Chapter 192 Unable to Decide
Seeing Xiao Heng striding towards her, without even having time to change his clothes, still wearing today's bright yellow dragon robe, Concubine Zhao slowly stood up and was about to salute when Xiao Heng raised his hand to support her.
"Were you frightened just now?"
"I see you don't look well. Have you drunk the tranquilizing soup?"
Concubine Zhao smelled the cool and pungent scent of ointment on Xiao Heng's body, and her eyebrows slightly frowned: "Where did the emperor come from?"
"I just spent some time with Concubine Xi."
Concubine Zhao felt a sudden pang of pain in her heart.
She had already guessed in her heart that Xiao Heng had been accompanying Concubine Xi, but she still asked this question foolishly.
Because she still had a glimmer of hope, imagining that he came directly from Chunxi Palace.
Her feathery eyelashes slowly drooped like a fan, concealing all the grievances and sadness in her eyes.
"I have been waiting for Your Majesty for a long time, and I thought that Your Majesty would not come."
Xiao Heng held her hand and smiled gently: "Even if it were late, I would come to see you. But Xipin was injured and fainted, so I stayed with her for a while longer."
"Is Xipin's injury... serious?" Although her tone was calm, her eyes were full of hidden bitterness and sadness.
"Hmm... Xipin's hand and neck are seriously injured. She loves painting and playing the piano the most. I wonder if she will have any residual injuries and whether she will be able to continue..."
"Your Majesty!" Concubine Zhao interrupted Xiao Heng indifferently.
This was not what she wanted to hear. She did not care how serious Xipin's injury was, nor did she care whether Xipin could paint or play the piano in the future.
He just wanted him to pay attention to himself and put all his attention and thoughts on him.
Concubine Zhao took a breath and said, "Your Majesty, you must be tired too. Would you like to take a bath and change clothes first?"
It was already midnight, and Xiao Heng was exhausted after a whole night of tossing and turning.
He nodded: "Alright! Jiaojiao is really considerate. I'll go take a bath now."
After saying that, he let go of Concubine Zhao's hand and walked towards the bathroom.
Looking at Xiao Heng's tall back, tears quickly filled Zhao Fei's eyes and she slumped down in the chair.
Madam Kong hurried forward and called out worriedly, "Madam..."
Concubine Zhao's chest heaved, sadness and anger surged into her heart like a torrent, making it difficult for her to breathe.
"Did he really take a bath?"
"He didn't even offer an explanation, Mammy."
Concubine Zhao looked at Madam Kong with tears in her eyes: "Does he still have me in his heart?"
Madam Kong wiped the tears from Concubine Zhao's eyes with a distressed look on her face. "Your Majesty, the Emperor must be a little busy. He will explain everything to you after he takes a bath."
"The Emperor dotes on the Empress so much that he came to spend the night at Yaohua Palace even when Concubine Xi was injured. This is enough to prove that the Empress is the most important person in the Emperor's heart."
"Really?" Concubine Zhao was skeptical.
In his mind, he kept recalling the scene where Xiao Heng hugged Liu Yuetang and abandoned him.
She slowly stood up and walked into the inner hall.
The candlelight on the candlestick flickered in the wind, and in the swaying light and shadow, her thin figure was crushed and stretched, and cast obliquely on the rosewood screen inlaid with jade and plum blossoms.
She looked at the shadow on the screen quietly. She didn't know how long it had been before footsteps slowly sounded and a dark shadow was getting closer and closer to her.
"What are you looking at?" Xiao Heng stood beside her and looked at the plum blossom pattern on the screen.
Concubine Zhao turned around, her moonlit eyes piercing Xiao Heng's gaze. "Your Majesty, do you have anything to explain to me?"
"Explain?" Xiao Heng frowned slightly.
After a moment, he understood what Concubine Zhao meant. He stared at her fair face and said softly, "Jiaojiao, you must know that I am the emperor and cannot be restrained by a woman."
"Just because Your Majesty is the Emperor, can you abandon me?"
Seeing her eyes redden, Xiao Heng softened his tone: "I didn't abandon you. I had a flying knife in my hand at that time, so I was sure I could save you."
"Besides, even if I had to choose between the two, do you think Ruan would let the other one go?"
No! Xiao Heng knew in his heart that since Ruan Yuxiao appeared in front of everyone, he had never thought of leaving alive.
Before she died, she naturally wanted to drag everyone to die with her.
So for him, the result is the same no matter who he chooses.
Concubine Zhao didn't want to hear any of that. She only knew that when Ruan Yuxiao put the knife to her neck, he did not choose her without hesitation.
"Then Your Majesty, I want to ask you, when Ruan asked you to choose between Xipin and me, who did you want to save more?"
Concubine Zhao stared at him with burning eyes.
The atmosphere froze for a moment, and the only sound outside the hall was the rustling of leaves in the wind.
She saw the hesitation and complexity in Xiao Heng's eyes, just like the look of difficulty in making a decision in the warm room.
Seeing that Xiao Heng didn't speak for a long time, she became more and more afraid, and her eyes gradually became moist.
Xiao Heng didn't look at her, but said in a deep voice: "You and Concubine Xi are both my women. No matter what choice I make, one of them will be hurt."
"I...can't make a decision."
The four words "unable to make a decision" were like an ice-hardened arrow that pierced Concubine Zhao's heart.
She staggered back two steps, shaking her head in disbelief: "Can't make a decision?"
"I've known you for fourteen years, and I'm not as good as her two years?"
Concubine Zhao's desperate and unwilling voice rang out in the hall.
At this moment, Xiao Heng's heart was also very heavy.
He didn't know why he was so hesitant at that time.
If you really want to ask why, it is because I can't bear to do it.
"What's so good about Concubine Xi? It makes it so difficult for you to make a decision." Concubine Zhao, who has always been calm and indifferent, could no longer control her emotions.
She couldn't believe it! She couldn't believe that she would be replaced by a woman who had been in the palace for two years.
Xiao Heng felt distressed but helpless.
Although he had known Concubine Zhao for fourteen years, for the entire seven years after he entered the palace, Concubine Zhao either blamed him or ignored him.
She is cold and arrogant, and never bows her head.
But he is an emperor, and it is impossible for him to always bow his head.
Therefore, they rarely have harmonious and loving relationships.
And what about Liu Yuetang? He was attracted to her the first time he saw her.
Although they had only known each other for two years, her devotion to him was no less than that of Concubine Zhao.
She would never get involved in anything that made her unhappy.
Whenever I was wronged, I would swallow it for my own sake.
She even sacrificed herself to save herself.
This kind of infatuation, even if someone else accompanies you for ten or twenty years, may not be able to match it.
The biggest difference between Concubine Zhao and Liu Yuetang is that one is always asking for things, while the other is always giving.
That's why Liu Yuetang occupied a place in his heart so quickly.
After this choice, he also realized some truths.
"Zhao Fei, Xi Fei is very good, and you are also very good. You are both people I cherish."
Concubine Zhao clenched her hands tightly and looked up at the strange yet familiar face before her: "What if I force His Majesty to choose between me and Concubine Xi?"
A bitter taste rose in her throat, and her scarlet eyes met Xiao Heng's.
Xiao Heng slowly pursed his thin lips into a straight line, his low voice revealing a hint of displeasure: "Zhao Fei! Don't test my bottom line again and again."
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