Chapter 12 Returning to the Room "Your Highness, may you return to Qingluan Palace to rest tonight?"...
"Yes." Shen Mi responded, extending her fingers from her sleeve. Her slightly cool fingertips gently touched Gu Zhan's temples, but she tried to be gentle. Her eyelashes drooped, and she only dared to stare at her own shoes, not daring to look at Gu Zhan again.
Gu Zhan noticed her trembling eyelashes and restrained movements. He wondered why Shen Mi was so afraid of him, but he was preoccupied with official business and had no intention of wasting time on such trivial matters, so he closed his eyes.
Shen Mi was unaware of Gu Zhan's thoughts. She only felt that since Gu Zhan had finally allowed her to get close to him once, she absolutely could not make any mistakes in her actions. Even though she was feeling unwell, her wrists were sore, and she saw overlapping shadows in front of her, she still restrained herself.
She couldn't bear the dizziness and couldn't help but let go.
Gu Zhan opened his eyes and asked, "Why did you stop?"
"Your Highness, please forgive me." Shen Mi pinched her fingertips, trying to clear her mind, but her weak breath betrayed her physical condition.
Just as she was about to raise her hand again to continue pressing Gu Zhan's head, her vision suddenly went black. She instinctively grabbed the armrest of the chair beside her, but instead of regaining her balance, she slowly fainted and fell to the ground.
When she opened her eyes again, Shen Mi found herself in front of the familiar bed canopy. She remembered what had happened before she fainted, and her hazy consciousness immediately cleared.
"Your Highness, please forgive me!" Her voice was hoarse when she spoke, but she subconsciously turned over and sat up on the couch. Cuiwei and Danju were serving her. Through the window, she could see that it was daytime outside, not the night when she went to the Qinzheng Hall.
Cuiwei gestured for Danju to bring over a cup of hot water, and thoughtfully placed a cushion behind Shen Mi's back to make her more comfortable. "Liangdi, have some water to soothe your throat first."
Shen Mi took a few sips from her hand, then couldn't help asking, "How long have I been asleep? Is Your Highness angry? Wasn't I in the Hall of Diligent Governance? How did you get back?"
Her long string of questions left Cuiwei unsure which to answer first, so she could only say, "Don't worry, Consort, it's not even 9 AM yet. Last night, His Highness carried you back, and he even instructed me and Danju to take good care of you. He didn't seem angry at all."
Shen Mi was slightly relieved and asked Cuiwei to help her up to wash and do her makeup.
Wearing earrings, Sun Cheng arrived with the chef for breakfast. He brought several of his apprentices, each carrying an ebony box.
"Eunuch Sun, what's this?" Shen Mi looked at the three or four eunuchs following behind Sun Cheng.
Sun Cheng smiled and said, "His Highness the Crown Prince is considerate of Consort Liang's health. Before going to court, he specifically instructed me to send these nourishing tonics to Qingluan Palace."
Upon hearing this, Shen Mi was stunned for a moment. So, it meant that although she had behaved improperly before the emperor last night, Gu Zhan not only didn't blame her, but also put aside his official duties to personally escort her back to Qingluan Palace, and even sent Sun Cheng to deliver things? So, her move to practice cooking to please Gu Zhan wasn't a mistake. Did Gu Zhan now feel some pity for her?
"Liangdi?" Sun Cheng called out again when he saw her lost in thought.
Shen Mi finally came to her senses, thanked Sun Cheng, and gestured for Cuiwei and Danju to accept the gifts.
During breakfast, Danju noticed that Consort Shen, who had been in the Eastern Palace for two months, finally had a smile on her face, and seemed to have a better appetite than usual. She also thought that the Crown Prince had personally escorted her back last night, and that the palace servants along the way must have seen it, so she was also happy.
When she heard that a concubine was coming to the Eastern Palace, and that it was an imperial decree to arrange the marriage, she went to great lengths to find the opportunity to serve Concubine Shen. She hoped that she could rise to prominence and bring honor to her entire family. However, she did not expect that His Highness did not like Concubine Shen. Apart from their wedding day, he never came to Qingluan Palace again. Last night was the first time. But once there is a first time, there will be a second time. In other words, her good days are about to begin.
After finishing her meal and rinsing her mouth, Shen Mi instructed Dan Ju, "Go and have your men prepare a carriage."
Danju casually asked, "Does the Lady Consort wish to escort His Highness off from court?"
Should she escort Gu Zhan off to court? Shen Mi hadn't considered this. Her relationship with Gu Zhan had only recently improved, and if she went rashly, she might displease him. It was better not to take that risk.
She gently shook her head at Danju, "I have something else to do."
Shen Mi recalled that Gu Zhan had asked her to massage his head last night. His headache might be due to the burden of official duties, but Shen Mi thought it was also related to the slightly dry winter weather in Bianjing. She thought it would be better to sew him a sachet; if he wore it, it would probably be beneficial. Shen Mi remembered that before she went to Yanzhou with her parents, there was a shop in Bianjing that specialized in selling various spices and herbs. Although she didn't know if it was still there, she still wanted to try to find it.
Unexpectedly, after five years away from Bianjing, the small shop not only did not go out of business due to low profits, but the shop was even much bigger than before. It was no longer run by the two sisters, and it seemed that they had hired guards and other waiters to guide the endless stream of customers inside.
The shopkeeper noticed that although Shen Mi wasn't wearing gold or silver, the fabric of her clothes was exquisite enough that no ordinary family could afford it. He could tell at a glance that she was either rich or noble. So he bypassed the young girl and personally led her around, saying, "This lady looks unfamiliar. It must be your first time visiting our Anxiangfang. What do you need? Just tell me."
When Shen Mi came, she only brought Cuiwei with her. She did not intend to reveal her true identity. She only said, "My husband is usually busy with official business. Since winter, he has been suffering from headaches. He has heard of the name of Anxiangfang and came to ask what spices are available."
The innkeeper led Shen Mi to a seat, gestured for the waiter to serve her tea, and asked, "Madam, would you like some incense balls to put in the incense burner, or something made into a sachet?"
Shen Mi carefully recalled the previous times she went to the Hall of Diligent Governance, and the incense burner always had the same scent, which smelled like agarwood. She figured that Gu Zhan had his own incense-burning habits, and she didn't want to change the incense he was used to. So she said, "My husband doesn't like incense, so a sachet will do."
The owner gestured to a young girl to bring over several trays. "These sachets are wonderful! For everyone's convenience, our Anxiangfang now sells not only spices but also finished sachets. Look, madam, these are all made of the finest Yun brocade. If you need them, you can fill them with spices yourself, so you don't have to do it yourself."
Shen Mi glanced at the rows of sachets, a dazzling array of items, and while she wasn't entirely satisfied, she still picked out a few and had Cuiwei pay for them.
Upon returning to the Eastern Palace, Shen Mi instructed Cuiwei to dismantle the sachets, leaving only the spices inside.
Cuiwei asked, puzzled, "Why is that?"
Shen Mi stroked the patterns on the sachets. "When the shopkeeper heard that I was going to give them to the 'official,' he had them all decorated with patterns like twin lotus flowers and mandarin ducks with intertwined necks. If I send these over, it will surely displease His Highness. Besides, since they are to be given to His Highness, it would be more meaningful to sew them myself."
Shen Mi was always like this; once she decided to do something, she would never delay until the next day. As a result, when Cuiwei thought that this sachet would take some time to embroider, Shen Mi immediately asked Cuiwei to get silk thread, plain silk, embroidery hoop, and the like.
“My dear sister-in-law, there’s no need to rush things for just a day or two. You’re not fully recovered yet; you should rest.” Cuiwei couldn’t help but worry.
"No need, the sooner the better." Such an opportunity is rare. It's already mid-December, and in another half month there will be the palace's New Year's banquet and the New Year's Day grand court assembly. At that time, she can no longer find an excuse to hide in the East Palace on the day of the Laba Palace banquet. She still needs to make Gu Zhan have less prejudice against her before then.
Seeing that Shen Mi had made up her mind, Cuiwei knew that it was useless to dissuade her. All she could do was help Shen Mi by splitting the thread while she embroidered the sachet.
To embroider this sachet, Shen Mi spent almost all her time, except for meals and sleep, on it. Moreover, even though she said she was embroidering one sachet, Shen Mi was not satisfied with it after finishing one, so she embroidered several more, but she found fault with each one. She thought the stitches were too sparse here, or the cloud patterns were too dense there, or the silk threads at the joints were knotted...
Cuiwei couldn't see anything amiss. Looking around, she found each sachet exquisitely crafted, with lifelike cloud patterns, and none of the problems Shen Mi had mentioned.
“My lady, your needlework has been excellent since you were a child. Forgive my poor eyesight, but I think these are all top-notch.”
“This is different. Your Highness grew up in the palace and has seen countless exquisite crafts. I don’t want to make any mistakes in this matter.” As soon as Shen Mi spoke to her, she became distracted. The embroidery needle pricked her fingertip, and blood quickly seeped into the sachet in her hand. The sachet was only a few stitches away from being finished, but now it was all in vain.
Shen Mi casually tossed the sachet aside and began embroidering again. Having embroidered so many, she was already very skilled; she didn't even need to draw the patterns, she could embroider simply by looking at them.
After many failed attempts, she finally finished embroidering a sachet that she was satisfied with, but her fingers were covered with needle marks. Cuiwei felt sorry for her, but Shenmi didn't care.
She presented the sachet to Gu Zhan and said cautiously, "I noticed that Your Highness has been preoccupied with state affairs lately and is always restless. So I sewed a sachet for Your Highness, filled with some herbs and spices, hoping to relieve some of Your Highness's headaches."
Gu Zhan merely glanced at it and said calmly, "I understand. Just leave it there."
Seeing that Gu Zhan had so casually responded to her feelings of the past few days, Shen Mi felt somewhat wronged. She lowered her head and asked Gu Zhan, "Your Highness, do you not like it?"
Gu Zhan answered quickly, but his gaze remained fixed on the official document in his hand: "No."
Shen Mi took a deep breath and mustered her courage to ask Gu Zhan, "My health has greatly improved now. If Your Highness has some free time while handling official duties, may you visit Qingluan Palace?"
She didn't dare to look up, but she heard Gu Zhan put down the official document in his hand and reply to her, "If I'm free tonight, I will come."
As soon as he finished speaking, Sun Cheng gently knocked on the door from the outside, and Gu Zhan let him in.
Before speaking, Sun Cheng glanced at Shen Mi with some hesitation. Gu Zhan told him to speak directly, and Sun Cheng then said, "Your Highness, news just came that Minister Su has returned to the capital."
A buzzing sound seemed to be coming from Shen Mi's ears.
The envoy Su has returned to the capital. Does that mean that Miss Su, Gu Zhan's childhood sweetheart mentioned by Princess Roufu Gu Chiying, has also returned from Pingjiang Road?
Sun Cheng added, "They would like you to go to Fanlou."
The silence lasted only a moment.
Gu Zhan said, "Go and tell them that I will go."
Shen Mi looked up at Gu Zhan in astonishment. He was going to Fanlou to attend the Su family's banquet. Would he still be returning to Qingluan Palace?
She moved her lips, wanting to ask Gu Zhan if his words from earlier still held true.
A note from the author:
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I discovered the timer was stuck and the message didn't go through. I just logged in and manually updated it. Sorry! [pity]
Also, the next chapter will be updated on Tuesday at 8 PM.
The word count before "V" is to make it easier to get on the charts and enter the "V" section, so that we can give you more content as soon as possible after entering the "V" section!
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