CH 85.1

It was already winter. Consort Jin was sensitive to the cold so Siyi Courtyard burned its earth dragon¹ early. The room was warm and cozy and the sweet scent of incense pervaded the room.

The smell of plum fragrance refreshed the room.

Zi Yu stood there. Her delicate face was calm and peaceful. “Your Highness, what are you talking about? This servant doesn’t understand.”

Consort Jin looked at her in silence. She sighed then smiled. “It’s good that it’s not you. Retreat.”

Zi Yu left.

……

At Rongxi Courtyard, several lotus palace lanterns were hanging everywhere, illuminating the area.

Jin Wang and Yaoniang had just finished their dinner. Yaoniang took a bath then came out and sat in front of the dressing table letting Yuchan dry her hair. Sitting on the couch not far away was Jin Wang, looking at the stack of papers in his hand, while holding a cup of tea in his other hand.

Yaoniang was a bit curious about what was written on the paper since Jin Wang had been looking at it for such a long time.

Yuchan grabbed a jade hairbrush to comb Yaoniang’s hair. Yaoniang’s hair was long, black thick and shiny. Yuchan could brush through the roots to the tips with minimal effort.

After brushing through all her hair, Yuchan didn’t put it up into a bun but loosely braided it instead. This way, Yaoniang’s hair wouldn’t be messed up and she wouldn’t have to take out her bun when she rests later.

With the earth dragon burning in the room, it was not cold, but gave people the feeling of spring.

Yaoniang approached Jin Wang and sat down, looking curiously at the piece of paper in his hand.

There were many characters written on it. When Yaoniang glanced at the first column, she saw the words ‘avoid sexual intercourse’ in a big font. She almost choked on her own saliva. She wanted to see more but Jin Wang had already reacted and folded the papers then put them away.

He turned his head to look at her and saw that her skin was as white as snow. Her eyes were bright and she had a nice rosy complexion. Now that her hair wasn’t tied up in an elaborate bun but was braided down her back, he suddenly felt that she was very small.

Jin Wang cleared his throat and asked, “How old are you?”

Uh…

Yaoniang couldn’t understand why Jin Wang asked this but she answered truthfully. “This concubine is almost sixteen.”

She’s almost sixteen while he’s turning twenty-six this year.

What was he doing when he was around ten years old?

To win the attention of his father, he would wake up before dawn every day to practice his martial arts, while not forgetting to study. During their knowledge evaluations, he always ranked among the top three of the princes. By his age, he was already well familiarized with the methods of the palace and had learned to fight with the princes both in the open and in the shadows. 

He suddenly felt that he was so much older than her. She was so young that it made others feel pity for her.

Despite her young age, she was already a woman and was carrying his little cub in her belly. It was the little cub that he worked hard to plant in her belly every day.

Jin Wang’s eyes grew darker. The circle of redness in his pupils became redder, almost to the point of turning black. He suddenly stood up and said, “You rest. This prince will return to Zhaohui Hall.”

Yaoniang was startled and looked up at the back of Jin Wang who was leaving in a hurry. Everything had been well, so why did he leave suddenly? But she didn’t overthink it and only thought he had something to do. She couldn’t help but think of the sentence ‘avoid sexual intercourse’ and immediately blushed.

What was she thinking!

After Jin Wang left, Yaoniang was free to do as she wished. She couldn’t fall asleep so she asked Hong Die to bring Xiaobao over.

Anyway, since Jin Wang wouldn’t be here tonight, she could hug Xiaobao to sleep.

However, Hong Die pleaded, “Madam, this is absolutely impossible. The young master is still young. What if he kicks you at night?”

Yaoniang recalled whether Xiaobao kicked people in his sleep. At least she hasn’t been kicked before

“It’s okay. Xiaobao won’t kick people.” Seeing Hong Die still hesitating, she couldn’t help but say again, “This bed is wide. If I’m a little farther away from him it’ll be okay.” 

Unable to argue with Yaoniang, Hong Die could only bring Xiaobao over.

Actually, Yaoniang had another purpose for sleeping with Xiaobao. Now that she was pregnant, if she alienated herself from Xiaobao, the child may think that she was neglecting the old because of the new.

Although Xiaobao was only a baby that was around ten months old, Yaoniang always felt that he was very sensible. He should not be treated like other children. Besides, babies at his age were already aware of some things.

The mother and son sat on the bed and played for a while. Seeing Yaoniang yawn, Xiaobao also yawned and rubbed his eyes.

“Xiaobao’s sleepy. Why don’t we go to sleep?” asked Yaoniang.

Xiaobao rubbed his eyes again and fell asleep right then and there. Yaoniang hurriedly told Yuchan to turn off the lights, leaving only one lit in the corner.

At Zhaohui Hall:

Once Jin Wang came back, he took a shower first then went to the study.

Neatly stacked on the bookcase were newspapers, letters, secret messages, and official documents. Everything was arranged by category.

He took out an important secret message and read it, occasionally writing some notes. Fucheng quietly stood to the side and helped grind the ink. By the time it was almost the second watch of the night², he had only gone through half the papers.

Jin Wang rubbed his temples, a feeling of irritation spontaneously emerged. Ever since he was poisoned, his patience was not as good as before.

“Your Highness, I have something to report.”

Following this hoarse male voice, An Shi, who was dressed in black, suddenly appeared.

Jin Wang didn’t bother to lift his head. “Speak.”

“The consort met with a maid named Zi Yu.”

Jin Wang stopped writing for a moment, then waved his hand, and An Shi disappeared.