Ancient Secret Realm (VII)
After reading Zhang's letter, Lin Zhuo took a nap on the chaise longue, waking at just after midnight. She yawned lazily. The life of a concubine in the harem was truly dull.
"Chunhe." Lin Zhuo rubbed his head and sat up straight. If he continued to sleep, he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
Chun He came in with a bowl of black medicine: "Are you awake, Madam? The medicine is still warm, please drink it quickly."
Lin Zhuo froze. It was over, and the imperial physician had even prescribed medicine.
Seeing her stiff expression, Chun He was amused. Her mother was always afraid of suffering, and she always had to be coaxed into taking medicine. As she thought about it, her smile faded a little. Ever since entering the palace, Chang Junning had rarely had such a lively expression. She wondered what Qiu Ji had done today to make her so relaxed.
Chunhe handed over the bowl: "Your Majesty? Drink your medicine. I have prepared some candied fruits." No matter what Qiu Ji did, as long as Your Majesty is healthy and happy, it's enough.
Lin Zhuo sighed, took the medicine bowl, and spread out his palm, watching Chun He drink the medicine with difficulty. Lin Zhuo led a few palace servants out of Guanju Palace. There was nothing new in the Imperial Garden, but it was her only place to entertain herself now.
When it was almost 11:00 PM, Chun He asked her, "Madam, do you want to go back for dinner? It's getting late."
Lin Zhuo was also a little tired. Without her cultivation, she was just an ordinary person here, and she felt tired even after walking such a short distance.
"After dinner, Your Majesty, would you like to go to Huaqing Palace to soak in the hot springs? The imperial physician said you've caught a cold, and a soak would be a good way to get rid of the cold."
Lin Zhuo, sitting in the sedan chair, became interested after hearing this: "Let's do as you say."
"yes."
At three past eight in the evening, Lin Zhuo was sprawled comfortably by the hot spring pool. Chun He walked in, carrying clothes. Seeing that she was coming to serve her, Lin Zhuo froze for a moment, almost imperceptibly. She wasn't used to having someone accompany her while bathing.
Clean clothes were lying near the pool. Lin Zhuo glanced at them and, turning around, splashed water onto them.
"Ah! Madam, your change of clothes is wet." Chun He frowned, "Please soak them first, I will ask someone to get another set."
Lin Zhuo called her: "Chun He, go ahead."
Chun He hesitated for a moment. Chang Jun Ning didn't like other maids touching her clothes, so Chun He always sorted them. Lin Zhuo had wet the clothes to get rid of Chun He. By the time she'd come back and forth, Lin Zhuo had almost soaked them enough.
Chunhe returned to Guanju Palace as she had been told. Lin Zhuo finally relaxed completely, leaning against the stone wall beside the pool, quietly soaking in the hot spring.
An incense stick later, footsteps were heard behind the screen, and Lin Zhuo finally came back to her senses. She thought Chun He had returned quickly, so she said nothing. She brushed her hair and was about to stand up, but no one behind her spoke.
She instantly became alert: "Who!?" Turning her head, she saw Xie Zhitiao standing behind her in only his shirt. Seeing her turn her head away, Xie Zhitiao turned around quickly, his nose burning and a stream of hot water running down his face.
While he was frantically trying to stop the bleeding, he stammered to explain to her, "I'm... I'm sorry, senior sister. I... I didn't know... I didn't know you were in there." He also frantically blocked his own sight and hearing, "I... I have blocked my sight and hearing. Senior sister, you... you continue to soak in the bath. I... I'll go out first." Then he stepped forward and bumped into the screen.
Lin Bo:......
Her whole body was pink, and her ears were red as blood. She slowly shrank back, revealing only half of her face above her nose, breathing softly, trying to calm her heart, which was beating violently with embarrassment.
Xie Zhitiao retreated behind the screen, unfastened his vision, and blushed as he treated his nosebleed. Oh my god, would Senior Sister think he was too reckless and ignore him? None of the palace servants reminded him. Did Qiu Ji usually play such tricks with Chang Junning?
Over here, Chun He, who had just finished getting her clothes, arrived late. Seeing the people at the gate of Huaqing Palace, her heart skipped a beat: "Eunuch Du, is His Majesty here?"
Du Fuan also saw her and was a little surprised: "Miss Chunhe? What's going on?" He saw people from Guanju Palace outside Huaqing Palace and thought that Chunhe was serving the Imperial Concubine inside. He was wondering why the Emperor hadn't asked her to come out yet.
Chun He tightened her grip, a little worried: "The Queen's change of clothes got wet, and she asked me to go back and get them. Today, the Queen also told me she had a headache. What if she caught a cold again?"
Du Fuan shook his head and sighed. He had always felt that the relationship between Chang Junning and her servant was difficult, but his master was Qiu Ji, so he couldn't be too partial to them. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Your Majesty knows your limits. If you are truly worried about the Empress, please leave the clothes outside so as not to alarm His Majesty."
Chunhe bowed her head in agreement. She hurried into the outer room, but upon entering, she was startled and quickly knelt to pay her respects. "Your Majesty, your servant greets you." "Why is the tyrant staying here? Did the Empress drive him out?" she muttered to herself.
Xie Zhitiao saw her and lifted the seal: "Master... Aning is inside, you go in and serve her." After saying that, he sealed his hearing again.
Chun He was a little surprised, but she didn't dare show it on her face: "Yes."
Lin Zhuo heard their conversation in the inner room, stood up and walked out of the pool, wiped himself with a relatively dry towel beside him, and changed into unwetted clothes.
Chun He came in and saw the expression on her face. She was startled and called her softly, "My Lady?"
Seeing the worry on her face, Lin Zhuo coughed lightly and said, "Nothing, change your clothes."
Xie Zhitiao waited outside for a while, and finally saw Lin Zhuo come out. He released the seal and looked her in the eye again. They both looked away uncomfortably. Lin Zhuo was too embarrassed to look at him, so she lowered her eyes and bowed to him: "Your Majesty, I will go back first."
Xie Zhitiao couldn't help but glance over again: "Ask Chunhe to dry your hair before you leave. It's cold at night." After saying that, he quickly walked into the inner room.
Hearing the sound of water inside, Lin Zhuo's ears began to burn again, and she could only stare blankly at the flickering candlelight. After her hair finally dried, she took the Guanju Palace people and left first. She thought, probably tomorrow, she wouldn't dare look Xie Zhitiao in the eye.
After hearing Lin Zhuo leave, Xie Zhitiao finally leaned against the edge of the pool. His ears were still burning. When he thought of Lin Zhuo's shy look, not daring to look at him, and when he thought of Lin Zhuo having been in this pool before, he felt his body burning, even though he knew that the water in the pool was running.
After taking a few deep breaths, Xie Zhitiao sat up straight and silently recited the Heart Cleansing Mantra.
At midnight, Xie Zhitiao went to Guanju Palace. A faint candlelight flickered in the bedroom, a light Lin Zhao had left for him. He waved his hand to stop the palace attendants who came to greet him and entered the bedroom.
Lin Zhuo had already prepared the chaise longue for him. Hearing his footsteps, she slightly lifted the bed curtain, still not looking at him.
"Now that you're back, go to bed early. You have to go to court tomorrow."
Xie Zhitiao responded softly, and she quickly lowered the curtain again.
That night, Xie Zhitiao did not dream about his past life again.
When Lin Zhuo woke up, Xie Zhitiao had already finished attending court and returned to the imperial study. After breakfast, Lin Zhuo felt bored again. Chun He coaxed her to drink the medicine and took out a few storybooks: "Your Majesty, I haven't finished reading the storybooks sent this month. Would you like to take a look?"
Storybooks? Lin Zhuo glanced over. Her senior sister loved reading storybooks and liked to tell them to her afterward, but she had never read any herself. Lin Zhuo felt somewhat uninterested and waved her away.
"What time is it?"
"It's almost 9 o'clock."
Lin Zhuo looked at the flowers in the vase by the window, his thoughts drifting away: "Is he back?"
Before Xie Zhitiao went to court, he left a letter for him, telling him about the farce between Zhang and Huang yesterday, as well as the current situation in Wuyang Marquis's mansion. She guessed that with Xie Zhitiao's killing of one person as a warning to the rest yesterday, Wuyang Marquis would enter the palace today to express his position to the emperor.
"Your Majesty." Xiao Xiazi walked in and bowed. Lin Zhuo raised his hand, motioning him to stand up. "Are you here?"
"Yes. The uncle and the eldest son are currently discussing matters with His Majesty."
Lin Zhuo smiled and stood up: "Is the sedan chair ready? Let's go to the imperial study."
"yes."
——
Xie Zhitiao's face was expressionless, his eyes lowered as he reviewed the memorials. Kneeling below were two people, an old man and a young boy. Wuyang Bo was trembling with fear, beads of sweat beading on his forehead. Chang Ronglin, standing beside him, was not much better, his face pale.
Xie Zhitiao seemed to have just remembered that they were still kneeling, and pretended to be surprised: "My dear, why are you still kneeling? Du Fuan, please take a seat."
Only then did Wuyang Bo wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and he and his son supported each other to get up.
"I heard that you have objections to the canal?" Xie Zhitiao asked suddenly.
Before Wu Yangbo's buttocks touched the stool, he knelt down with a plop.
"Your Majesty! I have absolutely no second thoughts. Heaven can bear witness to my heart!" He cursed Zhang Ying's recklessness yesterday. If Zhang Ying hadn't concealed his conspiracy with his fellow Huang and entered the palace, why would he be kneeling here to express his position?
With his father kneeling there, how could Chang Ronglin dare to sit? He didn't dare to blame his father and the tyrant, so he secretly cursed Chang Junning for not living up to his expectations. If Chang Junning's status in the tyrant's heart was high enough, how could the tyrant be angry with him and his father?
Just as he was thinking about Chang Junning, Du Fuan, who had just left, walked in again: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Noble Consort requests an audience."
Xie Zhitiao's eyebrows curved slightly. "My dear minister, why are you still kneeling? Get up and sit down. Tell the queen to come in."
Lin Zhuo walked in alone and, having barely bowed to Xie Zhitiao, was pulled over to sit down. Wuyangbo and Chang Ronglin greeted her, and she finally took a good look at them. With a woman as stunning as Chang Junning, the Chang family must be quite good-looking.
"Father and big brother, please get up quickly. This is really troubling Junning." Lin Zhaoxu helped him and sat down next to Xie Zhitiao. The father and son then stood up and sat down as instructed.
Xie Zhitiao's sleeves were wide, covering Lin Zhuo's cuffs as if he were holding her hand. He didn't mince words and said directly, "I know you are the most sensible person. I will leave the matter of raising funds for the canal to you. I want to see the results in five days."
Wu Yangbo looked up at the woman beside the emperor and saw that she showed no sign of shyness. He couldn't help but frown. He bowed and said, "Yes."
Xie Zhitiao guessed the purpose of Lin Zhuo's visit, patted her hand and gestured: "Aning hasn't seen her father and brother for a long time. Let's go to the side hall and talk." Lin Zhuo nodded and went to the side hall with the two of them.
After entering the side hall, Lin Zhuo sat directly on the main seat. Before he could say anything, he heard Wu Yangbo's angry curse: "Asshole! Where have you learned any etiquette?! Your father and brother haven't taken their seats yet, how can a girl like you take the main seat first? Do you think you can sit in it?!"
Lin Zhuo was slightly stunned, then a little surprised: "I am the Imperial Noble Consort, why can't I sit here? Is my father senile and confused?" Chang Junning and his daughter did not have a good relationship. Just looking at Wu Yangbo's current attitude, it was clear what kind of life Chang Junning had been leading in her boudoir. Now that she only had Chunhe by her side, there was no need for her to hold back.
Wu Yangbo sneered and flicked his sleeves. "What a noble concubine you are! You're showing off your power to your father. How come you've been in the palace for five years? Have you forgotten your last name is Chang?"
"I'm discussing matters with His Majesty. As a woman, is the Imperial Study your proper place? The harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs. This is the rule set by our ancestors!"
Lin Zhuo's face turned completely cold. She rarely got so angry.
"According to what Lord Bo said, if I go to the Imperial Study, I will be interfering in government affairs?"
"You've really grown up, daring to challenge me." The veins on Wuyangbo's forehead bulged. "Don't you think your position as imperial concubine will last long? The emperor's favor is on you today, and it could be on someone else tomorrow!"
"To become a concubine in the palace, you don't need to show off your knowledge with those books you've read! You just need to consolidate your favor and help the Chang family! After five years in the palace, the Chang family still only has the title of Earl. Did I raise you so that you can enter the palace and enjoy the comforts?!"
Lin Zhuo didn't say anything. She really didn't know how to react.
Wuyang Bo shook his sleeves and turned away without even sitting down. Chang Ronglin was a step behind him. He looked arrogant and his words were full of sarcasm: "Sister, have you forgotten since entering the palace for too long? Everything in the Chang family belongs only to the men. The women were born to help the Chang family. It is an honor for you to enter the palace as a concubine. Don't forget your roots. A woman is always lowly."
The two of them left the side hall one after another and left the palace soon.
Lin Zhuo sat still, somewhat bewildered. Xie Zhitiao had said that the Wuyang Marquisate didn't value their daughters. It was simply a matter of favoring sons over daughters. Chang Junning was the Imperial Noble Consort, so no matter what, the Chang family would have some respect for her.
But this was not what she expected.
A shadow fell on the palace gate, and Lin Zhuo came back to look. It was Xie Zhitiao.
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