Chapter 44 (1/2)

Chapter 44 Original and most updated translations are from volaretranslations.

The folding screen wasn’t very wide, but I didn’t realize such a scene existed behind it. A simple and unsophisticated wooden bookshelf displayed a tracing of a landscape painting to accompany the screen, creating a cleverly sheltered s.p.a.ce…

There was a pool emanating a fog that smelled like medicine. The scent was comfortable and refres.h.i.+ng here as I sank into the water. I could see the emperor sitting calmly on the bed beyond the screens, whose layers were as thin as cicada’s wings. He was holding a rolled-up object of some sort, reading it leisurely before raising his eyes to smile at me.

I nearly ducked my entire face underwater.

Steam rose up from around my body, turning the skin of my neck red. My head felt muddled as I perched by the edge of the pool. I say, it’s only been a few days since I’ve washed. Was I really that dirty?

I gave a bitter look to the court ladies scrubbing me up and down as if they were trying to give me a second skin. It’s not as if I was a corpse, this skin was still high quality…

One after the other, docile faces wore innocent, pitiful expressions as they knelt by the edge of the pool. I softened, but then…why did they scrub even harder than before? This level of torment was enough to break my poor waist.

My face turned wooden as I felt extremely tragic, casting a glance beyond the screens. I could see the vague form of the emperor leaning against the bed, leisurely flipping through a book without even lifting his head. “Why don’t I heard the sound of water? Use all your strength to scrub for Zhen.”

“Yes.”

“Dont’don’tdon’t…” I hastily protested, pus.h.i.+ng myself to the center of the pool. The figure beyond the screens moved slightly, and stopped turning the pages.

Softly, a voice laced with a smile drifted my way. “If their coa.r.s.e movements are causing you pain, Zhen can take the trouble to replace them.”

He actually put aside the book and made his way to get off the bed. He was just waiting to say this line, right? I fell silent, tired from my outburst from before, and lowered my head with gritted teeth to endure the ministrations of the scrubbing court ladies. Their hands felt like a thousand knives, and I kept my silent disapproval obvious.

Suddenly, a disturbance sounded from outside.

“Your excellency, esteemed excellency, you can’t go in,” Though the young eunuch spoke softly, his voice was unusually clear in the quiet surroundings. I was astonished.

Something soft hit against some wooden boards and a door opened from the outside. The young eunuch kneeled on the ground, face pale as he clutched his stomach in silence. Sunlight framed a tall shadow that carried with him a strange, foreign scent of windswept sand and fresh blood. That man walked in with impatient steps. I could actually hear the sound of his sword scabbard clinking against his armor. Even weapons could be worn in the main hall, so close to the emperor?

There was the sound of someone kneeling on one knee.

“I received news that the emperor was attacked en route by a.s.sa.s.sins. Your servant is very much troubled at heart.”

“My beloved official has just returned from the frontier pa.s.s, and should rest for a few more days.” The emperor reached out a hand to help him up. “Zhen only met with a minor scare, there was nothing serious that happened.”

I couldn’t see very clearly through the hazy screen.

The two people went through the usual rites of ruler and va.s.sal. Originally, it should be a pleasing sight, but why…did something feel off?

This general looked to be on in his years, hale and hearty with long experiences in the battlefields. His keen intuition noticed something was different right away as he looked in my direction. His face seemed to flash in surprise before his eyes sharpened, and an imposing manner followed his arched eyebrows.

This man could impertinently charge into the emperor’s sleeping quarters. He probably didn’t have too many scruples. I wasn’t nervous at all, but glared back at him. The emperor clapped him casually on the back to regain his attention, and the two talked softly for a while.

Soaking in a medicinal bath was good for health. Someone kept refilling the bath with hot water too, but…my skin had started to wrinkle from staying inside so long. How long were those two going to stay there?

“Your Majesty, regarding the matter of conferring the t.i.tle of ‘Empress’ t.i.tle on my daughter…”

What?

Now I was curious. I hid in the pool and c.o.c.ked my ear to listen.

“We can discuss this matter in the future,” the emperor’s face seemed a little unhappy, but it was gone in a moment. He added, “This morning I received reports regarding the situation at the border. Come with Zhen into the study.”

“At your Imperial Majesty’s command[1].” But that person only gave a shallow bow in response.

The emperor’s line of sight went past him to look at me, lips curving up into a gentle smile. As if…he was rea.s.suring me. When the two of them walked past my screen, the general seemed to want to get a clearer picture.

“My beloved official,” the emperor wore a smile that wasn’t a smile as he quietly grabbed him by the arm. Tightening his grip, he dragged the old general off before the latter had a chance to look back.

I had the illusion that this general was a formidable figure. His eyes were so incisive and ruthless. And yet, was the emperor protecting me…?

—

Time enough to prepare a cup of tea pa.s.sed by.

I finally crawl out from the steaming hot pool to get dressed and have my hair done. The court ladies waiting upon me made sure I was properly attired before I valiantly charged out the doors, only to be followed by a quick-witted eunuch.

“Master, his Majesty said that you’ve yet to recover and to not recklessly wander about. The wind is fierce outside and you might catch a chill.”

What?

The wind is fierce…catch a chill?

I raised a sleeve to shade my eyes as I looked up towards the warm suns.h.i.+ne.

“Even with strong sunlight, there’s no guarantee that it isn’t windy either. See here…” the young eunuch raised his hand and earnestly pointed in one direction. Oh, well what do you know? The leaves on those little trees really were rocking and swaying.

I narrowed my eyes and looked at him. “You, what’s your name?”

“Little Li.”

“Good…very good, not bad.” I stared at him and added silently that I’d remember this guy. He could even say a dead camel was a live horse[2], what a d.a.m.nable gift, what a talented guy.

“What are you holding in your hands?”

“To answer Master, these are robes.”

…looking at the style of these robes, it was definitely tailored for a man. They were snow-white but rather old, as if they’d been worn for a long time. The emperor wouldn’t wear clothes like these. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“The laundry rooms delivered the wrong set, these are clothes for the disfavored lord in the Cold Palace.”

Cold Palace?!

Disfavored lord…?

—

I nodded at him, before brus.h.i.+ng my hands against the robes. Little Li’s expression seemed fretful as he remained standing, head bowed in respectful deference.

Un, the material beneath my fingers was cold and slippery as water. Even though it was a bit old, the quality was still remarkably good. If even the Cold Palace clothes could be sent to the laundry rooms for laundering, the person there couldn’t be too much out of favor.

I thought a bit before rolling up my sleeves and clapped him repeatedly on the shoulder. He trembled before steadying himself beneath my blows, head still bowed.

“Take me to stroll around for a while for exercise.”

He hesitated a second before steeling himself to agree.

The air outside was very fresh. I stretched my arms beneath the fine, sunny day, but my mood seemed a little worse than it was at the beginning. My eyes couldn’t help but glance towards Little Li and the robes in his hands. After walking a few more steps, I thoughtfully looked back. “Little Li, who was it that barged into the emperor’s sleeping quarters just now? Why would they talking about conferring a t.i.tle for an empress?”

“General Qi[3] rendered great services for the previous emperor in expanding territories. He is one of the dynasty’s important founding figures who holds vast military strength. Since his Majesty’s ascended the throne, he has neither appointed an empress nor helped produce any sons, so pet.i.tions to the court have earnestly requested his Majesty to accept General Qi’s daughter…”

Little Li stole a glance at me and trailed off, head bowed as he painstakingly folded and refolded the robes.

Eh, it was pretty understandable.

General Qi didn’t seem like a person who would be content doing his duties. By acting in this way, the emperor could incur good will with him while preserving the security of his throne. It wasn’t a bad idea. I drew into thought as I rested a hand on his shoulder for support. We hadn’t taken more than a few more steps before I suddenly stopped.

Wind billowed the robes draped over his arms, imbibed with a distinctive scent of something like medicine…but also like bamboo. A nostalgic feeling rose up within my heart.

“What’s the deal with what you just said? There are only eunuchs and court ladies in the inner court. Are you telling me that there’s an un-castrated male, too? Could he be the emperor’s inner attendant?”

No, he shouldn’t be in the Cold Palace if that was the case.

Little Li kept his head lowered and answered me with silence. I began to have doubts, looking around me as my suspicions grew. I took another step, and stopped. “Little Li, where did you take me for our stroll?”

This place looked like the quarters of the imperial harem…

But it felt like it was missing something.

My eyes travelled over to a pond filled with beautiful red lotuses before I asked him under my breath, “Where do the other concubines live? We’ve walked for so long, but all I’ve seen are lotus ponds, willow trees, or plants and flowers.”

He didn’t utter a word. Yet though his head was bowed, those eyes kept roving back and forth, filled with secret intelligence. He was probably thinking of what to say. My hand moved on his shoulder and pinched him.

His eyebrows bunched together, but he didn’t dare to cry out.

“To…answer Master, his Majesty hasn’t been interested in women during the past few years, so he never accepted any concubines.”

Ah…

Not interested in women?!

Impossible. Such an amorous, licentious man. I’d remember how he’d kept by my side during my illness, hands feeling here and there. They’d never stopped moving for a second.

Hey, don’t stop talking if I haven’t interrupted you. I signaled him to go on with my eyes. He actually muttered and hummed forever before refusing to speak another word.

I laughed. “You’re a devoted and loyal servant, you know when to keep your mouth shut. Good, very good!” A tolerant smile appeared on my features, but my force on his shoulder didn’t lessen.

There were plenty of ways to pinch a person…

One was the martial pinch, where a finger held onto a section of skin while the wrist twisted to add pressure. The other was the scholarly pinch, more refined in comparison. The thumb and index fingers trapped a length of skin between them and gently pressed down, overwhelming the opponent.

A refined, delicate lady like myself would of course have to use orchid hands[4] when I employed my pinching method.

“Yeowowow…your servant will talk…isn’t choosing to speak enough?!” He couldn’t avoid me this time as his complexion turned deathly pale, face crumpled up like the wrinkled folds of a meat bun.

Speaking of meat burns, they were one of my favorite foods. I don’t know if the imperial kitchens knew how to make them, but I liked to eat the ones with meat and Chinese cabbage filling. I came back to my senses in time to hear Little Li speaking.