Chapter 143 Everything can lie, but the body won't.
During court today, more than one courtier noticed that Emperor Zhaoheng was in a particularly good mood.
He didn't look too good today, with faint bluish-black under his eyes, but his expression was very satisfied.
Like someone who has been starving for a long time suddenly being full, no matter what expression they make, a faint joy will show on their brows.
Emperor Zhaoheng did not notice at first, until after the court session, when a court official asked, "Why is Your Majesty in such a good mood today?"
Emperor Zhaoheng subconsciously touched the corner of his lips, and only when he realized that his thin lips were unintentionally curving upwards did he regain his composure.
"My dear minister, you've misread it."
Emperor Zhaoheng thought to himself: Yesterday, Narcissus did not cause him any trouble; on the contrary, the two of them made love.
Everything can lie, but the body won't.
Emperor Zhaoheng could deeply understand that Shui Xian truly did not mind his order to divide power.
The image of the late emperor's concubine flashed through his mind, and he thought to himself: as long as Narcissus does not become empress, he can make her a concubine for life.
This is the limit of his affection for daffodils.
As Emperor Zhaoheng was pondering this, the courtiers standing opposite him were quite dumbfounded.
The Emperor had just said that nothing was wrong and that he had misread it, so why did he suddenly start laughing to himself again?
Just then, Feng Shunxiang tiptoed to Emperor Zhaoheng's side and whispered a few words in his ear.
Emperor Zhaoheng's smile vanished instantly. "Why is she here?"
Before Feng Shunxiang could answer, Emperor Zhaoheng said without hesitation, "Let's go back and take a look."
On his way back to the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Zhaoheng recalled what Feng Shunxiang had whispered in his ear.
Narcissus was already waiting in the Qianqing Palace; she had been waiting there for almost half an hour.
What could possibly be so compelling that she'd wait like this...?
A dark feeling crossed Emperor Zhaoheng's mind as he rode his imperial carriage to the gate of Qianqing Palace.
Even though it was still a long way off, Emperor Zhaoheng inexplicably felt unwilling to take a step forward.
"Feng Shunxiang...Do I still have some official business to attend to?"
Feng Shunxiang found it strange; he had never seen Emperor Zhaoheng like this before. During this period, because of what the Empress said, the Emperor first had Consort De divide Consort Jin's power.
However, he couldn't let go of Consort Jin in his heart, so he rarely went to Lihe Palace, and even less so to the other concubines in the harem.
Sometimes, Feng Shunxiang even considered overstepping his bounds and having a chat with Emperor Zhaoheng.
Since you can't let go, you might as well follow your heart.
But since it was his master's matter, he couldn't say anything more, so he could only cough lightly and remind him, "Your Majesty, there's not much to do with state affairs today..."
Did Emperor Zhaoheng not know? Of course he did.
But after hearing Feng Shunxiang's words, he couldn't help but glare at Feng Shunxiang, and then quickly walked up the jade steps.
As soon as he entered the hall, he saw Tinglu standing guard in the outer room. Upon seeing him, Tinglu stepped forward and bowed to him.
Emperor Zhaoheng nodded and asked in a deep voice, "Where is your empress?"
"Your Majesty, my lady is waiting for you in the warm pavilion."
As Tinglu spoke, she couldn't help but glance cautiously in the direction of the warm pavilion.
Judging from her appearance, she seems to be very afraid of daffodils.
Normally, Shui Xian gets along very well with these servants, and almost no one in the Lihe Palace is afraid of her.
But seeing Tinglu's expression now, Emperor Zhaoheng suddenly felt that things were not so simple.
Narcissus... is she really angry?
That can't be right.
Emperor Zhaoheng was silent for a moment, and when he came to his senses, he felt it was absurd.
As a dignified ruler, how could I care about the thoughts and feelings of a weak woman?
As a concubine, she should prioritize his interests and his feelings.
As the saying goes: A husband is a wife's heaven. Heaven cannot be escaped, and a husband cannot be disobeyed.
Emperor Zhaoheng, having convinced himself of these thoughts, set off towards the warm pavilion.
But Narcissus always manages to surprise her.
When Emperor Zhaoheng was prepared to enter the warm pavilion, expecting Shui Xian to be angry, he was instead met with Shui Xian sitting by the window with her back to him.
Upon seeing her slender figure from behind, Emperor Zhaoheng's wild thoughts instantly subsided.
Just looking at her brought him peace.
"Xian'er..."
Emperor Zhaoheng recalled the absurdity that had continued until this morning, and his heart softened somewhat.
He said to Narcissus, "There are some things I shouldn't have kept from you; I should have told you sooner..."
As Emperor Zhaoheng spoke, he slowly walked towards the narcissus.
He glanced down unintentionally and saw glistening tears streaming down his cheeks.
The daffodils are crying.
She wasn't angry; she was crying.
Narcissus turned her face away, as if she felt embarrassed that he had seen her tears.
She rose from the couch by the window in the warm pavilion. "Your Majesty, I shouldn't have come... I should go back..."
As Narcissus spoke, she made a gesture as if to leave.
Emperor Zhaoheng's heart tightened. His mind seemed to be filled only with her two clear tears. As for anything else... Emperor Zhaoheng felt unable to think.
But he still instinctively grabbed Narcissus's wrist, "Don't go."
At that moment, how could he possibly have any thoughts of the late Emperor's Consort?
Only his concubine remained...
Emperor Zhaoheng grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms. He didn't want to let go of her to get the handkerchief, so he used the sleeve of his dragon robe, a symbol of worldly nobility, to wipe away her tears.
"Don't cry."
Narcissus casually wrapped her arms around his lean waist, resting her cheek on his well-defined chest. "Your Majesty, have you already grown tired of Xian'er?"
Last night, Shui Xian deliberately did not question Emperor Zhaoheng.
She liked to surprise people, and if Emperor Zhaoheng had anticipated this, he would have already prepared his response.
As expected, upon hearing Shui Xian's words, Emperor Zhao Heng, whose mind was somewhat disturbed by Shui Xian's tears, blurted out the same thing without thinking.
"How could I possibly despise Xian'er? I..."
He stopped abruptly at this point. How could he explain his behavior during this period?
The Empress's health condition was a secret that could not be revealed to the concubines in the harem. If he could not explain to Shui Xian that the Empress was currently in poor health, he could not explain that the Empress had recommended Shui Xian to be the successor to the Empress.
Seeing Emperor Zhaoheng's hesitant gaze, Shui Xian remained outwardly calm, but she vaguely sensed that something was amiss.
As she had envisioned, Emperor Zhaoheng should now reveal his reasons instead of remaining silent.
What could possibly have led Emperor Zhaoheng to choose to keep this a secret?
Narcissus's mind raced with recent events. Her eyes flickered slightly as she guessed, "But the Empress..."
She deliberately gave vague answers, as if she knew the truth.
If Emperor Zhaoheng were still calm, he could observe his conversation with Shui Xian from a third-person perspective. Given his shrewdness, he would surely realize that Shui Xian was trying to extract information from him.
Checking whether someone is trying to trick you into revealing information is incredibly simple. Just keep asking probing questions until you get to the bottom of things. If the other person truly doesn't know, they will eventually slip up.
However, the moment Emperor Zhaoheng saw her tears, his heart was in turmoil.
Emperor Zhaoheng pursed his thin lips slightly, but still chose to speak.
"So, the Empress also told you... Yes, given the Empress's cautious and thorough nature, she would definitely have asked for your opinion before recommending you as Empress to me."
Empress?!
The Empress recommended her?!
This was an answer that Narcissus never expected!
For a fleeting moment, she even had the illusion that she had misunderstood the Empress, that the Empress was actually a good person.
However, Granny Sun committed suicide out of fear of punishment, admitting that she had indeed poisoned Yongning.
Shui Xian did not believe that Sun Mama, who was by the Empress's side, could poison the princess without consulting the Empress, simply because she wanted to consider the Empress's feelings.
The Empress must have known that the princess was poisoned.
Therefore, she couldn't possibly be a good person.
Thinking of his daughter Narcissus, his heart hardened instantly.
Once she regained her composure, she vaguely guessed what the Empress meant.
Recommending her as empress, without a doubt, would touch a nerve in Emperor Zhaoheng's heart regarding the late imperial concubine.
If we follow this line of thought, it can also explain why Emperor Zhaoheng suddenly asked Consort De to share her power, and why he ignored her for a period of time.
The root of all this has nothing to do with how similar her life trajectory is to that of the late imperial concubine... Both were born into humble circumstances and then rose to the position of imperial concubine in a short period of time.
The root of the problem lies in the fact that Emperor Zhaoheng, deep down, did not want to become his father—that mediocre man who allowed his concubine to wreak havoc on the court and endanger the country!
Everything happened in the blink of an eye, and Narcissus quickly figured out the key to it.
Once she understands why Emperor Zhaoheng treats her this way, she will be able to untie the knot in Emperor Zhaoheng's heart.
"...Your Majesty, the Empress has never mentioned the matter of a successor to me."
First, she should deny knowing about it, otherwise it would seem as if the Empress and she had secretly arranged the succession without the Emperor's knowledge.
"I am extremely fortunate to have suddenly gained the Emperor's favor and even been promoted to the rank of Noble Consort. With Her Majesty the Empress seriously ill, both Noble Consort De and I wish to take this opportunity to help Her Majesty manage the harem, so that Her Majesty can focus on her recovery."
Secondly, she demonstrated that her role in managing the six palaces was not for power, but for the stability of the emperor, empress, and even the imperial court and harem.
"I know I am of lowly birth, how dare I covet the Empress's throne? I am willing to relinquish my power to assist in managing the six palaces to prove my innocence!"
Finally, what Narcissus wanted was to guide Emperor Zhaoheng to say what she wanted to hear from him.
Emperor Zhaoheng held her tightly, soothing her in a hoarse voice.
“Xian’er, you may have a humble background, but you are not lowly.”
"I will not allow you to look down on yourself like that!"
Narcissus buried her head in his arms, and in a corner where he couldn't see her, a faint smile appeared on her lips.
Some things are more credible when said by oneself.
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