Clothes, shoes, sword, and flute... a familiar man, a familiar scent.
"Miss Mo, would you like to dine here?" The servants of Yonghe Palace were respectful to Shen Mo not only because of Murong Shi, but also because of their own Fourth Prince. Even the young girl from the kitchen who was standing outside the door asking timidly was no exception.
Shen Mo glanced at the room that had already been tidied up, paused, and said, "You can all go and rest. Leave the kitchen to me."
“Miss Mo, this…” The young girl was somewhat taken aback.
Sweet and sour pork ribs, steamed pork with rice flour, hot and sour shredded potatoes... Shen Mo looked helplessly at the head chef who came in after finishing a dish and asked if she needed help, and the kitchen maid who stared wide-eyed at the strange dishes being served in front of her. The chefs in the Rong family in the past were never this cute.
After setting the table, she noticed it was already getting dark and felt a little embarrassed. The scene was exactly like a wife waiting for her husband to come home for dinner.
Ouch! Just as she was about to light the candle, a gust of wind blew in from the window, and the tinderbox immediately touched her finger. A sharp burning pain forced tears to well up in her eyes. It's true, you shouldn't think about impossible things.
But the night grew darker and darker, and no footsteps could be heard outside despite the longing gaze. The candlelight inside, however, cast a dim glow, making one feel somewhat sleepy...
"Amo...Amo?" He hadn't seen her for a long time. He had returned to be greeted by the same cold bed, but he was surprised to find the person he had been longing for lying on the table waiting for him. Murong Yue's heart melted. He wanted her to wake up and talk to him, but he was afraid of waking her. He held her slightly cold body and whispered in her ear.
"Hmm..." Shen Mo was not sleeping deeply and woke up in no time, but that soft whimper still tickled Murong Yue's heart.
Are you cold?
"Hmm." Shen Mo let him hold her. "Why are you back so late?"
"I'm hungry." In the dim candlelight, Shen Mo's sleepy eyes blinked, making his heart skip a beat. If he had known she was there, he wouldn't have come back so late.
"Then eat... Mmm!" Shen Mo's eyes widened instantly as Murong Yue captured his lips, sucking, grinding, and even gently biting them. He was increasingly unable to control his emotions; his breathing became erratic, completely erratic...
"Ah Mo, Ah Mo?" After trying for a long time, Murong Yue found that her pearly teeth were still tightly closed to him, and he called out to her in a little anxiety.
She couldn't remember the last time he kissed her; perhaps she had long forgotten how to kiss, or how to return a kiss to this man she couldn't understand.
"Young Master!" Shen Mo took the initiative to climb onto his neck, leaving his lips and burying her face in his neck. "You're not hungry, but I am." Her face was pressed against his armor, which was cold to the bone.
"Haha, okay, let's eat." Thinking she was shy, Murong Yue laughed heartily.
"Your Highness, the horse has been led into the stable... Ah! This servant made an unintentional mistake, Your Highness, please forgive me." The last half of the sentence was almost a scream.
A woman's voice appeared out of nowhere? Shen Mo looked up at the person who had appeared. Her waist was so slender that it could be encircled by one hand, and her figure was accentuated by a light green gauze dress. She covered her face and turned her back to him. This was only her back view; he wondered what kind of beauty and charm she would possess from the front.
"Get down!" Murong Yue growled in a low voice with a stern face, and touched Chen Mo's hair.
"Your Highness..." the woman turned around coquettishly, unwilling to be driven away like this.
This face...this face! Shen Mo felt as if he had been electrocuted. This face was five parts similar to his own!
"I told you to get off!" Seeing that something was wrong with Shen Mo, Murong Yue glared at the woman fiercely as he left. What did her tears matter, even if they were somewhat similar?
"Ah Mo, she's not me..."
“I know,” Shen Mo said, breaking free from him. “It was Consort Xian who sent me.” It was Consort Xian who sent her to come.
“You’ve always understood me,” Murong Yue said, looking at her.
"I don't understand!" Shen Mo said and turned to leave. His sleeve caused a jade cup on the table to fall to the ground with a clatter, the sound of the shards breaking particularly jarring.
"No, I won't let you go!" Murong Yue pulled her back and held her tightly in his arms, refusing to let go no matter how much she struggled.
"Why won't you let me leave? There are still lantern festivals, poetry circles, and my youth in this world. Why are you binding me here!" Shen Mo bit his hand, her pearly teeth, which had been unwilling to open for him just now, now opened.
"Because you fell in love first." With just seven simple words, Shen Mo stopped moving. "If you love someone, you're not allowed to leave." This was an order, Young Master Rong's order to Shen Mo.
"Do you remember this?" Murong Yue knew Shen Mo too well, to the point that he knew when she was angry, when she was calm, and when she was moved. And he could perfectly blend all of these emotions into one.
Shen Mo turned around. If it weren't for the awkward scene just now, he probably would have burst into tears, because what he was holding in his hand was a Chinese knot. Yes, that country that had long disappeared from his memory.
"That day when you left the Rong residence to go to Qingyou Mountain with my mother, you left something in my room," he even noticed the special feeling in her eyes for this thing, and quietly leaned close to his ear, "It's strange, I feel inexplicably familiar with it."
A strange sense of familiarity! Like a bolt from the blue, she remembered Shen Yue from her past life, a man who even thought of her in his dreams. Shen Mo nodded unconsciously, "Young Master, if you ever see this Chinese knot again, I will definitely be nearby."
"Hmm, you're not leaving?"
"I'm not leaving."
"So it's called a Chinese knot."
"Yes, if you can, I hope you remember it."
"Why?"……
The morning sun was soft and gentle, and the military flags advanced through the rolling yellow earth. Shen Mo stood behind Consort Xian, gazing at the same person.
"Do you still think the woman from last night was just a military prostitute?" The Empress's opening remarks made it impossible to muster any interest in the conversation.
"This servant does not know what Your Highness is referring to," she could only politely decline.
"Don't be silly. If I'm not mistaken, Yue'er hasn't touched you yet." Consort Xian was full of certainty. "Even if it's a kind of cherishing, he is still a man. It's impossible for him to live to twenty-six or twenty-seven without having one or two women by his side. Someone like you who pursues purity should get rid of it as soon as possible."
"Your Majesty, the Emperor will worry if we stay out too long." Shen Mo was genuinely angry.
"Oh? Is that so? Then let's go back," Consort Xian obediently gestured for them to return to their residence, her voice carried on the wind, "If I remember correctly, you seem to have an adoptive mother named Mo An."
"Oh right, she also has a daughter named Rongyan, a very beautiful name." Seeing that Shen Mo's face was already as pale as paper, Consort Xian added the final blow.
It pierced straight into the heart, drawing blood!
Chapter Forty-Four: Sleeping Together
"I promise you." Shen Mo gritted her teeth, as if she had emptied her entire world. "But please remember, Your Majesty, if one day you cannot help him sit on the highest throne, you will owe me... you..."
"I will repay you with my life." The virtuous concubine turned around decisively, as if she had transformed into an ignorant young girl, interpreting her responsibility with only a surge of passion.
Even after arriving at the Half-Moon Palace on the night of the thirteenth, standing behind Consort Xian and looking at her stubborn back, Shen Mo was still somewhat stunned. Having lived two lives, both without a mother, it seemed that even if she was being used and threatened, this maternal aura made her somewhat willing to come. Glancing at Murong Shi sitting opposite her, staring at her, she couldn't help but shake her head and lower her head, feeling somewhat pathetic.
"Consort Yu has arrived!"
A sharp cry from the eunuch heralded the arrival of the most beautiful pearl of the night. Consort Yu, dressed in a crimson feathered gown with a silk sash tied around her slender waist, was more than wealthy, more beautiful, and more youthful than the Empress. She was so beautiful that the Empress's face almost crumbled before Consort Yu gracefully took her seat under the Emperor's half-surprised and half-delighted gaze. To Murong Yi's right meant that she was the person in the harem who was second only to the Empress and above all the other concubines tonight.
Shen Mo raised his head slightly, and Consort Xian's expression was rather unpleasant.
The capping ceremony!
Long Ze'en!
The ceremony is complete!
Emperor Murong Yi quickly helped her back to her seat. Even when Consort Yu was receiving the imperial favor, he couldn't bear to let her kneel for even a little while longer. His eyes kept glancing at her lower abdomen, and his face was filled with the joy of becoming a father again, which had been evident since Consort Yu's time in the palace.
"Today is Yu'er's big day, and a big day for our Qitian Kingdom! All of you, just drink to your heart's content! Tonight, we won't leave until we're drunk! Hahaha..."
"Long live the Emperor! Long live Consort Yu!" Inside the Half Moon Palace, there was only one protagonist tonight, and that was Consort Yu. She was surrounded by everyone, making her stand out even more. Even some officials below were stunned by her beauty.
To die beneath the peony blossoms, even as a ghost, is a romantic endeavor. But I fear the words echoing in your hearts tonight won't be that earlier shout, but rather this treacherous statement.
Consort Xian drank the cup in front of her in one gulp. Shen Mo waved to the palace maid who was pouring the wine, and took the cup himself. However, the second cup was poured into her stomach as soon as it was poured.
"Your Majesty, things shouldn't be done more than three times." Shen Mo said softly, rubbing the pattern on the wine cup in her hand. "Your Majesty, please have some self-respect."
A smile suddenly appeared on Consort Xian's lips, sending a chill down Shen Mo's spine.
"Your Majesty, Consort Yu's rose dew is ready. It is made from the first rose of the morning dew and brewed over three days and three nights. It is neither greasy nor intoxicating, and it contains progesterone, making it a top-grade tonic for the stomach and for the fetus." After the banquet was halfway through, the imperial physician brought out a small pot of this sacred dew, one cup at a time, and slowly brought it to the lips of the palace maids who were tasting it.
"Wait!" Consort Xian, who usually kept a low profile in the palace, suddenly stood up to stop her. After a moment, her expression softened considerably. "I am overjoyed that the Emperor has been born again. I wonder if I could have the opportunity to do something for Consort Yu today, so that I can have a little something to enjoy?" She then stared intently at the small cup of rose syrup.
"Sister Xianfei, you're really making me feel bad..." Consort Yu hurriedly got up from her seat and walked to Consort Xian's side, looking at Murong Yi with a shy smile.
"You flatter me, Consort Xian. It would have been better if I had done it." The Emperor gave Consort Yu a slight reproach with his eyes before raising his hand to refuse.
"Your Majesty, Consort Yu, let me do this on behalf of my mistress."
Upon suddenly hearing that familiar voice, Murong Shi, who had been carelessly touching his tassel, abruptly raised his head, a sudden surge of inexplicable anxiety rushing to his mind.
Consort Xian was "forced" to agree to let Shen Mo test the poison for Consort Yu. She then retreated behind Shen Mo with a hint of "appreciation"...
When Shen Mo tasted this, he felt a cool sensation in his mouth as the smooth, sweet liquid rolled down his throat. Before he could even savor its sweetness, he saw the reflection of Yu Fei in the cup. A sour feeling rushed into his throat, and as he opened his eyes wide, he felt a sudden blow to his back, and he was thrown towards Yu Fei.
That face, still bearing that shy smile, remained unchanged, perfectly reflected in his eyes. The excruciating pain in his body didn't come from the glass of wine, but from... the arrow lodged in his chest near his heart.
"Guards! There's an assassin! Catch the assassin..." In a daze, he heard the anxious voice of Emperor Murong Yi. He even pushed aside the person who was standing in front of Consort Yu and kept comforting the unharmed Consort Yu.
A face as beautiful as a pear blossom in the rain, capable of captivating a nation—this was the only impression Shen Mo retained before he fainted, his impression of Miss Jiang. Oh wait, wait, he also seemed to have seen a forehead twisted into a deep frown.
Whose is it? Whose is it...?
Someone once said as a child that their ambition was to become a pilot. Shen Mo had indeed tasted the thrill of flight… His light, airy body, if not for its extreme stiffness, would surely have fulfilled his childhood dream. He tried to move his fingers, but still couldn't lift them.
"Princess!" "The princess is awake! The princess is awake!" Slowly opening her eyes, she found herself in a commotion. Princess... who was that? Only when she met the familiar eyes of Physician Li did she realize that she had not transmigrated again.
"The princess has been unconscious for more than three days. That arrow really went in deep. If it weren't for..." The maid beside her muttered to herself. Just as Shen Mo was half guessing what had happened during those three days, the maid forced a few tears to fall.
"Could I have a bowl of porridge?" Shen Mo wanted some peace and quiet, partly because... she touched her empty stomach and realized she was indeed hungry.
"Oh, good! The princess finally wants to eat. His Highness the Ninth Prince has already given instructions to prepare something. This servant will go and heat it up and bring it over right away." The palace maid beamed.
"Wait..." Shen Mo suddenly moved, aggravating his wound. He quickly clutched his chest, his eyes flashing. "Ninth Prince...where is he?"
Watching the palace maid leave, Shen Mo bit her lip and stared at the ceiling, the palace maid's slightly ambiguous words echoing in her mind.
"His Highness Ninth Prince remained in his robes and guarded the Princess for three days and three nights, and even the Emperor could not persuade him to leave."
"This morning, His Highness the Ninth Prince heard that there was a medicine that was particularly effective for the Princess, so he hurriedly left the palace."
"His Highness the Ninth Prince personally removed the arrow from the princess's body, without allowing any outsiders to be present..."
Shen Mo's lips were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.
"I'll do it, you all go out." Halfway through feeding the porridge, a pair of slender fingers suddenly reached out and snatched the bowl from the palace maid's hand, revealing a handsome face that was as pale as ever.
"Yes...yes!" The palace maid hesitated for a moment, but still obediently withdrew.
The moment the first spoonful entered his mouth, Shen Mo accurately caught Murong Shi's gaze. As the porridge in his hand dwindled, Shen Mo's eyes never strayed.
"If you keep looking, I'll think you've fallen in love with me." Murong Shi put down the empty bowl in his hand and reached out to wipe the porridge stains from her mouth.
She took his handkerchief directly, threw it away, stared at him for a moment, and then rubbed it against his sleeve.
Following her movements, I couldn't help but move closer. The next second, she gently leaned against my arm, as docile as a cat, yet it made my heart itch unbearably.
The handkerchief fell to the ground, and Chen Mo lowered his brows.
"Do you still want me? Do you still want me like this...?"
"Yes!" Just as he heard her last word, Murong Shi spun around and pulled her into his arms, tucking her in, kissing her hair, and pulling her down into bed—all in one smooth motion.
A rare warm breath brushed against Shen Mo's ear as he said, "While I can still have you now."