When traveling away from home, it's better to be cautious. She would never consume food or drinks that weren't served by her own people.
Those people wouldn't dare poison the emperor, but they would love to see her dead.
"Ah?"
A massive cat suddenly appeared out of nowhere, startling Concubine Ye, who had been seated at the end of the concubines' table.
She thought it was an enormous rat at first, and was scared out of her wits, breaking into a cold sweat.
Consort Zhang flicked her fingers, and the white powder hidden at her fingertips fell into Concubine Ye's wine cup.
"Concubine Ye!"
She cried out and rushed to support Concubine Ye, asking, "Are you alright?"
Ye Qiang'er, embarrassed and angry, kicked the black cat, sending it tumbling away. She then turned to the eunuch behind her and said, "How could such a terrifying black cat be in the temporary palace? It's frightening! Catch it quickly and kill it, throw it out! If it startles the Imperial Noble Consort, you'll all lose your heads!"
Several young eunuchs rushed forward in a group, but although the fat cat was large, it moved very nimbly, quickly leaping onto the roof and disappearing into the night while casually swishing its tail.
Ye Qiang'er, furious, grabbed the wine cup from the table and drank it all in one gulp.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
She choked because she drank too quickly.
Consort Zhang handed her a handkerchief, saying, "Concubine Ye, it's just a stray cat, don't get so upset about it. Here, wipe yourself."
Wine had splashed onto her lips and chin.
"Thank you, Consort Zhang."
The snow-white handkerchief carried a fresh, elegant fragrance, with a fleeting sweetness when it touched her lips.
After wiping, Concubine Ye returned it, saying, "Sister Consort, what kind of perfumed powder do you usually use? I quite like the scent."
"What powder?"
Consort Zhang held the handkerchief to her lips and smiled, "I just like to eat preserved fruits. This is what my maid uses to wrap fragrant dates. If you like the scent, I can have someone send you some tomorrow."
Eating too many sweets makes one gain weight, no wonder Consort Zhang had such a plump figure.
Concubine Ye waved her hand, "That won't be necessary."
The Emperor preferred women like the Imperial Noble Consort, with a willow-thin waist and voluptuous figure. She didn't want to become a barrel-waisted pig.
Consort Zhang saw the discrimination against fat people in her eyes, and her gaze turned cold.
She wasn't actually fat; she was just slightly more curvaceous compared to the willowy beauties in the harem.
Her figure was actually the closest to the Imperial Noble Consort's.
Unfortunately, while the Imperial Noble Consort was full-figured in all the right places and slender where it mattered, making everyone marvel at how her curves were so perfectly distributed.
Meanwhile, she was plump in the right places but also had extra flesh where she shouldn't.
She hated when people thought she was fat.
She lifted her gaze slightly toward Huan'er behind her. Huan'er nodded and released an ice-blue butterfly from her sleeve. The butterfly fluttered its wings twice and flew directly toward the Emperor at the highest seat.
Nobody would notice a butterfly flying among the flowers, and even if they did, they would only admire its beauty.
Jiang Xinyue didn't notice at first, thinking it was normal to see butterflies where there were many flowers, especially since there wasn't just one butterfly in the garden.
But when she looked a second time, she noticed something was wrong.
Why did one butterfly seem to be targeting the Emperor?
However, she didn't raise an alarm, instead watching as the butterfly flew toward the Emperor's table.
The most beautiful things are often the most poisonous - this applies to both people and objects.
The Emperor also noticed the "little creature" on his table. Just as he was about to wave the butterfly away, Jiang Xinyue called out, "Your Majesty, use this."
It was a silk handkerchief embroidered with mandarin ducks.
The Xuanwu Emperor glanced at her, understanding she was worried the strangely colored butterfly might be poisonous.
He took the handkerchief, and when the butterfly tried to fly away, he caught it through the fabric: "Wang Dequan, take this to the Imperial Hospital for examination."
Wang Dequan was already being very careful, but when he took the butterfly, its ice-blue color instantly lost its luster, becoming an ordinary blue butterfly.
The banquet was halfway through, and many people had already gone to relieve themselves and returned.
Though the Xuanwu Emperor was emperor, he still ate and drank like anyone else, and after drinking too much, nature called. He excused himself to Jiang Xinyue and went to the emperor's private lavatory, attended by Wang Dequan.
After the Emperor entered, Wang Dequan also felt an urgent need to urinate. He quickly instructed a young eunuch to watch the door while he rushed to find the servants' lavatory.
After washing her hands, Concubine Ye saw Wang Dequan hurrying past her. She wanted to call out to him, but the Chief Eunuch was moving too quickly.
Then it occurred to her - if Wang Dequan was here, didn't that mean the Emperor was nearby?
She quickly closed her mouth and walked toward where Wang Dequan had come from. Halfway there, she steeled herself, stepped on a large stone, and deliberately fell, twisting her ankle.
"Ouch!"
"My lady!"
Her maid rushed to help her, but Concubine Ye waved her away, "I can't walk, my foot hurts so much."
She lowered her head, rubbing her sore ankle - this time it wasn't an act, she had really sprained it.
"You again?"
A pair of imperial yellow boots appeared before Concubine Ye's eyes. As she looked up, something flickered in her eyes, and her head began to spin.
The Xuanwu Emperor hadn't expected that just asking a question would frighten her into fainting. The young maid had already retreated and knelt down, not daring to raise her head.
As Concubine Ye fainted, she fell to the right, heading toward the stone that had twisted her ankle.
The Emperor reached out and caught her head just in time, checking her breathing by holding his hand near her nose. She was still breathing, still alive.
But her breathing was steady, her eyes tightly closed, and her eyeballs weren't moving around - she had truly fainted.
No one, not even a eunuch, dared to touch the Emperor's women.
The Xuanwu Emperor could only frown and pick her up himself.
A sweet fragrance entered his nostrils, and his hands suddenly stiffened as he held Concubine Ye. The Emperor felt his body changing.
The warmth of the woman in his arms and her curves pressing against his chest and abdomen sent a hot current flowing through his lower body.
He felt his entire body burning with heat!
Meanwhile, in the back garden, the Emperor's surprise for the Imperial Noble Consort continued.
The De Yi Troupe, the most renowned acrobatic troupe in the civilian world, was performing fire-breathing, acrobatics, face-changing, and various other intangible cultural heritage acts that would be difficult to see in later generations.
It's not that these arts didn't exist in later times, but they simply couldn't compare to those of ancient times.
Of course, the mere preservation of intangible cultural heritage is itself a great and remarkable achievement.
"Second Madame, Third Miss Jiang is over there, she seems to have a stomach ache. The servant was sent to inform you."
"Yan Sister?"
Wasn't Yan Sister playing with Sister Xia and Sister Cai?
