Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 346 The Emperor's Return 2

Jingming frowned, first giving Meng Shu a forced smile, then turning to the palace servant and muttering in a low voice, "You blind fool."

Meng Shu remained calm, and as her peripheral vision swept over the slightly worn long box, she happened to catch a glimpse of the words "Thirty-seventh year of Qianyuan" engraved on one side of the box.

—It's actually an old item from fourteen years ago. It seems that Consort Qing wants to use the past relationship to evoke memories of her childhood with the Emperor.

As Jingming took the long box, Meng Shu had already stepped into the main hall.

Jingming weighed the pros and cons carefully and did not dare to present it to the Emperor in front of Meng Shu. Instead, he placed the long box on the table next to the Treasure Pavilion.

Just then, the Emperor strolled out of his study, his gaze falling directly on the object, and his expression faltered.

Meng Shu curtsied and said, "Your Majesty has matters to attend to, so I will go to your bedchamber to wait for you."

Having said that, without waiting for the emperor's response, she walked straight into the bedchamber, saying to her attendant, Green Willow, "Go and light the calming incense I brought."

Inside the bedchamber, Meng Shu leaned against the window, her fingertips gently toying with the gilded incense burner on the table. Green Willow, understanding her intention, deliberately made a louder noise as she lit the incense, the copper spoon clinking against the burner, thus avoiding any suspicion of eavesdropping.

Outside, the Emperor slowly approached the desk, his face regaining its composure, revealing no further emotion.

This long sandalwood box was personally selected by him years ago, and the inscription on it was even carved by his own hand. Inside the box is a five-stringed pipa, named "Azure Phoenix Pillar," which he once gave to Tong'er.

Jingming had served the Emperor for many years, so how could he not know what this was? He tiptoed forward, just about to open it, when he suddenly heard the Emperor say in a deep voice:

"Put it away."

"Send a message to Consort Qing: if she has even a fraction of Tong'er's intelligence, she should understand that I have already shown her extraordinary mercy. Order her to reflect on her actions in the temporary palace. After some time, I will summon her back to the palace."

Jingming bowed his head in agreement, stole a glance at the Emperor's expression, and then carefully picked up the long box and backed out of the palace gate.

Green Willow had just helped Meng Shu change into her plain nightgown when she saw the Emperor enter. She quickly gave a curtsy and tiptoed out.

Hearing footsteps, Meng Shu turned around and met the Emperor's unfathomable dark eyes. As if oblivious, she stepped forward to help him dress and wash. As her slender fingers untied the jade belt around his waist, a deep question came from above:

"With Shu'er's intelligence, she must have noticed the strangeness in the medicine hut when she went to Fengyi Palace to take care of the sick these past two days. Could it be that Shu'er... wasn't curious?"

This is exactly the same question the Empress asked the other day.

The difference is that the Empress's tone was playful, while the Emperor's words carried a hint of inquiry.

If Meng Shu said she had no suspicions, it would seem disingenuous.

Without pausing her work, she replied after a moment's thought, "The smell of the medicine was indeed strong that day. I was waiting in the side hall with Consort Zhaoyi, and the smell made me feel palpitations and suffocation."

The word 'palpitation' was a bit too strong. She continued, "Later, Her Majesty the Empress, out of consideration for our hard work in caring for the sick, bestowed upon us a newly made deer placenta ointment. The pills still had a fishy smell, which is why I did not think of anything else."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor's eyes flickered slightly.

He said calmly, "The Empress suffered a miscarriage last time, which damaged her health. Jiang Wei specially asked me for a favor and found a female doctor from the southwest to treat the Empress. Imperial Physician He met with that female doctor surnamed Chu once and said that she was good at gynecology and was most skilled at making deer placenta cream."

This sentence seems like an explanation, but it also sounds like casual conversation.

Meng Shu lowered her eyes and smiled gently, "I have noticed that Your Majesty's complexion has been getting better and better recently, so I suppose that female physician is indeed quite skilled."

After washing up, the Emperor took Meng Shu's hand and led her to the dragon bed.

Inside the brocade tent, he leaned down and gently stroked the stray strands of hair at Meng Shu's temple, saying softly, "I have already ordered the Lingcui Palace to be renovated before we return to the capital tomorrow."

My fingertips slid down my hair to my chin, and with a gentle lift,

"If Shu'er doesn't like it, I will have it repaired. Compared to Consort Chun's Huining Palace, I hope Shu'er will like the new residence I chose for you."

......

On the thirteenth day of the eighth month of the first year of the Zhenghe era, the Emperor, accompanied by his concubines, first went to Huaqing Palace to bid farewell to Empress Dowager Zhou. Afterwards, the imperial carriage departed from outside Yingzhou Hall to return to the capital. The Imperial Guards stood in solemn formation, and the imperial banners and ceremonial guards stretched for several miles.

Consort Qing was ultimately unable to see the Emperor again.

She stood alone on the upper floor of the Wutong Pavilion, hearing the powerful echoes of the Zhonghe Shaoyue music from afar. Looking around blankly, she could only see several tall wutong trees with their branches leaning outwards, cutting the sky into fragments.

In a daze, she closed her eyes, feeling as if she were in a dream, thinking she was in the hot spring resort in the northwest, standing on a high place, waiting for the emperor's letter.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all the sounds suddenly fell silent. Only the pounding of one's own heart could be heard, each beat faster than the last.

Consort Qing opened her eyes, and tears finally came belatedly, silently sliding down her pale cheeks.

On the official road back to the palace, Meng Shu sat upright in a carriage draped in brocade, the carriage following closely behind Consort Chun's entourage. As the imperial carriage moved slowly forward, the carriage swayed gently, and she leaned against the soft pillows, lost in thought.

Green Willow and Summer stood guard on either side of the carriage like guardian deities.

Yesterday at Shenshi (3-5 PM), Donggua had already returned to the palace with Aunt Mei. Meng Shu will be taking over Lingcui Palace today, and Donggua went back early to organize all her belongings from Huining Palace and move them to her new residence.

"Xia'er," Meng Shu called softly.

Xia'er immediately leaned close to the car window and whispered, "Your Majesty, rest assured, Granny Yu did not suspect anything. Before I left, I packed some food and supplies and sent them to Granny Yu."

Meng Shu wasn't worried about that. She observed coldly that even if the Emperor was indifferent to Consort Qing, he would never truly despise her. Regardless of the influence of the Duke of Qing's family in the court, or because of Qing Zhitong, it was destined that Consort Qing would be reinstated and return to the palace sooner or later.

Having Xia'er maintain ties with Granny Yu was a carefully considered move she had made.

Meanwhile, the Empress was also talking about Consort Qing.

Xingyu whispered back, "Your Majesty, everything has been arranged at the imperial palace. That... item is common, and no one would easily associate it with agarwood."

The Empress's lips curled into a cold smile as her gaze pierced through the gauze curtain and landed on the bright yellow imperial carriage in front of her—the Emperor truly cherished their childhood friendship, even so easily overlooking the charges of fabricating witchcraft and framing the Empress.

"She got what she wanted. Since she likes to feign illness, I'll grant her wish. However, letting her die like this would be too easy. It's better to keep her alive, sickly and weak, to bring some bad luck to Consort Chun and Consort Meng..."