In just over a year, the once beautiful and charming imperial concubine looked haggard.
From age thirty-seven to thirty-eight, it felt like she had lived through ten years, or perhaps she had used up the rest of her life.
The exquisite nail polish was removed, the heavy makeup was washed away, and the bright red lipstick was nowhere to be seen, making it appear less well-maintained.
Fine lines appeared at the corners of her eyes, her lips were pale, there were spots on her cheeks, and even the hair at her temples looked sparse.
Her earnestness and gentleness in cooking porridge were just like a wife waiting for her husband to return.
“Actually, I used to just put the ingredients in a clay pot when I made porridge, and I never tasted it again,” Consort Ju said softly. “Because I know that the imperial family doesn’t lack people to serve them, nor does it lack a bowl of porridge from me.”
Whether it tastes good or bad, it's all about the sentiment behind it.
Unlike now, she personally controls the heat, lights the charcoal, stirs and cooks it herself, and then tastes the flavor herself.
It turns out that porridge needs seasonings to be delicious, beans need to be soaked in advance to cook until soft, different ingredients need to be added in different orders, and the consistency requires constant stirring.
Even someone who never lifts a finger would need to endure several blisters and eye irritation before they could cook a delicious bowl of white jade porridge.
Consort Ju was unaware that she was simply holding the bowl, which was burning hot in her palms, and walking toward the Qianqing Palace with a reverent posture.
Behind him was the familiar and trusted stewardess, and in front of him was the smiling head steward, Mr. Wu.
Consort Ju removed her winter cloak, smiled and nodded, and strolled into the main hall.
Given her status, she never needed to test for drugs, much less taste them.
Behind absolute pampering lies absolute trust.
"Your Majesty." She closed the door behind her and walked over quietly.
The man on the bed was pale, with memorials and documents beside him. Even though he was busy, he still noticed her keenly when he saw her. "Why does Aruo look so haggard today?"
"I told you last time I was trying to learn how to cook porridge, and today I finally made a bowl." She smiled and raised her hand, tilting her head with a playful air, vaguely reminiscent of her appearance under the apricot tree when she was seventeen.
Tianjia smiled and winked.
He must be getting old; lately he's been reminiscing about the past and keeps seeing... people from his past.
"I used to be lazy, but today I realized how hard it is to cook porridge myself, and I know how precious this bowl of porridge is. You must drink it all." Consort Ju smiled gently, but tears welled up in her eyes.
She seemed reluctant to part.
Who could bear to part with that?
They were childhood sweethearts, spent ten years as playmates, and naturally fell in love, but their social status prevented them from even standing side by side.
Twenty years of favoritism and endless affection, day and night of secret trysts, have long since become one with each other.
Pulling it out, that would hurt so much.
Sometimes Consort Ju couldn't help but think how wonderful it would be if they were just an ordinary couple, without so much power and wealth, without so many entanglements and fears.
They fell in love under the apricot tree, conceived the children they longed for, worked hard for a living, and grew wrinkles hand in hand.
Unfortunately, life is not that simple.
The mere fact that someone is a wife or concubine can cause a huge uproar and even affect the stability of the country.
He had no choice, and neither did she.
Despite the pain hidden deep in her heart, and even with tears welling up in her eyes, she still picked up a spoon and scooped up a mouthful of thick, fragrant white porridge. "Your Majesty, please have a taste."
The man, his face contorted with illness, his hands trembling in front of him, still managed to straighten his back and force a smile onto his face.
Little by little.
The spoon drew ever closer, about to be placed into the belly of the heavenly being.
The entire hall was quiet, without a sound. It was as if the world had been shut out, leaving space only for them.
Consort Ju's hands trembled more and more.
Just as she was certain that Tianjia was not wavering and their lips were about to touch the spoon, she finally couldn't hold back any longer, screamed, and fell down.
The carefully simmered soup came into intimate contact with the ground, scattering everywhere with a crisp sound.
With the quick wit of Steward Wu and the guards, they should have entered long ago, but no one came.
The man on the bed remained calm, while the woman on the floor was already in tears.
"Why, why can't I be made empress? Is it so difficult to just be an empress?" Consort Ju cried out in anguish. "If I poisoned you today, would you still have to drink it? Wouldn't it be better if we died together?"
Her love finally triumphed over reason; she couldn't bear to hurt the boy from twenty years ago.
Tian Jia raised the corners of his mouth, his smile growing wider and wider. He couldn't wait to tell the woman, to tell her about the bet, to tell her that it was okay.
The doors to the main hall were suddenly pushed open.
Manager Wu seemed to be shouting in a panic when something lightly jumped in from the commotion and ran to the scattered white jade porridge, licking it a couple of times.
"Whose cat is this?" Consort Ju immediately snapped back to reality and shouted angrily, "Is it that beast that the Third Princess keeps? Get it out of here right now!"
Chief Steward Wu rushed in with his eunuchs and clumsily tried to capture them.
Cats are naturally agile, and guards would find it difficult to maneuver inside the hall.
Seeing that her pent-up emotions were about to dissipate, Consort Ju could no longer contain her anger and shouted, "Arrest them immediately, dead or alive!"
Only then did the guards dare to draw their swords and aim them at the cat.
However, before they could do anything, the once lively kitten suddenly collapsed, convulsing and bleeding from its seven orifices, before gradually losing its voice.
Silence, deathly silence.
The man on the bed gripped the blankets in astonishment, the woman under the bed stared wide-eyed in terror, the well-informed Steward Wu was covered in cold sweat, and the guard who had drawn his sword stood frozen in place.
"This...this person fell to their death?" After a long silence, Chief Eunuch Wu finally broke the silence, "Your Majesty, should this beast be thrown out, or sent to the Imperial Hospital?"
There was no response.
Steward Wu steeled himself and waved for the guards to leave.
This time, however, he dared not leave. Even at the risk of being beaten and scolded, he would still curl up at the foot of the bed.
"Your Majesty, I didn't, I really didn't." Consort Ju finally came to her senses and knelt on the ground with a thud. "I really didn't. I cooked this porridge myself, and I even started the fire myself. There's no way it could be poisoned, absolutely not."
The more they talked about it, the more suspicious it became.
The porridge she cooked herself was poisoned. Who else but her could have poisoned it?
Given the bowl-smashing action just now, it's practically a done deal.
Consort Ju was covered in cold sweat, not understanding where things had gone wrong.
She had prepared so meticulously for so long, but what she wanted was never the life of her beloved, but rather the imperial edict of empress bestowed upon her by guilt.
She thought her actions were foolproof and her plans were foolproof, and things did indeed go as she expected without any problems, until the cat suddenly appeared and the tragic scene of her being poisoned to death.
That shouldn't be the case, that's not right.
She did indeed cook all the white jade porridge herself, without even taking a break in between. The only thing the head aunt helped her with was adding a little salt...
Auntie in charge!
Consort Ju stood up in a panic and staggered to the door, only to see guards with drawn swords on guard. There was no sign of the head maid.
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