Chapter 227: Warm Fragrance Lingers
“Your Majesty?”
Seeing the Emperor lost in thought, Tuya unconsciously held her breath and bowed slightly.
“Do you have any instructions for this subject?”
The incense burner in Hanzhang Hall burned fiercely, its smoke coiling around the pillars like a serpent.
Princess Ping Le knelt on the Persian carpet, gold beads on her veil swaying gently.
Emperor Chong Zhao stared at the hint of jade-colored skin visible on her neck, his gaze as intense as a torch.
“When the Saintess was cultivating on Wulan Holy Mountain, did she learn the art of divination?”
Tuya’s fingertips curled at the hem of her skirt, her eyes lowered.
“Replying to Your Majesty, this subject only learned sacrificial dances and medical sutras.”
“Oh?” The Emperor suddenly leaned forward, lifting her veil, which was as light as mist, and met her beautiful, shimmering eyes.
“No wonder you knew so much about Snakeberry Poison in Qing Hui Hall that day.”
A chill crawled up her spine, and Tuya felt a sour discomfort rise in her throat, her palms breaking out in a fine sweat.
She desperately wanted to push the Emperor away…
In a daze, she saw the sutra banners of Wulan Holy Mountain fluttering in the wind and snow, and the vast, silent sand sea shimmering with blinding light under the scorching sun…
She inhaled slightly, suppressing the bitterness in her throat, her voice flowing like a clear spring.
“Replying to Your Majesty… the medical sutras of the Holy Mountain contain records of Snakeberry Poison. When this subject was young… I also saw the High Priest test the poison…”
Emperor Chong Zhao nodded, then abruptly changed the subject.
“What are the Saintess’s usual preferences, and what does she do in her free time?”
Tuya said softly, “Replying to Your Majesty, this subject was born to be a tribute to the Emperor of Daliang. My heartbeat, my breath, even a single glance, should be born to please the Emperor of Daliang…”
“What a delightful person.”
Emperor Chong Zhao suddenly straightened up, his mood greatly improved, and sat on the wooden couch, his eyes full of smiles.
“I have been busy with state affairs these days and haven’t had time to bestow rewards upon you. After the Imperial Consort’s mourning period, I will issue a decree to enfeoff you, alright?”
Princess Ping Le kowtowed in greeting, her silver gauze falling onto the Persian carpet.
“Everything is as Your Majesty decides.”
Emperor Chong Zhao suddenly chuckled, his fingertip rubbing the jade ruyi on the desk.
“Let me think about what title to bestow upon you…”
Tuya’s eyes lowered, her expression appearing shy.
Emperor Chong Zhao suddenly caught sight of the silver bells on Tuya’s wrist, his smile deepening.
“How about enfeoffing you as Consort? With the character ‘Jing’, meaning ‘a beautiful maiden with an ethereal demeanor’, it would complement the Saintess’s bearing…”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great kindness!”
Tuya’s eyes flickered slightly, and the silver bells tinkled as she prostrated herself.
Seeing her obedience, Emperor Chong Zhao asked again, “Do you feel that the position of Consort is beneath you?”
“Your Majesty flatters this subject!” Tuya kowtowed again. “This subject came to pray for blessings for the Holy Mountain. To enter the imperial palace of Daliang is already a heaven-sent opportunity. The position of Consort is incomparably noble, and this subject is terrified. The High Priest once warned this subject that the favor of the Emperor of Daliang is a double-edged sword hanging around one’s neck; fortune and misfortune are intertwined. The greater the favor, the greater the risk. This subject dares not overstep in the slightest…”
“Hahahaha!” Emperor Chong Zhao was very pleased, stroking his beard and laughing.
“With me protecting you, who would dare to speak ill of you?”
The candlelight in the hall flickered.
Tuya’s hair was half-pinned, her white wrists like frost, her slender waist slightly bent. She knelt with the maidservants on either side, devoutly attending to the imperial presence. The silver bells on her wrist chimed occasionally, like melting snow from the Heavenly Mountains. Every movement was light and graceful, yet possessed a unique ethereal quality…
Emperor Chong Zhao felt a stirring in his heart.
There is a beauty, with an ethereal grace and jade-like complexion.
He beckoned, signaling Tuya to sit closer.
“I vaguely recall that on a spring night when Consort Xiao first entered the palace, she also knelt before the wooden desk like you, holding Western Region grapes wrapped in a piece of snow-white silk, and presented them to me…”
He suddenly sighed.
“In the blink of an eye, it has been over twenty years. That person is gone.”
Tuya asked, “Has Consort Xiao’s case been solved yet?”
Emperor Chong Zhao shook his head, his brow furrowed.
Tuya peeled grapes with her fair fingers, and as if casually, whispered, “This subject has heard some gossip these past two days, saying that Princess Ping Le has been privately interacting with merchants from Xizi…”
“Impossible.” Emperor Chong Zhao waved his sleeve in dismissal, his eyes full of certainty. “Ping Le has been raised by my side since she was in swaddling clothes. Although she is willful, obsessed with rare and exotic treasures, and enjoys associating with martial world heroes, her nature is not bad, and she has basic discretion. No matter how unruly she is, she would not dare to commit treason… Moreover, Consort Xiao was her birth mother; blood is thicker than water. How could she bear to harm her…”
Princess Ping Le remained silent, lowering her head to stroke her plain white silk handkerchief.
“Women are born perceptive, but the emotion of love is difficult to overcome.”
This meant that no matter how clear-headed a person was, when caught in love, they would lose their way…
Emperor Chong Zhao paused, looking at her intently.
“Then, who does the Saintess’s heart belong to?”
Tuya looked up.
Meeting the Emperor’s intense gaze, her fingertips trembled slightly.
These days, the court and country have been saying she has the Emperor’s favor above all others in the harem, but in reality, every time Emperor Chong Zhao visited, he only spoke with her, tasted tea, and discussed philosophy; they had not shared a bed.
The Saintess of Wulan Snow Mountain, bearing a divine oracle, was so pure. On the day she entered the palace, she stated plainly that even if she died, she would not accompany the Emperor without a wedding ceremony and a formal investiture.
Perhaps because the Emperor found it too easy to obtain flattering beauties, he showed more tolerance and patience towards this woman who was not easily obtained…
Even if she did nothing, he would come to Hanzhang Hall every day to listen to her talk about anecdotes from the Holy Mountain and secret rituals for praying for blessings, which calmed him considerably.
However, Consort Xiao was buried according to the rites of a Vice Empress, and the palace was in mourning for three months.
At this moment, Emperor Chong Zhao felt that the three-month period had become incredibly long…
By the time Emperor Chong Zhao emerged from Hanzhang Hall, dusk had deepened.
Palace lanterns flickered in the evening breeze, casting shimmering golden waves on the glazed tiles.
He suddenly stopped and gave instructions to Wang Chengxi.
“Summon the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to the Imperial Study immediately to report on matters.”
Wang Chengxi bowed, “Yes.”
Half an hour later, Director Liu Shou Zheng of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, shrouded in the mist condensed by the night dew, hurried in and knelt trembling.
“Your subject Liu Shou Zheng pays his respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be well.”
Seated behind the imperial desk, he asked, “How is the matter I entrusted to you progressing?”
Director Liu was an old minister with graying temples, a white beard, and a face full of wrinkles. He stammered nervously.
“Replying to Your Majesty, Third Miss Guo belongs to Earth, and His Highness the Crown Prince belongs to Fire. Their compatibility is precisely ‘Fire and Earth generating each other.’ In their birth charts, the year pillar Bing Yin meets Wu Xu, and the month pillar Ding Mao encounters Ji Wei, complementing each other, indicating a prosperous husband and beneficial children, making them very well-matched. However…”
He paused, fine sweat beading on his forehead.
“His Highness the Crown Prince once secretly told this minister that he dreamed of Xuanwu holding a candle. This omen, with the Red Phoenix star moving and concealing ill fortune, portends potential trouble and is truly inauspicious.”
“Hmph!” Emperor Chong Zhao struck the imperial desk, glancing sideways at the hunched old minister.
“You still don’t know his intentions? Every time there’s talk of marriage, he brings up celestial phenomena and dreams. When has any of it been accurate? He’s just bargaining with me, his inherent rebellious nature wanting to control his own marriage!”
Director Liu’s lips moved, his forehead twitching twice, his old face embarrassed.
“Your Majesty, please see! Marriage also requires mutual affection… If the Crown Prince harbors resentment, it may harm harmony. A forced melon is not sweet.”
Emperor Chong Zhao snorted heavily.
“The melon patch is almost barren, can I still let him be so picky?”
Director Liu kowtowed, “Your Majesty is wise.”
Emperor Chong Zhao said, “Go immediately and report to Empress Ming that their birth charts are compatible, indicating marital harmony and continuous offspring. They are a match made in heaven.”
Director Liu trembled, “This subject obeys the decree.”
Emperor Chong Zhao signaled Wang Chengxi to bring a piece of yellow silk with dragon patterns. Dipping a wolf hair brush in cinnabar, he wrote powerfully on the silk.
As he wrote “a match made in heaven,” he suddenly stopped his brush.
The late autumn wind was strong, blowing through the glazed tiles with a rustling sound.
For some reason, he suddenly remembered Li Zhao, who had once knocked over an inkstone in the Imperial Study when he was young, staining the entire sandalwood desk with ink marks.
At that time, Li Zhao, raised by the Former Emperor before his eyes, was the most intelligent and beloved child in the palace. He would carve marks on the imperial desk with a small knife and braid the tassels of the Former Emperor’s crown into pigtails; he was incredibly mischievous.
That day, he had used ink to blacken the Former Emperor’s newly written imperial decree and drawn a sleeping tiger at the bottom of the page…
Not only did the Former Emperor not blame him, but he laughed heartily and said:
“The Grandson has the spirit of a splashed ink landscape; this is truly a great fortune for the state…”
Over the years, from a pampered and adored Grandson…
To a Crown Prince feared and hated by all, rebellious and perverse…
He feared that he harbored resentment towards his own father, the Emperor…
Especially now, with the border wars intensifying, internal and external troubles plaguing the empire, and the shadow of the Old Mausoleum Swamp looming, he suddenly couldn’t distinguish which of his two sons was the player and which was the pawn.
Perhaps it was time to push them a little…
As Imperial Princes, they had to make a choice between love and power.
“Issue my oral decree!”
Emperor Chong Zhao suddenly threw down his brush, the cinnabar on the yellow silk smearing.
“The Crown Prince’s marriage should be decided quickly. The daughter of the Guo clan is gentle, wise, virtuous, and proper, a suitable match for the Crown Prince. Order the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to select an auspicious date, and the Ministry of Culture to promptly handle the betrothal and inquiry of names ceremonies…”
He paused, then looked up and instructed Liu Shou Zheng.
“The date selected by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau must be after the end of Consort Xiao’s mourning period!”
