Chapter 87 - 72: Eavesdropping
"My dear consort, you..."
The Emperor was at a loss for words.
If Noble Consort Rong hadn’t only removed her makeup without changing her clothes, he would have demanded to know where she had hidden his precious Noble Consort and why a palace maid had been sent to greet him instead.
It couldn’t be helped. The difference was just too great.
When Jiang Xian had gone to greet him, she had also been wearing light makeup.
Even when she switched to a "no-makeup" makeup look, it was just a matter of changing her eyeshadow and lip color to what a clueless man would consider "all-natural."
Noble Consort Rong, on the other hand, was accustomed to lavish adornment. She was the type who wanted to be dripping with jewels, her vibrant makeup a statement in itself. Her presence announced itself long before she arrived, as if demanding that everyone acknowledge her beauty.
Was there anything wrong with that?
Not at all. As the Emperor of a prosperous era, Xie Che had an affinity for the opulent and ornate.
Only a powerful and prosperous nation could produce such a precious and pampered beauty.
The problem was the stark contrast!
Going from light makeup to a bare face was a completely different experience than going from heavy makeup to a bare face.
"Your Majesty, why are you staring at me so intently?"
Noble Consort Rong affectionately took the Emperor’s arm and led the dumbstruck sovereign to a seat. It took him a long moment to form a coherent sentence. "My dear consort, your face without makeup is quite refreshing and lovely, but you truly don’t look like your usual self."
Because the Empress was broad-minded, the Emperor never hid his clueless nature around her and always spoke his mind.
The Empress couldn’t be bothered to argue with him, which he took as a sign of the deep bond between the Emperor and Empress. ’The one who truly understands me is my Empress.’
But he couldn’t do that with the Noble Consort. She would throw a fit, starting with tears, then escalating to a scene, and finally writing letters home. Before long, her father and brothers—all decorated loyalists—would be writing memorials to the throne expressing their "concern" for her. Like most men, he wasn’t actually afraid of her tantrums, but he preferred to use a little tact to smooth things over. It was just easier that way.
Noble Consort Rong paused for a moment, then laughed coquettishly and tapped his chest. "Your Majesty is such a kidder."
The Emperor thought, ’...No, I’m not kidding.’
He was genuinely confused!
Curiosity got the better of him. The Dog Emperor couldn’t help but flirt with disaster. "I’m not kidding. I’m just very curious. Could my dear consort enlighten me?"
Noble Consort Rong pouted and pointed to her own face.
"Then tell me, Your Majesty. What about me looks so different?"
When you look at your own reflection in the mirror every day, you become desensitized. As long as there are no major flaws, you gradually get used to what you see. The same was true for Noble Consort Rong. Besides, she was a true beauty; even without makeup, her features were exquisite. Other women would see her and envy her natural good looks.
But a clueless man would never understand that.
Especially a powerful, clueless man before whom every woman in the world had to appear in full makeup.
At her words, the Emperor cupped Noble Consort Rong’s small face in his hands and lowered his head to inspect it.
As his large hands rested on her cheeks, she couldn’t help but narrow her eyes slightly, as comfortable as a purebred cat being petted.
At that very moment, the Emperor’s fingertip pressed against the corner of her slightly narrowed eye.
"Your eyes definitely weren’t this short before."
First Blood!
The Noble Consort: "..."
That was eyeliner, drawn with pearl powder, charcoal, and donkey-hide gelatin to extend the corners of her eyes, making them appear twice as large.
"And before, your lips were definitely much fuller!"
Double kill!
The rare lip rouge her general father had sent to the palace had worked wonders, turning thin lips into full ones.
"My dear consort’s complexion..."
The Emperor grew genuinely worried and sighed. "You should take better care of yourself. Your face is so pale. I’ll summon the Imperial Physician later to prescribe some medicinal broths for you to replenish your qi and blood."
Triple kill!
Three sentences, and Noble Consort Rong could barely maintain her smile.
She never imagined the Emperor would actually cup her face and start picking apart its minor flaws. Overwhelmed with shame and indignation, she covered her face with her hands but still had to thank him for his "kindness."
The Emperor, completely stunned by his consort’s bare face, quickly made an excuse and left.
After the Emperor left, Qiu Yun grew anxious. "Your Highness, why didn’t you ask the Emperor to stay? It’s almost time for the evening meal." After the meal, it would be natural to bathe and rest for the night—that was how one secured a chance to receive his favor.
"Ask him to stay? I don’t have the face to. He thinks I’m ugly without my makeup."
"Your Highness is the number one beauty in the harem, even without a speck of makeup."
Noble Consort Rong was quiet for a moment, then thought of the equally bright and beautiful face in Yizhu Pavilion. "In terms of looks, I once was, but that may not be true anymore."
She said it with such seriousness that her servants didn’t dare to offer blind praise. One could only say, "Even if there were others, their beauty would also be greatly diminished without makeup. Your Highness, please don’t overthink it. How can you compare your own bare face to someone else’s meticulously made-up one?"
Everyone here was a woman; who didn’t know that removing makeup could be as dramatic as a magic trick?
Noble Consort Rong thought about it and realized it made sense, but she still felt regretful and wronged. "If I had known, I never would have listened to the Emperor. In the past, even when I was to attend him in bed, I never let him see my bare face."
But the more she thought, the more melancholic she became.
Winning favor with looks alone is never long-lasting. The fact that the Emperor didn’t find her bare face beautiful proved that he didn’t truly love her.
※
Sometimes, men and women think about things from slightly different perspectives.
Noble Consort Rong believed that if the Emperor loved her, he should love her bare-faced look too.
The Emperor, however, thought that although he didn’t like the Noble Consort’s look without makeup, she would still be his precious Noble Consort the next time she was all dressed up. There was no need to get hung up on such trivial matters.
He sighed wistfully for a moment, then instructed Liang Yuyin, "Prepare the carriage for Yizhu Pavilion... Actually, never mind. Don’t announce my arrival beforehand. Don’t alert anyone."
The clueless Emperor, having suffered a blow at Zhaoyang Palace, had now become fixated on this whole "all-natural" business.
Meanwhile, at Yizhu Pavilion, Jiang Xian and Chen Daying were having a meal.
Chen Daying had an exceptionally good appetite today. Taking advantage of Jiang Xian’s good standing with the Imperial Kitchen, she had ordered a whole table full of dishes.
Fish boiled in chili oil, steamed pork with rice flour in lotus leaves, crystal shrimp dumplings, spicy blood curd, and spicy river snails, with Japonica rice as the staple. This time, the rice was mixed with minced pork, diced Jinhua ham, and diced vegetables, enriching its texture and flavor. On the side was a pot of lamb soup, a complimentary offering from the Imperial Kitchen.
Chen Daying was puzzled. "Why the extra complimentary dish? Did you become their ancestor or something?"
Jiang Xian explained, "When I was dining at Weiyang Palace, they brought over a pot of lamb soup, saying it was a dish I often order. It received a reward from the Emperor, who praised the Imperial Kitchen staff for being so thoughtful. Perhaps they’re repaying the favor now that they’ve been rewarded."
It was more than just repaying a favor.
The lamb soup from last night had been made by Chef Zhao, the one who usually prepared meals for Yizhu Pavilion. It was the first time in his entire career as a palace chef that he had received an imperial reward. He was so moved that after expressing his thanks, he kowtowed three times in the direction of Yizhu Pavilion right there in the Imperial Kitchen.
So today, when Yizhu Pavilion placed their order, Chef Zhao pulled out all the stops, preparing the meal with extreme care. He even paid out of his own pocket to add a complimentary pot of lamb soup, bringing the whole affair full circle.
Unfortunately, what Chef Zhao didn’t know was that the one who loved lamb soup wasn’t Noble Lady Gu.
"Unfortunately, the one who loves lamb soup is Noble Lady Gu’s confidante," Chen Daying said with a demure smile.
At that moment, the Emperor was standing right outside the door, listening to them talk.