Your Majesty is Poisonous – Chapter 120
by Little PandaThe Empress Dowager Refuses
Yao Xi gently nudged the spoon, gesturing for the Empress Dowager to open her mouth.
Wan Bi froze for a moment, then said coldly, “This bereaved one is full.” With that, she rose, bypassed Yao Xi, and walked out of the dining hall.
The air seemed to freeze, growing so thick it was hard to breathe. Yao Xi’s hand remained suspended in midair, completely motionless for a long, long time. Having transmigrated into a society like this, having her dignity trampled upon was nothing unusual; she’d survived it all. As long as her spirit remained unbroken, what did it matter if she bowed her head on the surface? A wretched life was still better than a clean death.
But this constant push and pull today, with each blow more heartbreaking than the last, was more than she could bear. No matter how much outsiders hurt her, it was merely skin-deep; only Her Highness could truly wound her heart.
Yet only half a day had passed! How much longer was Her Highness going to torture her?
Yao Xi was easily moved to tears, unable to hide her grief and sorrow. As she dwelt on her grievances, a few more tears spilled over. But after her bout of sadness, she still had to summon her thick skin and keep coaxing Her Highness. No matter how exhausted she was, she couldn’t let go. Her Highness possessed a proud, unyielding temperament that couldn’t tolerate the slightest grievance; if Yao Xi let go now, this relationship would truly be over.
The meatball in the spoon had long since grown cold. Yao Xi fed the icy morsel into her own mouth, chewing mechanically a couple of times before swallowing.
She wiped her mouth with a cloth, supported her already exhausted body, and, rallying her spirits once more, presented herself before the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager was sitting and reading in the study, which lay between the main hall and the bedchamber. Ni Dong was at a small writing desk, spreading out paper and grinding ink in preparation to paint.
Seeing Yao Xi arrive, Wan Bi’s expression shifted slightly.
During dinner, Yao Xi had only drunk two sips of tea from start to finish. Wan Bi had noticed this. She knew Yao Xi’s stomach was still empty, but though she wanted to urge her to eat, she didn’t know how to bring herself to say it.
“Have someone send over some hot tea and pastries,” Wan Bi said coldly, her eyes fixed on the page of her book.
Both Yao Xi and Ni Dong looked up, neither of them sure whom the Empress Dowager was addressing.
Wan Bi raised her head to sweep a glance over Yao Xi, speaking with clear displeasure, “Is the Eunuch deaf?”
“Ah?” The Empress Dowager’s tone was far from pleasant, yet Yao Xi was still delighted.
She cheerfully replied in a loud voice, “This slave obeys.” After speaking, she cast a slightly smug look at Ni Dong before skipping out of the hall. Her Highness being willing to let her serve was a good omen. She hadn’t even dared to hope that the angry Empress Dowager would look kindly upon her in the first place.
Instead of simply passing the order to the palace maids waiting outside the hall, Yao Xi went directly to the kitchen herself to wait for the pastries to be finished, intending to personally carry them to Her Highness.
When Wan Bi saw Yao Xi carrying the tea tray, her heart squeezed. She was genuinely terrified that the scalding tea might accidentally spill and burn Yao Xi. Her suspended heart only settled completely once the tray was safely placed on the desk.
“This slave has already washed her hands in the kitchen and will serve Your Highness now.” Yao Xi smiled as she picked up a plum blossom cake, breaking off a thumb-sized petal and holding it to the Empress Dowager’s lips.
Wan Bi leaned back slightly, her tone indifferent. “Does the Eunuch no longer test the food he brings this bereaved one for poison?”
“Please rest assured, Your Highness. The kitchen has already tested it. The silver needles1, birds, and food-tasting palace maids2 have all tested it.” Yao Xi had never been to the kitchen before. She hadn’t expected the process of serving the Empress Dowager to be so complex. In the past, she’d always been terrified of being poisoned to death; thinking back now, it had been a completely useless worry.
Without looking at Yao Xi, Wan Bi kept her gaze on the page she hadn’t turned once, murmuring, “What if someone with malicious intent in the kitchen fed the birds and maids an antidote beforehand? Or perhaps the Eunuch played some trick on the way here?”
“…” Yao Xi’s heart twinged with a sharp pang of pain again. Was Her Highness actually suspecting her of trying to harm her? How could Her Highness think such a thing…
The passion that had just been kindled within Yao Xi instantly died out, leaving not a single spark. She numbly stuffed the piece of plum blossom cake into her own mouth, chewed, swallowed, and said, “Is Your Highness reassured now? It’s not poisoned.”
Wan Bi had only wanted to find an excuse for Yao Xi to eat something so she wouldn’t starve. How could such a tiny bite be enough? She cast a sidelong glance at Yao Xi and said, “How can you tell if it’s poisoned from eating so little? Aren’t you going to taste the other pastries?”
Fine! Yao Xi’s accumulated grievances gradually flared into anger. Since Her Highness suspected her of poisoning the food, how else was she to prove her innocence unless she tasted every single one? Yao Xi broke each pastry in half and ate them. Feeling a bit choked, she washed the sugary crumbs lodged in her throat down with some tea.
“Can Your Highness eat in peace now?” Yao Xi offered a halved pastry to the Empress Dowager’s lips.
Wan Bi had drunk her fill of vinegar today and had little appetite during dinner. Ordering Yao Xi to bring pastries had only been out of concern that the silly girl might go hungry, not because she actually wanted to eat. Seeing that Yao Xi was now full, she said, “Take them to Ni Dong. He’s been busy serving this bereaved one and has barely eaten a thing.”
“…This slave! Obeys!” Yao Xi’s heart was sliced into a thousand pieces once more. So Her Highness wanted her to test the food not out of fear of being poisoned herself, but to make sure Ni Dong wouldn’t be poisoned? Yao Xi had never seen Her Highness worry about her being poisoned to death before! In fact, Her Highness had always looked quite amused when watching her test for poison.
Now it was Ni Dong’s turn to shoot Yao Xi a smug little look. He put down his brush and bowed to express his gratitude to the Empress Dowager. “This slave thanks Your Highness for her bounty.”
Watching Ni Dong’s smug, self-satisfied face, Yao Xi’s blood boiled even hotter. Picking up the tray, she marched over to him. Just as she stepped in front of Ni Dong, she feigned a slip of the hand. The half-eaten pastries scattered all over the floor, and the hot tea splashed right over the painting Ni Dong was only halfway through. Some of the liquid even spilled onto his black boots, soaking through the fabric and causing him to shriek and hop around in pain from the heat.
“Oh dear! Look at how clumsy I am. I really didn’t mean to. Is Young Master Ni alright?” Yao Xi leaned in with mock concern, gloating over his misfortune. “My, the painting is soaked through with tea! It seems the young master will have to start over.”
Wan Bi peeked out from behind her book. Amused by Yao Xi’s antics, she quickly hid behind the pages again for fear of being seen. Could the wench make it any more obvious? She found Yao Xi’s jealous face indescribably adorable.
Ni Dong glared hatefully at Yao Xi and sneered, “This humble one is fine. But the tea the Eunuch spilled has ruined the portrait of the Empress Dowager. What is the punishment for such a crime?”
A death sentence, of course! No matter how gentle the Empress Dowager was to him, her reputation as the Demon Empress wasn’t without basis. After all, her executing Speaking Officials with her own hands and brandishing a sword to storm through Taihe Gate were real events witnessed by the entire civil and military court. Since Her Highness didn’t even blink when executing court ministers, killing a eununh would require nothing more than a single word.
This damned eunuch, Yao Xi, had repeatedly offended the Empress Dowager; how could Her Highness possibly let such a person live?
Yao Xi couldn’t even be bothered to pay attention to Ni Dong. With a smile, she squatted down to pick up the broken pieces of porcelain from the floor.
Wan Bi, who had remained silent all this time, finally snapped, “Yao Xi!”
A smile spread across Ni Dong’s face. Heh, here comes the show! He wondered how the Empress Dowager would execute Yao Xi. Hanging? Poisoning? Beating to death? He yearned for Yao Xi’s demise. Once Yao Xi was dead, his chances of gaining the Empress Dowager’s favor would skyrocket. With Her Highness’s backing, the revival of the Ni clan would be just around the corner!
Yao Xi looked up blankly at the Empress Dowager, still holding a sharp shard of porcelain in her hand. Was Her Highness truly going to punish her?
“How many times must this bereaved one repeat herself? Everyone in the palace has their own duties to perform. Is sweeping the floor your job?” Wan Bi was simply afraid that, in her clumsiness, the girl would hurt her hands. She was clearly furious with Yao Xi, yet she still had to worry about whether the damned girl was starving or getting hurt. What kind of nonsense was this? Being angry wasn’t satisfying at all.
Was Her Highness caring for her, or was she just annoyed with her? Yao Xi wasn’t quite sure. Obediently dropping the shard, she stood up and asked, “Then should this slave summon someone to clean this up?” But would letting servants in right now disturb Her Highness’s reading?
“Suit yourself.” Wan Bi closed her book, intending to return to her bedchamber. After sitting there for so long, she hadn’t actually absorbed a single word.
Ni Dong hurriedly stepped forward to offer his arm for the Empress Dowager to lean on, saying solicitously, “Please watch your step, Your Highness.” Before entering the bedchamber, he couldn’t help but look back at Yao Xi. Was that it? Had Her Highness really let Yao Xi off the hook just like that?
After calling someone to clean the study, Yao Xi also entered the bedchamber.
The Empress Dowager was half-reclined on the bed, and that obnoxious Ni Dong was massaging her legs with a fawning smile… massaging her legs…
Even though there was a thick layer of clothing between them, and even though he was only massaging her calves, Yao Xi still flew into a rage. Throwing all notions of master-servant decorum to the wind, she rushed forward, yanked Ni Dong away, and sat down by the edge of the bed. “This slave will serve Your Highness. We don’t need anyone else!” she said sourly.
“What’s the Eunuch doing in here?” A faint smile played on Wan Bi’s lips.
The way Yao Xi had charged forward with her small frame to pull Ni Dong away made her look exactly like a little beast protecting its food. She had endured the disgust of having Ni Dong massage her legs while waiting for Yao Xi to enter, solely because she wanted to see Yao Xi act with such reckless abandon for her sake.
If I didn’t come in, who knows what you two would have gotten up to! Yao Xi looked crossly at Ni Dong and said, “I sleep in the Warm Pavilion. If I don’t come in, where am I supposed to sleep tonight?”
Ni Dong’s jaw dropped in shock. No matter who Yao Xi was looking at when she spoke, it was the Empress Dowager who had asked the question. How could a mere servant dare to talk back like that?
Wan Bi wasn’t angered in the slightest; on the contrary, the smile on her face deepened. Well, well, the wench’s stubborn donkey temper was flaring up again—how interesting. It’d been quite a while since Yao Xi had talked back to her, and Wan Bi actually felt a bit nostalgic. She waved her hand to signal Ni Dong to leave, intending to tease Yao Xi thoroughly.
“Then we’ll have to trouble the Eunuch to vacate the Warm Pavilion. You’d better return to the duty room,” Wan Bi said, playing with her recently trimmed nails.
“No way!” Yao Xi was flirting heavily with death; in the eyes of any outsider, every word she spoke and every expression she made was an act of extreme disrespect to the Empress Dowager. But she couldn’t bring herself to care. Her Highness could be angry with her and wound her heart with words, but her actions were a different story.
He’d barely arrived in the palace and was already massaging her legs. Tonight, they were going to sleep with only a door panel separating them, one inside and one outside. What would come next? Serving in bed3? In his dreams! Did they think she was dead?
“If you don’t move, where is Dong’er going to sleep?” Wan Bi cast an ambiguous glance in the direction Ni Dong had gone, a coy look on her face. “Could it be he should sleep in this bereaved one’s bed? Wouldn’t that be a bit too fast?”
Dong’er? Had they already become so intimate? And what did she mean, sleep on her bed? The palace was massive; was there really no other room for him to sleep in? Yao Xi was absolutely furious.
“I don’t mind sharing a room with Young Master Ni. The bed in the Warm Pavilion is large enough; we can both fit.” She’d rather squeeze onto a bed with that fellow Ni Dong for the night than allow anyone other than herself to climb into the Empress Dowager’s bed!
Yao Xi sharing a bed with Ni Dong? Wan Bi was instantly incensed by the mental image she’d conjured up. “The Eunuch had better think twice before speaking. Don’t assume this bereaved one would be loath to punish you,” she threatened—though in truth, she couldn’t bring herself to do so.
Yao Xi let out a cold laugh. “From the day I decided to remain in the palace, I wanted only you, not my life.” How could the Empress Dowager possibly understand that for the sake of loving her, she had already wagered everything she had?
Footnotes
- A traditional method in the Chinese imperial court where silver needles (yínzhēn) were inserted into food to test for toxic substances, particularly arsenic, which would turn the silver black.
- Palace maids (shìshàngōngnǚ) whose sole duty was to taste dishes prepared for the imperial family to ensure they were free of poison before serving.
- Shiqin (shìqǐn), the imperial custom of a consort or favorite attending to the ruler's intimate needs in bed.
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