Chapter 5
Sheng Yanhuan covered her mouth, wanting to vomit but unable to.
The Empress Dowager was taken aback. “Wang Fu, hurry and get some sour plums.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Empress Dowager smiled. “When I was pregnant with the Emperor, I was just like this. It’s probably a grandson.”
Sheng Yanhuan’s eyes reddened. “If it’s a boy...” She lowered her head and gently touched her belly. “His Majesty will surely be delighted.”
The Empress Dowager looked at her and thought of the unconscious Emperor. Her heart felt heavy.
“Who knows when the Emperor will wake? If a grandson can inherit the throne, we won’t have to rely on those maternal relatives to prop things up...”
Sheng Yanhuan pressed her lips together, her complexion growing even paler.
“Mother, don’t worry. I’ll do everything I can to make sure this child is born safely.”
The Empress Dowager was delighted, though hearing her keep referring to herself as “I” was a little irksome.
“Why do you keep saying ‘I’? You’re the Empress. You should call yourself ‘this palace’ or ‘this consort.’”
Sheng Yanhuan froze. She opened her mouth, unsure whether she should use those forms of address.
“Your Majesty, you are the Emperor’s lawfully wedded Empress. You paid respects to Heaven and Earth and to the founding emperor. You needn’t think so little of yourself.”
Sheng Yanhuan bit her lip and said softly, “This consort thanks you, Mother.”
The Empress Dowager nodded with satisfaction.
Soon, Wang Fu came in carrying a tray. On it sat an exquisite golden bowl filled with plump plums, their sweet-and-sour fragrance wafting through the air.
“Your Majesty, here...”
“Ugh—” Sheng Yanhuan’s dark eyes flickered. She covered her mouth and nose and turned away, feeling sick again.
“Your Majesty, have a sour plum.” Wang Fu stepped forward and carefully set the golden bowl in front of her.
“Eunuch Wang, are you wearing perfume? The smell is making me nauseous.”
To avoid him, Sheng Yanhuan even leaned backward, afraid of coming into contact with his scent.
“Wang Fu, hurry and step back!” The Empress Dowager’s expression changed as she scolded him coldly.
He was just a servant, yet he dared to wear perfume.
That would be bad enough on its own, but the Empress had been fine until he arrived. Who knew if the scent might affect her grandson?
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Wang Fu didn’t dare argue. He quickly backed away several paces before stopping.
The more the Empress Dowager thought about it, the angrier she became. She glared at him. “Get out. Stop standing there in the way.”
Wang Fu felt deeply wronged. He hadn’t worn any perfume at all.
But no servant dared contradict their master.
He could only obediently leave.
“Whew...” Sheng Yanhuan gently patted her chest, finally able to catch her breath.
“Mother, if Eunuch Wang likes wearing perfume, there’s no need to...”
“Your Majesty! You’re far too kind. How will you ever hold your position as mistress of the harem?” The Empress Dowager cut her off, her expression stern.
“Attendants!”
Wang Fu heard the Empress Dowager’s order and didn’t dare go back in. Chunwan came in instead.
“Pass on my verbal decree: Wang Fu has violated palace rules. Give him fifty strokes, dock a year’s salary, and expel him from Ci’an Palace. As for where he goes afterward, let Eunuch Zhao assign him.”
“This servant will go at once.”
Wang Fu’s legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.
Just because his clothes were scented, he was to receive fifty strokes, lose a year’s salary, and even be stripped of his lucrative post at Ci’an Palace.
His face was deathly pale. He and Eunuch Zhao had been at odds for years. How could Zhao possibly go easy on him?
Besides, he hadn’t worn any perfume...
Sheng Yanhuan’s eyes widened, disbelief filling her beautiful gaze, as if she had never expected the Empress Dowager to punish him so harshly.
Seeing her like that, the Empress Dowager sighed. She hadn’t intended to punish him so severely at first.
It was just that this girl was too naive. If she didn’t learn to stand up for herself, the servants would probably bully her in the future.
“Your Majesty... This servant didn’t! I wasn’t wearing any perfume. I’ve been wrongly accused!”
Wang Fu was so frantic that he forgot all decorum. He dropped to his knees and crawled over to the Empress Dowager.
His eyes were bloodshot as he gently tugged at the Empress Dowager’s hem, pleading in a low voice. “Your Majesty, I’ve served you for so many years. You know what kind of person I am. I would never violate palace rules...”
The Empress Dowager frowned. Wang Fu had indeed served her for many years, and he usually didn’t wear perfume...
“Ugh—” Sheng Yanhuan’s expression shifted. She turned aside and covered her mouth and nose.
The Empress Dowager’s expression instantly turned cold. “Attendants, drag him out!”
Five or six guards immediately rushed in from outside and seized him.
Wang Fu’s pent-up grievances burst out all at once.
“Your Majesty! Why are you framing me? I wasn’t wearing any perfume!”
“Smack!” The Empress Dowager slammed her hand on the table and shot to her feet in anger. The golden beads on her head clinked together.
“Wang Fu! I was going to spare your life, but now you’ve defied your superior. This is a grave offense!”
The Empress Dowager took a deep breath, as if making a difficult decision.
“In consideration of your years of service, I’ll grant you a quick death.”
With that, the Empress Dowager turned away and no longer looked at him.
Wang Fu trembled all over, his face ashen. Urine began to run uncontrollably down his trousers.
“Your Majesty, I’ve been wrongly accused! I really wasn’t wearing any perfume...”
“Take him away.” The Empress Dowager waved a hand behind her.
The guards exchanged a glance, then dragged him out to be executed.
“Mother...” Sheng Yanhuan furrowed her brows and rose to support the Empress Dowager’s arm. “Are you all right?”
The Empress Dowager smiled faintly and gently patted her hand.
“Your Majesty, do you understand now?”
Sheng Yanhuan was silent for a moment, then nodded.
The dignity of the imperial family must never be challenged.
Whether or not he had worn perfume, he had upset his master.
A servant was a servant; their lives were in their masters’ hands. If they made a mistake, she had to act decisively. There was no room for mercy.
“All right, I’ll go back and rest. Even if you can’t eat, you must eat, understand? Everything is for the child.”
Only after the Empress Dowager left did Sheng Yanhuan slowly pick up a sour plum and eat it.
It was sweet and sour, and quite appetizing.
Sheng Yanhuan couldn’t hide the smile in her eyes; they shone so brightly it was almost startling.
“Your Majesty, why are you suddenly so happy?” Chunwan crouched at her feet, gently massaging her calves.
“Whenever I think back to my days in the Cold Palace, I still feel a chill of fear. Things are finally a little better now...”
Chunwan smiled. “That’s right, Your Majesty. This servant is truly happy for you.”
Sheng Yanhuan patted the two little hair buns on Chunwan’s head. In her previous life, Chunwan had cared for her devotedly right up until the day she died. Without Chunwan feeding her medicine day and night, she would have died long ago.
“Chunwan, be my head palace maid.”
Chunwan furrowed her brows, clearly unwilling.
“Your Majesty, this servant is still young. Please let someone else do it.”
Sheng Yanhuan laughed and gave Chunwan’s little hair buns a firm pinch.
“Then I’ll raise your monthly stipend.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
Laughter filled the room. Qi Mohan lay on the roof, his eyes dark and unreadable.
He wanted to see who the lover she was hiding really was.
[Host, your target, Qi Mohan, is on your roof.]
Sheng Yanhuan raised an eyebrow and quietly instructed, “Chunwan, prepare a bath. And don’t let anyone attend to me. I want to bathe alone.”