children, yet he had always remained alone.
But he was also different from the boy in the painting.
He could not make flowers bloom with the power of a smile, nor could he support a peaceful kingdom upon spreading vines.
It felt as though he understood the painting, yet at the same time did not wish to understand it.
Jing Xin gently held his hand.
“Your Majesty, this little boy possesses tremendous power, but he has never noticed the flowers growing beneath his own feet. He does not know how extraordinary he truly is.”
“A grotesque abstraction. A ridiculous work.”
Jing Xin nodded enthusiastically. “Mm! This consort only recently began learning to paint. Since it is painting, naturally I must have my own style. Many thanks to Your Majesty for naming it. From now on, this consort’s works shall be called abstract art!”
Blinking innocently, she continued pretending not to understand.
She knew Qi Shen had been moved. She did not know how much of the painting he truly comprehended, but this really was the gift she wanted to give him.
A man capable of detecting Zhou Pu’s rebellion so quickly and then setting such a meticulous trap to capture the traitors was an emperor of extraordinary intelligence, even if he was a tyrant.
There was no way she could compete with him intellectually, nor could she self righteously tell him how to become a virtuous ruler overnight.
He had only eaten one birthday cake she made for him. She was not confident that Qi Shen would listen to her yet.
Jing Xin’s gaze softened warmly. “Your Majesty, do you like this gift?”
Qi Shen remained silent, so she lightly held his hand and sighed softly.
“Then this consort will truly be heartbroken. I worked so hard learning to paint, and Your Majesty does not like it. My neck and shoulders ache from painting so long. Won’t Your Majesty massage them for me?”
Qi Shen raised an eyebrow. “You want me to massage your shoulders?”
“Yes! Ordinary husbands and wives support one another. Though this consort is not fortunate enough to become Your Majesty’s wife, I still long to share hardships and support each other together. Will Your Majesty not even agree to massage my shoulders?”
Qi Shen stared at her silently for a long while before finally lifting his hands to massage her shoulders.
Unfortunately, he was a martial man. The more he massaged, the heavier his hands became, and the heavier they became, the more painful it grew.
Jing Xin endured the pain with a smile while internally cursing him nonstop. Still smiling brightly, she looked up at him and said, “Alright now, this consort no longer hurts.”
Calling out, “Chang Huan,” she took Qi Shen’s broad hand and smiled.
“This consort will make milk tea for Your Majesty!”
Qi Shen was pulled outside into the courtyard and seated at a square table. The ingredients for making milk tea had already been prepared there originally intended as a reward for herself after finishing the painting.
Black tea simmered inside the tea stove on the table. Jing Xin poured fresh milk into the filtered strong tea, then added honey and various fruits one after another.
The milk tea cup was a tall silver cup specially crafted by the Imperial Workshop according to her design. Its appearance was simple, with only a smiling face engraved on the lid.
Jing Xin inserted a pure silver straw and handed the cup to Qi Shen.
This milk tea was completely different from the kumquat drink she had given him the previous night. Qi Shen had never tasted tea prepared this way before.
“Well? Is it good?”
Under the moonlight, his supposedly vicious favored consort showed none of her rumored arrogance or cruelty. Her beautiful eyes shimmered brightly, and without her usual heavy makeup, her fair face looked pure, lovely, and irresistibly alluring.
Qi Shen narrowed his eyes slightly. His Adam’s apple rolled as he drank several mouthfuls of milk tea.
“It is acceptable.”
Jing Xin’s eyes dimmed slightly. “Then what does Your Majesty think it still lacks? This consort will remember it.”
In truth, it lacked nothing at all, except one night of sharing his bed.
Qi Shen set down the milk tea, preparing to pull her into his arms.
Jing Xin’s eyes suddenly lit up brilliantly. “This consort knows now. It needs taro balls! This consort made them personally.”
Resting her chin in her hand, she smiled sweetly while gazing at him.
“Does it taste better now, Your Majesty? This consort did not make yesterday’s dessert today because whipping cream takes a lot of time and patience. This consort will make it for you again tomorrow.”
“Oh dear, my shoulders ache so much.”
Qi Shen could only swallow back his intentions along with the taro balls.
Before he even realized what had happened, Jing Xin had somehow already escorted him out of Tangcui Palace.
Before he left, she even packed him another cup of milk tea. Smiling brightly, she bowed gracefully and wished him good night.
“Good night?” Qi Shen repeated.
“Yes. It is a phrase this consort recently learned, a blessing said before sleep to someone you like.”
His brows lifted in obvious pleasure. “Mm, good night.”
Watching Qi Shen leave, Jing Xin stretched lazily before returning to her chambers to sleep.
At least I am not blind. How could I not tell you wanted to sleep with me?!
Beneath the winding palace corridors, Qi Shen walked beneath the moonlight with noticeably lighter steps.
Cang Ji followed behind him in utter disbelief, still unable to recover from the shock.
The emperor ahead held a cup of milk tea in his hand. Although his expression remained as cold and indifferent as always, his relaxed footsteps made it obvious that he was no longer angry.
Cang Ji lowered his head to look at the painting Qi Shen had ordered him to carry carefully.
Was this not the same emperor who had arrived earlier looking ready to tear Consort Jing’s painting to shreds with his own hands?
And furthermore, he was not even staying the night at Tangcui Palace? He was just… leaving like this?
“Your Majesty…” Cang Ji cautiously asked, “is the sweetness level of this milk tea satisfactory?”
Qi Shen had only two sips left before tossing the cup to him. “Mm. From now on, I want this level of sweetness, eighty percent sweet.”
It was back to eighty percent sweet again!
Cang Ji hurriedly caught the cup and took a small sip to memorize the sweetness level before quickly passing it to the young eunuch behind him.
“Tell the Imperial Kitchen to prepare desserts with this sweetness level from now on.”