A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace

Chapter 521: Chapter 521 Contradiction

As he stepped out, he caught sight of the Emperor’s retreating figure.

His clothes were not even properly worn. He had grabbed an overcoat and was draping it over his body as he walked.

”Oh Heavens, you’re taking this servant’s life!”

Li Shengan was so frightened he nearly wet his pants. Without even putting on his own outerwear, he immediately chased after him.

Even the Emperor isn’t dressed, so what’s the point of me getting dressed!

”Your Majesty!” he called out and hurriedly pursued.

「...」

By now, it was deep into the night, and all the palace gates had been locked. Only the Palace Attendants on night duty held the keys. But the Palace Attendants were making their rounds. Carrying lanterns, they wandered about and weren’t stationed in any single place. It was pitch black, making them difficult to find.

Zhao Junyao stood by the door, growing quite impatient.

Li Shengan hurried to placate him. ”Your Majesty, don’t worry. This servant will go find the keys and unlock the palace gates right away!”

Having said this, he shivered and hurried off.

It was already late autumn, after all; it was cold in the dead of night without wearing proper clothes. Besides, he was scared out of his wits, his spirit having barely returned to him. Alas...

Li Shengan’s mind went blank, fixated on one thing only.

Find the keys!

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, a full thirty minutes later, he finally found an old eunuch who was hard of hearing. Carrying a lantern with a flame as small as a bean, the old eunuch moved slowly forward; an unknowing onlooker might have mistaken him for a will-o’-the-wisp.

Upon seeing his savior, Li Shengan immediately approached. ”Where are the keys? The Emperor wants to leave the palace!”

The old eunuch listlessly opened his eyes, looked at Li Shengan with disdain, and asked, ”Want to eat?”

”Eat? What is there to eat at this ungodly hour?!”

Li Shengan was so angry his face turned livid. He grabbed the eunuch’s ear and shouted into it, ”I said keys! We need to leave the palace!”

The old eunuch instantly jolted awake.

Leaving the Harem in the middle of the night? In his decades of gatekeeping, he had never seen such a thing! What’s more... it was two men, both with their clothes in disarray.

The old eunuch immediately refused. ”Leaving the palace is not allowed! Who are you people? How dare you break into His Majesty’s Harem at night...”

”This is a capital offense! You have defiled the imperial consorts’ reputations! You are to be executed along with nine generations of your families!”

”Guards... AARGH!”

Before he could finish his words, the old eunuch collapsed limply to the ground. The bean-sized flame in the lantern also extinguished instantly.

Zhao Junyao impatiently dusted off his hands. ”Quickly, let’s go!”

Li Shengan nodded tremblingly. He searched the old eunuch for the keys, unlocked the palace gate, and they finally slipped out.

「After a journey fraught with obstacles, they at last reached Zhaochen Palace.」

Zhao Junyao was emotionally and physically exhausted. He dismissed the Palace Attendants and lay on his bed.

Waves of discomfort and heartache surged within him. It felt as though what he had possessed just a moment ago had vanished in the blink of an eye. This vast palace, surprisingly, offered him no place to call his own. This vast empire, and all the myriad joys and sorrows of its people—none of it felt like it belonged to him. How true the ancient saying was: ’It is lonely at the top.’ His surroundings were indeed cold and desolate.

When he met Qingqing, his heart filled with joy. He thought of her day and night; he even yearned for her while sharing his bed with other women. But why had she started to ignore him now? In the past, she was so well-behaved, so considerate! She clearly wasn’t pretending! She clearly held genuine, deep affection! She was clearly different from the others! Qingqing... had his Qingqing changed?

Thinking of her tear-streaked face, Zhao Junyao’s heart ached terribly. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep all night. His hand clenched into a fist, then relaxed again. He pressed his hands to his face, trying to banish her from his mind. But... the more he tried to erase her image, the clearer it became. What on earth was wrong with him?!

Zhao Junyao tossed and turned all night long but did not fall asleep. He just lay there, letting the sights and sounds of that young woman—her expressions, her voice—replay in his mind over and over again.

Her crying, her laughing, her tantrums, her anger, her obedience, her mistakes, her pitiful look... He liked seeing every single one. His heart felt swollen, filled to bursting with all her different expressions.

「Dawn gradually broke, and the morning light, carrying the scent of dew, shone through the window.」

Li Shengan’s voice sounded from outside the door at the appropriate time. ”Emperor, it’s time to rise!”

Get up. Attend court.

Zhao Junyao immediately rose.

He forced himself to regain his rationality, forced himself to stop thinking about her, and forced himself to focus on the empire and its people, on the vast rivers and mountains. He adopted his customary stern expression, erecting a formidable wall around his heart. No one would be able to discern his thoughts from his face, much less shatter his indomitable spirit!

Palace Maids filed into the room. They attended to the Emperor, helping him wash away his fatigue and worries. They assisted him in donning his Dragon Robe and changing into his boots.

Once everything was prepared, Zhao Junyao was once again that impregnable monarch, high above all others. He was still that emperor who commanded the realm and held the vastness of the world within his heart.

「The morning sun, rising from the east, shone into the Taihe Grand Hall.」

”We greet the Emperor! Long live His Majesty, long, long live His Majesty!” came the uniform, resounding cry.

”All my beloved ministers, you may rise!” the Emperor’s voice, deep and powerful, responded.

The imperial court was exactly the same as it had been day after day, without the slightest change.

「Meanwhile, in the Harem, things suddenly exploded into an uproar.」

The Emperor had left Qingya Residence in a huff the previous night and, in the dead of night, returned to Zhaochen Palace to sleep. This news spread like wildfire early in the morning, reaching every nook and cranny of the Harem even before it was time for morning greetings. Even the Noble Consort in Xifu Palace had heard.

For a moment, everyone was in shock.

”Goodness, is Consort Xian Pin trying to ascend to the heavens?”

”This is clearly a case of arrogance born from favor! She’s the mother of the Crown Prince now, with all the attendant status and privileges. She’s clearly not afraid of anything!”

”Not afraid? You must be joking! The Little Prince isn’t even a year old yet. How could she dare be so brazen?”

”Alas, it looks like someone else in our Harem is about to fall from favor!”

The women whispered amongst themselves.

So what if she’s the mother of the Crown Prince? If she truly offended the Emperor, it wouldn’t be out of the question for her to conveniently ’die of illness.’ The Crown Prince is less than a year old; finding another woman to raise him would be a simple matter. Such an easy thing to arrange.

Back then, the Noble Consort was so favored, raising the Third Princess. She was living such a good life, yet she still managed to provoke the Emperor. And look at the life she’s living now! This just goes to show, nothing in this Harem is certain. Even if you have children, you must tread carefully. Arrogance born from favor is never acceptable, not at any time!

Thinking this, they all felt a knot of frustration in their chests. They too wished they could be arrogant from favor! But where was this favor? Where was it? Just thinking about it was agonizing!

「...」

「In fact, Xia Ruqing hadn’t slept well either.」

She was heartbroken.

The Emperor had inexplicably tried to force himself on her, and she didn’t even know why. In the end, after she kicked him to vent her frustration, he had fiercely berated her. Fine, so she was wrong; one shouldn’t strike the Emperor. But was it acceptable for him to do what he did? On what grounds?

During the latter half of the night, the more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt! Tears streamed down her face all night, and by the next morning, her eyes were swollen.

”Zi Yue!” she called out, her voice thick and nasal.

Zi Yue entered, her face etched with worry.