Throughout the entire spring viewing banquet, Shen Qianyu’s thoughts were focused on when Emperor Wenhui would leave. The moment Emperor Wenhui departed, he followed suit, all for the sake of allowing Song Yuning to take Song Wan away earlier. Leaving the Imperial Garden, Shen Qianyu headed toward the Eastern Palace together with Ji Rong.
“These flowers are blooming quite nicely. Noble Consort Jiang has been thoughtful.”
Ji Rong looked at the flower pots placed everywhere, occupying even the main palace pathways, and glanced at Shen Qianyu with incomprehension.
Yesterday his master had clearly said these things were exceedingly cumbersome, not only wasteful of people’s labor and wealth but also blocking the palace roads. How had they suddenly become Noble Consort Jiang being thoughtful today?
“You need not follow. Go fetch the festival gifts I prepared during the day.”
During the day he had already sent festival gifts to various palace halls, leaving only those for Changxin Palace behind. Though it was a proper festival, it still wasn’t appropriate to go to an imperial consort’s sleeping chamber in the evening without reason.
Ji Rong quickly delivered the festival gifts Shen Qianyu had prepared. He lifted them and weighed them twice, feeling the weight was sufficient, before striding alone toward Changxin Palace.
However, along the way there were always palace maids and eunuchs coming forward to pay their respects. Finding this annoying, after dismissing two or three groups of people, he switched to a relatively secluded route instead.
Passing by Ningxiang Pavilion, Shen Qianyu only heard the sound of pleasant zither music coming from inside.
“Playing tricks and acting mysterious.”
He sneered once and didn’t pause even slightly.
No wonder the number of eunuchs and palace maids he encountered today was unreasonably high—so they were waiting for him here.
His expression becoming slightly stern, a trace of irritation rose in his heart.
If someone was lying in ambush here, then was the message Noble Consort Yun had someone convey true or false?
He paused slightly, thought it over, and took even larger strides forward.
If it was false, it would merely be a wasted trip. But if it was true and he didn’t keep the appointment, wouldn’t that make him someone ignorant of proper etiquette and arrogantly conceited?
Thinking this way, Shen Qianyu felt inexplicably excited.
However, before he could feel pleased for long, having just walked not far past Ningxiang Pavilion, he sensed a fragrant breeze approaching from behind. The heavy scent of powder and rouge made Shen Qianyu furrow his brows severely.
“Who goes there?”
“Your Highness Crown Prince, please save this humble woman.”
A woman with disheveled clothing ran out from behind. The woman had an alluring figure, her waist so slender and delicate it seemed it would snap with a pinch, soft beyond measure.
Moreover, as she spoke, her eyes brimmed with tears. The way she looked at Shen Qianyu with a mixture of coyness and fear was pitiably moving and extremely seductive.
“Your Highness, please save this humble woman.”
The woman stumbled and cried as she threw herself toward Shen Qianyu. Shen Qianyu didn’t move at all, but just as she was about to collapse into his embrace with her body tilted, he suddenly stepped aside.
With a thud, the woman fell to the ground with a solid impact.
The outer robe that had been pulled into disarray by someone slid slowly down her smooth skin to the ground. The young woman exposed her pale white back and lay delicately on the ground for quite a while without getting up.
Shen Qianyu was about to leave when he heard the young woman sob in a voice melodious as a warbling oriole: “Your Highness Crown Prince, a thief placed aphrodisiac incense on this humble woman’s body. Your Highness, please save this humble woman…”
“Just now Your Highness also smelled the fragrance on this humble woman’s body. If it’s not resolved, it will harm the body.”
The young woman raised her head, revealing an exquisitely beautiful face: “Your Highness, this humble woman…”
Gathering the clothing on her body, her face full of shame: “This humble woman’s purity is already lost… This humble woman doesn’t seek status, only asks to remain by Your Highness’s side as slave or servant, to preserve her reputation.”
“Reputation?”
Shen Qianyu looked the woman over once and sneered coldly: “Deep in the night with disheveled clothing—where is your reputation? Being able to spout so much nonsense, it seems you didn’t fall hard enough.”
Too lazy to say more to her, Shen Qianyu looked down at the food box in his hand. Seeing nothing was even tilted, he departed decisively.
It wasn’t until he had walked quite far that the woman, in too much pain, was unable to get up.
“Useless.”
Jiang Man walked forward from the shadows, looking down at the woman on the ground with sinister eyes.
“Your Ladyship.”
The young woman’s eyes filled with tears as she pleaded softly: “The Crown Prince was affected by this commoner woman’s enchanting incense—there shouldn’t be no reaction. Your Ladyship, please give this commoner woman one more chance. This commoner woman will certainly…”
Jiang Man cast an impatient glance at the eunuch behind her. The eunuch silently came forward, covered the young woman’s mouth, and dragged her away.
“If I’d known this thing was so useless, I wouldn’t have gone through such great trouble to bring her into the palace under the pretext of the spring viewing banquet.”
“Your Ladyship, then today?”
Jiang Man’s expression turned severe: “Do you take the Crown Prince for a fool? When one scheme fails, will he wait for you to implement another?”
The palace maid silently retreated, not daring to make even the slightest sound.
“Return to Yanqing Palace.”
After several people departed, a thin and frail eunuch appeared, cleaned the surroundings, erased all traces, and then departed without a sound.
Shen Qianyu had matters on his mind and was too lazy to bother with others’ crooked schemes. He focused single-mindedly on walking to Changxin Palace.
Just as he entered Changxin Palace, he saw Song Wan at the stone table outside Noble Consort Yun’s sleeping chamber, writing and pasting auspicious spring characters and paintings together with Heng Zhi.
Today’s Song Wan was extraordinarily different from usual days.
For a moment, Shen Qianyu couldn’t quite say what had changed about her, but it just made him feel he could never look at her enough.
Song Wan beneath the palace lanterns seemed to carry a layer of faint luminous haze. Her features were already gentle and soft, and now bathed in the orange lamplight, they added even more tender and charming allure.