A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace

Chapter 277: Chapter 276: Are You Feeling Sleepy, Emperor?

Xia Ruqing glanced down at her. An almost imperceptible, cold smirk touched her lips. Then she said, ”It’s getting late. You should go back and serve your master! Oh, and once your master has recovered, tell her to come by more often; she doesn’t need to stay cooped up all the time!”

Lianlian’s eyes sparkled with excitement. ”Xia Jieyu is right! I will certainly urge my mistress to do so!”

Xia Ruqing smiled in satisfaction and turned to leave.

Molli panicked completely. With a THUD, she knelt and kowtowed. ”Xia Jieyu, our mistress, she... She...”

Xia Ruqing feigned confusion. ”What’s wrong with your mistress?”

A sharp kick from Lianlian made Molli flinch, and she instantly fell silent, too scared to speak.

Xia Ruqing smiled lightly. ”That’s enough. You two serve her well,” she said. With that, she led her attendants away.

Along the way, Xia Ruqing sighed. ”Molli is a good girl, but it’s a pity... She has plenty of loyalty, just not enough courage!”

Zi Su and Zi Ning both remained silent. Xiao Xizi looked rather somber. ”In my opinion, Honored Lady Lan is a poor judge of character! To keep someone like Lianlian by her side and only realize it now—who can she blame but herself?”

Zi Yue nodded but said nothing.

Xia Ruqing laughed. ”You’re right! In the palace, who isn’t suffering? Who doesn’t wish to survive? For palace attendants, if their mistress fares so poorly that she needs her servants to risk their lives to protect her, then she truly won’t live long!”

Isn’t a servant’s life still a life? Everyone has the will to live! Why should someone else have to die for your foolishness? Someone like Honored Lady Lan only has herself to blame. Of course, if those servants were the type to climb up by stepping on others, arrogant and always coveting what they don’t have, then it’s they who would deserve to die. Thus, in the depths of the palace, mistresses must have the capabilities of a mistress, and servants must know their place and duties. No one should dare to cross that critical line. No one knows what a person is capable of doing just to survive. One shouldn’t test the fragility of human nature.

By the time she returned to her palace, the sky had already darkened. The Emperor had been busy lately. Xia Ruqing sipped some sweet soup, played with her cat for a while, and was planning to read a bit before sleeping when Zhao Junyao suddenly arrived.

”Emperor?!”

Before Xia Ruqing could even pay her respects, Zhao Junyao sat down beside her. After a moment’s thought, Xia Ruqing decided to remain comfortably reclined, forgoing the formal greeting. ”Emperor, why have you come so late?”

Zhao Junyao looked somewhat weary, his eyes bloodshot. He stroked her hair and smiled. ”What? Are We not allowed to come over?”

Xia Ruqing rubbed against his arm like a cat and said sweetly, ”Allowed!”

Zhao Junyao laughed. ”State affairs have kept Us busy. We haven’t been able to see you for several days!”

Xia Ruqing smiled warmly. ”Emperor, you attend to your affairs. Your concubine is quite fine on her own!”

Zhao Junyao paused momentarily, then corrected, ”Not one person, but two!”

Xia Ruqing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but she said no more.

”Have you dined this evening? What did you eat?” Zhao Junyao asked absently. In truth, his gaze hadn’t left her belly for a single moment. He longed to touch it but feared his touch might be clumsy and inadvertently hurt her. And so, Zhao Junyao, the dignified Emperor of a nation, found himself uncharacteristically hesitant and cautious.

Xia Ruqing noticed this, so she sat up straight. ”Emperor, your concubine is eating very well. The Imperial Kitchen even sent several extra dishes! I daren’t let anyone find out!”

Zhao Junyao said, ”Imperial Physician Zhang said that a pregnancy usually stabilizes after three months. We can announce it then!”

A wave of guilt washed over Zhao Junyao as he said this. But why? Why did a woman bearing his child have to do so in secret? When the Noble Consort was pregnant, he hadn’t thought twice, openly bestowing many gifts upon her. Now that Qingqing was pregnant, why all these considerations? The saying, ”For a woman, pregnancy is like walking through the gates of hell,” crossed his mind, and a flicker of anxiety stirred within him. He thought of the child already in her womb. What would be a good name? Lost in these thoughts, the corners of his mouth would sometimes unconsciously lift into a smile.

Even Li Shengan hadn’t dared to say much to him lately. The way Li Shengan looked at him was a bit unusual, strange, and tinged with trepidation. Internally, Li Shengan had a completely different take on the situation. The Emperor has been swamped with state affairs lately. He’s probably a bit stressed... always smiling one moment and frowning the next. It’s terrifying! I should try to be as inconspicuous as possible!

Xia Ruqing, sitting upright, noticed Zhao Junyao was still looking at her. She asked with a smile, ”Emperor, what are you looking at?”

Zhao Junyao snapped back to his senses, coughing lightly to ease the awkwardness. Then, he... became somewhat flustered. ”We are wondering if it will be a boy or a girl, and whether it will resemble you or Us?!”

It was a rather whimsical answer!

Xia Ruqing laughed, grabbed Zhao Junyao’s hand, and placed it on her abdomen. ”Why don’t you ask our baby and find out?!”

Her belly was still flat. Yet, the mere thought that a tiny child resided within—his and Qingqing’s child—sent a powerful jolt, like an electric current, through his heart. He didn’t dare move or touch it, just quietly savored the sensation. In his heart now, Qingqing was like a tender flower bud that had just begun to open, caressed by the spring breeze and morning dew—a newly unfurled, delicate bloom. So exquisite, so tender. He wished he could place her under a crystal dome, to shield her completely, so no one else could see her, touch her, or harm her in the slightest.

His stiff, clumsy movements, however, struck Xia Ruqing as incredibly charming. This man really could be quite endearing at times.

Zhao Junyao withdrew his hand, embraced her, and asked, ”Are you sleepy?”

Xia Ruqing looked puzzled. ”I’m not sleepy. Are you, Emperor?”

Zhao Junyao embraced her as they lay down on the bed. ”We are tired. Read to Us!”

Looking at Zhao Junyao’s exhausted face, Xia Ruqing thought to herself, So, being an Emperor isn’t as glamorous as people imagine. Most of the time, just like everyone else, he was probably worked to the bone. Of course, incompetent rulers in history might have had it easier. But how many truly inept rulers were there? Most, after all, aspired to be good emperors.

The two washed up and went to bed. Xia Ruqing picked up a book of poems and began to read. Before she had read much, Zhao Junyao fell asleep.

Xia Ruqing yawned, tossed the book aside, and lay down as well. She burrowed deeper into his embrace, pulled the blanket snugly over them, and closed her eyes. It was still a bit early, and she wasn’t quite sleepy yet. Her mind began to wander. The Emperor probably didn’t know about Honored Lady Lan’s situation. The Imperial Medical Bureau wouldn’t dare bother him with such things. As for the Empress, with new Fine Ladies about to enter the palace, she had even less time to spare for such matters. Honored Lady Lan was just an unfavored Honored Lady, after all. Who would take her seriously? It was merely a case of muddling through; as long as no lives were lost, it was deemed acceptable.

After a while, she too drifted off into a light sleep.

When she woke up the next day, the Emperor had already left. Xia Ruqing hugged the quilt and slept until the sun was high in the sky before finally stirring.