Serve in the Bedroom

The emperor took off his outer robe and changed into a more casual-looking garment that appeared to be made of ramie fabric. Xie Ning took a step back and stood quietly beside him. The emperor took a sip of tea and asked her,

"What year did you enter the palace?"

"Your Majesty, I was selected to enter the palace in the spring of the second year of Yuanhe."

"How old are you now?"

"Seventeen, Your Majesty," Xie Ning replied softly.

Soon, dinner was served. It was not as extravagant as Xie Ning had imagined, thinking that the emperor would have hundreds of dishes. There were only six dishes and a soup on the table. Although it was much better than what Xie Ning usually ate, for the emperor, how could he consider it a proper meal without one or two hundred dishes?

After a few words, the emperor became more relaxed with her. "Let's sit down and eat together," he said.

Xie Ning remembered the teachings of Chief Palace Attendant Luo, to listen to the emperor and do whatever he said. If he asked her to sit, she would sit, if he asked her to eat, she would eat.

The dinner was light, with stir-fried magnolia petals and sautéed chicken breast as the closest to her. The stir-fried magnolia petals were crispy and refreshing. The sautéed chicken breast was cooked with sauce, which gave it a delicious taste. Xie Ning secretly wondered how the sauce was made. The soup was winter melon soup, which had a unique sweetness of melon.

She ate cautiously, taking small bites. When the emperor tasted a dish he liked, he said, "This tofu is good."

The eunuch beside them served her a spoonful of tofu. Xie Ning took a bite and found that the tofu was indeed very tender and flavorful.

After a while, the emperor put down his chopsticks, and Xie Ning quickly indicated that she had finished eating as well. A palace maid brought water for them to rinse their mouths and wash their hands.

And then...

It was Xie Ning’s turn to be devoured, inside and out, over and over again.

How to describe her first time?

Initially, the pain was intense, but gradually subsided, leaving Xie Ning breathless. As she observed the emperor's physique, she noticed that he appeared slender when clothed but possessed a robust build when unclothed. Notably, his arms and shoulders exuded exceptional strength. Xie Ning recalled hearing tales of the emperor's mastery in horse riding and archery since his youth, even having commanded troops. It appeared that the rumours were indeed factual.

After it was all over, she was almost falling apart. The palace maids helped her up. Of course, she didn't have the privilege of sharing a bed with the emperor until dawn. In the end, she woke up in a palace chamber behind Hall of Eternal Peace and was sent back Haunting Fragrance Pavilion by the same sedan chair from yesterday.

Upon returning home, Xie Ning continued sleeping and didn't wake up until the afternoon. Qinghe and Qingmei anxiously guarded the bed, as Xie Ning had a habit of drinking a cup of warm water when she woke up. They had been changing the water for who knows how many times since Xie Ning had come back to bed.

"Is lady awake?"

"Mm." Xie Ning took the cup and took a sip, then sat up and finished the entire cup. She felt fully awake now. Qinghe and Qingmei both kneeled by the bed and congratulated her again. Though they were excited to the point of tears, Xie Ning only felt exhausted.

The emperor didn't seem to have any particular liking for her performance, and perhaps after this time, he wouldn't think of her again. While Qingmei helped her to freshen up, she whispered, "Maybe lady will conceive the royal son. If she can give birth to a son and a daughter, she will have something to rely on for the rest of her life."

Huh?

Xie Ning was dumbfounded. If Qingmei hadn't said anything, she wouldn't have hought of it. For her, being "slept with" was already a sudden and overwhelming event that occupied most of her thoughts, and she didn't even think of any follow-up after being "slept with". When was her last menstrual period?

Living in the palace, eating well, sleeping well, and being well taken care of, she didn't have much on her mind, so her menstrual cycle was quite regular. Last month, she started her period on the tenth day... What day is it this month? Could she be pregnant?

She was so preoccupied with the thought that she couldn't think of anything else and began to calculate the days with her fingers. The more she counted, the more confused she became. She eventually asked Qingmei to take out brush and paper and list out the days.

Xie Ning was feeling very confused and couldn't express whether she was hoping to get pregnant or not. If she did get pregnant, would she have the ability to give birth to a child? And if she did, could she raise the child on her own? If she decided to raise the child on her own, would she be able to do so without any complications? Xie Ning couldn't answer any of these questions and had absolutely no confidence.

Overnight, the Haunting Fragrance Pavilion underwent a drastic change. The door remained the same, but the ambiance transformed from being desolate to bustling with a steady stream of people entering and exiting since breakfast. The first group of visitors was led by Chief Palace Attendant Qi, the head of the sewing room in the Back Garden, who brought a bundle of fabrics. She explained that the season was changing, and the fabrics that the Haunting Fragrance Pavilion had received previously had faded due to storage. Fortunately, the new batch of brocades and silks from Jiangnan had arrived, which could be used as replacements. However, upon learning that they had already used the old ones, Qi suggested they keep the new fabrics for future use and avoid the hassle of returning them. "Save energy and time," she said.

How articulate she was!

Ever since Qinghe entered the palace, she had never seen Qi's smiling face. Even when she did smile, it was never directed at a lowly palace maid like Qinghe. However, now Qi was being extremely polite to Lady Xie, even calling Qinghe "miss". Qinghe was so shocked that she almost dropped the teapot.

After Chief Palace Attendant Qi left, two old palace attendants came to visit whom Xie Ning had never met before. They turned out to be self-recommended candidates for the position of Chief Palace Attendant. They spoke in a very tactful manner, suggesting that with the grandeur of the Haunting Fragrance Pavilion and Lady Xie’s status, there should be a Chief Palace Attendant here.

Xie Ning was bewildered by their ceaselessly repeated talk and did not agree to their proposal. She was not foolish enough to accept strangers without knowing their background. However, she did not outrightly refuse them either, as rejecting them could potentially lead to enmity.

She responded tactfully as well, stating that such a significant matter should be arranged by Deputy Chief Eunuch Zhou and Chief Palace Attendant Qi, and that she could not make such decisions on her own. Furthermore, there should only be one Chief Palace Attendant, and with two candidates, she was unable to make a choice.

Once they left, most of the people who came were of the same status as Xie Ning. These were the people who had been suffering in the Back Garden, hoping to gain the emperor's favor like wishing upon the moon and stars. This included Lady Liu of Talents, who had moved out from the Haunting Fragrance Pavilion before. Liu was completely different from when she was about to move out. She smiled at Xie Ning and called her “Jiejie” (refers to elder sister, females who are older in age or with higher status) repeatedly, mentioning their past year of living together. To sum it up, she was trying to remind Xie Ning of their past friendship, hoping that Xie Ning would help her out in the future.

Xie Ning was puzzled about where to start. She didn't even know how she had been slept with by the emperor, and didn't know if there would be a next time, let alone how to help others. When Xie Ning didn't answer, Liu took another step forward and said that she wanted to move back to the Haunting Fragrance Pavilion. Not only herself but also her companion, Lady Zhong of Talents, had the same intention. They said that Xie was living alone in a secluded and lonely place in the Haunting Fragrance Pavilion, and they wanted to keep her company and chat with her.

Xie Ning thought to herself, "Girls, how did you see that I'm bored? I'm not bored, really." After a few more days, the Haunting Fragrance Pavilion's threshold would be worn out by all the people who were coming to visit her. She didn't want to say anything, and at this moment, Qinghe came to the rescue. While serving tea, she helped Xie Ning get out of this situation, "Our lady is feeling unwell today and is not in the mood to talk for long. We are sorry for neglecting your company.” Lady Liu quickly responded, "We came at an inopportune time and disturbed Xie Jiejie. We will come back tomorrow." With that, she got up and left with great understanding.

Lady Zhong’s face couldn't hide her envy and jealousy as they left.

Everyone knows that Lady Xie was favored by the emperor last night. Why bother asking why she's feeling unwell now?

Lady Zhong also wants to experience feeling unwell like that. It would be even better to feel unwell like that every day!

Unable to keep her thoughts to herself, Qingmei muttered quietly to herself as she escorted the guest back to her room, "What a thick-skinned person. When she moved away, she didn't even bother to say goodbye. Now that she covets benefit, she's pretending to be all sisterly."

Qinghe scolded her, "Shut up. She is a Lady of Talents, you have no right to speak about her."

Qinghe is more mature than Qingmei. While Qingmei is simply happy for Lady Xie, Qinghe is worried about her attracting trouble.

Yesterday, Lady Xie was taken away in a sedan chair. Qinghe and Qingmei were not qualified to follow, so they could only wait. At that time, she heard someone say through the wall, "She is not as beautiful as me. Why does she get to sit in the sedan chair of grace?"

The sedan chair of grace is what the people in the palace call the small sedan chair carried by four people. Sitting on that sedan chair means going to serve the emperor, so countless people hope that the sedan chair will stop at their doorstep.

Qingmei thinks that Lady Xie has now gained great favor, but Qinghe thinks that Xie is like a piece of meat being eyed by many, and many people want to pounce and take a bite.

As for the people who came today, never mind them. Who knows what those who didn't come are thinking?

Qinghe worries for Lady Xie. What is it that the emperor sees in her? What if the emperor forgets about her from now on?

If Lady Xie had never been summoned, although life would be difficult, she could still survive. But once summoned and then forgotten, life would be very difficult. Qinghe has heard about the experiences of palace ladies during the reign of the late emperor. Some went crazy, some fell ill, and some disappeared without a trace. According to some old palace attendants, a certain palace lady had been seen the day before, and had even had dinner, but the next morning, she was nowhere to be found. The bedding was neatly arranged, and no one had slept on it. Some say she may have jumped into a lake or a well, while others believe she disappeared for other reasons.

Hearing about these experiences makes it difficult to sleep at night.

When Qinghe first began serving Lady Xie, she found her lady to be quite tranquil. Qinghe hadn't yet discerned Xie's temperament and thus was hesitant to speak with her. Xie would spend entire days alone in the room, repeatedly flipping through several old books that seemed to have come from nowhere. One day, when Qinghe entered the room, she found Xie dipping her finger in water and tracing characters on the table, apparently copying from the book. Upon seeing Qinghe, Xie quickly wiped the characters away and smiled at her.

Although the room was dimly lit at the time, Xie's smile seemed to illuminate the entire space. From then on, Qinghe gradually gained the courage to speak with her lady. Xie was always amiable and had a particularly good temperament. She enjoyed reading and writing characters, and other than contemplating the occasional meal, she paid little attention to outside matters.

After nearly three years of living together, their relationship as lady and maid was more than just cordial. Qinghe truly wished for Lady Xie's well-being from the bottom of her heart.