Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C117

By this time, the night was deep, and the palace gates were already locked. Yet, the tightly shut gates posed no obstacle to the group.

Once inside the palace gates, they switched to sedan chairs. Although Little Quanzi, with his glib tongue, temporarily diverted Wushuang's attention, as they drew closer to their destination, Wushuang's expression gradually grew solemn once more.

In the end, this encounter was unprecedented and unheard of. Even though Wushuang appeared indifferent and resigned after her pleas for help were fruitless, she was, in the end, filled with fear.

She did not know what she was about to face.

Whether it was instant death, or something else entirely. She did not understand Emperor Qianwu's disposition, gleaning only a few insights from rumors and gossip, which painted him as a difficult person to deal with.

He was a cold-blooded and ruthless emperor who slaughtered the innocent.

The palace maid who had died before her eyes was still vivid in her memory, as was the tip of the bloodied sword. Clearly, his wanton killing was not a rare occurrence. Perhaps he hadn't killed her during the day simply because he didn't feel like it at the time. Now, having woken up and discovered she had actually escaped, he had summoned her back to the palace, merely to kill her again and vent his anger.

As for what Little Quanzi had said earlier, that she would now have an extraordinary status and that His Majesty was the finest man in the world, Wushuang listened with skepticism. She felt it was merely a tactic to coax her into compliance, or perhaps those below were simply unaware of His Majesty's true nature, assuming he had summoned her to the palace only to satisfy his own desires, and were thus deliberately flattering her.

Seeing how skilled he was in speech and action, it was clear this was not his first time. Wushuang's heart could not help but feel even more uneasy.

Little Douzi had no idea that she was thinking this way; if he did, he would truly sing a song of injustice like Dou E. 

TN: Dou E is a character in a famous Chinese play who was wrongly accused and executed.

His master had personally entrusted him with this task, but because the details were not suitable to be explained too clearly, he had only instructed him to serve carefully, as the other party was a married woman, and he must not cause her any unhappiness.

As Little Douzi understood it, this "unhappiness" likely had two meanings: it could refer to the woman being somewhat unwilling, or it could mean not spoiling His Majesty's pleasure.

Therefore, he had specifically brought Little Quanzi along. On the way, he had also asked Little Quanzi about the woman's character, and he had heard that she was very simple, not a schemer, nor a flatterer. Little did Wushuang know that Little Quanzi, despite looking thin and small with a childish face, had managed to understand her so clearly after only a brief conversation. If she had known, she would probably never dare to speak to anyone from the palace again.

In short, Little Douzi understood as soon as he heard this, so he did not take the opportunity to show his face, but instead handed it over to Little Quanzi. His plan was that Little Quanzi was already familiar with Wushuang, so he would come forward to coax her, and she must not put on an act of being a chaste and virtuous woman when she met His Majesty, and ruin everything.

He had put in so much effort, yet she thought of him this way; it was truly a great injustice. However, Wushuang's thoughts were not entirely wrong. Little Douzi did indeed have the intention of coaxing her, but doing such a thing was unprecedented for him, and there would be no second time.

Returning to the main topic, the sedan chair quickly arrived at Rouyi Hall.

Because it was dark, Wushuang did not recognize the palace roads and had no idea where she was being taken. Only after entering and seeing the deep, secluded palace and the curtains everywhere did she realize she had returned to the place of her nightmares.

Her already heavy heart grew even heavier as she stepped into the hall. She could not help but become nervous, holding her breath and remaining silent, afraid that someone would suddenly appear behind her and try to kill her.

She followed Little Douzi all the way, until they reached a palace gate, where Little Douzi stopped escorting her.

"Madam, please go in quickly."

She saw the apprehension in Little Douzi's eyes, and her steps couldn't help but become heavier.

It had to be faced eventually!

Wushuang slowly stepped into the hall. The enormous palace was empty, and she continued forward. After passing through a gauze curtain, the scene beyond fell into her eyes.

In the very center of the main hall was an enormous dragon bed, its posts carved full of dragons in various forms. Thin gauze curtains hung all around, some gathered up, others half-lowered. A dim, yellow light was confined to one corner, while the area around the bed was shadowy and indistinct, allowing only a vague glimpse of a person sitting before it.

This person's hair was disheveled, and they wore a black robe, covering their head as they sat there.

The scene was truly frightening, but just as a sliver of fear rose in Wushuang's heart, the person raised their head. Their eyes were bloodshot and cloudy, but they lit up for a moment upon seeing her.

And then Wushuang was no longer able to think, because the other person's movements were too fast. By the time she reacted, she was already in their arms.

His behavior was unseemly, like that of a madman. Only when he drew close could she hear him muttering to himself. At first, Wushuang thought he was saying "hot, hot," but later she understood that he was saying "person, person."

Her whole body was stiff, her mind a viscous blank, and she couldn't control her body. In extreme terror, the other person buried their face in the hollow of her neck, gently nuzzling her a few times.

Wushuang didn't know how much time had passed, only that when she was able to think again, this person had already carried her to the bed. Just like in the daytime, he was pressing down on her, his face buried in the hollow of her neck.

The difference was that this time, only half of his body was pressing on her, not as heavy as before. His warm breath sprayed against her neck, but he wasn't asleep. Instead, like a small cat, he buried himself there, gently nuzzling.

Wushuang had never raised a cat, but when she lived in the Marquis Changyang's mansion, a tabby cat had come to her courtyard.

Seeing that the cat was thin and bony, she had softened for a moment and given it some food. It hadn't eaten it then, but when she went to check later, the food was gone. From then on, the cat would come to the wall of her courtyard every few days to bask in the sun, and she would tacitly give it some food, not feeding it directly, but placing it in a corner, where it would go on its own.

Sometimes the cat would come, and sometimes it wouldn't come for a long time. Once, it brought three kittens to her. The kittens were probably not long after being born. Although they had downy fur, they couldn't even stand steadily.

She guessed that it was their mother. It probably brought them to her because the kittens were too small, and it was too cold outside to raise them. So, she secretly raised the three kittens for a winter.

At the time, Bailu and Jianjia didn't allow it, but she insisted, and promised that she would let them go after winter, so she kept the kittens next to the stove that heated the water.

After a winter, the kittens grew up, able to run and jump, bite her skirts, and scratch the curtains in the room.

She had also held them, but only a few times. Bailu and Jianjia wouldn't let her hold them, saying that the cats had fleas. Every time she held the kittens, they would nuzzle her gently, just like this person was doing now, making a purring sound in their throats.

But in the end, the kittens left, leaving with the mother cat. Later, they would occasionally come, and she would be pleasantly surprised to prepare food for them, but they came less and less often, and gradually stopped coming altogether.

Wushuang couldn't explain why she thought of those cats. Perhaps she could only think of other things to keep herself from trembling in fear.

In truth, Wushuang had already realized that 'Emperor Qianwu' was somewhat abnormal, but her entire mind was elsewhere, so she naturally had no time to think about it in detail.

His hair brushed against the nape of her neck, tickling her intensely, yet she dared not speak. She wanted to cry but didn't dare, and for a time, she fell into sorrow, inevitably feeling sorry for herself. Tears flowed involuntarily, a silent, quiet weeping.

She didn't notice that the person on top of her had stopped moving until he propped himself up and looked down at her face. Only then did she react, her body stiffening in fright.

As he lowered his head, his loose hair fell, causing his face to be half-hidden in shadow.

Wushuang was terrified, even forgetting to close her eyes, until he approached little by little. Only then did she clearly see the bloodshot redness in his eyes, filled with red veins.

He reached out his hand, and Wushuang flinched.

His hand landed on her cheek, touching the traces of moisture there, then he put it in his mouth and tasted it. Seemingly not satisfied with just tasting it, he lowered his head and licked it.

Wushuang didn't dare to move at all. Fortunately, he seemed to lose interest in the water on her face. He turned her over in his arms, and after a long while, he fell into a deep sleep.

By this time, Wushuang was also exhausted. After thinking wildly for a while, she also fell asleep.

When Wushuang woke up, she was the only one on the bed.

She hurriedly sat up, and as if hearing her movement, a chamberlain walked in.

"Does Madam wish to rise?"

Wushuang froze for a moment, then nodded.

The chamberlain silently retreated, and after a short while, led several palace maids in.

The palace maids helped her get up and then helped her wash. After all this was done, seeing Wushuang's clothes, which she hadn't taken off last night, were now wrinkled, they were quite troubled. They could only stretch them out again and again, and only then did they look a little better.

These palace maids were well-trained, not only speaking softly but also moving very gently. Wushuang hardly felt any discomfort and was tidied up.

The palace maids asked if she wanted to eat. Although Wushuang already felt hungry, she had no appetite.

"Can I leave?"

Hearing these words, the palace maids revealed a troubled expression.

"Without any orders from above, this servant and the others are also unaware. Why doesn't Madam have some food? It wouldn't do to starve yourself."

And so, Wushuang could only eat.

After finishing her meal, with nothing to do, she sat in sullen silence.

Fortunately, she was accustomed to such quiet sitting, so it wasn't too difficult to bear.

Unbeknownst to her, Emperor Qianwu, who had been absent from the court for many days, attended the morning assembly today and even summoned his ministers for a meeting. He appeared remarkably refreshed, and he was somewhat surprised that both he and 'he' had fallen asleep last night.

Although his head still ached, it was bearable compared to before.

However, Emperor Qianwu had no time to delve into this matter at the moment. His prolonged absence from court had already drawn questions from the ministers. Therefore, even though Fusheng was usually well-behaved, he was still impeached by the ministers. His immediate priority was to appease the court officials.

By the time all of this was finished, 'he' had already awakened and, though not speaking, was desperately trying to come out. Emperor Qianwu had no choice but to return to Rouyi Hall and release 'him'.

After 'he' emerged, he went straight to the bedchamber. Emperor Qianwu felt rather uncomfortable seeing 'him' hastily embrace the person upon seeing her.

This discomfort was akin to watching oneself do something impossible, a mixture of astonishment and absurdity, yet utterly unavoidable.

He watched as 'he' held the person in his arms, as if he had obtained some treasure. Emperor Qianwu, through 'his' eyes, scrutinized the other party.

This woman's appearance was not bad, but her attire was old-fashioned and dull.

Emperor Qianwu thought that it wasn't as if there were no beautiful women in the palace. When 'he' was still in his right mind, he had shown no interest. Then, thinking of her identity and why the Empress had plotted against her, his mood became extremely complex, and his thoughts drifted far away, back to the time when he had first arrived at the border.

During this period of Emperor Qianwu's distraction, 'he' had carried Mei Wushuang to the bed again. 'He' seemed somewhat agitated, constantly nuzzling her neck and chest.

At first, Mei Wushuang didn't dare to move, allowing him to do as he pleased. However, his constant nuzzling made her very uncomfortable. She could tell that he was very uncomfortable, perhaps suffering from a headache? She placed her hand on his head and gently stroked it.

He paused, and Mei Wushuang was also startled by her own actions, afraid to move.

Until he moved his head under her palm, seeing that she still didn't move, he reached out and took her hand, using it to stroke his head. Only then did Mei Wushuang busily resume stroking, and he finally quieted down.

When Emperor Qianwu regained his senses, he discovered that his dragon head was being held and stroked by this woman. How audacious she was!

Mei Wushuang didn't notice at first, until she felt someone glaring at her.

"Your... Majesty..." She was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she hurriedly stopped her hand.

Emperor Qianwu felt that as her movements ceased, 'he' was faintly restless, struggling to awaken, and simultaneously, his head began to ache.

"Continue."

Wushuang hastily continued to stroke his head. Emperor Qianwu still wore a cold expression, but Wushuang no longer dared to look at him, stroking him again and again.

It seemed a little comfortable, even more so as he relaxed.

Emperor Qianwu involuntarily relaxed his body, imitating 'him' by burying himself in that soft place, the faint fragrance tickling his nose. Feeling that gentle caress, he slowly drifted into slumber.

He hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time. Last night's sleep was too short, and he fell asleep almost impatiently, just like 'him'.

And Wushuang never dared to stop.

Until both her hands and arms were so tired that she couldn't lift them, utterly exhausted, she finally fell into a deep sleep.

She had a dream.

In the dream, she became very small, and a young couple was holding her and laughing joyfully.

For some inexplicable reason, she knew that they were her parents.

She felt extremely aggrieved, telling her parents about her incompetence and weakness, recounting her unfortunate fate. She said many, many things...

In a daze, she seemed to feel someone speaking beside her, but she couldn't hear it clearly.

***

"Your Majesty's inability to sleep stems from persistent headaches. This pain can only be alleviated, not cured. Initially, this subject believed that Your Majesty's dual-soul disorder was not thorough enough, or that they were in the process of merging, which caused this headache. However, the facts prove that this subject's guess was incorrect..."

"Although it is currently unknown why Your Majesty can suddenly sleep, it is a good sign. Some diseases with inexplicable causes can usually be relieved by a good night's sleep, indicating that people can replenish their essence, qi, and spirit through sleep."

"The better Your Majesty sleeps, the more it will help 'him' recover, and it will also help alleviate Your Majesty's headaches. As long as Your Majesty can continue to sleep well, this subject believes that it may not be long before Your Majesty's condition improves."

Emperor Qianwu said thoughtfully, "Do you think massage therapy can help alleviate my headache?"

Song You hesitated for a moment, then said, "This subject remembers having tried this method before, but it was of no use?" In the past, in order to treat Emperor Qianwu's illness, Song You had tried almost every method, whether useful or not.

Perhaps it wasn't that massage therapy was useless, but that the person performing it was not the right one?

Emperor Qianwu temporarily concealed his doubts and waved for Song You to withdraw.

After the man had left, he turned to look at the person on the bed.

Her face was streaked with tears, and she didn't seem to be sleeping peacefully.

Was she dreaming?

He could faintly hear her murmuring "father, mother" in her sleep. Emperor Qianwu couldn't help but think of that couple, and he suddenly wondered if he had made a mistake in going along with the situation and marrying Mei Wuxia as Princess Consort Wei.

Clearly, Emperor Qianwu was not one to dwell on the past. Feeling that his spirits were still quite good, he decided to go to Zichen Hall.

However, before leaving, he subconsciously tucked the quilt around the person on the bed.