Transmigrated as the Villainous Emperor's Disaster-Bringing Concubine - Chapter 2
After the commotion in the dilapidated courtyard subsided, Xiao Shizhi finally entered.
Li Dequan, trembling with fear, stood up cautiously and followed behind the young empress.
This Bai Fuxue truly had nerves of steel!
Not only did she show contempt for the emperor, but she also encouraged the Noble Consort to jump directly into the Taiye Lake, pretending to drown to compete for favor.
Li Dequan was sweating bullets for Bai Fuxue.
After Bai Fuxue scolded away the attendants of Noble Consort Rong, she was also drenched in sweat.
Her thin blue robe was soaked, so she simply took off the outer layer, leaving only the faint, translucent undergarment.
When Noble Consort Rong’s palace maid saw the emperor arrive, she quickly knelt to pay respects.
Xiao Shizhi glanced at her, “What is the matter?”
The palace maid’s face turned pale with fright.
“Your Majesty, the Noble Consort sent this servant to check on the Dowager Consort.”
Xiao Shizhi gave her a cold look, as if staring at a dead person.
Xiao Shizhi: “The weather this month is unbearably hot. Let the Noble Consort rest well in her palace and avoid going out, lest she suffer from heatstroke or accidentally fall into the pond.”
In other words, she was confined to her quarters.
The maid was horrified: “Your Majesty!”
Before she could plead for mercy, she was dragged away by the eunuchs behind her.
Li Dequan watched with bated heart, stealing a glance at Bai Fuxue out of the corner of his eye.
Bai Fuxue stood in place, her face flushed red from the heat, with a thin layer of sweat glistening on her neck and collarbone.
Her mind went blank, and before she could speak, she was pulled down by Songluo to kneel and pay respects.
“Your humble consort greets Your Majesty.”
Bai Fuxue had no experience with time travel and could only mimic what she had seen in TV dramas.
If not for the person behind her pulling her down, she wouldn’t even have thought to kneel.
Li Dequan was dumbfounded, this Bai Fuxue was incredibly bold!
“How dare you gaze directly upon the imperial countenance!”
Bai Fuxue was startled and looked up at the chief eunuch beside Xiao Shizhi.
Xiao Shizhi was also taken aback and turned to look at the chief eunuch beside her.
Bai Fuxue marveled inwardly, This emperor is so beautiful.
Especially in that dark green casual robe embroidered with golden bamboo, which made her skin appear even more snow-white and captivating.
Her sharp eyebrows and eyes seemed to soften.
Her posture was as straight and elegant as bamboo, and she idly played with a jade pendant in her hand, it was hard to tell whether the jade or her fingertips were more delicate.
Xiao Shizhi: “…”
Bai Fuxue was dressed lightly, with only a thin layer of gauze, through which her undergarments were clearly visible.
From her elevated position, Xiao Shizhi could see her exquisitely beautiful collarbone and the soft, snow-white expanse of her chest.
Outside, the sky was ablaze with sunset, yet the air remained stiflingly hot.
Li Dequan beside them didn’t know where to look and hesitated for a long time before speaking.
“It seems the consort is changing her clothes. Should this servant withdraw first?”
Bai Fuxue was truly cunning!
Dressing so provocatively to seduce the empress, and yet the empress seemed to fall for it.
Xiao Shizhi stiffly grunted in agreement, ordering all the servants to leave.
Outside the door, Li Dequan pondered perhaps the emperor truly favored someone as seductive as Bai Fuxue.
Which consort in the palace wore fewer than three layers of clothing on such a day?
Only Bai Fuxue, with her thin single layer, through which her undergarments were visible.
It was utterly scandalous, enough to be condemned by historians.
The scales in Li Dequan’s heart slowly tipped, and he thought to himself that he ought to show a bit more care to this mistress in the cold palace.
Bai Fuxue had long been dizzy from the heat, sweat trickling from her temples down to her collar.
Xiao Shizhi didn’t see anything wrong with Bai Fuxue’s current state.
Though the dark green silk she wore was breathable, it still felt stiflingly hot.
Bai Fuxue cautiously asked, “What brings Your Majesty to my humble abode today?”
Xiao Shizhi pointed to the white silk hanging from the beam,
“I was worried you might impulsively hang yourself here.”
Xiao Shizhi looked at her with a smile, her pitch-black eyes revealing no other emotions.
“Seeing you alive puts my mind at ease.”
The Bai family, loyal and devoted for generations, held the lifeline of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Their only daughter must not die within the palace walls.
Bai Fuxue nodded and took the initiative to brew a pot of tea for Xiao Shizhi.
She constantly reminded herself that her very life depended on this woman.
Bai Fuxue’s figure was slender and delicate, and in the summer heat, she had loosened the outer gauze robe, letting it hang loosely on her.
Now, only a thin undergarment covered her body.
A faint, delicate fragrance of a woman lingered in the air.
Bai Fuxue pushed the teacup toward her.
“Your Majesty, please forgive me. I only have these coarse tea leaves,”
Xiao Shizhi didn’t touch it. Leaning back in her chair, she studied Bai Fuxue before her.
Xiao Shizhi remarked, “I thought you were a gentle and delicate person, but I overheard the commotion inside before entering sharp-tongued and quick-witted.”
Bai Fuxue pursed her lips, her peach-blossom eyes shimmering with emotion. Her slender frame seemed so fragile, as if it might break at any moment.
In this drafty room, she appeared especially delicate and alluring.
Even Xiao Shizhi couldn’t help but swallow, her gaze slowly drifting to Bai Fuxue’s graceful waist.
Bai Fuxue said innocently, “Your Majesty, I have done nothing wrong, yet I was humiliated by the Noble Consort’s maid.”
She wiped the corner of her eye. “I am truly wronged.”
Perhaps because she couldn’t squeeze out any tears, the corner of her eye turned red from rubbing, but not a single tear moistened her handkerchief.
Xiao Shizhi raised an eyebrow, observing the little fox-like beauty before her.
“What do you want?”
She waited for Bai Fuxue to demand punishment for the Noble Consort.
In the harem, no woman would pass up a chance to climb higher.
Bai Fuxue replied, “Your Majesty, I only ask that the Noble Consort stop sending people here.”
Just let me have some peace.
Let me lie low. Whoever wants to fight for favor can go ahead.
This little courtyard is lovely it’s perfect for growing vegetables.
Xiao Shizhi: ?
Xiao Shizhi’s lips twitched. “That’s all?”
Aren’t you going to ask for the favor of moving out of the cold palace?
Bai Fuxue nodded blankly. “That’s all.”
Bai Fuxue gazed at her with deep affection, reminded that this was the boss she’d have to please for a long time to come. The spirit of a diligent worker suddenly surged within her.
Her job was to please the boss, only by doing so could she secure her livelihood.
Bai Fuxue cautiously leaned close to Xiao Shizhi, her soft, boneless fingers gently stroking the back of Xiao Shizhi’s hand.
Xiao Shizhi watched as the little beauty suddenly approached, her eyes speaking volumes.
Her fair, delicate arms, exposed to the air, seemed to glow with a golden hue.
She leaned against Xiao Shizhi, giving her a soft, hesitant hug.
The gesture of trying to please was both awkward and clumsy, like a kitten wanting a treat, reluctantly raising its paws to beg.
The little beauty whispered, “Your Majesty, the tea has cooled. Please take a sip to moisten your throat.”
Xiao Shizhi couldn’t help but chuckle.
After holding it in for a long time, she finally uttered those words.
Little fool.
Yet it was precisely these words that firmly captured Xiao Shizhi’s heart.
She poured the water from the teapot on the table outside.
“The tea leaves have a musty smell, don’t drink it.”
Bai Fuxue looked strangely at the water stains outside the window, thinking to herself that this was clearly this year’s fresh tea.
By the time Xiao Shizhi left, the sun had already set.
She picked up the white gauze outer garment and draped it over Bai Fuxue’s shoulders.
Her fingers brushed against Bai Fuxue’s collarbone, which was indeed as smooth and soft as the girl herself.
Perhaps Xiao Shizhi’s nails were too long, leaving a vivid red mark on Bai Fuxue’s shoulder.
Bai Fuxue whispered, “Farewell.”
Song Luo, standing behind Bai Fuxue, nearly fainted upon hearing these two words.
She should have knelt down in salute to respectfully see the emperor off!
Song Luo watched Xiao Shizhi’s faintly smiling lips with trepidation.
Fearful of incurring the emperor’s wrath.
Xiao Shizhi nodded in acknowledgment. “Farewell.”
The small courtyard returned to its tranquil, lonely state.
Bai Fuxue breathed a genuine sigh of relief, only sitting heavily on the stool after watching Xiao Shizhi walk far away.
This ordeal was finally over.
A moment later, a line of young eunuchs respectfully presented newly tributed cloud mist tea and lacquered tea sets,
Xiao Shizhi returned to her bedchamber and beckoned to Li Dequan:
“Arrange for some people to report Bai Fuxue’s daily activities to me.”
Forcing someone to suicide was just the beginning – the mastermind behind this would never easily let go of that little beauty.
Li Dequan: “Yes.”
Several days later, Xiao Shizhi held a thick stack of reports on Bai Fuxue’s activities.
Xiao Shizhi had been reading memorials daily until her eyes grew dizzy, so she tossed them to a young eunuch beside her to read aloud.
“July 3rd: The consort slept on her couch all day, went to the backyard to enjoy the cool air in the evening, and began studying vegetable planting.”
“July 4th: The consort rescued a tabby cat from the roof in the morning, bathed the cat before noon, and slept from afternoon until evening.”
“July 5th: The consort encountered Consort Li who came to pick a fight, asked Consort Li for two fish, Consort Li left in anger, and the consort grilled fish in the evening.”
“July 6th.”
Xiao Shizhi: ?
Xiao Shizhi murmured to herself, “Does she not have any intention of competing for favor at all?”
A lonely little beauty in the rear palace, doesn’t want to seek her protection?
Someone like Bai Fuxue – shouldn’t she be a delicate dodder plant?
Shouldn’t she be too delicate to take care of herself, living in extreme misery and suffering in the cold palace?
How could someone whom multiple parties hope would die early live more comfortably than she did?
The young eunuch cautiously said, “Replying to Your Majesty, the consort doesn’t seem to have any intention of competing for favor.”
Xiao Shizhi rubbed her temples, facing memorials about the assassination attempts on the Bai family’s collateral branches and numerous petitions accusing her of seizing the late emperor’s favored consort.
She enunciated each word slowly, “Is she playing hard to get?”
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