Chapter 16 She was restless; calling to her, disturbing him…

The main hall was silent. The styrax incense in the golden duck-shaped incense burner had only been burning for a short time, and the fragrance was stagnant and did not spread for a long time.

When Consort Feng uttered the name Xie Qinglang, Xue Mingyao felt as if she had been pricked by a needle.

She gave a short laugh and exhaled sharply. "I don't understand what Your Majesty is saying. Xie Qinglang is not my husband. Am I supposed to remain chaste for him?"

Consort Feng stared at her intently. "You know what I mean. Logically and emotionally, you should bear some responsibility for him."

Xue Mingyao lowered her eyelids slightly.

But Consort Feng seized on this moment of guilt and continued to berate her, "He is well-read and eloquent, and should have passed the imperial examinations and entered officialdom to serve in the emperor's court. You interfered and blocked his path, so how can you act as if nothing happened and continue to flirt with other women?"

Xue Mingyao suddenly raised her beautiful eyes, "How did I stop him? I told you before, I only kept him in the manor for a year. When I sent him away, I gave him enough money to last three lifetimes. If he wants to take the imperial examination, let him take it. Nobody is stopping him."

"Then why has he been missing without a trace?" Consort Feng stared intently at her. "With his abilities, it's impossible that he failed the examinations repeatedly."

"I don't know. Maybe he didn't want to take the exam anymore, found a girl to marry and live an ordinary life. Who can say for sure?"

After speaking with a cold face, Xue Mingyao picked up her tea and drank it all in one gulp.

"Impossible, he's not that kind of person. There must be a reason." Consort Feng was unusually calm, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. "Xue Mingyao, what exactly did you do to him?"

Xue Mingyao put her teacup on the table. "Do I need to tell you several times? I didn't do anything to him. He's perfectly fine, he can run, jump, and talk. His disappearance has nothing to do with me."

Consort Feng looked at her coldly, "I don't believe it. Even if you didn't do anything to him, his situation changed because of you. He has been missing for the past few years, and his fate is unknown. Instead of sending people to look for him, you are plotting against other men. Isn't that too heartless and ungrateful?"

"So, according to you, I'm responsible for everything he's been through these past few years? Even if something unfortunate happened to him and he died young—" Xue Mingyao's heart suddenly ached, she paused, and gritted her teeth, "you'll blame me for that too?"

Consort Feng did not answer, but said firmly, "You promised me. You said back then that he would only be better off in your household, and that you would do everything in your power to help him and give him everything he wanted. Have you forgotten all of that?"

Xue Mingyao scoffed, "I was just trying to coax you, why did you take it seriously? He and I are not related, why should I be so nice to him?"

"You!" Consort Feng's clear eyes flashed with anger. "If it weren't for your words, I wouldn't have agreed to break off the engagement."

Xue Mingyao was quiet for a while, then suddenly clapped her hands and said, "So that's how it is, I understand now."

"...What do you understand?"

"You and your father broke your promise and left him. You must have been feeling terrible. You wanted him to be happy to prove that your choice was right and that you hadn't let anyone down. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. You felt guilty, so you tried your best to push the responsibility onto me so that you could feel better."

Consort Feng remained silent, her delicate eyelashes trembling slightly.

Seeing her expression, Xue Mingyao pressed on again, "Ask yourself honestly, even if I didn't say these things, you would still agree. Feng Wan, don't forget that it was you who took the initiative to say that you wanted to be an imperial concubine."

The hall fell silent again. The small pieces of charcoal burning red in the incense burner made a soft crackling sound. The damp incense smoke shrouded Feng Wan's crescent-shaped eyebrows, revealing hints of sorrow.

The daughter of an ordinary prefectural official in Xichuan, possessed an extraordinary beauty that could shame the moon and flowers. Seven years ago, when Xue Mingyao first saw her, she thought Xie Qinglang was very fortunate to have such a beautiful fiancée. But then she thought that Xie Qinglang was even more fortunate, because heaven had brought him to her.

But he refused this blessing. Despite her entanglement with him for so long, she couldn't warm his heart of stone.

Xue Mingyao gritted her teeth and said to the beauty who was still lost in thought, "I advise you to forget about all this. You are now one of the four consorts and have won His Majesty's favor. Once you give birth to a son or daughter, you will be promoted to the rank of Imperial Consort in no time. Why dwell on the past and make yourself unhappy?"

"Just like you?" Feng Wan suddenly raised her eyebrows at her. "You don't care about him at all anymore, do you?"

Xue Mingyao nodded vigorously, "That's right, I've long forgotten Xie Qinglang. Who is he? Is he worth me thinking about for a lifetime? He spent a year with me in Xichuan, and I got tired of him by then. Let alone now, I don't even remember what he looks like."

A look of obvious disgust appeared on Feng Wan's face. "Heartless, cold-blooded, and selfish, I shouldn't have had any hope for you."

Xue Mingyao smiled brightly, "You're right. Consort Shu is much more kind and righteous than I am. In that case, she must not have forgotten who helped you enter the palace. Come, call out to your benefactor."

She crossed her legs, patted the couch with her hand, and her eyes were full of mockery.

Back then, Feng Wan agreed to dissolve the engagement on the condition that Xue Mingyao send her to the palace. If she couldn't marry her ideal husband, then she would marry the most noble man in the world.

Emperor Deyuan was deeply in love with Empress Duanhui in his early years. After his first wife passed away, he became celibate and abstinent. There was no custom in the court of sending beauties to the emperor. Xue Mingyao decided to try her luck and took a different approach.

The then-governor of Xichuan was a former subordinate of Xue Mingyao's father. Xue Mingyao then asked the governor to fabricate an auspicious omen, claiming that Feng Wan was a naturally blessed woman whose brilliance shone like the North Star. The implication was that this woman could bring good fortune to the emperor and was suitable to accompany him.

To avoid Emperor Deyuan suspecting that the governor was fabricating auspicious omens to curry favor, Xue Mingyao casually mentioned the matter in a letter as evidence. When the news was reported, even the most enlightened ruler would not refuse an auspicious omen, and having also heard of the woman's beauty, Emperor Deyuan issued an edict to bring Feng Wan into the palace.

However, the emperor did not want to publicize the matter, so he gave Feng Wan a very low rank and even forgot about her after favoring her a few times. Feng Wan was able to climb to the position of Consort Shu later on thanks to her own skillful means.

When Xue Mingyao returned to the capital last year, she was surprised to learn that Feng Wan had been made a concubine and that her father had also been promoted.

Glancing coldly at the woman's wicked smile, Feng Wan scoffed, her expression softening as she regained her dignified imperial concubine demeanor.

She ignored Xue Mingyao, got up, dusted off her sleeves, and, with her maid supporting her wrist, slowly left.

Green Branch bowed respectfully outside the door, watching Consort Feng walk away. Knowing that the princess wouldn't be in a good mood after seeing Feng Wan, she waited outside for a while before entering the quiet main hall with her maid to tidy up the tea set on the table.

Xue Mingyao leaned against the small couch, her eyelids half-closed, looking as if she was half asleep. Lüzhi walked over softly, "Princess, if you want to sleep a little longer, please go to the inner room."

Xue Mingyao gave a muffled hum, and only when Lüzhi got closer did she see that the corners of her eyes were red and wet.

"Princess, this is..." She hurriedly grabbed a handkerchief to wipe it.

"It's nothing." Xue Mingyao snatched the handkerchief, wiped her eyes casually, and gestured with her eyes to the small golden duck incense burner that was emitting faint smoke next to her. "Just put the incense burner on the incense table, don't put it next to the couch, or it will hurt people's eyes."

"Also, the 'Gentleman's Delight' fragrance in the bedroom has been removed. We used to love using it because it was fresh, but now there's no need for it."

Green Branch agreed to everything. Xue Mingyao yawned and staggered into the inner room.

Feng Wan's accusations, though broken down and analyzed, still lingered in my chest, mingled with the rich and strong scent of styrax.

What more responsibility do you want from her? Xie Qinglang wanted freedom, and she gave it to him.

Who knows where he went, clutching the freedom he so desperately longed for.

She couldn't forget him now, Xue Mingyao thought bitterly, but it was much better than the previous two years when Xie Qinglang appeared in her dreams every night. After some time, she would make Chen Liangqing her devoted follower, find new men who would catch her eye, and even keep a few male lovers. Would she still be afraid that Xie Qinglang wouldn't be able to forget her then?

One day, she will completely forget this one and only failed love affair in her life.

......

Xie Zhuo sat quietly in the room, a silver mask lying on the table, its cold, eerie light illuminating his handsome features. His exquisitely beautiful face was flawless except for a faint scar hidden on his forehead.

Young A-Lian had been anxiously watching the general from the doorway for a long time, but he couldn't help but come in. "General, you won first place in the archery competition. Aren't you happy?"

"I'm happy," Xie Zhuo said.

No one could detect any joy in that bland reply.

After the midday palace banquet, the Crown Prince came to talk to the general. He first praised the general's excellent archery skills, then thanked him for accompanying the young prince the day before, and finally invited him to go horseback riding in the mountains.

Ah Lian overheard this carefully. When His Highness the Crown Prince invited him, he mentioned that the Fifth Princess would also be going, saying that his fifth sister wanted to improve her riding skills and asked the general to spare some time to give her some pointers.

Ah Lian was immediately delighted. Although her words were subtle, the meaning was quite straightforward. Clearly, the Fifth Princess had feelings for the General.

However, the general refused, citing physical exhaustion.

Later, Vice Minister Chen invited the general to have tea, but the general politely declined again. After returning to his room, he did not rest on the bed, but just sat there blankly, as if in a trance, his expression complex and unpredictable.

It was a mixture of resentment and deep sorrow.

A multitude of doubts welled up in Ah Lian's mind, making him feel suffocated.

Thinking about it carefully, the general's mood had been not good since he returned from the southern border. He would also do some unexpected things. For example, on the day the green plum blossoms in the courtyard bloomed, the general actually went to the plum blossoms to build a snow lion.

Before Ah Lian could figure out why the general liked to do things that women and children enjoyed, he saw the general kick the half-formed snow lion apart. Snowflakes flew into the air and fell like green plum blossoms. The next day, when Steward Liu saw this, he was heartbroken.

At that time, Ah Lian thought that the general was in a bad mood because of poisoning, but his body was recovering day by day, and the general's condition did not improve.

The redness and swelling on the general's face had completely subsided in the past two days, which greatly pleased Ah Lian. However, the general did not remove his mask. The general said that in case it was exposed to the wind and the mask was removed again, he would wear it for a few more days and continue to remain calm under the questioning gazes of others.

Alian inexplicably felt that the general's strangeness was related to the mask, and that the general would be normal once the mask was removed.

He added, "General, you have stopped taking your medicine for five days and there are no signs of the poison recurring, so you should be fine."

Seeing his gaze fall on the mask, Xie Zhuo smiled faintly, "Well, this mask won't last much longer either."

A-Lian responded a few times, and then the general ordered, "A-Lian, bring me a brush and ink; I want to paint."

"Why!"

Ah Lian knew that his general was quite skilled in calligraphy and painting, and was even more like a scholar than a scholar himself. Seeing that the general had finally taken a break, he hurriedly brought the things over, ground the ink for the general, and then closed the door and went out.

The fine silk was spread out on the table, and Xie Zhuo, holding the purple brush, hesitated to make a single stroke.

He loved painting from a young age, not for the sake of examinations or fame, but simply for the pleasure of it. Therefore, he was happy to paint anything, even objects that did not belong to the category of literati painting.

No one dislikes praise, especially praise for something they're proud of. Therefore, even though he disliked Xue Mingyao so much, his silence was filled with joy when she praised his painting.

She said, "Xie Qinglang, you paint so well, I want to frame and hang a whole room of them so I can see them every time I wake up."

Xue Mingyao really did it, filling the room with lush green mountains and rivers. She wore a crimson silk dress and moved among Xie Qinglang's mountains and rivers, like a delicate peach blossom bud in the third month of spring, its beauty dazzling and overwhelming.

He finally relented and allowed the beautiful peach blossom fairy to enter his painting once.

She was restless.

Call him, bother him, seduce him.

The tender, plump, pink buds first trembled and opened, then gradually unfolded petal by petal, tinged with pink and glistening with dew, swaying their stems, their beauty beyond compare.

His breathing became heavier, and suddenly she appeared in front of him and pressed down on his hand holding the pen.

“I have a small suspicion, so I’d like to come and take a look,” she said with a smile.