My Beloved Consort - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I put on my cloak and, fully armed, slipped out through the back door of the little inn. After winding through several alleys, I climbed over the wall into a ready-made clothing shop.

By the time I had changed and come back out, my maid Xiao Rong was already pacing in anxious circles.

She hurried up to me and said in a low voice, “Your Highness, the palace gates are about to close.”

I nodded. “This shop has some rather novel styles, so I tried on a few more pieces.”

I raised my hand and handed the shopkeeper a silver ingot. “Wrap them all up.”

The shopkeeper beamed and went off. I left the shop and ducked into the lavish carriage waiting outside.

I desperately wanted to close my eyes and rest, but Xiao Rong was a chatterbox.

“Your Highness, did you enjoy your outing today?”

“Your Highness, I heard the Ministry of Rites has nearly finished preparing for your investiture as Empress. His Majesty truly dotes on you. He grants your every request. You wanted to leave the palace, so he let you leave the palace, and even had guards protect you personally.”

“Everyone is so envious of you now, Your Highness!”

Me: “…”

The moment I thought of Shen Shen, my head started aching again.

Back then, Shen Shen had still been the Crown Prince. During the spring hunt, he had accidentally fallen off a cliff. I approached him under the identity of a hunter’s daughter and saved his life.

Because of that life-saving favor, once he learned I was all alone in the world, he brought me back to the Eastern Palace.

After three years together, his feelings for me had grown deep-rooted, and he favored me alone.

Outsiders all said my origins were improper, but every time he heard such rumors, he would fly into a rage. “Whether my beloved consort’s origins are proper or not, I know better than you do. If anyone dares wag their tongue again, I’ll send you to the underworld so you can find out whether the road there is proper!”

Thanks to his exclusive favor, my years in the Qi Kingdom had honestly been rather comfortable.

I pinched the ring of flesh that had grown around my waist and sighed.

Who knew if my qinggong would still get me off the ground when the time came to flee…

As for Shen Shen, I did feel guilty toward him.

But there was nothing I could do about it. I could only look for a chance to make it up to him later.

My thoughts ran wild the entire way back. By the time I returned to the palace, it was already dark.

The chief eunuch Fulai came over with a smile. “Your Highness hasn’t eaten yet, has she? His Majesty is waiting for you in Hanchun Palace!”

Oh, I forgot to mention-Shen Shen is extremely clingy.

Chapter 3

After dinner, I washed up and lay down on the bed.

Shen Shen, dressed only in thin inner robes, was still reviewing memorials off to the side.

He had only recently ascended the throne, so there were many affairs waiting for him to handle.

Yet he refused to stay in the imperial study, saying that place was cold and lifeless, and nowhere near as warm as being with me.

So he had someone set up a desk in my room, and every night, he would sit there and review memorials.

After the shock I had suffered today, I lay there for ages without feeling the least bit sleepy.

I stared wide-eyed at the canopy above me when, all of a sudden, something occurred to me. I shot upright like a dying patient jolting back to life.

Since the stronghold had been abandoned, then where had all the intelligence I’d gathered over the past three years been delivered?

The organization had told me to place my reports regularly behind the third brick from the left on the rear wall of the Eastern Palace, and that someone would come collect them.

That was exactly what I had been doing for the past three years.

Every time I went there, the previous report I had left would have been taken away, vanished without a trace. Otherwise, I would have realized something was wrong long ago.

At that thought, cold sweat seeped down my back.

Plump Auntie said everyone had withdrawn. Then who had been taking my intelligence these past three years?

That person knew I was an enemy spy…

So why hadn’t they exposed me?

The more I thought about it, the more my mind spiraled, until I couldn’t help crying out, “Oh no!”

Smack-

The memorial in Shen Shen’s hand dropped to the floor in fright.

He turned his head and glanced at me, then bent down to pick it up.

“What is it, my beloved consort?”

He asked me.

I turned to look at him, my expression indescribably grim. “I had a nightmare. I dreamed that I was… about to die.”

And I really was about to die.

According to the ironclad rules of Feiyun Pavilion, once a spy’s identity was exposed, they had to take their own life immediately. It was an act of loyalty to the nation, and a way to preserve one’s dignity.

Shen Shen said nothing. His eyes reflected the warm orange candlelight, making them seem gentle and lingering.

I heard him sigh softly, then set down the memorial in his hand.

“Without me here with you, you always have nightmares. Ah Chun, what are you going to do if you ever leave me?”

I froze for a moment as memories surged up.

Those words were something I had once made up while trying to get close to Shen Shen.

Back then, he had just brought me to the Eastern Palace, and I had fallen gravely ill. Even while sick, I had not forgotten the principles of a spy. To stir Shen Shen’s pity, I would often clutch at the hem of his robe in my sleep.

I lied and told him I would have nightmares whenever he was not with me.

From then on, he stayed with me every night. If he was not there, he would place one of the robes he often wore by my pillow…

Over time, it became a habit.

Shen Shen rose and blew out the candle on the table.

He lay down gently at my side and reached out to pull me into his arms.

“Is this better?”

I nodded. Breathing in the familiar scent of him, my nose actually stung a little.

“All right. Go to sleep.”

He patted me lightly, his movements gentle.

His breathing gradually grew long and even, but I tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Shen Shen was woken by my restlessness.

He sighed helplessly. “Still can’t sleep?”

I started to get up. “I’ll sleep in the side room. I won’t disturb you.”

With a soft laugh, he pressed me back down. “It’s fine. How about I read you a story?”

I looked at him in confusion. “What story?”

He casually pulled a book from the book box under the bed and flipped open to a random page. Perhaps he had only just woken and his mind was still muddled, because without thinking, he began reading aloud.

Shen Shen’s voice was very pleasant, and right now it was a little hoarse.

“On the seventh day of the sixth month, the Prince of Nanyang of Qi and Crown Prince Shen Shen discussed affairs in the Eastern Palace regarding the earthquake in the south…”

My eyes flew wide open.

This, this, this… Why the hell did it sound so familiar?

It seemed to be an intelligence letter I had written last year!

I turned my head and stared at Shen Shen in horror.

His voice paused. He patted my head, then unhurriedly closed the booklet.

“Wrong one. I’ll get another.”

My good sir, this did not seem like a problem that could be solved by simply getting another book…

Shen Shen acted as though he had noticed nothing and opened another book. “Once upon a time, there was a mountain. On the mountain, there was a temple. In the temple, there was an old monk and… an old nun?”

“What kind of nonsense book is this?” Shen Shen muttered, then finally could not hold back a yawn.

“My beloved consort, it is time to sleep.”

I watched as he put both books back into the book box underneath, then rolled over and fell asleep at once.

He must have been utterly exhausted.

I, on the other hand, was utterly awake.

His calmness actually made me start doubting myself. Had I heard wrong just now? Was what he read really my intelligence letter? It couldn’t be, right? But it had sounded so much like it!

I carefully climbed up, and just as I was about to reach over Shen Shen for the box, Shen Shen’s long arm swept out and pulled me entirely into his embrace.

He sounded helpless. “My beloved consort, I still have to attend court first thing tomorrow morning. Have a little pity on me…”

I lay against his chest, holding my breath and keeping perfectly still.

I had planned to wait until he was deeply asleep before making my move, but his embrace was too warm. Before I knew it, I fell asleep too.