Chapter 11 Eleven has nothing to do with wind and moon
*
The Forbidden City, the Imperial Study.
As the Lesser Heat approaches, hot air blows in through all the screen windows, especially in the afternoon when the heat is unbearable.
Logically, some ice chests should be placed in the room to cool down and relieve the heat, and this has been done in all dynasties. However, Xu Heng did not allow it, saying it was extravagant and that in his eyes it was no different from large-scale construction.
So only the emperor suffered, sweating profusely.
After reviewing a memorial, Xu Heng took two deep breaths and silently consoled himself: "The environment is created by the mind; a calm mind brings coolness."
He finished reviewing another book before drinking tea. When he lifted the lid, he was stunned—the cup contained not Sparrow Tongue Tea, but Jujube Seed Tea.
Seeing this, Qingfu stepped forward and explained, "Your Majesty, you said last time that it is not advisable to drink tea that is refreshing and invigorating after Shenshi (3-5 PM). Instead, you should drink tea with jujube seeds, lily bulbs, and poria cocos to calm the mind and promote sleep."
Xu Heng recalled that he had indeed said something like that before, but he still raised his chin on the table: "Let's switch back to Sparrow Tongue. There are still many memorials to be written, and it will be difficult to rest for a while."
"Here." Qingfu immediately took the tray, collected the teacups and teapot, and went to brew a fresh cup.
When he returned to his study, he brought Xu Heng a message: "Your Majesty, Consort Shu has returned and is waiting outside for an audience."
Xu Heng didn't even look up: "Tell her to wait in the warm pavilion."
He had never allowed Consort Shu to enter the Imperial Study before, and he never considered making an exception today. He had only two lines of the memorial left to read and comment on before raising his head, getting up, and walking into the courtyard through the back door of the study.
The three sides of the cross-shaped ridge at the opposite corner formed a heated pavilion, which was left open in the summer with only bamboo curtains hanging down. After the emperor went in, Consort Shu, who was already waiting inside, greeted him. Qingfu was about to close the door when the emperor said, "No need. It's too stuffy to close it in this hot weather. Let it be left open."
"This servant obeys the decree." Qingfu responded, bowed, and released his grip. Consort Shu also knelt down.
The two wooden doors were wide open, and a ray of light from the setting sun shone in, which was divided into more than a dozen beams by the bamboo curtain, even the tea table next to Xu Heng was divided by shadows.
Consort Shu knelt down and reported, "Your Majesty, I kowtow to thank you for your great kindness in granting me permission to return home. Thanks to Your Majesty's blessings, my mother's health has improved after being examined by the imperial physician. Everyone in my household is deeply grateful, saying it is all due to Your Majesty's divine grace. I then went with my family—" Consort Shu's words slowed down, pausing slightly at this point, before continuing, "to the Taiyi Temple to offer incense, wishing the Empress Dowager good health, Your Majesty a long and prosperous life, and the nation a flourishing. I also prayed for peace throughout the land and favorable weather. Although my home was warm and cozy, I constantly thought of Your Majesty and dared not leave for long. Now that I have returned to the palace, I will certainly serve you wholeheartedly to repay Your Majesty's kindness."
When Consort Shu spoke the last two sentences, her heart trembled slightly. Her words sounded polite, but they reflected her true feelings. She couldn't help but look up at the Emperor, but Xu Heng kept his head down and their eyes never met.
"Rise," Xu Heng said calmly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Consort Shu stood up, her hands clenching into fists involuntarily inside her sleeves, her teeth clenched tightly. In fact, she had obtained a peace charm for the Emperor at the Taiyi Temple and prepared a small gift from her hometown, but she dared not take it out, nor did she have the courage to even mention it, for fear of being too presumptuous.
Xu Heng slowly raised his head.
Consort Shu's heart trembled even more violently, and her shoulders shook uncontrollably.
Xu Heng's gaze met Consort Shu's for only a moment before he looked away, and he said kindly, "Your mother's good health is all thanks to your filial piety. You did not forget to pray for the palace and the country during your visit home, which is commendable. I hereby bestow upon you two bolts of tribute silk. If you need imperial medicine, you may have someone inform the Inner Palace."
Consort Shu felt like a candle, its flame flickering and burning at its brightest, only to turn to ashes in the next instant.
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace." She withdrew her gaze, lowered her eyes, and bowed her head. When she knelt again, her tone was flat.
Xu Heng nodded, and after Consort Shu bid farewell, he also left the warm pavilion and returned to his study. Qingfu thought the emperor would continue reviewing memorials, but Xu Heng sat down, remained silent for a moment, and then asked, "What about Ma Yu's intelligence?"
General Ma Yu, who was escorting Consort Shu to visit her family, was also required to report her every move to the Emperor.
Qingfu hurriedly ordered someone to present it. Xu Heng opened it himself, his gaze sweeping over several lines in quick succession, ignoring everything else and focusing solely on the Taoist temple where Consort Shu had gone to pray for blessings.
Seeing that it was indeed Taiyi Temple, his heart finally settled down—since Wang Yuying moved to Yuqing Temple, Xu Heng had secretly ordered that women in the harem and officials in the court were not allowed to go to Yuqing Temple to pray for blessings, so as not to upset her.
Xu Heng held a corner of the letter close to the candlestick, and the intelligence report quickly burned out.
He picked up his pen again and began reviewing memorials. Once he had finished, Qingfu approached with a sandalwood tray in both hands. Xu Heng glanced down and saw the red scrolls on the tray.
He sighed inwardly. He really didn't want to sit awkwardly opposite Consort Shu any longer, and he couldn't even get a word in edgewise with the Empress, as for Consort Jiang...
He started to distance himself three years ago, and they only see each other a handful of times a year, you could count them on one hand.
He didn't bother to take the booklet, but simply said, "No need."
Qingfu knew this was a document instructing him to record the names of the various ladies who were ill or menstruating and unable to serve the emperor. He acknowledged the order and withdrew, holding the official document. When he returned to the palace, for some reason, Xu Heng said to him, "It's too late today, so we won't go back to Funing Palace. We'll rest here."
"Here!" Qingfu hurriedly went to set up the soft couch behind the gauze curtain. He was efficient and finished in the blink of an eye, but Xu Heng took a while to approach the couch and undress.
After the emperor went to sleep, Qingfu turned off the extra lamps, leaving only the one in the corner burning continuously. Then he closed the door and quietly retreated outside to keep watch.
Xu Heng closed his eyes, then opened them again, staring at the canopy above. Now that he thought about it, both Consort Shu and Consort Gui had gradually drifted away from him. The year or two when he was closest to them coincided with the time when he argued most fiercely with Wang Yuying. He admitted that he was acting out of spite; the more he annoyed Wang Yuying, the more excited and agitated he felt.
But at the same time, I felt suffocated and uncomfortable.
Realizing this too late is a lose-lose situation.
Xu Heng turned over in frustration, his thoughts drifting back to the matter of his sexual encounters. In truth, he had always been rather apathetic, rarely ejaculating or even experiencing nocturnal emissions. His first experience of the pleasure of this act was with Wang Yuying. Afterwards, he lay on the bed, unable to fully recover, a mixture of dazedness and sudden realization—he realized he too possessed desire, and that this act could be so pleasurable…
He never had this feeling with either Consort Gui or Consort Shu.
Only when he was with Wang Yuying did he take the initiative, cling to her desperately, and indulge in unbridled passion.
Wang Yuying was also the only one who dared to reverse the roles of dragon and phoenix. She was always enthusiastic, straightforward, and carefree. She not only said sweet words whenever she wanted, but even when she dragged him to study the Fire Avoidance Diagram together, she said that she had practiced the three lower-level seductive skills and guaranteed that the two of them would be in a state of bliss.
They can say the most outrageous things!
She was too straightforward, and sometimes Xu Heng would feel embarrassed and frown and scold her, but in his heart he was also very happy and excited.
This pleased him so much. Three years later, Xu Heng still clearly remembers how intense it was, how the pleasure made his scalp tingle, and how each time felt like he had died.
He thought...
He wanted to see Wang Yuying.
Xu Heng tossed and turned on the bed, unable to stand again. Since she was unwilling to return to the palace, he could leave the palace and take the initiative to get closer to her. He couldn't help but recall that on the day of the Beginning of Summer, he went to the outskirts of the capital to welcome summer, and he also held a summer sacrifice on the Summer Solstice. The altar and Fuyou Mountain were located in the western and eastern suburbs, respectively, and were very different. However, he could find an excuse to drive around the city and pass by Fuyou Mountain.
He was somewhat annoyed that he had missed the Beginning of Summer and the Summer Solstice, but was also glad that there was still the Autumn Festival at the Beginning of Autumn—if it was convenient, he would like to go up the mountain to take a look…
It's not too late, it's not too late.
Xu Heng recalled that one year, the beginning of autumn was a grand sacrificial ceremony, not held at an altar in the suburbs of the capital, but instead taking place on Mount Tai according to ancestral rules. After the ceremony, he rushed back without sleep, reviewing memorials and handling government affairs ahead of schedule in his imperial carriage. He barely closed his eyes, staying up for four or five long nights, all for the sake of returning to the palace to spend the Qixi Festival with Wang Yuying.
They hadn't spent time together for several years, so he cherished this opportunity. He was determined to spend the entire seventh day of the seventh lunar month with Wang Yuying and do nothing else.
He rushed back to the palace only to hear that the Imperial Concubine was bleeding. He was shocked that the Imperial Concubine was pregnant and was in a hurry to deal with the situation and investigate the truth. He planned to go to Kunning Palace after he finished his work, but Wang Yuying came to Fuyu Hall by herself.
Hearing that she was coming, his fatigue vanished, and he happily rushed to the main hall. Xu Heng was certain that his eyes were shining at that moment. Because he had previously heard that Wang Yuying was personally sewing belts as gifts, he still harbored a faint expectation in his heart.
But what he met was a pair of eyes filled with resentment and hatred, devoid of any love. Her expression was like a bucket of ice water, dousing him and chilling him to the bone.
"What 'only once'? What 'infertility drug'? Do you think your words are nonsense?!" She actually exposed the couple's private conversation in public, and all the eunuchs, palace servants, and even the imperial physicians in the hall heard it. Xu Heng was embarrassed and extremely angry, his body burning with both heat and cold. She was always like this, never speaking properly, always aiming to stab him in the back, stabbing him hard and accurately, always making his hands tremble with anger.
She was exceptionally sharp and vicious, speaking harshly and without regard for the occasion, showing him, the emperor, no respect whatsoever! Xu Heng felt his blood run cold and retorted sharply, "Look at you, behaving like a shrew! You have no semblance of a virtuous empress!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he froze, and Wang Yuying, reflected in his eyes, also stared blankly.
Xu Heng felt a pang of regret. A voice in his heart urged him to apologize, coax her, say some sweet words, and make up. But after hesitating for a long time, he couldn't bring himself to say it. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on his face, his skin burning. It turned out that Wang Yuying had slapped him so hard that he turned his head to the side.
In that instant, his mind went blank, and he felt no emotion whatsoever.
At this moment, three years later, a dull pain slowly rose in Xu Heng's heart, his limbs ached from the constant friction, and he had difficulty breathing.
He instinctively curled up his limbs into a ball, trying to ease the pain, but it didn't work.
He regretted it. He shouldn't have blamed Wang Yuying back then. Wasn't he the same? He was just spouting nonsense and being quick-witted. He clearly thought about and liked her, but he was being hypocritical and putting on a cold face.
Why is he arguing with her?
They're husband and wife! They'll be buried together after they die, for all eternity, so why are they arguing?
Xu Heng hated his own stubborn and foul mouth. What did face matter? If he had truly refrained from speaking ill of his lover, neglecting and belittling her, wouldn't things have turned out differently now, with him drifting further and further away from Wang Yuying?
He regretted it once again.
*
On the first day of the sixth lunar month, the crescent moon hung like a hook.
A waiter and a man dressed as the owner each started from one end and fastened the door panels to the door frame. Above them hung a plaque that read "Linglong Pavilion".
This is a jewelry shop. In terms of size, it can't even be ranked among the top three in the capital, but it has several skilled craftsmen who can make unique designs that others can't, so it has a small reputation.
The sun had already set, and every household had lit their lamps. Linglong Pavilion was also closing time. Just as the waiter was about to close the last door panel, a man and a horse galloped up in front of them. Before the man had even dismounted, he called out, "Shopkeeper, please wait a moment, don't close the door yet!"
A note from the author:
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