Chapter 44: A Chance Encounter with Qiulu

“Liangren, you really don’t need to leave so quickly every time,” Chunhua said, noticing the sidelong glances others were throwing their way, whether intentionally or not.

Shen Qing replied, “It’s better to walk faster and avoid interaction. It’s not like I’m trying to bond with them as sisters.”

A whole group of women serving one man, all calling each other “sister”—how nauseating. She had absolutely no interest in joining that farce.

Shen Qing continued to live her quiet little life.

Over on Consort Yu’s side, she had indeed been frightened by Xuanyuan Ling and had behaved herself for a few days.

But upon reflection, she realized Xuanyuan Ling had only been trying to scare her. Especially when the next day, he had Zhao Hai visit her to soothe her mood. Consort Yu understood then that His Majesty was angry at her for making too much of a scene.

Causing a scene was unacceptable—His Majesty disliked such behavior—but she was still disgusted whenever she saw Shen Guiren, who had tried to manipulate her.

Though she hadn’t formally punished Shen Guiren, Consort Yu made a point to declare in front of everyone that Shen Guiren had deliberately fainted in the Empress’s palace and warned the rest of the harem to be cautious around her to avoid getting dragged into trouble.

This statement made it clear to everyone that Shen Guiren had faked fainting to complain to the Empress. From then on, no one sympathized with her being targeted by Consort Yu. Originally, people had steered clear of Consort Yu due to her domineering nature, but now it was different.

Though you couldn’t exactly say Shen Guiren deserved it, her actions certainly left others wary.

If she could scheme against Consort Yu, who’s to say she wouldn’t scheme against others?

In short, Shen Guiren quickly became isolated in the harem.

And that wasn’t all—Consort Yu had exposed Shen Guiren’s plot right at the entrance of Fengyi Palace, clearly intending to not only punish Shen Guiren but to drag the Empress into the mud as well.

The Empress knew this, but there was nothing she could do. His Majesty was already aware of Shen Guiren’s actions—how could she protect her any further? Besides, she likely didn’t particularly like Shen Guiren herself.

So, let it be.

Though Shen Guiren might have had her own plans, all of this happening one after another had clearly angered Consort Yu deeply.

Now, she had managed to offend both the Empress and Consort Yu—the two most influential women in the palace.

It was a case of one misstep leading to another, a cascade of errors that could no longer be undone. Even if she regretted it now, it was far too late.

After seeing Shen Qing once, Xuanyuan Ling resumed his regular visits to the harem.

He couldn’t completely avoid the Empress’s palace—doing so would disrupt stability in the inner court and give rise to suspicion.

Thus, he finally visited the Empress again.

The Empress understood from this visit that the Emperor hadn’t completely lost trust in her. His suspicions about her scheming against Consort Yu had been addressed last time, and now his visit to her chambers seemed to signal that the matter had passed.

Still, even if it had passed, she knew Xuanyuan Ling wouldn’t forget it.

She didn’t dare be negligent.

Xuanyuan Ling asked, “How is Noble Lady Fang’s pregnancy?”

Overseeing the care of pregnant consorts was one of the Empress’s responsibilities.

Hearing the question, the Empress understood his meaning and responded, “Noble Lady Fang is five months along. She is truly blessed—her child hasn’t caused her any distress. I have specifically instructed the Imperial Kitchen to provide her with the proper nourishment, and the imperial physicians check her pulse every two days. According to their reports, her health is excellent, and she is expected to give birth smoothly.”

“Good,” Xuanyuan Ling said simply, and dropped the matter.

The Empress silently calculated the time—Noble Lady Fang would give birth in just over four months. No other concubines in the harem were pregnant. Based on His Majesty’s demeanor, he clearly no longer trusted her.

She had originally intended to take Noble Lady Fang’s child and raise it herself while pushing the birth mother aside. But now, that plan was too risky.

Xuanyuan Ling was keeping a close watch. If there was a next time, it likely wouldn’t end as leniently as it did before.

She couldn’t help but think he might truly be losing favor with her.

As always, there was little conversation between the Emperor and Empress. After a brief exchange, their evening together came to an end.

When they lay in bed together, Xuanyuan Ling had no interest in intimacy and soon fell asleep. The Empress, watching him sleep, gently reached out to touch his face.

Another sleepless night.

The next day, when Xuanyuan Ling left the Empress’s chambers, his expression was still grim. The Empress took that as a warning not to try anything further with Noble Lady Fang’s pregnancy.

It was his rest day, and thinking of Noble Lady Fang, he decided to visit her.

Though it hadn’t been too long since he’d last seen her, she was pregnant and couldn’t serve him intimately. Xuanyuan Ling had sent people to check on her, but personal visits were rare.

Now that he visited her in person, Noble Lady Fang was visibly delighted. After a few soothing words, Xuanyuan Ling left.

Turning to Zhao Hai, he said, “Let’s go to Zhaohua Palace.”

Zhao Hai was briefly stunned, only to hear Xuanyuan Ling add, “Forget it. If I go now, she’ll probably start overthinking things again.”

Zhao Hai didn’t quite understand, but thought to himself that it made sense. Coming straight from the Empress’s palace to visit Noble Lady Fang—who was pregnant—was acceptable. But visiting Shen Liangren at Zhaohua Palace, who held a low rank and had no child, would certainly attract attention.

Still, the fact that His Majesty had considered going to see Shen Liangren meant she was on his mind. Choosing not to go was also a form of consideration.

In this entire palace, Shen Liangren might be the only one to occupy the Emperor’s thoughts this way.

Though he said otherwise, Xuanyuan Ling ended up heading to the Imperial Study instead.

Shen Qing was unaware of any of this.

The weather these past two days had been particularly pleasant—not too hot, not too cold—and it made her feel entirely at ease. It would have been a shame not to go outside and enjoy it.

So Shen Qing decided to go to the Imperial Garden to feed the fish. Honestly, in this palace, the only living creatures that brought joy were the fish. A bunch of colorful koi swimming back and forth, fighting over food—it was a very relaxing way to pass the time.

She crumbled the pastries into tiny pieces and fed them bit by bit, watching the koi scramble over each other to eat them.

As she watched, she suddenly had a craving for lotus root.

She mentioned it to Chunhua, who laughed and said, “I thought Liangren would want to eat fish after staring at them for so long!”

Ever since that visit to the Empress’s palace, Chunhua and Shen Qing had grown closer, and this kind of casual teasing now came naturally.

Shen Qing didn’t mind. “Fish have bones.”

She liked fish, but hated picking out the bones.

As the two were chatting, a sudden voice interrupted them: “This servant pays respects to Liangren.”

Shen Qing turned to look and saw a woman kneeling outside the pavilion.

It was Qiulu—the same maid who had once requested to leave Zhaohua Palace.