Chapter 287 The Emperor and Empress haven't gotten up yet...
The morning light filtered softly and hazily through the layers of gauze curtains in the Lihe Palace, shining on the couch and onto Emperor Zhaoheng's large hand that was holding Shuixian's slender waist.
Yesterday, Shui Xiu stayed until the palace gates were about to close before leaving. When Emperor Zhaoheng entered the palace, he noticed that Shui Xian was in low spirits.
He couldn't help but go over and coax her gently, and as he coaxed her, she went to the bed.
I ordered water twice, which continued until late at night.
Emperor Zhaoheng woke up before the person beside him. Before he even opened his eyes, his fingertips unconsciously caressed her side waist, feeling its smooth texture.
His habit, cultivated through years of diligent governance, always kept him awake at a fixed time. However, today, he did not get up immediately as usual to face the seemingly endless stream of official documents.
After waking up, Emperor Zhaoheng turned slightly to his side, propped his head up with his elbow, and gazed at the peaceful sleeping face of the person next to him.
The sunlight cast a warm glow on her delicate, jade-like skin, and her long, thick eyelashes cast soft shadows under her eyes. Her breathing was shallow and even, indicating that she was still fast asleep.
He was so engrossed in watching that he couldn't help but reach out his hand.
His hand gently and slowly brushed across her relaxed eyebrows, slid down her delicate nose, and finally rested on her soft lips.
The subtle touch made the narcissus's eyelashes tremble slightly, and she slowly woke up.
The moment she opened her eyes, she was met with a pair of deep, smiling eyes. Her image was reflected in those eyes, crystal clear, with nothing else in them.
"emperor……"
She had just opened her mouth, her voice still carrying the languid quality unique to early morning.
The rest of the words were sealed with a gentle kiss.
This kiss was different from the fierce plundering during passionate nights; instead, it was full of tenderness, like a patient exploration.
When the kiss ended, Emperor Zhaoheng did not pull away, but gently pressed his forehead against hers, their noses touching, their breaths mingling, his voice low and hoarse.
"There is no grand court session today, so I wish to... spend more time with you."
Narcissus's heart skipped a beat. Before she could respond, a burst of clear laughter came from outside the hall, mixed with the slightly anxious whispers of a palace servant trying to dissuade her.
"Princess, Princess, please wait! The Emperor and the Empress haven't gotten up yet..."
The next moment, the door to the bedchamber was pushed open by a small force, and a small figure dressed in a pink palace dress with her hair in double buns rushed in unimpeded. It was Yongning.
Her big, round eyes looked curiously at the bed. When she saw her parents embracing, she immediately grinned and climbed onto the edge of the bed, saying in a clear voice, "Are Father and Mother sleeping in? The sun's already high in the sky!"
Shuixian subconsciously pulled the blanket up to cover her body, which was only wearing a nightgown.
Although her daughter was young, the scene still brought a flush to her face.
Emperor Zhaoheng, however, did not take it seriously and burst into loud laughter.
With a swift movement of his long arm, he easily scooped his daughter onto the bed and placed her between the two of them.
Yongning found it amusing and rolled around in the soft brocade quilt, her giggles filling the entire inner palace.
He reached out, put one arm around Shui Xian's shoulder, and gently pinched his daughter's little nose with the other, teasingly saying, "Yes, yes, our Yongning gets up the earliest, she's a diligent and good child."
The warm atmosphere dispelled the last trace of sleepiness.
Only when a palace maid quietly announced that breakfast was ready did Emperor Zhaoheng, holding the still excited Yongning, rise with Shuixian.
After having breakfast, Emperor Zhaoheng was eventually invited by Feng Shunxiang, who had come to consult him, to the Qianqing Palace to handle state affairs.
Shui Xian personally saw him off, and then watched as the wet nurse took Yongning away to play. Only then did she compose herself and regain her usual dignified composure.
She moved to a side hall where palace affairs were handled, where female officials from the Imperial Household Department and the Shanggong Bureau were already waiting to be summoned, holding account books and lists.
At the start of the day, reports of all matters concerning the six palaces came in like a flowing stream.
Narcissus handled everything methodically, sometimes writing red marks, sometimes asking questions, and sometimes giving instructions.
However, upon hearing about the affairs of the various palaces, Narcissus noticed that the harem was becoming somewhat too quiet.
Many high-ranking concubines were deposed or given death sentences. After that incident, Consort De lived a secluded life and rarely saw outsiders.
Now, the only ones who can still show their faces in front of her are Consort Jing, Wen Jingfeng, and a few other concubines.
Even among the concubines who remained, their expressions during morning audiences or replies betrayed the loneliness and desolation of the deep palace.
Their lives seemed to have no other purpose than the daily greetings.
Feeling compassion, Narcissus took the time to speak with two senior, relatively well-behaved lower-ranking concubines.
When asked what they do in their spare time, they simply do needlework and read books.
The emptiness conveyed in her words made Narcissus feel a little down.
But what can she do?
This realization weighed heavily on Narcissus's heart. In this cutthroat palace, where life and death were intertwined, she didn't even know if her compassion at this moment was justified...
......
One afternoon, Narcissus was taking a walk in the Imperial Garden to digest her food when she came to a crabapple flower garden. There she saw a familiar figure sitting alone in a pavilion by the water, gazing at the fish swimming in the pond.
This person was none other than Consort Jing, Wen Jingfeng.
Narcissus gestured for the procession behind her to stop, and then slowed her pace and walked over.
Perhaps hearing the noise, Wen Jingfeng turned around and saw that it was Shui Xian. He quickly stood up to greet her.
"No need for formalities." Narcissus raised her hand in a gesture of support and sat down beside her.
She looked at Wen Jingfeng and noticed that she seemed to have lost some weight in just a few days.
"Consort Jing seems to be feeling unwell lately. Should we summon the imperial physician to take a look?"
Narcissus spoke gently.
Wen Jingfeng lowered her head slightly: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am fine. It's just... perhaps I am still feeling sleepy from the spring, as I didn't sleep very well last night."
Narcissus looked at her quietly for a moment, but she didn't ask any further questions. She simply softened her voice.
"If you have something on your mind, don't keep it to yourself. I may not be able to help you much, but I can still listen."
Under that gentle gaze, Wen Jingfeng's carefully maintained composure seemed to crack.
Her eyes were slightly red, and she remained silent for a long while.
"It's really nothing... It's just that lately I've been having recurring dreams about the past... I'm feeling a bit uneasy, and I hope Your Majesty won't laugh at me."
Old stories? Narcissus knew the answer.
I recently heard that Lu Yuanhang, the young master of the Chang'an Escort Agency, received a commendation from the Ministry of War for escorting a batch of important military supplies into the capital.
This news must have stirred up memories of the past in Consort Jing's heart.
Narcissus sighed inwardly; the word "love" is the most difficult to understand.
Especially someone like Wen Jingfeng, who has no choice in the matter.
"The past is gone; what matters is the present and the future."
Shui Xian said earnestly, "Now that you are Consort Jing, you are honored and should cherish yourself even more. If you feel bored in the palace, you might as well go to the soon-to-be-opened Women's Academy, or... if you miss your family, I can ask the Emperor to allow your mother to enter the palace to keep you company for a few days."
Upon hearing this, Wen Jingfeng's eyes flashed with gratitude, but also with a deeper mix of emotions.
She rose and bowed deeply to Narcissus: "Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace."
Narcissus offered her a few more words of comfort before getting up and leaving.
Unbeknownst to her, a jealous gaze had been following her and Wen Jingfeng from the shadow of a nearby artificial rock formation until she left. Only then did the gaze silently turn and depart, without disturbing Wen Jingfeng, who remained lost in thought in the pavilion.
The owner of that gaze was none other than Consort Chen, who had been promoted to the rank of Consort a few days ago due to the vacancy of the principal position.
Consort Chen and Wen Jingfeng were close friends, having grown up together since childhood.
Although Consort Chen's background was not bad, it was ultimately inferior to Wen Jingfeng's family.
She desperately hoped to enter the palace, gain the emperor's favor, bring glory to her family, and restore its former splendor.
She entered the palace earlier than Wen Jingfeng. She believed that she was not bad in terms of appearance and talent, but she never won the emperor's favor. After several years, she only got the rank of concubine.
And what about Wen Jingfeng?
Consort Chen felt extremely distressed at the thought.
Wen Jingfeng clearly had no interest in entering the palace, but because she had an aunt who was the late emperor's favorite concubine, she entered the palace directly as a concubine and easily obtained the high position that Consort Chen could not obtain!
What's even more infuriating is that Wen Jingfeng, despite getting what she wanted, always maintained an aloof and self-possessed attitude, as if everything that Consort Chen had been striving for was insignificant in Wen Jingfeng's eyes!
This invisible contrast fueled the growing jealousy and resentment in Consort Chen's heart.
The friendship of the past has long since deteriorated into deep-seated resentment due to the imbalance of mentality.
"Why...why do you get all the good things!"
Consort Chen returned to her somewhat secluded palace and muttered through gritted teeth.
A wicked thought had been swirling in her mind for a long time.
Based on her knowledge of Wen Jingfeng's past, she knew that when Wen Jingfeng was a teenager, she had an accident while going out to burn incense with her family and was rescued by Lu Yuanhang, the young master of the Chang'an Escort Agency, who happened to be passing by. There may have been a vague affection between the two.
Later, the Wen family forcibly sent Wen Jingfeng to the palace, and this budding romance naturally came to an end.
That's exactly what Consort Chen wanted to exploit.
She began to subtly spread rumors among some of the lower-ranking concubines.
"I heard that before Consort Jing entered the palace, she had a sweetheart who was a figure from the martial arts world..."
"Really? This is terrible! What if the Emperor and Empress find out..."
"Shh...keep your voice down, I just heard it from someone else..."
Many palace servants had vaguely heard rumors, but due to Consort Jing's rank and the Empress's strict rule, they dared not discuss it openly, only exchanging knowing glances in private.
Narcissus naturally heard the whispers of the wind.
When Tinglu reported the scattered information she had collected to her, Shuixian's brows furrowed slightly.
She instinctively felt that something was amiss. Based on her understanding of Wen Jingfeng, she was not such an unwise person.
But rumors don't come from nowhere, especially in the deep palace.
She secretly increased the number of people, keeping an eye on Wen Jingfeng's movements while also keeping track of the source of the rumors.
A few days later, one afternoon, Shui Xian was listening to a report from the Imperial Household Department at the Lihe Palace.
Tinglu hurried in from outside. She walked to Shuixian's side and whispered urgently:
"Your Majesty, Consort Chen, accompanied by an unfamiliar old woman, stormed towards Yonglu Palace, where Consort Jing resides! Consort Chen kept saying that she wanted to... to expose Consort Jing's crimes!"
Shui Xian's eyes suddenly sharpened, and she stopped flipping through the account books.
"Prepare the carriage, let's go to Yonglu Palace!"
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