Chapter 42 Nightmare
"Your Majesty?" Chan Zhen called again. Seeing that he seemed lost in thought, he stepped forward and took his hand. "If it's inconvenient, I won't force you."
Chen Dingyao came back to his senses, looked at her with a complicated expression, and sighed softly at her worried gaze.
"I'm just worried about your health. Take some time to recuperate for the next two days. I'll go with you when you feel better."
Chan Zhen's expression softened slightly. "I'm sorry to have worried your Majesty, but Chan Zhen is fine now."
The palace was indeed fresh and cool. After getting off the phoenix carriage, she felt that the heat in her heart had eased a lot.
Her complexion was indeed better than when she was in the car, but her previous reaction was so intense that he still couldn't put his mind at ease.
"I will call the imperial physician to take a look."
"We have just settled down in the palace, why would we make such a fuss? Besides, we just summoned the imperial physician a few days ago." Chan Zhen had agreed to it in the car, but now he felt like going back on his word.
Chen Dingyao said nothing, but just looked at her silently with a smile in his eyes.
Zen Zhen seemed to be seen through by him. She avoided his gaze with her eyes flickering, and a faint blush unconsciously appeared on her face.
Seeing her guilty look, Chen Dingyao couldn't help but laugh and shook his head: "I think you are afraid of eating those medicinal foods again."
In his memory, Zen Zhen had always been the most well-behaved and sensible, but now he had become spoiled by him. However... this was not a bad thing.
He touched her face and patiently coaxed her, "Be obedient."
Zen really felt that his tone was like coaxing a disobedient child, which made her feel a little embarrassed.
"But those medicinal foods taste so weird." Zen Zhen frowned. After eating them for several days in a row, she felt that her tongue had turned bitter.
"Really?" He gently held her face with one hand, lifted her chin slightly, and naturally lowered his head to lick her lips. When he looked up, his eyes were bright. "I don't think so."
Chan Zhen was caught off guard and was taken advantage of by His Majesty again. His ears were almost burning and his eyes were full of tears.
"Your Majesty... unless Your Majesty accompanies me." After all, it was not the time when he first entered the palace. Chan Zhen took a deep breath to suppress the trembling heartbeat like a drum, and made a request to him with confidence.
Chen Dingyao didn't miss the sly smile in her eyes and said obediently, "Since Chan Zhen has requested this, I will certainly accompany you."
The imperial physician's diagnosis and treatment this time were identical to those before, and the medicinal diet he prescribed was also the same. However, before leaving, he added, "Your Majesty has dampness in her body, so it's not advisable to use iced drinks to cool her down in the summer. There's a hot spring within the palace that could help dispel the dampness and benefit your health. Your Majesty and your Majesty might consider giving it a try."
Chen Dingyao had this intention in mind, and now he finally confirmed it after receiving the advice from the imperial physician.
The hot spring is located on the south side of the palace. As His Majesty's royal pond, it has never received anyone else. When Zen Zhen entered, his face was immediately covered with the mist.
Although it is summer now, the palace is very quiet and peaceful. It becomes even cooler at night. Therefore, the moisture does not increase the heat in the heart, but makes the whole body relax.
Zenzhen removed all her adornments, her black hair cascading down to her waist, and covered only with a simple veil. She walked to the edge of the pool, first dipping her bare feet into the water, hesitating whether to jump in immediately.
She didn't know how to swim, and the pool was no shallower than the bath in her palace. Moreover, the bluestone walls around the pool had been washed and polished very smooth, making it difficult to climb.
Seeing her hesitation, Chen Dingyao took off his clothes and went into the water first, extending a hand to her.
"Come."
Zenjin swallowed nervously, finally making up his mind to put his hand on it.
His Majesty pulled her slowly into the water. The pool was deeper than she had imagined. Her feet were pressed against the bottom of the pool, and only most of her shoulders were exposed above the water.
The veil on her body was already soaked, and her black hair swayed on the water like a water snake. Her face was shy and timid, and there was no seduction at all, but it made Chen Dingyao's throat tighten.
The water temperature here was a few degrees higher than the bath in her palace. She felt like she was about to melt in the water. When her legs were about to give out, His Majesty caught her in his arms.
The moisture wet his eyelashes, and in the dim light, Zen Zhen met his gaze, which was so hot and dark, as if a man-eating beast was imprisoned in it.
"Zenzhen..." His Majesty's voice became hoarse.
Zen really knew what he wanted to do, but she had no intention of resisting and just said "hmm" softly.
She likes His Majesty and is willing to give her all to His Majesty.
The steaming water vapor gradually blurred the vision, the curtains were lowered to cover the intertwined figures in the pool, and only a series of ambiguous water sounds could be heard echoing in the quiet night.
The woman's face was flushed, and her soft arms were half-weakly wrapped around the man in front of her, her back leaning against the smooth and round bluestone wall of the pool. She didn't let out a few suppressed gasps until she could no longer bear it.
In a trance, Zen Zhen felt that this scene seemed to have happened before.
…
"I hate you."
The woman had tears in her eyes and bit the man's right shoulder tightly. The man froze for a moment, and let out a muffled groan. A trickle of blood flowed out of the woman's mouth.
"Even if you hate me, it's better than not taking me seriously."
He laughed indifferently.
The woman loosened her teeth, buried her face in his shoulder, and shed tears: "Aren't you afraid that His Highness will find out? His Highness is in the palace right now. Aren't you afraid that he will know that you did such an immoral thing behind his back?"
The man said in a low voice: "If I hadn't been concerned about him, you would have been mine long ago."
"You are shameless!" the woman cursed.
"Yes, I am shameless." He stroked her long hair nonchalantly. "I lost all reason the moment I saw you. You won, and you made me lose miserably."
"I will never forgive you, not in this life."
…
Zen Zhen's mind was in a state of confusion.
Who is His Majesty? How could she hate His Majesty? She clearly loves His Majesty so much.
Is it a dream?
She slowly closed her eyes and let herself rise and fall in the water.
After all this trouble, Chanzhen slept until high in the sun the next day. There was no need to hold early morning court every day in the palace, so it was rare for her to wake up and find His Majesty still lying beside the bed.
"woke up?"
His Majesty just looked at her with a smile on his face, and he didn't know how long he looked at her, which made his heart soften.
"Your Majesty." Zen Zhen leaned forward and rested his head in her arms. "I seem to have had a dream last night."
"What dream?" Chen Dingyao enjoyed the intimacy with her at the moment, and gently stroked her hair with his palm.
A trace of confusion flashed in Zen Zhen's eyes. "I don't remember clearly, but... I also had His Majesty in my dream."
She remembered His Majesty's deep voice and his warm hands, but she could not recall what he said to her.
Chen Dingyao raised his eyebrows, "Zen Zhen, what you think about during the day, you dream about at night."
Zenzhen looked up into his eyes, "Your Majesty, Zenzhen seemed to be having a nightmare. In the dream, Your Majesty and I did not get along very well."
She remembered the painful feeling, as if her heart was being torn apart, and an intense sadness and despair rushed into her chest, making her almost breathless.
Chen Dingyao's face froze, then he tightened his arms and spoke in a faint voice.
"Since it's just a nightmare, Zen Zhen should stop thinking about it."
Zenjin nodded, grabbing his waist and pressing his face against his chest, "I don't want things to turn out like in my dreams with Your Majesty."
She thought, perhaps the dream was a warning, telling her to cherish the emperor's affection for her and teach her to hold on to the person in front of her. She had been too arrogant in front of the emperor recently.
However, she didn't know that her words had caused a huge wave of confusion in Chen Dingyao's mind.
After resting in the palace for a few days, His Majesty took her to Ziyun Temple as agreed. However, he did not take her to visit the abbot Xuanwei Zhenren, but went to see Princess Yuzhen first.
Princess Yuzhen and Your Majesty are not born of the same mother, but she was raised by Your Majesty's biological mother, Empress Dowager Jingxian. Compared with her other brothers and sisters, Chen Dingyao rarely has the patience to say a few words to Yuzhen.
When Princess Yuzhen was seventeen years old, she was married by Chen Dingyao to Fu Yushu, the son of the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. The couple had a deep relationship after marriage. Unfortunately, Fu Yushu died young due to illness. After that, Princess Yuzhen chose to become a Taoist in grief and did not return to the palace for many years.
The place where Princess Yuzhen became a nun was at Ziyun Temple.
When Chan Zhen and His Majesty came to visit, in addition to Princess Yu Zhen who was wearing a Taoist robe and had an indifferent expression, they also saw another beautiful and charming young girl who was accompanying Princess Yu Zhen and holding a scripture for her.
The woman had clearly met His Majesty before; upon seeing them enter, she immediately put down her sutra and stood to pay her respects. Princess Yuzhen, however, remained motionless, her gaze fixed on His Majesty's indifferent expression before a faint smile crept across her face.
"Royal brother, long time no see."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Chan Zhen, with a look of neither joy nor sadness on her face, "This must be the Imperial Concubine."
After all, Princess Yuzhen had been a nun for many years, so Chen Dingyao did not care about her inappropriate behavior and just nodded slightly.
"It turns out Xuan Yang is here too."
Princess Yuzhen glanced at the girl beside her and said, "Mother Xuanyang has been feeling unwell recently, so I came here to burn some incense and pray for her."
Princess Xuanyang was the daughter of the younger sister of the husband Fu Yushu. Princess Yuzhen and the husband had never had children, so she treated the husband's only niece as her own and specifically asked His Majesty to grant her the title of Princess Xuanyang.
Chen Dingyao didn't care about others and just said to Princess Yuzhen, "I have something to ask Taoist Xuanwei, and I would like to ask Yuzhen to accompany the concubine for a while."
"Your Majesty?" Zen Zhen looked at him puzzled.
Chen Dingyao patted her head soothingly: "Master Xuanwei doesn't like to see outsiders. Chanzhen, please wait here for a moment."
Zen Zhen had no doubts and nodded obediently.
Princess Yuzhen had long heard that His Majesty had recently acquired a new imperial concubine, and that several exceptions had been made for her, practically pampering her to the skies, with even the three concubines giving her the cold shoulder. Seeing her today, she was convinced her reputation was truly lived up to. It was the first time she had seen such a gentle, protective expression on the face of her overbearing and cold-hearted brother.
"Just rest assured, my royal brother."
Her friendship with His Majesty was only slightly closer than that with other brothers and sisters. In addition, she has been practicing in a Taoist temple in recent years and has not been concerned with worldly affairs. Her relationship with His Majesty is probably not as good as before. Naturally, she would not be at odds with the imperial concubine whom he is obsessed with.
Chen Dingyao was relatively confident in her. Yuzhen's greatest strength was her foresight, so after he ascended the throne, he only conferred the title of eldest princess on this sister.
Zen Zhen looked at him reluctantly, but did not say anything to keep him.
"Wait for me." He patted her hand lightly before turning and leaving.
In the Sanqing Hall, Taoist Xuanwei had white hair fluttering like in his previous life. He knelt in front of the Sanqing statue with his eyes closed, as if he had been waiting for a long time.
"Master Xuanwei, how are you?" Chen Dingyao stood beside him with his hands behind his back, looking up at the grand statue of the Three Pure Ones.
Taoist Xuanwei didn't open his eyes, but asked calmly, "Your Majesty, have you achieved what you wished for?"
Chen Dingyao's eyes were filled with complex emotions, and after a long time, he sighed softly.
"I ask for much, and I am never satisfied."
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