SWNOVELXO Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Snap.
The candelabra in the hall suddenly burst, and the flame went out. The hall suddenly darkened a few points, and one could hear a pin drop within the surrounding silence. The palace people outside had closed the doors and windows at some point. Outside the window, a few silhouettes disappeared. The nearest candlestick was behind the couch, and the light lengthened Xiao Yan’s silhouette, covering the bright light in front of Gu Yi.
Gu Yi hastily stood up from the couch, “I will go — pick the wick.”
As she rose, Xiao Yan also stood up. “No need.”
The wind passed in front of Gu Yi, and Xiao Yan picked her up in a horizontal hug in the twinkling of an eye. Her cheek was close to the nape of his neck, warm and slightly moist from the bath. Gu Yi moved uncomfortably, touching the smooth satin of the interlocking collars. When Gu Yi’s back fell onto the bed, her heartbeat accelerated even more, her throat tightened, and she couldn’t help but gulp.
“Your …… Majesty –”
This progress is a bit fast, isn’t it?
Xiao Yan saw her pink lips slightly open. His eyes darkened, and he reached to undo the ribbon loosely tied in the middle of her shirt.
Gu Yi shivered like a sieve and couldn’t help but close her eyes. Xiao Yan stopped his hand movements.
She was in fear.
Bang Bang Bang. The hall’s door was knocked abruptly.
“Please, Your Majesty, go and look at Noble Lady. Noble Lady — is not well. Oooh ……” The voice behind the words gradually lowered.
Gu Yi snapped her eyes open while Xiao Yan had already left the bed and walked to the hall door, pulling it open. The palace maid Huaihua, who had come from the main hall of the Xiuyi Hall, broke away from the restraints of the palace guards behind her and kowtowed her head with a thud.
“I beg Your Majesty to go and see Noble Lady Wang. Noble Lady suddenly had pain in her chest in the middle of the night. I beg Your Majesty to take pity on her.”
Xiao Yan laughed coldly in his heart but said, “Then I will go to see Noble Lady Wang.”
A competent palace attendant saw he was thinly clad and prepared regular clothes, which a few palace maids put on for him.
Gu Yi organized her slightly wrinkled sleeve robes before she could walk to the hall entrance. Xiao Yan had already taken a step to go to Noble Lady Wang’s main hall.
Tao Jia’s expression was on the verge of tears: “Beauty, is His Majesty not going to come back?”
Gu Yi, however, asked, “What time is it now?”
Tao Jia: “It’s already past the hour of Haishi (*). The second shift drum has already sounded.”
T/N: 9-11 pm.
She would safely pass three days in less than an hour to go.
Gu Yi paced back and forth at the entrance. Tao Jia asked again, “Beauty, what should we do now? Should we go to the main hall and invite His Majesty back?”
She shook her head, “Since Noble Lady Wang was able to invite His Majesty over, she must have the means to keep him, and with the order of honor and inferiority, I can’t go to the main hall rashly.”
What’s more, her mind was not here at all! There was less than an hour left.
Gu Yi was instantly sleepy, “You close the hall door and light the candles in the hall. I’ll sit on the couch for a while.”
Waiting was always long. Gu Yi neither sat nor stood and let Tao Jia move to a small table, casually taking the inscription to copy. After writing a few words, her heart gradually quieted down.
Clang, clang, clang. The drums of the third watch were beating. Gu Yi’s hand shook, and the brush was deflected, pulling out a long stroke.
Steady, is it?
The joy came so suddenly.
Did I survive the drama?
She put down her pen, stood up from the couch, and looked at herself, all smiles. It’s real and steady!
She laughed, “Tao Jia, serve a glass of wine!”
Celebrate!
Tao Jia advised, “Beauty, the night is so late. It’s better to go to bed early.”
Gu Yi urged, “Go, go. I’ll sleep better this night after drinking the wine.”
Tao Jia poured her a half cup of Flower Wine and thought in her heart that Beauty was perhaps saddened to see His Majesty leave.
Gu Yi drank it in a gulp, took off her cumbersome clothes, and fell asleep. At three-quarters past Maoshi, Noble Lady Wang in the main hall of the Xiuyi Palace was still tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
T/N: 5-7 am
She lifted the light veil, “Huang Li, is His Majesty still here?”
Huang Li replied, “Reply to Your Highness, His Majesty left at Maoshi.”
Noble Lady Wang frowned, “Is His Majesty annoyed with me?”
Huang Li soothed her, “His Majesty left Beauty Gu behind to come and see you. How could he be annoyed with you?”
“Then why did he only come to see me for a single glance before reading the petition?”
Huang Li: “Noble Lady’s heart hurts. His Majesty took pity on you and let you sleep peacefully.”
Noble Lady Wang threw the bed curtain in exasperation, “That little bitch from the Gong clan loved to use this trick every time, but this trick damages your own, so what’s the point of using it!”
Huang Li: “His Majesty has come to see you. Naturally, he has put you in his heart. Isn’t what you ask for?”
Noble Lady Wang twisted her head and said sullenly, “Beauty Gu was born beautiful and lived in my palace. If I don’t press her head now, I won’t be able to turn up the sky in the future.”
“Noble Lady is extremely right!”
Daylight shone through the window pane, and Noble Lady Wang got up, “Isn’t it time to go to Consort Shu’s place today?”
Without the Empress in the palace, the four consorts managed the harem, and Consort Shu’s father was her father’s superior.
Huang Li silently counted the days, “Noble Lady hasn’t been to Caiwei Hall for a while.”
The sky was already bright.
Tao Jia saw Gu Yi still had no intention of getting up, and helplessly walked over to her bed and whispered, “Beauty, it’s already close to the Sushi (*), and in a little while, you’ll miss the breakfast.”
T/N: 9-11 am.
Gu Yi opened her eyes, “What day is today?”
Tao Jia froze momentarily, “Beauty, today is the June 18th.”
Steady!
Gu Yi stretched out her lazy waist and sat in high spirits. She was out of the plot from today and became the brand new Beauty Gu. It was enough to be a nameless, low-key beauty in the Great Mu Dynasty’s harem. Gu Yi can leave the palace after the male lead disperses the six palaces for the female lead and wants to be a lifelong couple. After leaving the palace, she will buy a small courtyard, find a few loyal servants, and be a happy, wealthy woman. Won’t it be beautiful!
Tao Jia saw Gu Yi sitting up and then fidgeting again, thinking she was harboring a grudge over last night’s incident, “In a few days, His Majesty may turn over Beauty’s plaque.”
Last night was still fresh in her mind. No, Xiao Yan should not flip her name again. He was initially a lonely, arrogant, and heartless emperor. All her behavior last night was negligence; furthermore, the Gu family was not great enough to hold the court in check. Xiao Yan wouldn’t flip her name again.
Gu Yi couldn’t say anything to Tao Jia and hummed. “Hurry up and go have breakfast.”
When Tao Jia returned from completing the order, she saw the main hall was empty, with only two palace maidservants guarding the door. She only knew after she asked; Noble Lady Wang went to Caiwei Hall.
Caiwei Hall, at this moment. Consort Shu wore a blue dress with gold cuffs and ten-layer hairpins. She was born beautiful as a flower with a tear mole beside her phoenix eyes. She drank a mouthful of tea and continued to paint on the table. Her tone was soft and gentle, “Noble Lady Wang is still waiting in the flower hall?”
Yuhu, standing aside, replied, “Noble Lady Wang is still there. She drank a pot of tea and sat for two hours.”
Consort Shu smiled, “Let her sit for another two hours, then send her away.”
Yuhu replied.
Yuhu, since childhood, has followed Consort Shu, their relationship more profound than the other palace maidservant; she hesitated for a moment before asking: “Didn’t you say that the selection of officials is imminent and ask Noble Lady Wang to come? Why is it that today, when Noble Lady Wang came, you did not see her?”
Consort Shu laughed, “Why don’t I see her?” She put the brush in her hand into the bamboo rack. “Because she’s stupid. The former dynasty wants to promote officials. Is His Majesty’s meaning not clear enough? The newly appointed Beauties, except Qi Yun, who has the surname Qi, the rest are born from local officials and small families. This means that His Majesty does not want to use the generational families. Last night, Beauty Gu was set as a target. Although Gu Changtong is only the fifth-grade governor, he has a relationship with Qingzhou. In the end, the emperor wants to establish authority and use new people. Noble Lady Wang only thinks about competing favor. Even though I said more to her, what is the use?”
Yuhu tilted her head and thought, “Noble Lady Wang summoned His Majesty away from Beauty Gu in the middle of the night, and the whole palace knows that Beauty Gu’s future will be bad ……”
Consort Shu laughed softly, “The days in this palace, which one has it better ……”
Noble Lady Wang sat in the flower hall until midday before being persuaded to leave by the palace maids of the Caiwei Hall.
“Consort Shu has no time to see Noble Lady today as she copies scriptures. Noble Lady should come back another day.”
Noble Lady Wang held her breath and returned to Xiuyi Hall. She couldn’t help but complain to Huang Li: “What’s so great about her? She always holds an icy, high, and mighty frame. She doesn’t give me a face, and today is even more! She only relies on her surname, Qi! No matter how powerful she is, she’s not favored, ah! I never saw His Majesty called her!”
Huang Li stood aside as a stake, only nodded, and did not speak. Noble Lady Wang was always like this. It was okay if she directed her anger toward other palace ladies, but she couldn’t add fuel for Consort Shu!
Noble Lady Wang gradually felt bored, poured a cup of herbal tea, and casually fiddled with the table in front of the makeup box. She stared at an apricot red hairpin and angrily said: “Where is Huaihua? This hairpin, didn’t I let her send it to the Treasure Department to remake? Why it’s still lying here?”
Huang Li went outside of the hall and asked for a circle. It turned out that Huaihua went out from Xiuyi Hall early in the morning to meet with some sisters. She must have rushed back when Noble Lady Wang returned to the Xiuyi Hall. However, she has yet to come back. Huang Li had to send another palace maidservant to send the hairpin to the Treasure Department.