Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Red Robes to Marry a Departed Wife How could Consort Hua, with her limited intellect, also grow suspicious? Was it because the Emperor didn’t bring Zhen Huan alone but also brought her along? Or was it something else that had alerted her? The Empress maintained her composure on the surface, deciding to remain unchanged to counter any situation. Nian Shilan looked at the Empress, mentally launching a full-scale personal attack against her. [Why isn’t she reacting at all?] If it were the first time hearing such thoughts, the Empress might have shown some signs, but by now, she had long grown accustomed to them. It didn’t matter. [Wait, if the Empress could hear This Consort’s Xinsheng, wouldn’t she know This Consort is testing her?] Only now did she realize? The Empress inwardly smiled: Rebirth had indeed given Consort Hua a bit more brains, but not much. Testing wasn’t done this way. She leaned leisurely against the pool wall, expressionlessly waiting for the Emperor and Zhen Huan to arrive next door. Soon, she would find out whether the Emperor could hear Consort Hua’s Xinsheng. Nian Shilan tried many more phrases in her mind, but the Empress remained completely unmoved. [...In a few years, Zhen Huan will give birth to a pair of nephews and nieces for the Dog Emperor. To protect his Xiao Chunyuan, the Emperor will say in front of everyone that you haven’t been a birth mother for a long time and don’t understand how tedious and exhausting it is to care for a young child.] If Nian Shilan’s other probing words were heavy fists and sharp swords, striking as harshly as possible, this sentence, which she held little hope for, was like a silver needle. Seemingly the least lethal, it steadily pierced the softest part of the heart. Leaving her with nowhere to rub or hide. Beneath the hot spring water, the Empress’s nails nearly dug into her flesh. Nian Shilan, having gained no results, felt that Songzhi was right: if there truly were an ability to hear others’ thoughts from afar, it should belong to her Songzhi, not anyone else. [How could there be both rebirth and mind-reading? This Consort is just too tense.] Nian Shilan tried to divert her attention by cursing the Emperor, [Birth mother... The Dog Emperor hadn’t been a birth father for a long time either. As Fourth Master, overjoyed at becoming a father to twins for the first time, it’s normal for him to talk nonsense.] [Even the Empress Dowager said the two children didn’t look like him, yet he was as happy as could be.] The Empress suddenly felt relieved again: How could someone who could harm his own flesh and blood be expected to utter anything decent from his mouth? From next door, Fangruo’s voice faintly drifted over, “The Empress Dowager and Her Majesty the Empress have already entered the pool. Please wait here, Your Majesty will arrive shortly.” “Thank you, Auntie.” The soundproofing wasn’t very good, making it impossible to discern every word clearly, but the movements were distinct. Nian Shilan and the Empress tacitly fell silent, sinking slightly deeper into the water. The water rose past their shoulders. Two faint ripples spread outward from them, colliding and dissipating layer by layer, repeating in cycles. The misty steam diffused the fragrance of flower petals. The Emperor arrived next door. Dressed in bright red wedding robes, he bent down and reached his hand into the hot spring pool. The sound of splashing water suddenly rose as Zhen Huan compared the Emperor to Emperor Cheng of Han, adding that she dared not be Zhao Hede. With just this simple remark, the suspicious Emperor felt she had overstepped, playfully chiding her not to recklessly discuss court affairs. Zhen Huan, clever as she was, soothed the Emperor with a few words. “Our Wan Chang Zai is indeed sharp-tongued, far surpassing Feiyan and Hede, who had only beauty...” Consort Hua couldn’t clearly hear his words either, but in her mind, she repeated his sentence in its entirety. Not only did she repeat it, but she also commented on it. ["I dare not speak of beauty, but your Wan Chang Zai is indeed cleverer than Zhao Feiyan. At least she has the skill to make you Fourth Master, unlike Feiyan and Hede, who were favored their whole lives yet ended up without even a single chick."] ["Don’t worry, after you die, the whole world will belong to her and her son. Surprised? Shocked?"] Consort Hua! It’s Consort Hua! Consort Hua is nearby! Zhen Huan dared not raise her head, even worrying that her accelerated heartbeat might cause unusual ripples in the water and arouse suspicion, so she deliberately sank a little deeper into the water. The Emperor: "..." It must be said, from childhood to adulthood, the Empress Dowager was the best at causing him distress. "...I am more fortunate than Emperor Cheng of Han," the Emperor continued, finishing the words that had just reached his lips. ["Fortunate... marrying a deceased wife in red robes and white mourning garments—who can compare to you in fortune?"] Even a wall could not block Consort Hua’s noisy thoughts. Since she’s here, why can’t she just quietly enjoy her hot spring? Why must she talk so much? The Emperor: "..." Marrying a deceased wife in red robes and white mourning garments? Zhen Huan was currently unclothed, but within her line of sight, the Emperor was dressed in red robes. So in the Emperor’s eyes, who exactly was she? ["Tangquan Palace bath, Pepper Chamber favor—even I, relying on my family’s influence, never received such Imperial Favor."] ["Zhen Huan, oh Zhen Huan, for all your cleverness, have you never wondered why, among all the talented and beautiful women in the palace, it is you, who just entered the palace, who received such exceptional honor?"] Zhen Huan wanted to know too; she had always wanted to know. She sat motionless in the water. The Emperor, already thinking of Chunyuan, upon hearing this, simply sat on the steps and remained still as well. ["That day in the Imperial Garden when he first saw you, you stood alone in the shadow of the apricot blossoms. It wasn’t your calm and distant demeanor, nor your otherworldly independence, nor your unparalleled beauty—it was simply that you happened to resemble Chunyuan perfectly."] So when the Emperor pretended to be a Prince to meet her, it wasn’t for amusement or because he liked her. His generous rewards were not out of deep affection either. It was all simply because she happened to resemble his deceased wife perfectly. ["You said you regarded the Emperor as your husband, that no woman in the world does not wish to grow old with her husband in love. The Emperor said you had an innocent heart, that such ordinary sentiments were exceedingly rare in the rear palace."] ["Rare?"] ["Isn’t the rear palace most abundant in such ordinary sentiments?"] ["Need I mention how I wished to give him my whole heart? Did that old woman, the Empress, not wish the same?"] The Empress had been feeling quite sentimental, but when Consort Hua mentioned her and added "old woman," all her emotions vanished instantly. How annoying. ["‘May we be like this ring, facing each other morning and night.’ When the Emperor wanted to kill the Empress, that old woman was still wearing the token of love he gave her when she first entered the Prince’s Mansion. Did he ever truly value such ordinary sentiments?"] Could she skip over herself? Now hearing her own infatuation from Consort Hua’s thoughts, the Empress felt nothing but intense disgust. Heavens, Consort Hua entered the Prince’s Mansion so late—how did she know the Emperor gave me a bracelet and said those words? Has she been reborn? Did she go to Yama’s Hall after death and watch the lives of all the women in the rear palace? Consort Hua remained completely undisturbed, her thoughts continuing unabated.