Coming Out of the Emperor's Bedchamber

By the time they returned to the imperial palace, it was nearly midnight.

Seeing that Hua Rong was fast asleep, Jun Yeli truly lacked the heart to disturb her. He brought her directly to his own bedchamber, and the two of them held each other as they slept through the night.

When the first ray of morning light pierced through the window, a palace maid entered punctually with a basin of water to help Jun Yeli wash and freshen up.

However, she was utterly astounded to see the two of them sleeping together in bed, embracing one another. "Goodness, when did Consort Rong arrive!"

As everyone knew, His Majesty had never once kept any consort overnight in his personal bedchamber.

This inexplicably present woman was simply mind-boggling.

After her initial shock, the palace maid hurriedly clamped a hand over her mouth, terrified of disturbing the slumber of the imperial pair. According to the rules, if the two of them were sharing a bed, they might sleep in a bit longer.

She had just intended to quietly withdraw when it was already too late. Hua Rong blinked her drowsy eyes, disturbed by the commotion. Still half-asleep, she mumbled hazily, "Who has come in?"

Her head had been resting right on Jun Yeli's arm. The sudden emptiness caused by her lifting her head startled Jun Yeli awake as well.

Seeing that Hua Rong had already gotten up, he looked somewhat reluctant and lost. "Why are you up so early? You might as well sleep a little longer."

After running about so much yesterday, she must have been utterly exhausted. With the sun only just rising and the morning light merely beginning to peep through, there was no reason to wake up at such an hour.

Hua Rong, however, did not lie back down. Instead, staring at Jun Yeli before her and the dumbfounded palace maid, she froze instantly.

"Wait, what is going on here? How did I end up here, and where is this place?!"

She remembered clearly that she had fallen asleep inside a carriage yesterday; how had she ended up in someone else's bed in the blink of an eye?

If nothing unexpected had happened, she must have slept the night together with Jun Yeli yesterday!

Hua Rong took a deep breath, feeling as though she had lost her mind. "Why did I sleep with you? Yesterday I—"

Hua Rong found herself stumbling over her words, making the situation harder and harder to explain. Jun Yeli could not help but burst into a chuckle. "What, does sleeping right beside me cause you such distress? Do not forget, you are my consort, my wife!"

This domineering and unreasonable statement left no room for refutation.

Jun Yeli rose with his robust physique, let out a slight yawn, and casually wrapped an arm around Hua Rong's slender waist. A playful smile danced at the corner of his lips, which somehow made the situation all the more hair-raising.

"I slept with you yesterday, but I..."

She had never prepared herself for such a development, yet here she was sharing a bed with a man. Terrified, she quickly lifted the quilt to check her own body, dreading the thought that something improper might have occurred the day before.

Yet upon a careful look, she remained uncertain. She wanted to ask, but lacked the courage to voice the question, and could only cast a tangled, worried glance at Jun Yeli.

Seeing the woman's furrowed brows and wretched expression, anyone unaware would have thought she had been despoiled by a stranger.

Somewhat depressed, Jun Yeli finally spoke words to set her mind at ease. "Yesterday, we merely held each other and slept. Nothing else happened, so you need not let your imagination run wild. If you cannot fall back asleep, you may lie down a while longer or get up to dress."

Truth be told, Jun Yeli would have loved to linger beneath the covers and spend a bit more time accompanying Hua Rong, but his status simply did not allow for it—he still had to attend the morning court session!

Seeing Hua Rong sitting there motionless, he decided to get up first and let the palace maids wait upon him as he adjusted his attire.

Glancing back at the still-dazed Hua Rong, he left her with two instructions: "Take good care of Consort Rong. Fulfill her every request and make sure nothing goes amiss."

After receiving acknowledgement from the palace maids, he strode out with long, confident steps.

The bedchamber instantly grew quiet, yet Hua Rong remained unable to recover her wits for a long time. She could not help smacking her own forehead. "I really am muddle-headed! How on earth did I manage to fall asleep like a fool!"

And of all things, she had actually felt that she slept exceptionally well yesterday. Thank goodness she had not spoken those words aloud in his presence; otherwise, how terribly awkward and mortifying it would have been!

Just as she was sinking into depression, a palace maid approached with the washbasin. "Your Ladyship, shall I prepare water for you to freshen up?"

Snapping back to her senses, Hua Rong felt a brief surge of panic, but hurriedly nodded. "Yes."

After a simple session of washing and dressing, someone delivered food. Hua Rong turned none of it away; her appetite for eating remained fully intact.

Once she finished her meal, she planned to leave, but fortuitously happened to bump into Palace Lady Zhao who was passing by.

"Oh my, what are you doing here!" Palace Lady Zhao was rather surprised, having thought that the early bird catches the worm.

She had arrived early hoping for a chance encounter with Jun Yeli, only to be struck dumb with shock upon colliding with Hua Rong, who was walking out from his very chambers!

In an instant, a complex mixture of jealousy and rage intertwined within her, creating an intense urge to throttle the woman right then and there.

Faced with such an expression of displeasure, Hua Rong had no idea how to explain herself. She merely gave an awkward twitch of the lips. "This path is wide enough for anyone. Why shouldn't Your Ladyship be able to appear here?"

"But this is His Majesty's personal bedchamber! Could it be that you spent the entire night here with His Majesty?!"

Everyone in the inner court knew that Jun Yeli had never once brought a woman to spend the night in his private bedchamber. For Hua Rong, who was already riding a wave of towering favor, this was simply incomprehensible.

Staring at her with eyes as wide as saucers as if she had just witnessed a falling star, Hua Rong felt a fresh wave of awkwardness.

"Why are you getting so worked up? It's not like you haven't ever been with His Majesty yourself."

Hua Rong curled her lip, failing to understand what all the fuss was about.

Yet this dismissive remark was taken by the other woman as a blatant, unadulterated provocation. "You spent the entire night together and you dare say nothing happened? Consort Rong, you really know how to put on an act! This is simply going too far!"

"This..." Hua Rong was left momentarily speechless. Even if something had happened, it would have been only natural, wouldn't it? After all, she was an imperial consort; could she possibly have refused him?

Of course, Hua Rong knew she would have at least tried to put up a token resistance.

Unwilling to listen to any more of what she perceived as mockery, Palace Lady Zhao simply whipped around and stormed off, though heaven only knew what she was plotting. Watching the angry, retreating figure, a faint sense of unease settled into Hua Rong's heart.

Sure enough, Palace Lady Zhao immediately spread word of the incident throughout the harem, instantly arousing the bitter jealousy of all the other consorts. Already deeply dissatisfied with Hua Rong's existence among them, they were now burning with green-eyed rage, furious to the core.

"That vixen! First she assassinates foreign envoys, and now she actually seduces the Emperor into his personal dragon bed—she is utterly shameless!"

The entire group united with a shared hatred. If Hua Rong had been present, she surely would have been verbally torn to shreds right on the spot.

"This cannot go on. We cannot let this woman stay any longer; in the Emperor's eyes, is there any room left for the rest of us?"

"A woman under a cloud of grave suspicion acting this arrogant? We must teach her a lesson!"

Though their suggestions varied, every single one of them shared the exact same malicious intent.