The emperor finally paid the harem a visit . Because he chose Consort Rou first, the imperial concubines were both excited for their turn and full of envy toward her .
The next day, when Zhuang Luoyan arrived at Jingyang Palace to pay respects to the empress, she witnessed Consort Rou and the other women firing pretty words at each other . Pretty yet full of knives beneath . However, the empress did not act any different from usual . What a pity that Noble Consort Shu, who was favored to the same amount as Consort Rou, was still sick . Otherwise, it would be an even greater show .
After paying respects, Zhuang Luoyan was honestly too lazy to join this group of women in speaking pretty words full of needles . She brought Tingzhe and Yunxi back to Taoyu Pavilion . Midway through, she saw a few eunuchs run by, their expressions solemn but free of panic .
“Master…” Tingzhe watched the eunuchs go, her gaze full of uncertainty . “Should we ask them what happened?”
“No need . Let’s return . ” Zhuang Luoyan’s expression remained neutral . “The empress will manage the affairs of the imperial harem . You and I should not be too curious . ”
Curiosity not only killed the cat, but the person as well . She would rather not know what had happened than bring trouble to herself .
Tingzhe nodded and sounded her acknowledgement . She knew herself that in the imperial harem, there existed filthy things, things that could cause one danger if known . As such, knowing too much was not necessarily a good thing . If something terrible had happened, the entire imperial harem would learn about it the next day anyway .
Come noon, the news indeed spread . In the well next to the Cold Palace, the corpses of two palace maids were discovered . The empress was extremely furious . She wanted to purge the imperial harem of bad actors .
Once Zhuang Luoyan was privy of the entire news, she found it hilarious . The imperial harem had always been like so . Were the people who died only these two palace maids? The empress just wanted to use this as an excuse to warn the entire harem .
During the evening, the eunuchs of the Central Province arrived at Taoyu Pavilion . Their reason: to search the residence . Zhuang Luoyan did not hinder them, and let them do as they pleased . However, the eunuchs were very courteous and only skimmed the area . Then they respectfully retreated . They even made sure to place everything they searched back in their original position .
Zhuang Luoyan was aware that if she weren’t currently favored, the search might have been stricter . In fact, the empress thoroughly investigated the other residences . This method was somewhat risky . Let’s not talk about how the imperial harem hid shameful secrets . Even the relationships in the harem were complicated . If it led to extreme fear in the inner court, it would be even more troublesome .
The empress was the type of woman that disdained competing with the other concubines for favor . Still, if she were ruthless, perhaps even the most favored of the imperial concubines would have to be very careful in her presence . For example, Noble Consort Shu, Consort Rou, Noble Imperial Concubine Yan . One could see how impressive the empress’ capabilities were .
Of course, this could not be made separate from the emperor’s respect for her . All good emperors loved pampering the lower-ranked imperial concubines but would not belittle the principal wife . One would fear that in the imperial palace, it was the emperor who schemed the most .
Perhaps the emperor had approved the empress’ actions today . The most likely motive was to warn the entire harem . To not forget their duty .
Eyes closed, Zhuang Luoyan lifted the tea cup for a sip . “Tingzhe, grind some ink . ”
She laid down and spread a roll of high-quality rice paper upon the table . On top, she drew a large ‘buddha’ character . Zhuang Luoyan picked up her calligraphy brush, and then drew a minuscule ‘buddha’ character underneath the first one, before tossing the brush aside . Sometimes, the result of her practice for this character proved decent .
Although she was a shameless woman, she was still a woman . For this reason, she held on to her grudges . If someone slapped her in the face, then she would kick them in revenge .
Tingzhe and Yunxi brought away the writing utensils . Admiring the ‘buddha’ character that had a commanding presence, they could feel a hint of killing intent radiating from it .
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Zhuang Luoyan lifted the tea cup . Poured the tea drip by drip onto the roll of rice paper . The ‘buddha’ character became smudged . Then she carelessly picked up the paper, suspending it in the air away from the desk . “Burn it . ”
In the charcoal bin, the damp roll of rice paper took a while to burn . Yunxi lifted her head and looked through the curling smoke . And she saw her master’s frigid expression . Her heart trembled . She dropped her head only to find the rice paper already reduced to ashes .
Originally, Feng Jin was going to visit Noble Imperial Concubine Yan for the night . Too bad he found the incense in her residence unpleasant . Once he left Linyue Pavilion, he returned to Gangzheng Palace . As the palace maids assisted him in removing his outer robes, they accidentally caused a small sachet from his body to fall to the ground .
Staring at the kneeling and shaking palace maids before him, Feng Jin then furrowed his brow and looked at the sachet . Noble Consort Shu had given him this . The embroidered auspicious clouds seemed to come alive, making others feel as if they were in the realm of fairies . He had tied it to his body . Now as this sachet lay on the ground, he thought of another woman .
“Your Majesty, please have mercy . This slave knows its wrongs . May Your Majesty have mercy . ” Seeing that the emperor did not have much of a reaction, the palace maid was frightened to the point of continuously kowtowing . In hopes that he would allow her to keep her insignificant life .
Feng Jin arched a brow . “Take this sachet and retreat . Gao Dezhong, let us go to Taoyu Pavilion . ”
Upon arriving at Taoyu Pavilion, he noticed that the lanterns hanging at the entrance were visible but lacking a type of brightness . The flames seemed dim, missing the beautiful figure of a woman in wait .
He did not allow the eunuchs to announce his arrival .
Taoyu Pavilion had been renovated well . Yet it still could not be considered spacious . It didn’t take long before Feng Jin arrived at the entrance to Zhuang Luoyan’s main chamber . He dismissed every eunuch and palace maid, only keeping Gao Dezhong behind him . Feng Jin stepped foot within .
Gao Dezhong could make out some murmurs coming from the inside . Not wanting to crash into his master, he lowered his head even more . Quietly followed behind the emperor .
“Master, your knees are severely bruised . This slave will have someone summon an imperial physician,” Yunxi said as she rolled up the legs of Zhuang Luoyan’s inner-garment pants . After that, she could see clearly the large green patches on what was otherwise milky skin . The sight was enough to inspire fear in one’s heart .
“There’s no need for that . ” Zhuang Luoyan originally was not a delicate woman . Looking at the two large bruises on her knees, she said indifferently, “It just looks scary but doesn’t really hurt . You don’t have to be so worried . If you let the imperial physicians know and cause everyone to learn of this, it would only bring trouble . ”
Yunxi furrowed her brow . She knew that what her master had said made sense . It was all because Consort Yuan wanted to make things difficult for her . “But master, if His Majesty flips your name tag in the coming days, how would you deal with it?”
Zhuang Luoyan tilted her head . Saw that outside the window, the candlelight flickered . Expression slightly changing, she said, “The green stone tiles outside Taoyu Pavilion have grown some moss . Have you seen it?”
“Yes…” Yunxi felt unhappy that her master was taking the blame for her injury . She wrung dry the warm towel in her hands . After placing it over Zhuang Luoyan’s knees, she heard her master sucking in her breath from pain .
“Master…”
“It’s fine . ” Zhuang Luoyan’s voice carried a trace of forced happiness . “In the past, your master received a lot of punishment . How could I still be delicate? After a bit of warmth on my knees they’ll be fine . After a while, you can leave and go to bed . ”
“If your honored self is like this, how could this slave catch a wink of sleep?” At this point, Yunxi also realized that the light was flickering outside . Earlier, her master had ordered them to place candles in that position . As such, if the emperor decided to pay them a surprise visit, the servants outside would signal them with the flickering light . Their master had prepared since the very beginning .
“Back when His Majesty did not visit Taoyu Pavilion, everyone used to bully master . Even Jieyu Ma, whose rank was not much higher than yours at that time, punished master to kneel for many hours . Now that master has received some favor after much hardship, master still has to kneel on the green stone tiles for a long time . This slave feels depressed about this matter . ” Yunxi carefully placed another towel on Zhuang Luoyan’s knees . “If it’s a bit painful, may master endure . Once the bruises clear it won’t take long before your knees heal completely . ”
As Gao Dezhong, who was standing outside, heard those words, although he did not sneak a peek at the emperor’s expression, he knew the emperor’s mood was not at its best . The moment the emperor was about to enter the room, Gao Dezhong loudly announced, “His Majesty has arrived . ”
Once Feng Jin brought Gao Dezhong inside the main chamber, he saw Zhuang Luoyan kneeling on the ground, a loose robe draping over her form . Her hair was let down loosely on her shoulders, and she was free of any jewelry or makeup . A single phrase came to Feng Jin’s mind: one look could inspire pity .