Chapter 98
The weather grew hotter day by day, and soon it was midsummer.
This summer arrived earlier than usual, humid and sticky. A walk outside would make sweat cling to the body. Zhao Heng hardly ventured outdoors, instead sitting in front of the ice mirror, reading a book. The cooling sensation of the icy air relieved the heat on her body.
She held a muskmelon in one hand, a book in the other, but her mind was elsewhere, listening attentively to the footsteps outside the corridor.
A quarter of an hour ago, Li Wenjian returned from court, sweating profusely, and had just gone to bathe. He was a clean person by nature, but since the last time he kissed her during her morning sickness, he became even more fastidious. Every time he came back from outside, he would bathe and change clothes before meeting her.
Zhao Heng shifted her gaze from the ice mirror to the icy taro cake on it, lost in thought.
Li Wenjian entered the room, the bright light illuminating the hall, with windows half open. The silence was so profound that even the melting ice seemed to make a sound, but the crystal-clear pearls clinking against each other occasionally produced a crisp sound.
Zhao Heng snapped out of her trance as she turned to look at Li Wenjian. Emerging from the bath, he still had a thin layer of mist on him. When he bent down, a droplet of water from his hair fell on her neck.
Zhao Heng smiled gently, reached out to him, and ran her fingers over his palm, asking softly, "I heard you beat someone with a paddle?"
Sitting down next to her, the man's tone was somewhat casual: "I had him stand on the imperial court, to offer advice for the country, seek benefits for the people, and promote the welfare of the world. I didn't have him focus on how many women and children are in my harem."
The child lightly kicked Zhao Heng's belly, making the peonies on her clothes protrude.
Zhao Heng raised her finger and poked him, smiling as she looked at Li Wenjian and said, "The Minister of Rites is responsible for caring for your harem. It's not a major crime like treason or corruption. Just ignore it, there's no need to get angry in public."
Li Wenjian raised an eyebrow and looked over, not saying a word.
With her belly too big, sitting in one position for too long made Zhao Heng's lower back ache. She propped herself up with her hand and thought of moving to the chaise lounge.
Li Wenjian reached out to support her shoulders, placed a soft pillow behind her, then leaned down and gently pressed his ear against her abdomen, sighing, "You heard it, your mother is speaking up for unrelated people, not for me."
Zhao Heng picked up a nearby handkerchief, draped it over the nape of his neck, and wiped his half-dried hair, saying, "I'm not speaking up for him, I just don't want you to get angry over such a trivial matter."
The Minister of Rites presented a document for Li Wenjian to marry the Crown Princess as soon as possible. He was so angry that he took the person who submitted the document out to be beaten publicly.
With no one in his harem, she couldn't be happier, so why would she be speaking up for him?
Li Wenjian raised his head, leaned in front of her, and looked at her for a moment before calmly stating, "So you still can't bear to part with me."
Blushing, Zhao Heng nodded after a moment, wrapping her hands around his neck and arms, saying earnestly, "Your Highness is the best in the world, of course, I can't bear to part with you, not even a single finger."
Li Wenjian's face lit up with a brilliant smile, holding Zhao Heng's hand and repeatedly kissing the back of her hand, saying, "I am yours, not even a single strand of hair will be given to others."
*
Ye Chaoyang stood in a corner of the courtyard, frowning at the account book on the table. Qiyu walked over with tea from behind, but she remained in place, deep in thought.
"Did His Highness really say that?" she asked incredulously, glancing at Qiyu.
"Yes," Qiyu replied, glancing at Ye Chaoyang before quickly lowering her eyes, whispering, "His Highness did indeed say that the affairs of the Bureau of Benevolence are all entrusted to Lady Liangyuan, I mean, she is now Lady Liangdi. In the future, if the young lady has any issues, she should report to her."
Initially, Ye Chaoyang believed that the Crown Prince had never taken a consort over the years out of purity. Suddenly, he showed affection for a palace maid only on a whim. Yet this palace maid swiftly rose to prominence, from a maid to Lady Liangdi, and now she was pregnant, likely the mother of the Emperor's heir.
Last year, upon learning that the Crown Prince had chosen Zhaoxun, Ye Chaoyang eagerly returned to the capital, hoping to vie for the position of the Crown Princess.
In the capital, there were few women with a reputation, family background, beauty, and talent suitable for this role.
She thought that with the Crown Prince's selection of Zhaoxun, the position of Crown Princess was not far off.
She patiently waited, often seeking opportunities to enter the palace to create a chance to meet the Crown Prince. But overnight, the Crown Prince seemed to have changed, and all the special treatments she had before were gone. He no longer summoned her for an audience, nor invited her to the palace banquets.
She sought reasons to visit the Eastern Palace many times, but he dismissed her lightly each time.
Meanwhile, the woman accompanied him every day and was carrying his child.
He took her to a wedding banquet at a minister's house and doted on her utmost at the banquet. To this day, the noble ladies in the capital are full of envy when they mention that scene.
The Empress also handed over the management of palace affairs to her. In a recent court session, the Crown Prince also harshly punished the Minister of Rites who submitted the memorial to establish the Crown Princess.
Could His Highness have feelings for that palace maid?
Ye Chaoyang stood still, her mind going blank for a moment, then flooded with a myriad of thoughts. It was impossible; in her eyes, the Crown Prince was like a divine figure, how could he descend to worldly matters and become entangled with a laundry maid?
The moonlight shone coolly as Ye Chaoyang lifted her skirt and walked back into the house.
*
At the end of summer, the Prince of Beihai and the Princess came to the capital to pay their respects. Li Wenjian purposely skipped the morning court session to go out of the city to greet them.
Beihai was the first friendly country to sign a treaty with the Dongli established by the ancestors of the Emperor, symbolizing a gesture of great importance.
It was still early morning, and the insects were chirping outside the palace. As the weather wasn't as hot, Li Wenjian had removed some of the ice mirrors, waking up Zhao Heng.
It wasn't supposed to be this hot, Zhao Heng opened her eyes to find Li Wenjian holding her in his arms. Feeling hot, she pushed his arms away, and he groggily opened his eyes. She picked up the fan on the bedside table and waved it towards him.
A cool breeze blew, clearing Li Wenjian's mind. He took the fan from her and fanned her to cool down.
âWhy did you sneakily hug me in the middle of the night and make me feel hot?â Zhao Heng clumsily sat up, leaning lazily against the soft pillow on the bedhead.
Li Wenjian, still a bit sleepy, also sat up, wiping the sweat from her forehead and fanning her, saying, âYou were the one who put your leg over me first.â
Blushing, Zhao Heng hesitated before retorting, âWhy didn't you move it away?â
"Next time," Li Wenjian nodded gently, leaning in to lock her in his arms, saying seriously, "Next time, if you put your leg over me, I will definitely move it away."
Perhaps hearing noise inside the hall, a eunuch reported through the door, "Your Highness, the Ministry of Rites is ready to depart. They are waiting for you outside the palace gates."
Li Wenjian returned the fan to Zhao Heng and straightened her nightgown, saying, "If you're tired, rest for a while longer. I'll take you to see the Beihai dancers tonight."
Looking up at him, Zhaohe asked, "Xiao Ning said the Beihai dancers perform belly dancing. Is that true?"
Li Wenjian's ears reddened slightly as he looked at Zhao Heng's face earnestly. In the end, he didn't fall for it and lightly flicked her nose with his finger, saying, "I don't know, I've never seen it."
He got up to change his clothes behind the screen, and before leaving, he instructed Lian Zhou to watch over Zhao Heng.
Approaching the due date, the imperial physician said that in order to facilitate childbirth when the time comes, Zhao Heng should be active every day to prevent the baby from being too large and difficult to deliver.
It was still quite hot in the late summer, with only the mornings and evenings being slightly cooler. Li Wenjian would take her out for a walk in the morning and evening every day.
This morning, with him not around, she slept in lazily, enjoying the coolness before snuggling back into the warm bed for a refreshing nap.
She slept until nearly noon before waking up.
At noon, Li Wenjian would accompany the Prince of Beihai for lunch, and in the evening, he would host a banquet at Xiyuan to welcome the Prince of Beihai and his entourage.
Lian Zhou brought the lunch, but she had little appetite and only ate a few bites before deciding to take a short rest.
However, before she returned to the sleeping hall, she heard that Lady Ye Chaoyang wanted to see her.
Zhao Heng did not have much interaction with Lady Ye Chaoyang, and they had hardly ever met. As she pondered why Lady Ye Chaoyang would want to see her, Lin Mama said, "Lady Ye Chaoyang mentioned that she came specifically to deliver the account book of the Charity Bureau for your review."
Zhao Heng nodded and instructed Lian Zhou to serve tea first, tidy up a bit, and then go see her.
Lady Ye Chaoyang, with a heavy heart, kept her head down. She usually could endure a lot, but as she entered the room close to Li Wenjian, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
Lost in thought, Zhao Heng, with her pregnant belly, was helped into the hall by Lian Zhou.
Lady Ye Chaoyang looked up at the figure and saw Zhao Heng approaching gracefully, her elevated belly not diminishing her grace in the slightest, just as charming as before.
But no, she now even had a few more unique charms than before, moving calmly and elegantly, reflecting vast blue waves in her eyes. A gentle glance from her made one feel her tenderness.
Accustomed to pregnant women becoming unwieldy, Lady Ye Chaoyang couldn't help but feel it was unfair, holding back the sourness in her heart, her fingertips hurting as she clenched the fan, bending her knees to greet her, "Greeting, Lady Liangdi."
Zhao Heng smiled and asked her to rise, then picked up the account book and began to review it.
Lady Ye Chaoyang had worked hard over the years to establish a good reputation. When the empress consigned someone to manage the Charity Bureau, she volunteered. After several years, the account book was clear and detailed, but there was nothing significant to see.
As Zhao Heng reviewed the account book, Lady Ye Chaoyang looked at the young woman beside her.
"I heard that the Prince of Beihai and the princess visited the palace today."
Thinking of Li Wenjian's opinion of her, Zhao Heng suddenly closed the account book, picked up the teacup, and took a sip of warm water. "Before, County Princess Ye Chaoyang brought this account book to the Eastern Palace several times. His Highness has clearly instructed you to hand it over to the Ministry of Revenue. Why do you keep bringing it back? What exactly are you planning?"
Ye Chaoyang was slightly stunned by the straightforwardness of her words. She paused, steadied her mind, and gently shook the fan, with the pearl tassels in her hair swaying lightly.
She added a smile to her lips, "Lady, I came today to see you indeed. But I have no ill intentions. I just have something to tell you."
Zhao Heng put down the teacup and lightly tapped her waist with a clenched fist before turning to face Lady Ye Chaoyang. "Speak."
"Many years ago, the Princess of Beihai, Duan Cunxin, had deep feelings for His Highness. During their last visit to the Dongli, she even publicly declared her love for His Highness." She continued calmly, "This Duan Cunxin Princess has always been devoted to His Highness. Although she was rejected, she remains steadfast in her love and has yet to marry. The King of Beihai dotes on this daughter the most and is very distressed by her. This visit to the capital is to seek the position of Crown Princess for Princess Duan Cunxin during the signing of the Seaway Alliance."
Her words struck Zhao Heng like a thunderbolt on a winter night. She looked at Lady Ye Chaoyang in astonishment.
After months of gloomy emotions, even Lady Ye Chaoyang's mood was slightly relieved at this moment. A smile appeared on her face as she looked at Zhao Heng's pale face with interest.
"Lady, I thought you arrived in the palace late and didn't know about His Highness's past. I was afraid that when the decree suddenly comes, you should be prepared in advance. So I wanted to give you a warning."
She waited to see her panic, helplessness, and confusion, hoping she would become arrogant and cause a scene with His Highness, causing trouble for Duan Cunxin and the King of Beihai, even affecting the relationship between the two countries, and making it difficult for His Highness to protect her.
Zhao Heng felt a slight pain in her abdomen for a moment, but it was only a moment of distraction. She stared at Lady Ye Chaoyang and said firmly, "The Eastern Palace is not the Ye Chaoyang family's backyard. You haven't even set foot in the Eastern Palace, worrying about these things seems rather ridiculous."
Returning the account book to Lady Ye Chaoyang, Zhao Heng stood up and walked to her, whispering, "When Lady Ye Chaoyang can enter the Eastern Palace, then come and remind me again."
This statement pierced Lady Ye Chaoyang's heart like a needle. Her face reddened for a moment, but she had to force a smile, saying, "Lady Liangdi, you misunderstood..."
Zhao Heng looked at her insincere face, let out a cold laugh, and walked away with a flick of her sleeve.
âââ
The author has something to say:
Li Wenjian: Ah, who is this Lady Ye Chaoyang again?