Pampered Consort's Acting Awards - Chapter 13

“Your Majesty.”

Heavy rain was blowing, rainwater was hitting the window. Xiao Yu looked down at the sanshui jade pendant in his hand, thinking about things from long ago.

It was probably around the 1st year of Yanxi era, February 15th.

The sun shone brightly on that day. After the morning court, he returned to Kunning Palace to accompany her for breakfast.

He barely stepped a foot inside when he noticed there were a lot of people standing in the inner room. The majority of the people were the old momos from the inner palace and retired female officials. There were at least more than twenty people altogether.

The man slightly frowned.

Everyone was bowing towards a figure: “Wishing Her Majesty  boundless happiness, good luck, and long life.”

Su Líng waved her hand and said: “That’s enough. Everyone should leave.”

Everyone answered: “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Xiao Yu removed his crown, shed off his cloak, and sat at the couch, watching her.

Seemingly asking, what has the empress been doing today?

Su Líng walked over and sat beside him. With her lips pressed beside his ear, said: “This Thousand Years Feast that’s been arranged by Gonggong Sheng is very good, and there is always something to be bestowed. However, the people around Your Majesty must not be lacking in anything, so this servant thought it would be better to find an antidote for Gonggong Sheng.”

[this servant 臣妾: I, your servant (self-appellation of a lower-rank female); subjects (of a ruler), including empress to emperor]

“I also heard from the palace people ah, that there is only His Majesty in Gonggong Sheng’s eyes, he doesn’t even care about himself. On the Twelfth Lunar Month last year, he had frostbite on the soles of his feet. It was discovered by the subordinates below.”

Her warm and damp breath warmed his ear.

After these words, she moved away from his ear, and said with an earnest face: “What does Your Majesty think?”

Xiao Yu lowered his eyes to look at her.

For matters such as finding an antidote for someone, when you are living inside the palace, the Great Zhou dynasty had a saying: it would be better to turn a blind eye. How could anyone just bring the matter openly like this?

Su Líng extended one finger to poke at his knee, and urged him, “What do you think ah?”

Xiao Yu held her restless hand lightly and replied: “Gonggong Sheng is not young anymore, don’t bother him too much.”

“How can you call this a bother! Just now the age of those old momos and female officials are not that much different from Gonggong. Since they are not leaving the palace, they will at least be taken care of in the future.” Su Líng looked him in the eye and vented in a small voice, “Then tell me, what should be bestowed to him?”

Xiao Yu looked at her bitter expression, and could not help but laugh. Then he softly whispered in her ear: “Do you not have some high-quality sanshui jade pendants?”

Su Líng raised her eyebrows: “Just some jade pendants?”

Xiao Yu nodded and said: “If that is not enough, add two landscape paintings, or perhaps also add the enamel Five-Sacred Mountain screen from the warming pavilion. That should be enough.”

Su Líng thought for a moment: “Why does everything have to be landscape? Don’t tell me Gonggong just likes landscapes that much?”

[sanshui also means landscape]

Xiao Yu held her hands and slowly said: “He was sold by his family to the palace when he was only 7 years old, aside from the Forbidden City, he has never been to anywhere else.”

The landscape in the painting is the world of the unseen for the palace servants.

Su Líng immediately said: “Then I will ask someone to fetch it from the warming pavilion now.”

She stood up, and Xiao Yu followed suit. His palm held her slightly bulging belly, saying: “Slow down.”

She turned back with a smile.

But the smile was fleeting, as if she did not want to smile at him.

No longer want to smile at him.

The autumn rain was chilly, the richly ornamented building faded in an instant.

Gonggong Sheng raised his head: “Your Majesty?”

Xiao Yu returned to his senses, threw the sanshui pendant back to Gonggong Sheng, and said in a husky voice: “Does Meiren Qin live in Shuyu Courtyard?”

Gonggong Sheng answered: “Eh? Yes, Your Majesty. Should I prepare your carriage?”

Xiao Yu replied: “No need. It will take some time to call the people. We will just walk there.”

As the rain intensified, the window was suddenly slapped open by the wind with a popping sound, making the candle flame swayed and was about to go out.

Qin Ling’s black hair was like a waterfall, scattered on her shoulder. Wind and rain entered the room, blowing at her slender and fair neck.

The flickering candlelight fell on the side of Meiren Qin’s face. She frowned, looked sideways out the window, and sighed.

In this large inner courtyard of the Imperial palace, the empress dowager stated that she was ill, while the emperor’s shadow could not be seen. She also did not know how long she could live in this Shuyu Courtyard.

Also, when could she see Yun’er.

Qin Ling was thinking about when she would get a chance to see that person when she heard a rush of footsteps.

The door was opened by Zhulan, who gasped: “Meiren, quickly tidy up. It’s His Majesty. His Majesty has come to Shuyu Courtyard.”

Qin Ling only stared blankly for a while: “What?”

For one’s wishes to come true, surely it should not be this quick?

But… to come at this hour. What does he want to do?

For the emperor to visit the concubine’s residence at night, there are only two reasons. One is to denounce the concubine, second is to serve him in bed.

One of the two, which one is she?

For now she could not care too much. She hurriedly got up. There was not enough time to re-groom herself, so she could only count on her bearing and act as fitting as possible.

She took a deep breath, then opened the door.

Compared with the brightly lit Yangxin Hall, at the moment Shuyu Courtyard was like an ancient house in the deep woods, surrounded by darkness. Even the vermilion roofs and blue tiles had lost their colors.

Light was coming from far away, and the circle of light was getting bigger and bigger.

The sound of footsteps, and the crackling sound of raindrops falling on the surface of the umbrella, filled Qin Ling’s ears.

Qin Ling greeted: “Wishing Your Majesty  boundless happiness, good luck, and long life.”

Xiao Yu indifferently said: “You may dispense.”

The emperor suddenly came without informing anyone, so naturally, the Shanggong Bureau had not prepared extra utilities for Shuyu Courtyard.

Therefore, there was only one candle left inside the room.

This scene, no matter who looked at it, could not help but think that it looked shabby.

The only remaining white candle was used by Qin Ling to light up the inner room.

The candlelight fell on the angular silhouette of the emperor. His eyes were more detached than before, and the surrounding aura also seems to grow heavier with power.

Qin Ling only now realized that it had been three years since they last met.

He really, too, should not be what he once was.

She stood beside him, holding her breath.

Si Yue often said that in order to have a good play, the atmosphere, the surrounding furnishings, and the people you play with are all very important.

Qing Ling could not understand this thoroughly.

At the moment, she was standing in Shuyu Courtyard, listening to the sound of pouring rain outside, while looking at the black dragon robe in front of her.

And only then she understood.

The difference in status is like heaven and earth between them.

Qin Ling turned back to pour a cup of tea, then put it in front of him. He noticed  from the corner of his eyes that her slender white fingertips were slightly trembling.

“Sit.”

That one word broke the silence.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Qin Ling sat beside him, bowed her head and clutched her cuffs, not looking directly at him.

But she kept showing her timidity towards him without any reservation.

After a while, she lifted her hand to gather the hair on her temple, then quietly said: “This servant did not know that His Majesty would be coming, so I have not prepared anything. I hope Your Majesty would not blame.”

His eyes were unfathomable, so deep one could not see the bottom, nobody could guess his thoughts. 

He fixed his gaze on her eyes and suddenly spoke: “Have you had dinner?”

Qin Ling respectfully answered: “Thanking Your Majesty for his thoughts, this servant has had dinner.”

He continued as if he had not heard: “Are you tired today?”

Qin Ling replied: “This servant is not tired.”

Qin Ling clenched her fist, feeling that every word he said was extremely familiar.

The room was silent, except for the sound of their breathing, and the ticking of the clock.

The candle flame wavered, and he suddenly raised his hand and cupped her chin, lifting it slightly and rubbing it with his thumb, slightly roughly.

His eyes burned. He rubbed it once, then once more.

Even though this move should be able to move one’s heartstrings, Qin Ling knew that he was rubbing the area where the mole was.

A mole that was not on Su Líng’s face.

Qin Ling’s cheeks flushed and her lower lip trembled slightly as she tried to make him stay: “Your Majesty, will you be staying here for the night?”

The words fell to the ground. As if waking up from a dream, he suddenly let go of his hand.

After a long time of silence, he got up and said: “No thanks.”

Qin Ling: “… …”

As Xiao Yu went to the door, Qin Ling suddenly opened her mouth and said to his back: “What has this servant done wrong?” Showing a young girl’s uneasiness and grievance, the “wrong” word was said in a slightly trembling voice.

Even if one does not look back, one will know what kind of expression she is making.

It was the period of haishi when Xiao Yu left Shuyu Courtyard.

[haishi: 9 – 11 pm]

Xiao Yu thought about the candlelight in the room just now, and said in a deep voice: “Tomorrow morning, pass on my words. Jinlan Courtyard will be bestowed to Meiren Qin, and the amount of candlelight given will be the same as those of Shuyi rank.”

Gonggong Sheng replied: “This servant will keep that in mind.”

After answering, Gonggong Sheng sighed secretly.

Even this Meiren Qin is not enough?

Early in the next morning, Gonggong Sheng brought an Imperial edict to Shuyu Courtyard, and personally led people to help Meiren Qin move.

Moving courtyard was no small matter, the harem immediately felt the wind change.

The empress dowager’s illness was suddenly “cured”.

Since the beginning of the election, the Imperial hospital had said that the empress dowager had been suffering from the cold weather, and should avoid the routine of morning greetings so she would be able to recover in peace from her “serious illness”. But now since she had been cured, everyone from the Consort Dowager Sun of Yongshou Palace, the three Imperial consorts, Shuyi Xu of Xinjin Palace, Shuyi He, and Meiren Qin, had to go pay their respects.

[Changed Great Consort Sun to Consort Dowager Sun]

The news that Meiren Qin looked alike with the late empress had spread like a wildfire.

At noon, Consort Xue, Consort Liu, and Consort Li, who hailed from Goryeo, gathered at Cining Palace.

Everyone had a smile on their faces, but their hearts were guessing. What does that Meiren Qin look like?