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Chapter 13: Truth and Lies (真象假象)

Feng Jin watched the woman who kneeled before him. He bent down to support her to her feet. “Beloved concubine need not be so ceremonious.” His gaze brushed past the knees covered by her outer robe. Then he turned to Gao Dezhong, who was standing behind him. “Have someone summon an imperial physician.”

“Understood,” said Gao Dezhong, before retreating. Seeing the situation at hand, Yunxi carried the basin of hot water outside, steam still escaping from the surface. Once she was at the door, she lifted her head. Watched her master with eyes full of worry. It wasn’t until she saw the emperor help her master to a seat that relief crashed into her form, and she finally left the chamber entirely.

“Let me see it,” Feng Jin said, staring at the thoroughly-covered pair of knees. His tone of voice seemed normal. “Is there something that We cannot know?”

Zhuang Laoyan hesitated as she rolled up the legs to her inner-garment pants. Revealed the frightening bruises. “It’s really not that serious. It only looks scary…” 

“Your father is a good official.” As the emperor, usually he would not mention the matters of the outer court in the imperial harem. For this reason, after Feng Jin said this one sentence, he changed the topic of conversation. “Be mindful of your health. The medical staff are usually idle, so there is no need to hold back.”

The emperor did not mention how she had received her injury. Naturally, Zhuang Laoyan would not say who had caused it. She only smiled and said, “This concubine just did not want to bother other people since it’s late at night.”

“You are Our woman. There is no need to worry so much.” Feng Jin patted the back of Zhuang Laoyan’s hand, his tone gentle. “If you don’t protect yourself, how could We feel at ease?”

“Your Majesty.” As if moved, Zhuang Laoyan gazed at the emperor. She slowly lowered her head. Rather than believing the things coming out of his mouth, it was better to believe that one saw a ghost in broad daylight. 

Someone once said, a woman looking down in shyness was at her most likely moment to attract others. Feng Jin was an ordinary man. Therefore, in the presence of such an alluring sight, he inevitably had some desires. But then, he remembered that Imperial Concubine Zhao’s injuries had yet to be treated by an imperial physician. He reached out and stroked her hair. His other hand held hers, chill to the touch.

Taoyu Pavilion was free of the scent of incense. There was only the mild scent of fruits in the air. It seemed that Imperial Concubine Zhao’s net curtains¹ and clothes had been stored with fresh fruit. Although the scent was mild, it stirred within others a feeling of comfort.

Zhuang Laoyan did not know what the emperor was thinking. For this reason, she sat there without doing anything. She only leaned against the emperor’s chest in a natural manner, not at all like she was purposely trying to seduce him.

Chest feeling warm and tender, Feng Jin wrapped his arms naturally around the woman leaning against him. Not a word left his lips. He also did not want to speak at this moment. Now that he was experiencing the rare quiet and feeling of relaxation, the corners of his lips tilted upward.

Once Gao Dezhong, who was guarding the entrance to the main chamber, stopped hearing sounds from within, he felt a bit surprised. Such a good opportunity. Shouldn’t Imperial Concubine Zhao be telling the emperor what Consort Yuan did to her? Could it be that she truly loved the emperor, and after seeing him, forgot everything else?

He didn’t know whether Imperial Concubine Zhao was silly, or if she was just that fortunate. If it weren’t for the emperor overhearing her words by coincidence, Imperial Concubine Zhao would have had to eat her suffering without her tormentors receiving any retribution. One would fear that in the future, she would continue to be bullied.

Although favor was important in the imperial harem, rank was also. Especially since the emperor wasn’t the type of master to forget who he had favored. In the imperial harem, rules must be abided.

“Eunuch Gao, the female physicians are here,” said a low-ranked eunuch. Indeed, following him were two female physicians. One look at their appearance, and it was apparent their level of skill was high. 

Gao Dezhong nodded. He had thought since Imperial Concubine Zhao’s injuries were on her knees, having an imperial physician examine her would be a bit improper. Thus, he had some lower-ranked eunuchs summon some female physicians instead. He hoped the emperor wouldn’t be angry at him for his decision. 

“Your Majesty, female physicians from the Imperial Academy of Medicine have arrived.” Outside the door, Gao Dezhong had slowly increased his volume, so that the masters within the residence would hear.

“Let them in.” Feng Jin let go of Imperial Concubine Zhao. He was very satisfied with Gao Dezhong’s preparation. After the two female physicians entered the chamber, he waved and said, “No need to stand on ceremony. Examine the injuries on Imperial Concubine Zhao’s knees.”

The two female physicians still curtsied before approaching the bed in which Zhuang Laoyan lay. They examined the injuries on her knees. Then their eyes widened a fraction. Seemed like the one who had caused Imperial Concubine Zhao the injury would be in a lot of trouble.

The older of the two female physicians performed the ceremony of greeting before saying, “Your Majesty, the injury of Master Imperial Concubine Zhao has yet to affect the nerves and bone. After a few days of treatment, it should heal. However, to clear all the bruises will cause Master Imperial Concubine Zhao much pain.”

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“That’s fine,” said Zhuang Laoyan with a smile. “Just apply the ointment for me.”

“Master Imperial Concubine Zhao, this official will now begin so please do not blame this official.” The older female physician took out the ointment and squeezed some onto the palm of her hand. She mixed it with her fingers, before applying it to the bruises, applying much force to her rubs.

The pain was so excruciating that tears started to form at the corners of Zhuang Laoyan’s eyes. She tilted her head toward the solemn-looking emperor. “Your Majesty, this concubine is alright.”

Feng Jin took in the small beads of sweat hanging from Imperial Concubine Zhao’s forehead and her forced smile. He reached out to grab her hand. “We know.”

Gao Dezhong lowered his head even more. Originally, he had thought Imperial Concubine Zhao had grown smarter, but now she had returned to being a silly person. During this moment, if she had appeared weaker, the emperor would feel even more love for her. But her current appearance was one of enduring pain to the best of her ability, as if she were afraid of causing the emperor worry. How silly.

How could the emperor truly worry about her? In this world, who didn’t know that the most heartless people were of the imperial family?

Because Gao Dezhong was not a true man, he would not understand the frame of mind of true men. Feng Jin had seen too many weak women. If there were a woman who acted strong for the sake of him, it would make a man take pity on her even more.

Soft strands of hair stuck to her sweaty face, and the space in between their clasped hands grew damp. However, this woman was still smiling gently, as if she did not feel any pain. Even the heart of someone like Feng Jin, which was as hard as stone, couldn’t help but soften a bit. 

After the ointment had been applied, the light scent of herbal medicine filled the air. Such a scent wasn’t hard on the nose. Rather, it made others feel  refreshed.

Feng Jin personally helped Zhuang Laoyan wipe clean the sweat on her forehead. “How often does this medicine need to be applied?”

“Reporting to Your Majesty, today was the only day that the medicine needed to be rubbed into the injury with force. Starting tomorrow, the ointment only needs to be applied gently,” said the female physician. She was surprised that Imperial Concubine Zhao had not made a sound from pain.

“Then that is good. You are dismissed.” Feng Jin helped fixed Zhuang Laoyan’s outer garments. “Someone help Us remove clothes.”

“Your Majesty…” Zhuang Laoyan widened her eyes. Never had she thought Feng Jin would spend the night here.

Feng Jin glanced at her. Arched a brow. “Beloved concubine, is there something the matter?”

Zhuang Laoyan shook her head. “No…”

Once his clothes were removed, Feng Jin and Zhuang Laoyan lay on top of the bed. He reached out to embrace her, pulling her close. “How old is beloved concubine this year?”

In the cover of night, Zhuang Laoyan showed an expression of disdain. They had already rolled in the sheets so many times. Yet he did not even know this grandmother’s age. However, her tone only carried joy and shyness. “Your Majesty, this concubine will be eighteen after the sixteenth of next month.”

“Eighteen is during the spring of one’s youth.” Feng Jin rubbed the top of Zhuang Laoyan’s head with his chin a few times. “We ascended the throne at eighteen. Back then, weren’t you only eight?”

“The day Your Majesty ascended the throne, when the womenfolk of the high-ranked officials were paying respects, as the legitimate daughter of the estate, this concubine was able to follow this concubine’s mother and join in the festivities. As such, this concubine had seen Your Majesty’s noble appearance at that time.” She leaned closer to Feng Jin. “This concubine remembers that it was especially sunny that day. Back then, this concubine was ignorant of protocol. When everyone was kneeling, this concubine sneaked a peek at Your Majesty. At that time, Your Majesty was standing on top of the jade steps. Such a bright sight.”

Feng Jin stretched out a hand. Patted Zhuang Laoyan’s back. Voice carrying a smile, he said, “That is indeed ignorant of protocol.”

Everyone in the world liked to be praised and etched deeply into others’ minds. Even if that person was the emperor. Even if that emperor was great and just. 

Zhuang Laoyan smiled prettily in the dark. Yet within this smile, not a hint of love existed.

Power Ranks and Character Page

Our girl ZL is truly training the emperor lmao. He actually just sleeps with her on the same bed instead of leaving.

So I realized that if I don’t have an image uploaded, the WordPress reader would use my purple “donate” button as the featured image. So cringey. Sorry you guys have to see that, but there’s no going around it since I’m using the free version of WordPress and am not allowed any plugins. That includes payment buttons, so I had to be creative with image + links. If I remove the purple image, then the WordPress reader would just use my ko-fi button image, which is just as cringey. Just know that I am not trying to shove the purple donate image into your faces on the WordPress reader.

To those who read this on an aggregator site, shame on you! I, Sleepchaser, only post on my word press blog.