Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C130 pt2

During the day, she lived in the Lady Fengtian's Mansion, but usually entered and exited from the Duke's Mansion. A small door was opened between the two mansions, usually locked, and only opened when Wushuang needed it.

Because of this, he was angry with her again. At the time, Mei Wushuang didn't understand, but later, when she realized what had happened, she pretended to be ignorant and muddled through.

Now, Wushuang had gradually grown accustomed to his capricious temperament. In short, coaxing him was the only way, or else she would be the one to suffer in the end.

Although he wouldn't hit her, nor would he punish her, he would use another method to chastise her. In short—it was extremely unpleasant, leaving Mei Wushuang exhausted in body and mind, a variety of feelings difficult to express.

His personality differed so greatly, sometimes he would forget what he had just said, one moment happy, the next angry. Mei Wushuang gradually became suspicious, but the reasons she could think of were never good.

This could be attributed to when she was seven or eight years old, one snowy day, several maids and old women hid in her room to warm themselves by the fire, and told stories of ghosts and strange events to pass the time.

If they were stories from books, it would have been fine, but they insisted on attributing them to what their own parents told them, or what their grandmothers and maternal grandmothers told them, thus adding a strange, eerie, and terrifying feeling to those stories.

For example, one little maid told a story.

She said that when her mother was young, she lived in the countryside. Once, she got up in the middle of the night to go to the outhouse and saw a man completely naked, with black hair covering his face. She said her mother was so frightened that her soul fled, and it was her maternal grandmother who invited a shaman to call back her soul, which finally cured her mother.

Another old woman told a story about someone whose heart was eaten by a ghost.

She said she heard this from her aunt, who said that they used to have a neighbor named Zhang, who encountered a ghost one night after returning late from drinking, when he passed by a graveyard.

After the ghost ate the man's heart, it wore the man's skin and lived in his house, being very affectionate with his wife during the day, so much so that even his wife didn't notice anything unusual.

But soon things went wrong. His wife gave birth to two children in a row, and each child was stillborn. The stillborn babies were covered in purple bruises, resembling ghost infants, scaring the midwife so much that she ran away on the spot, not even daring to take the delivery fee.

Although the wife was sad and heartbroken, they were still her children after all. They were frightening, but they still had to be buried.

At that time, the custom was that children who died young were not given tombstones when they were buried; they were simply buried quietly somewhere. The wife felt sorry for her child, so she braced her postpartum body to wash the child, changed it into a small garment, wrapped it in a cloth, and handed it to her husband, asking him to take it out and bury it.

The husband went, but who knew that his wife was thirsty in the middle of the night, got up and found that her husband was not by her side, so she braced her body to go to the kitchen, but found her husband was cooking something.

She wondered what he was cooking in the middle of the night, but when she walked over, she found her husband's mouth was full of black blood, and what was being cooked in the pot was the stillborn baby.

It turned out that the two children born to the wife were both ghost fetuses, and ghost fetuses were a great tonic for the ghost wearing the man's skin, so he secretly hid them and got up in the middle of the night to cook and eat them.

At that time, Mei Wushuang was very frightened, but she didn't dare to chase the maids and old women out, so she hid in the inner room herself.

Who knew that even though she hid in the inner room, the sounds from outside could still be heard, and she could still hear them even when she covered her ears. So, for the next few days, she had nightmares every night, dreaming that a ghost wore the skin of the maids around her and then ate her.

In short, later when Mei Wushuang grew up, these stories were still deeply imprinted in her mind.

Though she knew the principle of "the Master does not speak of prodigies, feats of strength, disorders, or spirits" after growing up, she was still afraid. She dared not turn off the lights when she slept at night, always feeling that a ghost would crawl out of the corner.

Therefore, when Wushuang noticed more and more clues, the first thing she subconsciously thought of were stories of ghosts and monsters.

She felt both afraid and absurd.

She kept telling herself it was impossible, but her heart couldn't help but wander.

She thought of the way he looked, seemingly mad, when she first met him, and the strangeness about him… so much so that she couldn't sleep well at night, and was absent-minded during the day, listless and without energy.

Thus, she inevitably revealed some of this in her interactions.

***

Emperor Qianwu keenly noticed it, but remained silent.

Ji Yang also noticed it, but he went to find Song You instead.

"Your Majesty, is it really good to tell Madam about this matter?"

"You can tell her, but you don't need to tell her too much, just give her a general idea of my condition."

Although Song You looked worried, he still agreed.

Little did he know that Ji Yang's actions could deceive others, but not Fusheng. Although Fusheng didn't know what he was looking for Song You for, this action was obviously unusual, so he turned around and reported it to Emperor Qianwu.

Emperor Qianwu summoned Song You to inquire, and only then did he learn what 'he' had done.

These days, the two had not been competing with each other less. This kind of competition was extremely subtle, so much so that even someone as close as Fusheng could only vaguely perceive a little, and wasn't clear about the specifics.

As for her, it was even more impossible for her to know.

Because the two were competing, it caused her to become suspicious. Although Emperor Qianwu didn't ask, with his level of shrewdness, he could guess what she was thinking just by looking at her eyes and her subtle actions.

He chose to remain silent, naturally having his own considerations. He didn't expect 'him' to choose to break through this layer of window paper.

What did 'he' want to do? The intention was obvious.

"Just do as he says."

Song You raised his head in surprise, "Your Majesty?"

"Go."

Song You could only descend, filled with a bellyful of doubts.

Fusheng was also puzzled. He knew more than Song You, and so his doubts were genuine. Why did His Majesty do this? If this matter were exposed, what would Madam think? Could she accept it?

After these days of contact, Fusheng had come to understand Wushuang somewhat.

She definitely wouldn't be able to accept it for a while. If she couldn't accept it, then how should things be resolved?

Fusheng was worried, but he couldn't say anything, and could only sigh secretly in his heart.

After hearing what Song You said, Wushuang couldn't regain her senses for a long time.

Song You had originally come to take her pulse, but suddenly asked her to dismiss everyone around and said these words to her. These words truly threw her heart into chaos.

"Actually, His Majesty's condition has gradually stabilized. The dual-soul disorder will no longer cause too much impact. It's just that the people serving him will have to work harder."

Wushuang sat there absentmindedly. Song You left, but she didn't even notice.

A dual-soul in one body?

Tormented by headaches year-round?

So he wasn't possessed by a ghost, nor was his mind deluded by a specter, but simply ill?

But what exactly is this dual-soul in one body?

Wushuang couldn't figure it out no matter what, and her head ached from thinking.

In the evening, she was summoned to the palace.

Seeing him reach out to take her hand, she subconsciously pulled it away, but then felt that she shouldn't do that, and hurriedly offered her hand again.

The two went to have dinner.

Seeing him actively picking food for her, Wushuang thought of the scene of their first meal together. At that time, he had ignored her completely, but now he would gradually pick food for her.

No wonder he always summoned her to the palace at Rouyi Hall.

Why were Rouyi Hall and Chenhui Tower separated by only a wall? If Emperor Qianwu truly possessed a dual-soul disorder, he would inevitably seek to conceal it. Rouyi Hall belonged to that other self, while Chenhui Tower belonged to Emperor Qianwu.

She also understood why he would force himself upon the wife of a courtier. Emperor Qianwu had an Empress and numerous concubines. Though his temperament was capricious, he was inherently proud. How could he possibly share?

No wonder he was so inexperienced the first time; he simply had never done it before.

Wushuang's heart was filled with extreme complexity. After a jumbled, chaotic train of thought, a strange feeling arose: he only had her, and she only had him.

This feeling left her both perplexed and restless, both apprehensive and indescribable.

After finishing their meal, the two went to a side hall.

"What are you thinking about? This Prince noticed you were distracted during the meal."

"This concubine wasn't thinking about anything."

He raised an eyebrow, lifting her chin to scrutinize her.

She blushed under his gaze, unable to quell the heat that spread from the roots of her ears even when she looked away.

"Your Majesty, please don't look at this concubine like that," she said weakly.

"Why shouldn't this Emperor look?"

She stammered, unable to speak. Seeing his hand loosen, she quickly burrowed into his embrace, hiding her face.

She thought to herself, how could a dignified emperor disregard his reputation and brazenly seize the wife of a courtier? It turned out there were fundamentally two people. She wondered what the Emperor Qianwu she had never met was truly like.

Harboring this thought, Wushuang did not immediately leave the palace after waking up the next day.

She had come to the palace so many times, and apart from the few occasions when the Empress summoned her to speak, she mostly arrived late and left early, never having truly observed what the palace was like.

Thus, she made an excuse to summon Little Quanzi, asking him what the Imperial Garden was like, and where the palace was where His Majesty usually held court and handled state affairs, and what it was like.

Little Quanzi explained everything to her in detail, and then tactfully said, "If Madam is curious about the Imperial Garden, why not take a stroll through it later? Now is the time when plants and trees are flourishing, and many flowers in the Imperial Garden are in bloom, making it very beautiful."

Wushuang was very pleased with Little Quanzi's tact, but blushed and said, "Actually, it's not that I want to see the Imperial Garden, it's just that I want to see what the palace where His Majesty usually handles state affairs looks like."

Little Quanzi immediately understood.

He knew it! His Majesty was so handsome and mighty; sooner or later, the Lady would be captivated by him.

See, here it comes.

Although Little Quanzi was a chamberlain, he understood that only when a woman admired a man would she want to know everything about him.

"Then, how about this humble servant taking the Lady to have a look later?" he whispered. "In a little while, His Majesty will probably dismiss court. This humble servant will take the Lady to find an inconspicuous place, and perhaps you can catch a glimpse of His Majesty in his court attire."

Little Quanzi thought: His Majesty, dressed in court attire, was extraordinarily majestic and imposing. He would surely bewitch the Lady, and she would follow His Majesty wholeheartedly from then on.

In his view, Lady Fengtian was merely a stepping stone. Sooner or later, the Lady would enter the palace and become a Consort, perhaps even ascending to the position of Empress.

"Then take me to have a look."

Since it was settled, Little Quanzi went to make arrangements.

He was originally an ordinary chamberlain in Chenhui Hall, but he was valued only because he caught the Lady's eye. Later, relying on the Lady's influence, he now had considerable face in the palace. Arranging this little matter was still very easy.

Afterward, Mei Wushuang changed her clothes and, taking Linglong with her, followed Little Quanzi.

Along the way, they encountered many palace servants, but the palace rules were strict. When the palace servants saw a noble coming from afar, they all bowed and knelt, not daring to raise their heads, which made Mei Wushuang feel a little less awkward.

After walking for a while, they saw a palace.

The palace had flying eaves and upturned corners, with an extraordinary imposing manner. This was the Zichen Hall.

It was also good timing; when they arrived, it coincided with the time of court dismissal.

Emperor Qianwu, in his court attire, walked in front, followed by Fusheng, and behind them were many others.

She clearly wanted to see what Emperor Qianwu was like, but at this moment, Mei Wushuang panicked again and wanted to turn around and hide. But she didn't manage to hide, because Emperor Qianwu suddenly stopped and looked over in this direction.