Chapter 178 Sincerity and Trust
Hearing Liu Yuetang's voice, Xiao Heng's heart trembled violently and he almost forgot to breathe.
He turned around and saw Liu Yuetang kneeling three steps away, her dark hair half covering her pretty face. Her fingertips, like water chestnuts, were tightly gripping the fan handle, just like her tense and injured mind.
Xiao Heng knew that she had heard what he had just said.
Those words must have hurt her feelings a little.
Xiao Heng hurriedly stepped forward with a guilty look and helped Liu Yuetang up.
"Miaomiao, get up quickly."
Such an intimate address made Concubine Zhao's pupils shrink, and she looked at the two people in front of her in surprise.
Miaomiao?
Is this Concubine Xi's nickname? The Emperor actually called someone so intimately in front of him.
She bit her lips hard, using the pain of her nails digging into her palms to wake herself up.
Liu Yuetang was helped to stand up by Xiao Heng. After she stood firmly, she did not hold Xiao Heng's hand with a smile as before. Instead, she withdrew her hand and said softly, "I just came here to pay my respects to the emperor and the queen. I will not disturb the emperor anymore and will take my leave now."
After saying that, she turned and left without hesitation.
Before she could take a step, Xiao Heng reached out and grabbed her wrist.
"I will accompany you back to the palace."
Liu Yuetang glanced at Concubine Zhao, her eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of mist, which made people feel distressed.
"No need, Your Majesty, please accompany Concubine Zhao. I want to walk alone."
She pulled her hand away expressionlessly, bowed slightly, and quickly left the lotus garden.
Looking at Liu Yuetang's back, Xiao Heng felt a little panicked.
Since entering the palace, she has never been so cold and distant.
It must be what I said just now that hurt her.
She never coveted power, and she must have been angry at my lack of trust in her.
Don't trust her to hand over the harem to her.
But he was the emperor, and his words were law. He had promised Concubine Zhao that no one among the concubines could surpass her, and that Concubine Zhao would be given priority in terms of power and status.
Therefore, it was impossible for him to hand over the power of assisting in managing the six palaces to others.
But now that I have made this decision, I feel a little complicated.
"Your Majesty, Xipin has always been deeply in love with you. There must have been a misunderstanding just now. If Your Majesty does not explain it to Xipin's sister."
Xiao Heng closed his eyes, letting all his emotions disappear into his pupils.
"I don't need to explain my decision to anyone."
"I'm tired, I'll go back to the palace first."
So, Xiao Heng left without looking back, leaving Concubine Zhao there.
Concubine Zhao stared at the void with red eyes, her long eyelashes trembling from time to time, as if she was trying hard to hold back tears of resentment and sadness.
Seeing this, the Queen said in a gentle voice: "Zhao Fei, the Emperor may be really tired..."
"I know, there is no need for the Queen to remind me." Concubine Zhao interrupted the Queen and looked at her with cold eyes.
At this time, the queen had a perfectly dignified smile on her face, but it made Concubine Zhao feel nauseous.
She hated the Queen's smiling face that always looked at everyone, as if this could prove that she was a virtuous and kind Queen who was the mother of the country.
In fact, she was just like the other women in the harem, scheming and greedy for power.
Looking at Concubine Zhao's noble and proud back, the Queen leisurely waved the round fan in her hand.
"My lady, you are just too good-tempered."
The Queen looked at the gorgeous lotus flowers in the pond and slowly raised her lips, "She has been like this for so many years. If I keep making a fuss about it, it will not be her who will suffer, but me."
Fu Liu fanned the empress, "Your Majesty, you just saw Concubine Zhao here. Why did you still want to discuss the matter of assisting the six palaces with the emperor?"
She didn't understand. If she wanted this to happen, shouldn't she talk to the emperor in private?
The Queen gently stroked the pink lotus with her bare hands, her red lips curled slightly: "If Concubine Zhao is not here, the Emperor will feel guilty towards Concubine Zhao after giving Concubine Xi the power to assist in managing the six palaces."
"But now that Concubine Zhao is here, the Emperor has broken Concubine Xi's heart because of his past promise. So, the one he feels guilty about is Concubine Xi."
Fu Liu suddenly understood and nodded in appreciation.
The queen grasped the flower stem and gently bent it, and the beautiful lotus was picked.
"The lotus blooming season is almost over..."
Invite the Moon Palace.
Liu Zheng poured a cup of tea and handed it to Liu Yuetang. "I see that the Emperor originally wanted to give you the power to assist in managing the six palaces, but it's all because of Concubine Zhao who got in the way."
Liu Yuetang gently shook the lotus-patterned teacup between her fingers, a faint smile lingering beneath the lingering heat: "Sooner or later, there will be a Japanese palace that the emperor will willingly give up."
What's the point of giving it if you give it after great hesitation?
Of course she wants power, but what she wants more now is lasting favor.
With unique grace, why worry about the day when you will lose power?
But without favor, the emperor could take back power at any time. After all, she didn't have a strong family background to back her up, nor was she the Empress of the Central Palace.
"I believe Your Majesty will do it." Liu Zheng said with a smile.
"Go, prepare brush, ink, and rice paper for me. I want to draw a picture."
In the hall, wisps of snow-white cold air drifted slowly, making the entire hall cool and comfortable, as if it were spring.
Liu Yuetang picked up a brush with her bare hands, dipped it in a pool of ink, and slowly drew a few Epiphyllums on the rice paper.
"This Epiphyllum is so beautiful!" Liu Zheng exclaimed.
Liu Yuetang outlined the white petals and said slowly, "The rosy clouds are easily dispersed, the glass cup is hard to be complete, the bloom of the ephemeral flower is ultimately short-lived, and all the beautiful things in this world are not solid."
Liu Yuetang was concentrating on the painting. She didn't know how long it had passed before Liu Zheng beside her gently moved away, and then a pair of black boots came into view.
Liu Yuetang's long feathery eyelashes trembled slightly, but she did not look up and continued to paint the withered petals of the Epiphyllum.
Seeing that Liu Yuetang didn't say anything, Xiao Heng walked around behind her, leaned over, held her hand, and finished painting the last petal together.
The originally elegant Epiphyllum now has a hint of sadness and loneliness.
"A flash in the pan, do you think my feelings for you are as short-lived as this flower?" Xiao Heng's low voice sounded in her ears.
"Then what exactly is your Majesty's feeling towards me?" Liu Yuetang turned her head to look at him, her eyes filled with an inextricable attachment in the rippling water.
What is it? Xiao Heng was suddenly stunned by her question and didn't know how to answer for a moment.
At first, he was attracted to the woman in front of him just out of interest, and fell in love with her beautiful appearance and charm in bed.
Later, he was able to be a chess friend of equal strength to himself, a person who could talk to him when he was upset, and help him resist those evil people.
She was a very qualified concubine, the only confidant in the palace, and a bed partner who made him happy both physically and mentally. But these seemed insufficient to describe his feelings for her.
So, maybe he liked her a little.
Just as Xiao Heng was pondering, Liu Yuetang curled her lips sadly: "Ephemeral flowers bloom only for the one they love. If the emperor has any affection for me, even if it is only for a short time, I will have no regrets in this life."
"But the Emperor has neither the slightest fondness nor the slightest trust in me."
When she finished speaking, her voice trembled a little.
Xiao Heng's heart tightened, and he held Liu Yuetang's hand and said seriously: "Miaomiao, it's not that I don't like you or trust you."
"It's just... I once promised Concubine Zhao that no one in the six palaces could surpass her. I have no choice but to let you down."
Tears welled up in Liu Yuetang's eyes, as if she were heartbroken and resentful: "Then why is it always me who is wronged?"
"Whether I am in the emperor's heart or not is not important at all, so I will always be a victim of the emperor's weighing of pros and cons."
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