Chapter 17 – The Shuttlecock

This whole business with Beauty Wang had been encountered by Xuanyuan Ling himself, so he had Zhao Hai keep an eye on it. Normally, he didn’t bother with harem affairs, but just one beauty getting drunk and becoming so brazen—this wasn’t something to overlook.

Zhao Hai had been ordered to investigate.

He knew full well he couldn’t uncover every detail, but he also couldn’t investigate nothing.

So, Xuanyuan Ling eventually received the report: Beauty Wang, in order to gain more favor, had once gone to Consort Yu and even been dealt with by her. The encounter with the emperor that night had merely been a coincidence.

Reading this far, Xuanyuan Ling understood everything clearly.

He let out a cold laugh.

Consort Yu’s favor had indeed been on the rise. Everyone thought that by clinging to her, they could gain imperial favor too. As for Consort Ru—how many hands she had in this matter, he didn’t even need to find out.

He had once doted on Consort Ru in the past. In fact, she was the first woman he had been with—before he had even become emperor, she had been bestowed upon him by his mother, who at that time had not yet become Empress Dowager. His relationship with the Empress Dowager was complicated and difficult to describe, and as a result, his feelings toward Consort Ru had always been lukewarm. That resentment, combined with the loss of their Second Princess, left him feeling some guilt toward her. That was why, when he ascended the throne, he granted her the rank of Consort, which was an elevation in status.

But he never expected her to turn around and scheme like this—worse yet, to scheme directly against him.

This time, Xuanyuan Ling was truly disgusted with Consort Ru. As for Consort Yu, he was also well aware of her disposition. Ever since she gave birth to the imperial twins, her attitude had grown increasingly haughty. Xuanyuan Ling didn’t like it, but he didn’t yet detest her—after all, she was still carrying his child.

“Let it be,” Xuanyuan Ling said. “Since the Empress has assigned someone to look after her while she’s ill, let her recover. The palace can well afford to support one sick woman.”

When Zhao Hai heard these words, he lowered his head even further.

Once the emperor calls someone a patient, there’s no longer any chance of them regaining favor. Even if Beauty Wang wasn’t truly ill, now she could only pretend to be.

Xuanyuan Ling thought for a moment and said, “The Empress worked hard arranging the Crown Prince’s birthday celebration. Send her some nourishing supplements.”

After all, the Empress didn’t have three heads and six arms; she couldn’t oversee everything. She had lost face in this affair, so she needed to be comforted.

With the Emperor declaring it over, the matter was finished.

It was clear that this whole ordeal with Beauty Wang had truly disgusted Xuanyuan Ling. He had no more desire to concern himself with the harem, and coincidentally, the affairs of the imperial court were keeping him busy.

The weather had grown hot, and certain regions were facing drought.

The court was in an uproar over it, and Xuanyuan Ling had been busy for quite some time. When the chaos finally subsided, he returned to paying attention to the Office of Ceremonial Affairs.

Wang De brought the green-labeled name plaques, waiting for Xuanyuan Ling to choose. He noticed Shen Qing’s plaque, but his hand skipped over it and flipped over Fang Guiren’s instead.

This little girl stood out too much in the harem—she had no children, held no real rank, and yet couldn’t be promoted directly. That would be against regulations. If she still received favor, it was bound to attract jealousy.

That night, Fang Guiren served the Emperor.

A few days later, he visited Consort Yu again to see the children, even going twice in two days.

Only then did he go to Zhaohua Palace.

This time, however, he came during the day—completely catching everyone off guard.

Shen Qing was still enjoying her peaceful little life, which had become quite comfortable compared to when she had first entered the palace.

On normal days, she and Chunhua and Fang Yun would tinker with little trinkets. That day, Shen Qing felt like sweating out some toxins, so she had Fang Yun make a shuttlecock and dragged the girls out into the courtyard to kick it around.

Xuanyuan Ling arrived while Shen Qing was in the middle of playing shuttlecock.

There wasn’t much entertainment in the palace, so when something fun came along, she played wholeheartedly. She was doing well too, and for convenience, had tied her hair into a ponytail and wasn’t even wearing a skirt—looking very much like a tomboy.

Xuanyuan Ling didn’t fail to recognize her, but he had never seen a shuttlecock before. Seeing Shen Qing bouncing around so energetically under the tree, her face flushed red from the exertion, he found her quite spirited. His lips involuntarily curved into a smile.

It wasn’t until someone gave a formal greeting and the attendants all knelt that Shen Qing stopped and gave her own salute to the Emperor.

Xuanyuan Ling sat on a stone bench nearby and looked at the shuttlecock. “What is that thing?”

Shen Qing replied, “I came up with it. Look—it has three copper coins at the base.”

Xuanyuan Ling looked closely and saw that it indeed had three coins and was quite cleverly made.

Shen Qing picked up the feathered shuttlecock with a bright smile. Her eyes curved like crescent moons. “Would Your Majesty like to watch me kick it? I’m quite good at it.”

The young girl looked delightfully charming—but thoroughly improper.

“Do you get this lazy every day when I’m not here?” His tone was noticeably colder.

The surrounding servants all lowered their heads even more.

Shen Qing shrank her neck slightly, as if afraid, but still beamed like a child showing off a new toy—eyes sparkling. “Do you want to see?”

Xuanyuan Ling kept a stern face. “What if I don’t think it’s any good?”

Shen Qing cautiously replied, “Then… if I don’t do it well, Your Majesty can punish me?”

Throwing herself into punishment—wasn’t this just relying on the knowledge that he wouldn’t?

Xuanyuan Ling looked at her again and realized she wasn’t entirely unafraid—just a little aggrieved.

And who wouldn’t be? Happily sharing something fun with someone, only to be scolded for it.

Her whole demeanor had deflated.

He hadn’t even declared punishment, yet she already looked like she had been wronged.

Xuanyuan Ling’s brows furrowed slightly. “Kick it, then we’ll see.”

So Shen Qing did.

The surrounding servants all fell silent, tense with worry for her.

Shen Qing performed normally. Once she got into it, she no longer looked upset. After finishing, she looked back at Xuanyuan Ling.

Seeing her, his mood inexplicably lifted again. Wasn’t she just looking pitiful a moment ago?

Then Shen Qing smiled gently, walked over to him, and whispered, “While I was jumping just now, I figured something out.”

“Hmm?”

She leaned closer to his ear and whispered, “Actually, it’s not that Your Majesty didn’t like me kicking the shuttlecock. You were just worried that others might see how I was dressed and think it improper, so you scolded me out of concern, right?”

Even if it wasn’t concern, she didn’t believe Xuanyuan Ling would get angry at her over a silly game for no reason. If his temper were truly that awful, how could he still tolerate Consort Yu’s outrageous behavior?

So she acted cute—what man wouldn’t soften at such flattery? Even if he was annoyed, he wouldn’t punish her too harshly.

And besides, she might not even be wrong. If he had truly disapproved from the start, he wouldn’t have sat down and watched.

Xuanyuan Ling felt her soft voice enter his ear and settle in his chest.

He did feel a bit annoyed—she was behaving improperly.

But before the anger could surface, Shen Qing took a step back, knelt gracefully in front of him with a bright smile, and placed her hands on his knees. Her voice rang out loud enough for the others to hear: “Your Majesty, this concubine accepts her punishment.”

That didn’t sound like someone accepting punishment—it sounded like someone receiving a reward.

Xuanyuan Ling looked at her smiling face. Her eyes sparkled like stars, her cheeks were lightly flushed from the exercise, and somehow, his gaze fell on her rosy lips. An impulsive thought suddenly arose.

She spoke such sweet words—he wondered whether her lips would taste as sweet.

That thought flashed by, and Xuanyuan Ling was shocked at himself. What was he thinking?

Anger and impulse surged up together, his mood suddenly tangled and confused.

His expression darkened noticeably—blaming her for being too alluring. “Go copy scriptures. Calm yourself.”

With that, he stood up and left.