Chapter 18
A few striking simplified Chinese characters hung on the door: "Great, I've lived another day." Qi Nian'an stood at the door, tilting her head back, stunned.
Having stayed here for so long, I haven't seen simplified Chinese characters in a long time, and I'm quite nostalgic for it.
The small corridor was planted with some trendy seed flowers. It is said that officials from the Jiangnan region specially sent experienced masters to cultivate the flowers. The masters and the flowers came with Qi Nian'an to the Empress Dowager's Palace. There were only a few pots of these flowers in the entire palace.
For a time, rumors even circulated outside the palace that a bewitching concubine had seduced the emperor, and that his elderly relatives had traveled thousands of miles just for a single cup of her tea.
Qi Nian'an stood under the eaves, holding freshly picked flowers in her hand. The stems still secreted some sap. She stared at the flowers in disbelief.
"So, this is a very precious tribute?"
Zhiyang, busy behind her, replied, "Yes, the Empress Dowager is keeping a close eye on things. She said she wants to invite people to appreciate it properly at the banquet."
She turned around, her gaze momentarily stunned as she stared wide-eyed at the freshly plucked flower branch in Qi Nian'an's hand.
"Do we really have to admire the flowers? How about admiring the branches instead?"
Qi Nian'an's voice was soft, and she felt guilty, extremely guilty.
Logically speaking, the finest pieces from the annual flower-viewing banquets in the palace should be kept in a sealed place and carefully preserved. It goes without saying that special personnel should take care of them, and even the palace maids and eunuchs should be careful to look after them.
This year, for some unknown reason, Shao Sizhi placed these incredibly precious flowers under the corridor, and everyone in Consort Ling's palace carefully observed them.
Apart from Qi Nian'an, who had just recovered from her injuries and was allowed to go out to act, she was single-mindedly trying to cause trouble for Su Fei. She casually picked a flower, but who would have thought it would be priceless!
Qi Nian'an silently bent down and respectfully and regretfully placed the flower back into the pot, only then realizing that the enormous round-mouthed gold enamel pot looked very expensive.
The next one was even more expensive.
Zhiyang silently shook her head, signaling her to run away quickly.
"This flower is precious, but it's our fault for not taking good care of it. We were careless and something went wrong. It has nothing to do with Your Highness."
She lowered her voice and gave Qi Nian'an a meaningful look.
"I pinched it, I'm not running away."
“When I get back, I will have a good talk with His Majesty Shao. You don’t need to take the blame upon yourself.”
She smiled brightly, turned around, and strode towards the palace gate.
She couldn't smile anymore as soon as she entered Shao Sizhi's study.
The atmosphere inside the hall was frighteningly low. Although the red ink on the haphazardly written memorials appeared calm, the content was unmistakably all about killing.
She had lost count of how many times she had killed since she transmigrated here. Because she was particularly unwilling to pay attention to these political affairs, she had never focused her mind on such things.
But Shao Sizhi was a workaholic. Not to mention that he had hardly ever been to the harem, and when he did come, it was only to resolve the trouble she had caused him.
Shao Sizhi lowered his head and concentrated, then picked up his brush and wrote the character "安" (peace) with great vigor and strength.
He gently put down his pen, let out a long breath, and his dignified eyes swept over Qi Nian'an, who was standing to the side pretending to be a quail. He beckoned and said softly, "Come here."
Qi Nian'an did not come.
She held the flowerpot, standing still and gazing at him. It was at that moment that she heard soft footsteps.
With a smile, Eunuch Liu's eyes narrowed into slits as he respectfully said, "Your Majesty, Consort Su requests an audience."
Qi Nian'an felt a little nauseous. It was as if something dirty was rushing in, or about to rush in, from outside the hall, which was incomprehensible.
She put down the basin and turned to leave, but was stopped by Eunuch Liu with a smile. He bowed slightly and took her hand with great respect. Qi Nian'an tried to break free but found that she could not move at all. She turned pale and looked up at the smiling eunuch who remained expressionless.
"Who gave you permission to leave?"
Shao Sizhi didn't look up, his expression unreadable, as he was writing the character "An" on the paper with exceptional focus, stroke by stroke.
One after another, they seemed very irritable, quite unlike his usual calm and collected demeanor.
You can tell from the look of it that you're not in a good mood.
Qi Nian'an had no choice but to temporarily put aside the idea of running away. She nodded heavily and raised her voice, saying, "Your Majesty, your handwriting is really beautiful."
Shao Sizhi's wrist, which was holding the pen, suddenly stopped. He looked at her with a hint of shock in his eyes. After a long silence, he finally put down the pen as if relieved, leaving heavy ink marks on the paper.
He felt no regret, simply put away the paper, and waved to Qi Nian'an again: "You come here."
Qi Nian'an was forced to be escorted there, and a brand-new sheet of Xuan paper was quickly laid out on the table.
"You write the character '安' (ān, meaning peace/safety)."
He gently grasped her wrist, his steady and powerful fingertips pressing on Qi Nian'an's nails without trembling, the movement fluid and seamless.
The large characters on the paper were exceptionally extended and expansive, with thick black ink spreading rapidly across the paper, yet the edges remained neat.
She stared blankly, as if something in her heart had suddenly skipped a beat. The character was beautiful. Although it wasn't simplified Chinese, the strokes were similar and the characters were square and vigorous. It was a character lying on the table.
That's amazing.
She accidentally got ink on her hand, moved her hand slightly away, looked at her fingertips, and then looked back at Shao Sizhi.
Shao Sizhi was also gazing at her quietly, the ink on the tip of his pen smudged without his noticing. His long eyelashes trembled slightly, casting a shadow on his angular profile.
Qi Nian'an hurriedly looked away, smiled shyly, then put down her pen and turned to leave.
She wiped her face, feeling flustered. She didn't know why her cheeks were burning hot. She would have to talk to Li Xiaoran about whether she was catching a cold.
"etc."
Shao Sizhi's voice came from behind her. She stopped in her tracks, turned around, and bumped into a warm and broad chest. She looked up and met a pair of smiling eyes.
There's something on your face.
The setting sun cast slanting rays through the window, and she felt a heavy touch on her cheek. The force was so strong that she tilted her head back, seriously suspecting that Shao Sizhi was deliberately rubbing against her while wiping her face.
Shao Sizhi didn't speak, but simply held his hand in mid-air and looked at her quietly without moving.
An unknown excitement filled the air. The two seemed unusually quiet. Qi Nian'an had never been so composed, and Shao Sizhi had never shown his emotions so openly. But for some reason, there was a smile on that beautiful face, and he looked very happy.
Who knows how unhappy Shao Sizhi was when she first came into the house?
"What business do you have with me?"
Shao Sizhi suddenly spoke.
"I accidentally picked a flower," Qi Nian'an said softly, trying to sound less smug. "The kind that's priceless and you'd even have someone look at it for you, but I only picked one."
"Only one flower was picked?"
Shao Sizhi raised an eyebrow, pressed his brow as if he had a headache, and looked at her with a headache. "This year, a total of six auspicious flowers have bloomed, which is a very lucky omen. You picked the most precious one as soon as you reached out, and then said that you accidentally plucked a flower."
"It's just a flower!"
Qi Nian'an defended herself in a low voice. She was a little annoyed by Shao Sizhi's sarcastic tone, so she unconsciously raised her voice and sounded righteous.
"It's just a flower?"
Shao Sizhi also raised his voice a few degrees, his brows furrowed, looking down at Qi Nian'an with a condescending gaze that condemned her constant attempts to defend herself.
"I'm sorry, don't be angry. I'll try to figure out how to deal with those royal relatives and such."
Qi Nian'an ultimately couldn't come up with a clear answer. She patted Shao Sizhi on the back and tried to put on a smile.
"If you can't think of a way before the banquet starts, then stand in the basin yourself."
Shao Sizhi pinched her cheek, sighed, turned around and went back to his desk to pick up his pen.
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine is still waiting outside the palace, as you can see..."
At the opportune moment, Eunuch Liu stepped forward and said softly.
"Let her go back. As for Consort Su, if it's about the flowers, she doesn't need to come back."
Shao Sizhi didn't even look up, just waved his hand impatiently.
Seeing that he was writing, Qi Nian'an was unwilling to go back so early, because it would be very unlucky to run into a mad dog if she went out. She would rather stay here and watch Shao Sizhi review the memorials for a while.
My impression of Shao Sizhi is that he was either standing in the background or mediating conflicts in the harem; he seemed to be quite idle.
"Leave when you've seen enough."
Shao Sizhi suddenly spoke, then abruptly raised his head to look at her, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. He then put down his pen and stood there with his hands behind his back.
Qi Nian'an stood there, staring blankly at his face.
It must be said that Shao Sizhi exudes a gentle and approachable aura that makes people feel close to him without even realizing it.
Qi Nian'an slowly walked forward, not making jokes or trying to slip away as usual, but stopping in front of Shao Sizhi's desk.
Her gaze fell on the still-wet ink on the memorials and the paper he had just filled with the character "安" (peace/safety), and she spoke softly, her tone carrying a seriousness rarely seen in her voice:
"His Majesty's handwriting is exceptionally beautiful."
Shao Sizhi paused slightly as he was about to pick up another memorial. He looked up at her, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He was used to her being cunning, guilty, or argumentative in front of him, but seeing her with such an appreciative and serene expression was quite rare.
"Oh?" He put down the memorial, leaned back slightly, and gestured for her to continue. The air in the hall, which had been somewhat stagnant due to political affairs, seemed to begin to flow again because of her words.
Seeing that he was willing to listen, Qi Nian'an grew bolder and pointed to the words on the paper: "It's... this feeling. Single-minded, writing with inspiration, as if all the troubles are shut out, leaving only the pen, ink, paper, and you. This scholarly air is very attractive." After she finished speaking, she seemed to feel that she was being a bit too direct, and turned her face slightly away, a barely perceptible blush rising at the base of her ears.
Shao Sizhi listened quietly, the surprise in his eyes gradually transforming into a deep gaze. Having long held the throne and grown accustomed to flattery, few, if ever, had so directly commented on his "scholarly air," especially with such pure appreciation. This feeling was unfamiliar and novel, like a gentle breeze dispelling the slight weariness that had settled between his brows.
He didn't respond immediately, but just looked at her until Qi Nian'an felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze and almost wanted to find an excuse to escape. Then he chuckled softly. The chuckle was not as authoritative or sarcastic as usual, but rather somewhat relaxed.
"I had no idea you could comment on this." He stood up, walked around the desk, and said, "Come with me for a walk; it's too stuffy in the palace."
The moonlight was perfect, its gentle glow bathing the jade steps of the palace. The two walked side by side along the quiet palace path, followed by servants at a respectful distance. The daytime clamor and scheming seemed to have been washed away by the moonlight, leaving only the clear sound of their footsteps and the cool night air.
“When I was a child, I loved reading under the moonlight.” Shao Sizhi suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. His voice sounded particularly gentle in the night. “I always felt that the words under the moonlight had more charm than those written during the day.”
Qi Nian'an turned her head to look at him. The moonlight outlined his sharply defined profile, which now appeared much softer. She followed up on his words, saying, "Then Your Majesty must have read many books. Unlike me, I get a headache just looking at those classical Chinese texts." Her tone was slightly self-deprecating, but it also shortened the distance between them.
"Read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles." Shao Sizhi looked at the hazy outline of the palace in the distance. "I once thought that the books contained the way to govern the country and bring peace to the people, but now..." He didn't finish his sentence, but Qi Nian'an could feel the heaviness and helplessness in his unfinished words.
The burden on his shoulders was far heavier than she had imagined.
Reaching a pavilion with a panoramic view, Shao Sizhi stopped. A night breeze brought a slight chill. Seeing this, Qi Nian'an gestured for a palace servant to bring hot tea. She poured a cup herself and handed it to Shao Sizhi: "Your Majesty, have some hot tea to warm yourself."
Shao Sizhi took the tea, their fingertips brushing against each other, and both of them paused. He lowered his head to drink the tea, and Qi Nian'an was about to say something to ease the atmosphere when she accidentally tripped over her skirt, causing the teapot in her hand to tip over, spilling the warm tea, most of it onto his sleeves and front.
"Ah! I'm sorry!" Qi Nian'an exclaimed, and hurriedly stepped forward to wipe him clean.
Shao Sizhi's brows furrowed instantly, and almost reflexively brushed her hand away, his tone filled with displeasure at being disturbed and offended: "Insolence!" His imperial majesty was on full display at this moment. He was fond of cleanliness and disliked people getting close to him, and now the wet clothes clung to his body, making him extremely uncomfortable.
Qi Nian'an was startled by his sudden anger and froze on the spot. But the next moment, her gaze was drawn to the outline of his arm, which was vaguely visible due to his wet clothes, and there seemed to be crisscrossing raised marks on it.
As if possessed, instead of immediately apologizing and leaving, she took advantage of the moment he bent down to straighten his clothes and gently tugged at his soaked sleeve. The fabric clung to his skin, making the outline of the scar beneath even clearer.
Shao Sizhi suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with a furious rage that seemed to be about to strike.
Qi Nian'an met his gaze without flinching. She took a deep breath and gestured to the approximate spot on her arm, her voice soft yet carrying a strange, comforting power: "I... have one here too. I fell from a tree when I was little, it was so ugly. So... it's okay, it's not ugly."
Her words were incoherent and illogical, but Shao Sizhi understood her clumsy attempt at comfort. She was telling him that she saw his wounds, but she didn't think they were harmful, because she had them herself. The anger dissipated like a punctured balloon, replaced by an indescribable, complex emotion.
The scars on his body are marks left by the court infighting and power struggles of his early years; they are both secrets and humiliations.
No one had ever dared to touch him so directly, nor would anyone have comforted him in such a childish way, as if they were sharing the same fate.
He looked at her silently. In the moonlight, her eyes were clear and sincere, with a hint of unease after causing trouble, but more so with an effort to understand and calm him down.
After a long while, the murderous aura emanating from Shao Sizhi gradually dissipated. He waved his hand, signaling Liu Gonggong and the others who had come forward to investigate upon hearing the commotion to step back. Only the two of them remained in the pavilion.
"Do you know where this scar came from?" His voice was low, with a hint of barely perceptible hoarseness.
Qi Nian'an shook her head and answered honestly, "I don't know. But it must hurt a lot."
It was a very simple sentence, yet it inexplicably struck a soft spot in Shao Sizhi's heart.
He slowly sat down, his gaze fixed on the endless night sky. For the first time in front of outsiders, he mentioned that dark past. His voice was calm, but undercurrents were surging: "It was a lesson left by my 'good brothers' when the late emperor was in power."
"At that time, I knew that in this palace, one would either be trampled underfoot or...stand at the highest point."
He revealed to Qi Nian'an his deepest ambition: not only to secure his throne, but also to cleanse the bureaucracy and usher in a peaceful and prosperous era.
These heavy words flowed slowly under the moonlight, no longer the cold, decisive pronouncements on a memorial, but the words of a living person, carrying the past and gazing into the future.
Qi Nian listened quietly, and she could sense the profound emotions beneath his calm tone, as well as the loneliness he felt that he had no one to confide in.
She suddenly stood up, and under his slightly questioning gaze, she smiled brightly, a smile that shone vividly in the moonlight: "Your Majesty has said so many heavy things, let me dance for you! Although it may not be very beautiful, I guarantee it's a newly learned dance, the only one of its kind in the palace!"
Before he could respond, she began to twirl and dance silently in the open space before the pavilion. There was no music, only the sound of the wind and her footsteps. Her movements were even a little awkward, but her desire to make him happy was conveyed unreservedly through every gesture. Her skirt billowed softly in the moonlight, her hair fluttered in the wind, and her eyes sparkled, always fixed on him.
As Shao Sizhi looked at the woman dancing alone for him under the moon, his heart felt as if it had been gently struck by something.
All the power struggles, schemes, heavy past and future seemed to fade away at this moment.
In his eyes, there was only this clumsy yet hardworking, cunning yet sincere figure.
After watching for an unknown amount of time, he suddenly stood up, walked a few steps to her, and, to her surprise, naturally took her hand and guided her movements.
"This step should be done like this." His voice was low and gentle.
Qi Nian'an was taken aback at first, but then relaxed and followed his lead.
The two danced gracefully under the moon, looking more like an ordinary couple than an emperor and his concubine.
They were very close; she could smell the faint scent of ink and ambergris on him, and feel the warmth and strength emanating from his palm.
“Your Majesty,” she said softly, looking up at his face so close to hers, “you look especially handsome when you smile like this. Even more handsome than when you’re reviewing memorials.”
Shao Sizhi looked down and met her smiling eyes, in which his image was clearly reflected. He didn't speak, but simply tightened his grip on her hand, the curve of his lips never falling.
The moonlight elongated their shadows, intertwining them in a serene and warm atmosphere.
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