Chapter 35: CH 35

Chapter 35

Qiuying Pavilion.

Ah Su stared at the broken fragments scattered across the floor, before slanting a look at Ah Ya, who shook her head.

In a cold voice, An Jin said, ‘Did you not deliver my message to Xia Sang yesterday?’

One of the eunuchs who was standing by the side paled in fright and immediately knelt on the floor. Trembling, he said, ‘Your Highness, I did pass your message onto Xia Sang and requested for him to deliver it to His Majesty. This –’

An Jin sneered, ‘And did you make it clear to Xia Sang that I will definitely assist him to climb to the position of the head of Internal Affairs if he were to assist me?’

‘I…’

‘You fool!’ Angered, An Jin raised a cup, hurling it in the direction of the eunuch. The eunuch did not dare to dodge, and as the cup made contact with his head, it shattered, blood sliding down his face.

Yet An Jin remained unappeased, and lifted her hand to strike the eunuch.

At this moment, a servant dashed into the room and announced urgently, ‘Your Highness, Consort Hua of Qinfang Palace seeks an audience with you.’

An Jin was furious. The tea prepared by Nian Xuanji seemed to have some measure of success – each day, the servants of Chuxiu Hall would return to her a pot of tea which had been finished by the Emperor. Even so, the Emperor’s attitude towards her had remained unchanged, for he continued to spend the nights with the Empress. So, how could she remain calm?

And in the recent days where she was no longer basking in the Emperor’s favour, she had no choice but to receive Consort Hua, whose title was a notch higher than hers.

With a sweep of her sleeves, she stood and headed for the door, but she had only just walked a few steps when a saccharine voice drifted in through the doors.

‘Oh, I say, Sister Jin, what’s the matter with Qiuying Pavilion? You should be more careful when you walk around and take care not to hurt yourself over these broken fragments. The Emperor will be upset if you were to be injured.’

An Jin clenched her teeth, but forced herself to smile. ‘Thank you for your concern, but you should also be more careful. If you were to hurt yourself, I’m afraid it will be some time before the Emperor learns of this, since he has been occupied at Luanxiu Hall.’

Consort Hua’s expression darkened. Was An Jin ridiculing the fact that the Emperor rarely came to her Qinfang Palace?

Yet she quickly recovered, and with a beatific smile, returned, ‘Luanxiu Hall? So you are unaware? But it is unsurprising, for Qiuying Pavilion is indeed remote, so it is only to be expected that news takes a longer time to reach you. The Emperor is at Fengjiu Palace.’

‘Fengjiu Palace?’

Seeing that she had achieved her aim, Consort Hua only demurred that she had things to settle in Qinfang Palace and departed with a smile.

There were no eternal enemies within the imperial palace.

Even if the Emperor were to favour a particular consort by remaining at her quarters night after night, this could not be considered a matter of great significance.

Except, today, the Emperor had dismissed the morning court session.

It had been three years since Emperor Qingjia had waived the morning court session. Three years ago, an old official had passed away, and the Emperor had cancelled the assembly only because he had travelled to that official’s house to pay his last respects in person.

***

Fengjiu Palace.

Two servants hurriedly exited from Concubine Nian’s rooms.

‘Diefeng, I’m extremely glad,’ a young servant, who was holding onto a copper basin, whispered.

Diefeng immediately shot back, ‘Stupid girl, how could you be happy when Her Highness is ill.’

Yet that servant said, ‘Last night, I was also nearly frightened to death when the Emperor carried Her Highness back. Her entire body was drenched and her face was so pale.’

‘Then what are you happy about?’ Diefeng said in vexation.

‘You were too worried last night, so you didn’t notice the look in His Majesty’s eyes when he stared at Her Highness. And Eunuch Xu also headed for the Imperial Academy of Medicine to personally summon Physician Lady Cui over. In my opinion, Her Highness has finally won the Emperor’s favour.’

Diefeng stared at the young servant for a moment, then laughed. ‘Perhaps there might be some truth in your words.’ Yet her brows immediately creased, and she continued, ‘Though, we should be wary of inciting the jealousy from others.’

***

‘Zhuizhui, Yuhuan, little wolf…’

From the bed, sleep-filled murmurs drifted across the room, soft and delirious. Long Fei-li carefully observed the woman who slept on the bed, before he used one hand to turn the pages of the documents which had been placed on a small couch in front of him.

‘Your Majesty, allow me to do it.’

Xia Sang who stood by a corner hurried forward to help the Emperor turn the pages of the documents, before he silently retreated back. Quietly, he observed this pair of Emperor and Consort through keen eyes.

The image presented before him was a little… strange.

The Emperor sat by the bedside. Next to him was a small couch which was stacked with several documents. His right hand was placed atop the couch, yet his left hand rested on the bed, intertwined with Concubine Nian’s hand.

Concubine Nian was still in deep sleep. Ever since the pair of them had returned last night, she had not awoken. Physician Lady Cui had examined her, before concluding that hers was an illness which had been worsened by the cold.

What surprised Xia Sang was the Emperor’s uncharacteristic decision to cancel the morning court. He had chosen to remain at Fengjiu Palace, and had instead ordered for the morning’s submissions to be delivered to him here.

Alone, he sat by Concubine Nian’s side, and kept guard over her for several hours. Only when the sun rose did he finally stand, preparing to return to his desk. Yet, at that moment, his hands were pulled by the unconscious grasp of Concubine Nian. After a long glance at her, the Emperor did not break free from her hold, allowing her to cling onto him. Instead, he only ordered for a small couch to be brought over.

Which consort within the palace did not possess a pair of flawlessly fair hands, their nails painted with vibrant polish?

But Concubine Nian’s ten nails were neatly trimmed and devoid of paint. Across the back of her hands was a network of new and faded scars.

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Earlier, two servants had entered the room to attend to Concubine Nian, carefully wiping the sweat away from her face. Before they left, Xia Sang had heard the Emperor ask in a expressionless voice where Concubine Nian had gotten the old scars on her hands from.

At that time, the younger servant had answered respectfully that those were the scars left behind from when Concubine Nian had climbed the trees. Hearing this, the elder servant, Diefeng, immediately pulled her aside, preventing her from saying anything else.

The Emperor’s brows creased. ‘Climb trees?’

With difficulty, Xia Sang managed to withhold his laughter. Concubine Nian had strange hobbies.

Only when he heard the explanation from the servants did he realise she had only climbed the trees to collect dewdrops for the Emperor’s tea. She had brought her servants along with her, but did not allow them to climb the trees, only instructing for them to keep watch.

‘Where are the dewdrops she has collected?’ The Emperor, whose curiosity was aroused, finally asked.

Diefeng withdrew and quickly retrieved a small vial from beyond the room.

Upon seeing the vial, Xia Sang could not help the lament in his heart – that was a precious jade vial which had been gifted to the Emperor by a Feudal Lord upon his entry to the imperial palace. The vial was exquisitely carved; a rare treasure.

That night, after their return from the Lin Gardens, this vial was among the numerous jewelleries the Emperor had instructed Xu Xi to bestow to Concubine Nian.

‘Long Fei-li…’

Xia Sang’s train of thoughts was derailed by the faint voice which issued, even as he started – Nian Xuanji was too daring to have addressed the Emperor by his given name!

‘Xia Sang, you can withdraw,’ the Emperor said, setting the documents in his hands to a side.

‘Yes, Your Majesty.’

As Xia Sang closed the door behind him, through the crevices of the doors which slowly swung shut, his last image was of the Emperor, extending a hand to draw the silk curtains around the bed, shielding everything from view.

***

With one hand, Long Fei-li withdrew an embroidered pouch which had been tucked within his robes. The fabric of the pouch was commonplace and ordinary, and its craftsmanship could not be said to be meticulous. It was evident that the person who had sewn this pouch was still young then.

The pouch had been sewn with the name ‘Xinyi’. Even as Long Fei-li’s gaze fell upon it, inexplicably, memories of last night’s events surfaced within his mind, transforming into an image of the body which had been curled within his embrace, gently quivering, even as its owner refused to let slip a sound of pain.

– ‘See if this is it.’

A faint voice echoed in his ears, dissolving into the frail voice which had spoken as they stood by the edge of the lotus pond. Yet it quickly transformed into:

– ‘Long Fei-li’.

He stilled, turning to look at the person lying on the bed beside him. She was deep in sleep, her bloodless lips slightly parted.

‘Long Fei-li.’

He laughed, at himself.

Earlier, Physician Lady Cui had examined her, before concluding that her illness was severe. It was severe, but even if he were to remain by her side, keeping watch over her, still, he could not change the course of her illness. If her condition were to take a turn for the worse, this was beyond his control.

But he had cancelled the morning’s court session.

What did this mean?

He was only repaying his debt towards her once more, wasn’t he?

Was it so.

The pressure on his hand deepened, and he looked over. Within her dreams, she had shifted to rest her head on his arm.

Carefully, he tucked the pouch back into his robes before lifting her into his embrace. His fingers traced her pale lips, gently brushing across them. Her lips parted, and in the throes of sleep, she bit on his finger, an unconscious action.

His heart paused.

Just like their kiss the night before, perhaps this was merely an unthinking action.

He was a man, and she was a woman – his consort; his.

For the two of them, this was an act beyond ordinary.

Behind the curtains, the paper windows were translucent, allowing the sunrays to shine across the room, enveloping it in a golden glow.

It was early in the morning, and this was the perfect time.

His desire crystallised. He ought to guard against it.

He had always been careful, cautious.

Only, towards her, was it simply desire which had propelled him to have wasted an entire morning to be intimate with an unfeeling body?

Nian Xuanji…

Perhaps, it was only because he had been waiting for her to explain the meaning behind the sentences she had written on those slips of papers.

An indescribable vexation rose within his heart. His lips moved across her body and she shifted restlessly, their bodies moving against each other… he deepened his kiss… beyond his cautiousness…

Beside them, the small couch was overturned, a stack of documents scattering across the grounds.

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