This child, conceived as part of Nalan Xuan’s scheme, absolutely could not be allowed to remain. Or rather, from the moment Han Ruifeng became an imperial consort, he had already resigned himself to leaving no descendants. If avenging his family’s bloody wrongs meant ensuring that the Han family, which should have died out long ago, truly ended without descendants, then so be it.
After a sleepless night, Han Ruifeng rose with dark circles beneath his eyes. Tong He saw them but did not dare say a word. He had hurried back the previous night and tremblingly handed over the packet of saffron, yet Han Ruifeng had not even looked at it. He merely said, “Boil it first thing tomorrow morning. Make it very concentrated,” before going straight inside to sleep.
This morning, Han Ruifeng had not asked about it at all, but Tong He had not dared neglect the order and had long since begun simmering the saffron in a medicine pot.
Han Ruifeng applied a thick layer of powder to conceal the darkness beneath his eyes, but it could not hide the exhaustion on his face. He seemed to have grown far more haggard overnight, his complexion much paler than before. Only those dark eyes had become even more unsettling.
As usual, the harem gathered for morning observances. The courtyard of Fengyi Palace was filled with consorts, all dressed extravagantly at such an early hour. Even with no one there to admire them, they remained ready at any moment to be summoned and toyed with.
They had not stood long in the cold wind, yet everyone was already shivering and grumbling inwardly. Because Xiao Qi was unwell, she had intended to send someone to request leave from the empress. Unexpectedly, Nalan Xuan seemed to have coordinated with her. Ji Yu came out and merely announced, “Her Majesty the Empress is feeling unwell this morning. Their Highnesses and the young lords should return to their palaces early,” and that was the end of it. Han Ruifeng naturally breathed a sigh of relief; at the very least, it gave him a little more time to prepare. The other pampered masters of the various palaces were far less pleased, but under the weight of the empress’s authority, they could only swallow their resentment. By now, they were already accustomed to Empress Yu behaving this way. As long as he did not leave all of them standing in the courtyard until they froze into statues, they could count themselves fortunate.
The moment Han Ruifeng left Fengyi Palace, he headed straight toward Donghua Palace without stopping. That idiot does nothing but cause trouble!
“Ugh—! Ugh—”
Without waiting to be announced, Han Ruifeng ignored the maids trying to stop him and strode directly into the bedchamber. What he found was Xiao Qi leaning weakly against the side of the bed, face pale, hair disheveled, retching again and again.
Xiao Qi was undeniably attractive. Anyone chosen for the imperial harem naturally possessed something exceptional. Yet at this moment, the sight of her inspired only irritation and disgust in Han Ruifeng.
He frowned almost imperceptibly, stepped forward, helped her sit up with one hand, and passed her the tea beside the bed with the other. His voice was cold. “You really are pregnant?”
Xiao Qi had only just managed to catch her breath and had not yet recovered from the turmoil in her stomach, much less seen who had entered. Hearing a male voice so cold it seemed to freeze the air made her shudder. Instinctively, she pulled the blanket more tightly around herself and retreated toward the corner of the bed.
Han Ruifeng’s brows drew even tighter, his displeasure becoming more obvious. “I asked whether you are pregnant.”
It was no longer truly a question. Han Ruifeng had already reached his conclusion.
Xiao Qi hesitated, then nodded. Her eyes were filled with grievance and resentment. She hated herself for being stupid enough to fall into Nalan Xuan’s trap, hated being controlled by a powerless man, and hated being reduced to this state where she could neither speak of her suffering nor explain her grievances, leaving herself alone to bear all the fear and anxiety.
“Yes.” Yet now that the truth had reached this point, Xiao Qi instead became much calmer. Her voice no longer trembled with the fear Han Ruifeng had imagined. Even her resentment seemed to vanish, as though she had somehow stepped outside the situation and become a detached observer.
A sharp gleam flashed through Han Ruifeng’s eyes, filled with killing intent.
As though only now coming fully back to herself, Xiao Qi suddenly shed her earlier timidity. She met Han Ruifeng’s murderous gaze with equal coldness, without the slightest retreat or evasion. A mocking curve appeared at her lips. “What? You find it troublesome now? Inconvenient? Don’t forget that you and I are grasshoppers tied to the same rope. If something happens to me, don’t imagine you’ll walk away untouched!”
She tried to keep her voice low but could not suppress the fury surging beneath it. Relaxing against the cushions, she laughed softly. “If you knew it would come to this, why did you do it in the first place? You certainly didn’t hesitate back when you were doing that sort of thing. You were nothing but a filthy, lowborn servant. Don’t think that because His Majesty once showed you a little favor, you can suddenly act as though the whole dye shop belongs to you. You even dare point fingers at me? You? As if you’re worthy! His Majesty merely happened to grant you the title of Noble Lord Han for a time, and you truly started believing you deserved the rank?!”
Han Ruifeng had long since become accustomed to Xiao Qi’s hysterical abuse. His lips pressed tightly together while the hand hidden within his sleeve slowly clenched into a fist.
“You think I want the bastard inside me? If it weren’t for this thing, why would I have fallen into such a situation? Now I have to hide everything, live in constant fear, and barely dare step outside my own doors!” Xiao Qi suddenly spat toward him, her face filled with contempt and fury. She spoke as though the life growing inside her were not her own flesh and blood but some filthy lump of rotten meat she could not wait to be rid of. “Han Ruifeng. Noble Lord Han! If you have any sense, stop appearing in front of me every day. Instead of wasting your time here, perhaps you should go soothe that empress of yours whom you once treasured like a brother. If he suddenly gets the urge one day and ‘accidentally’ tells His Majesty what happened, neither of us will ever be able to wash our hands clean!”
Xiao Qi had no idea that her words suited Han Ruifeng perfectly. He had expected to spend considerable effort persuading her, only to discover that he had actually underestimated the iron hearts and ruthless decisiveness of those who survived inside the harem. Even when it concerned their own children, they might not hesitate at all.
Han Ruifeng rose and brought over the food box containing the saffron decoction Tong He had prepared early that morning. Opening the lid, he revealed that the carved aromatic-wood box was still warm. He held an exquisitely decorated glazed porcelain bowl in one hand and used the spoon in the other to stir the dark-red medicinal liquid. Perhaps finding it too hot, he occasionally blew across the surface. “This is saffron. It is very effective at promoting blood circulation and dispersing blood stasis. Perhaps it can help you.”
Xiao Qi froze for an instant, then sneered. “Noble Lord Han certainly prepares everything thoroughly. How meticulous. No wonder you managed to scheme against your dearest friend until he lost his child, yet still spent every day resenting His Majesty for being cruel and ruthless. This concubine is impressed.”
Even as she spoke, her hands did not hesitate. She abruptly sat up, snatched the white porcelain bowl from Han Ruifeng’s hand while he was still holding the spoon, and drained it in one breath right in front of him.
With one worry finally resolved, Han Ruifeng visibly relaxed. “Rest properly for the next few days. I will take care of the explanations with the empress and His Majesty.”
He was just about to rise and sweep his sleeves aside when the doors to the bedchamber suddenly opened.
“Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress cannot—our mistress still hasn’t risen and may not be able to receive visitors, Your Majesty—” The palace servants waiting outside hurried forward to stop him, but how could they possibly stop Nalan Xuan when he had decided to enter? They were already restrained by the difference in rank and dared not use their full strength against him.
As for Nalan Xuan, he simply stirred the energy in his dantian and sent it coursing swiftly through his entire body, forcibly preventing the palace servants from approaching him at all.
A smile that was not quite a smile hung at his lips as he strolled leisurely into the bedchamber as though no one else existed. His gaze was proud and cold, three parts amusement and seven parts mockery, while his hands came together in a slow series of clap, clap, clap.
Leave a Reply