The Perilous Palace Dream - Chapter 114
Chapter 114
After removing her crane-fur cloak, Nie Qinglin took a three-tiered lacquer food container adorned with gold-painted orchids from Nanny Shan.
She placed it on a small jade table and said, “I heard the Grand Tutor has a poor appetite. I personally went to the kitchen to prepare a few dishes and hope you will do me the honor of tasting them.”
She then removed several exquisite dishes from the container, arranging them one by one.
Back in the palace, with the help of imperial chefs and maids, the Princess’s culinary skills flourished with ease.
The food she presented was a perfect harmony of color, aroma, and taste.
Amidst the rising steam, the Grand Tutor became more magnanimous, standing up to slowly walk over.
The maids and nannies in the study withdrew, leaving Nie Qinglin to hold the ivory chopsticks and serve him.
He remained silent.
He watched as she placed a piece of braised squab onto his plate, yet he did not move his own utensils.
Instead, he narrowed his eyes and watched her.
Princess Yong’an naturally understood his meaning.
She bit her lip slightly, picked up the meat, and brought it to his mouth.
Only then did the Grand Tutor open his mouth, taking the meat in to chew slowly and swallow.
“A bit bland,” he said suddenly.
“I see. Next time I shall add half a spoonful more salt.”
Both seemed unwilling to mention the conflict from a few days ago.
After this lukewarm exchange, the conversation began to flow smoothly.
Once the Grand Tutor finished the small dishes and rinsed his mouth with tea, he naturally took the Princess’s delicate hands into his own to check for any cuts from a kitchen knife.
Then, with a natural pull, he finally kissed the ruby red lips he had wanted to claim since she entered the room.
Perhaps because she was fond of treats, she had eaten an orange before arriving.
Her soft lips carried a citrus fragrance, prompting him to suckle deeply and entwine his tongue with hers.
Following the kiss, the beauty’s breathing became erratic.
She slumped weakly into his embrace and was easily lifted by his iron arms.
They entered the inner chamber of the study.
This time, however, he did not take her to the soft couch.
He went straight to a large desk, partially unrobing her and laying her across the surface to reveal her smooth, white back.
Feeling shy, Nie Qinglin tried to rise, but Wei Lenghou held her down.
He picked up a fine brush and began sketching with ink upon her back, tracing a plum branch laden with budding blossoms.
The cool, soft tip of the brush gliding over her skin caused her to tremble uncontrollably, creating a scene of intoxicating beauty.
“Grand Tutor, what are you doing?”
Wei Lenghou chuckled softly.
“Since the Princess went to the trouble of cooking, I have no way to repay you other than gifting you a plum branch through my calligraphy.”
Nie Qinglin, annoyed that he had come up with a new trick, whispered, “Grand Tutor is being mischievous again. If you paint it on my back, who is supposed to admire it?”
Having finished his strokes, the Grand Tutor lowered his head close to her tender ear.
“Do not worry, Princess. I shall paint the front soon enough. Since there are already two delicate blossoms there, I only need to add a few branches. It saves me quite some effort.”
Nie Qinglin blinked, immediately understanding his suggestive meaning.
Flushed with shame, she tried to pull her clothes together and sit up, but his large palm gently held her in place.
“The fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold. The beauty of these cold flowers requires a bit of wind and rain to bloom. Once the Princess breaks into a fragrant sweat and the ink is diluted by it, only then will the painting be truly finished and worthy of your eyes.”
He helped her sit up, making her support her body with her hands behind her, and proceeded to loosen his own robes.
He intended to face her directly to create that “wind and rain.”
The posture was quite embarrassing, yet he leaned into her crimson ear, his breath heavy as he whispered, “Princess, do not move around, or you will smudge the fresh ink.”
—
When the mischief finally ended, Nie Qinglin felt her arms go limp from exhaustion.
However, the plum blossoms on her front, soaked with sweat, truly looked as if they were blooming in the wind.
The skill of the Great Wei’s most talented scholar was indeed not to be underestimated.
After she straightened her clothes and was carried to the couch to rest, she leaned against his broad chest.
“Yesterday, I visited the Empress,” she said softly.
“The tears on her face were not yet dry. Though she is pregnant, she has not gained weight and has grown even thinner. She mentioned that the second young master of the Wei household went to apologize, but they had a disagreement and parted on bad terms. He has not returned since. I wonder what your intentions are?”
The Grand Tutor played idly with a lock of her hair, winding it around his finger.
“Since she carries the blood of the Wei family, she must naturally give birth.”
Nie Qinglin held her breath and waited, but when no further words came, her heart went cold.
She knew the Grand Tutor had no affection for Shen Hong’er and had harbored murderous intent several times.
This current statement suggested he intended to keep the child and discard the mother.
Anxious, she continued, “I ask the Grand Tutor to have some compassion for Empress Shen. Her life has been bitter, and she has kept to her duties in the palace. If she could be given a stable home, it would clear a debt in my heart.”
Wei Lenghou released her hair, his tone showing a hint of impatience.
“Why do you always mention her? You do not ask how I have been feeling these past few days. Did you cook those dishes today just to bribe me into speaking for the Empress?”
Seeing his displeasure, Nie Qinglin bit her lip.
“My misunderstanding of you a few days ago was entirely my fault. I was too embarrassed to see you because I had made such a fool of myself. Today, I heard from Eunuch Ruan that your digestion was poor and your lunch was too oily, so I prepared something palatable to apologize. Fortunately, the Grand Tutor is a great man who does not hold a grudge against a small person like me.”
Hearing her flattery, Wei Lenghou snorted.
She watched his expression and added, “It is only because the Empress’s background is similar to mine. We both lost our parents young. Now that she is pregnant in such a scandalous way, I cannot help but feel a sense of shared sorrow. I would feel better if she had a good destination.”
Wei Lenghou understood.
She felt like a puppet living under someone else’s thumb, just like the Empress.
He reached out and lifted her chin, whispering unhappily, “You underestimate yourself. How are you anything like that unlucky woman? You have me, so you have no need for parents or anyone else. From head to toe, you are my treasure. How could I bear to let you suffer? But that Empress has a peculiar status and a difficult temperament. She is unmatched in her ability to cause trouble. Even if Ah Zhi wanted to marry her, I as his elder brother would be the first to refuse. If such a woman entered our household, it would be chaotic within days. It would surely ruin our parents’ health.”
Nie Qinglin thought to herself that he was merely being argumentative.
In terms of upsetting parents, the Grand Tutor was second to none.
However, she could not say that.
She could only lean into him and say softly, “Shen Hong’er was raised in a scholarly family. Though she lacks judgment at times, she is not bad at heart. I hope you can give her a proper status. Otherwise, once the Emperor ‘passes away,’ how will she survive in the palace?”
For any other matter, the Grand Tutor would have yielded, but this concerned his brother’s future.
Remembering how Shen Hong’er had once defied him, he found the idea of such a sister-in-law stifling.
If his brother did not mind her plain looks, she could perhaps be a concubine.
Still, he did not want to upset the beauty in his arms over the young Empress.
One must know that after flinging his sleeves and departing that day, the Grand Tutor had been filled with regret upon returning to his manor that night.
He wondered why he had not simply followed the flow and stayed.
At that time, the beauty was full of guilt, and her posture would have been even softer and more yielding.
How much more pleasure could he have found by applying a few more methods to tease and toy with her? Yet he had left in a heat of impulse, which was truly a great tactical error.
He then spoke perfunctorily, “This is the major matter of Ah Zhi’s lifelong happiness. If he is unwilling himself, I as an elder brother cannot force his head down to drink. I will mention this matter to Ah Zhi, but whether he is willing or not is entirely his own business.”
After speaking, the Grand Tutor shifted the topic.
He excitedly brought over the newly drawn architectural plans for the palace and displayed them for Nie Qinglin to see.
“The style of the original sleeping quarters is quite ancient. Entering the hall always gives off a sense of decay, so it naturally cannot be used as the palace for our grand wedding. Therefore, I sent men early on to survey the empty grounds in the palace. We shall demolish the original Fenghe Palace and build a new residence. Do you think this style is good?”
Nie Qinglin finally realized why she had seen clouds of dust rising from the northern corner of the palace several days ago.
However, as she looked at the magnificent palace on the scrolls, her expression remained indifferent without a trace of joy or anticipation.
She moved her lips as if to say something but swallowed her words.
Since Empress Xiao Shen’s future was not yet settled, it was better not to speak and provoke the overbearing man behind her.
Wei Lenghou originally thought that if he brushed the matter aside, it would suffice.
Once Shen Hong’er finished giving birth, the infant would be taken out of the palace and brought back to the Wei manor.
At that time, they would simply claim the child was born to a poor fisherwoman his brother had befriended, and that the mother had died during a difficult labor.
Even if their father raised a staff to beat and scold Ah Zhi, the matter would be settled.
Unexpectedly, a few days later, his younger brother Wei Yunzhi suddenly came running to him.
It was as if his mind had been scrubbed clean with soap.
He was extremely determined to marry the Empress and begged his elder brother to grant his blessing.
Wei Lenghou also firmly expressed that he would not allow it and told his brother to drop the idea.
To his surprise, after some more time had passed, a personal letter from the Master of the Wei Family was delivered to him.
The general meaning of the letter was a harsh scolding of Wei Lenghou for becoming a snob.
Not only had he abandoned his childhood sweetheart and cousin to marry a Princess, but he was also forcing his younger brother to be a social climber.
Ah Zhi was close with the illegitimate daughter of a concubine from the household of the great scholar Shen Gongliang, and she was pregnant.
Yet, the elder brother despised the decline of the Shen family and was cruelly obstructing a couple in love, forcing his own brother to be a man who abandoned his responsibilities.
Such heartless actions were unworthy of a family member.
The letter requested that the Marquis of Dingguo of Great Wei personally return to the ancestral hall to strike his name from the genealogy, lest the common origins of a merchant family burden the gold plated status of the Grand Tutor.
If the Grand Tutor could not see who was the mastermind behind this by now, his brain would have to be replaced by that of a pig.
Naturally, he went to the Fengchu Palace and found the instigator who had caused the rift between the Wei father and son, pinning her to the bed to punish her severely.
However, since she had gone to such great lengths to fabricate an identity for Shen Hong’er as the illegitimate daughter of the Shen family’s sixth master, and his brother acted like a man who had never seen a woman before, he was happy to be free of the burden and said no more.
Thus, in the second year of the Jiahe reign of Great Wei, less than a month after the winter solstice, Empress Duanrou of the Wei Palace contracted a cold and passed away suddenly.
In the midst of his grief, the Emperor suggested that the nation and its people needed rest and recuperation.
He declared that the imperial mourning should not disturb the marriages and births of the commoners, thus waiving the national mourning period and keeping everything simple.
Less than half a month later, the second young master of the Wei household was to hold his wedding.
The Wei family engaged in trade but inevitably had dealings with officialdom.
If they did not send invitations, it would be a breach of etiquette.
Although Empress Xiao Shen rarely appeared in public, many ministers had seen her.
Even with a bridal veil on the wedding day, it was not entirely safe.
Finally, it was decided that the wedding would not be held in the Central Plains but would be moved overseas.
Wei Yunzhi sent crates of dowry and betrothal gifts to the former residence of the great scholar Shen Gongliang.
The lavish scale of the gifts drew gasps of admiration from everyone.
The impoverished Shen household actually earned several times the value of their family assets just by marrying off an illegitimate daughter.
The phrase “One should raise a daughter like a daughter of the Shen family” became a popular saying in the streets for a time.
The day before Shen Hong’er boarded the ship for the sea, Nie Qinglin took a sedan chair to the Shen manor to congratulate the “sixth brother” on marrying off his daughter.
As the “former husband,” she naturally had to show her well wishes, so she prepared several sets of exquisite headpieces in boxes and delivered them personally.
“This trip involves going to sea, and you are pregnant. The boat will inevitably be bumpy. I had Physician Wei prepare effective medicine for seasickness according to your pulse. It has been pressed into medicinal leaves. If you feel dizzy or nauseous, just place one leaf under your tongue, and you will naturally feel much more stable and comfortable,” Nie Qinglin said, handing a small medicine box inlaid with tourmaline to Shen Hong’er.
Shen Hong’er looked at the smiling Princess before her, and her eyes could not help but sting with tears.
“Back then, the Shen family sent me into the palace to accompany the Emperor and relieve his worries. It is regrettable that Hong’er was useless. Not only did I fail to relieve the Emperor’s worries, but I added more chaos. Now I have burdened the Emperor with telling a massive lie to the world. How can Hong’er ever compensate for such a sin?”
Nie Qinglin smiled slightly and said, “It was I who involved you in the first place, so why are you trying to take the blame? In my view, this is a perfect conclusion. Wei Yunzhi is not as filthy as you think. This fate was forged because he drank something that clouded his mind and due to a misunderstanding. The two elders of the Wei manor are reasonable people and not pedantic. They will not mistreat you because you entered with the title of an illegitimate daughter. Although Wei Yunzhi looks very much like the Grand Tutor, his personality is vastly different. He is a pure and honest young man. However, the way for a husband and wife to get along requires mutual effort. Right now, the second master of Wei feels guilty toward you, but you must never mention this matter again, let alone treat him with coldness. As long as you show a fraction of the gentleness you showed the Emperor, I will be at ease regarding your future days in the Wei manor.”
Shen Hong’er grasped her hand, and the warm tears in her eyes finally spilled over.
“At first, I was unwilling to see you marry that man who is like a living king of hell, but now I selfishly hope you do marry him. Only then can we reunite in the future as sisters in law. Leaving for the overseas lands, I can bear to part with anything else… but I cannot bear to leave you, Princess.”
Nie Qinglin smiled slightly upon hearing these words and used many kind phrases to finally soothe the pregnant woman’s tears.
However, a hint of bitterness rose in her heart, and she thought with a touch of melancholy that she would likely end up failing this friendship.
