Song Zhao calmly straightened out the folds on her nightgown, before getting up to greet him.
By the time she reached the door of the bedchamber, the door was pulled open from outside.
She quickly knelt down, intending to greet Xiao Jingheng,
But Xiao Jing heng gently held her wrist, "There is no need for so much etiquette when we are alone."
After saying that, he naturally reached out to hold her hand.
Perhaps he was worried about her injured hand, Xiao Jingheng held her hand very gently.
He walked in front, not looking sideways. Song Zhao secretly glanced at him and saw fine beads of sweat on his temples, then she knew he had hurried over here.
The two sat down side by side on the warm seats, Xiao Jingheng put his arm around Song Zhao's shoulders and drew her into his embrace.
This time, his grip was a little heavier, and his fingers gently rubbed her shoulder blades.
Song Zhao leaned against his shoulder, smelling the faint aroma of wine on him, and his words and deeds seemed much more sober.
"Wasn't Your Majesty resting in Consort Chen's palace? Why have you come to this concubine's place so late?"
"I was worried about you." Xiao Jingheng was not stingy in declaring his concern for Song Zhao. As he spoke, he took her hand and blew at the red spot on her fingertip, "Does it still hurt?"
Song Zhao lightly shook her head, not answering him directly, but instead cared about him,
"Your Majesty was drunk, coming to this concubine's place late at night after the wind. If you have a headache tomorrow, won't this concubine's heart hurt even more?"
Xiao Jingheng looked back at her, his eyes full of deep feelings,
"Today you hurt your hand, it can also be considered a blessing in disguise. Otherwise, there would have been a great chance that it was you who got your face cut by the piano wire."
He gently stroked Song Zhao's cheek, as if stroking a rare beauty, his eyes brightened unknowingly,
"Luckily you are safe and sound."
This “safe and sound” naturally refers to Song Zhao's appearance, which is the country's colour and fragrance, the beauty that overshadows the harem.
Song Zhao would not be swayed by just a few sweet words from him yet.
She wanted Xiao Jingheng to know that Song Zhao not only had her appearance but also a kind heart.
So she showed a worried look and sighed,
"How can this be called a blessing in disguise? Although this concubine was not injured, Xiao Sister was severely wronged."
She looked up at Xiao Jingheng's eyes, the turning eyes were full of purity and innocence, "Women all value their looks, I hope Your Majesty will visit Xiao Sister these days, don't let her feel cold and think randomly, and have a harder time."
Xiao Jingheng responded indifferently, "Consort Chen judges others by herself, she really has a kind heart. No matter what, Concubine Xiao is my cousin, I will certainly not mistreat her."
These four words 'will not mistreat' have already explained that Concubine Xiao was doomed to be unloved in the future.
Hearing his tone, Song Zhao said no more.
Today when Xiao Jingheng came to see Song Zhao, he always felt that his beloved seemed a little more dignified than usual, looking a little preoccupied.
So while they were talking, Xiao Jingheng suddenly pressed his palm to his forehead, and his relaxed brow wrinkled slightly, pretending to have a headache.
Song Zhao quickly massaged his temples for him, "Does Your Majesty have a headache?"
Xiao Jingheng said helplessly, "Drinking causes trouble. I was delayed this time and got drunk. In a moment of anger, I killed the palace maid who was guarding the Feng Shou pipa. After drinking sober soup at the Empress's place and sobering up, I felt more and more that I shouldn't have acted so rashly."
He put his hand on the back of Song Zhao’s hand that was massaging his temples, and gently patted it, "I always feel that there is something suspicious about this matter. At that time I should have let people from the Department of Justice take him away and torture him severely, to find out if there are any more ins and outs to this matter, so that you can rest assured."
Xiao Jingheng's words were sincere,
and every word revealed his infinite concern for Song Zhao.
But Song Zhao didn't think so:
On the surface, the person with the most motive to set things up was Consort Chen, who loved to compete for favour.
And the reason why Xiao Jingheng wanted to drop the matter was because he was also suspicious of Consort Chen, so he wanted to settle the matter hastily.
Not to mention Consort Chen was the one serving him and the one he liked most. The fact that Consort Chen had such a prominent background meant that if something suspicious was really discovered, how would the matter be handled?
The relationship between the previous dynasty and the harem was complicated, often touching one would shake the whole body. Since the victim this time was Concubine Xiao, who had neither favour nor background, there was no need to investigate further.
In fact, there was evidence originally,
but wasn't that evidence clubbed to death by Xiao Jingheng in his "drunkenness"?
With this quick fix, the whole thing became impossible to investigate.
Whether Xiao Jingheng was really drunk today, no one knew better than himself.
Since he wanted to pretend to be muddled,
Song Zhao simply played even more muddled than him.
"This concubine has never offended anyone, and Li has been executed, I believe no one in the palace wants to plot against this concubine again. In my opinion, this whole thing was just an accident that Your Majesty is overthinking.."
Xiao Jingheng was clearly unexpected that Song Zhao would say this, so his brows twitched visibly.
He only knew that Song Zhao had no thoughts of plotting against others, but today he saw that she did not even have the idea of guarding against others.
Actually for Xiao Jingheng, it was good that she didn’t think too much. The more innocent she was, the more she could arouse Xiao Jingheng's desire to protect her.
Although he didn't say it, but in his heart he considered that he would have to protect Song Zhao more in the future, so as not to let anyone bully such a pure and beautiful human being.
Although Xiao Jingheng did not openly punish Consort Chen for this matter, he was not completely indifferent about it either.
From his change of attitude towards Consort Chen, one could see clues.
Later, for nearly half a month, Xiao Jingheng did not visit Consort Chen.
Even when Consort Chen went to the Morning Sun Palace to find him, he declined her proposal many times on the grounds of state affairs. It could also be regarded as giving Consort Chen a warning.
But whether this matter was really done by Consort Chen still remained debatable in Song Zhao’s opinion.
After all, she did not believe any woman in this harem.
But this did not prevent her from assuming for the time being that Consort Chen did it.
Because Concubine Xiao needed an answer over there.
She had to know who disfigured her before having a goal for revenge, right?
That afternoon when Song Zhao woke up from her nap, Yun Shan said while serving her,
"Young Lady, the gauze on Concubine Xiao’s face has been removed."
"Did you find out? How is it?”
Yun Shan shook her head, "It scarred, and the scar is not shallow. The scar is still new and red, I'm afraid even the best powder can't cover it up."
Song Zhao looked at her flawless features in the mirror and sighed regretfully,
"Alas, we are all women, I really can't bear to see her like that."
Then she got up and pulled Yun Shan, "Go pick some skin moisturizing stuff from the storeroom, come with me to see her."
