Observing the Emperor's Favor, Yet Worried About Heaven's Secrets (Part 1)
The so-called "punishment" had no follow-up. Zhu Liji was mentally ill, and Zhiwei was already used to his unpredictable temper. She lowered her head and left the hall. The cold wind hit her face, and the old wound on her right wrist and the new wound on her fingertips burned with pain.
Inside the side hall, Shao Yang brought out medicine for the wound and carefully bandaged Zhi Wei's wound.
"Why bother with that inanimate object, Master?" Shao Yang looked at the purplish-red wound and felt a pang of heartache. "Look at this injury."
"As Shao Yang bandaged the wound, she whispered gently, 'His Majesty is in a good mood today. Even if you didn't finish peeling the crab, he might not really pursue the matter.'"
Zhiwei remained calm and let her do as she pleased, interrupting Shaoyang's words.
"Has His Majesty's ginseng soup been served today?"
“This servant saw His Majesty drink it all with his own eyes. Eunuch Ping took over; there’s no mistake.” Shao Yang finished treating her wound and looked up to glance at her face. “Your Highness has been asking about this a lot lately. Is it because of the soup…”
"It's nothing." Zhiwei withdrew her hand. "It's just my duty, I was just asking."
Zhiwei turned to look at the snow falling in the courtyard. The snowflakes touched her eyelashes, melting slightly and feeling cool. Zhiwei exhaled, as if sighing, and the fine wrinkles between her brows smoothed out a little.
"I just feel like this snow is going to never end," Zhiwei said, tapping on the window.
The snow outside the window showed no sign of stopping, gradually pressing down, and even the open space in the palace courtyard had accumulated a thick layer of pale white.
——
Zhu Sheng stood amidst the ice and snow, long sword in hand, each move sharp and focused, seemingly tireless.
Wan Qi stood with his arms crossed under the corridor, looking at the figures in the arena, and nodded slightly.
"Your Highness has made great progress recently." Jiang Qin's voice sounded from behind. He had arrived at some point and was holding a hand warmer.
Wan Qi did not turn around, but only said, "Lord Jiang has also arrived."
Wan Qi and Jiang Tan, one a martial arts instructor and the other a literary tutor of Zhu Sheng, both cultivated the crown prince in the name of Zhu Liji. Now, the two stood side by side, their gazes fixed on the determined figure in the arena.
Another half hour passed. The snow reflected off the sword blade, and the heat from Zhu Sheng's forehead condensed into white mist. He was clearly out of breath, yet he still refused to stop. Jiang Qin frowned as he watched, while Wan Qi beside him simply said, "Let him be."
"Don't you know whether your body is up to it or not?"
"I'm just a little worried about Your Highness."
“Since the Empress’s passing, Your Highness seems to have become a different person,” Jiang Qin sighed softly, his worry barely concealed. “Pushing yourself like this is not a long-term solution.”
Wan Qi disagreed: "If a young person can turn grief and indignation into motivation after such an event, it may not be a bad thing."
“A steadfast and resolute character, is this not exactly what His Majesty desires?”
Jiang Qin remained silent.
After a moment, Jiang Tan changed the subject and said, "General Li Mingjing has been stationed on the border for many years. His Majesty, considering his age, issued an edict to send him back. He should be on his way now. Lord Wan and General Li once served the court together in Shu County. Now that he has returned, would you like to come with me to pay him a visit?"
"If the general is unprepared, I happen to have a small gift that can help you..."
“Lord Jiang,” Wan Qi turned his head, his eyes sharp, “we each have our own duties. Whether or not I go to visit the former general is my private matter. Isn’t what you’re doing now a bit of overstepping my bounds?”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Qin smiled, his expression unchanged: "It's just a suggestion."
"The general remembers our old friendship, so he will have to pay a visit eventually, won't he?"
Wan Qi remained silent, his gaze still fixed on Zhu Sheng, who was practicing his sword in the snow. Zhu Sheng finished a set of sword techniques, and his breathing became disordered as he finished.
Wan Qi tossed the handkerchief to the boy, whose fingertips trembled as he caught it.
"We'll have an extra half hour of training tomorrow." Wan Qi's tone left no room for doubt. "If you're going to share His Majesty's burdens, and you can't even endure this little bit of hardship, you should give up now."
Zhu Sheng pursed his lips and nodded emphatically.
——
The snow fell heavier, and time was quietly slipping towards the end of the year. Zhu Liji and the Crown Prince went to worship their ancestors, but did not linger for long, and the ceremony ended quickly.
As usual, Zhiwei stood in the spot where Zhu Liji served the palace servants. She saw Zhu Sheng kneeling on the prayer mat, his back ramrod straight, his expression solemn. Before leaving, Zhu Sheng looked up at the ancestral tablets, as if he had something to say, but in the end he just closed his eyes and slowly lowered his gaze.
Zhiwei met Zhu Sheng's gaze from afar. Zhu Sheng's eyes were curved, but his gaze was cold.
Zhu Sheng's words made her feel a tightness in her chest. She secretly compared herself to him, and it seemed that something about Zhu Sheng had changed, yet something else hadn't.
Zhiwei was unaware of this, but at the beginning of the new year, she had an additional task on her shoulders—to deliver nourishing medicinal meals to Consort Liu of Yilan Palace every day.
The older a person gets, the more afraid they become of living alone in the world. Even the most powerful emperors are no exception. Perhaps it was because he was getting old and his body was not as good as before, but Zhu Liji took the matter of bloodline more and more seriously.
In early spring, Zhu Hua gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, who were very adorable. However, Zhu Liji, as the emperor, had a thin bloodline. Although the number of people in his harem was gradually increasing, apart from Consort Liu, they were almost all just decorations and received little favor. Consort Liu, on the other hand, had always been weak and had not yet conceived.
Zhu Liji was anxious, so he ordered the Imperial Medical Bureau to treat the infants in shifts and secretly instructed the Imperial Observatory to deduce celestial phenomena. He not only personally oversaw the prescriptions but also urged the Imperial Clothing Bureau to prepare clothes for the infants well in advance.
When Zhiwei held the medicinal meal with his fingers wrapped in gauze, he heard him chuckle softly to Consort Liu, saying that it didn't matter if it was a boy or a girl, as long as it was a child born to Consort Liu, he would definitely dote on it to the extreme.
At that moment, Consort Liu was picking up a piece of red bean cake when she heard this and said coquettishly, "Your Majesty only cares about the child. I'm almost dying from the bitterness of the medicine."
“I will drink even if it is bitter,” Zhu Liji pinched Liu Meiren’s nose and looked at her cunning phoenix eyes. “I think it would be good to have a daughter. She would look like you, be well-behaved and cute. If she wants the stars, I would never be willing to pluck the moon from her.
The emperor and empress smiled at each other. Zhiwei often served by his side, like the other palace maids, quietly adding incense to the incense burner, her eyes lowered, remaining silent.
Even years later, on winter nights far away in the north, Zhiwei would still recall the fervent and tender gaze Zhu Liji gave Liu Meiren. She had only seen a hint of that look in Zhu Liji's eyes when he looked at Cheng Yuzhi in his earlier years.
But it was more of a respect; as for that extra passion, Zhiwei never sought it out, nor did he ever encounter it in his life.
At that time, she thought it was Liu Meiren's gentleness and Xiao Cheng Yuzhi's lively spirit that made the emperor, who was used to being alone, feel at ease and fall in love with her.
Countless emperors throughout history have been the same; they fell in love with people, but even more so with the timing of events.
As for how much "love" it has, this is something that Zhiwei, or even anyone else, can assess.
Emperors possess too much: money, power, territory… all these things they are born with are too ordinary in their eyes, just as they wouldn't consider ginseng precious, merely a root to chew on. Therefore, those rare treasures that others equate with love may not necessarily represent true affection.
The order in which people appear is very important. Zhu Liji has reached an age where he is abandoned by everyone. There are many people he can hold onto, but few. There are young skin willing to get close, and pure souls that can touch each other. Even a traveler who has been walking in the dark for a long time will want to leave behind that spark.
Consort Liu was such a person. She was like a ray of light in early spring, gentle yet with her own temperament, shining into Zhu Liji's increasingly desolate palace.
So be it. Zhiwei continued her life as usual, delivering medicinal meals and adding incense, day after day like water dripping from the eaves. But as summer approached, she stumbled upon an accident.
The sun shone brightly that day. She pushed open the windows one by one, letting the warm fragrance of the palace dissipate, and saw Consort Liu in the courtyard of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, holding a piece of pastry and eating it in small bites.
The Emperor granted her the privilege of free access to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Consort Liu had come frequently, and the palace servants had grown accustomed to it. The sight of the Consort eating was truly pleasing to the eye. Zhiwei's gaze narrowed slightly as she watched quietly.
Before long, Consort Liu put down the pastries, her delicate eyebrows furrowed, and she quickly walked into the hall, supported by a palace maid. A few red rashes had appeared on her cheeks and neck.
"Your Majesty!" Consort Liu cried out, rushing to Zhu Liji's side. Ignoring the memorial in his hands, she sat on his lap, her slender arms around his neck, shaking him gently. "You must do me justice! The pastries Consort Wan sent must be problematic. I only took a small bite, but look at my face..."
Liu Meiren sobbed, her fingertips trembling as she pointed to the spreading rash.
"My beloved concubine, what's wrong?" Zhu Liji comforted Liu Meiren by supporting her waist, then ordered Pinghai to fetch the imperial physician and asked Zhiwei to go and check on her.
Zhiwei stepped forward and carefully examined the red spots on Liu Meiren's arm, then looked at the remaining pastries, and immediately understood.
Lady Liu couldn't eat red beans, but the pastry contained red beans, and although the amount was small, it still caused a reaction in her body.
The more Zhiwei looked at the plate of red bean cakes, the more familiar they seemed. She suddenly remembered that the plate of red bean cakes was the one she had seen Wan Zhen'er use yesterday. Later, when Consort Liu came to pay her respects, she had casually given it to her. She never expected that Wan Zhen'er would actually eat it.
Given Wan Zhen'er's personality, if she really wanted to harm someone, she would never use such a roundabout method. She probably genuinely hadn't cared about Consort Liu's affairs; Wan Zhen'er didn't even know her dietary restrictions.
That's how someone took advantage of the situation.
This Lady Liu knows she can't touch Hongdou, she's just using this as an excuse to make trouble.
As for why...
Zhu Liji's eyes were deep, clearly seeing through the clumsy trick, but he did not expose it. Instead, he embraced Liu Meiren and spoke to her with a doting tone.
"My beloved consort has been wronged." Zhu Liji personally fetched some soothing ointment and carefully applied it to her. "It pains me to see her like this."
After applying the medicine, he asked Zhiwei to accompany Liu Meiren to the storeroom to pick out a few things that suited her taste, saying it was to calm her nerves and to keep quiet about Wan Zhen'er's matter.
Consort Liu was still pleading: "Your Majesty, you must do me justice..."
“Of course,” Zhu Liji stroked her head. “Listen to me first. I have a batch of pearls from the South Seas in my treasury. Go and pick some to grind into powder and apply to your face.”
Liu Meiren then lifted her head from Zhu Liji's embrace, her eyes still glistening with tears, yet a faint smile was playing on her lips.
"Then I will take them all," said Consort Liu.
"Do as you please, my beloved consort." Zhu Liji pinched her cheek.
Consort Liu finally got up, and Zhiwei prepared to lead her to the storeroom. Before leaving, she inadvertently glanced at the imperial desk and caught sight of an open memorial with fresh ink.
The eight large characters above are eye-catching: "He befriends court officials, harboring treacherous intentions."
The content was actually an impeachment of Li Tai, a member of the Imperial Guard, and the signatory was Jiang Qin.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
