Chapter 106 - 87: Meeting
Jiang Xian had left the room full of sachets behind on purpose.
This, too, came from experience.
When a rookie in the workplace gets an assignment, they often meticulously craft a single, perfect version they’re most satisfied with and submit it, only to be met with a barrage of criticisms. The feedback is often incredibly broad: "This isn’t the feeling I was going for," "The tone is too far off from what I want," or simply, "Do a couple more versions and let me have a look."
What an employee sees as trimming the fat and keeping the best part, a leader sees as a half-hearted effort.
It was better to just bundle up every version and send them over. That way, your boss could see the evidence of your hard work. You get points for effort, even if not for the final achievement. The subpar options only make the best one shine brighter. With that roomful of sachets as comparison, the one in the Emperor’s hand seemed particularly perfect. It was the culmination of her efforts, entirely different from a sachet someone might casually whip up.
What kind of normal person would weave an entire room full of sachets?
Jiang Xian was not a normal person.
Coincidentally, the true love the Emperor sought was also beyond what any normal person could provide.
When she learned that the Emperor had taken the entire room of sachets with him, a faint smile graced her lips.
Once the three-day period was up, the Empress Dowager gave her orders. The two women were still required to go to Changle Palace to pray daily, but they would no longer stay there overnight. They could return to Yizhu Pavilion to rest in the evenings. Their name plaques, however, were to be set aside for a full month. The Empress Dowager was certain the Emperor would not go against her wishes and favor either of them before then.
Noble Princess Consort Rong seethed inwardly.
Already in a foul mood, she then received a report from Eunuch Sun of the Service Room—
Inside the self-sounding clock Jiang Xian had sent to the imperial court, an object had appeared. After viewing it, the Emperor did not flip any name plaques and instead went straight to Yizhu Pavilion.
"So her plan was to promote someone else to secure favor?"
Noble Princess Consort Rong had obviously misunderstood. She gasped, then laughed. "What a terrible move. With Chen Daying’s looks, how could she possibly win over the Emperor? Hmph..."
She trailed off mid-scoff.
It wasn’t that she intended to hold her tongue.
Rather, the arrogant Noble Princess Consort Rong had forgotten what Chen Daying looked like. She wanted to make a precise jab, but her mind could only summon a blurry, indistinct face. She only remembered that she was always following Noble Lady Gu, like a little Pekingese lapdog.
"Your Highness has misunderstood," the eunuch said, bowing. "While the Emperor did go to Yizhu Pavilion, he did not favor Chen Daying. His Majesty only stayed for a moment before returning to Weiyang Palace. Shortly after, Liang Yuyin directed eunuchs to return with a long, large chest, and it seemed they packed something away from Yizhu Pavilion."
All the events clicked into place in Noble Princess Consort Rong’s mind.
She shot to her feet. "I’m afraid that chest is filled with evidence of Mrs. Jiang’s crimes!"
’From the truth Jiang Xian blurted out when she was frightened that night, it’s clear there’s a woman’s body hidden in that self-sounding clock—someone she and the Empress murdered together. And after the Emperor saw inside it, he resolutely went to Yizhu Pavilion to ’search the palace,’ only to end up covering for her!’
A flawed premise and a logical process had led her to a completely wrong conclusion.
Noble Princess Consort Rong tried to hold it in, but she couldn’t.
After all, patience was not her virtue.
She demanded to see the Emperor, confident that he would grant her this favor.
A short while later, word reached Changle Palace as well.
The Emperor had gone to Zhaoyang Palace to visit the Noble Consort.
The Empress Dowager had invited Consort Song as a guest that day. The latter frowned, voicing the Empress Dowager’s own thoughts. "The Noble Consort is far too impatient. You only let her go back half a day ago, and she’s already begged the Emperor to visit her."
"The Rong Family and the Emperor have indulged the Noble Consort for so many years. If she were able to restrain herself, she wouldn’t be herself."
The Empress Dowager said, her eyes downcast. The smoke from the burning incense swirled around her, obscuring her expression and shrouding her in a veneer of Buddhist serenity. "Noble Lady Gu, on the other hand, is more interesting. But as a mere Noble Lady, she’s not worth my concern."
"Noble Lady Gu..."
Consort Song remembered her. "Is that the one who danced at the Longevity Festival? A truly heavenly beauty. No wonder she’s earned such Holy Favor and outshone the girl from the Guo Family."
At the time, she was also a Noble Lady and had also presented a dance at the Longevity Festival.
But when people spoke of heavenly beauty, they only thought of Jiang Xian, forgetting there had been a Guo Cairen who performed before her.
※
「Meanwhile, back at Zhaoyang Palace.」
Hearing that Noble Princess Consort Rong had important matters to discuss, he had obliged her and gone.
And what was this so-called important matter?
"I know the Emperor is fond of Noble Lady Gu, but this is a matter of life and death! I beg Your Majesty to handle this with the utmost care."
The Emperor was completely baffled.
’A matter of life and death? What life?’
Seeing that he was still trying to cover for Jiang Xian, Noble Princess Consort Rong glared at him, annoyed. The beauty’s cheeks were flushed, and even her angry expression was strangely cute. The Emperor wasn’t impatient, but he was genuinely baffled. "Where was a life lost? How is it that I haven’t heard about this?"
"Your Majesty is still trying to deceive me."
The Emperor was truly confused by her now. "Why don’t you tell me where a life was supposedly lost."
"Wasn’t there a corpse in that self-sounding clock?"
The Emperor saw the clear, earnest look in Noble Princess Consort Rong’s eyes and realized she wasn’t making things up—she truly believed it. This made him even more exasperated. ’How can a Noble Consort of my Yan Chichao dynasty be as foolish as Chen Daying from Yizhu Pavilion!’
"Whose nonsense have you been listening to, that you’d actually believe there’s a woman’s body stored in a clock!"
Naturally, Noble Princess Consort Rong wasn’t about to admit that the "truth" came from her own mouth when she was frightened in the middle of the night.
She tried to nestle into the Emperor’s embrace. He didn’t push her away, but only looked a little resigned. "And here I thought you had something important to discuss with me. If word of this gets to Changle Palace, Mother Empress will be displeased again!"
Noble Princess Consort Rong tilted her head up and studied his face for a moment. Once she confirmed that there really wasn’t a body in the clock, she grew terribly embarrassed. "In the clock... there really isn’t?"
"There really isn’t. Whoever has been wagging their tongue in the palace, did they get a clear look? Even in winter, a corpse gives off a strong smell."
Had it been anyone else, the Emperor would have had them sent to go smell a real female corpse.
But since it was the Noble Consort, the Emperor tolerated it.
The Noble Consort apologized coquettishly, "It’s my fault for believing malicious gossip. But what Your Majesty said was so scary, my heart is still pounding. Would Your Majesty be willing to stay and keep me company?"
’I’m bound to be scolded at Changle Palace tomorrow anyway,’ she thought. ’Might as well get the Emperor in my bed first.’
The Emperor was ambivalent, and just as he was about to agree, the faint, sweet scent from the sachet at his waist drifted past his nose, surprisingly overpowering the Noble Consort’s perfume.
"...You should get some rest. I still have memorials to review."
Having failed to keep the Emperor for the night, the Noble Consort was stunned.
Returning to the Emperor’s perspective, after he went back to Weiyang Palace, he buried himself in his work. He didn’t feel tired for a long time. Instead, he went to look at the note for the evening...
I’ve heard the Imperial Garden is more beautiful at night than during the day. I really want to know if that’s true.
The Emperor’s heart stirred. "Prepare a visit to the Imperial Garden."
「At the same time, in the Imperial Garden.」
System: [Host, are you sure you don’t want to spend points to purchase ’Peeping Emperor’s Footprint’? You may have made this trip in vain.]
"No need,"
Jiang Xian said, sitting by the lake, the moonlight illuminating her jade-like face. "I’m sure he’ll come. If not this time, then the next."
She wasn’t afraid of her efforts being wasted.