Chapter Ninety-Four: The Empress's Residence

After Prince Jun Yecheng’s figure had vanished completely, Hua Rong finally let out a breath of relief, though someone’s temper seemed not to have dispersed entirely.

Another unusual tension drifted through the air.

Hua Rong looked up to meet the other man’s cold eyes. He showed no sign of loosening up, staring straight at her face instead, which made her feel rather ill at ease.

She instinctively stepped back twice, then forced down her fear and said timidly, “Your Majesty, is there something on my face? Why do you keep staring at me?”

“That peony in your hair is elegant without losing its splendor. Yet you are not worthy of it.”

The abrupt words left her speechless.

Hua Rong froze in embarrassment. Only after a moment did she reach up and fumble at her head, then belatedly remember that Jun Yecheng had earlier stuck a flower into her hair.

“Damn it, how did I forget about that?”

Annoyed, she slapped her own forehead, her frustration plain on her face. She hurriedly took the flower down. The tangled stems had snared her hair, leaving her somewhat untidy and unpresentable.

Still, the flower was so lovely that she could not bear to throw it to the ground and trample it. In the end, she could only set it in the garden to serve as compost.

“The Emperor is right. I truly am not worthy of this flower, so I will dispose of it as fertilizer.”

With that, Hua Rong folded her hands together and gently pressed her lips, taking on a slightly charming, obedient look.

Yet even this restrained attitude did not improve Jun Yeli’s mood. The very memory of Jun Yecheng carrying Hua Rong around the waist made his chest ache with intolerable bitterness.

After drawing a deep breath, Jun Yeli finally ground out a warning through clenched teeth. “Listen carefully. You are my woman. Keep no other thoughts, or you will not like the end of it.”

With that, he swept his sleeve and turned to leave.

The two of them departed with such ease and grace that Hua Rong was left standing there in a daze, like a lonely orphan abandoned to the cold. It was as though she were neither fully in nor out, neither fish nor fowl.

“Seriously, does everyone have to make things difficult for me?”

The more Hua Rong thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. Yet the sight of him walking away, and the route he had taken, stirred a flood of wild speculation.

Fingering her chin, she studied his retreating back carefully. “This palace is in the eastern quarter, and there is only my Jade Pavilion here. Could His Majesty have come specifically to see me? Was he angered away by my sister today?”

Though the guess sounded a little vain, it was not impossible.

And if that was so, then his earlier fury might be understandable after all. At this thought, she could not help feeling a touch of secret delight.

“Could it be that he was jealous of me just now?”

Her imagination running further, the corners of Hua Rong’s mouth lifted before she could stop them, a faint joy rising in her heart.

Only after she realized how absurd she was being did she panic and pat her own cheeks. “Heavens, what am I thinking?”

Had she not vowed to keep her distance from the Emperor and protect herself? How had everything become such a mess?

Swallowing hard, and with her courage reduced to a trembling remnant, Hua Rong no longer dared dwell on it. Gathering the hem of her dress, she slowly fled this place of trouble.

The garden returned once more to emptiness. The supposedly departed Jun Yecheng reappeared from behind the flowers, hands clasped behind his back, strolling leisurely to the very spot where Hua Rong had stood moments before.

In the flowerbed, the brilliant peony was still there. Though it had lost the nourishment of its stem, it remained fresh and dewy, breathtakingly beautiful.

Holding it in his hand, Jun Yecheng’s eyes darkened with a trace of coldness. “Hua Rong... it seems the Emperor truly bears you special feelings. In that case, you will not escape this prince’s grasp.”

“Your Highness, she is only a woman of the harem. Why do you keep entangling yourself with her? I fear it would not be easy to explain to the Emperor.”

The attendant standing beside him could not hide the jealousy in his eyes.

At those words, Jun Yecheng, still twirling the flower in his hand, turned his head with a faintly sickly grace. His sharp gaze carried a chilling edge. “Liu Li, you are not usually one to meddle.”

Liu Li fell silent at once. Hastily stepping back in fear, he clasped his fists and apologized. “Please forgive me, Your Highness. I spoke too much just now!”

“Enough. Go do what you should. Matters that are none of your concern, do not ask about, and do not interfere with.”

Jun Yecheng wandered through the garden at an unhurried pace, his mood growing even better. From time to time he lifted the flower to his nose and breathed in its fragrance, a smile not quite concealed in the curve of his lips. “Heh, it still carries the scent of Consort Rong. This flower is all the more delightful for it.”

As time passed, the sun sank toward the western sky.

Hua Rong sat in her bedchamber, waiting and waiting, yet still hearing nothing of Hua Yue being conferred the title of consort. She wanted to go find her, but her pride would not let her.

“Damn it all. Why was I foolish enough to do something like this? Why did I have to send my sister in here as well? Not only did I lead a lamb into the tiger’s den, I’ve also managed to become an outsider to both sides.”

Frustrated, Hua Rong raked her fingers through her hair until it was a mess, making her look somewhat unrefined indeed.

Su Xin, standing nearby, yawned faintly. Having seen everything, she could not help curling her lips. “Now the Empress Consort knows regret. If only you had thought of this sooner. Why did it have to come to this? Now the palace has gained another rival.”

Though she was family, Su Xin still felt a little unhappy. She had thought Hua Yue had only entered the palace because she missed her sister and wanted to check on her, but it turned out she had her own designs as well.

“What I’m worried about is not that,” Hua Rong said with a long sigh, gazing at the blazing sun in the distance, her expression somewhat strained. “This palace is deep and treacherous. I did not want to drag her into it. I truly do regret it now.”

Before she could say more, Chunxia suddenly hurried in, her face anxious. “My lady, something terrible has happened! The Emperor has conferred a new rank of noblewoman, and he has even granted her Moonlight Hall!”

No need to say it—this new noblewoman was most likely the very person Hua Rong had been thinking of.

It had come after all. Hua Rong did not know what to say. Her heart was seized by such panic that it felt ready to leap from her chest at any moment.

And yet, a strange new curiosity also stirred within her. “You said Moonlight Hall just now? Is there something special about that place?”

“You don’t know? I heard that used to be where the Empress once lived, though I don’t know how long ago. But the Emperor’s intent is obvious enough!”

At that, the last sliver of hope in Hua Rong’s heart was completely extinguished.

“The place where the Empress lived? Then that means... the Emperor, he and my sister...”