20demayo Chapter 78
Chapter 78
at that time, when she, this considerate and gentle flower of understanding, takes advantage of the situation, would she still fear consort shu's gray and faded moonlight obscured by dark clouds?
it may seem that consort shu has won for now, but the emperor's thoughts may not necessarily be on her.
in jingren palace—
after examining consort shu and confirming her pregnancy was stable, the imperial physician worriedly said, "consort shu, your worries and melancholy are extremely harmful for a pregnant woman. your fetus is still small, and if this continues, i fear it may harm the imperial child. i will prescribe some medicine to stabilize the pregnancy and help you sleep. please try not to think too much in the future."
"imperial physician, please follow me. i will grind the ink for you."
only consort shu lying on the bed, the xuanwu emperor sitting beside her, and wang dequan standing behind the emperor remained in the bedchamber.
after the imperial physician finished reporting his diagnosis, the xuanwu emperor remained motionless, his gaze not on consort shu at all, but staring absent-mindedly at the pale blue bed curtains, his thoughts drifting somewhere unknown.
seeing this, consort shu coughed lightly. the xuanwu emperor, coming back to his senses, blinked and pushed away the tearful face in his mind. he tucked the thin blanket around consort shu and said, "did you hear what the imperial physician said? don't overthink things. give birth to a beautiful little princess for me soon."
he hoped consort shu would have a little princess because if it were a prince, things would become very complicated.
consort shu's eyes were gentle, her whole being radiating maternal light: "i also hope it's a little princess."
she was telling the xuanwu emperor that her heart was always with him.
"just now..."
the xuanwu emperor wanted to ask consort shu what had happened in kunning palace earlier, why concubine zhen had been beaten.
but after some thought, he realized the dowager empress was taking revenge for consort shu, and consort shu had been present but didn't speak up to plead for concubine zhen.
it wouldn't be fair to concubine zhen to ask consort shu about this.
consort shu's eyes moved subtly as she reached out to hold the xuanwu emperor's hand: "your majesty, concubine zhen was injured today, but your aunt didn't mean to do it. you and she are still mother and son after all—blood is thicker than water! concubine zhen also wouldn't want you to be at odds with your aunt, inviting others' criticism. for the sake of me and concubine zhen, please don't be angry with your aunt, alright?"
she was clever enough not to defend the dowager empress or expose jiang xinyue's act.
firstly, she had no evidence, and secondly, even if she said something, the emperor wouldn't believe her.
in that moment of distraction, the emperor must have been thinking of concubine zhen!
had she truly... not lost?
hah!
men!
she had clearly done it on purpose.
in this harem, besides the emperor, who else would dare to caress a consort's face like that?
she had struck at the xuanwu emperor, this fickle, indecisive pig's trotter of a man.
while inwardly scoffing, her body obediently nestled into the emperor's embrace: "why has your majesty come? earlier today in the imperial garden, didn't you say consort shu had a stomachache?"
at the mention of consort shu, the xuanwu emperor felt a moment of discomfort. he knew he owed concubine zhen a great deal, but for the sake of his youthful love, he had made concubine zhen suffer.
consort shu wasn't actually unwell; it was just that since becoming pregnant, her emotions were more volatile. seeing him with concubine zhen made her jealous, and when jealous, she complained of discomfort everywhere, demanding his company.
this was the first time consort shu had openly expressed her love for him. he should have been happy.
but for some reason, his mind kept replaying images of concubine zhen's enchanting face.
if she knew he liked consort shu, if she knew consort shu liked him too...
that... that foolish woman, how heartbroken would she be?
so he hadn't responded to consort shu's confession, fleeing from jingren palace in a panic, unconsciously making his way to hexi palace.
at the palace gates, he hesitated, wavering for a long time before entering.
concubine zhen in his arms nestled into his embrace like a fledgling returning to its nest. this woman loved him deeply and singlemindedly from the bottom of her heart.
he shouldn't have hesitated! he shouldn't have been so indecisive!
he feared that his attitude had already hurt jiang xinyue, so he deliberately explained to her: "i became the crown prince at the age of thirteen, and throughout my life, anything i wanted was presented to me with both hands. but i understood from a young age that love alone cannot be forced. in my youth, my mother did not love me, nor did consort shu. after i ascended the throne and destroyed the wu family, both my mother and consort shu had to rely on me. to this day, i can no longer distinguish between their true feelings and pretense."
the xuanwu emperor sighed, stroking jiang xinyue's long black hair: "yue'er, only today have i truly seen my own heart clearly. the one i... the one i have feelings for... has always been you."
has always been...
this "always" is very much worth pondering over.