Chapter 67 Take me to the bed... okay?
Yinzhu carried a copper basin filled with clear water into the inner room and immediately saw Shuixian staring blankly at the inconspicuous celadon round box on the dressing table.
She practically lunged at him, her voice urgent:
"Your Majesty! Please put it down! This... this perfume balm with added ingredients is best avoided!"
Narcissus raised an eyebrow slightly: "Oh? Who told you there was medicine in this balm?"
"Huh?" Yinzhu was taken aback by the question. "Didn't you tell me to find a way to secretly deliver it to Xuemei? You specifically instructed me to use this kind of unmarked box... I thought..."
Narcissus herself opened the celadon round box, revealing the smooth, white ointment inside.
She scooped up a little with her fingertip, applied it to the smooth back of her hand, and gently rubbed it in.
“Look,” she said, holding out the back of her hand, which she had coated with smeared smears, to Yinzhu, “nothing was added.”
Yinzhu's eyes widened, even more confused: "Then... what is this for...?"
She recognized the perfume cream clearly; it was one of the tributes bestowed by the Emperor a few days ago, called Jade Skin Cream, which was extremely precious and said to have miraculous effects in fading marks and wrinkles.
Even the Empress herself was reluctant to use it, but this morning she made me scoop out all the ointment and put it into this inconspicuous celadon box.
Afterwards, they found an absolutely reliable palace maid and secretly placed her on Xuemei's table when the Changxin Palace was crowded with people.
Why go to such lengths just to deliver this expensive perfume to Xue Mei?
"Your Majesty, this servant is foolish and dull."
Yinzhu couldn't understand it at all. "If it's just ordinary perfume, why go to all this trouble?"
She preferred to believe that there was something inside that could poison Yi Guichun.
"I don't use poison."
Narcissus closed the lid of the perfume, her eyes flashing slightly. "But in this deep palace, sometimes, the human heart... is a thousand times more poisonous than the strongest poison."
——
A few days later, at Changxin Palace.
Yi Guichun sat in front of the dressing mirror, letting Xuemei comb her beautiful hair.
She raised her hand listlessly, admiring her newly dyed nail polish, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over Xue Mei's hand as she styled her hair.
Yi Guichun's gaze suddenly stopped.
She remembered clearly that Xue Mei's hands had developed frostbite from doing rough work in the Cold Palace, leaving many dark red marks and rough calluses, which were repulsive to look at.
But at this moment, the dark red at her knuckles had faded considerably, and the skin on the back of her hand seemed smoother, no longer as dry and rough as before.
Especially when Xue Mei's fingers accidentally brushed against her temples, a delicate fragrance, elegant yet with a unique bittersweet scent, wafted into her nostrils.
Suddenly filled with doubt, Yi Guichun grabbed Xue Mei's wrist!
Caught off guard, Xue Mei gasped in fright, nearly dropping the comb.
Ignoring her panic, Yi Guichun forcefully pulled her hand to his eyes and examined it carefully.
Sure enough, the unsightly frostbite scars faded. Although they didn't disappear completely, they were much better than before, and even the hands looked more pleasing to the eye.
"Your hands..." Yi Guichun's gaze was scrutinizing. "What good stuff did you apply? The marks have faded quite a bit, and they even have a strange fragrance?"
Xuemei's voice trembled almost imperceptibly:
"Your Majesty, no... I didn't apply anything special. It's just... I usually just use some lard mixed with some cheap herbs and rub it on haphazardly, thinking it will moisturize..."
"lard?!"
Yi Guichun immediately revealed his undisguised disgust, abruptly shaking off Xue Mei's hand as if it had been stained with something dirty, and disgustedly took out a handkerchief to wipe his fingertips.
"It smells fishy and muttony! Get lost!"
Xuemei quickly took two steps back, lowered her head with lingering fear, and hid the panic in her eyes.
After finally getting through her shift, Xuemei practically fled back to her cramped side room.
Only after closing the door and leaning against the cold door panel did she dare to breathe heavily.
She raised her hands and looked carefully at the faint light coming in from the window.
Indeed, those ugly marks have faded, and my skin feels smoother to the touch.
This perfume balm... its effects are truly amazing?
Which woman doesn't cherish herself?
Even someone as humble as her longed for a pair of hands that weren't so rough and unsightly.
Xuemei sat on the edge of the bed, carefully took out the celadon round box from under the pillow, scooped out a small piece of the white ointment, and carefully applied it to every inch of her skin.
She was so engrossed in her own world that she didn't notice a pair of gloomy, cold eyes staring intently at her from the narrow crack in the door.
Yi Guichun clenched his teeth, a growing sense of doubt creeping into his heart...
......
Meanwhile, inside Yongle Palace.
The narcissus is looking at itself in the mirror.
The woman in the mirror has a very obvious pregnant belly.
However, in stark contrast to her full pregnant belly, her face and figure appeared increasingly thin.
However, thanks to her continuous care, her skin remained delicate and fair.
"Silver Pearl," she called softly.
Yinzhu immediately stepped forward: "Your Majesty?"
"You can rest earlier these next two days."
Narcissus's tone was suggestive, "My plan... is about to begin."
Yinzhu immediately understood.
She leaned close to Narcissus's ear and whispered, "So, shall we still scatter incense ash by the palace gate at night as usual?"
Narcissus smiled slightly, "No need."
She paused, then said with an air of complete control, "Anyway, I already know everything I need to know."
It turns out that since the day she was confined to her home, Narcissus had never let her guard down.
She knew all too well that the palace was fraught with danger, especially when she was out of favor, when it was even harder to guard against hidden attacks.
So she ordered Yinzhu to carefully sprinkle a thin layer of fine incense ash in front of several gates of Yongle Palace every night after dark.
At night, the traces left by incense ash are not obvious when walking through it.
However, upon closer inspection in the bright morning light, the outline of the trampling can be discerned.
Therefore, when Emperor Zhaoheng first arrived quietly late at night and gazed at her from behind the window of the deserted side hall, Narcissus had already noticed something amiss from the scattered incense ash the next morning.
Combined with the extremely faint ambergris lingering in the side hall... the answer is obvious.
Although Shui Xian did not understand why this deep-thinking emperor was both confining her to his quarters and releasing Yi Guichun, he was also silently protecting her here.
The heart of an emperor is unfathomable.
But she didn't need to fully understand; she only needed to know that... in Emperor Zhaoheng's heart, there was still a place for her, Narcissus!
That's enough!
What surprised her even more was that after observing for several days, she discovered that the emperor came so frequently, appearing almost every one or two days.
Judging by the timeline, he should arrive tonight.
Narcissus had already made all the necessary preparations.
As night deepened, all was quiet.
Sure enough, the bright yellow figure reappeared silently behind the carved window of the deserted side hall.
Emperor Zhaoheng's deep gaze pierced through the darkness, landing precisely on that slender, aloof figure in the courtyard.
The night was beautiful, and Narcissus was taking a walk outside in a light nightgown.
Occasionally, a breeze would blow by, causing her thin clothes to cling to her body, making her protruding pregnant belly particularly noticeable.
However, apart from that, her shoulders appeared so thin, like a sheet of paper when viewed from the side.
The imperial physicians reported daily that both mother and child were safe and sound, but how could they explain the heartbreakingly emaciated state of the mother and child before them?!
Emperor Zhaoheng's brows furrowed involuntarily, his deep gaze fixed on her.
He didn't know why he always found himself drawn to this place.
Perhaps only by seeing with his own eyes that she and the child in her womb are safe and sound can he find a moment of peace in his heart?
Just then, the narcissus in the courtyard suddenly swayed!
She didn't scream or fall; instead, as if all her strength had been drained away in an instant, she slumped down softly.
She instinctively covered her protruding belly with one hand, curled up in place, looking incredibly vulnerable.
Emperor Zhaoheng subconsciously looked for any maids beside him, but Yinzhu, who always guarded Shuixian, was nowhere to be found.
"Xian'er!"
Emperor Zhaoheng could no longer hide in the darkness. He pushed open the half-closed door of the side hall and rushed to Shui Xian's side in a few steps!
A strong arm, carrying a familiar and burning heat, suddenly pulled the thin, cold body on the ground into its embrace!
"Xian'er! What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Don't be afraid, I'm here!"
Emperor Zhaoheng held her tightly, feeling her body tremble slightly, and his heart felt as if it were being torn apart.
He looked up, about to call for the palace servants and the imperial physician...
A cold, slender hand suddenly grabbed the front of his shirt.
Narcissus tilted her head slightly in his arms, the moonlight illuminating her pale face, her eyes filled with a bewildered mist.
She seemed unable to believe her eyes, her voice as soft as a sigh:
"Your Majesty...is that you? Or...is my longing too much...creating a hallucination?"
Emperor Zhaoheng's Adam's apple bobbed as he wanted to speak, to tell her it wasn't a hallucination, it was him.
However, he didn't have a chance to make a sound.
The person in his arms, as if bewitched by an illusion, pulled on his clothes with all her might and offered her lips to him.
Cool and soft lips gently pressed against the emperor's slightly parted lips, which were filled with surprise!
It was a cold, desperate kiss.
Her scent lingered around his nose, and only when he held her in his arms did Emperor Zhaoheng realize that he had been missing her all this time.
Their breaths mingled, and he held her even tighter, with such force that it seemed he wanted to meld her into his very bones.
After an unknown amount of time, when Narcissus's lips were aching, he finally released her slightly.
Narcissus gently stroked his cheek, her breathing slightly erratic, her voice pleading.
"If this is a dream... please don't let me wake up..."
"Take me to the bed... shall we?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com