TFSRITA Chapter 71

The woman had a slender figure and fair skin that seemed to reflect light. Her hair, styled, flowed down over most of her head, accentuating her exquisite features.

Her eyes sparkled with a glimmer of water-like brilliance, her lips were ruby red against white teeth, and her face resembled a delicate peach blossom. Although she was thin, she did not appear weak. Her deep crimson palace attire was stunning.

Fu Rong’s eyes flashed with admiration as her mind quickly provided the answer: this was the favored consort who had captured the emperor’s heart and made him change his ways!

Indeed, they soon heard Jiang Wende and the other eunuchs immediately kneel, exclaiming, “We pay our respects to the consort.”

Fu Rong followed suit and stood to pay her respects.

Ji Yecheng cleared his throat and spoke in a deep voice, “What brings you here?”

From the look on his face, Fu Rong almost thought the emperor disliked the consort’s visit, had she not noticed the change in his demeanor.

The consort furrowed her brows slightly, her gaze falling on the memorials before them. In a husky and rough voice, she said, “Just came to take a look.”

Those three short words left Fu Rong utterly surprised; something was off about that voice.

Under normal circumstances, with such a beautiful appearance, how could her voice sound so unpleasant?

Of course, he dared not say anything; he simply performed the formalities, and it seemed the consort had forgotten about them.

Fortunately, she noticed them and said, “No need for formalities.”

As Fu Rong stood to express his gratitude, he couldn’t help but sneak a glance at her again, his eyes still filled with confusion. Why was it that such a woman had such an unattractive voice?

Just as he had stolen a glance, he felt a sudden chill run down his spine. Fu Rong inwardly cursed himself for losing composure.

The next moment, he heard the emperor command, “Get out!”

“Yes,” Fu Rong replied without another word and quickly exited.

…

After the unfamiliar scholar left, Yan Qing blinked, took a deep breath, and attempted to sit calmly in the scholar’s seat. Nonchalantly, she picked up a memorial and opened it to find it read: [Is His Majesty well?]

In ancient times, punctuation did not exist; a memorial hardly large enough to fit in one hand bore only four characters and a signature.

Yan Qing’s lips twitched as a slight smile crossed her face. She opened another memorial, which read: [There has been much wind and rain in Wu lately; I wonder how Chang’an fares.]

This one was marked by Fu Rong, with red ink in the margin stating: [Chang’an has favorable weather.]

“Pfft!” Yan Qing couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Since her entrance, Ji Yecheng had maintained the regal demeanor expected of an emperor, his stern face revealing no additional expression. Yet, he had been discreetly watching her.

Seeing her peruse the memorials sparked his curiosity, though he found it odd; how could simple inquiries of well-being amuse her so?

As the curiosity blossomed in Ji Yecheng’s eyes, he caught sight of her smiling. He wondered what could be so funny about such straightforward memorials.

Uninterested in anything unrelated, he found himself drawn to matters concerning Yan Qing and couldn’t resist asking, “What did you find amusing?”

Tickled, Yan Qing replied, “It’s not a big deal, but I find it ridiculous! Why does the weather in Chang’an concern him?”

Ji Yecheng nodded seriously, his handsome face maintaining its seriousness. “Indeed.”

Yan Qing continued, “It takes manpower and resources to send a memorial from outside. Just consider the waste of paper; after all that effort, all we get is a simple greeting…” She tossed the first memorial back to him. “Look, just four characters! What’s the point of sending such a memorial? It’s a waste of everyone’s time, isn’t it?”

Ji Yecheng listened intently, his mood improving. Watching her lively demeanor, her small mouth flitting about, he suddenly felt an unusual sense of tranquility, even though the situation was anything but quiet, perhaps even noisy.

Especially since Yan Qing’s voice was hoarse and unmelodious.

Yet, when she spoke, and her words weren’t something he disliked, Ji Yecheng’s expression brightened as he nodded vigorously.

However, after she had talked for some time and saw him only nodding along, her eyes narrowed. She picked up another hard-backed memorial and threw it at him.

“Bang!” It struck Ji Yecheng right on the forehead.

The sharp pain struck him; he hadn’t reacted, lost in the rhythm of her voice, and he inhaled sharply.

The surrounding eunuchs and palace maids immediately knelt, terrified, exclaiming, “Your Majesty, please calm your anger! Your Majesty, please calm your anger!”

Even Zhu Yin, witnessing her boldness, stared in shock, speechless.

Had their lady become… increasingly daring?

As the memorial fell, Ji Yecheng’s face darkened as he removed his hand from his forehead, revealing a bright red smear of blood, which made everyone’s face turn pale. They wished they could vanish from sight; they couldn’t believe they had witnessed such a scene!

“You…”

Ji Yecheng was about to reprimand her, but the woman before him flinched at the sight of blood, looking both guilty and anxious. Yet, she quickly regained her composure and indignantly exclaimed, “I’ve been talking for ages, asking you questions, yet all you do is nod! What’s the point of that? Of course, I’m angry! What else can I do?”

Ji Yecheng smirked, gritting his teeth. “I am the emperor! A sovereign of a nation!”

Seeing the fright in his eyes, the woman bit her lip and retorted, “So what? Are you going to hit me back? Come on!”

She had only seen him nodding along as if he hadn’t heard a word she said, making her feel her efforts were wasted. In a moment of frustration, she couldn’t help but strike out, intending to pat him on the shoulder, but accidentally hit him too hard on the forehead instead.

Ji Yecheng took a deep breath, calming himself. He told himself it was his fault for not paying attention to her words. After repeating this several times, he finally spoke, each word slow and measured, “Alright, what is your question?”