Chapter 59 – The Emperor Cares About Saving Face

After attending to the Emperor for the night, Shen Qing was naturally sent back as usual. However, this time, when she was sent back, Xuanyuan Ling’s expression was not very pleasant.

Zhao Hai observed this and felt genuinely puzzled.

He truly couldn’t make sense of the situation.

The Emperor had spent the night with her, and he didn’t appear to have reproached her at all. Shouldn’t this be the calm after the storm?

So why was His Majesty still looking displeased?

Had Shen Liangren done something again?

“Go and tell Wang De to remove Shen Liangren’s green nameplate,” the Emperor ordered.

Zhao Hai responded with a puzzled “yes.” He really couldn’t understand it—after all the twists and turns, why was there still this development?

What was the Emperor playing at this time? Surely he wasn’t planning to stop caring about her altogether, right? If he no longer cared, why would he have gone through all that trouble to bring her over last night? At the very least, there was still the matter of pride. Shen Liangren had given the Emperor the cold shoulder, and now that she had softened, shouldn’t the Emperor let her stew for a while to make her feel some fear and ensure she wouldn’t act so boldly again? Wasn’t that what it looked like?

But as soon as she yielded, the Emperor accepted it and brought her back…

At that moment, Zhao Hai suddenly understood.

Ah, so that’s what this was all about.

After two refusals, Shen Qing had finally, officially, attended the Emperor for the night again. There were many eyes watching this closely. The better-informed already knew that Shen Qing had yielded and the Emperor had accepted it. Everyone thought the matter had ended there. But just when things seemed to have settled, the story took another unexpected turn.

Those in the harem who previously thought that Shen Qing could get away with such behavior started wringing their handkerchiefs—only for the Emperor to suddenly remove Shen Qing’s green nameplate.

When the others saw this, they were delighted.

Oh? So she defied the Emperor, and even though she gave in, the Emperor still turned her away?

In the harem, favor was everything. The Emperor personally ordering her green nameplate removed was no different than a death sentence.

The news quickly reached the Empress as well.

The Empress had been keeping an eye on the matter, already suspecting there was more to the Emperor summoning Shen Qing than met the eye. And as expected, the nameplate was now removed.

Jinzhi said, “It seems His Majesty was waiting for Shen Liangren to yield. If she hadn’t done so herself, wouldn’t it have looked like His Majesty lost face?”

“That’s not without reason,” the Empress replied.

Jinzhi added, “His Majesty’s dignity can’t be challenged by a mere Liangren. Now that she’s submitted, the Emperor probably found it meaningless—so he had her nameplate taken down. Shen Liangren’s tantrum this time has truly offended the Emperor.”

The Empress didn’t dwell on it. “If the Emperor says to remove it, then so be it. As for reprimanding her—after this, there’s really no need.”

Jinzhi laughed. “Indeed. Shen Liangren is surely regretting everything now. Relying on a bit of favor, she acted so brazenly. Now she understands—His Majesty holds absolute authority in this palace. If she wanted to serve him well, she’s too late.”

At that moment, countless people in the harem were laughing at Shen Qing behind her back, thinking that she probably couldn’t sleep a wink that night.

Little did they know that Shen Qing, after returning from attending to the Emperor, slept like a baby.

When she woke up, she was starving. It wasn’t until breakfast, when she noticed Chunhua and Fangyun watching her with worried eyes, that she smiled and asked, “What? Worried I’m upset because my green nameplate was removed? I’m not upset. It’s only temporary—so long as the Emperor feels satisfied.”

Chunhua didn’t really understand. “What do you mean, as long as the Emperor feels satisfied?”

Shen Qing chuckled. “I wanted to save face, so I put on a show during the autumn hunt and had people carry me back, letting others laugh at me. In return, I slapped the Emperor in the face. After I did that, wouldn’t the Emperor want to throw a little tantrum himself?”

That was the public explanation. In reality, Xuanyuan Ling being snubbed like that probably did want to restore his pride a bit. But this reaction wasn’t truly a temper tantrum.

In doing so, he not only saved face but also protected her. Otherwise, after all the fuss she caused, if she were still openly favored, how much hatred would she draw?

Shen Qing smiled faintly.

For protecting me this time, I’ll let go of what you did to me back then.

Sometimes, one must learn to let things go. She had achieved what she wanted—now it was time to move on to the next step.

In a good mood, Shen Qing busied herself after breakfast. She was very good at keeping herself occupied, and since entering the palace, she had learned quite a lot.

After all, she had a lot of free time now.

Meanwhile, Xuanyuan Ling was eating his breakfast when he suddenly thought that this whole situation had blown up too much. By removing her green nameplate, he worried some people might seize the chance to kick her while she was down.

“Tell the Imperial Kitchen not to skimp on food for Zhaohua Palace,” Xuanyuan Ling said casually.

Zhao Hai had already figured things out and didn’t look surprised. He nodded immediately. Then Xuanyuan Ling added, “The weather is nice today—let’s take a walk in the Imperial Garden later.”

At this hour?

Zhao Hai found it a little suspicious, but still made the necessary arrangements.

The Imperial Garden was close to Zhaohua Palace, and once the imperial entourage arrived, it was naturally noticed. As Xuanyuan Ling strolled casually through the gardens with only Zhao Hai following behind, Zhao Hai saw Shen Qing appear—pretending to “coincidentally” encounter them.

Upon seeing Xuanyuan Ling, Shen Qing acted as though completely surprised. She stepped forward and bowed gracefully, her voice like honey as she said, “Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Xuanyuan Ling felt his heart melt at the sound.