Chapter 23 – The Dragon Boat Festival Banquet

Shen Qing could tell—alright, at least for now, he wasn’t likely to take out his anger on her.

Clearly, he was looking for amusement because he was in a bad mood. If she didn’t coax him a little, he’d probably vent it all out on her in bed.

And that would be the least of it. If she didn’t manage to soothe him this time, the chances of becoming a tool for him to vent whenever he was upset would only increase.

If she let him get away with it this time, what would happen next? Every time Emperor Xuanyuan Ling was in a bad mood, he’d come to her to release his frustrations—how was she supposed to live like that?

Shen Qing would never let that happen.

She refused to allow herself to fall into that kind of situation.

Having successfully rescued herself, everything went much smoother afterward. She ate her evening meal when she should, acted sweet and affectionate when it was time, and when they reached the bedchamber, Xuanyuan Ling—rarely—was actually gentle with her.

Shen Qing felt a bit strange inside. This time she hadn’t even begged for mercy, and Xuanyuan Ling hadn’t been as rough as before. He actually paid attention to her feelings. Shen Qing was quite caught off guard by the unexpected kindness.

Had this big pig’s trotter changed his personality?

In truth, Xuanyuan Ling had found her endearing, and after that little prank she played earlier, he suddenly realized Shen Qing was really just a young girl.

He’d come today full of rage, but after her comforting words, he made up his mind to be a bit nicer to her—thus, his gentleness.

Compared to the usual raw intensity, this tenderness had its own charm. Xuanyuan Ling was experiencing something new, and he didn’t dislike it. He even held her close for a long while in quiet intimacy afterward.

He had never felt this way before. Turning his head, he kissed her red lips lightly, and the feeling was incredibly soothing.

Whatever traces of dissatisfaction had remained in his heart vanished completely at that moment.

This tender intimacy utterly took Shen Qing by surprise.

She became curious—what had Xuanyuan Ling gone through before coming to Zhaohua Palace?

It was exhausting just thinking about it. Technically, Shen Qing had the script in hand and should’ve been well aware of the male lead’s personality, but the original novel had portrayed him as deeply mysterious and oddly mechanical—a total tool-like figure. The narrative had always centered around the female lead, Chu Linglong. Throughout the novel, the Emperor merely drifted between various concubines. If something happened today, he’d show up; if something else happened tomorrow, he’d deal with it. Even his romantic relationship with the female lead in the earlier part of the story was later discarded by her, as she concluded that he was only intrigued by her novelty.

So the Emperor in the story always gave off this cliché image of a scheming and sleazy ruler—essentially, a plot device in human form.

Sure, when reading, you could think of him as a tool. But now that Shen Qing was truly interacting with him, she couldn’t treat him like that anymore.

The next day, once Xuanyuan Ling had left, Shen Qing sent Chunhua to find out why the Emperor had been in such a foul mood.

She’d managed to coax him back this time, but that wouldn’t always work. If she could figure out what was upsetting him, she’d at least have a way to prepare in the future.

Naturally, Chunhua didn’t go asking directly. She casually brought it up in conversation, saying how frightening the Emperor had looked when he came to Zhaohua Palace the day before. Such topics were common among palace maids and eunuchs and wouldn’t draw unwanted attention.

Besides, Shen Liangren of Zhaohua Palace was still considered favored at the moment. If Chunhua wanted to know something, people would be eager to help—after all, currying favor was always a good idea.

Chunhua soon returned with the information and reported to Shen Qing:

“They said Her Majesty the Empress Dowager had gone to see His Majesty, and afterward he didn’t even flip any name tags. On the fifteenth, when he went to see the Empress, he was already in a bad mood. Then yesterday, before coming to Your Ladyship’s palace, he went to visit Consort Shun to see the Eldest Prince.”

“If he went to see his child, why was he still in a bad mood afterward?”

Chunhua replied, “The people in Consort Shun’s palace were probably ordered not to speak of what happened. No specific details got out, but afterward, Consort Shun did summon the imperial physician.”

Shen Qing raised an eyebrow.

You don’t summon a doctor for no reason—so was the Eldest Prince sick, and that made Xuanyuan Ling angry?

No, that didn’t make sense. If the Eldest Prince had fallen ill, there would have been official word by now, and Xuanyuan Ling would’ve been summoned much earlier to visit. If Consort Shun had been negligent in caring for the child, Xuanyuan Ling could’ve publicly reprimanded her. There would’ve been at least some rumors going around. So it must’ve been something unspeakable that enraged him.

In the original novel, the Empress Dowager didn’t have much presence—at least not after the female lead Chu Linglong appeared—so Shen Qing wasn’t familiar with her. But now it seemed that the Empress Dowager even involved herself in deciding who the Emperor should sleep with. She clearly wasn’t one to sit idly by.

Xuanyuan Ling was already Emperor, and she was still trying to control him like this. Back when he wasn’t yet Emperor, she must have had an even tighter grip on him.

If we assume Xuanyuan Ling had never truly experienced motherly love, and the Empress Dowager had spent his childhood pushing him to fight for the throne—robbing him of freedom and even arranging his marriage to her own family’s daughter, who became the Empress—and now even as Emperor he was still being told who to spend the night with… then it’s only natural he’d be upset.

So putting all this together, the truth might be: the Empress Dowager ordered the Emperor to sleep with the Empress. He was furious about it. But because Xuanyuan Ling was a man of principle, he did it anyway. Afterward, he was in an even fouler mood. Wanting to see his child to ease his mind, he visited Consort Shun, but perhaps the Eldest Prince was ill, or maybe Consort Shun tried to put on a show for him or did something else that irritated him further. Whatever it was, it just made things worse.

Thinking of all the subtle details in the novel’s portrayal of the Emperor, Shen Qing felt like she might’ve uncovered the truth. If that were the case, no wonder he was so easily coaxed by her afterward.

At the time, she had told him a cheerful story about her father.

Her real intention was just to tease him a little over his clumsy behavior and make him laugh—but it had ended up hitting the mark by accident.

Looking back now, Shen Qing finally understood why Xuanyuan Ling was such a contradictory person.

He was someone who followed the rules meticulously, yet couldn’t stand it when others were too proper. That was why, on that day, he’d liked watching her play shuttlecock—but had still put on a cold and angry act.

Shen Qing finally understood. What a complicated man.

No wonder he had been pretending from the start.

Back when she had first served him in bed, she already thought he was faking. It just went to show that anyone whose psychological issues were written all over their personality probably hadn’t had a happy childhood.

This matter soon passed without causing any waves in the harem. The Empress still appeared as poised and dignified as ever, seemingly unaffected. And soon enough, the Dragon Boat Festival arrived.

According to custom, the palace celebrated festivals too, although the Dragon Boat Festival wasn’t as grand as the New Year or birthdays. It was more of a casual observance, with the Emperor and his concubines gathering together for the occasion.

Shen Qing had previously received a new outfit from the Empress. Wanting to show she had been obedient, she wore this particularly eye-catching attire to attend the Dragon Boat Festival banquet.

The outfit was indeed a bit flashy, and since Shen Qing had always kept a low profile before, she now stood out even more.

Consort Yu’s gaze drifted over to her again.