In just a year, the once charming and alluring Noble Consort Ju had become haggard.
From thirty-seven to thirty-eight, she seemed to have aged ten years, or used up her lifetime.
The exquisite rouge was removed, the heavy powder washed clean, the crimson lipstick without a trace, so she did not seem so well-maintained.
Fine lines appeared at the corners of her eyes, her lips lacked color, a few spots on her cheeks, even the hair at her temples seemed sparse.
Only her earnestness and tenderness in cooking porridge resembled an expectant wife waiting for her husband's return.
"In fact, in the past when cooking porridge, I just put the ingredients in the sandpot and never tried it again." Noble Consort Ju said softly, "Because I know the Imperial Court is not lacking people to serve, nor lacking my bowl of porridge."
Whether it tasted good or bad, it represented affection.
Not like now, she personally controlled the fire, personally lit the charcoal, personally stirred and cooked it, and personally tasted the flavor.
It turned out that porridge needed seasoning to taste good, beans needed to be soaked in advance to cook soft, different ingredients should be added in different order, and the thick texture required constant stirring.
It took a few scalds, several eye irritations, before a person who did not touch spring water could cook a bowl of delicious white jade porridge.
Noble Consort Ju did not know, she just gently held the scalding bottom of the bowl with a pious gesture, and walked towards Qinqing Palace.
Behind her was the familiar and trusted madam steward, and ahead was the smiling Wu Steward.
Noble Consort Ju took off her fur coat, smiled and nodded, then strode into the hall.
With her status, she never needed to test for poison, let alone try it herself.
Behind absolute favoritism was absolute trust.
"Your Majesty," she casually closed the door behind her and walked over lightly.
The man on the couch was pale, with memorials and documents beside him. Even busy, he was still keenly aware when he saw her, "Why is Consort looking haggard today?"
"I told you last time I was trying hard to learn to cook porridge, and today I finally cooked a bowl." She smiled and raised her hand, tilting her head somewhat coyly, vaguely overlapping with her appearance under the apricot blossom tree at the age of seventeen.
The Imperial Court blinked with a smile.
He must be getting old, recently he always missed...the past, the people from the past.
"I was lazy before, and by cooking the porridge myself today I realized how hard it was, and this bowl of porridge was hard-won, so you have to finish it." Noble Consort Ju was still laughing lightly, but tears welled up in her eyes.
She seemed reluctant.
Who could bear to part with it?
Childhood sweethearts in love, ten years of playmates, it went without saying they fell in love, but they couldn't even stand side by side due to their identities.
Twenty years of favor, endless indulgence, whispering to each other day and night, they had long been ingrained in each other’s blood and bones.
To tear it out would be so painful.
Sometimes Noble Consort Ju couldn't help but think that if they were an ordinary couple, it would be so nice without so much power and wealth, entanglements and scruples.
They fell in love under the apricot blossom tree, gave birth to the children they expected, worked hard for their living, and grew old hand in hand.
Unfortunately, life was not so simple.
Just the identities of wife and concubine were enough to stir up great waves, let alone affect the country.
He had no choice, and neither did she.
However much heartache hidden inside, even with tears welling up in her eyes, she still picked up the spoon and scooped up a spoonful of thick and fragrant white jade porridge, "Your Majesty, try it."
The sickly man's hands were also shaking, but he still braced his spine and opened his mouth with a smile.
A little closer, a little closer.
The spoon came closer and closer, about to be delivered into the Imperial Court’s mouth.
The entire hall was quiet, not a sound, as if the world was cut off, leaving only space for them.
Noble Consort Ju's hand shook more and more.
Seeing that the Imperial Court showed no sign of wavering, his lips about to touch the spoon, she finally could not restrain herself and screamed as she fell.
The carefully cooked soup splashed onto the ground, making a crisp sound as it spilled.
With Wu Steward and the guards’ agility, they should have rushed in long ago, yet no one came.
The man on the bed was still calm, while the woman on the floor was already in tears.
"Why, why can't I be granted the title of Empress, just an empress, is it so difficult?" Noble Consort Ju cried in anguish, "Would you drink it today even if I poisoned it? Should we just die together?"
Her love finally defeated reason. She couldn’t bear to hurt the boy from twenty years ago.
The Imperial Court raised the corners of his mouth in a growing smile. He was eager to tell the woman about the bet, to tell her it was okay.
The door of the hall was suddenly pushed open.
Wu Steward seemed to be shouting in panic as something agile jumped in from the chaos and ran to the spilled white jade porridge to lick it a couple times.
"Whose cat is this?" Noble Consort Ju immediately regained her senses and sternly shouted, "Is it the beast raised by Princess San? Get it out quickly!"
Wu Steward came in hastily with the eunuchs, clumsily trying to capture it.
The cat was clever to begin with, let alone difficult for the guards to catch it inside the hall.
Seeing the accumulated emotions about to dissipate, Noble Consort Ju could no longer restrain her anger, "Catch it immediately, dead or alive!"
Only then did the guards dare to draw their swords and aim at the cat.
However, before they could act, the previously lively little cat suddenly collapsed, convulsing all over as blood flowed from its seven orifices, gradually losing its voice.
Silence, deathly silence.
The man on the bed gripped the quilt in astonishment, while the woman on the floor stared in horror with wide eyes. The well-informed Wu Steward was drenched in cold sweat, and the guards who had drawn their swords stood frozen.
"Is this...did it die from the fall?" After a long silence, Wu Steward forced himself to break the silence, "Should I throw out or send the beast to the imperial hospital, Your Majesty?"
No response.
Wu Steward hardened his scalp and waved for the guards to withdraw.
But this time, he dared not leave, risking scolding and beating to curl up at the end of the bed.
"Your Majesty, your servant absolutely did not, I really did not." Noble Consort Ju finally regained her senses and knelt on the ground, "I really did not. I cooked this porridge myself, even lit the fire myself. It could not have been poisoned. Definitely not possible."
The more she said, the more suspicious it seemed.
She personally cooked the poisonous porridge herself. Who else could have poisoned it?
Coupled with her action of breaking the bowl earlier, it was almost conclusive evidence.
Noble Consort Ju broke out in cold sweat. She did not understand what had gone wrong.
She had prepared for so long, and what she wanted was never her lover's life, but an edict of guilt to grant her the title of Empress.
She thought her actions were flawless, and the situation did go as she expected without error, until this cat suddenly appeared and died such a miserable death.
It shouldn’t have happened. Something’s not right!
She really did cook the white jade porridge herself. She didn’t even rest in the middle. Only the madam steward helped add some salt...
The madam steward!
Noble Consort Ju panicked and stood up, staggering to the door, only to see guards standing with swords drawn, with no sign of the madam steward.
