Chapter 74

Chapter 74: The Third Person in the Clouds and Rain [That fool Consort Qi, that venomous woman Consort Duan, along with Consort Li, Consort Jing, Cao Guiren, and Noble Lady Xin—don’t they all want the same?] Nian Shilan poured out these thoughts in one breath, without a single pause. [Even Xiao Niao wishes to grow old with him.] [Feng Ruozhao waited for him so long that she memorized every brick in her palace and counted every crack in them.] [The harem has never lacked those who wish to grow old with him. It’s just that the only one he truly wishes to grow old with is Empress Chunyuan.] The four words "Empress Chunyuan" struck Zhen Huan’s mind with unmistakable clarity, leaving her with no psychological retreat. She was merely a substitute for Empress Chunyuan. The budding affection of the young maiden, already shaken by the blow from her close friend, was now completely extinguished by Consort Hua. [Ordinary feelings, ha! It’s precisely because there are too many ordinary feelings in this harem that he can trample on them so freely.] Zhen Huan lowered her gaze to the petals on her chest: He was the Emperor, after all. Naturally, he could trample on whomever he pleased. Today, it was others who were trampled upon. But if someday someone more resembled Chunyuan than she did, he might not hesitate to trample on her too. Then, in his eyes, what difference was there between her and the others? [Today, he can elevate you to the heavens because of Chunyuan, holding your hand as he walks with you through Long Street, unafraid of gossip. Tomorrow, for mistakenly wearing an old garment, he can strip you naked and make you walk back from the Central Palace.] ["Relying on beauty to please others—how long can that last?" Zhen Huan, do you see? Even if This Consort relies on beauty to please others, it is with her own appearance. And you? You rely on a dead woman in the Emperor’s heart.] [This kind of love, This Consort does not covet.] [It’s just a pity This Consort died early and didn’t get to see it.] Stripped naked?!! Even Zhen Huan, as composed as she was, could hardly maintain her calm. Even if he was the Emperor, he couldn’t humiliate someone like this. The current Empress, who did not yet harbor such immense hatred for Zhen Huan, couldn’t help but frown upon hearing about being stripped naked and walking back from Jingren Palace to Suiyu Pavilion. [The red candles burned brightly, illuminating a colossal joke. You thought he promised to grow old with you, but in truth, he was only comforting his own Wanwan. What are you, in the end?] Wanwan? So even her title of nobility was borrowed from Empress Chunyuan’s glory? The pressure of the water against her chest made Zhen Huan feel suffocated. If it hurt this much even before she had fallen deeply in love, how must it have felt in her past life—when she believed she was deeply favored, only to suddenly learn the truth and be stripped naked before everyone? Wouldn’t the sky have collapsed? [Let you grow arrogant and forget your place! Let you meddle in court affairs! Let your father recklessly impeach my brother!] [Scoundrels are punished by heaven! Serves your Zhen Family right to be exiled to Ningguta!] The Emperor pieced things together and roughly understood. He must not have punished Zhen Huan merely for wearing an old garment. It must have been because she grew arrogant, forgot her place, and meddled in court affairs that he used the old garment as an excuse to punish her severely. Exiled to Ningguta… Her parents were old, and her younger sister was still so young. How could they endure the bitter cold? A trace of hatred quietly crept into Zhen Huan’s heart. [Elderly people sleep lightly. Don’t get up in the middle of the night to trim the candle wick. The flickering light alone will keep them awake and unable to sleep…] [Didn’t you just take her away as soon as you arrived in the past life?] [Why aren’t you leaving this time?!] [This Consort’s entire side is going numb from sitting.] Nian Shilan shifted slightly, causing ripples in the hot spring water. The voice in her heart was growing increasingly impatient. 【Thank goodness this is a hot spring. If it were anything else, after tonight, This Consort would no longer be Consort Hua, but Consort Leng, Consort Han, or Consort Bingdong instead.】 The Emperor was not angered by Consort Hua’s candid words, nor did he feel he had done anything wrong. To bear even a slight resemblance to Wanwan was Zhen Huan’s good fortune. Instead, he felt a sense of relief toward Consort Hua. As expected of someone who had lived a second life—she indeed saw many things more clearly than in her previous existence. In a way, she was now the one who understood him best. It was just that she couldn’t shake her habit of speaking harshly—what did she mean by "old people sleep lightly"? 【Still not leaving? These two wouldn’t actually do it in the hot spring… Shameless old man!】 【Just now she mentioned Emperor Cheng of Han, but he’s even worse! He shouldn’t have brought the women of the inner palace here; he should have summoned the historians to listen and record it for posterity!】 With no one to restrain her inner thoughts, she was growing increasingly unrestrained. Hearing Consort Hua mistakenly assume that he and Zhen Huan were engaging in intimacy in the hot spring, the Emperor stood up, patted the wrinkles from his robe, and deliberately made some noise as he spoke. Zhen Huan, afraid she might fail to control her expression and reveal her true feelings to the Emperor, pretended to slip, submerging herself entirely in the pool and choking on a few mouthfuls of water. This gave her a pallid complexion a reasonable explanation. But she had overestimated her current self. If, in her previous life, the Emperor at this time had admired her not only for Chunyuan but also for her talent and charm, now, after Consort Hua had mentioned Chunyuan so many times, even the Emperor’s own thoughts had been swayed. At this moment, the Emperor saw Zhen Huan purely as a substitute. The Emperor turned his back. Fangruo arrived with palace maids to help Zhen Huan change into her nightgown, after which the Emperor took her hand and led her to the bedchamber. Layer upon layer of yellow curtains fell as she and the Emperor sat by the bed. Red silk, red flowers, red tassels, red candles, red robes, and a red carpet—these were the decorations of a bridal chamber. Yet she alone wore a white robe. How absurd—who would wear white on their wedding night? Even if the Emperor had overlooked this, Aunt Fangruo was a seasoned figure in the palace—how could she not know? Red robes and a white gown—tonight, the Emperor was truly marrying his deceased wife. Throughout the journey to Changping, Zhen Huan had hesitated, agonized, and tried to refute Shen Meizhuang’s words, still clinging to the belief that the Emperor treated her differently. Ha, indeed, it was different. Seeing her silent and bowed head, the Emperor asked if she was afraid. The words about "husband" that Zhen Huan held in her heart could not be spoken, no matter what. All she could say was, "This humble consort has behaved improperly. I beg Your Majesty not to blame me." The Emperor helped her up with both hands. "It has always been that imperial consorts and concubines are filled with trepidation during their first time attending the Emperor. Even the Empress was no exception. I presume the matron has already taught you the rules." Zhen Huan knew that, in truth, the Emperor would not blame her now, whether she was eloquent or tongue-tied. Because she was Chunyuan—his long-lost Wanwan. Even if she were willful and capricious, the Emperor would only find her candid and endearing. How could he bear to blame her? Although the Emperor paid no heed to Consort Hua’s words, his mood was inevitably affected. His state of mind was no longer what it had been earlier. Consort Hua was likely the happiest among them today. While soaking in the hot spring, she had indulged in unrestrained inner venting, and after finishing, Songzhi helped her relax every muscle and joint. She felt completely refreshed in body and mind, and by now, she had already drifted from the East Sea to the far northwest, sleeping soundly through several rounds. Nian Shilan, with her mind that had lived two lifetimes, could never have imagined that in the Emperor's bridal chamber, as the two of them tumbled in passion, both were thinking of her. When two people share an intimate moment, the presence of a third—no matter in what form—inevitably dampens the mood. After the passion subsided, the Emperor lay awake, watching the flickering candlelight by the bedside, the voice of Consort Hua lingering in his mind.