Chapter 44: Hidden Motives

Night fell. Palace servants and eunuchs carried lanterns, moving silently through the corridors, and the imperial palace was hushed.

Zichen Hall.

Fang Rui had already changed clothes and was preparing to leave the palace to meet Shen Yu at night, when Rong Tai’s voice came from outside the hall, “Your Majesty, Consort He has arrived, she’s already outside Zichen Hall.”

The hand that had been tucking the wrapped little booklet into his bosom froze. After a moment’s thought he took the wrapped booklet back out and placed it under the pillow.

“What is she coming for?”

Rong Tai outside the hall replied, “The servants behind Consort He are carrying a stew pot, it seems she has brought Your Majesty a late-night meal.”

Fang Rui smiled, a teasing curl at his lips. “Dinner barely ended an hour ago and already she’s bringing me a late-night snack?”

Everyone could see that this whole thing wasn’t about the stew itself, but an attempt directed at him.

Consort He appeared steadier than Consort Li, but her actions were even less effective than Consort Li’s.

Consort He was the Empress Dowager’s niece, Consort Li was a niece as well. Both were his cousins, yet there was not an ounce of genuine affection between them. For them, who became empress and whose son ascended the throne mattered most.

He called toward the hall entrance, “Let her wait in the front hall.”

Only after changing his clothes did he leave the bedchamber.

When Consort He saw Fang Rui approaching, she hurried forward, kowtowed slightly toward him, and said softly, “Your Majesty, I pay my respects.”

This time Consort He’s attire was much plainer and more elegant than the night she sat in Zichen Hall for most of the night before. Her coiffure had only a few simple pearl-and-silver hair ornaments.

Fang Rui entered the hall, took his seat, and waved his sleeve at Consort He. “No need for formalities.”

After being excused, Consort He took the tray from her servant and set it before Fang Rui, saying, “Your Majesty has been handling state affairs tirelessly of late and must be exhausted, so I personally prepared a tonic stew for Your Majesty to replenish your body.” Saying that, she placed the tray on Fang Rui’s table and then brought out the stew pot.

A faint aroma wafted out. Fang Rui glanced at the stew pot and his gaze swept past Consort He’s hands, which were sheathed in protective covers.

Her fingers were pale and smooth, hands that clearly never done any household chores, yet the stew appeared to be made “personally”… He suspected only the ingredients had been placed by her.

Fang Rui knew there were tricks hidden in this, but he kept his expression steady and smiled, “Consort He, you are most thoughtful.”

Consort He knelt and began ladling the stew, a hint of feminine bashfulness in her voice, “If Your Majesty finds the taste acceptable, I could prepare stew for Your Majesty every day.”

Fang Rui’s mouth twitched imperceptibly. Every day? She wasn’t afraid of what it’ll do, but he was afraid of drinking himself to exhaustion or worse from consuming too much.

She brought the filled bowl before Fang Rui. “Your Majesty, please try it.”

Fang Rui glanced at the steaming stew, then looked up at Consort He and smiled slightly, “Then I shall properly test Consort He’s skill.”

Fang Rui took the bowl, stirred with the spoon a few times before tasting. The moment the stew hit his palate, he immediately recognized it as the work of Liu, the imperial kitchen’s chef.

Having someone else cook and then claiming it as one’s own handiwork wasn’t a problem, provided one wasn’t exposed. Once exposed, it became awkward indeed.

Fang Rui drank only a few mouthfuls before setting the bowl down.

Consort He, seeing him put the bowl down, grew anxious and asked cautiously, “Your Majesty, is it not to your taste?”

Fang Rui shook his head and explained, “The flavor is almost on par with the imperial kitchen’s chef, how could it be bad? It’s just that I only recently finished dinner and my stomach is still full, so I can’t drink more.”

It wasn’t that Fang Rui couldn’t drink more. He simply dared not. The stew had been laced with a drug, so one more mouthful would mean more danger.

Consort He gave a strained smile at his words, but inside she was frantic. She didn’t know if drinking so little was enough or even whether this drug worked.

Fang Rui had tasted the stew, and by right Consort He should have taken her leave. Instead she stood there and said to Fang Rui, “Your Majesty, you have labored hard today. Why not let me massage your shoulders and ease your fatigue?”

Normally Fang Rui would have sneered at such a suggestion, but tonight was different. When the servants brought in the stew, Fang Rui’s nose had already detected something amiss. There was more to the stew. He had intended to send Consort He away, but upon smelling it he changed his mind and planned to use her scheme against her.

“Had Consort He not mentioned it, I wouldn’t have felt any shoulder ache. Now that you’ve mentioned it, it does feel a bit sore,” Fang Rui said, pretending to rub his neck, making it seem as if he truly had a stiff neck.

Consort He smiled and moved behind Fang Rui. Her soft, boneless-feeling hands rested on his shoulders and when she squeezed, Fang Rui felt goosebumps rise all over his body.

He was perhaps a peculiar imperial type: in his previous life he kept away from women and rarely approached them, so whenever one came too close he felt uneasy. Perhaps because of Shen Yu’s deep influence, he’d given himself the mental suggestion that he was a passive man who only liked men. Over time he had come to treat women as monsters, while men were easier to get along with.

It went without saying that when he discovered Shen Yu was a woman, he inwardly felt as if he’d coughed up a great vat of blood with his last breath.

Shen Yu had misled him and had done so for a full ten years. He truly felt like a blind fool.

Suppressing his inner discomfort, he realized Consort He wasn’t merely massaging his shoulders. She was clearly seducing him, except she had simply chosen the wrong person to seduce.

Her hand turned slightly, the palm angled as it slid slowly down along his spine over his clothing. Her voice grew even softer, tinged with a numbing sensuousness, “Your Majesty, does it feel good?”

Sitting upright, Fang Rui’s gaze suddenly went cold. A wicked heat seemed to flare within him. He raised his hand and abruptly seized Consort He’s roaming hand, his tone icy, “Consort He, what do you think you’re doing?”

Consort He, even with her hand caught, did not give up. “Of course I’m helping Your Majesty relax and loosen your muscles.”

At her words Fang Rui suddenly pulled hard and released the hand. Consort He was yanked out unexpectedly, stumbled several steps before regaining her balance, her face draining of color as she cried in alarm, “Your Majesty, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

At Consort He’s innocent question, Fang Rui suddenly swept the tray on the table, along with the stew pot and bowls and spoons, onto the floor. They struck the ground with a loud bang.

Fang Rui’s expression was terrifying, his temper flared unexpectedly. Consort He, guilty as a thief, stepped back several paces. Seeing the shattered porcelain on the floor, she grew intensely nervous. Could His Majesty have found out?!

The loud noise echoed through the hall and Rong Tai immediately rushed in. Seeing that His Majesty was unharmed and there was only broken porcelain, he realized there was no major emergency and stood aside.

Fang Rui rose, his presence overpowering, and shouted angrily, “What audacity!”

At his words, Consort He widened her eyes, clenched her hands into fists until her nails dug into her flesh, gritting her teeth in extreme anxiety.

Fang Rui said to Rong Tai, “Fetch the imperial physician!”

At the mention of the imperial physician, Consort He was thrown into panic. Realizing her scheme had been exposed, she suddenly knelt before Fang Rui and begged tearfully, “Your Majesty, I know I’ve done wrong, please spare me this time.”

Fang Rui walked to Consort He’s side, looked down at her from above, and said coldly, “Don’t take me for a fool.”

Perhaps in his last life he had been a fool. If he continued to be one in this life, then it would truly be a wasted existence.

Consort He closed her eyes, utterly despondent. She had taken a gamble and had lost everything.

When Consort He knelt, Rong Tai did not fetch the imperial physician. Fang Rui, seething with anger, commanded Rong Tai, “Have Consort He taken back to Manchun Hall. Without my permission she must not set foot outside Manchun Hall even one step!”

Because the aphrodisiac and medicine in the stew were in small amounts and Fang Rui had only taken a few sips, he only felt a slight heat in his body. He had cold water prepared and quickly took a cold bath, which quelled that wicked heat.

Once the heat subsided, he couldn’t wait to take the little booklet and leave the palace to look for Shen Yu again.