The Beloved Imperial Consort Chapter 185

“Miss, are you alright?” Xue Qin mustered her courage and cautiously probed from behind the screen.

“I’m perfectly fine. Leave.” He Lian Wei Rui ordered calmly. Her tone remained utterly flat, as if nothing had happened just a moment ago.

Dismissed by her mistress, Xue Qin felt a wave of relief wash over her. She quietly cleaned up the shattered teacup. As she slowly pulled the door closed, she looked inside through the narrowing gap – only to feel as if the entire room had darkened, her mistress fading into the gloom.

Concubine…

Only one word kept surging through He Lian Wei Rui’s mind: concubine. She – daughter of the He Lian House’s main branch – was actually bestowed upon Zong Zheng Han as a concubine! And by direct imperial decree from the Yuancheng Emperor, no less!

Had she been granted marriage by imperial decree and entered the Eighth Prince’s residence as a cefei, it would have been considered a tremendous imperial favor. Unfortunately, her status was so low that she wasn’t even permitted to bring a maid in her dowry. To think she had obtained an imperial marriage decree at the cost of being reduced to the lowly status of a mere plaything. Who didn’t know that this was the Yuancheng Emperor’s clear expression of disdain toward her sudden “rise to prominence”? This time, just a slight punishment was enough to deny her the wealth and power she had longed for.

Mu Xi Yao! A wave of raw pain tore through He Lian Wei Rui’s heart.

She had thought she’d foiled the trap Mu Xi Yao laid – but unexpectedly, she fell into yet another of her opponent’s schemes. This time, she was at the end of her rope. She spent her whole life scheming against others, only to lose to the very kind of deceit she was best at.

Mu Xi Yao was indeed shrewd – able to even gauge a thing or two about the Yuancheng Emperor’s thoughts. It stood to reason, then, that she must have been the one to expose Zong Zheng Ying’s scandal. She’d used His Majesty’s thunderous fury to her advantage and burned He Lian Wei Rui’s cefei dream to ashes. That woman, when she seeks revenge, is truly ruthless.

This was because He Lian Wei Rui had overlooked Zong Zheng Ying’s indelible contribution to the whole affair. No matter how formidable Mu Xi Yao was, she couldn’t have got Zong Zheng Ying placed under house arrest solely for visiting the Shuxiang House – let alone provoked the Yuancheng Emperor to such wrath that He Lian Wei Rui was dragged down as well.

According to what Mu Xi Yao had previously envisioned, after this incident, Zong Zheng Ying would be confined to reflect on her mistakes, and while Miss He Lian might not have been able to reach the rank of cefei, securing a position as a shufei would’ve posed no difficulty at all.

Now, thanks to the biggest surprise of this incident— the Fourth Princess “bringing disaster upon herself” before the Yuancheng Emperor— Mu Xi Yao had unexpectedly emerged with a sweeping victory in this round. What a display of power!

Smiling brightly in front of Zong Zheng Lin, Mu Xi Yao couldn’t resist teasing him, “Now Qie sees—Fourth Princess was Your Highness’s well-hidden pawn, ready to lend Qie a hand at just the right moment. Truly, what a good person she is.”

“Jiao Jiao, seeing you like this reminds Bendian of an old saying— ‘a petty person grown arrogant in success’.” Zong Zheng Lin remained buried in his documents, mostly ignoring Mu Xi Yao’s constant mischief at his side. But now, seeing her getting too full of herself, he finally spoke up to dampen the little woman’s growing arrogance. This content belongs to thehlifestyle.com, if you see this translation elsewhere, it’s been stolen!

This stinky man hadn’t said a word all this time, and just when she was in a cheerful mood, he had to show up and ruin it. Mu Xi Yao picked up the brush and fiercely drew an X across the fine paper, completely ruining the calligraphy assignment Zong Zheng Lin had ordered her to copy with just two strokes.

That man was busy with state matters anyway and had no time to settle scores with her. Mu Xi Yao leaned to the side, using her round belly to subtly block Zong Zheng Lin’s view. She continued scribbling without a care, tossing his instructions to the back of her mind and having fun by herself.

Mu Xi Yao muttered to herself— who would want to be shut away in the study copying Zong Zheng Lin’s handwriting? Even if it was the precious calligraphy of the future Jian’an Emperor, it wouldn’t fetch a good price without the seal. And with the Imperial Seal still resting safely on the Yuancheng Emperor’s desk, her plan to save some “private goods” for herself was temporarily unfeasible.

Besides, wild cursive demanded effortless control of the wrist, and is at its best when the strokes reflect the mind. People often said: standard script is like a person standing upright, running script like one walking at ease, and cursive script like one striding fast and strong.

But someone like her – all limbs and no labor, spending her days in lazy leisure – let alone standing, walking, or running, she’d lie down all day if she could. With a temperament that idle, how could Mu Xi Yao possibly calm her mind and concentrate on practicing wild cursive? This woman was convinced that the boss harbored ill intent—clearly unable to stand seeing her live carefree, and out of sheer jealousy, kept coming up with new ways to make her life difficult.

Mu Xi Yao fumed with indignation and juggled two things at once—silently cursing Zong Zheng Lin for being petty while her brush flowed effortlessly, as if guided by divine force. In an instant, she had vividly drawn the great boss in all sorts of poses: aggrieved, begging for mercy, kneeling, and crouching.

Not daring to label it outright as a portrait collection of the boss’s many poses, a mischievous gleam flashed in Mu Xi Yao’s eyes. She was so amused that her little shoulders couldn’t help but shake with laughter.

Sure, she couldn’t name Zong Zheng Lin directly and strike back in the open, but wasn’t there still his son, Cheng Qing the little bun, with that chubby baby face that looked exactly like the big boss, who could let her heap on all the metaphors, allusions and innuendos she wanted, and vent her frustrations to her heart’s content?

Mu Xi Yao unbashedly worked her tricks, growing more and more excited. She drew with such animation that her face beamed with delight. So absorbed was she that she completely forgot to stay alert to the big boss’s movements behind her.

At first, Zong Zheng Lin noticed nothing unusual. But gradually, he began to feel something was off. The study had been noisy for half the day—why had it suddenly gone quiet? Lifting his gaze toward the spirited woman seated just off to the side, the Sixth Highness’s brows unconsciously arched slightly.

Zong Zheng Lin was all too familiar with Mu Xi Yao’s temperament. If this woman had always been this well-behaved while copying cursive script, he wouldn’t have needed to keep her under watch by his side.

Another glance at Mu Xi Yao showed her eyes sparkled bright and clear, brimming with barely contained joy. The corners of her lips twitched slightly—evidently, their owner was trying hard to hold back, still remembering not to laugh out loud and disturb those around her.

Zong Zheng Lin narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly. If he still failed to realize that the woman was clearly neglecting her proper duties and secretly engaged in something that couldn’t be seen by others, then he’d truly be dense. Just one look at that sly expression of hers, and it was obvious she was up to mischief again.

Though he frequently admonished her against excessive idleness, Zong Zheng Lin loved most that unbothered nature of hers, too lazy to pretend. Just like now—being all secretive and only making things more obvious with her cover —it was utterly impossible for Zong Zheng Lin to turn a blind eye.

Ideas surged in Mu Xi Yao’s mind like a gushing spring. In addition to all the frustrated expressions she imagined Zong Zheng Lin wearing, she also sketched the big boss’s furious yet resigned expressions from when he had to deal with her, with striking vividness, full of spirit and life.

“Jiao Jiao, aren’t you afraid the fire burning over Bendian’s head is getting a little too fierce?” Zong Zheng Lin had a dark face and had been standing behind her for some time.

He didn’t realize there was something fishy going on at first. But as Mu Xi Yao’s brushstrokes grew more vivid, Zong Zheng Lin finally realized that the various pitifully yielding “little figures” she’d been drawing were based on him. Or rather… she was using him as her outlet for frustration!

Mu Xi Yao sure had guts. Besides venting her frustration with all kinds of unflattering portrayals, she even left comments on the side with deliberately written explanations to go with them.

What truly made Zong Zheng Lin’s face darken was that this woman had added flames above “his” head, making the already furious figure look like it was about to explode. The comment written off to the side read: “Braised Lion’s head¹!”

“No way.” Mu Xi Yao replied instinctively. Just as she moved to sketch beside the drawing, she suddenly halted, sucked in a sharp breath, and the Huzhou brush in her hand gave a slight tremble.

It’s over, it’s over – she had been caught red-handed by the boss. With her back to Zong Zheng Lin, Mu Xi Yao pulled a long face, furrowing her brows hard. The boss practiced martial arts and didn’t even make a sound when he walked! That ability of his to come and go like a ghost— how is it that it never once fails him?

“Your Highness ~~” The woman turned with a smile as radiant as spring blossoms. Mu Xi Yao casually tossed the brush aside and wrapped both arms around the firm waist of the man behind her.

“Cheng Qing will surely be this adorable when he grows up. What does Your Highness think of Qie’s gongbi² brushwork?” Your Highness, Qie was painting little bun, not you. Just take it as flattering yourself this once —it won’t bruise your dignity too much.

Mu Xi Yao pouted and motioned for Zong Zheng Lin to lean down. The man obliged without hesitation, bringing his dark, handsome face right up to hers.

Leaning in sweetly, Mu Xi Yao cupped Zong Zheng Lin’s cheeks in her hands and planted two loud, smacking kisses on him. Then she gazed into his phoenix eyes with her own watery, expectant gaze— as if, should Zong Zheng Lin not approve, she would be deeply disappointed.

“Jiao Jiao.” The Sixth Highness spoke in a warm, mellow voice as he held her in his arms. Where Mu Xi Yao couldn’t see, his phoenix eyes glimmered with laughter. “There is no ring around Cheng Qing’s neck — the one Jiao Jiao gave.” The only thing that cooled Zong Zheng Lin’s anger was knowing that, despite all her efforts to cover it up, Mu Xi Yao had never forgotten that flower-gilded necklace.

Mu Xi Yao’s beautiful eyes widened. She turned to look dumbly at the necks of each tiny figure on the drawing. Sure enough, they were all wearing accessories around their neck drawn with a single stroke. Mu Xi Yao raised her head and met with Zong Zheng Lin’s meaningful gaze. She wished she could slap a dog collar on his son right then and there.

Carelessness leads to the loss of Jingzhou³! Isn’t she the very person those words speak of — “the one now forced to swallow the bitter fruit of her own making”?

Translation notes:

[1] Braised Lion’s head also Braised Meat Ball refers to a famous Chinese dish, and also a jab at ZZL’s puffed-up, steaming appearance.

[2] Gongbi refers to a traditional Chinese painting technique known for its meticulous and highly detailed brushwork.

[3] Carelessness leads to the loss of Jingzhou is a reference from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, meaning a moment of carelessness can lead to a major defeat.

If you would like to know a bit about calligraphy styles Mu Xi Yao was practising, click here. 

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