Chapter 5 — Palace of the Moonlit Tower

Soon enough, every single assassin was captured. The Emperor commanded the commander of the Imperial Guards to investigate the matter thoroughly to the very end. To everyone's utter astonishment, His Majesty scooped me up in his own arms, carrying me directly into the sovereign bedchamber, and personally sat vigil by the bedside. The imperial physician was subjected to such an intense, piercing stare from the Emperor that his hands and feet fumbled in sheer panic.

Be gentle!

Can this medicinal powder effectively dull the pain?

Bring out the absolute finest scar-removal ointment at once!

Trembling violently, the physician finished bandaging the wounds, wiped the profuse sweat from his forehead, and dared not cast even a single further glance in my direction.

Your Majesty, White Angelica has only suffered superficial flesh wounds, though she has lost a somewhat significant amount of blood. With a fortnight of quiet convalescence, she will be fully recovered.

Only then did the Emperor release a soft sigh of relief. The moment the physician retreated, the Emperor leaned over the edge of the bed and questioned me:

Tell me, what reward do you desire? Throughout these past consecutive years, misfortune has relentlessly plagued me, and scarcely any maiden has dared to risk her very life to rescue me, save for…

He trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished. In the depths of his eyes flickered a poignant, lingering sorrow. I understood all too well. Now that he sat as the supreme ruler of the Nine-Five, his heart remained forever yearning to make amends for the moonlight of his youth. Alas, the person was long gone. To soothe the haunting regrets entrenched within his soul, he would bestow supreme glory and boundless wealth upon any mere substitute. That precisely explained why, years ago, he defied the unanimous opposition of his civil and military officials to obstinately lavish exclusive favor upon the Noble Consort. And later on, he would pour all of those lingering regrets onto my own head! Yet, I did not answer him directly.

Does Your Majesty truly wish to bestow a reward upon this humble servant?

The Emperor nodded. I smiled and replied:

This humble servant merely desires a modest sum of silver. Once I leave the palace in the future, I wish to return to my native village, build a few tiled houses with Brother Iron Lump, and bear a few children together.

I feigned an expression brimming with innocent anticipation. In the very next second, my chin was suddenly seized in a painful grip. The Emperor looked profoundly displeased, infuriated to the point of laughter.

You wish for me to grant you silver, only for you to take that very coin and bear children with another man? White Angelica, have I perhaps been far too lenient with you? Have you forgotten precisely to whom you belong?

No sooner had those words fallen than he lowered his head and captured my lips. To call it a kiss would be far too gentle; it was more akin to a fierce bite. He murmured in a low, indistinct growl:

You have already been branded with my seal. You are forbidden to ever entertain thoughts of any other man again!

My eyes welled with tears, yet within my heart, I laughed silently. Splendid! This only served to further ignite the Emperor’s competitive spirit and possessive desire. This was inherently the prime moment to secure absolute favor. And yet... I still chose to refuse him. That which is desired yet remains unattainable is precisely what makes a man cherish it all the more. Seeing me curl into the corner of the bed, weeping in silence, the Emperor felt a conflicting wave of exasperation and deep heartache.

Weep no more. I shall not force you. I will grant you all the time you need to adjust.

Before long, the news that I had performed the meritorious service of saving the Emperor, and had even been carried directly into the sovereign bedchamber by His Majesty himself, swept through the entire inner court. The harem was sparsely populated with consorts, and everyone naturally assumed that my official elevation in rank was merely a matter of time. Some even went so far as to draw comparisons between myself and the Noble Consort. I merely expended a trifling sum of silver to ensure those murmurs drifted deliberately to the ears of the Noble Consort.

Have you heard the news? White Angelica bears an even closer resemblance to that person than even the Noble Consort herself.

That person? Who might that be?

Who else could it be? Naturally, it is the woman who once held the Emperor’s heart years ago.

Indeed! The favor the Noble Consort enjoys is solely due to possessing that face. But White Angelica has now rendered the merit of saving the sovereign, and she resembles that person even more strikingly.

White Angelica’s future prospects are bound to be boundless.

Such provocative rumors inevitably struck a nerve, stinging the Noble Consort to the quick. She would undoubtedly resort to any means necessary to deal with me. This was precisely the outcome I desired.

On that particular day, I deliberately donned a gown of tender, goose-yellow silk. The supple curves of my waist were accentuated to absolute perfection. The Noble Consort had grown somewhat more cunning; she did not strike at me directly, choosing instead to borrow a knife to kill. She marched straight before the Empress to lodge a formal complaint, claiming that I relied recklessly on imperial favor to look down upon everyone, and even dared to wear goose-yellow—the very hue the Empress detested above all others, for the Empress's former rival in love had favored that exact shade of attire above all else. Displeased, the Empress ordered me to kneel. The sun beat down fiercely, its scorching rays baking my skin like fire. Before long, my vision began to blur into a dizzy haze.

The Noble Consort emerged from the longevity chambers of the Empress. As she passed by me, she cast a gaze of supreme disdain downward.

You, of all people, actually dare to dream of competing with this palace?

From the very first moment the Emperor laid eyes upon me, he bestowed his favor upon me, and by the very next day, he broke all precedent to confer a noble rank upon me. Even when the entire court of civil and military officials raised their voices in opposition, it could not halt the Emperor's devotion to me.

And what of you? You risked your very life to block a sword, yet you remain nothing more than a lowly palace maid!

Calculating the time, the Emperor would soon catch wind of this commotion and ought to arrive swiftly. I lowered my gaze, remaining entirely mute. Not until I caught the fluttering hem of a black dragon robe embroidered with golden dragons within the corner of my vision did I let myself gracefully collapse against the embroidered slippers of the Noble Consort. The immediate reaction of the Noble Consort was one of utter disgust, and she lashed out, kicking me forcefully away. That entire scene played out directly before the eyes of the Emperor, looking for all the world as though the Noble Consort was brutally raining blows upon my prone body with her feet.

Noble Consort! What on earth do you think you are doing?

The Emperor strode forward in great strides, bellowing a fierce reprimand at the Noble Consort while simultaneously bending to sweep me up horizontally in his arms. I closed my eyes, feigning unconsciousness, uttering not a single sound. This only served to make my plight appear unimaginably pitiful. This time, the Noble Consort found herself utterly unable to clear her name, no matter how many mouths she possessed.

Your Majesty, this concubine... this concubine did nothing of the sort! It was this wretched vixen who deliberately framed me! It is all her fault!

The Emperor flew into a towering rage.

Enough! I witnessed it with my own eyes; could it possibly be false? If you were not currently carrying the imperial seed, I would never forgive this so easily!

With those words, he scooped me up and strode away. The Noble Consort could never quite comprehend the truth: no matter how rational a man might be, once emotional impulses overwhelmed him, he would inevitably lose his clarity of mind. Toward a woman who captured his heart, he would display boundless tolerance and even indulgence. But toward someone who had fallen out of his favor, even the slightest transgression was enough to breed utter revulsion. Men are inherently fickle in love, yet utterly ruthless when the passion fades. Once again, the Emperor carried me deep within the sanctuary of the bedchamber.