Chapter 58: Imprisoned

By the time she came to her senses again, Hua Rong found herself being carried by Jun Yeli all the way into a room. Her body, soft and yielding, was laid upon the bed, and in the next instant the man's presence was all around her, his breath pressing in, overwhelming all the air nearby and rushing straight to the tip of her nose.

“Your Majesty, please calm down, don’t lose your head!” Hua Rong was truly flustered, her thoughts running wild. “I absolutely cannot let anything happen tonight. If this night gets out, I’ll have to fight for my life every day afterward!”

When she first entered the palace, the Emperor had not favored her. Now, after some time, he suddenly sought her out, and it so happened to be when that Lady Yu entered the palace too. Wasn’t this a clear proclamation to the harem that the Emperor had a new favorite, inviting them to come and kill her?

Hua Rong tried to wriggle free from his hold, but Jun Yeli was unwilling to let her go. “This entire realm belongs to me. Why are you the only one who can’t figure things out? If you have any complaints about me, why not speak plainly?”

“Complaints? How would I dare!” Hua Rong forced a look of utter despair, though her heart was already battered and bruised.

“Your Majesty, even if I did not fear death, I could never keep up with your... preference for group entertainments...” Just the thought of Jun Yeli’s remarkable stamina and his rumored ability to entertain several women at once made Hua Rong shudder at the imagined scene.

“Your Majesty, I’m afraid these past few days I am unwell, and it would be most inconvenient to... act. I beg Your Majesty to choose another day!” Hua Rong took a deep breath and, staring squarely at his chest, gave him a resolute push, finally regaining a measure of composure. This time, at least, she wasn’t lying—she truly felt unwell. For a crime punishable by death, she dared not speak recklessly.

Jun Yeli was pushed back two steps, left bewildered and at a loss. “Did you just dare to push me?”

Anyone who saw this would think it was the Emperor favoring a consort, but anyone who didn’t know the truth would take him for a scoundrel. What a ridiculous situation!

“Your Majesty, I’ve already said I’m unwell. This really isn’t appropriate.” Hua Rong wore a pitiful expression, and yet Jun Yeli was gripped by a complex wave of emotions, rooted to the spot, unable to recover his senses for a long moment. But his tightly clenched fists revealed all the dissatisfaction churning within him.

Hua Rong swallowed nervously, a storm raging in her heart. “This is bad. Have I managed to truly anger the Emperor this time?” If so, her life might really be in danger.

“Your Majesty, please don’t be angry. I am truly unwell. If I am lying, may I never bear a child!” Hua Rong swore on her deepest love for children—surely, for a woman, there was no more venomous oath.

As her words fell, silence descended, broken only by the flicker of the pale yellow candlelight, which seemed all the more anxious in the stillness.

After a brief pause, Jun Yeli suddenly sneered. Looking at Hua Rong’s earnest face, his voice dripped with mockery. “Never bear a child? You never intended to give me an heir, did you? As a consort, it is your honor to be favored by me, yet you refuse again and again, as if my favor means nothing. Well done indeed.”

With that, Jun Yeli swept his sleeves and turned away, hands clasped behind his back, leaving only a cold voice hanging in the air. “From this day forward, I shall never come to this place again, nor allow anyone else to disturb you. Guard this shabby courtyard of yours, and see to your own fate.”

As soon as he finished, he strode away without a backward glance.

When the door slammed shut, Hua Rong’s heart was seized with a strange relief, yet her mind still echoed with those words: “Never again…”

“Could it be that I truly angered him tonight?” She swallowed, caught in a wave of indescribable emotion.

All she wanted was to survive. She did not care for Jun Yeli, so she dared not welcome his favor, hoping instead to pass her days in the harem in obscurity. Though she held this mindset, when Jun Yeli spoke those decisive words and turned to leave, Hua Rong felt as if something important had been taken from her, leaving her hollow inside.

“What’s wrong with me? Do I actually have feelings for the Emperor? That can’t be…” She shook her head fiercely, but no matter how she tried, the image of Jun Yeli’s resolute departure haunted her thoughts like a feverish spell.

“Oh, what is happening to me? Has he bewitched me somehow?” Hua Rong flopped onto her bed, burying her head in the pillow, hoping to smother her frustration. It did little good, but just then, the sound of the door opening startled her.

“Your Majesty!” she called out, hope lighting her face as she quickly turned—only to see Su Xin, Chunxia, and Qiudong standing in a neat row before her.

The four of them stared at each other, the awkwardness in the air thickening once more.

“Weren’t you three eager to go do your chores just now? What brings you here all of a sudden?” Hua Rong pursed her lips, unwilling to let these young maids see her embarrassment.

Su Xin hurried over, concern written on her face. “My lady, did you upset His Majesty?”

“I… I did nothing. I only told the truth!” Hua Rong replied honestly. If anyone was being petty, it was Jun Yeli, and she certainly wouldn’t bear the blame for that!

Yet her words sounded far too forced, and Chunxia and Qiudong quickly chimed in, “My lady, we saw His Majesty leave with a face like thunder, swearing never to return to Xuanji Palace or allow anyone else to disturb you. Isn’t this just isolating us, as if we’ve been sent to the Cold Palace?”

“What? Banished to the Cold Palace?” Hua Rong was alarmed. “The Emperor gave no such order!”

“Not literally, it’s a metaphor. If a consort commits no crime and the Emperor has no reason to banish her outright, he’ll have her secluded in her own quarters, isolated from the world, to grow old alone. It’s said that some who suffered this fate ended up so lonely they threw themselves into a well…”

The maids spoke one after another, making Hua Rong’s heart pound with dread. She stood there dumbfounded, unable to recover for a long while.

“I want to live, but I don’t want to pass my days in confinement—that’s no different from being dead. Has the Emperor truly grown angry?”

For a moment, Hua Rong bitterly regretted her earlier gentle resistance. But now, regret was useless; there was no turning back. The maids’ chattering only made her more irritable. “Instead of standing here talking nonsense, why don’t you help me figure out how to get the Emperor to take back his command!”

If no one could enter, then she herself would be trapped as well—this was clearly a recipe for captivity.