Chapter 7
Chapter Summary: Watching the Snow.
Xie Xuan entered the hall and slowly walked inside. This was his third time entering the inner hall, which was brightly lit as if candles were lit. He followed the light, reached out and lifted the beaded curtain, and immediately saw Sheng Hua sitting at the table.
She wore what appeared to be an inner garment, a pine-frost green that tinged with a faint orange in the candlelight, and a grey snow fox cloak over it, the fluffy fur making her appear even more petite. Her long hair, reaching her waist, was swept to one side. Her complexion was still unwell, but perhaps due to the flickering candlelight, she looked slightly better than before. In her left hand, she held a booklet, the contents of which were unclear.
Yu Jing looked up and met Xie Xuan's eyes, asking earnestly, "Lord Xie, is there something you need?"
"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager." Xie Xuan avoided eye contact and knelt down to pay his respects.
"Get up," Yu Jing replied.
"Your Majesty, I have come to inform you that the assassin has been captured."
"You caught them?"
"Yes," Xie Xuan replied, then continued, "Yes... he was the adopted son of Li Guangwei, the former governor of Shangzhou. After being captured, he committed suicide by poison in the imperial prison."
After Xie Xuan finished speaking, he felt a little flustered, afraid that Sheng Hua would say something he couldn't handle.
Yu Jing carefully observed Xie Xuan's expression, feeling that Li Guangwei might have some connection to Sheng Hua. Thinking of this, Yu Jing recalled the Book of Fate, badly damaged by the Red Lotus Karmic Fire. If the Book of Fate existed, there would be no need for such speculation.
Thinking of this, Yu Jing sighed helplessly.
Xie Xuan stood with his head bowed below the hall. Hearing Sheng Hua sigh, his heart inexplicably tightened. If she were to truly investigate thoroughly, it would be difficult to explain to Qi Jin.
"I understand, you may leave." Yu Jing was actually a little nervous telling the Heavenly Emperor to leave.
Xie Xuan was taken aback when he heard Sheng Hua's words, then immediately replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, I shall take my leave."
After Xie Xuan left, Yu Jing picked up the poetry book and continued reading, pondering how to ask A Yu about this matter. Mainly, she didn't know the exact relationship between Li Guangwei and Sheng Hua, and had no way of asking! Although A Yu was Sheng Hua's confidante, if she acted too obviously, she would inevitably be suspected sooner or later.
Yu Jing felt inexplicably irritated. The Third Princess, Yue Qing, hadn't yet arrived in the capital, and they hadn't met yet; everything was relatively peaceful. But once the Third Princess entered the capital, she truly didn't know what to do. Right now, just the unknown Li Guangwei was giving her such a headache; what awaited her afterward was truly troublesome.
Yu Jing sighed deeply, her interest in the once interesting poetry book vanishing instantly. She sat there in a daze for a long time. Suddenly, she felt a longing to return to Heaven.
In the unfamiliar mortal realm, surrounded by strangers, she had to act alongside them, risking being exposed if she wasn't careful, and she also had missions to complete. Although the Heavenly Court was cold and aloof, she felt quite free within the Hall of Marriage.
The word "freedom" seems to have little to do with her now.
"Forget it, let's just take it one step at a time."
Yu Jing put down the book of poems in her hand, stood up, and slowly walked step by step towards the bed. The charcoal fire inside the hall was warm, and Yu Jing hung the gray snow fox cloak on the rack. The Supreme Lord Laozi's elixir was indeed effective; although her right hand was still injured, she felt almost no pain.
She lifted the covers and lay down on the tatami mat, nestled comfortably in the soft, fragrant blankets. Yu Jing, her head resting on the soft pillow, slowly drifted off to sleep.
When Yu Jing woke up, it was already quite late. But because of the snow, the sky was still overcast and not very bright.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager." Ayu's voice rang out from outside. Yu Jing, who had been lying on the couch for a while to regain her senses, responded, "Come in."
Ayu led a group of people in to serve her. After two days of this, Yu Jing had gotten used to it. While helping Yu Jing rinse her mouth, Ayu said, "Your Majesty, Yufu Palace just sent a message saying that the concubines in the harem want to come to Cining Palace to attend to you."
Yu Jing slowly spat out the water in her mouth, and A Yu handed her a towel to wipe it off. After she was done, Yu Jing said, "Tell them that there's no need to bother."
"And what about the routine greetings?" Ayu asked, following Yu Jing's lead.
"Let's skip that. We'll have them come over when I'm feeling better."
Qi Jin had many concubines, but Yu Jing only vaguely remembered some of the ones he frequently favored. She couldn't remember the others, so she gave up on them. Now that she was injured, it was good that she couldn't let them come over. The beautiful women would gather together but had nothing to say to each other, and she would have to play along with their act, which was exhausting.
"Yes," Ayu replied, and then served breakfast.
Sheng Hua's breakfast was lavish: glutinous rice chicken, green leaf cake, shredded chicken wontons, almond tea, fresh soy milk, eight-treasure cake, and water chestnuts—a wide variety that dazzled Yu Jing. Having spent the previous two days in bed, she had never witnessed such a scene before, and seeing it for the first time, she was truly astonished. She had always found it unrealistic, reading stories about the Empress Dowager and the Emperor eating so much by themselves, but now it seemed the stories hadn't described it at all.
After finishing her breakfast, Yu Jing ate quite a bit and sat in her chair for a while, lost in thought. She glanced up unintentionally and saw the snow falling outside. Suddenly, she remembered that when she came down with the Old Man of the Moon, she had used an invisibility spell and hadn't caught the snow. Suddenly, she became interested and instructed A Yu, "I want to go for a walk outside."
Ayu glanced at the snow outside, hesitated for a moment, and then replied, "Yes."
Then he turned around and instructed the palace maid behind him, "Xiao Ting, go to the inner palace and bring out the gray snow fox cloak."
"A-Ci, go and get a new hand warmer."
"Yes." The maids responded and withdrew.
After a while, the maids came over with things. Ayu carefully adjusted the grey fox fur cloak that Shenghua was wearing, and then handed the hand warmer to Yu Jing's left.
Perhaps taking into account Yu Jing's inability to move her right hand, the hand warmer was quite small and delicate, easily encasing her left hand. Yu Jing held the hand warmer in her left hand; her fingertips, which had been a little cold, instantly felt warm. She subconsciously glanced at her right hand, still tightly wrapped. She had been injured by the sword's blade while gripping it, and the wound was quite deep. She didn't know when it would heal.
Ayu noticed the change in Shenghua's expression and smiled to comfort her, "Your Majesty, please don't worry. Physician Xu's medical skills are superb, and Your Majesty's hand will recover soon."
Knowing that Ayu was comforting her, Yu Jing smiled and started walking outside. Although she could walk now, she still walked slowly, step by step, until she reached the outside.
As soon as Yu Jing stepped outside the palace gates, she shivered from the cold. There was no wind outside, but the snow was falling heavily. Yu Jing snapped out of her daze and looked up to see everything in white. The soft, fluffy snow was slowly falling, already piling up in a thick layer in the courtyard. The red walls and green tiles were covered in snow, only a few glimpses of color showing, creating an indescribable beauty.
Xie Xuan was guarding under the eaves. Hearing the commotion, he turned to the side and saw Sheng Hua coming out. She wasn't wearing makeup, but her clothes were much more formal than before—dark green, a rather somber color. Perhaps it was the dark green that made her skin appear even whiter, like the falling snow outside.
"Your Majesty, this humble subject greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager," Xie Xuan said, bowing to the guards in the corridor.
"Get up." Yu Jing glanced at Xie Xuan and responded, then walked out.
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."
Ayu quickly took the umbrella handed to her by the maid and opened it, following behind Shenghua, afraid that Shenghua might accidentally fall. Yu Jing's shoes crunched on the snow, the soft snow being compacted underfoot—a subtle and pleasant sensation. Yu Jing took a few more steps forward, reaching the middle of the courtyard, and casually handed the hand warmer she was holding in her left hand to Ayu. Then she reached out and caught a snowflake. Her hand had just touched the warm hand warmer; the snowflake gently fell into her palm, instantly melting into a tiny, cool drop of water. Yu Jing found it magical, and a smile appeared on her face.
Xie Xuan watched Sheng Hua walk by, her dark green robes standing out starkly against the snow. He had assumed she was leaving the palace on business and was already preparing to have someone follow her, but unexpectedly, she stopped in the courtyard, reaching out a hand to catch the falling snow. When Sheng Hua turned her head slightly, Xie Xuan saw her smiling eyes. That smile was infectious, seemingly genuine. Looking at her, Xie Xuan felt as if he could feel her happiness. He felt that the Sheng Hua he saw was different from the rumors.
After standing in the snow for a while, Ayu said with some concern, "Your Majesty, it's cold outside. Your body is already injured, so you should go back soon."
Knowing that Ayu was thinking about her health, and that she could see the snow once she recovered, Xu readily agreed, "Okay."
Returning to the hall from outside, Yu Jing's icy hands and feet warmed up. Xiao Ting poured Yu Jing a cup of hot tea, which Yu Jing drank, and her entire body felt as if her meridians had been opened up, making her feel extremely comfortable.
Around noon, Physician Xu came to take her pulse. Yu Jing lifted the wound on her right hand for him to see. Xu Mingzhen looked at it for a while, then said to Yu Jing with some hesitation, "Your Majesty, this wound on your hand is quite deep. Even after it heals, I cannot guarantee that it will not leave a scar."
Yu Jing glanced at the sword mark on her right hand and replied calmly, "I understand. Physician Xu, do your best."
Upon hearing this, Xu Mingzhen glanced at Sheng Hua with some surprise, then solemnly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, rest assured, I will do my utmost to treat you."
After Xu Mingzhen left, Yu Jing took a short nap in the afternoon. When she woke up, she flipped through the poetry book she hadn't finished reading the day before. Just as she was looking at the poetry book, she heard a noise outside.
"Your Majesty, this humble subject greets you."
"Get up."
The voice was muffled and unclear, but Yu Jing still heard the words "Your Majesty".
Qi Jin has arrived!
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