Chapter 21

Chapter Summary: Magpie.

Qi Jin sat at the desk, his face still a little pale, but much better than yesterday. He wore a black silk undergarment and a mink cloak over it. The charcoal fire in the hall had just been lit, crackling and popping, making a lively sound.

"Really?" Qi Jin raised his eyes in disbelief and asked the person kneeling below.

“It’s absolutely true. This servant saw it clearly. After Lord Zhang Ming and Consort Xian and their entourage returned, a young eunuch came to invite the Empress Dowager. This servant secretly followed and saw Lord Su.”

Hearing this, Qi Jin's lips slowly curled into a sneer: "What did you say?"

"This servant is incompetent. Because I was far away, I didn't hear what was said. However, judging from the appearance of the Empress Dowager and Lord Su, they seemed to have different opinions. After the Empress Dowager pushed Lord Su away, she returned to Chengming Palace. Lord Su also looked a bit strange and left the palace in a daze."

After the young eunuch finished speaking, Qi Jin sighed softly, rubbing his hand, lost in thought.

"Your Majesty," the young eunuch called out hesitantly.

Qi Jin looked up and then continued, "This servant feels that Her Majesty the Empress Dowager seems somewhat different from before."

The young eunuch seemed hesitant at this point, but Qi Jin lost his patience and said coldly, "Speak."

The young eunuch trembled and bowed even lower: "Yesterday, in Chengming Hall, His Majesty had a high fever and, in his delirium, called for Consort Ning. The Empress Dowager's expression was different from usual; she even reached out to comfort His Majesty. Moreover, when Minister Zhang and Consort Xian came yesterday, the Empress Dowager sternly ordered them to leave..."

As the young eunuch spoke, he felt the silence in the hall was somewhat frightening. Realizing he had probably said something wrong, he stopped speaking and dared not continue.

"Continue." Qi Jin's voice was indifferent, revealing no emotion, but his heart inexplicably started beating faster.

"Your Majesty, I have spoken out of turn." The little eunuch pleaded for forgiveness, his voice trembling.

"I want you to continue," Qi Jin said, frowning slightly in annoyance.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me! Your Majesty, please forgive me!" The eunuch panicked even more when he heard Qi Jin say this, and begged Qi Jin for mercy in a trembling voice.

Qi Jin frowned, slightly raised his eyelids, leaned back on the dragon throne behind him, and called out, "Xu Xinshu."

"Your Majesty." Xu Xinshu's high-pitched voice rang out from the outer hall, and then he quickly walked in with small, quick steps and a bow.

“A talkative servant is useless to keep,” Qi Jin continued, without even glancing at the little eunuch.

"Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me! It was my fault for being so talkative! Your Majesty, spare me!" the little eunuch cried, kowtowing repeatedly. He pounded his head so hard that after two kowtows, when he raised his head again, his forehead was bleeding, and blood was sliding down the bridge of his nose, which looked quite frightening.

The guards entered at the right time. Xu Xinshu frowned when he saw the blood and ordered, "Hurry up and drag him out, lest he dirty the floor."

"Yes," the guard replied, ignoring the eunuch's struggles, he reached out and covered his mouth, dragging him out. The hall instantly quieted down, leaving only the sounds of dragging and shoving, and soft sobs.

"Xu Xinshu".

"Your servant is here." Xu Xinshu bowed and replied, waiting for Qi Jin to continue.

"Give the order: the arrangements in Guizhou will proceed as usual."

"Be careful not to give anything away." Qi Jin had already started reading the memorial, holding it in his hand, and casually instructed Xu Xinshu, "If it doesn't work out, come back with your head."

Although his tone was light, his words were clearly daggers, each sentence sharp as a knife.

"Yes, this servant understands," Xu Xinshu replied, his head bowed.

February 19th, Rain Water.

The capital city was bitterly cold in the dead of winter, but once the beginning of spring arrived, the weather warmed up considerably. Qi Jin had been recuperating for almost half a month, and his health had almost fully recovered.

Perhaps it was springtime drowsiness, but Yu Jing had been feeling weak and incredibly sleepy lately. A few days ago, there had been several light drizzles, but today the rain had stopped. It was still slightly chilly, but much warmer than before. Yu Jing had shed several layers of clothing and felt instantly refreshed.

Yu Jingcai had just woken up and was still a little dazed, so he sat on the bed to try to wake up.

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager." Aci called out to Yu Jing with a smile, carrying the things into the hall.

Yu Jing smelled the fragrance and looked at A Ci.

"I noticed that Your Majesty the Empress Dowager has been feeling tired lately, so I specially brewed some jasmine tea for you to try," said Aci as she poured tea for Yu Jing.

The tea soup was clear and bright like water, with a faint jasmine fragrance. Yu Jing reached out and took a sip. It was mellow and fragrant, with a hint of light tea flavor.

"It tastes great," Yu Jing praised.

Aci smiled and said, "I'm glad the Empress Dowager is pleased."

Yu Jing sipped her tea, feeling somewhat bored, and instructed Aci, "Aci, go help me..."

Halfway through her explanation, she realized it was difficult to describe clearly, so she stood up and walked towards the bookshelf. Hearing Yu Jing suddenly call her, A-Ci asked nervously, "What are your orders, Your Majesty? Please let me do them."

"It's nothing." As she spoke, Yu Jing had already walked to the bookshelf and was about to pick out an interesting book when she noticed something was wrong. There was a musty smell coming from the bookshelf.

"A-Ci, come here and smell it," Yu Jing called to A-Ci.

Although Aci found it strange, she dared not disobey Yu Jing's orders. She quickly walked to Yu Jing's side, sniffed carefully, and smelled a faint musty odor. Startled, she immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness, saying, "Please forgive us, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager. It was our negligence in performing our duties."

"It's alright, just take it out to air it if it gets moldy. The sun is shining brightly today." Yu Jing said, glancing back at the outside of the hall. The sunlight was shining directly on the hall entrance, casting a golden glow that was extremely dazzling.

"Yes." Aci's heart was slightly relieved, and she replied in a low voice, "This servant will go now."

Yu Jing had nothing to do, so he went back to drink tea and watched the maids and eunuchs come in one after another to move books, back and forth, which was quite interesting.

Xie Xuan happened to be leading his guards around Cining Palace when they entered and saw several large bamboo strips set up in the courtyard, where eunuchs and palace maids were neatly spreading out books.

A gust of wind blew by, causing the pages of the book to rustle. Suddenly, a piece of paper floated out from the pages, the thin sheet of Xuan paper swirling twice in the air before slowly landing at Xie Xuan's feet. Xie Xuan glanced down, bent slightly, picked up the paper, shook it, and unfolded it. The first thing he saw was the word "Queque" (鹊鹊).

May the magpie bring you peace and well-being; may this letter be as if we were face to face.

I had only seen the first line when I heard a palace maid running up to me and saying, "Thank you, Your Excellency."

Xie Xuan snapped out of his daze, reached out and handed the paper over. The palace maid took the paper, not daring to look at it too much, carefully held it, and ran over to fold it and put it back in its original place.

Magpie.

It turns out that Sheng Hua's nickname was Queque. Xie Xuan was quite surprised; Sheng Hua was so beautiful and dignified, yet her nickname was...

Yu Jing drank several cups of jasmine tea in the hall, but found it rather boring. She decided to go out and check how their books were drying. Just as she stepped out of the hall, she saw Xie Xuan in the distance.

Xie Xuan was surprised that Sheng Hua would come out at this time. He was stunned for a while before bowing slightly to her in greeting. The sun was shining brightly at this moment. Yu Jing was dressed in a plum-colored dress, covered with a layer of white gauze. Her long hair was half-down and half-up, adorned with a bamboo-twig silver hairpin. She looked ethereal and misty. At this moment, a word suddenly popped into his mind: magpie.

Xie Xuan was wearing a crimson official robe. It had been getting hot lately, and wearing armor would make him sweat a lot, so Xie Xuan didn't like wearing armor while on duty. In the past, there were rules in the military camp that he couldn't follow, but now that he was on duty in the palace, there weren't as many rules.

Yu Jing nodded slightly in agreement, then walked somewhat awkwardly towards the place where the books were drying. Another gust of wind blew by, and the sound of the pages turning was pleasant and melodious. Listening to it, Yu Jing's mood inexplicably improved.

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager." Upon seeing Yu Jing emerge, the palace maids and eunuchs who were arranging books all bowed and greeted her.

"Mm," Yu Jing replied.

Xie Xuan watched Yu Jing walk to the side, the wind lifting the hem of her plum-colored dress, which fluttered in the breeze. Xie Xuan only glanced at her once more before turning and walking down the corridor.

Yu Jing walked to the lotus pond in the courtyard and stood there. After a while, a servant brought over a chair and an umbrella. Yu Jing leaned back in the armchair and looked at the books filling the courtyard. She felt inexplicably comfortable.

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager." After a while, Ayu came over and called to Yu Jing. Yu Jing turned her head to look. Ayu walked up to Yu Jing, leaned down and whispered to her.

"His Majesty has arrived."

Yu Jingcai had only been sitting for a short while, too lazy to get up, and replied, "Let him come over."

"Yes," Ayu replied.

Yu Jing watched as Qi Jin approached, still wearing a black dragon-patterned court robe. He looked well-rested and full of energy.

"This servant greets Your Majesty." The servants in the courtyard all bowed and paid their respects to Qi Jin.

"Rise." Qi Jin responded, walked to Yu Jing and bowed to her, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

"Mm," Yu Jing replied.

"The Emperor is here today?" Yu Jing raised an eyebrow and asked.

Qi Jin stood with his hands behind his back and said with a smile, "Since I recovered from my illness, I have not been able to visit Mother Empress. Today I have some free time, so I have come to pay my respects to Mother Empress."

"Your Majesty is very kind," Yu Jing said with a smile.

"I just received news that Lord Zheng will arrive in the capital in two days. The Empress Dowager has always been fond of his daughter, Zheng Leqing, so she should be happy to hear this news."

Upon hearing this news, Yu Jing's mood soured. Just how much did Sheng Hua like Zheng Leqing? It was one thing for Zhang Qingcen to tell her, but even Qi Jin had to. Although Yu Jing didn't show it on her face, her brows furrowed slightly.

Zheng Leqing is about to enter the capital, and her good days are probably coming to an end.