“Yes.”
Empress Wen gave a cold snort.
“How bold of her.”
Liuyun carefully watched her expression and said, “The Emperor said that no one is allowed to enter Xuanyan Hall to visit Noble Consort Yan. Your Majesty, should we…”
“It won’t work.”
The Empress tiredly rubbed her forehead.
“The Emperor has never restricted Princess Jiaoran from doing anything. You know that. Besides, she went there to bring a doctor to someone who was sick. If you complain about her now, the Emperor will only say that she is young, innocent, kind-hearted, and cannot bear to see someone suffer.”
Liuyun quickly apologized.
“This servant failed to think it through.”
“Come to think of it, it is strange.”
The Empress fell into thought.
“That girl was never like this before. Why has she suddenly become so interested in meddling in other people’s affairs? It was the same last time. If she had not pleaded for him, Fifth Brother would probably still be under confinement.”
“She is still young, and she has always been rather foolish…”
The Empress’s eyes darkened.
“This must be that wretched Roujia’s idea.”
But why would Roujia try to win Gui Heng over?
Could it be that since she could not give birth to a son of her own, she had set her eyes on someone else’s son?
If so, Fifth Brother was indeed a very good choice.
Once his birth mother was punished, it would be perfectly natural for Roujia to have Gui Heng treat her as his mother.
But if Roujia only wanted to find someone to rely on for the rest of her life, that would be one thing.
If she dared to take advantage of the Emperor’s favor and do anything that threatened her son, Gui Yan, then she would definitely make that wretched woman pay.
Her son, Gui Yan, was the Crown Prince now.
In the future, he would be the Emperor.
Anyone who threatened him would not be tolerated!
Empress Wen’s fingernails unconsciously scratched against the table. The pressure gradually became harder, producing an unpleasant scraping sound.
Liuyun lowered her head beside her, not daring to say a word.
After thinking for a while, Empress Wen called someone over.
“Starting today, double the number of people watching Ganlu Palace. I want to see exactly what that wretched woman is planning.”
The servant answered yes and left to carry out the order.
It was already past nine in the evening when Gui Heng returned to the palace from the martial training ground.
Changhui Palace, where he lived, was simply furnished.
The moment he entered, he noticed a delicate pink porcelain bowl on the table and raised an eyebrow.
He had never liked sweet things. His evening meals were especially light, and the Imperial Kitchen knew better than to send him things like sweet-and-sour fish or bird’s nest cooked with rock sugar late at night.
“What is this?”
Gui Heng tapped the table.
A-Li came over to help him change clothes, his face full of excitement.
“Your Highness, it is dark brown sugar tapioca pearls. They were sent from Jiaoran Hall.”
Gui Heng asked, “They only sent a bowl of tapioca pearls? Nothing else?”
People in the palace rarely said things directly. They were used to speaking indirectly and expressing their intentions through objects.
For example, the Empress had once given him a precious sword. It was meant to show that she hoped he would assist Gui Yan and become the sharp sword in the Crown Prince’s hand.
But this was the first time someone had sent him tapioca pearls.
A-Li grinned.
“Actually, there was something else.”
Gui Heng paused and looked up.
His expression turned slightly cold.
“What was it? Why didn’t you say it all at once?”
“This servant was at fault.”
A-Li quickly dropped to his knees.
“That Miss Yuqiu also said, ‘Tapioca pearls are sweet and delicious, but they are difficult to digest, so you shouldn’t eat too many. This small bowl should be enough.’”
Sweet and delicious?
Difficult to digest?
What was she talking about?
Gui Heng was speechless.
He sat down, picked up a silver spoon, and slowly stirred the dark little pearls while thinking.
They were soft and chewy, each one pressed closely against the others.
They really did look like something that the delicate little princess would enjoy eating.
It seemed that she had simply been eating something she liked, thought of him, and casually had someone send him a portion.
It was so straightforward and innocent that perhaps she really did sincerely want to become closer to him.
“Oh, right, Your Highness. There was one more thing.”
Gui Heng paused.
He raised his head, his expression becoming cold again.
“What else? Why didn’t you say that at the same time?”
“This servant was wrong.”
A-Li immediately knelt again.
“That Miss Yuqiu also said that she didn’t know whether you would like these tapioca pearls. If you didn’t like them, she asked you not to be angry. If you liked them, she would send some again.”
A-Li remained nervously kneeling for a long time.
Finally, he heard his master’s calm voice.
“Get up.”
The coldness in his expression had disappeared at some point.
When A-Li raised his head again, Gui Heng’s face was as calm as usual.
“Tell her that I accept them. Thank Princess Jiaoran for me.”
As he said that name, Gui Heng’s fingers unconsciously tapped lightly against the table.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but whenever he called her by her title, the little princess seemed slightly unhappy.
A-Li secretly breathed a sigh of relief before continuing.
“Princess Jiaoran also sent two eunuchs and two palace maids to Xuanyan Hall. She said she has more servants than she needs, while Noble Consort Yan is weak and needs more people to care for her.”
“I understand. You may leave.”
A-Li quietly answered yes.
He bowed and backed out of the inner hall, habitually closing the doors behind him.
The light gradually faded.
Gui Heng leaned back against his chair, his entire body swallowed by the shadows.
He was the Emperor’s youngest son.
Noble Consort Yan had once been the Emperor’s most beloved consort.
When Gui Heng was young, he had been spoiled and favored almost as much as Princess Jiaoran was now.
Yet everything had changed overnight.
And before he knew it, ten years had passed.
During those ten years, he had long grown accustomed to being looked down upon and ignored.
He lived like a shadow in the corners of the magnificent imperial palace.
Yet he had never been willing to let people trample on him.
Even when his strength was weak, he could not help striking back.
What did it matter if hurting the enemy meant hurting himself eight times as much?
He had grown used to it.
No matter what, he wanted them to suffer.
He wanted everyone to feel the pain he had once felt.
He had thought he would have to live like this for the rest of his life.
Gui Heng turned his head and looked at the bowl of dark tapioca pearls.
After staring at it for a long while, he picked it up and slowly ate them one by one.
The sweet flavor spread across his tongue.
The soft, chewy texture made him chew more slowly than usual.
His Adam’s apple moved, and another pearl slipped down his throat.
It felt heavy in his stomach, yet strangely warm.
For the first time in ten years, someone had cared about what he felt.
Someone had actually asked whether he liked something.
But he had long forgotten that he even had the right to like anything.
The things he liked had always been things he could never obtain or protect.
“I… I just want to be closer to you.”
“Please… don’t reject me.”
He hated being ordered around more than anything.
Yet her voice had been so soft and quiet, filled with a pleading tone, as if one look of rejection from him would completely crush her.
Gui Heng ate the last tapioca pearl and placed the bowl back on the table.
He stared thoughtfully at his own hands.
For the first time in a long while, he felt helpless.
His palms were faintly warm, as if they wanted to hold on to something.
Jiaojiao rubbed her little stomach, looking as if she were about to cry.
Even after a whole night, she still had no appetite.
Yet Emperor Heng had summoned her to Qianyuan Hall to have dinner with him again.
Jiaojiao almost wanted to cry aloud.
She looked at Aunt Du with a desperate plea for help.
Aunt Du found it both amusing and frustrating.
“What is there to worry about? Just tell him you already ate something this afternoon. But, Your Highness, you really must control yourself today. If the Emperor blames us for not taking good care of you, that would already be bad enough. What if he forbids the small kitchen from making you snacks again?”
Jiaojiao nodded vigorously.
“I know, I know!”
So during dinner, Jiaojiao used the excuse that she had eaten too much fruit in the afternoon.
She only drank a few bowls of bean porridge before leaning tiredly against a cushion.
The tassels beside her temples rested against her delicate, pale face.
She looked both quiet and beautiful, yet somehow pitiful at the same time.
The Emperor found it amusing.
“Today I received some interesting things. I will have them brought over. You can choose whatever you like. It may help you pass the time while you digest your food.”
Whenever Jiaojiao saw the Emperor, she could suppress her fear now, but she still had some psychological trauma left from before.
And being given gifts only made her feel more guilty.
Unfortunately, the people serving the Emperor moved incredibly quickly.
Jiaojiao had barely managed to weakly say that there was no need when precious treasures were already being carried into the western warm room one after another.
Soon, they covered the entire floor.
“Choose whatever you want,” the Emperor said. “Whatever Jiaojiao wants, I will give her.”
At this point, there was no way to refuse.
Eunuch Li, who served before the Emperor, brought her an embroidered stool and helped her sit down so she could carefully choose.
Everything that reached the Emperor was of the highest quality.
Emperor Heng especially loved luxurious and dazzling things.
Even a jade bracelet would be wrapped with gold carved into cloud patterns and decorated with colorful gemstones.
The original Princess Jiaoran was not his biological daughter, but her taste had nevertheless been influenced by his.
The palace servants did not know that the soul inside the princess’s body had changed.
To please her, they had brought out nothing but extremely luxurious jewelry, ornaments, and other treasures.
Jiaojiao looked around at everything.
Her eyes almost hurt from looking at them.
She did not want anything.
For years, she had only been able to wear hospital clothes.
Then, overnight, she had become a princess.
It was like a person dying of thirst suddenly being dropped into the ocean.
She had not even finished wearing all the clothes and jewelry already stored in Jiaoran Hall.
Making her look at even more treasures now was like forcing her to eat another bowl of tapioca pearls.
But a gift from the Emperor could not be refused.
Jiaojiao rested her chin on her hand and pretended to examine the treasures for a while.
Then, suddenly inspired, she raised her head and looked at the Emperor.
“Father, do you have anything bigger? Something… more practical?”