By the time Nalan Xuan followed Feng Xuanyi and the imposing procession to the gates of Luoxiao Palace, Empress He Yilan and the others, having rushed over upon hearing the news, were already waiting outside. Without further instructions from the emperor, however, none of them dared act rashly.
For once, the empress wore an expression other than her customary cool detachment. After the usual greetings and formalities, she looked at Nalan Xuan with grave concern. “Virtuous Lord, you don’t look well. Were you injured? Has an imperial physician seen you?” Then she noticed how lightly he was dressed after stubbornly rushing over and frowned in displeasure. “It’s freezing out here. Do the people attending you not know enough to remind you to dress properly? If you catch a chill, can any of you bear the consequences?!”
Everyone was caught off guard. The empress was normally gentle, virtuous, reserved, and self-possessed; she rarely even spoke much, much less openly lost her temper or confronted anyone. Even the servants who had attended her in Fengyi Palace for years stared in surprise at this unprecedented display of authority. Nalan Xuan was even more bewildered. He could count the number of times he had met the empress on one hand. Although he had always sensed that there was more to her than she showed—and each meeting left him with an inexplicable feeling that something did not quite fit—he had never imagined she would show him such familiarity or concern. His mind went blank for a moment, and he could only answer stiffly, “Thank you for Your Majesty’s concern. This subject is all right.”
Without having anyone announce them, the entire group swept through the gates of Luoxiao Palace with intimidating momentum. Consort Shu’s dowry maid, who was keeping watch outside the main hall, spotted the mass of approaching figures moving through the darkness from a distance. Assuming some suicidal servant had dared barge into Luoxiao Palace in the middle of the night, she marched forward, ready to give the offender a vicious scolding and send them packing. But the moment she recognized who was approaching, she jolted awake. Every trace of drowsiness vanished, immediately replaced by a smiling face and respectful salutations.
Elio’s Notes: A dowry maid was a personal maid who accompanied a noblewoman from her natal family when she married or entered another household, and was often one of her most trusted attendants.
“Why did no one announce Your Majesty’s arrival? The servants of Luoxiao Palace truly have no sense of propriety.” Her words sounded perfectly reasonable and conveniently laid the groundwork for excusing Consort Shu’s failure to receive the emperor properly. Yet everyone serving in Luoxiao Palace knew that a dowry maid occupied a very different position from an ordinary servant. If Consort Shu heard that she had said such a thing, a severe beating would be the least she could expect. “Her Highness did not know Your Majesty would visit tonight and has already retired. This servant will wake her at once.”
To everyone who had arrived already expecting something suspicious, the maid’s quick thinking and eagerness to avoid neglect now looked instead like guilty behavior. The emperor had come to visit one of his own consorts, yet apparently had to wait outside while someone went in to announce him. Clearly there was something inside they did not want him to see. Unfortunately, the maid kneeling there knew none of this. Just as she moved to rise and announce them, Feng Xuanyi’s low voice sounded above her, calm as dead water.
“There is no need. I will go and see her myself.”
Only then did the dowry maid belatedly sense that something was wrong. She looked up and saw not only the emperor, but the empress and Virtuous Lord beside him, along with the Commandant of the Palace Guards, a large contingent of guards, and numerous palace attendants. It was an astonishingly formidable procession.
Before she could recover, Feng Xuanyi had already strode toward the main hall with everyone behind him.
Anyone suddenly awakened from a pleasant dream would have difficulty remaining calm. Consort Shu Meng, pampered from childhood and born with a golden spoon in her mouth, was even less capable of it. Enraged, she ripped apart layer after layer of bed curtains with such force that she tore half of them down entirely. Her long hair hung in disarray without its painstakingly arranged coiffure. Without the elaborate cosmetics she normally wore, her face had lost its usual radiant beauty. She was not ugly, but neither was she particularly attractive, and with her features twisted in fury, the sight was hardly pleasing.
“Insolent—!” The string of abuse died before it could leave her mouth when she saw that the culprit was actually the emperor. Her mind instantly went blank. Years of experience nevertheless made her instinctively force a smile onto her face. Unfortunately, Consort Shu Meng had no idea that the smile she believed languid and seductive looked far more frightening than alluring. Even more unnerving was how her furious roar transformed instantly into the gentle, watery softness of a little bird seeking shelter. “Y-Your Majesty? What brings Your Majesty here? You should have had a servant announce you. This consort failed to receive Your Majesty in time and has been terribly negligent. Please forgive me.”
All sleepiness vanished. With her fingers posed delicately, Consort Shu lifted the curtains with boneless grace. Her pale-colored inner robe shimmered beneath the candlelight like rippling water. Her fair feet were bare upon the floor, appearing and disappearing beneath the trailing hems of her sleeping trousers. Her slender waist swayed elegantly as she walked, and her loose black hair moved softly behind her. When she finally bowed, every movement was overflowing with practiced charm.
It was not that she had failed to notice the Empress and Virtuous Lord entering with Feng Xuanyi. Nor had she missed the crowd outside or the grave expressions and repeated warning glances from her trusted attendants. Rather, Consort Shu understood better than anyone that intrigue and deception within the imperial harem never ceased. Having lived in its midst for so long, she had never imagined herself exempt. That was why she had worked so hard to secure favor and glory: so that even if such a day eventually came, she could still rely upon the emperor’s absolute favor and her formidable family background to turn the situation around.
Unfortunately, that beautiful smile and air of complete confidence had always rested upon nothing more than her own self-proclaimed superiority.
Silence had never meant agreement.
“Search the palace.”
Feng Xuanyi did not even look at Consort Shu. Without shifting his gaze, he issued the cold order. Even Nalan Xuan was inwardly astonished. Feng Xuanyi might be emperor and ordinarily had to maintain some restraint before others, yet he had never minded openly displaying affection toward the woman now kneeling before him, regardless of who was watching. But at this moment he did not even blink. The words he spoke seemed to freeze the very air.
The Palace Guards, who had been waiting outside for the order for quite some time, immediately filed into the palace and began searching everywhere.
Only then did Consort Shu Meng finally realize something was seriously wrong. She stared in disbelief at the man who had always treated her with tenderness and indulgence, unable to comprehend how he had suddenly become so cold and distant.
“Cousin?”
Her red lips parted.
Not Your Majesty. Not Sire.
Cousin—the intimate form of address she had always regarded as proof that she stood closer to the emperor than anyone else.
Feng Xuanyi remained utterly indifferent. He did not answer or issue any further punishment. He simply left her kneeling where she was and walked to the seat of honor. Without saying a word, he drew Nalan Xuan over and indicated that he should sit beside him, leaving even the empress standing off to one side.
Perhaps the empress had long since become accustomed to such neglect, for her expression did not change.
For Consort Shu Meng, however, it was the first time since she had entered Prince Rong’s residence.
Nalan Xuan did not resist. He had forced himself here through sheer stubbornness because he needed an answer to the doubts tormenting him. His shoulder burned fiercely, the pain leaving him little strength to concern himself with anything else. Whether Feng Xuanyi understood how much pain Nalan Xuan was enduring or merely acted unconsciously, the hand that closed firmly around his own felt strangely soothing, lending him an inexplicable sense of security and making it difficult not to relax.
The momentary daze passed quickly.
Reality had always possessed far too many ways of refusing to follow one’s wishes.
“Reporting to Your Majesty. Following the blood trail, we discovered the assassin inside the western side hall. We await Your Majesty’s judgment.”
As the guard spoke, the prisoner was dragged into the main hall. The black-clad assassin looked thoroughly battered, restrained by two guards on either side before being forced to his knees. The wound in his chest, inflicted by one of the Palace Guard officers during the earlier chaos, had left a dark stain across his clothing.
Watching the unfamiliar man being brought forward, Consort Shu Meng murmured blankly, “Assassin?”
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