Chapter 31: Confrontation in the Cage (I) “Then I will leave you with my beloved, and leave you with nothing…
Because what the emperor meant was that if Concubine Ying's illness did not get better, there was no need to bother with her, and no one had to knock on the door of Chengluan Palace.
However, every time Concubine Zhen left Chengluan Palace, she would let the sedan chair stop for a while.
When the sedan chair stopped at the palace wall again that day, a palace maid couldn't help but ask, "Should we go knock on the door? Since Concubine Jieyu has honored me with a visit, I'm sure Concubine Ying wouldn't dare to act arrogantly."
Concubine Zhen looked away and waved her hand gloomily, signaling the sedan chair to be lifted. "What's so good about this? It's just that the emperor's grace flows like flowing water, which inevitably makes people sigh. I watched her rise to prominence, and I watched her fall. I thought she had some ability."
The palace maids knew that Concubine Zhen's favor was not as high as before recently, and they also felt a little sympathy for Concubine Ying.
She tactfully consoled him, "How can Concubine Ying compare to you, Concubine? This is a temporary novelty, of course it comes quickly and goes away just as quickly."
But then I thought, Jieyu is indeed not as popular as she was last year.
The palace attendant lowered her voice, "As for Concubine Yang, His Majesty always goes to Guanju Palace whenever he goes to the harem, either to accompany the eldest prince or Concubine Yang. How come the entire imperial family's heir has ended up in Guanju Palace? Could it be that this is some kind of Feng Shui treasured land?"
Concubine Zhen touched her belly and said, "When I was young, I only thought childbirth was dangerous. I wished I could live my whole life without giving birth or raising a child, so that I could live forever. But now I want to get pregnant, but there's no sign of it."
After the rain, the sun rarely came out completely, and it was a cool day, but there was a smell of mud in the air. Concubine Zhen did not plan to stay outside for long. As soon as she got up, she saw Concubine Wu coming from a distance.
Wupin was worried that no one would talk to her. When she saw Concubine Zhen, she hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward in small steps: "I pay my respects to Concubine Zhen."
Concubine Zhen replied indifferently, "Princess Wu."
Seeing that the sedan chair had no intention of stopping, Concubine Wu turned around and walked back, staying beside the sedan chair.
As she walked, she covered her nose and said with a smile, "This Chengluan Palace really has a strong smell of medicine. The Queen even told me to visit Concubine Ying when I have time. I don't like the smell of this."
Concubine Zhen asked delicately, "Why doesn't she go herself? Is she afraid to go again after being tricked once?"
Concubine Wu was speechless. Concubine Zhen tilted her head and took a rare, careful look at this woman, also a concubine of the Emperor. "Concubine Wu is so loyal to the Empress, yet why hasn't she promoted you? Your position as a concubine was bestowed upon you by His Majesty. Now that the Empress wants you to go to the Chengluan Palace, why don't you try to smell what it smells like? You'll have something to explain to your mistress when you return."
When Concubine Wu heard this, she immediately felt that she must have been blinded by greed, so she came up to Concubine Zhen and endured her sarcasm!
She stopped and tried to save face by saying something against her will: "I know that Concubine Jieyi looks down on me. Fortunately, I know my own worth. The life of a concubine is not too hard. I am content."
Concubine Zhen fanned herself. Seeing that no one was following her, her face, illuminated by the red silk fan, looked even more radiant. "What's the matter? Concubine Wu thinks my words are rude? People should respect themselves. Who would be so kind to a lapdog?"
If Concubine Wu dared to stop bullying the weak and respond to her superior, she might start to look at people with new respect.
But I guess I don't have the courage to do that.
Concubine Zhen was just turning her head away, feeling bored, when she heard Concubine Wu's timid voice say:
"No matter how good the tea is, it won't smell good the second time you brew it, let alone a person. Concubine, you should just worry about yourself."
Concubine Zhen was startled, her figure sitting upright in the sedan chair unchanged, but her eyes, beneath the fan, closed. She closed her eyes and chewed on Concubine Wu's words, swallowing them with the bitterness that often came to her at night.
It's not like she's out of favor, and she's not a leftover...!
"Go to Taiji Hall." Concubine Zhen suddenly said.
After seeing the people leave, Concubine Wu stood there in a daze, her heart pounding. She was still a little bit unbelievable that she had actually contradicted Concubine Zhen. The maid beside her praised her, "Master, you are really amazing today!"
Wupin blushed: "The Queen treats me well, I must improve my skills and make her proud."
*
The row of houses in the garden were stone. Most of the Liang palaces were wooden structures. Wood was elegant and precious, but not as solid as stone. With Qingzan closing the door, no sound from outside could be heard.
When the grapes were brought in, a palace maid suddenly knocked on the door. Qingzan was startled by the sound that came out of nowhere.
She was taking down the emperor's sword that was hanging on the wall to look at it.
Fortunately, the palace servant brought the grapes in and left. Until he left, he didn't dare to raise his head to look at Qingzan.
Only then did Qingzan straighten the three-foot sword that was hanging crookedly.
It's great to be a man. You can protect yourself if you retreat and become a noble if you advance. If you encounter injustice, you can stab it out with a sword and exchange blood for blood.
The emperor said that this stone chamber was a replica of the courtyard in the Eastern Palace where Songtsen was kept. At that time, Songtsen was always crying, so he had a simple stone house built for him so that he could sleep well at night.
His old sword was also left in this similar room.
This row of stone houses only looks like it has many rooms, but in fact they are all connected. One room belongs to the animal trainer, one room belongs to the emperor, and one room is used to store miscellaneous items.
The emperor granted the animal trainer leave from the palace. As a man from outside the palace, his movements were extremely restricted and he rarely had a chance to get some fresh air.
As he left, he was still worried about Songtsen: "Who will feed Songtsen then?"
The emperor just reassured him.
Qingzan never expected that this job would fall on her.
He actually wanted to hide her here.
Qingzan ate two grapes and prepared to go back to the side hall, where she had slept for the past two nights. She would come here during the day to feed the lions.
The walls of the stone chamber are thick and covered with lush trees, giving it a cool and secluded feel. Two baskets of grapes, one of which would require a person's arms to lift, would take more than one person to finish eating. So, there was no need to worry about them going bad if they were kept here.
It’s a pity that I can’t share it with Suoying and the others.
But just as she took a step out, Qingzan was forced back into the stone chamber by Bubu.
"His Majesty?"
It was clear that Qingzan had taken a step back, and there was still enough space for someone to walk into the house, but the tall and arrogant emperor seemed to have his eyes on the road behind her and insisted on walking on it.
"This one looks better to me." The emperor suddenly said.
He decided to let her stay here on a whim. If he let her go back to get her clothes, it would be too conspicuous. So he simply let her wear the clothes of the imperial lady-in-waiting again. He had plenty of new clothes for her anyway.
Those days ended too hastily, and I didn't even have time to fully experience the bitterness. It's not too late to regret now.
The heavy stone door seemed like a deliberately designed mechanism in the cave. Once closed, it seemed airtight and impossible to get any sunlight inside.
Qingzan was about to leave, so she naturally blew out the lamp.
She didn't know what the emperor ordered people to use to fumigate his clothes. The scent on his body was always cold, cold in this dark room, like the cold leaves of bamboo in the snow.
Why isn't it the smell of ink? Isn't he always reviewing memorials? Qingzan unconsciously looked at the emperor's fingers, and his expression suddenly changed.
Last night, the wet water seemed to flow down this slender finger again.
Qingzan withdrew from her reverie and asked somewhat unnaturally, "Your Majesty, have you finished your government affairs so quickly today?"
He came here before lunch time, so I guess he has finished his work.
The emperor frowned.
She really didn't care about him... If he wasn't so busy, why would he leave before dawn every day?
"Can't I just take a break from my busy schedule?"
Qingzan became a little wary and looked at him: "Then why are you taking a break from your busy schedule?"
Just as she had feared, the emperor's big palm covered her waist hotly.
Qingzan's lips fell silent, but the emperor said mischievously, "You are so greedy! You didn't even share a single one of the two baskets of grapes sent as tribute by Dayuan with me?"
Qingzan didn't care whether what the emperor said was true or not. She twisted her waist and slipped out of his grasp. She sat on the stone bed and took a small bunch of grapes from the overflowing basket. "Your Majesty, do you want to eat them now? I'll peel them for you. I've only cleaned my hands before."
Xiao Fang agreed readily: "Okay."
But no one lit the lamp, and Qingzan's hearing became somewhat superior in the semi-dark secret room, so she could actually hear him laughing.
It was no longer the cold smile that Lian Bi Dian had given him before.
She used the soft tip of her fingernail to break open the skin of a purple grape. The skin was so thin that it could barely cover the plump flesh. Before she even used any force, sweet grape juice oozed out.
The juice stained the creamy skin, which was bright and beautiful, and did not require too bright light.
Xiao Fang sat down, lowered his head slightly, and before Qingzan withdrew his hand, he said, "My hands are dirty."
Then he lowered his head and took the whole fruit into his mouth.
Qingzan felt something warm touching her fingertips, but she didn't retreat but moved forward instead.
"His Majesty!"
The warmth moved along with the flowing grape juice and was sucked.
Qingzan whimpered weakly, just like a cat.
The emperor asked her as if nothing had happened: "What's wrong?"
He placed his hands on her sides, forcing her to sit a little further into the stone bed.
"Can't I try it?"
Qingzan looked at him with tears in her eyes and leaned her back against the wall beside the bed.
The wall was not like a stone bed, at least there were mattresses and mats on it. The hard stone pressed on my back, like piled ice and snow, and it was cold to the bone.
Qingzan shuddered.
Xiao Fang pulled her forward and asked softly in her ear, "Then where should I eat?"
Qingzan had already forgotten what she was going to say: "Your Majesty?"
The belt slipped off.
The emperor's sharp features were clearly visible in the dim light, reminding Qingzan of Songtsen's appearance when he was eating.
He smiled and said, "No one will hear me. If you want to call me, you can shout louder."
Later, only the last four words of this sentence remained, which were repeated several times in Qingzan's ear as a command.
Qingzan felt that he was going too far day by day. Could it be that her little actions in the harem had really offended him?
She lay hunched over the stone bed, still in the same position as before, too tired to even turn over. Her voice was muffled by the soft pillow, her voice incredibly hoarse: "When will Your Majesty let me go?"
Xiao Fangdan sat on one knee beside her, leaning against the headboard. He seemed much more lively than her. He mercifully handed her a glass of water.
"Didn't I tell you that there's been a lot going on in the southwest lately? Don't cause any more trouble for me."
He paused for a moment, but in the end he didn't tell her what the mess was. The news had just been sent back today, and he casually guessed that it had something to do with her.
Qingzan knew that the emperor let her live in Taiji Palace to guard against her and to protect her.
Sometimes, she would wonder vaguely, if she was well-behaved and obedient, let go of her hatred, and just hid docilely in this cage of wealth, could she really live a comfortable and happy life?
No, she won't.
Qing Zan took the water and took a sip. It was like a clear spring flowing down her throat, making her voice slightly cooler. "The reason Your Majesty showed me that case file that day was... to test me?"
She raised her head slightly and looked at the emperor.
Xiao Fang slowly spun the empty cup in his hand: "How about a test, or not a test?"
It seemed true. Even if she explained it clearly, it would be useless. Qingzan stopped asking and said softly, "Your Majesty, are you really not going to let me go? The lotus flowers in Chengluan Palace are about to wither."
The emperor's eyes darkened, and he said slowly, "Then I will leave you, my dear, to listen to the sound of rain on the withered lotus leaves."
…
*
Taiji Hall. Concubine Zhen came in with great momentum, and Xu Delu blocked her way every three steps, looking like a complete nuisance and inconvenience.
Concubine Zhen couldn't help but get impatient: "Your Majesty? Has Your Majesty forgotten me? It's been so long since you came to Fangxin Palace. Fangxin means no faith. Why not just change the name to Wuxin Palace or Yaoran Palace tomorrow?"
He glared at Xu Delu again: "Still trying to stop me?"
How could Xu Delu dare to stop this ancestor? He scowled and bowed his hands to beg for mercy: "Didn't the servant say that His Majesty is not here? Please go back, Concubine. I will tell His Majesty that you were here later."
Concubine Zhen ignored his advice and walked outside the front hall. She saw the baskets of grapes placed under the corridor, raised her hand and pointed at them, and asked, "Where did your Majesty go?"
After counting the grapes, she went straight inside and sat down. "I'll wait here today. Father's birthday is in a few months. Your Majesty is the most respectful of teachers. I came to ask Your Majesty what arrangements you have made. Is that okay?"
Xu Delu followed him in and also counted on his fingers, but he was counting months. He smiled awkwardly: "Isn't there still three or four months left?"
Concubine Zhen didn't answer, but changed the subject: "Didn't they say that Dayuan sent ten baskets of grapes with a thousand-mile galloping horse? How come there are only five baskets left? Where are the rest?"
Xu Delu gasped. He could only cautiously say half of it: "Some were sent to the Empress Dowager."
Seeing that the man had absolutely no intention of leaving, his mind raced as he asked, "Then shall I bring you a cup of tea?"
"Go ahead."
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