Chapter 73 [VIP]

Chapter Summary: Clues.

“My lady, Eunuch Qu just came by and said that His Majesty will come to our Wanying Pavilion after nightfall.”

Having just returned from Yu Jing's place, Dan'er, who was in the hall, saw her and happily went up to greet her. She had been getting closer to Yu Jing lately, and she always felt that Yu Jing was not as domineering and ruthless as rumored; on the contrary, she was clean and pure, and talking to her made her feel very comfortable.

"His Majesty truly dotes on beauties. He has only visited the inner palace five times this month, and three of those visits were to our Wanying Pavilion!"

Xie Ying did not respond. Instead, Dan'er asked, "His Majesty is coming over tonight. Would you like to change into a brighter dress, my lady?"

"No need, this will do." Xie Ying glanced down at the moon-white dress she was wearing.

"Yes, then this servant will go and keep an eye on the small kitchen. The kitchen sent over some very fresh mushrooms today. This servant will have someone make some willow leaf dumplings, would that be alright?" Dan'er was young and had just entered the palace, so she chattered away every day and couldn't stop.

Xie Ying didn't find her noisy at all; on the contrary, she thought that this made the hall more lively and added some life to it, otherwise the whole hall would be lifeless.

"Alright," Xie Ying replied with a smile, and Dan'er led the others away. It was a little past noon, and although it was already September, the weather was still so hot and humid, making people feel drowsy. Xie Ying felt her eyelids were very heavy, and after Dan'er left, she also dismissed the others, then lay down on the chaise longue, listening to the chirping of cicadas, and soon fell asleep.

Xie Ying had a dream. Before she got married, she went to Tanzhou with her father, mother and Xie Xuan. There was a big waterfall there. The water that fell down splashed very high and was very cool.

"This servant greets Your Majesty." Dan'er bowed and greeted Qi Jin upon his arrival, then glanced nervously into the hall. "Your Majesty, the Consort has been asleep since returning from the Empress Dowager's place, and she... is still asleep."

Qi Jin nodded slightly twice and stepped into the hall. Dan'er, oblivious to the danger, tried to follow, but Xu Xinshu quickly reached out and gave her a look. Dan'er suddenly understood, her eyes showing a hint of unease and panic, and she took two steps back to stand still.

It was already getting dark, and the hall was eerily quiet; the only sound was the dripping of water, likely from the melting of the ice pot. Unlike other places, Xie Ying never burned incense here. Qi Jin was so used to the smell of spices that he always felt a little out of place when he came here. Qi Jin's footsteps unconsciously became lighter, and just as he reached the inner hall, he saw Xie Ying lying on the chaise longue through the beaded curtain.

Her black hair hung loosely, her pale white robe was slightly disheveled from sleeping, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin on her chest, and her face wore a serene smile that he had never seen before. Qi Jin was momentarily lost in thought, standing there for a long time.

When Xie Ying slowly woke up, she vaguely saw a figure. When she realized it was Qi Jin, she was startled and quickly stood up to straighten her clothes. She called out somewhat helplessly, "Your Majesty."

Realizing something, Xie Ying was about to kneel down when Qi Jin stopped her.

"No need for such formalities."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xie Ying straightened up.

Qi Jin walked to Xie Ying's side and sat down on the chaise longue where she had been lying, patting the spot beside him. Xie Ying sat down next to Qi Jin, and the moment she did, he pulled her into his arms. The scent of ambergris on him was strong, and Xie Ying gently sniffed. The next second, Qi Jin's hot breath hit her nose.

Xie Ying reached out and touched Qi Jin, whispering, "Your Majesty, you haven't eaten yet."

Qi Jin raised his hand and placed it on the back of Xie Ying's neck, slowly sliding it down. Xie Ying couldn't help but tremble; even with her best efforts to suppress it, her physical reaction couldn't lie. Qi Jin clearly felt it. His hand paused on her back, staring into her eyes for a long time before finally releasing her and standing up. Xie Ying had felt as if she had been stripped naked before Qi Jin, even though he hadn't done anything. Seeing Qi Jin stand up, Xie Ying let out a soft sigh.

"Serve the meal." Qi Jin stepped out and called out to the outside.

"Yes." Dan'er answered quickly upon hearing Qi Jin's voice from inside.

The dumplings were delicious today, and they were placed in front of Xie Ying, so she ate quite a lot. Halfway through the meal, Qi Jin put down his chopsticks, and when Xie Ying saw him put down his, she also put down her chopsticks.

"I heard something today," Qi Jin said, taking a cotton towel from a palace maid and wiping his mouth as he spoke.

Xie Ying looked up at Qi Jin.

"A conflict broke out between two armies in the training ground. One of the battalions used to follow Xie Jin."

Xie Ying was puzzled; she didn't understand what Qi Jin was trying to express by saying all this to her.

"Where did this filthy wretch come from, daring to challenge the Xie family army?" Qi Jin said, then sneered, "These words were spoken by one of them."

Xie Ying clenched her fists tighter under the table.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Qi Jin asked with a smile, his expression gentle but indifferent and aloof.

Xie Ying smiled faintly: "Your Majesty has forgotten that the harem cannot interfere in politics."

"I allow you to speak." Qi Jin's words left Xie Ying somewhat bewildered. She swallowed hard, then stood up and knelt before Qi Jin, saying, "Your Majesty, my father and younger brother are utterly loyal to Your Majesty and have no disloyalty whatsoever. They would never teach their subordinates in this way."

After Xie Ying finished speaking, he felt it wasn't enough and added, "In a private school, the teachers teach in the same way, but the students have different aptitudes, and not everyone can learn it."

Qi Jin sat in his seat, watching Xie Ying kneel on the ground, head bowed. Her hair was held up with a white jade hairpin, though it seemed to have been put on haphazardly, as a few strands fell over her shoulders. Her neck appeared exceptionally long and fair against the backdrop of her pale white robe. Seeing this, Qi Jin was reminded of Xie Ying's appearance earlier.

Xie Ying knelt down, and Qi Jin remained silent for a long time, making her feel very uneasy.

"Get up," Qi Jin replied lazily.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xie Ying breathed a sigh of relief and stood up, but then felt a force pulling her into Qi Jin's arms before she could even react.

"We've finished our meal," Qi Jin said, his tone questioning yet leaving no room for argument.

Knowing there was no way to avoid it, Xie Ying raised her hand, grabbed Qi Jin's shoulder, and touched his cheek.

Qi Jin picked her up and walked towards the inner hall.

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager." Ayu came in from outside, her expression hesitant. Yu Jing glanced at her and knew what it was about.

"Just leave it there," Yu Jing said. A Yu breathed a sigh of relief, took the letter out of her arms, and placed it on the table.

Xie Xuan's letters never stopped. Seeing that Yu Jing had left them all, A Yu accepted them as well.

"I heard something happened at the training ground yesterday." Ayu stepped aside and stood still. Yu Jing looked at Ayu, and Ayu took the opportunity to tell Yu Jing about the incident.

Yu Jing narrowed her eyes slightly. She already knew about this, let alone Qi Jin. Although it was just a sentence, Qi Jin already harbored resentment towards Xie Jin. These words were like a needle piercing Qi Jin's heart. When he wanted to pull that needle out one day, the Xie family would likely be finished.

Now she spends all her time in the palace, occasionally receiving greetings from concubines, and chatting with Xie Ying and Zhang Qingcen. Otherwise, she goes nowhere except to the Imperial Garden for some fresh air.

In early autumn, I heard some good news: the Third Princess of the Western Sea was getting married to the youngest son of the Minister of Justice. I heard that they were in love. I had met the youngest son of the Minister of Justice, Yu Jing, once. He was very refined in appearance and manners. He and the Third Princess were a perfect match.

The weather has been a bit cool lately. Yu Jing sat on the porch and looked at the green plants in the yard, some of which had already turned yellow. She sighed, "Autumn has arrived so quickly."

"yes."

When Ze Lan's voice rang out, Yu Jingfei turned around quickly and in disbelief.

"Goddess Zelan!" Yu Jing hurriedly stood up and exclaimed in surprise.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you. I'm going to the West Sea later to attend the Dragon King's birthday banquet, so I thought I'd drop by to see you." Zhelan said, reaching out her hand to Yu Jing.

Yu Jing looked at Zhe Lan, paused for a moment, smiled and reached out her hand. Suddenly, she felt a weight in her hand and saw the familiar osmanthus sugar cake.

"Thinking that you've been down to earth for so long, I brought you your favorite osmanthus sugar cake." Zhelan's tone was still somewhat doting, like she was coaxing a child.

"Thank you, God. But you've forgotten, God. I'm currently in the palace, where there's plenty of delicious food."

Upon hearing this, Zhelan reached out and patted Yu Jing's head, smiling as she said, "Little girl, you've seen a lot now, you don't even look down on my osmanthus sugar cake anymore."

"Although there are many delicious foods, I still miss the osmanthus sugar cake from the High God." Yu Jing carefully picked up the osmanthus sugar cake and smelled it.

"It smells so good! No wonder it's the osmanthus from the Moon Palace!" Yu Jing said, taking a bite, the fragrance of osmanthus slowly spreading in her mouth.

"By the way, before I came, I went to sound out the Old Man of the Moon," Zhe Lan said mysteriously, moving closer to Yu Jing. Yu Jing asked curiously, "What?"

"According to his calculations, on the 27th day of the second month of the sixth year of Jinghe, the Heavenly Emperor will return to the Heavenly Court after completing his tribulation."

"February," Yu Jing murmured softly, "It's already October, so there are still four months until..."

"yes."

Yu Jing suddenly thought of a question: "When the Heavenly Emperor finishes his tribulation and returns to the Heavenly Court, what about me? What will I do?"

"The Heavenly Lord has already returned, so there's no use for you staying. Judging from what the Old Man of the Moon said, he'll probably make you commit suicide."

"Suicide!"

Zelan nodded slightly: "It's all just what I heard. As for the specifics, it depends on how the Matchmaker arranges things."

“I understand,” Yu Jing replied.

"Oh dear, the banquet is getting late, I must take my leave now."

"Alright, take care, High God." Yu Jing waved his hand, and Zhe Lan vanished in the blink of an eye. He had just used illusion magic to block out everyone around him, and as soon as he left, Yu Jing sat back down in the same spot.

February will come soon, but I wonder what it will be like then.