Chapter 138: A Flower Worth Plucking
Chapter 138: Chapter 138: A Flower Worth Plucking
Ever since Liang Wan had been abducted by Yao Jinse and her accomplices, upon her return, Lu Xiu had not only tightened the security in the backyard but also assigned her personal guards.
Was Cao Luyun innocent?
She was, indeed. However, innocence shouldn’t be used as an excuse to tolerate wickedness and condone troublemaking. This kind of brazen gossip and slander certainly wasn’t the first occurrence. If she didn’t punish it severely, was she supposed to wait for the next time? Furthermore, she had always despised the good cop, bad cop routine.
Liang Wan walked at a leisurely pace.
Inside Renshou Palace, the charcoal fire burned vigorously, emanating an overwhelming warmth. The Empress was also present. Though surprising, it made sense. By her calculations, the Empress was nearly eight months pregnant. The further along she got, the harder it became to endure. Coupled with the physical toll she had suffered during the early stages of her pregnancy, carrying this child was truly arduous.
Since their parting at the Duke Mansion, the Empress had never summoned her again. Now that she had likely heard about the incident with Cao Luyun, the Empress probably felt even more used and played.
Though the Empress Dowager disliked her, she treated her amiably. The Empress had once liked her, but now she surely loathed her.
Lowering her gaze, Liang Wan bowed respectfully.
The Empress Dowager took great care of her appearance. Sitting together and chatting with the Empress, they looked more like sisters. Perhaps they were chatting so joyfully that they failed to notice her for a long time. Liang Wan had no choice but to maintain her bow. It truly was karma. She had just finished tormenting someone else, and now someone was here to torment her.
After a long while, the Empress Dowager finally noticed there was another person in the room.
"You child, you really are too honest. Why have you been holding that bow all this time? We were just talking and completely missed you." The Empress Dowager’s gaze held a hint of surprise as she looked over. She then turned to scold a Palace Attendant beside her with mild anger, "Why didn’t you speak up and remind me?"
The Palace Attendant immediately knelt and begged for forgiveness.
The Empress looked at Liang Wan with a faint smile. "Your temperament is as steady as ever."
She pondered the word "steady." Liang Wan lowered her head. "It was I who came at a bad time and interrupted the conversation between the Empress Dowager and the Empress."
The Empress Dowager chuckled. "You come at this hour every day, so how could it be a bad time?"
After a few brief exchanges, Liang Wan followed a Palace Attendant to the side to do needlework. The Empress and the Empress Dowager resumed their conversation, occasionally asking her a few questions to keep her from looking like a mere prop.
Liang Wan simply didn’t believe it. Among the Six Bureaus of the harem, could they really not find a single person whose needlework was better than hers? They talked for exactly as long as she embroidered.
When the hour was about up, the Empress Dowager finally dismissed her. The Empress exited the palace chambers alongside her.
In Everlasting Alley, the Empress walked in front, with Liang Wan following a step behind. From the moment they met, Wen Jin hadn’t given her a single friendly look, but Liang Wan simply pretended not to see it. Wen Jin had warned her before: if she ever posed a threat to the Empress, Wen Jin would definitely not let her off.
"Awan, it’s been a few days since we last saw each other." The Empress suddenly turned her head and glanced at her.
"Yes," Liang Wan replied with her head lowered. The last time seemed to be during the Thousand Autumns Festival.
"If only you had told me earlier—" The Empress paused, turned to face her fully, and sighed. "If it weren’t for you, I might not have been able to keep this child."
Liang Wan could hear the regret in the Empress’s tone. Regardless of her motives, the Empress had treated her well in the past.
"Your Majesty has shown me kindness, and it is only right that I return the favor," Liang Wan said. She owed Wang Tingyue’s Pardon Order entirely to the Empress’s help.
Liang Wan added, "I noticed Your Majesty looks fatigued. I assume you haven’t been sleeping well. During the day, you might have Palace Attendants accompany you for more walks. At night when you sleep, try lying on your left side and placing a soft cushion beneath your legs to elevate them. It will help alleviate the fatigue."
She kept her head lowered the entire time she spoke. Her manner was respectful and polite, her voice neither haughty nor humble. It wasn’t an attempt to curry favor or flatter; it was merely a casual suggestion.
The Empress stared at her for a moment in silence.
After a long while, she sighed, "You are so knowledgeable in the ways of the world, but why are you so harsh toward Ayun? With your intelligence, are you truly afraid that Ayun will steal your favor? I watched her grow up. Her temperament has always been gentle, and she would never use her status as the legal wife to suppress you. Why must you refuse to yield even an inch? You should know this does you no good..."
She paused for a moment before adding, "Do you know why the Empress Dowager makes you come here every day?"
Liang Wan looked up. "Please enlighten me, Empress."
She widened her eyes as if she truly knew nothing. The Empress only gave her a deep look before turning away, leaving with her grand entourage of Palace Attendants.
Liang Wan bowed respectfully, watching them depart. Only after the Empress’s party had gone far did Liang Wan straighten up, standing quietly in the long Everlasting Alley.
Those rumors were deliberately spread by someone. A lie told often enough becomes truth, and accumulated slander can destroy a person to the bone. The biting winter wind howled, yet she didn’t feel cold.
Lu Xiu...
"Why is Lady Yurui standing out here in the cold wind?"
The voice was so frivolous and devilish that Liang Wan’s scalp went numb. It was Gao Qian.
Liang Wan hurriedly turned to bow, but a hand gripped her shoulder. Catching sight of the palace maids and eunuchs behind him out of the corner of her eye, Liang Wan tried to pull away, but he held on tight.
"Are you playing hard to get, My Lady?"
Liang Wan slowly raised her lowered eyes. His slender, phoenix-like eyes curved into crescents, holding a playful smile that gleamed with dangerous light.
Meeting his gaze cautiously, Liang Wan shook her head. "I wouldn’t dare."
Gao Qian’s lips curled into a smile. His gaze fixed intently on a spot on her face, pregnant with meaning.
"I was the one who set my sights on you first.
"I know you want to come and serve me too, don’t you?"
Liang Wan stared at him, her eyes wide with astonishment. Her heart practically leapt into her throat, and her body trembled slightly under his grasp.
Gao Qian’s laughter grew even more brazen. "But do you know why I gave you to the Grand Commandant?"
Liang Wan was like a wooden puppet, entirely at his mercy. He lowered his head, inching closer until his cool lips brushed against her freezing ear.
"You seem to be shivering from the cold, My Lady. Why don’t we go to my Taiji Palace to warm up?"
Brooking no resistance, he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. The unfamiliar scent and body heat sent a wave of nausea washing over Liang Wan. Instinctively, she wanted to shove him away. Goosebumps erupted all over her skin, and mustering her courage, she tried to break free.
"Your Majesty, under the watchful eyes of everyone here, this is truly—"
"Struggling right now is quite a bore, My Lady. It’s better saved for later..."
"Your Majesty, this is highly inappropriate!"
Gao Qian tightened his grip, pressing her even closer to him. "First you jumped into the lotus pond for me, then you gifted me a Yurui flower. How could I possibly misunderstand?"
Seeing Liang Wan’s expression freeze as she ceased her struggling, his mood soared. The Yurui flower was, after all, his absolute favorite. Whenever Gao Qian was drunk and choosing a woman to serve in his bedchamber, he would pluck a Yurui flower and tuck it behind her ear, laughing as he recited: "Pluck the flower while it blooms, lest you be left grasping at empty branches."
"You must visit the palace more often in the future, My Lady."
And just like that, Liang Wan was half-carried, half-dragged toward Taiji Palace.
As they passed Zhaoyang Palace, Liang Wan lifted her gaze and flashed him a faint smile. "Aren’t you afraid the Empress might see us, Your Majesty?"
Gao Qian found her amusing. "Do you want the Empress to see, or do you not want her to see?"
Liang Wan lowered her head, revealing a delicate expanse of her fair neck hidden beneath the white fox-fur cloak—smooth, fragrant, and exquisitely tender.
"All land beneath the vast heavens belongs to the King, and all people across the realm are his subjects. Your Majesty is the master of the world; naturally, I must obey you."
Her voice was deliberately softened, dripping with a delicate sweetness that was enchanting but not cloying.
"Well said! It seems you do know the reason why I gave you to the Grand Commandant!"