Consort Jing Chapter 54

Once, the mere thought of meeting Empress Wang would have made her nervous and uneasy. Yet in just a few short days, her mindset had completely changed.

Seated at the head of the Qingliang Hall, Meng Guqing listened as the attendants announced the arrival of Empress Wang and waited calmly.

By rank, she was technically the junior and shouldn’t be seated waiting for the older Empress to pay respects. But after the vile scheme Empress Wang had used to set her up with Yuwen Tai, Meng Guqing no longer cared for such formalities. The cautious restraint she had cultivated in Wu during those three years was cast aside.

When had she become someone spoiled by affection? Thinking of a certain someone rolling on her phoenix bed last night, boldly declaring that she could now “walk sideways” through the palace, she couldn’t help but smile. Looking up, she saw a beautiful woman in her thirties glide in. Meng Guqing rose and, keeping her expression polite, invited Empress Wang to sit.

She had never met the Wang sisters before, only heard they were stunningly beautiful, no wonder they had entranced Yuwen Tai. And indeed, even with age, the woman’s face was still exquisite, her eyes and brows brimming with sensual charm no young girl could match. Despite the ugly rumors about her, she was breathtaking in person, proof that appearances can deceive.

Empress to Empress, they sat facing each other. Empress Wang had ruled the inner palace for too long; now, even having lost her patron, she adjusted quickly, entering gracefully and offering Meng Guqing a polite nod. Meng Guqing did not return the bow, pretending not to notice. Whatever she thought inside, her face remained perfectly calm as she smiled and said, “I’d heard Your Ladyship had entered the palace, but I’ve been busy and hadn’t the chance to pay respects. At last, I have the time to talk properly.”

Meng Guqing merely smiled and nodded, echoing her words but offering nothing more.

Empress Wang was an accomplished conversationalist, knowledgeable, eloquent, charming. Even topics about the Wu kingdom flowed smoothly. With her delicate lotus face and easy grace, she could easily win favor when she tried. Some people are born knowing how to attract others’ goodwill, radiant and magnetic. After a while, Meng Guqing could see why Yuwen Tai had favored her for over a decade, this woman naturally drew the eye wherever she went.

Meng Guqing appreciated people who shone like that, but her impression of Empress Wang had been fixed from the start. No matter how warm or witty the other’s conversation, she remained politely distant. Eventually, even the socially adept Empress Wang began to falter, switching to talking about the layout of Weiyang Palace instead.

Meng Guqing felt helpless. She knew Empress Wang had come prepared, there was something she wanted, and she’d have to show her cards sooner or later. But perhaps she truly thought Meng Guqing was just an inexperienced twenty-year-old girl, easy to win over with charm and chatter, offering no real substance.

For example, her current residence, the Qingliang Hall, was actually a separate hall between the emperor’s quarters and the harem. Apart from being pleasant and cool in summer, it wasn’t especially prestigious. Strictly speaking, an Empress shouldn’t live there.

Empress Wang still occupied the traditional Empress’s palace, since Xiao Shuo had issued no decree to move her. Meng Guqing had already guessed her visitor’s motives: first, to secure positions for the Wang girls brought into the palace; second, to negotiate her own future.

But after chatting half the morning, not a single substantial topic was raised, just idle talk.

After thinking a while, Meng Guqing realized that Empress Wang was deliberately waiting for her to speak first. Perhaps she expected the young Empress to be impatient to move into the proper imperial residence and take control of the harem’s wealth and power. In negotiations, the one who grows impatient first loses.

But Meng Guqing wasn’t in the least anxious. In fact, she had no interest at all in managing the harem. And that was precisely why Empress Wang couldn’t get anywhere.

No matter how dazzling her charm, if the other person simply refused to play along, well, flirting with a blind man gets you nowhere.

After another round of dry, aimless conversation, even Empress Wang couldn’t sit still. Rising, she smiled and said, “It’s getting late. Your Majesty should rest. My nieces are all well-mannered and obedient. Since you don’t have many attendants yet, if any catch your eye, please allow them to serve you, that would be their greatest honor.”

Actually, what Empress Wang probably meant was that box of jewelry sent over last night, right? Money makes the world go round, some truths never change. But perhaps proximity breeds corruption; after spending so much time with that shameless little pervert, even she seemed to have caught some of his roguishness.

Meng Guqing was planning to accept that money with a smile, but as for the beauties from Empress Wang’s family, she would rather politely decline. So she said, “Your Majesty’s young ladies are noble and delicate. How could I let them serve tea and water here? I’m not short of attendants. I appreciate Your Majesty’s kind thought, but please, there’s no need.”

After all, it was her first time openly robbing someone, it felt a bit awkward. Still, she couldn’t resist wanting to see Empress Wang’s reaction. Sure enough, the woman stiffened, clearly not expecting such blunt rejection. Anger flashed briefly in her eyes before she turned and left without another word.

Meng Guqing stood at the top of the steps, watching Empress Wang depart with her attendants, thinking to herself that this matter would hardly end peacefully.

Chunyue, who could read and manage accounts, had already gone through the palace’s ledgers when the phoenix seal was handed over. She’d once worked in a grand household and only been sold after her former masters fell from grace. She was well aware of all the tricks used in inner residences to embezzle and falsify records, and after reviewing the palace books, she’d found the truth plain enough: Her Lady was now in charge of an empty shell.

Supporting Meng Guqing’s arm, Chunyue said, “Your Majesty doesn’t need to be polite with people like that. We’ve taken over a rotten mess, sooner or later, the accounts will have to be settled, and who knows whose heads they’ll fall on. Empress Wang is swimming in money, yet the inner palace is dirt poor. Who would believe she has nothing to do with it?”

More importantly, the moment she arrived, she’d tried to send her own girls into service. What about the maids already here? No one just barges in so brazenly like that. If Chunyue wanted to keep her job, she had no choice but to speak up.

Meng Guqing smiled slightly. “That’s what I think too. I had no idea things inside were like this when I was outside.”

She’d heard that the Wang family had been greedily hoarding wealth and bleeding the people dry, but she hadn’t expected even the harem to be left destitute. The late emperor Yu Wentai really had ruled in a way that left one too disgusted to even complain.

Meng Guqing herself had money, and judging by Xiao Shuo’s attitude, he wasn’t lacking either, but they couldn’t possibly just pour their own fortunes into the palace coffers. And even if they did, there was still the state treasury to consider. Seeing that even next month’s stipends might not be paid, Meng Guqing didn’t feel the least bit guilty about keeping Empress Wang’s “gift.”

In fact, not only did she keep this one, she half-hoped Empress Wang might send more.

That evening, after dinner, Xiao Shuo pulled her down onto the bamboo mat by the window. The palace was quiet, filled only with her faint fragrance and the soft rustle of turning pages. This was the life he had long imagined with her, peaceful, like a stream. In a few years, after producing an heir to inherit the throne, he’d take her traveling the world. As he indulged in this pleasant thought, he suddenly heard her sigh beside him.

Turning his head, he gazed at her smooth, jade-like forehead and pressed a fingertip gently between her slightly furrowed brows. “No sighing.”

Meng Guqing caught his hand and placed an account book in it. “Then what do you suggest we do about this?”

Xiao Shuo glanced at the book, tossed it aside without care, and fixed his gaze on her face again. She covered a yawn with her hand, she’d been oddly sleepy lately. Back in the city she’d still had energy to manage her wine shop, but now she could barely stay awake. What was going on?

Frowning slightly, Xiao Shuo leaned closer, naturally drawing her hand up to rest against him. His fingers rested idly on her wrist, but after a moment, his brow furrowed even tighter. He suddenly sat up, eyes deep and strange as he stared at her.

Meng Guqing blinked and touched her own face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just that you’ve gotten even more beautiful.”

The words were praise, yet somehow carried a hint of gritted teeth. Meng Guqing touched her cheek, a bit bemused. Many had called her beautiful before, but Xiao Shuo never had, she’d thought he simply didn’t care for such things.

But this was no time for digressions. Meng Guqing picked up the account book again. “You still haven’t told me what to do about this. I thought marrying you meant living in luxury, but it turns out there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

Though she complained, her tone was lighthearted.

Xiao Shuo sat up fully, leaning toward her, almost cautiously. “You really don’t have anything else you want to say to me?”

“I just said it. Nothing else matters right now.” She waved the account book before him.

“Nothing else matters?” His steady heartbeat seemed to pause. After a brief silence, he smiled. “Fine. This isn’t a problem at all. Everyone knows where the money went. The only question is how to get it back.”

The money was with the Wang family, of course. Meng Guqing knew that much, and with all the capable people under Xiao Shuo, he surely knew too. That explained his calm confidence. But how would he get it back?

A sudden thought struck her, eyes widening slightly. She remembered a line from history: ‘When Heshen fell, Emperor Jiaqing ate his fill.’ Meaning that when Jiaqing took the throne, he confiscated the fortune of the corrupt official Heshen, and the imperial treasury went from empty to overflowing.

He couldn’t possibly be thinking that, could he?

“You’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking, are you?”

“I’m thinking exactly what you’re thinking. I’ve already sent people to collect evidence.”

Meng Guqing was speechless, utterly defeated. She’d only intended to quietly skim some of Empress Wang’s silver, not to uproot her entirely. But Xiao Shuo, true to his infamous reputation, clearly planned to annihilate them from the roots up.

She could only sigh in admiration. To be enemies with this man was simply asking for death.

Then again, the Wang family had only themselves to blame. Ever since Wang Xiao and Consort Wang fell, they’d still carried on with arrogance and greed, showing no remorse at all, even scheming to send beauties to seduce the new emperor. Such blindness! To not even bother learning his temperament before acting, no wonder their family’s intelligence seemed concentrated in only three of them.

Now that she knew Xiao Shuo’s plan, Meng Guqing felt she’d fulfilled her duty as Empress and no longer worried about next month’s stipends. But as one wave settled, another rose.

After being snubbed by Meng Guqing, Empress Wang still hadn’t given up. She actually sent one of her beauties to try and seduce Xiao Shuo directly.

When Meng Guqing heard that someone had dared to throw themselves at the emperor along the short route between Xuanhe Hall and Qingliang Hall, she honestly didn’t know what kind of expression to wear.

The report came from Xiangyue. She’d gone out that evening to escort a shipment through the palace gate, and on the way back, she saw a stunning beauty collapsed on the road. Before she could react, the emperor himself appeared. Instantly understanding the situation, Xiangyue was so furious her mouth went crooked and she hurried back to report to Meng Guqing.

Everyone in the Qingliang Hall was fiercely loyal to the Empress, they saw her and the emperor as an ordinary, loving couple, and were proud of how he deferred to her in all things. The thought of anyone trying to destroy that made their blood boil.

Chunyue said nothing at first, only watched Meng Guqing quietly. Xiao Gu and Xiao Li even set down their snacks, waiting to see how she’d react.

Meng Guqing’s reaction was… no reaction. “You silly girl, you just ran back here? Didn’t you stay to see what happened next?”

Xiangyue gasped. “I forgot.” Regret was written all over her face. But who would dare secretly spy on the emperor? For all his gentleness toward the Empress, he was notoriously cold to others. That handsome face of his showed emotion only when she was around, and beyond that, his decisiveness and ruthless streak had already led to the downfall of more than ten ministers. His reputation in the court was the polar opposite of the late emperor’s indulgent ways.

Meng Guqing knew all this. Even her maids, Xiao Gu and Xiao Li, rarely dared approach Xiao Shuo directly. He didn’t need to act fierce, his natural chill and unfeeling composure were enough to intimidate anyone.

That Xiangyue had dared to report this to her at all was already commendable courage.

Meng Guqing waved them away to return to their duties, then sat at her desk reading. When she heard movement at the door, she raised her eyes briefly, then lowered them again.

Xiao Shuo entered with his hands behind his back, walking straight to her side. He studied her face for a long moment without speaking.

She was used to him looking at her, especially in bed. He seemed to love watching her lose composure, but under such serious scrutiny, she couldn’t help pushing his face away. “What are you staring at?”

“How was your day?”

“Good. Why wouldn’t it be? There wasn’t much to deal with today. I went to see Royal Mother in the afternoon, and now I’m back.”

The late emperor’s concubines had all been sent off, either to guard the tomb or, if they chose to take vows, to a royal convent. Only a few higher-ranking ones who had borne children were kept by the Empress Dowager for comfort. Counting them all, there were fewer than ten women of rank left in the palace, and only Meng Guqing belonged to Xiao Shuo.

Life was leisurely to the extreme. She spent her days tending flowers and playing music, occasionally exchanging words with Empress Wang or checking on the Empress Dowager’s health. Otherwise, her time was entirely her own.

She’d even been thinking she ought to find something to occupy herself with, but the more she thought, the more she realized there wasn’t anything that truly needed her effort. Money, she had. Xiao Shuo’s wealth was no secret to her either. In this era, food, clothing, and living expenses only went so far; no matter how much you spent, it was well within their means.

If she wanted delicacies from distant lands, fine, it might take effort and resources, but it wasn’t impossible. Whether they’d still taste right by the time they arrived, though, that she couldn’t control.

She recalled a bit of history she’d once read: During the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Xianzong had ordered shad fish shipped from Nanjing as tribute. But with no refrigeration and the long journey, even packed in ice, the fish arrived spoiled. To avoid punishment, everyone involved, from suppliers to cooks, insisted the fish was supposed to smell that way. And so, from emperor to concubines to ministers, they all proudly dined on the “rare, stinking shad,” until a eunuch who later traveled to Nanjing tasted the fresh kind, and finally realized the truth.

The constraints of the era were what they were, better not to go against the times and end up harming both oneself and others. So Meng Guqing had never cared much for so-called “local specialties” shipped from afar. If one truly wanted to enjoy a regional delicacy, then one should go to where it actually grew, immerse in the local setting, and experience it there. Since that wasn’t possible now, there was no need to force it.

Xiao Shuo, for his part, had grown up wild and rough, needing only food and warmth to be content. It was only after being with Meng Guqing, living the refined and colorful life she led, that he began to grow accustomed to luxury himself. The emperor and Empress were easy to serve; with no other people about them, they lived like any ordinary couple among the common folk. They had been together this long without even a single quarrel, and the servants all loved serving such masters.

Still, the mood was a bit subdued tonight because of the emperor’s “chance encounter” on his way back earlier. Xiao Shuo, of course, didn’t feel a thing, he only ever cared about one person. Whatever others did could go to h*ll. Meng Guqing’s manner hadn’t changed; his gaze lingered briefly on her abdomen before he said nothing more.

After supper, they each washed up and lay in bed. The sky outside had long gone dark, the round moon hanging over the treetops like a silver disk. Meng Guqing lay on her stomach reading an illustrated book, while the man beside her toyed idly with her hair. When she didn’t pay him any attention for a while, immersed in the pages, he grew restless and flipped her over to lie on top of him, taking the book in one hand to read along.

Meng Guqing blinked, a little dazed by his antics. She didn’t like lying on him like this, his body was all hard bone, not the least bit soft like a pillow, but he seemed to enjoy skin-to-skin closeness.

In the past she had privately complained that he must suffer from some kind of “skin-contact deprivation.” Now she knew she hadn’t wronged him. Whenever it was just the two of them, he either held her wrist to rub or circled his arm around her waist, tracing idle patterns. And when they were that way, he always liked pressing close, their sweat-damp bodies joined without a single gap. Her skin was especially soft and pale, smooth like silk; she sometimes felt as if, to him, she was simply a life-sized toy.

Flustered, she wriggled out of his arms and put some space between them, snatching back her book and muttering that it was too hot, he should roll away. She had refused him before, of course, but the little pervert usually treated her refusals like a game, push him away, and he’d cling again; push again, he’d come back, tireless as a puppy, until she surrendered, worn out. Usually, his victory came with some “disciplinary measures.” It wasn’t that she lost in willpower; she simply couldn’t match his strength.

But tonight, he was quiet. When she rolled away, he only turned his head to look at her for a while without saying anything. Pearls of night-glow were set into the walls of the canopy; most of the candles were still burning, since she liked to read in bed. In their warm light, the young man’s features were ink-dark and finely drawn, his lips a soft crimson, the clean lines of his face smooth and flawless. Even though she was long used to that face, seeing it up close still made her heart skip.

Wasn’t it unfair, though? The little pervert had no other hobbies. Even as emperor, he didn’t care for horse-riding, hunting, or ball games; he’d packed off all of the late emperor’s theater and dance troupes to the Empress Dowager. The only things that interested him were state affairs and her.

Meng Guqing still liked him, enough that she couldn’t bear to disappoint him. Seeing him just quietly watching her, her heart softened. She leaned close, kissed the corner of his mouth, and coaxed, “Do you want to look too? We can read it together.”

“Not interested.” He only ever glanced at books because she liked them.

Fine, then. If he didn’t like reading, they could do something he liked. He had been especially busy these days, after coming back each night, he still trained for two hours, and they hadn’t done it in several days. The little pervert was definitely the “carnivorous type.” Ever since discovering the pleasures of married life, he’d been endlessly curious, constantly exploring, well, exploring her. Almost every night, in fact, until she was sore and half-dead from exhaustion. Only after they moved to the capital, when he got busier, did she finally have a bit of respite.

Knowing what kind of man Yuwen Tai had been, Meng Guqing had once assumed Xiao Shuo might have inherited his father’s womanizing streak, and had even wondered if she’d one day have to compete with other women for favor. But she’d been wrong. He seemed only ever interested in her. The household had plenty of pretty maids, but he couldn’t even remember their names. And since entering the palace? There were beauties enough, Empress Wang still kept trying to stuff women into his arms, but every day, without fail, he went straight from court to her hall in the evening.

Such a self-restrained, devoted man was rare indeed. She loved him now, and naturally hoped this “just the two of us” world could last forever. Being from the modern age, she saw nothing wrong with being the one to take initiative. Seeing his faintly displeased face, she wanted to soothe him.

Her white hand cupped his cheek; imitating the way he often kissed her, she brushed a kiss against his brow. No reaction. Her hand trailed down the firm planes of his chest. The weather was hot, but their cool pavilion, shaded and open to the breeze, was comfortable. Even their bed was carved from a single slab of jade, so they slept clothed. Her fingers slipped under his robe through a seam, touching warm, taut muscle, finally, his breathing hitched. Her lips curved; from the corner of her eye she saw the telltale rise beneath his white robe. Just as she was about to reward him a little, her wrist was caught and pressed back to his chest. His breath was hot, but his tone was curt: “Sleep.”

Meng Guqing blinked.