Chapter 45 Going to Her Highness’s Bedchamber Going to Her Highness’s Boudoir

Inside Qianqing Palace, lights were blazing. Even with the main doors tightly shut, one could still hear Consort Rong’s tender and coquettish laughter from inside. The palace servants stood guard outside the doors, not daring to raise their heads.

Ever since Consort Rong had served in the bedchamber, she had firmly grasped Her Majesty’s heart. Not only could other consorts not get any extra favor, even the Empress had to yield to him.

Consort Rong’s soft and sensual voice gradually subsided only in the late hours of the night.

Inside the hall, clothes were scattered everywhere. The bed curtains of the dragon bed were drawn, blocking everything outside. One couldn’t see clearly what was inside, but one could imagine the scene within at this moment.

Little did they know that Consort Lan Xuezhao was leaning against the bed with his clothes intact, while Yue Shen was at the other end, as far apart as heaven and earth, separated by a Milky Way.

One was calm, the other cold, showing no trace of the earlier passionate atmosphere.

Yue Shen leaned askew in the corner, her palm resting upward on the edge of the bed, lost in thought.

Lan Xuezhao took a sip of tea. After yelling dry in the room for half the night, his throat felt like it was on fire. Finally resting, he suddenly remembered the person he had met in the Imperial Garden who had caught his eye.

He raised his delicate eyebrows and asked with interest, “Your Majesty seems to have a special interest in that Qiu Shuzhi?”

“Special?” Yue Shen raised an eyebrow slightly, her voice cold: “Why do you say that?”

“The court says Your Majesty dislikes Qiu Shuzhi very much, but I don’t think so. Today when you saw her, your eyes became different.” Lan Xuezhao languidly played with his long hair, suddenly changing his tone: “Could it be that she is your person?”

Yue Shen smiled wryly: “She used to be, but later…”

Too resolute a denial would arouse suspicion. She deliberately left her words half-true and half-false, leaving it to Lan Xuezhao to guess.

Lan Xuezhao’s eyes were bright, the silver on his wrist emitting a cool, faint light: “Qiu Shuzhi is a favorite of the Empress Dowager. She has been promoted repeatedly in such a short time since passing the examination. If only she were your person… What a pity.”

Yue Shen tilted her head back, her barely perceptible sigh caught entirely by Lan Xuezhao.

She was silent for a moment, then raised her eyes: “Go down.”

Lan Xuezhao’s red lips pouted slightly, his brows furrowing coquettishly: “Your Majesty, I’ve been calling out all night. Even if there’s no merit, there’s still hard work. Do you really have the heart to let me sleep on that cold floor?”

Yue Shen didn’t even move an eyelid.

Lan Xuezhao coyly moved closer to her, his seductive and beautiful eyes looking exactly like a beautiful snake: “Your Majesty, the floor is cold. Please take pity on me!”

Yue Shen glanced at him indifferently. Vulgar!

“You should be clear about what our relationship is?”

Lan Xuezhao’s mouth curled into a smile as he toyed with the hair at his temples, leaning coyly on Yue Shen’s shoulder: “Your Majesty, even if you and I have reached an agreement, I am still your consort, your man.”

“The servants are all saying how favored I am, but how would they know that I am still a virgin? If the servants were to discover that my chastity mark is still intact, how would I explain it?”

“In this vast harem, you’ve only touched the Empress’s brother. I feel wronged.”

“Could it be that you prefer the Empress’s brother?”

Yue Shen’s expression was weary and arrogant, her eyes like light smoke sweeping over his affected manner: “Men from the Miao tribe don’t use chastity marks. Don’t think I don’t know anything.”

Lan Xuezhao shut up sullenly. This little emperor knew quite a lot.

Miao men indeed didn’t follow the customs of Central Plains men. He was born in the miasma-filled forests, growing up with venomous insects and snakes, most skilled in strange medical and poisonous arts. Yet because of his good looks, he caught the attention of the King of Dian.

It’s said that the Miao are skilled in insect and poison magic, but even that couldn’t compare to the suppression of military cavalry. Otherwise, the Miao people wouldn’t have had to live in remote, miasma-filled forests for so many years.

The King of Dian used the lives of thousands of Miao villagers as leverage, ordering him to enter the palace to please the emperor and conceive a royal child as soon as possible.

Even though he was unwilling, he accepted for the sake of saving his people.

Before coming, Lan Xuezhao was still confident. He had good looks, no woman could take her eyes off him. Even if there were three thousand beauties in the imperial palace, he could still compete for favor with his good looks.

After all, which emperor isn’t promiscuous? Not indulgent?

But he hadn’t expected that this emperor would be a paragon of virtue. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t arouse even a bit of her interest.

Lan Xuezhao was so frustrated he could gnash his teeth, wishing he could plant the most potent insect magic on her.

“Your Majesty, even if Miao men don’t use chastity marks, I still want you to cherish me.” He spoke in an affected voice that even he found disgusting.

“Your Majesty—” He nuzzled against her shoulder, voluntarily undoing his clothes, revealing a snow-white expanse of chest that left much to the imagination.

Yue Shen smiled contemptuously, propped herself up, half-stretched her long legs, and kicked him off the bed.

Lan Xuezhao rolled off the bed in a tumble, not even having time to react. He had stripped naked and offered himself, yet she still had no reaction. Was she even a woman?

Seeing Lan Xuezhao’s stunned look, Yue Shen propped her chin, her tone light and cold: “Know your place.”

She pulled the curtains, drawing her shadow inside.

Lan Xuezhao angrily pounded the ground with his fist. The disgust and indifference in Yue Shen’s eyes weren’t pretense; she truly had no interest in him. If not for their agreement, she probably wouldn’t have given him a second glance even if he died of old age in the palace.

He lay on the cold ground, the bone-chilling cold making him frown tightly. Looking at the blurry window outside, his eyes held loneliness.

Yue Shen didn’t like him, and he had no feelings for Yue Shen either. He had given up a man’s most important chastity, given up his future marriage prospects to seek favor from a woman he didn’t even like.

He had endured so much just to quickly conceive a royal child, to give the King of Dian a legitimate reason to enter the capital. When the time came and he gave birth to a princess, whether the King of Dian rebelled or became regent, whether Yue Shen lived or died, he didn’t care.

He only wanted to protect the Miao people. After accomplishing his mission, he would leave the court, return to Yunnan, return to the Miao village. He would never come to the capital again.

He pulled over some carelessly discarded clothes, wrapped them around himself, and fell asleep.

Inside the dragon bed that shut out everything, Yue Shen lay on her back, listening to Lan Xuezhao’s breathing until she was sure he was fast asleep. Only then did she move her hand.

She brought her palm to her nose and sniffed, a faint blush spreading across her face.

The palm of her hand seemed to still retain the faint fragrance from Qiu Shuzhi’s body. Her waist, so slender and graceful, seemed as if it could be snapped in two in her hand.

Yue Shen had done it on purpose; the red silk covering her eyes had a small gap.

She didn’t know what had come over her. Perhaps it was because she hadn’t seen Qiu Shuzhi for too long, or perhaps the men in the palace were too oppressive.

The moment she saw Qiu Shuzhi, she instinctively threw herself at her. Even though her clothes were different from Lan Xuezhao’s, she still pretended not to know and held her tightly in her arms. She greedily inhaled her long-missed fragrance, as if it had saved her soul.

For that brief moment, she had accidentally buried her face in her chest, soft and fragrant like undulating valleys. Once sunk in, it was hard to extricate oneself… The more she recalled, the more rapid and heated her breathing became, a burning redness spreading over her entire body. She smiled foolishly, shyly hugging her pillow and rolling around on the bed.

It had rained all night, and the weather was particularly good the next day. Refreshed after a night’s rest, Ji Mei’s people were in high spirits. The group of rough women, lacking in sophistication, gathered together, talking and laughing.

Ji Mei knocked on Qiu Shuzhi’s door and was surprised to see her appearance: “My lady, did you not rest well last night?”

Qiu Shuzhi, fully dressed, touched her face and asked in return: “Do I look haggard?”

Ji Mei nodded.

Qiu Shuzhi had tossed and turned until late last night. After returning to her room, she had lain awake all night, staring at the cloth bandaging her wound.

“It’s probably just not being used to being on duty for the first day,” she casually explained away.

Ji Mei smiled: “That’s possible. You’ll get used to it, my lady.” As she spoke, Ji Mei suddenly noticed the bandage on her hand: “My lady, did you hurt your hand last night?”

How come she didn’t remember this happening?

Qiu Shuzhi quietly hid her hand in her sleeve: “I scratched it last night. It’s nothing. Call everyone out to assemble.”

She changed the subject.

“Yes!” Ji Mei’s face immediately became serious at the mention of official business. A team of people quickly lined up in front of Qiu Shuzhi.

Soon, the next batch of Yulin Army would come to take over from them, and they would leave the palace.

At this moment, she suddenly noticed the bamboo hat placed in the corner.

Her eyes flickered, and her hand hidden in her sleeve rubbed the soft, thin cloth at the wound: “Ji Mei, come with me for a bit.”

Qiu Shuzhi walked along the palace path. At the end of the red wall, a patch of emerald bamboo stood out. After the heavy rain, crystal-clear dewdrops fell along the branches and leaves, making them appear even more coldly beautiful. As they walked further in, the scenery became more expansive, with emerald bamboo protecting the walls and hundreds of flowers blooming in clusters. The post-rain mist rose gracefully, and the exquisite pavilions were both elegant and majestic.

“My lady, why have we come here?” Ji Mei looked at the bright characters ‘Fengyang Pavilion’ with some trepidation. Isn’t this the territory of the head of the Jinyiwei, the eldest prince?

Qiu Shuzhi pointed at the bamboo hat and straw rain cape in her hands: “They kindly provided us shelter from the rain yesterday. Have you already forgotten?”

Ji Mei laughed sheepishly. There were so many rules in the palace that she had only been thinking about leaving quickly and had forgotten about this.

“Lady Qiu? Why have you come? Please, come in!” Chang’an was both surprised and delighted to see Qiu Shuzhi. “We have an honored guest. Quickly go and inform Her Highness, you blind fools!” Chang’an kicked a nearby palace servant.

The young servant hurriedly ran inside.

“There’s no need to trouble Her Highness. I’m just here to return yesterday’s items.”

“You’re being too formal. It’s just a few rain gear items.” Chang’an, afraid she might leave, hurriedly invited her into the pavilion.

As soon as she entered the pavilion, Yue Guanyi was already sitting inside waiting for her. He was in plain white clothes, as otherworldly as last night, though his clothes were somewhat disheveled, as if he had rushed out. He hadn’t even tied his belt properly, just simply knotted it at his waist, which made his waist appear even more slender.

The moment he saw Qiu Shuzhi, his eyes shone with joy, like long-separated lovers finally finding their home. It seemed as if he might throw himself into her arms the next second, even though they had been apart for less than three hours.