The eunuch from the Palace Eunuch Office wanted to say that Consort Zhen was indisposed due to her menstruation, and according to custom, the Emperor should not visit her.
"Hmm?"
The Emperor uttered just this simple, threatening syllable, and the little eunuch from the Palace Eunuch Office bowed even lower, respectfully saying, "This slave obeys."
He figured, the entire palace belongs to the Emperor, and the rules were made for the Emperor. If he himself was willing, who was a mere eunuch to question anything?
One's head on one's shoulders was more important than rules.
Xi Que frowned at the wine bottles strewn across the floor: "My lady, stop drinking. Too much wine is harmful. No matter how many prayer lanterns you write, the Emperor won't come."
Shuang Jiang chimed in: "You won't even let us servants write your name on them. At least if one fell and the Emperor picked it up, he'd know who was thinking of him! Who does things like this?"
Jiang Xinyue, her cheeks flushed red, hugged a wine bottle as she sat on the railing of the long corridor outside her room. With misty eyes, she said, "I'm not writing these... for the Emperor to see. I'm writing them for the gods in heaven to see... Isn't it enough if they can see them?"
Xi Que stomped her foot in frustration: "Then who is this sullen drinking for, my lady?"
"For... for..."
Jiang Xinyue stood up unsteadily and walked to a flowering tree. Holding the wine bottle, she began to dance gracefully: "Who could it be for? Yes, for whom am I so despondent?"
The palace lamps of Hexi Palace flickered, signaling the arrival of an honored guest.
Jiang Xinyue threw the wine bottle to the ground and laughed softly, self-mockingly: "The person I long for can never belong to me, so I'll drink for myself!"
The wine bottle was thrown far away, shattering. Consort Zhen was swaying drunkenly, but still she danced, singing in opera style: "In this land of flowers and brocade, she sings of meeting an old friend in a foreign land, each step and word filled with longing..."
Moonlight gently bathed the earth. The peach trees planted in front of Hexi Palace had begun to bloom, and when the night breeze blew, a shower of petals fell.
Under the tree, the beauty was dressed lightly. A white wrap top was so short it couldn't cover her flat stomach, her willow-like waist swaying like branches in the wind.
She wore matching white loose pants, the fabric soft and flowing. Over this, she had donned a gauze robe as thin as cicada wings. As she danced, a sudden gust of wind made her hair and clothes flutter, as if she might fly away at any moment to become the goddess Chang'e in the Moon Palace.
Her singing voice was beautiful, her operatic style even more stunning, but the tune she sang was melancholic and lonely. After spinning more than a dozen times, Jiang Xinyue's final pose was unsteady, and she fell backwards. A warm, large hand caught her around the waist.
Jiang Xinyue hid her triumphant smile and gazed hazily at the handsome face that appeared above her, not reacting for a moment.
The palace servants of Hexi Palace had already knelt: "Greetings to the Emperor, may the Emperor have boundless fortune and peace."
The beauty in his arms blinked twice. She didn't smile, but a tear rolled from her left eye, winding down her cheek and finally gathering, crystal-clear, on her chin. One drop, two drops, three drops...
The floodgates opened, and the beauty cried silently, finally fainting drunk in the Xuanwu Emperor's arms. Her fragile body made him realize that Consort Zhen seemed... to have lost a lot of weight?
The spring night was cold, and she was dressed so scantily, drinking and dancing—she really didn't take care of herself.
The Xuanwu Emperor felt a moment of anger. He carried Jiang Xinyue into the bedchamber before lashing out: "You pack of dog slaves, how have you been taking care of Consort Zhen? How could you let her act so recklessly?"
Xi Que and Shuang Jiang were Consort Zhen's personal attendants. When the Emperor became angry, they were the first to kneel: "Your Majesty, please understand. Consort Zhen is kind and loving, treating us servants like family. We would never dare neglect her, even if it meant our deaths. But... but recently, the Consort has been worried, barely finishing half a bowl of rice at each meal. Today... today, for some reason, she suddenly became emotional, saying... saying..."
Xi Que bit her lip, unsure whether to continue.
The Xuanwu Emperor frowned: "Why are you stammering? Speak up!"
Shuang Jiang's expression turned resolute, and she kowtowed: "Your Majesty, Consort Zhen has a nature to report only good news and not bad. She doesn't like to confide in us servants either, always dealing with her hardships alone. Ever since the Consort was poisoned in the Palace of Exile, her health has never fully recovered. The Empress Dowager... has also been giving the Consort a hard time because of Consort Rong's miscarriage. And then there's Concubine Li and the Empress, who have been... both openly and secretly... Today, she also heard that Your Majesty had scolded Concubine Li on behalf of Ye Baolin, and she couldn't help but... couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with sorrow..."
Shuang Jiang spoke vaguely, but the Xuanwu Emperor's mind had already conjured up several scenes of Jiang Xinyue being bullied.
This was telling him that Consort Zhen had suffered so much, all just to be able to stay by the Emperor's side. But the Empress Dowager wouldn't accept her true feelings, Concubine Li was constantly scheming, and the Empress, though outwardly kind, who knew what she was like behind the scenes...
Consort Zhen always showed her best side to the Emperor, never wanting to complain to him or accuse others. She was always so happy, as if she never had any worries. Whenever the Emperor was with her, it was when he felt most relaxed.
It turned out that she had been bearing so much on her own.
"Your Majesty..."
Jiang Xinyue, already drunk and confused on the bed, reached out and grabbed the Xuanwu Emperor's sleeve: "Ye Lang... don't... don't..."
She seemed to be having a nightmare, her tightly closed eyes trembling, but unable to open.
"All of you, withdraw!"
Two people lay on one bed—one calculating, one caring—this was truly a case of sleeping together yet dreaming apart.
The Xuanwu Emperor held the deeply sleeping Consort Zhen in his arms. Fearing her stomach might still hurt, he warmed his palms and placed them on her lower abdomen.
In the past, when concubines had their menstruation, let alone sleeping in the same bed, they weren't even allowed to appear before him. This was a rule passed down from the ancestors, and he had never made an exception for anyone.
At first, he had paid attention to Consort Zhen only because her beauty was unparalleled in the harem. Later, he found her nature to be innocent and lively, sincere and kind.
Now, he himself couldn't tell whether he liked Consort Shu more, or if Consort Zhen was more to his liking.
The dead of night was the perfect time for contemplation.
Consort Shu was his first love from his youth, so he treated her differently in every way.
Concubine Li was the woman who brought him the most joy among the many he had since ascending to the throne. She was the most radiant and vivacious woman he had ever met...
He felt respect and guilt towards the Empress, but no love.
And what about Consort Zhen?
She possessed a beauty that surpassed both Consort Shu and Concubine Li. Her personality seemed to be a blend of Consort Shu and Concubine Li, yet she also had a whimsical and imaginative nature that neither of them possessed.
Sometimes, the Xuanwu Emperor felt that Consort Zhen was like a younger version of himself.
