Your Majesty is Poisonous – Chapter 75
by Little PandaLP: Chapter 74 is locked
The Empress Dowager Refuses
After bidding farewell to Meng Li’an, Yao Xi returned to the duty room.
Her face was still burning fiercely, and her regret over kissing the Empress Dowager back was deepening by the second. She was playing with fire here. Her Majesty was beautiful, sure, but she wasn’t worth throwing her life away for over something like this! What if Her Majesty took off her clothes? If Her Majesty discovered that the male favorite she had taken in was actually a girl, who knew what kind of reaction she would have?
This kind of thing absolutely could not happen a second time, or else she wouldn’t live to see the day she left the palace. Yao Xi figured it out: she had to make Her Majesty disgusted with her. It would be best if she got goosebumps all over the moment Her Majesty touched her, just like yesterday.
The key was how to do it. It had to be subtle; she couldn’t let Her Majesty see that she didn’t want to serve her in bed.
Yao Xi thought of an idea. If she caught a cold, she wouldn’t be able to serve by the Empress Dowager’s side, and Her Majesty certainly wouldn’t be able to touch her. Since the idea had come to her, she might as well act on it. Catching a cold was simple, wasn’t it?
The Empress Dowager was still sleeping in her bedchamber, so Yao Xi went to the water well on the right side of the duty room. It was nearly noon now, and the sun hung high in the sky, hot enough to make a person break a sweat. Yao Xi walked up to the well, drew a bucket of water, hoisted the wooden bucket, and poured the freezing well water right over her head. The water was so icy it made Yao Xi shiver uncontrollably.
She rested for a moment, then tossed the bucket back into the well. Turning the windlass with all her might, she drew up another bucket and poured it over her head without a second thought. After pouring four or five buckets in a row, Yao Xi was already so cold her teeth were chattering.
A eunuch who had come to the courtyard to draw water saw Yao Xi hefting water over her head and asked with a smile, “What is Eunuch Yao doing?”
Yao Xi hadn’t expected anyone to come over right when the dining hall was serving meals. A bit flustered, she casually made up an excuse. “The sun is so strong, and the heat is unbearable. I came here to take a cold shower.” With that, she hoisted another bucket of water and dumped it over her head.
“It hasn’t even entered summer yet… Eunuch Yao, you’d better have a doctor take a look at you! It’s very likely you have excess internal heat1. A cold shower won’t help,” the eunuch said kindly.
Yao Xi smiled and thanked him. Handing the wooden bucket to the eunuch, she said, “You get back to it! I’m heading back to the duty room.” Even though the dining hall had opened for meals, she couldn’t eat over there like the other eunuchs; for the past two days, she had been dining with the Empress Dowager.
The eunuch, who had come to draw water to wash clothes, took the bucket from Yao Xi’s hands and tossed it back into the well. He stared at a puddle of dark red water on the ground and muttered in a low voice, “Huh~ What’s this?” He looked up at Yao Xi, who was just about to leave, and called out loudly to stop her. “Eunuch Yao, wait a moment!”
Yao Xi turned around with a confused look. Seeing the eunuch pointing at the puddle of blood-tinged water on the ground, her face flushed red instantly. But she immediately thought up an excuse: she would just say her wound had torn open. Which was more important, her life or her face? Her life, of course!
Before she even had time to voice her defense, the eunuch pointed with a smile at the red Junior Director’s official uniform Yao Xi was wearing. “This must be the first time you’re wearing this outfit, isn’t it, Eunuch? The color runs a bit badly.”
“Oh… yes, yes.” Yao Xi hurriedly turned around and walked away. As she left, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she was wearing red clothes. The Empress Dowager didn’t like seeing her wear standard eunuch robes, and she only had two sets of everyday clothes. If she got them wet, she wouldn’t have any to change into, so she had changed into the Junior Director’s official uniform when coming to the well.
That was close! The tale of her easily torn wound had almost spread throughout the imperial palace to become a laughingstock.
Despite pouring so many buckets of water over herself, by the time she went to the dining hall to serve Her Majesty the midday meal, let alone catching a cold, she hadn’t even sneezed once. Wasn’t the body supposed to be at its most fragile when Auntie Flo visited? Pouring cold water under the scorching sun—wouldn’t such a sudden shift from hot to cold be the easiest way to catch a cold?
Why did it seem completely useless? Could it be that she was too healthy?
Yao Xi was very worried. She was worried that what awaited her come nightfall would be serving in bed. When that time came, it definitely wouldn’t be as simple as hugging and kissing with their clothes on… She had to catch a cold before night fell, before the Empress Dowager started getting handsy with her again.
The midday meal had already been served. Seeing Yao Xi holding her chopsticks but not moving, looking utterly vacant, Wan Bi tapped her knuckles against the table.
A deeply worried Yao Xi cast a blank look at the Empress Dowager.
“Why aren’t you eating? Expecting this bereaved one to feed you?” Wan Bi saw that Yao Xi seemed even more dim-witted than usual, her small face scrunched up as if lost in thought. She suspected that her shove last night had completely broken the child’s already less-than-stellar brain. Thinking of this, Wan Bi felt a twinge of guilt. Her tone softened a bit as she said, “You don’t have to eat the rest, but finish the porridge in front of you!”
It was a blood-replenishing and qi-nourishing2 porridge brewed according to Imperial Physician Fu’s prescription. Because that wench Yao Xi had seemingly starved as a child, she wasn’t just short and frail; her qi and blood were also severely deficient. This condition could only be nursed slowly; it couldn’t be rushed.
“This slave obeys.” Yao Xi obediently swallowed the porridge. The porridge not only contained red dates, which she disliked, but it also had a foul smell of traditional medicine. Yao Xi understood that this was the Empress Dowager’s grace. Her Majesty must have seen her faint last night and specially ordered the kitchen to brew this medicinal meal. But all medicine harbored a touch of bitterness, and since she hated bitterness and loved sweets, she had to force down every mouthful of porridge with a stiff neck.
“After the midday meal, accompany this bereaved one on a trip out of the palace.” Wan Bi ate only a tiny bit before putting down her chopsticks, a smile on her lips as she watched Yao Xi agonizingly drink the porridge.
Out of the palace? Yao Xi’s immediate, subconscious reaction was: The Empress Dowager actually dares to leave the palace? Even within the heavily guarded inner imperial palace, assassins came knocking every few days. For Her Majesty to actually dare go outside the palace? Wasn’t this just asking for death!
“Yes. Where is Your Majesty planning to go?” Yao Xi was genuinely worried about the Empress Dowager’s safety, and even more worried about her own safety as the one serving her intimately.
Wan Bi smiled and said, “To the Lord State Uncle’s Residence. To watch the house raid!” Wan Bi wanted to see with her own eyes just how much wealth the Zhu family possessed. Aside from curiosity, there was also a bit of a competitive streak in her—she wanted to see if anyone in Daxing could truly be richer than her!
However, she didn’t dare to swagger over to the Zhu residence in the phoenix palanquin. There were far too many people outside the palace who wanted her life. She could only watch this grand spectacle in secret.
Seeing the Empress Dowager’s exuberant expression, Yao Xi had thought the older woman was going on a spring outing! But it turned out she was going to watch Lord State Uncle’s house being raided… “Your Majesty, why is Lord State Uncle’s house being raided?” Lord State Uncle was Empress Zhu’s father, the Emperor’s father-in-law. What kind of massive crime did he have to commit to have his home raided?!
Wan Bi said coolly, “Oh. He was the one who sent the assassins to Ning’an Palace last time.”
Yao Xi’s face was a picture of utter disbelief.
When Yao Shuanglan returned to Qianqing Palace, the Emperor had gone to Consort Shu’s palace, where the fake eunuch had been discovered. Tang Huaili hadn’t followed to serve the Emperor; he sat in the hall drinking tea, waiting for Yao Shuanglan.
“Eunuch Tang.” Yao Shuanglan walked gracefully up to Tang Huaili and knelt to perform a grand formal bow. “Shuanglan thanks Eunuch Tang on behalf of my father.”
“Noble Lady, please rise and speak. In the palace, there is no rule for masters bowing to slaves.” It wasn’t proper for Tang Huaili to step forward and help her up, so he merely stood up to gesture to her. “Sit down and let’s talk! The Emperor already knows about my old friendship with your esteemed father, so there is no need for us to be overly cautious.”
Yao Shuanglan sat in the chair opposite Tang Huaili and said, “Regarding the case from back then, what has Eunuch Tang managed to uncover over these years? Is it related to the Director of the Eastern Depot, Meng Delai?”
A flash of surprise crossed Tang Huaili’s face. It had taken him a long time to trace the clues back to Meng Delai. How did Noble Lady Lan know this right after coming out of the Cold Palace?
“Your Highness guessed correctly. Although there is no hard evidence, based on everything uncovered so far, it is highly likely that Meng Delai is the true culprit behind the scenes. In the tragedy of the Shu family’s massacre back then, all evidence pointed to your esteemed father. The most powerful piece of evidence among them was the testimony of the sole survivor, the third son of the Shu family, Shu Yongfang. And as for that Shu Yongfang, someone personally saw him entering and exiting Meng Delai’s private residence.”
“Does Eunuch Tang mean that Shu Yongfang colluded with Meng Delai to murder his own family, and then framed my father?” Yao Shuanglan couldn’t believe it. “But why? If it was for money, the Shu family was also a wealthy and influential household. Moreover, all of the Shu family’s property was used to frame my father. What benefit could Shu Yongfang possibly get from doing this?”
Tang Huaili was just about to tell Yao Shuanglan everything he had found out when he suddenly heard the commotion of the Emperor returning outside. He hastily stood up to go out and welcome him. Yao Shuanglan had no choice but to temporarily set aside a heart full of doubts and follow Tang Huaili outside the hall to receive His Majesty.
Emperor Ming Cheng walked into the main hall with an ashen face. Forbidding anyone from following, he grabbed Noble Lady Lan and pulled her straight into the bedchamber.
He had gone to Consort Shu’s palace to interrogate that fake eunuch, and before any torture was even applied, the eunuch had confessed everything. He said he had been in the palace for over four years. Over four years? Eunuchs were subjected to a body inspection every three years; what were those inspectors doing?! And the little princess borne by Consort Shu was exactly three years old this year. Heh. What a coincidence.
As Yao Shuanglan was dragged toward the bedchamber by the Emperor, the further in they went, the more afraid she became. Was the Emperor going to demand she serve him in bed?
Once inside the bedchamber, Emperor Ming Cheng shut the door. He turned around and spoke to Noble Lady Lan in an almost pleading tone. “Shuanglan, give Us a child! Alright?” His eyes were rimmed with red—whether it was from staying up late last night or from having just cried, it was hard to tell.
Yao Shuanglan shrank back. Suppressing her unease, she forced herself to speak calmly. “Your Majesty said you would not force this subject-concubine.”
“We are begging you.” A thick mist welled up in Emperor Ming Cheng’s eyes, condensing into tears that threatened to fall. “We can promise you that We will never touch another woman again. We can promise you that We will definitely clear Minister Yao’s name. We can also guarantee that a prince born to you and Us will absolutely be the Crown Prince, and a princess will absolutely be Our jewel. And you will be Our only woman.”
Yao Shuanglan lowered her head and said, “This subject-concubine has no desire to bear an heir.”
Emperor Ming Cheng sat dejectedly on the dragon bed, murmuring as if speaking to himself. “The Late Emperor saw things more clearly than We did. What use is it to have so many women in the rear palace? Even the children aren’t Ours. But the little princess is so young. She can already run and jump, and she clearly calls Us Imperial Father… We cannot bring Ourselves to do it.” He had no way of knowing which of the princes and princesses were his biological children and which were not. He had watched them all grow up. Even if they weren’t his flesh and blood, he couldn’t kill them. He could even guarantee them a lifetime of splendor and wealth, but he absolutely would not hand the throne over to any of them, nor would he grant them fiefdoms to rule as kings.
He wanted to have a child that he knew for certain belonged to him with the person he loved, and then safely entrust everything he owned to them. What was the use of the three palaces and six courtyards3? Having one person to love and hold onto was enough.
“Your Majesty~” Yao Shuanglan’s heart ached as she listened, but there was nothing she could do. She only had one heart, and she had already given it to Longyi.
Footnotes
- A concept in Traditional Chinese Medicine referring to an imbalance that causes 'heat' symptoms in the body, such as inflammation or a flushed face.
- In Traditional Chinese Medicine, 'qi' is the vital life force. Nourishing qi and replenishing blood are common treatments to restore vitality.
- An idiom referring to the imperial harem and its many concubines.
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