Chapter 154 She is His

Emperor Zhaoheng stayed at the Orchid Fragrance Pavilion.

The next morning, while he was having breakfast at the Lanxiang Pavilion, Yinzhu knelt before Emperor Zhaoheng, holding an indigo-blue bundle in her hands.

“I heard that Jin Gui has passed away. The day before yesterday, Jin Gui sent someone to deliver a bundle, asking me to give it to her family if she were to die.”

Upon hearing Jin Gui's name, Emperor Zhaoheng paused and put down his silver chopsticks.

He subconsciously looked at Shui Xian first, only to see that Shui Xian also looked puzzled, as if she didn't know why Yin Zhu had suddenly taken out Jin Gui's things.

Emperor Zhaoheng did not take it with his hands; instead, he had Yinzhu open the bundle.

The bundle contained several newly made clothes. When one of the clothes was opened, several silver ingots could be seen wrapped in a brocade handkerchief.

These few silver ingots are enough for an ordinary family to live on for several years.

Emperor Zhaoheng's eyes darkened slightly. He placed his hands on his knees and turned completely away from the table, looking down at the kneeling Yinzhu.

"Isn't Jin Gui a palace maid serving in Kunning Palace? Why would she give you this bundle?"

Although Emperor Zhaoheng did not often visit the Empress's palace, once when he went to Kunning Palace, Jin Gui accidentally spilled a dish of food.

The Empress had scolded her at the time, and said that she was a personal maidservant brought from her home, so Emperor Zhaoheng had some impression of Jin Gui.

“This servant once stayed in Kunning Palace for a period of time.”

Upon hearing Yinzhu mention those days, Emperor Zhaoheng couldn't help but think that Yinzhu had spent some time in the Shenxing Division.

The morning light illuminated everything in perfect detail, including the scars on Yinzhu's skin, which were exposed to Emperor Zhaoheng's eyes today without any attempt to conceal them.

Emperor Zhaoheng turned his gaze to Shuixian for the second time and saw the sadness that Shuixian could not hide in the corners of her eyes and brows. He quickly told Yinzhu to continue.

"Anything else? Please continue."

“When I was in Kunning Palace, I happened to share a room with Jin Gui. We were the same age and became close friends who could talk about anything.”

As Yinzhu spoke, her gaze couldn't help but drift to the bundle in her hands.

She still remembers the first time they met; Jin Gui greeted her with a very cheerful demeanor.

She said, "One gold and one silver, what a coincidence!"

At the time, Yinzhu thought that Jin Gui was sent by the Empress to spy on her, so she deliberately kept her distance from her.

Later, Jin Gui showed her kindness in every way, and Yin Zhu finally believed that perhaps some people are born with a lot of energy, and being with them can make the most ordinary day interesting.

“This servant does not know why Jin Gui entrusted this bundle to this servant, but this servant does not want Jin Gui to die unjustly, so this servant presents the bundle to Your Majesty.”

"Feng Shunxiang".

Emperor Zhaoheng said nothing, and his cold face revealed no emotion, making it impossible to guess his thoughts.

Feng Shunxiang was one of the few people who knew him well. He stepped forward slowly and took the bundle from Yinzhu's hands without asking any questions.

Yinzhu bowed and withdrew, and the side hall immediately fell silent again.

I could faintly hear the sound of Narcissus picking up her chopsticks; she was elegantly using a piece of sweet cake.

Emperor Zhaoheng couldn't help but glance at her sideways. Light streamed in through the open door, illuminating her expression clearly.

Can.

Emperor Zhaoheng found himself for a moment feeling that he couldn't understand her.

Did Yinzhu know or not that she handed over Jin Gui's bundle?

Emperor Zhaoheng wanted to glean some clues from her expression, but Shui Xian simply lowered her eyes and ate.

Suddenly, she looked up and met Emperor Zhaoheng's gaze.

"Your Majesty, is it that the breakfast here is not to my liking?"

In the clear sunlight, she smiled gently at him, and Emperor Zhaoheng's doubts quickly disappeared.

These are his daffodils, daffodils that grew thanks to him.

If it weren't for his mercy, she would have died countless times in this deep palace.

Emperor Zhaoheng picked up his silver chopsticks again, and just as his fingers tightened around them, he heard Shui Xian say softly:

"Your Majesty, this steamed egg custard is quite delicious."

The golden-yellow steamed egg custard was served in a blue and white porcelain bowl, its surface so smooth it looked like it could be seen, and it looked soft and delicious.

Emperor Zhaoheng nodded, then put down his silver chopsticks and picked up the porcelain spoon beside him.

Shui Xian personally placed the small bowl in front of Emperor Zhaoheng, a faint, gentle smile always on her face...

......

After Emperor Zhaoheng left, Shui Xian summoned Ting Lu to serve her in the inner room.

The news was reported to Emperor Zhaoheng by his spies who were placed next to Shuixian at noon.

After Feng Shunxiang finished his report, he saw Emperor Zhaoheng sitting behind a long sandalwood table, nodding slightly.

"I understand."

Feng Shunxiang's cloudy gaze lingered a moment longer on the Emperor's slightly upturned lips. "Your Majesty, this servant has a question: will we still use this to report on Consort Jin's movements tomorrow?"

"Need not."

Emperor Zhaoheng's desk was piled high with memorials, and his vermilion brush moved across them, influencing one important national event after another.

"I trust Consort Jin."

——

evening.

Orchid Fragrance Pavilion.

As before, Yinzhu entered the bathing room at three quarters past 7 PM to serve Shuixian her bath.

The palace servants had arranged the bathing room, with the bath tub in the center, a screen placed in front of the doors and windows, and a large beech wood clothes rack opposite the screen.

Stepping into the perfectly warm water, she felt the hot water gradually engulf her feet, calves, and thighs...

Shui Xian closed her eyes, leaned against the inner wall of the bathtub, and then softly called Yin Zhu in to serve her.

While in the palace, Narcissus disliked being served baths by palace servants. The servants would often wait outside, listening through a curtain or screen to see if she was calling out from inside.

Since arriving at Wanfangyuan, Shuixian has had Yinzhu serve her baths every day.

This seems normal, because the imperial palaces and villas are naturally not as well-equipped and comprehensive as the palace itself, and each master is surrounded by servants.

Therefore, Shui Xian's sudden arrangement did not attract anyone's attention, including Emperor Zhaoheng.

"Your Majesty."

Yinzhu entered the bathing room and, as in the previous days, waited outside the screen without going any further.

Hearing Yinzhu's voice, Shuixian gently splashed water onto her fair arm.

"Don't concern yourself with Jin Gui's matter anymore."

The bathroom was sparsely furnished and rather spacious, which made the sounds seem much more ethereal.

"Your Majesty, Jin Gui's parents..."

"I will arrange for them to be settled. If you pity them, you can give them some money occasionally, but don't have too much contact with them."

Knowing Yinzhu's straightforward nature, Shuixian offered an extra word of advice.

"Yinzhu, I don't want you to go to the Censorate again."

Yinzhu only found out last night that she had received Jin Gui's bundle.

Yinzhu received the indigo-colored package around the morning of the Flower Festival. At noon, she heard the news of Jin Gui's death. After a short while, she told Shui Xian about it.

The person who got her to tell the Emperor was Narcissus.

The person who told her not to reveal this matter was also Narcissus.

Yinzhu trusted her master from the bottom of her heart, but the image of Jin Gui's always smiling round face kept flashing before her eyes.

"Gold, silver... Silver Beads, perhaps we were sisters in a past life."

The person is gone, but their voice still echoes in my ears.

Perhaps one day, she won't even remember her own voice.

That was the day that girl named Jin Gui truly passed away.

Yinzhu didn't even know her name outside the palace...

"Silver Beads".

She heard Narcissus's soft voice, but unlike before when it was far away, this time her voice was very close.

The candlelight shone through the screen, illuminating her figure.

Unbeknownst to her, Narcissus had already arrived on this side of the screen, wearing a long robe.

Her hair was damp and still dripping with water, and you could vaguely see some water droplets on her skin.

Yinzhu met Shuixian's unusually serious gaze. Shuixian reached out her hand to her, who was standing still, and gently took her hand.

"I understand."

Narcissus looked at the face in front of her, which was silent but with a stubborn determination hidden in its eyes.

"I know what it feels like to lose a friend."

In her previous life, this loyal face was stained with blood; no matter how tightly she held on, she couldn't stop the life from passing away so quickly.

“I understand your anger and your sadness, but you must keep your distance from Jin Gui's family, otherwise…”

Otherwise, that suspicious man would doubt Yinzhu, and she might still be met with the cannibalistic Shenxing Division.

A bright yellow figure flashed through Narcissus's mind.

That person placed Riko next to her, both to protect her and to monitor her.

She understood this principle perfectly well.

Therefore, even though she was worried about Yinzhu, she only asked Tinglu to keep an eye on Yinzhu and prevent her from doing anything foolish.

There were some things she could only tell Yinzhu now.

"...I don't want to lose you."

Shui Xian held Yin Zhu's hand tightly. The warmth of her palm from the bath seemed to transfer to Yin Zhu through their touching skin.

Looking at her like this, Yinzhu was momentarily stunned.

They trained together when they were in the Imperial Household Department.

The first thing she did after becoming a concubine was to bring him to her side.

Not to mention everything that happened afterward...

"good."

Yinzhu's throat felt bitter, but she still nodded heavily.

Shui Xian breathed a sigh of relief. Although it was a small matter if Yin Zhu kept visiting Jin Gui, in the deep palace, there was no such thing as an absolutely small matter.

Every single thing can be a matter of life and death.

She cannot take risks, much less risk the silver beads.

Ignoring her damp clothes, Narcissus pulled the wryly smiling Yinzhu tightly into her arms.

Water droplets from the ends of her hair pattered onto the ground, making a soft sound.

When Yinzhu was pulled into her arms, Shuixian felt that even more water droplets were falling to the ground.

Pat, pat.

She sighed silently and embraced Yinzhu, who was crying uncontrollably.

Jin Gui's death.

She believed it was not an accident.

Someone used that girl's life to weave a large net, just waiting for the moment to close it.

Even the narcissus cannot be certain at this moment.

Was the bundle Jin Gui entrusted to Yin Zhu a bait in a trap, or a weapon to break the deadlock...?

......