Chapter 86 - 71: Bare Face
The Empress: "..."
’I’d really like to inquire about His Majesty’s mental state.’
Of course, she couldn’t actually say that out loud.
Facing the intensely curious Emperor, who looked as if he’d discovered a whole new world, the Empress could only give him a heads-up. "Your servant has many duties to attend to. My looks are not what they once were, so I hope Your Majesty will forgive me." ’Of all the women in the harem, she was the busiest. Beauty is built on time and money. She had the money, but not the time. She was about to be worn to a frazzle.’
The Emperor waved his hand. "A man should marry a virtuous wife. How could We be the sort of person who only values a woman’s looks? Back when the Mother Empress was choosing a main wife for Us, she had Us meet you. If We had chosen a main wife based on beauty, you and I would never have had this fate together."
In the corner, Liang Yuyin lowered his head, his heart reeling in shock.
’Your Majesty, is that something you can just say?’
’Even as a man who’d lost his roots, he felt that the Emperor’s words were probably not something one should say to a woman. It was so tactless.’ However, as the Venerable Emperor, it was always others who had to guess at his moods and preferences. The Empress was used to his way of speaking and didn’t take it to heart, stating bluntly, "If the main wife were chosen based on beauty, then today, Noble Consort Rong and I would have to switch places."
She admitted that Noble Consort Rong was prettier than her.
At the end of the day, the Empress didn’t care about appearances. Her upbringing had taught her that a woman’s virtue and talent were what mattered. Her greatest achievement was managing the harem in an orderly fashion, not a pretty face. In modern terms, the Empress had no appearance anxiety, nor would she tolerate any PUA.
"That would never happen,"
The Emperor took her hand, comforting her. "Besides, you are beautiful, Empress. There’s no need to belittle yourself."
To say the Empress wasn’t beautiful was to compare her to the standards of the three thousand concubines in the harem.
Compared to an ordinary woman, she was a great beauty.
Besides, her air of refinement, cultivated by an aristocratic family steeped in poetry and literature, was a quality one could only appreciate after long companionship—something no common beauty could compare to. The Empress smiled serenely and actually went to remove her makeup to show the Emperor. The dark circles under her eyes, the fine lines at their corners, and the unconcealable exhaustion were all laid bare before him. It was more effective than saying "I’m tired" ten thousand times.
Right then and there, the Emperor felt the Empress had worked tirelessly for him and was deeply moved.
And so, a flood of rewards was sent to Jianzhang Palace to praise the Empress for her meritorious management of the harem. The Empress then casually mentioned, "Recently, Noble Lady Gu has often come to Jianzhang Palace to help me. She has worked hard as well. I was thinking of selecting some brightly colored fabrics to send to Yizhu Pavilion as a reward. What does Your Majesty think?"
"There’s no need to trouble you with that, Empress."
The Emperor, thinking it a small matter, called for Liang Yuyin and instructed him to deliver the rewards to Yizhu Pavilion.
Seeing this, a smile spread across the Empress’s face.
’Fleecing the Emperor to pay Noble Lady Gu’s salary. Sweet.’
Because the Empress had given him a heads-up, and because she held a different status in his heart, he didn’t hold her to the same standards of unfading beauty he expected of his other concubines. Although her makeup-free face had shocked him, it didn’t stir disgust in his heart. Instead, he felt pity and tenderness for his first wife. He held her hand and they reminisced for a while, their bond of camaraderie growing even stronger than before.
Having gotten a taste of this in Jianzhang Palace, the Emperor felt he was a good man who didn’t judge by looks. Full of confidence, he headed to Zhaoyang Palace.
Before the Emperor’s procession arrived at Zhaoyang Palace, Noble Consort Rong had already heard that Jianzhang Palace had received rewards, which had even extended to Yizhu Pavilion.
Noble Consort Rong didn’t know why the Empress had been rewarded, but she was seething. ’If the Emperor wants to reward you in Jianzhang Palace, fine! But why drag that bitch from Yizhu Pavilion out to share in the rewards for no reason? Giving her so much face... Just how much bewitching potion did Mrs. Jiang feed Chu Siyun?’
The Noble Consort was fuming and wanted to even the score.
When the Emperor announced his visit to Zhaoyang Palace, she excitedly rushed to her vanity and meticulously applied heavy makeup. She planned to curry his favor and convince him to stay the night. Whatever rewards the Empress received, she wanted them too. And Noble Consort Rong truly lived up to her reputation as the most outstanding beauty among the aristocratic families of the Capital. She was already a natural beauty with striking features, and with full, elaborate makeup, she was absolutely stunning.
The Noble Consort changed into a crimson-red palace dress and went to the gates of Zhaoyang Palace to receive the Emperor.
Upon seeing the beauty gracefully curtsy, the Emperor personally helped her up. He was, at first, dazzled by her elaborate makeup.
However, men like him often have a perverse curiosity.
With the precedent of Jiang Xian’s cunning "no-makeup" look already set in his mind, when he saw Noble Consort Rong’s heavy makeup, he couldn’t simply quiet his mind and appreciate her beauty. Instead, he couldn’t help but wonder what she would look like if she washed all that powder off her face.
The Venerable Emperor asked as soon as the thought occurred to him. The moment he did, Noble Consort Rong’s face stiffened. "Remove my makeup...? How could I? Wouldn’t that be a breach of etiquette before Your Majesty?"
The Emperor smiled and said, "It is We who wish to see it. Of course, We will not punish Our beloved concubine for it."
If this had been Jiang Xian without her Golden Finger, she would have feigned coyness and played cute to get out of it.
Anyone who actually believes a man when he says, "I love you even without makeup," is the biggest fool in the universe.
But Noble Consort Rong was a true native of Yan Chi. She never would have dreamed of disobeying an imperial edict. She obediently went to remove her makeup, asking the Emperor to wait a moment.
The Emperor had originally thought that since Noble Consort Rong’s beauty was unrivaled in the harem, there wouldn’t be much difference whether she wore makeup or not.
Straight-laced men are always so naive.
When Noble Consort Rong came out without her makeup, he realized he had been sorely mistaken.