After escorting Yirong back to her bedroom, the Emperor departed.
Through the crack in the door, she watched a dozen or so palace servants carrying lanterns as they trailed behind the Emperor in a meandering procession, vanishing from sight in mere moments.
Pepperwind Hall returned to silence under the cover of night, as though everything that had just transpired was nothing more than her imagination.
To ask where she fell short of Cui Cheng, then inexplicably produce an old keepsake and toss it to her with a trace of tenderness in his expression… The Emperor must have truly lost his head to drink. Even without him saying a word or her asking, Yirong could tell that token held some history.
She leaned against the headboard, still puzzling over just what the Emperor had meant by it all, when she suddenly noticed her fingers trembling. It was not yet the season for braziers, yet the night air already carried a chill.
What was the point in trying to decipher the whims of a drunken man?
For all she knew, the Emperor might wake up come morning and forget everything he had done.
Fortunately, his drunken antics had been quite restrained. Had any noise reached the ears of those living nearby, she truly would have had no face left to show.
Yirong burrowed into the thick quilts, her mind lingering on the need to rise early, and gradually drifted off to sleep with her eyes closed.
The next morning, the palace maid attending her informed her that she need not copy scriptures or pray for blessings today—she could rest. Yirong ate her breakfast unhurriedly, and soon Gao Fuliang arrived to pay his respects.
The eunuch stood behind the screen, bowing deeply and respectfully before smiling as he said, “Madam, your uncle and aunt have already settled in the Capital City.”
“Really?” Yirong was both startled and delighted.
But in short order, she composed herself and asked, “Has Your Majesty already met my great-uncle and Aunt?”
Gao Fuliang nodded repeatedly, flattering her by saying she and the Emperor were of one mind.
Yirong gave a small snort. No wonder Zheng Yan had suddenly addressed her that way yesterday—that form of address was unique to the Lu family.
“Then when can I see them?”
“Please don’t worry, Madam. You’ll be able to see them soon enough.”
It was as informative as saying nothing at all. The moment Yirong saw him, she recalled the recent unpleasantness, so she merely gave a cold “Mm” and fell silent, sitting in her chair and wondering why her uncle and aunt had suddenly come to the Capital City.
And why they had even received a summons from the Emperor.
That vague suspicion from before resurfaced in her mind.
Meanwhile, after a few more compliments went unanswered by Yirong, Gao Fuliang awkwardly took his leave. He had always treated this Madam Lu with utmost respect, and she had never put on airs—in fact, she held him in high regard.
This attitude… Gao Fuliang shuddered.
Of course. Last time, during the body search, he had been standing right beside the Emperor, so naturally Madam Lu felt she had lost face in front of him. And later, he had reported the search of Little Ling Prefecture right in the Emperor’s presence!
It was his fault for spending so many years at the Emperor’s side with little contact with women—he had overlooked how she might feel. No, this had nothing to do with men and women; who wouldn’t find such a humiliating affair mortifying?
So Madam Lu had turned cold toward him, and even more so toward the Emperor.
Gao Fuliang inwardly wailed in regret. He hadn’t even dared lift his head to watch how the Emperor conducted the search. Once inside Purple Chen Hall, he first reported to the Emperor, ” …Madam was overjoyed to hear that her uncle and aunt had arrived in the Capital City. It seems the Lu Clan treats her very well. She also asked this servant when she might see her family.”
The Emperor gave a faint “Mm.”
After a moment, seeing Gao Fuliang lingering at his side as if he had more to say, the Emperor tapped on the desk.
Gao Fuliang had been on the verge of reporting his speculations from the road when he mentally slapped himself twice. He was truly growing more foolish with age. If he reported this to the Emperor, given His Majesty’s current fondness for Madam Lu, nine times out of ten it would result in all the palace servants present that day—including himself—being dismissed.
Yet he could not leave it unsaid.
He chose his words carefully. “Your Majesty, this servant noticed that Madam Lu is still upset about what happened a while back.”
“What happened?” The Emperor set down his brush and quickly realized. “She’s unhappy? Zhen is unhappy too.”
He eyed the eunuch, who was bowing and scraping, and after a moment of silence, simply asked, “What is wrong with Zhen, that she must have someone smuggle filthy drugs from outside the palace to sterilize herself?”
Gao Fuliang hastened to flatter him, praising his grand vision and heroic bearing, unleashing a torrent of compliments. But seeing the Emperor’s expression darken further, he ventured cautiously, “Perhaps Madam simply doesn’t wish to bear a child before her status is formalized.”
The Emperor gave a cold snort.
What she had clearly meant was to ensure no heirs forever.
He tried not to dwell on it. No one needed to tell him—she was unwilling to bear his children because she felt almost nothing for him.
An indescribable feeling stirred in his heart, and the Emperor pressed his lips together.
Gao Fuliang regretted it all the more. He should have dragged in some unrelated matter to deflect. Now both their faces were grim, and he suspected neither had mentioned it since—yet here he was bringing it up again.
He sought instruction. “Your Majesty, should the original arrangements proceed as planned?”
The Emperor fell silent for a time, his gaze profound as he stared into the distance, lost in thought.
After a long while, Gao Fuliang mustered his courage and asked again.
Snapping back to attention, the Emperor commanded, “Proceed as planned.”
–
Two days passed peacefully. That morning, Master Jingqing, who had been overseeing their lessons all this time, sent word that they need not go to the main hall to pray today.
Yirong was taken aback. So the Emperor had truly arranged this only for his mother’s sake?
The maid attending her smiled. “A rare day of leisure. Allow this servant to style Madam’s hair properly.”
Yirong nodded indifferently and stared into the mirror in a daze. The maid’s hands moved with deft skill, and soon they had finished: a elaborate falling horse bun adorned with beaded flowers and hairpins, a thick gold pin, a pearl ornament larger than a thumb, and finally a large red flower pinned to the side.
The ornate styling only accentuated her otherworldly beauty, making it hard for anyone to look directly at her.
Yirong smiled. “You’d best take it all down.”
It was simply too flashy.
A thought struck her, and she asked, “Is there some special event planned for today?”
Neither knew for certain; they had only received orders to dress Madam Lu elaborately. In their opinion, Madam Lu was beautiful enough without such lavish adornments. Seeing her dislike the style, they removed the dozen or so gleaming gold hairpins and selected simpler pearl ones and hair pendants instead.
Even so, compared to her usual look, it was clear effort had gone into the grooming, highlighting her face of ethereal, flower-like grace.
This time, Yirong raised no objection and went to find Pei Jingqi to chat. They talked for half the morning when Master Jingqing herself came to invite them to stroll in the Imperial Garden together.
Master Jingqing rarely spoke with them in their time together, but she was never harsh. It was rare for her to extend such an invitation, so Pei Jingqi stood with a smile, and Yirong had no choice but to follow.
She did not wish to go out where people might see her, but she could not hide away forever. Besides, these past few days, few had given her strange looks when she ventured out—and even fewer dared to meet her gaze at all.
Yirong comforted herself with these thoughts and trailed at the rear as they left Pepperwind Hall.
By now, Pei Jingqi and she had grown close. Seeing Yirong dawdling at the back, Pei Jingqi simply linked arms with her, chiding her affectionately for walking so slowly.
The Imperial Garden in deep autumn still bloomed with exotic flowers and plants. Yirong had harbored a vague premonition of some major event, her heart suspended in uneasy suspense, but the stunning scenery soon drove further worries from her mind.
Arm in arm with Pei Jingqi, she strolled and chatted merrily through the garden, with Master Jingqing watching them smile indulgently from the side. Noticing that Master Jingqing was alone, Yirong quickly said, “I still haven’t thanked you for looking after us these past days.”
Master Jingqing pressed her palms together and nodded slightly, then took Yirong’s other arm.
The weather was unseasonably mild, and Yirong laughed and talked freely with them. Just as her mood was at its brightest, they rounded a bend and saw the Emperor approaching with several attendants.
As the Emperor traveled, the eunuchs clapped to signal others to yield or pay respects.
Beside a thicket of trees, he wore a dark brocade robe and a white jade crown, a faint smile playing on his lips.
From a distance that was neither too close nor too far, the three women hurriedly released their arms and curtsied.
“Rise,” said the Emperor.
The sky was clear and the clouds high. Yirong and Pei Jingqi exchanged a covert glance; it was clear Pei Jingqi was just as baffled. As Yirong felt embarrassment creeping in, she heard the Emperor say casually, “Master Jingqing, Jingqi—who is the third one among you?”
Yirong froze.
“I…” She had just opened her mouth when Master Jingqing gave her a light pat.
“Refer to yourself as ‘your subject’.”
Yirong’s mind was a whirl, but she followed Master Jingqing’s prompt without thinking. “Your subject is…”
The Emperor regarded her, his handsome features softened by good humor, lacking the usual intimidating severity.
But facing the Emperor’s smiling eyes, she simply could not bring herself to say who she was.
Besides, this was too strange! Why on earth was the Emperor suddenly pretending not to know her?