Chapter 42 exposes that Su Panyue is a spy!
As it turns out, men who have been abstaining for too long are terrifying; Su Panyue woke up again the next morning.
She stretched and calmed herself down before lazily sitting up.
Seeing the familiar canopy bed in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, I suddenly recalled the madness of last night and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
She raised her hand and covered her face with the back of her hand to cool herself down; the memories of last night gradually became clearer:
Last night, whether it was once or twice, she suddenly heard Xie Lanzhou's inner thoughts.
At first, she couldn't believe it, thinking it was just a hallucination she was having during intercourse, until the man repeatedly proved his thoughts through his actions.
Su Panyue finally realized that she had truly heard his innermost thoughts.
Just listening to his indescribable inner thoughts made Su Panyue's scalp tingle. It was also the first time she realized that he had been restraining himself to this extent all along...
If he were to actually put his ideas into action, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to get out of bed today.
Just as he was secretly reminiscing and marveling at the moment, Fei Yan's voice came from outside.
"My lady, are you awake?"
Su Panyue took a deep breath, banishing those inappropriate images from her mind, before replying with a "Yes."
Feiyan entered the hall and poured her a cup of warm water. Su Panyue took it and drank it all in one gulp. She then wiped her mouth and asked, "Where is His Majesty?"
Feiyan covered her mouth and chuckled, "His Majesty should be in the Imperial Study right now. Your Highness and His Majesty have such a good relationship."
Feixue and Feiyan had been serving her for some time, and the three of them had become quite familiar with each other. Knowing that Su Panyue never acted like a mistress, they would occasionally joke with her.
Su Panyue laughed and patted her hand: "You always tease me! Hurry up and find me some clothes."
Then, remembering something, she asked softly, "My clothes from yesterday..."
Feiyan understood and deliberately lowered her voice, saying, "His Majesty threw it away."
Su Panyue finally breathed a sigh of relief. If other palace servants saw the torn clothes and the water-stained undergarments, she would lose all face.
After getting ready, she rushed to the Imperial Study without even having a meal.
The idea of being able to hear other people's thoughts was so fantastical that she couldn't help but want to try it again.
Along the way, she encountered many palace servants who bowed to her. Su Panyue listened to each of them, but heard nothing.
Inside the Imperial Study, Xie Lanzhou stood by the table, looking at the seventeenth prince in front of him.
He was sent to investigate Su Panyue's true identity, but the investigation took more than a month.
Seventeen finally returned to Beijing yesterday, but was unable to see Xie Lanzhou immediately.
Only then did he realize that in just over a month, Su Panyue had become a Noble Consort and was the sole favorite of the Emperor every night.
So today, as Xie Lanzhou was leaving court, Seventeen rushed to the Imperial Study.
He knelt down and presented the evidence he had gathered during his investigation, his tone filled with anger: "Your Majesty, Su Panyue is a spy!"
Su Panyue, who had just arrived at the Imperial Study to look for someone, heard this sentence. She withdrew her hand that was about to push the door open, held her breath, and stood still.
Then a familiar voice came from inside; it was Xie Lanzhou speaking: "Tell me what you've found out?"
"Your Majesty, I first discovered Su Panyue's..."
“You should call her Imperial Concubine now,” Xie Lanzhou suddenly interrupted him.
The man inside seemed to pause for a moment, while Su Panyue, who was eavesdropping outside, was also very anxious. Was this the time to be agonizing over the form of address?!
The man clearly held Xie Lanzhou in high regard: "Yes, Your Majesty."
"I have found out that before the Imperial Concubine entered the palace, she stayed in the capital for two days. According to the waiter at that inn, a man took her away. I suspect it might be the same expert from before."
Xie Lanzhou's voice was unreadable: "Don't guess, continue."
The unfamiliar male voice said, "Yes, subordinate. Continue to investigate her route to the capital, all the way to the border between our Great Qi and the State of Lu."
"Several farmers said they had seen the Empress, and that she had stayed in that village for a few days. The Empress's explanation at the time was that her family had fallen on hard times, and because of her beauty, she had been targeted by local bullies, so she fled here."
"My men secretly infiltrated the territory of Lu and discovered an underground business that specializes in making fake identities for people to sneak into our Great Qi. According to the leader there, the identity that the Imperial Concubine used to enter the palace was made by him personally."
"I wanted to continue investigating who was behind her, but he refused to reveal anything more. Later, I was discovered by someone and was chased all the way in Lu. I had no choice but to retreat."
"However, the current evidence is sufficient to confirm that the Imperial Concubine is definitely a spy sent by the State of Lu, who deliberately infiltrated His Majesty's side."
Xie Lanzhou responded calmly, "I understand."
The man continued to persuade, "What does Your Majesty intend to do with this woman?"
There was a long silence inside. Su Panyue, standing outside the door, clenched her fists so tightly that she didn't even notice her nails digging into her palms.
"I have my own plans. You may leave now." Xie Lanzhou's voice deepened slightly, but remained calm.
"Your Majesty, please consider this carefully. Keeping such a spy of unknown origin by your side is too dangerous. Your Majesty, I implore you to imprison her and interrogate her. We will surely find out who is behind this!"
"Seventeen, are you now teaching me how to do things?" Xie Lanzhou's tone turned completely cold, and Su Panyue could feel the imperial pressure even through the door.
But what truly suffocated her was the name Xie Lanzhou had just called out: Seventeen.
In the last moment before she died in her previous life, she heard someone call out this name; it was the black-clad man who had strangled her with one hand.
Despite it being summer, Su Panyue felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her hands and feet trembling with cold. The fear of dying enveloped her like an endless tide, penetrating every crevice.
Her ears were ringing, and she couldn't hear what the person inside was saying. All she wanted to do was escape.
Because she frequently visited Xie Lanzhou's study, Xie Lanzhou eventually granted her special privileges, allowing her to enter and leave freely without prior notice.
Therefore, she came and went silently, without anyone inside noticing, except for Feiyan, who followed her.
After returning to Jingchun Palace, Su Panyue locked herself in her bedroom and buryed herself in the blankets like an ostrich.
Feixue assumed she had argued with His Majesty and didn't think much of it, simply standing quietly by the door.
The hall fell silent, save for the incessant chirping of cicadas outside the window.
Su Panyue curled up in bed, hugging her knees, and smelled the faint ambergris scent on the bed. She didn't know how long it took before her emotions slowly calmed down.
She then carefully recalled what she had just heard.
That guy named Seventeen must be Xie Lanzhou's subordinate. He was able to investigate all the way to the State of Lu, which is definitely not something that can be done in a day or two.
Therefore, Xie Lanzhou should have suspected her long ago and even sent people to investigate her.
Although his suspicions were correct and the results of that person's investigation were also true, Su Panyue still felt inexplicably wronged.
If you're so suspicious, why have you treated her so well all these days?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Su Panyue cursed Xie Lanzhou in her heart.
After venting her anger, she suddenly realized that the most important thing now was that her identity as a spy had been exposed!
Only then did Su Panyue belatedly realize how dangerous her current situation was. Given Xie Lanzhou's methods of dealing with spies and traitors, she wouldn't be able to survive even if she died eight times over.
What's more, she had lied to him for so long, even tricking him into bed...
Su Panyue became increasingly panicked as she thought about it. She jumped out of bed, wanting to pack a small bag and run away.
Throughout the inner palace, everything in sight was a gift from Xie Lanzhou; touching each one revealed it to be a priceless treasure.
Su Panyue wished she could take everything with her, but in the end she could only pick out a few lightweight pieces of jewelry to pack into her bundle.
Out of the corner of her eye, Su Panyue caught sight of the three plates of gold ingots she had placed in the corner, and reluctantly waved goodbye to them.
Suddenly, Fei Yan's voice came from outside the door: "Greetings, Your Majesty."
Startled, Su Panyue hurriedly stuffed the small bundle she had just packed under the bed and hid it.
"Your Majesty, the young lady has locked herself in there all afternoon and hasn't eaten." Fei Yan thought the two had quarreled and hinted to Xie Lanzhou to go in and coax her.
The next moment, the door was pushed open, and Xie Lanzhou walked in.
Su Panyue pretended to be asleep facing the wall, her body covered tightly with a brocade quilt, as if that way he couldn't see her.
The footsteps drew closer, and the edge of the bed seemed to sink in as he sat down on it.
Su Panyue quickly closed her eyes, slowed her breathing, and tried not to make a sound.
With her eyes closed, her hearing became even more acute. She heard a man sigh softly behind her, followed by some rustling sounds.
As she was wondering what the sound was, a large hand suddenly touched her shoulder, startling her.
Unable to pretend to be asleep any longer, she could only rub her eyes and pretend to have just woken up. Only after slowly turning around did she realize that it must have been him taking off his outer robe.
"Your Majesty, you've arrived. I had just fallen asleep."
Xie Lanzhou gave a faint "hmm," and asked, "I heard you spent the whole afternoon by yourself. What were you doing?"
Su Panyue glanced around nervously, not daring to look him in the eye, and then she saw the sachet she had given him hanging from his waist.
On a sudden inspiration, he said, "I'm preparing a surprise for His Majesty."
Xie Lanzhou seemed to chuckle softly, took her hand and asked, "You're all covered up so tightly, aren't you sweating? Aren't you hot?"
Su Panyue's palms were indeed sweaty, but they were cold sweat.
She was in immense agony, unable to understand why this man, who already knew her identity, was still acting like a loving couple.
But she had no other choice but to cooperate with him.
"I feel a little cold."
Xie Lanzhou reached out and touched her forehead to confirm that she did not have a fever, and that it was still a little cool.
Then he raised his voice and said, "Someone, take the ice chest away."
Su Panyue really wanted to say no, but she held back in the end.
Just then, her stomach growled at an inopportune moment. After a night of debauchery the previous night and not having eaten all day, she realized how hungry she was.
Xie Lanzhou clearly heard this too, and turned his head to ask, "Why aren't you eating?"
"You weren't waiting for me, were you? Silly girl."
Hearing his thoughts, Su Panyue replied, "This concubine wishes to use it with Your Majesty."
Xie Lanzhou smiled, told someone to prepare the meal, and then turned to help her up.
Su Panyue subtly dodged his hand and quickly got out of bed and sat down.
At the dinner table, Xie Lanzhou was a man of few words, and Su Panyue also dared not speak casually, so the atmosphere was strangely quiet for a moment.
Su Panyue wanted to hear what he was thinking, but her mind-reading ability suddenly failed, and she couldn't hear a word of what Xie Lanzhou was thinking.
The meal was so unpleasant for her, she felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, and the taste was like chewing wax. But the man acted as if nothing was wrong, eating slowly and deliberately while still remembering to put food on her plate.
If she hadn't overheard those conversations that afternoon, she would never have noticed anything different about Xie Lanzhou today.
However, once Su Panyue realized that her identity had been exposed, she found his gentleness and thoughtfulness somewhat terrifying.
After the meal, Xie Lanzhou sat at the table as usual, casually flipping through the memorials.
At times like these, Su Panyue would either openly peek at the storybooks or pester him to tell her interesting stories from the border region. Sometimes she would even tell him about the palace secrets of his ancestors, which were even more exciting than the storybooks.
But today, she sat in front of the mirror, lost in thought, secretly glancing at the noble and unparalleled man through the mirror, her feelings complicated.
Why hasn't he dealt with her yet? It felt like a knife was hanging over her head, ready to fall and shatter her to pieces at any moment.
The man looked up unexpectedly, and their eyes met in the mirror. When they met those deep eyes that seemed to see through everything, Su Panyue looked away awkwardly.
"Your Majesty, I'd like to go wash up first." She made an excuse to leave.
Before she even stepped out the door, someone grabbed her wrist, and at the same time, she heard the man's inner thoughts:
Where to run?
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Author's Note: Has any clever reader guessed how Yueyue can now hear Xie Gou's inner thoughts? [doge emoji]
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