Chapter 4: Dislike

The preparation took a long time, but the emperor wasn’t just waiting around. After the sun had set, she was sent over there, but the emperor still didn’t arrive. Waiting and waiting, Shen Qing eventually got hungry.

Hungry and craving braised pork knuckle, just as she was thinking about it, news came from outside.

“The emperor is busy earlier and has ordered that Lady Shen be sent back.”

Shen Qing’s vision went dark. The damn emperor was playing with her? They had promised a night of attending him, yet ended up like this—how was she supposed to live in the palace now? This was ridiculous enough to make anyone laugh.

The officials in charge of attending the emperor were from the Ministry of Ceremonies, specifically the eunuch Wang De. He called over a few eunuchs and prepared to carry Shen Qing away.

Could Shen Qing refuse?

Even if her mind was running wild with curses, she could only be carried back.

She never imagined her first night attending the emperor would end like this. Her expression darkened, which was natural under the circumstances.

No one cared how she felt; only those favored by the emperor had people trying to guess their moods.

She, a first-timer, had the emperor send her back without even seeing him—what was there to guess?

Carried all the way back to Zhaohua Palace, Spring Hua and Qiu Lu were both stunned. The Ministry of Ceremonies eunuchs said nothing celebratory; Spring Hua and Qiu Lu had never seen anything like it.

Qiu Lu was especially scared and went to ask a little eunuch for news. When she heard that Shen Qing had been carried to attend the emperor but hadn’t even met him and was sent back again, her face changed.

Earlier that afternoon, the Ministry of Ceremonies had brought good news, so she really thought Shen Qing’s luck was turning around. But who would have expected this?

Nothing like this had ever happened in the palace before—someone sent in to attend the emperor and yet returned intact.

Wasn’t this proof the emperor had no interest in Shen Qing?

Wrapped up tight in a bundle of blankets, Shen Qing couldn’t get out by herself. It was Spring Hua who helped her out, but her face was terrible.

When Spring Hua went out for water, Qiu Lu told her what happened to Shen Qing. When Spring Hua came back with water and saw Shen Qing’s face, she felt sad and puzzled.

Shen Qing was such a beautiful person; how could the emperor not like her?

Spring Hua thought this, and Shen Qing herself, having gone through the whole ordeal, was even more resentful of the damn emperor.

Life wasn’t good enough already; this just made it worse.

Spring Hua washed Shen Qing’s face, and Shen Qing, her stomach hurting from hunger, asked, “Is there any food?”

Spring Hua shook her head. At this time, if she had attended the emperor, the Imperial Kitchen would be full of people, so food would be available. But someone like Shen Qing? She probably wouldn’t be able to get anything.

Shen Qing gritted her teeth. “Then I’ll just drink some water.”

Her throat was sore from anger.

After drinking a lot of water, Shen Qing’s stomach felt bad and her mood sour. It wasn’t that anything could really go wrong—it was just humiliating, bound to invite ridicule. But the turn of events caught her off guard. After cursing the damn emperor dozens of times, she finally let it go.

The matter was settled. There was no use thinking further. In fact, it wasn’t entirely without benefit—at least her face, once the source of jealousy, now only invited mockery, no envy.

Thinking that way, Shen Qing even slept well.

Spring Hua and Qiu Lu stayed outside to keep watch. Qiu Lu couldn’t sleep and kept talking to Spring Hua.

“Can you believe she can still sleep? After all this, she can still sleep.”

Spring Hua said, “The emperor must have been busy with court affairs earlier. There’ll be another time.”

Qiu Lu said, “She’s not the only one in the palace. Her first night attending went badly, and the emperor might forget her altogether. If she stays here two years, she’ll get no food and no favor. How long will that good face last?”

Qiu Lu was being sarcastic: “Such a pretty face wasted.”

Shen Qing slept all night and felt much better in the morning. She was served porridge again, but today’s breakfast was even worse.

She wondered why.

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There are many sharp eyes and ears in this palace. Before, since she hadn’t attended the emperor, people still worried she might get favored someday, so her meals were acceptable.

After yesterday’s event, today’s breakfast was missing two small dishes compared to before.

It was clear what was happening.

But this was the way in harem stories—the palace was like this. She was mentally prepared, never planning to stand out or have a good life. So be it.

According to custom, after the first night attending the emperor, one was supposed to pay respects.

But with her condition, should she go or not?

Fortunately, the empress apparently got the news and sent gifts. The person delivering the gifts also passed a message saying there was no need for Shen Qing to come pay respects.

For others, this might be insulting, but in Shen Qing’s situation, it was to save her from public embarrassment.

She had to thank the empress for that.

The person delivering the gifts reported back to the empress, who shook her head: “She really has bad luck. Such beauty wasted.”

“If you ask me,” the maid said, “the emperor isn’t one to care about appearances. That Shen Qing looks flashy and unnatural. The emperor values rules above all; he surely doesn’t like her type.”

The empress smiled, “Whether the emperor likes her or not is his business. Once she’s in the palace, whether she’s favored or not is fate.”

Meanwhile, Shen Qing was looking at the gifts from the empress.

Being carried in and then carried back out—there was really no one like her. Normally, for a first night attending, she should have received two bolts of fabric and some jewelry.

But she was truly pitiful: only a pair of bracelets, not even gold, and the style was old-fashioned.

What kind of gift was this? It was a joke.

Other palace residents hearing this joke for the first time laughed as well. Even Lady Yu Fei chuckled, saying, “How much does she have to be disliked to get this? Not even worth a glance.”