Chapter 149 How Deep Is Love
In the stillness of the night,
The Yonghe Palace was brightly lit.
In the courtyard, the palace servants were cleaning up the scattered paper money.
The chief eunuch Kang Yubin urged them:
"Be quick! Bury the ashes from the fire basins that have been used to burn offerings for the dead in the soil, rinse the basins clean and then throw them away. And the rest of you, go and bring out the incense burners and cover the smoke."
Just now, the Empress Chen held a grand memorial ceremony here.
Sprinkle yellow paper, burn offerings for the dead, hang spirit banners,
She made such a big fuss just to commemorate her dead baby who died in her womb.
No one in the Yonghe Palace dared to persuade them, but everyone was trembling with fear and feeling insecure.
According to the palace rules, no one can publicly hold memorial ceremonies in the palace unless there is a national mourning.
Otherwise it would be a big taboo.
Now that the news had gotten out, Xiao Jingheng certainly wouldn't blame Concubine Chen, but the servants who helped her might lose their heads if things got out of hand.
The courtyard was in chaos.
The Concubine Chen sat alone in the bedroom, drinking wine.
The food on the table was so cold that even the oil had seeped through it, but she didn't even take a bite.
But the wine in the jug was almost empty.
She shook the wine jug and called out to the door in a slightly tipsy tone:
"Qiulan, go get some wine!"
Qiulan went inside and saw that the Concubine Chen was already drunk, so she advised:
"You can't drink anymore, ma'am!"
The concubine narrowed her eyes and glared at her coldly, "Go when I tell you to! If you dare to make noise again, I will tear your mouth apart!"
Qiulan was a slave girl assigned to Concubine Chen by the Ministry of Internal Affairs after she entered the palace.
Compared with Yingxiang, who had been serving Concubine Chen since childhood, she was naturally not close to Concubine Chen.
But I don't know where this girl got the courage from.
At this moment, he actually knelt down on his knees in front of the Concubine Chen, and advised with a tearful voice:
"Today is the anniversary of the death of the little prince. I know you are sad, but drunkenness is harmful to your health. If the emperor comes later, it would not be good for him to see you drunk like this..."
No one in Yonghe Palace dared to disobey the Empress Chen's wishes.
Even Yingxiang in the past did not dare to advise Concubine Chen when she was in a bad mood.
It was Qiulan who gave these two pieces of advice, which made the Concubine Chen look at this girl with a certain disapproval.
However, she still had a look of disgust on her face, and pretended to throw the wine cup towards Qiulan.
Although he hit her very hard, he hit her slightly off target on purpose so that he didn't hurt her.
"Who the hell are you? Do you think you can teach me a lesson? Get out!"
Perhaps he heard some commotion in the inner hall.
Kang Yubin, who was watching the cleaning in the courtyard, rushed in.
Seeing this, he waved his whisk and hit Qiulan on the back without saying a word.
"You slut! You have angered the queen for no reason. I will beat you to death today!"
He hit her, and Qiulan cried and screamed.
The Concubine Chen felt annoyed and said uncomfortably, "Stop fighting, take the man away and don't disturb me."
Kang Yubin kicked Qiulan and drove her out. Then he asked someone to bring some wine quickly and offered it to the Concubine Chen like a harlot.
"Your Majesty, there is no need to pay attention to her. If you have anything to say, just call me."
As he spoke, he filled the jug of wine for the Concubine Chen.
"I have inquired about it. Today is the day for the canonization ceremony of Concubine Song...Yi. The Emperor has gone to Changle Palace now."
The implication is,
Jamel Xiao will not come tonight.
The Concubine Chen could drink to her heart's content.
She sneered at herself and said, "Yes, today is Song Zhao's big day. Concubine Yi...she finally got what she wanted."
She drank a full glass of wine and choked and coughed several times.
I choked so much that my eyes got wet.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
At this moment, the eunuch's message guarding the main gate was like a sudden bolt of lightning, pouring into the ears of Concubine Chen, causing her delicate body to tremble.
The wine cup in her hand fell to the ground, and the remaining wine spilled all over the floor.
Kang Yubin immediately said happily: "Your Majesty! The Emperor is here! The Emperor has come to see you! The Emperor still misses you after all!"
The originally gloomy face of the Concubine Chen finally showed some joy.
She ordered in a panic, "Quick! Take the drinks away, and move the incense closer."
As he spoke, he lifted his sleeves and smelled her scent: "Does this palace smell strongly of alcohol?"
Kang Yubin skillfully moved the incense over and added a spoonful of scented powder to it. "Don't worry, madam. The incense can cover up the smell."
As he said this, he picked up the wine jug again and hid it behind him.
When Concubine Chen straightened herself up in front of the mirror and prepared to go out to greet Xiao Jingheng, he was already standing outside the door.
The concubine stood at the door and looked at him.
Those eyes as handsome as stars can make people's eyes red with just one look.
"Your Majesty...I pay my respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be blessed with long life."
"Get up." Xiao Jingheng lent a hand to help Concubine Chen up. Kang Yubin, who was standing by, also bowed to Xiao Jingheng. Just as he was about to slip away through the side door, he was stopped by Xiao Jingheng.
"Leave the wine."
Kang Yubin was stunned, and could only stammer in response. He put the wine pot back on the table and said:
"The food is cold. I want someone to heat it up."
After the palace servants had cleared away all the food,
Xiao Jingheng and Concubine Chen sat opposite each other at the table.
He filled a glass for himself and drank half of it, spilling the other half on the floor.
The Concubine Chen was touched by his action, and her heart ached.
"Your Majesty, this is..."
"I have never forgotten Yu'er."
Yu was the nickname Xiao Jingheng had given to his and Concubine Chen's unborn child.
The Empress Chen has always been arrogant and spoiled.
No matter how sad she is, she will never shed a tear in front of outsiders.
Even when she was commemorating her deceased son tonight, her heart felt like it was being hammered and chiseled thousands of times and was almost suffocating, but she would not cry.
Only in front of Xiao Jingheng,
She is fragile and soft.
When I heard the word "Yu", tears started to flow.
She didn't cry as beautifully as Song Zhao,
He even looked quite ugly as he was pulling at his clothes in agony because he was extremely distressed.
Xiao Jingheng sat next to her, put his arm around her shoulders, and consoled her in a deep voice:
"I know you miss our child very much, and so do I."
The concubine raised her tearful eyes and stared at Xiao Jingheng.
Tears blurred her vision, as if a layer of mist had been cast between them, making it impossible for her to see the man's expression.
There was a moment when she suddenly felt that she was very far away from Jamel Xiao.
He was so far away that even without tears in her eyes, she could hardly see his appearance clearly.
But why is this?
She couldn't quite think clearly.
I only heard her sobbing and saying:
"Happy events happened one after another in the harem. I thought the emperor had forgotten about them..."
"I have never forgotten."
Xiao Jingheng's answer was extremely firm, and one could even hear a hint of divine sorrow in it.
"emperor......"
Concubine Chen buried her head in Xiao Jingheng's chest, like a little girl who had never experienced the hardships of the world.
Only in front of people you trust can you let down your guard.
Cry as much as you can.
With Xiao Jingheng's company and comfort,
The pain of losing a child was slightly alleviated.
After crying, Concubine Chen wiped away her tears, not wanting Xiao Jingheng to see her in such a state.
Later, the food was heated up and served again.
The Concubine Chen served the dishes to Xiao Jingheng as usual with ease.
Whenever Xiao Jingheng went to dine in other people's palaces, there were always three or two dishes on the table that were not to his taste and he had to be picky.
But this is not necessary for Concubine Chen.
Because every dish here is made according to his taste.
The Concubine Chen never allowed dishes that he didn't like to appear in Yonghe Palace.
During the meal, the concubine asked casually,
"Today is the auspicious day for the canonization of Concubine Yi. I thought the emperor would be with her."
Xiao Jingheng said: "I did go to see her. But I remember what day it is today. I thought you would be sad, so I came to you."
The words attack the heart,
When Concubine Chen heard such words of deep love, her heart suddenly felt warm as if spring had come.
He didn't even listen to what Xiao Jingheng mentioned.
How Song Zhao persuaded him to come and visit Concubine Chen tonight.
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