Zhou was horrified and couldn't help but stand up. Consort De had already collapsed to the ground, trembling all over.
Zhou forced a smile, "My son, Consort De knows she was wrong. She was momentarily blinded by greed..."
"Wrong?" Emperor Xuande replied grimly, "Hiring assassins to kill me and the Imperial Concubine, Mother, in your opinion, what should be the punishment for this?"
Consort De wept uncontrollably. "Your Majesty, I dare not! I am innocent! I only wanted to..." She suddenly choked, staring into Emperor Xuande's cold eyes, her teeth chattering like a leaf.
Madam Zhou gritted her teeth. "I'll make Wen Yuan and his son give an explanation to the prince. As for Consort De, please spare her for the sake of your mother and Jing Hao, and let the Zhou family go."
Emperor Xuande looked at his mother, whose face was haggard and covered with fine lines. He stood up, clenched his fist, turned and walked to the entrance of the palace. He did not look back. “Mother, Xingqing Palace is damp and stuffy. You are getting old. Move to Cining Palace with the concubines. I have built Cining Garden for you.”
Madam Zhou stood there for a long while, in the Cining Palace, she was finally going to retire, right under her son's nose. She slumped down, looking as if she had aged several years.
He called out, “Consort De,” and Consort De was terrified. “Go back to the Palace of Longevity to reflect on your actions. You are not to leave the palace without my permission. Gao Qing, bestow this brocade box upon Consort De.”
Zhou was taken aback. Consort De, with her tearful eyes, did not understand what she meant. Emperor Xuande had already left.
A day later, weeping was heard from the Zhou residence in Shengye Ward. Zhou Wenyuan and his son had suddenly died, and they could not see the Empress Dowager and Consort De. A year later, Consort De suddenly remembered the tightly wrapped brocade box. She had ordered it to be opened, and it turned out to be a priceless enamel incense burner. She couldn't understand Emperor Xuande's intention. At that time, she was worried day and night, so she dared not touch it and left it as it was in her bedchamber. A year passed, and she felt a little more at ease. However, she could not go out, so she had it found and placed in her side room to burn incense and pray to Buddha. Unexpectedly, she soon fell ill and died two months later.
Upon hearing the news of Consort De's death, Lady Zhou remained silent. Aside from the Haiyi Garden and Cining Palace in Jiufeng Mountain Garden, and occasionally visiting the Daming Palace, she kept a low profile. From that point on, the Zhou family never recovered and declined.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
The early winter sun made the west warm pavilion of Qianqing Palace warm and cozy. The wind swirled the leaves and slid them along the ground, turning the fallen leaves gray. Wei Yu stood by the window, looking at the rows of crouching beasts outside the hall, slightly lost in thought.
"Your Highness, it's time to take your medicine." The woman in purple took the jade plate from the maid and placed it on the table.
It took Wei Yu two months to recover from that illness. She lived in the Qianqing Palace and was practically imprisoned except when she was with the Xuande Emperor. What happened that night was a taboo topic, and no one dared to mention it.
Emperor Xuande remained tender, seemingly without barrier. Only Weiyu understood his possessiveness was forceful and swift. When she was with him, her mind wandered, and if things didn't go smoothly in bed, she would be unable to get out of bed for a whole day the next day. She was conflicted, her heart palpitated, sometimes feeling guilty, as if her heart was torn in two. In her delirium, she was awake; his care, his tenderness, her heart couldn't help but succumb. Yet sometimes her heart was restless, self-centered. Was this place her home? The emperor's affection was as unimaginable as her arrival in this time and space. His coldness and ruthlessness, his sharp gaze, made her tremble. The silent Consort De and Xue Ruyao, the medicine bowl in front of her—a few days ago, she had poured out most of the medicine. At dinner, he served her food with a gentle smile, then coldly ordered Gao Qing to take Ziyi and Chengyi away for caning. She froze. His eyes were fierce. She, who had never knelt to pay respects since entering the palace, slid off the brocade stool and knelt down.
Ziyi and Chengyi still went hungry. That night, it felt like they were back to square one. He was filled with anger and forced himself on her again and again, watching her gasp for breath with a cold eye, without a trace of pity. She hated him, yet she responded to him. Their bodies burned together. That night was like pain, yet also like pleasure. The night was endless, yet it was just a brief moment of passion and spring night.
When she woke up the next day, he had gone to the Daming Palace. He did not return for two days, nor did he summon her or speak to her. After two months of silence and resentment, the harem began to whisper again: the Consort is about to fall out of favor, and the Emperor intends to take the charming princess of Xu Kingdom as his consort.
"Your Majesty, the medicine tastes even worse when it's cold." Zi Yi looked at Wei Yu with heartache. Her eyes, sunken from being so thin, were large and lonely. Back in Chengqian Palace, the Empress had moments of ease, reading, writing, and painting. Occasionally, when Cheng Yi and Rong Shanggong were fooling around, she would smile. Now, she rarely paid attention to the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones on the table. She would hold a book for a long time without turning a page. When she was with the Emperor, Zi Yi was even more worried. The Empress was sometimes docile and sometimes eccentric, making her seem unpredictable. The Emperor seemed to tolerate her all the time, until that day when the Empress spilled the medicine again.
Wei Yu stirred the small silver spoon and patiently drank the medicine, which was both bitter and astringent.
Two days have passed, and he hasn't returned to Qianqing Palace. At night, Weiyu sleeps in the West Warm Pavilion. Perhaps she's exhausted, because she's been sleeping very soundly these past two days. Does she miss him? Weiyu smiles bitterly. Yes, she doesn't go to the East Warm Pavilion; it's filled with his scent. She's afraid that if she wakes up in the middle of the night, she'll find it hard to fall asleep again. He's not there, yet he's everywhere. This medicine, the Xuelang paper on the table, the milk tea at breakfast—all of these were his orders. Even the palace maids in this room and the guards outside the hall are all monitoring her methodically on his orders. She laughs self-deprecatingly.
Ziyi looked at her worriedly, and put the medicine bowl back without saying a word. "I'm fine, Ziyi, really." She stood up. "I'm going to take a nap. Don't wake me up before dinner."
Perhaps in a few more days, she will be sent back to Chengqian Palace and gradually be neglected. After all, he is the emperor, and she always responds in this way. This affection is enough. Wei Yu hugs the brocade quilt, her heart aching. She will need a long time to forget all of this.
Zi Yi and Cheng Yi stood guard outside the curtain. Liu Chuang, standing outside the palace, glanced over with piercing eyes. In the afternoon sunlight, the helmet of the Dragon Cavalry Captain was dazzlingly bright. Zi Yi thought to herself, "Will the Empress fall out of favor?"
With a series of clattering boots, the dragon banner and fan appeared at the Qianqing Gate, and everyone knelt down.
Emperor Xuande returned to the Qianqing Palace, just as he was falling into a light sleep without speaking.
Three days ago, Wei Yu spilled her medicine bowl, and he flew into a rage. In her heart, she always wanted to escape from his side and didn't want to bear his child. His suppressed anger was ignited. He threatened her and took her in a fit of rage. When he woke up early the next morning and saw the tear stains on her face, he felt a little remorseful. Wei Yu had never shed tears in front of him since their first night. He had carefully protected her for so long, but he still lost control. Afraid of seeing her increasingly distant gaze, he also needed time to calm his emotions. So he hurriedly went to the Daming Palace to receive the visiting King and Queen of Xu, summoned officials from the three provinces and six ministries, and inquired about river works. He tried to keep himself busy like a spinning top. For the first time, he stayed at the Daming Palace without holidays or days off. On the first night, Gao Qing, as usual, did not present the imperial concubine's red-headed plaque. He flew into a rage. When Gao Qing hurriedly presented it, he overturned the nine-nailed imperial plate. On the second night, he finally lost his temper and summoned Gao Qing to ask about the Consort's condition directly, secretly hoping to hear that she was anxious and hopeful. However, Gao Qing reported that the Consort was fine and slept soundly in the West Warm Pavilion. He, on the other hand, was restless and unable to eat or sleep. That night, he found fault with everything and kicked several eunuchs to vent his anger. For the sake of the emperor's dignity, he reluctantly stayed another night in the Daming Palace.
This morning, the King of Xu requested an audience, wishing to offer his princess as a concubine. He refused, his heart filled with her image. Seeing the ministers kneeling respectfully, he recalled the stubbornness on her face and the fear in her eyes when she knelt that day, and his heart was filled with pity. Gao Qing saw that he did not call him to rise for a long time and coughed lightly. Only then did he realize that he had actually been distracted during the court audience. He had been learning the ways of the emperor since he was a child. Even his father had warned him not to indulge in women and that an emperor should not have feelings. He had also done so. Compared to his father's many favors, he had never shown any emotion to the harem. But all of this had been broken the moment he wrote the edict to appoint a concubine. So he decided to bow his head.
The bedroom in the West Warm Pavilion was silent. The two guards, Zi Yi and Cheng Yi, who had been standing outside the curtain, retreated to the corridor. Emperor Xuande walked to the bedside. The silk curtain was half-drawn. Wei Yu was wearing a honey-colored cotton-padded jacket and covered with a thin brocade quilt. She turned slightly to the side, as if she sensed someone coming in. Her eyelashes fluttered, her starry eyes half-opened, and she turned to the side. The quilt fell off, revealing her light yellow silk trousers. She was still asleep.
His gaze lingered on her still limbs as he sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the blanket to cover her.
After a short while, she moved, and the blanket slipped off again. He covered her up again, but she kicked it off again. She was clearly awake. He turned her shoulders, and she looked at him with a hint of resentment.
He patiently said, "You'll catch a cold if you cover yourself with the blanket."
Looking directly at the tenderness on his face, her unspoken heart skipped a beat. She hated everything, even herself. Since entering this palace, she had accumulated a lot of sorrow in her heart. He hadn't returned for two days, and when he did, he was so affectionate. Torn by this contradiction, her emotions were like the conflicting currents of a river, one cold and one warm. She sat up, kicked off the covers again, and fell onto the footstool in front of the bed. She said, "I don't need your help."
He hadn't expected her to be so domineering. Looking at her spoiled nature, he saw a flirtatious beauty in her defiance. He smiled, treating her like a spoiled child, and said gently, "If I don't care about you, who will?" As he spoke, he bent down, picked up the brocade quilt, and covered her feet with it.
"I don't need your concern. It's only because I didn't try to please you like other people that you found me novel and that's why you took a liking to me, isn't that right?" Wei Yu pressed aggressively, clutching the quilt as if she had lost all reason.
Emperor Xuande's face darkened. Wei Yu was conflicted, but he thought she understood his feelings. Yet she had said those things. He stood up, walked to the dressing table, and saw Wei Yu's gaunt face in the mirror. He turned back and said with great restraint, "My beloved consort, you should understand that I am..."
Wei Yu interrupted him, "Don't call me that, I hate it, am I right? You have nothing to say? I don't want to stay here, I don't want to see you." The intense impulse made her face pale, and she spoke without thinking.
"Wei Yu!" Emperor Xuande shouted. Wei Yu was startled, as if waking from a dream, and looked at him blankly.
Emperor Xuande was seething with rage, his veins bulging. He clenched his fists. If it were anyone else, he would have immediately issued an edict to depose her. But she was Weiyu, whom he deeply loved. He strode out, consumed by anger. He could no longer vent his fury on the one he loved. That night had been enough.
Emperor Xuande stood under the corridor, and Gao Qing, Zi Yi, and the others watched him nervously, all of them vaguely hearing the sounds inside.
The wind rustled the fallen leaves, and Wei Yu seemed to be in a state of unbearable pain. He walked back, and no matter what Wei Yu said, he would just coax her. He couldn't ignore the person he loved.
Wei Yu had expected to see an enraged face, but instead met a gentle one. She was shaken and thought in confusion, "It's not his fault that he likes me, it's my fault."
He was afraid that calling her "beloved concubine" would cause a backlash, and it was easier to say "Weiyu" to him. "Weiyu, are you feeling unwell?" Tears streamed down Weiyu's face. "Why do you tolerate me? I am worthless, not even..." She wasn't even a person from this world. She was just a passerby. Why did she have to bear such heavy emotions?
He was shaken, tears streaming down his face. He held her close, saying, "Don't cry, my Weiyu." She struggled, but was restrained by an even stronger grip. She didn't cry out, only her shoulders twitched. And so they remained silent in their embrace.
After this intense conflict, the frail Wei Yu fell ill again. She had a high fever and was talking incoherently for five days and five nights. Her words made Emperor Xuande, who was accompanying her, think deeply. Wei Yu slept for a long time, as if she was dreaming all the time, some sweet and some terrifying. When the fever subsided, there were Zi Yi and Cheng Yi by her bedside.
She asked blankly, "What's wrong with me?"
Purple Robe dabbed her chapped lips with a cotton ball and replied irrelevantly, "His Majesty has just gone to sleep."
She saw the dragon and phoenix playing in the water on the canopy, and Emperor Xuande gently snoring on the brocade couch not far away. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she weakly closed her eyes. No matter what kind of dream it was, she would rather stay in it.