Chapter 35: Honghua won’t run away. Sooner or later, she will be suffocated by this...
The candlelight in the hall crackled, illuminating the entangled figures.
His clothes were disheveled and scattered on the ground.
Shu Yao sat astride Xiao Chengjing, looking down at him.
He looked up to meet her gaze.
The burning palms held her waist tightly.
"Yaoyao..." His breathing became heavier.
Before he could finish his words, she suddenly leaned forward, sealed his mouth with her lips, and snatched away the rest of his words.
There was a surge of undercurrent in his eyes, and he immediately turned over and took the initiative.
The action was almost plundering, but the heart was empty.
What he coveted was never just this moment of conquest.
After a long time, Shu Yao tidied herself up, stood up silently, and staggered away.
Didn't even look at him.
The palace door closed gently, and Xiao Chengjing stood frozen in place, his knuckles clenched white, veins visible on the back of his hands.
It turned out that he was the only one in Ci'en Temple, and she just stopped there by chance.
But so what?
Even if he has to force it, he wants it to last forever.
The next morning.
Yunxiu came in and announced, "Your Majesty." She stood still with her head bowed, her voice very soft, "The Shang Pharmacy sent someone over, saying they were ordered by the Imperial Medical Bureau to bring some plasters for injuries."
Shu Yao was leaning over, scratching the big orange furry chin.
Hearing this, she paused slightly.
Chuntao went to ask for him yesterday, but he didn't show up for half a day. Now he's rushing to deliver medicine.
Shu Yao curled her lips and almost sneered.
She casually stroked the soft hair on Daju's back, thinking that less trouble is worse than more, so she might as well let Yunxiu take the medicine and send him away, but her eyes flashed quietly.
Having made up her mind, she lowered her eyelashes, hiding all expression, and said to Yunxiu, "Please ask her to come in and answer me." Her hand was still stroking the cat slowly.
After a while, Yunxiu led someone in quietly.
The visitor had lowered brows and held a red lacquer tray with several celadon medicine bottles neatly arranged on it.
As soon as he stood still, he fell to his knees with a thud.
The maid raised the tray above her head, her voice trembling uncontrollably: "This servant pays respects to the Empress!"
This kneeling allowed Shu Yao to see her face clearly.
This round face...
Shu Yao's heart trembled.
It seems that she was one of the palace maids who gossiped that day?
Yunxiu also recognized her, with surprise and suspicion in her eyes, and her gaze could not help but move back and forth between Shu Yao and the palace maid.
The hall was extremely quiet for a moment.
Shu Yao's eyes darkened slightly, and she made a decision in an instant.
Then he raised his eyes to Yunxiu and glanced at the palace maids on both sides, and said lightly: "No need to serve here, please retreat outside and wait."
The round-faced palace maid trembled slightly like a candle in the wind, and the porcelain vase on the tray also made a slight knocking sound.
She knew that Sister Li's (the older palace maid) death was no accident...
She desperately grabbed the job of delivering medicine, just to seek a way out from Concubine Shu...
Thinking of this, the round-faced palace maid gasped and banged her forehead on the ground, her voice almost broken: "Your servant... beg Your Majesty to have mercy... spare your life..." She fell to the ground, waiting for the judgment of the person sitting on the throne.
Shu Yao didn't answer, but buried her fingers in the thick fur of the big orange cat, scratching it slowly, making the cat purr with satisfaction.
The long silence was like a huge rock pressing on the round-faced palace maid's heart.
After a long while, Shu Yao seemed to remember that there was a person kneeling at her feet. She glanced at him lazily, with a hint of doubt in her tone: "Oh? Why are you begging me for help out of the blue?" Her voice was soft, but it made the round-faced palace maid tremble violently.
The round-faced maid knocked her head against the wall like pounding garlic, begging for mercy over and over again: "This servant was wrong! This servant was blinded by greed! This servant will never dare to gossip again! Please have mercy on me, Your Majesty, and spare me! This servant does not want to die... This servant still has a mother and a brother... This servant really does not want to die!"
Seeing her so dazed, Shu Yao understood.
Xiao Chengjing must have secretly dealt with another person, which scared her like this.
Although she did not like his cruel methods, it did not mean that she had to accept the moral kidnapping of the palace maid in front of her.
Shu Yao uttered a soft "oh", with the corners of her lips slightly raised, as if smiling, "Did someone put a knife to your necks and force you to gossip by the Taiye Lake? You sound so aggrieved." Her tone was gentle, but every word was heartbreaking.
The round-faced palace maid's eyes turned black.
I'm afraid that Concubine Shu heard everything that was said that day.
Shu Yao leaned back in her chair, finding a more comfortable position. "I'm just a tribute from the Kingdom of Li. My life and death, honor and disgrace, all depend on His Majesty's will. Even if you come to me for help, I can't help you." She scratched the fur behind Daju's ear, as if this was the most important thing at the moment. A cold arc curved the corner of her lips. "Besides, since His Majesty hasn't made it public, he probably doesn't want me to know. Why would you come to me for help and expose this matter?"
After hearing these words, the round-faced palace maid almost fainted.
Seeing her on the verge of collapse, Shu Yao knew the time had come. She smiled and said, "If you want me to save your life, it's not impossible... but..." She paused slightly, like holding a piece of paper, and said leisurely, "You have to be of some use."
These words are like a pardon.
The round-faced palace maid shuddered all over, and a flame suddenly ignited in her eyes.
She stopped begging and straightened her upper body, saying with a hint of meaning, "I work at the Shang Pharmacy, handling some medicinal herbs, and I've also... heard some rumors..." She stared at Shu Yao closely, "As long as the queen is willing to give this servant a way out, this servant... this servant is willing to do anything!"
Shu Yao slowly stopped stroking Daju and pondered for a moment. Then she lazily raised her eyes to look at the round-faced palace maid. Her voice was steady, without a trace of emotion: "You work at the Shang Pharmacy... then..." She paused slightly, her eyes flashing with various calculations, "Is there any prescription that can make it... difficult to get pregnant?"
The round-faced palace maid felt as if she had fallen into an icy cave.
She never expected that Concubine Shu would actually ask her for such a forbidden item?!
As if she saw her own death, she kowtowed with tears streaming down her face: "Your Majesty, spare me! Any recipe that severs the lineage of an heir is invariably damaging and sinister, and cannot be concealed from anyone... I am a humble servant, and my life is lowly. I simply dare not do such a thing as to implicate my entire clan!"
Shu Yao knew that she had misunderstood, but she couldn't say it directly.
His eyes dimmed slightly, and he said calmly, "If...if you just want to be clean afterwards...how about that?"
The round-faced palace maid's heart, which had risen to her throat, eased a little, but she did not dare to relax completely, and her shoulders were still stiffly hunched.
Her voice was a little calmer than before, with a sense of lightness from someone who had just survived a disaster: "If...if you just want to be clean afterwards...there are milder prescriptions...for example...for example, safflower...but..." She took a quick breath and didn't dare to continue.
Hearing the word "red flowers", Shu Yao's eyebrows slightly furrowed, then relaxed immediately, her tone as indifferent as before: "Prepare some red flowers for me. Quickly."
On this side, Shu Yao was still secretly planning how to avoid having a child, while on the other side, Zhao Wan was forced by the nanny to worship a statue of Guanyin, the goddess of fertility, again and again.
After the morning inspection that day, the three of them gathered in the flower hall of Concubine Xian’s palace to drink tea and relieve their boredom.
Sunlight shines through the window lattices, filling the room with light.
But it couldn't reveal the sadness between Zhao Wan's brows.
She picked up a piece of abalone and conch pastry.
The dessert lingered on her lips for a long time before finally falling back onto the plate.
She lowered her eyelids, her long eyelashes trembling slightly. "Family... another letter was sent in yesterday..." Before she finished speaking, her cheeks flushed, and even her earlobes were stained with the color of crabapple. "They said they wanted to have children for Your Majesty as soon as possible..." She almost choked on the last few words as she continued in a mosquito-like voice, "Your Majesty will come to dine tonight... Madam asked me to take the initiative... but I..."
Looking at Zhao Wan's shy and frightened look, Shu Yao's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
It's not jealousy, but a kind of sadness.
Whether they do it voluntarily or under duress, they are always pawns on other people's chessboards waiting to be sold.
Shen Jingshu gently placed the teacup in her hand on the table, turned sideways, and naturally placed her scallion-white fingers on Zhao Wan's knees: "Sister Wan, don't be afraid. Nanny has instructed you, but there must also be a rule. Tell me in detail, what she wants you to do...how to act?" After the words fell, Shen Jingshu's eyes gently enveloped the uneasy Zhao Wan, with some encouragement in her eyes.
Zhao Wan unconsciously twisted the silk ribbon on her skirt, wrapping it tighter and tighter.
The voice was muffled, as if covered by a veil: "In the past, when His Majesty came... he was mostly in the office, and he didn't even talk much. If I was tired, he would wave his hand and let me go to rest, no need to wait for him." Her throat moved slightly, as if swallowing some grievances, "But Nanny has repeatedly told me that tonight... I must force myself to wait for His Majesty to finish his work..." She raised her eyes, and her watery pupils reflected a genuine confusion, "His Majesty is naturally good... He has extraordinary character and appearance, and treats people gently. It's just..." She shook her head and couldn't go on. Her expression didn't look shy, but like a lost child, completely confused as to why she had to step into a road she didn't have to take.
Shen Jingshu smiled faintly and gently patted the back of Zhao Wan's hand, which was twisting the silk ribbon tightly. "Don't worry, sister Wan." Her voice was as gentle as jade, with a calm and relaxed air. "Just do as Nanny tells you." As she spoke, she gently smoothed Zhao Wan's fingertips, her movements neither hurried nor slow. "His Majesty... has his own considerations and will definitely not embarrass you."
After saying that, Shen Jingshu's eyes turned and looked at Shu Yao who was silent beside her.
Seeing her gaze fixed on the teacup, she naturally leaned over and placed her hand on Shuyao's slightly cool fingers, slowly transferring the warmth of her palm to her. "Don't worry, Ah Yao." Shen Jingshu's eyes were bright. "Your Majesty is kind and treats us sisters very well."
Shen Jingshu's comfort was too smooth, as if she was reciting a standard answer.
Therefore, a thought suddenly entered Shu Yao's mind.
Apart from her, Xiao Chengjing may never have truly visited any concubine.
Shu Yao smiled self-deprecatingly.
She was not just one of his many concubines, she was actually his only captive.
This honor is like a heavy shackle. The more dedicated Xiao Chengjing is, the more it proves that she has no way out.
He abandoned all the gentle pleasures of life and only clung to her unwilling body...
If she doesn't escape, she will sooner or later be completely swallowed up by this suffocating paranoia.
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