SEC Chapter 251 His Majesty truly understands these women too well!
Chapter 251 His Majesty truly understands these women too well!
Qin Mu paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately:
"Whether it was Jiang Zhaoyue at the very beginning, Xu Fenghua, or this Empress—"
"They're all putting on an act."
Yunluan's brows twitched slightly.
Qin Mu continued, his voice soft, yet each word clear:
What role did Jiang Zhaoyue play when she first entered the palace?
"She played a timid and fearful concubine."
"But what is her true identity? She is an undercover agent sent from the North, a spy planted by Xu Longxiang next to me."
"She acted in front of me for months, until last night, when she finally dropped all her pretense."
Yunluan listened quietly.
Qin Mu then said:
"Where is Xu Fenghua?"
What role is she playing?
"She played a dignified and virtuous imperial concubine, a wife forced to submit to a subject, and a sister who endured humiliation and hardship."
"But what is her real purpose? It's to gather intelligence for the Xu family and to wait for the day when Xu Longxiang raises an army."
"She's a better actress than Jiang Zhaoyue; she acts more deeply and for longer."
"She's still acting now."
A complex light flashed in Yunluan's eyes.
Qin Mu looked at her and smiled.
As for Zhao Qingxue,
His gaze returned to the letter.
What role is she playing?
"She plays a resigned prisoner, a submissive prey, and a woman about to become empress."
"But what is she really thinking?"
Who knows?
He leaned back on the soft couch, one hand supporting his chin, his posture so languid it seemed he was chatting casually.
"Perhaps she's just waiting for an opportunity."
"Perhaps even she herself doesn't know what she's thinking."
"But one thing is certain,"
He paused, his gaze deep and unfathomable:
"This letter is just the first act of her play."
"There's an even longer show to come."
Yunluan remained silent for a moment.
Then she spoke.
The voice remained cool and clear, yet carried a subtle, almost imperceptible, probing tone:
"So, Your Majesty... how do you intend to deal with this?"
Qin Mu smiled.
"Watching a play."
Just two simple words.
Yunluan was slightly taken aback.
Qin Mu continued, each word like a sharp blade tempered with ice:
"If she wants to act, then I will let her act."
"She wants to wait for an opportunity, so I will let her wait."
"She wanted me to think she had resigned herself to her fate, so I made her believe that I did."
"She wanted me to lower my guard, so I let her think that I had."
She thought,
He paused, a cold smile curving his lips:
"I'll let her play whatever she wants."
"because……"
He looked at Yunluan and spoke slowly and deliberately:
"No matter how she acts, no matter what opportunity she waits for, no matter what tricks she tries to pull,"
"None of them can escape my grasp."
Upon hearing this, Yunluan felt a strange sense of awe.
His Majesty has never been someone who can be manipulated by anyone.
Those women's self-righteous scheming, their self-righteous acting, and their self-righteous, secret thoughts.
In his eyes, it was nothing more than a ridiculous farce.
And he was the audience member sitting below the stage, watching everything with a smile.
It can be stopped at any time.
The script can be rewritten at any time.
It can make anyone pay the price at any time.
Yunluan took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions in her heart.
Then she spoke.
The voice remained cool, yet carried a hint of routine calm:
"Your Majesty, speaking of Xu Fenghua—"
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow.
Yunluan continued, each word clear and steady:
"Last night, she again used a headache as an excuse to have Imperial Physician Wang Jimin come to the palace."
A hint of amusement flashed in Qin Mu's eyes.
"Oh?" he asked, "You went again?"
Yunluan nodded.
"Yes. According to the Dragon Shadow Guard, Imperial Physician Wang stayed at Huaqing Palace for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. What they discussed is still unclear."
"but……"
She paused, a glint of shrewdness flashing in her eyes:
When Physician Wang left, his expression seemed somewhat... grave.
Qin Mu smiled gently after hearing this.
"Somber?" He repeated the word, a hint of amusement in his voice.
He slowly sat up straight and leaned back against the soft couch.
My gaze drifted out the window, toward the direction of Huaqing Palace.
"She's getting anxious," he said.
Yunluan was slightly taken aback.
Qin Mu continued, his voice soft, yet each word clear:
"She has been waiting all this time."
"Wait for Jiang Zhaoyue's reply, wait for news from Xu Longxiang, and wait for any opportunity she can seize."
"But what did she get in return?"
There's nothing there.
"Jiang Zhaoyue didn't reply to her note."
"We haven't heard anything from Xu Longxiang yet."
"She was isolated and helpless in this deep palace, surrounded by enemies on all sides."
"Of course she's anxious."
Yunluan listened quietly.
Qin Mu then said:
"and,"
He paused, a profound light flashing in his eyes:
"During the five days I was away from the capital, she must have considered countless possibilities."
"Where did I go? What did I do? Who did I see?"
These questions, like ants, gnawed at her heart day and night.
She wanted to know the answer, but she didn't dare to ask directly.
"I can only guess in my mind over and over again, plunging myself into deeper and deeper anxiety."
"This anxiety is more agonizing than any direct threat."
"Because the unknown is the most terrifying thing."
Upon hearing these words, Yunluan felt that familiar sense of awe once again.
His Majesty not only controls everyone's actions, but also their hearts.
He knows these women too well.
Understand their fears, their anxieties, their desires, and their vulnerabilities.
He knew how to make them uneasy, how to make them anxious, and how to make them reveal their weaknesses.
Yunluan took a deep breath.
"Then Your Majesty," she asked, "should we...?"
Qin Mu waved his hand, interrupting her.
"Don't worry about it."
"Make her anxious."
"It makes her anxious."
"Let her exhaust herself little by little with those unsolvable questions."
"When she really can't hold on any longer,"
He paused, a meaningful smile curving his lips:
"They will naturally come to me."
Yunluan nodded.
"Yes," she said.
Qin Mu leaned back on the soft couch, his gaze still fixed on the view outside the window.
Looking at the sunlit sky, and the faintly visible eaves of Huaqing Palace in the distance.
Suddenly, he smiled.
"but……"
He spoke, his voice soft, with a hint of a knowing smile:
"I am indeed quite curious,"
"What is she doing now?"
Yunluan was slightly taken aback.
Qin Mu stood up.
His moon-white robe cascaded down with his movements, the hem brushing the ground in the morning light, stirring up a faint breeze.
He walked to the window and stood with his hands behind his back.
His gaze fell in the direction of Huaqing Palace.
The sunlight shone on him, making his tall and straight figure stand out clearly.
"Walk."
"Let's go take a look," he said.
Yunluan was slightly taken aback, then nodded.
"Yes," she said.
The two walked out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, one after the other.
Outside the hall, the morning light was just right.
Sunlight streamed onto the vermilion palace walls, making the mottled traces of time exceptionally clear.
Along the palace path, several wintersweet trees were in full bloom, their golden flowers clustered among the green leaves, emitting a faint fragrance.
A few birdsongs drifted from afar, clear and melodious, creating a strange contrast with the silence within the palace walls.
Qin Mu walked ahead, his pace neither hurried nor slow.
His moon-white robe gleamed with a warm luster in the morning light, and the hem swayed gently with his steps, like a flowing cloud.
Yunluan followed behind him, dressed in a dark blue outfit, her long hair tied up high, her face cold and stern.
Her steps were light and steady, making almost no sound as she walked on the bluestone pavement.
Like a silent shadow.
The two passed through numerous palace gates and walked along the long palace path.
The palace maids and eunuchs they encountered along the way all knelt down to pay their respects.
Finally, Huaqing Palace came into view.
........
The morning light was just right.
Xu Fenghua sat in the pavilion, holding a volume of the Book of Songs in her hands, but her gaze was fixed on the ginkgo trees outside the pavilion.
The golden leaves gleamed warmly in the sunlight, and occasionally a few were swept up by the wind and swirled down.
The fallen leaves landed on the bluestone slabs, on the cobblestone path, and on the surface of the pond, creating delicate ripples.
Very beautiful.
But she saw nothing at all.
The news from last night that kept her up all night kept replaying in her mind.
She's pregnant.
She is pregnant.
She became pregnant with Qin Mu's child.
Xu Fenghua's hand unconsciously fell on her lower abdomen.
The area remained flat and untouched; nothing could be felt there.
But she knew that a life was being conceived there.
A child she had with that man.
This realization stirred up a complex and indescribable emotion within her.
The emotions were too complex, so complex that she couldn't distinguish them, couldn't sort them out, and couldn't face them.
What should she do?
But at this very moment, she happened to be pregnant with his child.
Should we keep this child or abort it?
There was also a trace of tenderness, something she was unwilling to admit, something she couldn't quite define.
That softness was fleeting, before she pressed it down hard.
Xu Fenghua took a deep breath.
The breath she inhaled, carrying the coolness of an early winter morning, made her feel more awake.
Last night, she had Wang Jimin prepare the abortion pills.
Wang Jimin will deliver it first thing this morning.
Once you drink that medicine, everything will be over.
She was still Xu Fenghua, still the young lady of the Northern Border, still the pawn who endured humiliation and waited for her chance.
This child will not be a burden to her.
It won't become her weakness.
It won't become a shackle she can't let go of.
Correct.
that's it.
After taking the medicine, everything will be over.
Xu Fenghua was thinking this, but she didn't turn a single page of the book in her hand for a long time.
at this time,
"His Majesty has arrived!"
A soft, charming voice drifted from afar, breaking the silence of the pavilion.
Xu Fenghua's body suddenly stiffened.