Chapter 89 - 74: Lecturing the Buddha
After his experience at Yizhu Pavilion, the Emperor had, on a whim, made other concubines remove their makeup as well.
The results, however, were never to his satisfaction.
Feeling quite dejected, he eventually found his way back to Jiang Xian, cupping her face, as delicate as a freshly peeled lychee. "Of all the women in the Six Palaces, only you, Xian’er, can show me your true face."
’This "true face" that so pleased the Emperor was merely the result of the system’s instant makeup and the Fan Filter effect.’
Knowing the truth, Jiang Xian could only smile at his darkly humorous words.
"Xian’er, you don’t seem proud of it at all."
Any other concubine would have used this as an opportunity for a veiled jab at her rivals; such things were commonplace.
Jiang Xian said, "Your Majesty seems very fixated on the concubines’ true faces."
The Emperor nodded. "There should be no deceit before me."
The incense in the room burned quietly, replaced by a palace maid in silent grace just before it could burn out. All beautiful things, it seemed, only existed because someone was working behind the scenes to maintain them. Jiang Xian took his hand and pressed it against her lower abdomen, over the fabric of her bodice. The Beauty had a sinuous waist, and the Emperor thought she was trying to win his favor, but then he heard her say, "Your Majesty, if you were to stab me here, I would die."
The Emperor looked down at her, silently waiting for her to continue.
"Without that sense of distance, all that’s left is naked vulnerability."
"When a woman applies makeup, it’s not only to show her best side to the man she fancies; it’s also a form of armor to protect herself."
"Your Majesty, you rule the world. Why must you insist on uncovering the true face of a mere woman?"
’An employee who just blindly flatters the boss would never offer constructive criticism.’
’If the boss runs the company into the ground, you just find a new job.’
But a concubine in the harem couldn’t just find a new job. Jiang Xian felt it was necessary to offer a little advice, lest the Emperor go too far down this path in his pursuit of "truth, goodness, and beauty" in women. The rich and powerful never had to struggle for survival, allowing them to be graceful and at ease. The women of the harem, however, were just trying to eke out a living under imperial power. The Emperor really shouldn’t demand so much of them.
If she allowed the Emperor to endlessly pursue this ideal, she feared a day would come when even she could no longer satisfy him.
’Besides, as long as I don’t dare to offer real advice, I’ll never be more than a toy.’
Liang Yuyin, the eunuch on night watch, felt his heart pound like a drum as he listened.
’Noble Lady Gu is so audacious!’
’How dare she contradict the Emperor...’ From a eunuch’s perspective, all that mattered was pleasing His Majesty. Why do anything else? Jiang Xian, however, knew she was the only one who could say such things. Because her bare face was perfect in the Emperor’s eyes, she had the standing to say it. From anyone else, it would have just sounded like a flimsy excuse.
’The harem is my workplace, and I’m on a lifetime contract. The boss’s thinking has gone astray, and I have to be the one to set him straight.’
The atmosphere around the bed seemed to grow cold. The Emperor was silent for a long time.
After a moment, he pulled the blanket up over her. "You should get some rest."
※
The next day, the Emperor left in a hurry.
Zhenqiu and Mian Xia both looked terrified, as if they were the ones who had misspoken in front of the Emperor.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xian, the one who had actually caused the trouble, was perfectly calm and composed.
Since their mistress hadn’t spoken, the maids didn’t dare speak out of turn. The two could only clean the inner chamber nonstop. Watching Mian Xia pick up the same porcelain vase to wipe it for the third time, Jiang Xian couldn’t help but chuckle. "Any more of that and you’ll wipe the design right off the vase."
Chen Daying clicked her tongue in mock wonder. "I see the palace maids in your main hall aren’t very bright, are they?"
Being called dim-witted by Yizhu Pavilion’s resident with rock-bottom IQ and EQ, Mian Xia had to swallow her indignation.
He Xiang said, "My lady, there’s no need to be so cruel. You can’t say something that harsh."
"Oh," Chen Daying took her maid’s words to heart and corrected herself. "Fine, she’s bright. Just not nearly as bright as me."
’He Xiang wished her mistress would just talk less.’
"How can you be in the mood to laugh at me, my lady? I’m only this way because I’m worried about you!" Mian Xia was on the verge of tears as she recalled the conversation she’d overheard while standing guard outside the door last night. In the past, whenever the Emperor came to Yizhu Pavilion, he was always so gentle and attentive to her mistress. There had never been an awkward silence. How could she defy the Emperor over such a small thing! Mian Xia felt it was absolutely not worth it.
"Did something happen last night?" asked Chen Daying, who had slept soundly.
"I can’t go into detail, but the gist is that while I was attending to the Emperor, I said something he didn’t want to hear and angered him." One couldn’t gossip freely about the Emperor, so Jiang Xian kept it brief. Chen Daying reached up to touch the back of her neck. "If even someone as clever and first-rate as you can anger the Emperor while serving him... if that had been me, I’d probably have been sentenced to death by white silk cord by now."
He Xiang nodded in profound agreement.
’If her mistress were sentenced to death, what hope would she, a personal palace maid, have of surviving?’
Zhenqiu brewed tea and served it with some pastries. She wasn’t as expressive as Mian Xia, but worry was etched on her brow. "Next time you see the Emperor, my lady, just say a few placating words. The bond between you and His Majesty can probably withstand being defied once or twice."