Pampered Consort's Acting Awards - Chapter 34

She had regarded the emperor as her husband alone.

The moment Qin Ling vaguely saw the person in front of her, she hurriedly raised her body with her forearms.

Xiao Yu stretched his hands out to press her shoulders, then stared into her eyes and said: “Lie down properly, no need to get up. Tell Us where you feel uncomfortable.”

This sudden concern made Qin Ling unconsciously frowned.

Is she dreaming?

Seeing the doubts within her eyebrows and eyes, Xiao Yu explained in a low voice: “You’ve slept for several hours.”

“Do you remember what happened before?”

Before…

Qin Ling held her forehead and gradually remembered what happened this noon.

Xue Lanyi invited two Daoist priests to exorcise ghosts in her palace. Then somehow, her temple became more and more painful as the red ropes wrapped around the corners of the eaves, after that… she fainted.

“Does your head hurt?”

“This concubine is fine,” Qin Ling lowered her eyes and pondered before saying: “This concubine did not sleep all night yesterday. Today I was a little tired, but didn’t expect to faint and lost my manners, hoping Your Majesty will not blame me.” Although the timing of her fainting made her lack confidence, after thinking about it, she was only 16 years old. A corpse was found in Jingyang Palace, she became frightened and fainted due to exhaustion, this explanation just made sense.

When she was still thinking, Xiao Yu quickly stretched out to touch her forehead to confirm that the fever had gone down, which made him feel relieved.

Perhaps because she had slept for too long without eating anything, coupled with anxiety, Qin Ling’s lower abdomen made a sound out of nowhere.

Although the voice was not loud, it was enough for the man who was close at hand to hear.

Qin Ling quickly gathered the bedding to cover her stomach and closed her eyes awkwardly.

Xiao Yu lowered his head, a faint smile filled his eyes, “We will ask someone to deliver the meal.”

Soon, Gonggong Sheng summoned the people who brought in the prepared meal.

Speaking of which, this was also the biggest pomp since Qin Ling entered the palace.

There were only six light refreshments on the table: vegetable dumplings, rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaf, lotus seeds, cooked lotus root, soft cake, and glutinous rice balls.

In addition to the basic dishes, there were also three kinds of fish—stir fried crucian carp with dried winter bamboo shoots, fish cooked in hot oil and vinegar, and deep-fried whitebait.

Xiao Yu said: “Give it a taste. See if it fits your taste.”

“T-This concubine thanks His Majesty.”

Qin Ling really couldn’t figure out his thoughts, so she could only grit her teeth and eat the deep-fried whitebait. The fishy smell made her slightly uncomfortable, but what made her very uncomfortable was the man whose eyes were burning.

When a person becomes abnormal, there must be ghosts. And when things go wrong, there must be demons.

This person wouldn’t even let her meet Yun’er since two days ago. So what was he doing today?

Could it be that those two Daoist priests told him something?

Qin Ling’s emotional state was experiencing some ups and downs, meanwhile, Xiao Yu only thought that everything made sense.

Many of her habits were very different from the past, perhaps because she had forgotten the past.

After the meal, Xiao Yu summoned Physician Ning to come over for another check.

“Answering Your Majesty, Jieyu Qin’s fainting was caused by the lack of blood supply to the brain,” Ning Chengfou thought there was nothing to be afraid of anymore and expressed his joy: “Fortunately, the fever has been cured in time. Had it been delayed, it might have caused damage to the brain.” 

With these words, the emperor’s expression became bad.

Xiao Yu didn’t even dare to imagine what would happen if he hadn’t come today.

Noticing the emperor’s change of expression, Ning Chengfou thought he had misspoken and hurriedly explained: “Your Majesty doesn’t need to worry. The lady is still young, she will inevitably feel afraid upon seeing a corpse for the first time. There might be some aftereffects, but this official will prescribe a few soothing prescriptions to drink, after a while, it will surely…”

Before Ning Chengfou finished his words, he heard Xiao Yu turned and looked at Qin Ling, saying: “Since you’re afraid, just move to Jingren Palace.”

The man’s voice was still as cold as ever, but even the most muddle-headed person could hear the tenderness from his words.

The emperor’s tenderness, even if it only lasts for a while, is what many people want.

But hearing these words, Qin Ling only felt uneasy in her heart.

Jingren Palace?

In the end what does he want to do?!

There was only one word difference between Jingren Palace and Jingyang Palace where she currently lived. However, there was a huge difference between the furnishings, scenery, or status in the harem of the two palaces.

If she remembered correctly, in the previous dynasty, Jingren Palace was just the residence of Concubine Jing and a few guiren, while Jingren Palace was the residence of Prince Yan’s birth mother, Consort Dowager Zhuang, during her lifetime.

Consort Dowager Zhuang was Duke of Zhuang’s daughter, and she had been loved since she entered the palace. Jingren Palace was the residence given by the emperor after she gave birth to the prince.

[T/N: ‘Concubine’ is another imperial concubine rank, not mentioned which rank though, same goes with guiren, but it should be pretty low]

Qin Ling showed a terrified expression and hurriedly said: “This concubine thanks His Majesty for your affection, but I have not done anything worthy. This concubine feels ashamed and dares not to accept this gift.”

Since entering the palace, she had skipped rank and changed residence. These were offensively conspicuous already within the harem. This person planned to let Shuyi Xu to foster the eldest prince, but also let her move to Jingren Palace at this time. What did this mean after all?

Did he do this so the empress dowager and the three consorts will come to burn her in the future?

Thinking up here, Qin Ling added again in a soft voice: “What’s more, with Your Majesty here, this concubine is not afraid,” After that a pair of apricot eyes were slightly raised, clearly expressing a line of unsaid words—This concubine does not want to move, hoping Your Majesty to take back his words.

It was a pity that such sincere expression changed meaning in Xiao Yu’s eyes.

Xiao Yu looked down at her, stayed silent for a while, before saying: “Rest assured. We will stay here tonight.”

Qin Ling: “…”

“Sheng Kanghai.”

“This servant is present,” Gonggong Sheng stepped forward.

“Bring some people and vacate Jingren Palace as soon as possible,” Then after a pause, he continued: “As for Consort Dowager Zhuang’s old things, let the empress dowager handle it.”

“This servant understands.”

After that, Gonggong Sheng and Ning Chengfou made eye contact and retreated together.

Across the door, Qin Ling could still vaguely hear the voice of Gonggong Sheng calling the palace staff to do something.

“Why are you distracted? Go and hurry to prepare water! His Majesty will stay at Jingyang Palace tonight.”

“Yes, Gonggong. This servant will do so.”

Chang Ge narrowed her eyes and glanced at the window, her heart was cursing, “What a good vixen.”

When Xiao Yu went to the clean room to take a bath, Qin Ling leaned back on the couch, her mind occupied by things.

The completely unexpected moving palace was just one thing. The other thing was the custody of Xiao Yun.

But she really didn’t know what to do about this matter.

That man asked Shuyi Xu to take charge of Shou’an Palace, so it was already intended that the Xu family would be the backing of the eldest prince.

She was afraid that if she tried to probe around with the way things were right now, she may be suspected of competing for favor. However, if she did not fight, she was afraid that there would be no such opportunity in the future.

When Qin Ling was indecisive, a sentence she had heard many years ago suddenly rang in her ears.

That year, her hair was still styled in double-bun, and her eldest brother had not become an official. The Duke Estate had not yet been ransacked. The so-called sinner was just a highly principled father in their eyes, and a patient guide and teacher.

She remembered one time when her father was teaching his brother in his study while she was practicing calligraphy at the side. Their father said without any ups and downs while holding a military book: “Jingming, if you blindly go on the defense because you can’t figure out the other side’s thoughts, you will remain passive forever. This is not a good strategy at all. Whether on the battlefield or officialdom, sometimes attack is the best defense.” 

At this time, the sound of footsteps came from the outside. Qin Ling relieved her thoughts and took a deep breath.

When Xiao Yu entered, it was already the period of zi. [11pm – 1am]

The moonlight was covered by dark clouds, it was exceptionally dark tonight.

Qin Ling lay down wrapped in the quilt, and leaned towards him deliberately.

To be honest, actively competing for favor was really not her strong point. Not to mention this person had never put her in the eyes since she entered the palace.

Qin Ling rubbed her fingertips and carefully held his sleeve, then she silently counted to three. This person unexpectedly… did not push her away.

“Are you afraid?” He asked softly.

Qin Ling’s fingertips dug into his sleeve. Controlling her tone, she answered: “A little bit.”

“Come here,” Xiao Yu patted her shoulder to comfort her, then sat up and said: “Sleep inside.”

Xiao Yu switched positions with her, then got up. Qin Ling thought he was going to leave, so she grabbed his wrist. Her voice trembled: “Where is Your Majesty going?”

Xiao Yu turned his head and looked at her. Seeing her panicked gaze, there seemed to be an indescribable soreness in his heart that surged upwards.

“We will light up a lamp for you,” He said in a low voice.

As their eyes met, some memories surged, and Qin Ling let him go in a daze.

The light came in through the curtain, and when he lay down again, the space became narrow.

Qin Ling turned sideways, held her breath, and looked at him secretly. The more she looked at him, the stranger he became. How could a person change so much overnight…

The man’s arm suddenly fell on her, and embraced her a bit stiffly.

The embrace tightened.

Across the white shirt, Qin Ling smelled the familiar white sandalwood incense.

This was his favorite incense, taken from the heart of a white sandalwood tree that has grown for hundreds of years. It tastes like the aftertaste of burning incense in a temple to worship the Buddha. It is not heavy, but exceptionally meaningful.

She remembered that in the past, every time the clothing bureau sent his clothes over, whether it was court or ordinary clothes, she would iron them with this scent, repeatedly, until the white sandalwood incense was mixed with the orchid incense of the Changchun Palace. Only after she told the palace people that she could not move easily anymore because of pregnancy that they stopped sending his clothes to Kunning Palace.

[T/N: Changchun Palace is where the crown prince lives]

She allocated the recipe to Shangyi Bureau, and never touched the spices ever since.

Not only the white sandalwood recipe. Since then, she had handed over all the affairs related to him to the hands of palace staff or other concubines in the palace.

The empress dowager praised her as a virtuous person.

Only she herself knew that it had nothing to do with virtuousness. She had only done so because she had regarded the emperor as her husband alone, and cared about his taste just as she cared about his obsession with cleanliness, and his favor.

She had been immersed with these thoughts for so many nights within this deep palace. She had even passed the Yellow River. And now—

She could think of him as just an emperor without any distractions.