Chapter 9: The Imperial Jade Carriage
A gentle east wind blew, refreshing the heart and spirit.
Hearing Zhao Yiyi’s panicked voice, Gu Zhen’s gaze lowered slightly, falling upon the Empress’s delicate face. Her apricot eyes were misty, her cheeks flushed.
Zhao Yiyi timidly looked at him, suspecting he hadn’t heard clearly, so she repeated, “Your Majesty seems to have made a mistake. This is not my carriage; it is Your Majesty’s.”
Gu Zhen paused, his mind suddenly blank. He stepped back and looked outside. A heavy jade carriage, its body adorned with auspicious beasts, with twelve long streamers embroidered with ascending dragons hanging from the left side. Twelve bells suspended in front of the carriage chimed gently in the breeze.
Clearly, this was his jade carriage, not the Empress’s heavier ceremonial carriage.
He had been so eager to carry the Empress into the carriage that he had completely forgotten it was his.
Seeing him remain silent for a long time, Zhao Yiyi poked her head out slightly, urging, “Your Majesty, I should go now, it’s still possible…”
In the space of half a moment, the ceremonial guard was already in place, and the officials had lined up one after another.
Looking at the assembled crowd outside, Gu Zhen’s eyelids twitched. He abruptly pushed her back, scolding softly, “Behave yourself, do you want everyone to know?”
Zhao Yiyi was somewhat at a loss, “Then I…”
“Alright, stay inside.” Gu Zhen’s thick brows furrowed slightly, a hint of annoyance and irritation in his eyes.
Just as she was about to ask where he would go if she was in the jade carriage, she saw Gu Zhen bend down and enter the carriage.
“Your…Your Majesty,” Zhao Yiyi stammered, instinctively shifting to the side to make room for him.
Seeing what she was thinking, Gu Zhen glanced at her and said calmly, “What, do you want me to walk?”
Zhao Yiyi wanted to suggest he use her carriage, but then thought that the courtiers seeing the Emperor in the Empress’s carriage would be even more unusual.
She mumbled softly, “Your Majesty can ride a horse.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw the Emperor’s phoenix eyes narrow slightly. His usually gentle face took on a sharp look, his imposing presence lowering his brows and gazing at her: “The Xianong Altar is located in the southern suburbs, a long distance. Empress, you truly have no compassion for me.”
A slight breeze brushed past her ears, and Zhao Yiyi’s face flushed crimson. She lowered her voice and said, “I was just speaking rashly, I didn’t truly mean for Your Majesty to ride a horse.”
Gu Zhen chuckled, then withdrew his gaze, leaning lightly against the carriage cushion.
In truth, the distance from Luoyang City to the Xianong Altar wasn’t that far. When he was younger, he had been to the northern deserts, and during military campaigns, he had gone for three days and three nights without sleep to catch up.
This short distance was nothing to him.
But this was the ceremony of the imperial plowing, not a hunting trip outside the city, so he couldn’t disregard decorum and ride a horse.
Zhao Yiyi sat on the right, occasionally glancing at the man beside her. In such a confined space, they could vaguely feel each other’s heartbeats and breaths.
A wave of warmth crept onto her face.
Fortunately, the jade carriage, the highest-ranking carriage for the emperor, was very spacious. Even with both of them inside, it didn’t feel cramped. This was Zhao Yiyi’s first time in the jade carriage, her heart pounding. Her injured ankle throbbed uncomfortably.
“Hiss—”
The sharp pain made her gasp.
Just as she wondered when they would depart, Gu Zhen suddenly tapped the carriage wall and instructed Wu Mao to fetch a bottle of medicine for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis.
After the medicine arrived, Gu Zhen directly handed the two-inch-long swan-necked bottle to Zhao Yiyi, saying lightly, “Apply the medicine yourself.” Seeing her staring at the bottle, he paused and added, “If you don’t apply it, you probably won’t be better by the time we return to the city.”
Zhao Yiyi was startled. After thanking the Emperor, she hurriedly removed the stopper from the bottle and poured some medicinal oil into her palm. Just as she was about to apply it to her ankle, she realized she hadn’t even rolled up her skirt.
Gu Zhen sat beside her, coldly watching her fumble. Finally, she managed to pull down her silk stockings slightly, revealing a slightly swollen ankle, but the carriage started moving.
Zhao Yiyi’s body swayed slightly, her hand trembling as she applied the medicinal oil, leaving patchy marks on the injured area.
Watching her struggle, an inexplicable irritation rose in Gu Zhen’s heart. He found her movements too slow and wanted to take the bottle to apply the medicine for her. After barely suppressing that urge, he refrained from reaching out, simply sitting and watching.
“I’ve caused Your Majesty trouble today.” Zhao Yiyi wiped her hands with a handkerchief, raising a pair of sparkling apricot eyes to look at him, her long eyelashes fluttering incessantly.
Gu Zhen’s thoughts seemed to flutter along with those eyelashes. He silently watched the Empress finish everything before saying gently, “It’s alright. It’s nothing major, don’t worry about it.”
Zhao Yiyi didn’t want to worry about it, but they were so close, he was so close to her. She could touch him with just a reach.
How could she not worry then?
Thinking this, Zhao Yiyi’s breath quickened slightly, her expression becoming somewhat anxious. She slightly tilted her head and saw that in the swaying carriage, his face was cast with crisscrossing shadows by the window lattice. His solemn black robe and scarlet undergarment made him look like a deity.
“Empress, please don’t look at me like that.”
The man didn’t turn around, still sitting upright, his brows and eyes calm and distant.
Caught staring, Zhao Yiyi knew she was in the wrong, so she turned her head to look at the window lattice. But a thought suddenly arose, making her feel justified again. She replied softly, “If Your Majesty wasn’t looking at me, how would You know I was looking at You?”
Gu Zhen abruptly turned to look at her.
“The Empress has improved,” he chuckled softly.
More than twenty years as Crown Prince had cultivated in him an excellent demeanor; he was always calm and collected, speaking softly and gently.
In those days, the courtiers had always thought that the Crown Prince was different from the Emperor, that he was a gentle person.
He was most favored by scholars and liked by aristocratic families.
However, the various methods and courage he had shown in the past year gradually made people understand that this young emperor was not as gentle or weak as they had thought.
Anyone stared at like that would have their heart beating rapidly and feel uneasy.
Zhao Yiyi was no exception. She slowly turned her neck, just as she was about to say something, her arm was suddenly grasped by him, and the next moment, she fell against him.
She fell directly onto his chest, bumping her chin slightly.
“Your Majesty,” Zhao Yiyi cried out in pain, her voice soft.
As soon as she looked up, he suddenly pinched her chin, not hard, it didn’t hurt. The air was filled with the refreshing fragrance of cedarwood, making her tense up instantly.
Gu Zhen lowered his eyes, gazing at his Empress. He saw that her apricot eyes were slightly misty, perhaps from the bump, and her nose was a little red.
He wasn’t someone who indulged in sensual pleasures. Government affairs and archery had consumed much of his energy, and most of the time his needs weren’t great. But lately, for some reason, he had repeatedly lost control.
His cold, dark eyes fixed on her for a long time, Gu Zhen suddenly closed his eyes and bent down, fiercely kissing her.
Suddenly meeting his cold lips, Zhao Yiyi instinctively gasped, but her voice was swallowed by him. Forced to look up, she endured his increasingly intense advances.
Even through their clothes, Gu Zhen could feel the softness of her body, a feeling that inexplicably aroused a wave of heat in his heart.
In the midst of the chaos, her light green robe was pushed up, until she heard a slight click, and Zhao Yiyi suddenly realized that the deer-patterned gold and ruby clasp on her waistband had been undone.
She was startled, and hurriedly pushed Gu Zhen away: “Your Majesty, my robe…”
Gu Zhen, having just reached the summit, was completely unprepared, and was unexpectedly pushed away. He suppressed the darkness in his eyes, coughed lightly, and said hoarsely, “It was my fault.”
Zhao Yiyi glanced at him, said nothing, and silently began to arrange her clothes. But the waistband was close-fitting, and to fasten the clasp, she had to undo the outer layer.
Seeing her struggle, Gu Zhen couldn’t help but lend a hand.
Zhao Yiyi lowered her head to arrange her skirt, whispering, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The journey was long, and halfway there, Zhao Yiyi eventually fell asleep, leaning against the carriage wall.
When she woke up again, she found herself surrounded by darkness, lying on a soft quilt. The grapevine-patterned sachet in the brocade cover exuded the fresh scent of dried plum blossoms.
There were faint voices from outside.
After her vision adjusted, she looked out and saw a six-panel screen with a pine tree and bird pattern outside the gauze curtain, preventing her from seeing the arrangement of the place.
Her throat felt dry. Just as she was wondering whether to get up and find tea or call for an attendant, the voices came again.
“When the Crown Princess was chosen, it was the Grand Princess who strongly recommended her, and Your Majesty was also very dissatisfied with the princess’s interference. I hear that the Empress Dowager has already brought the second Miss He into the palace. Your Majesty, what are your thoughts?”
The person being questioned did not answer, a long silence making her heart sink rapidly.
Finally, the person said indifferently, “The Empress is barely adequate now, and I have no plans to change her.”
Author’s Note:
He’s still being a dog, and he’s about to go blind being a dog.
[1] The style of the jade carriage is based on “Tongdian · Tianzi Chelu” (Comprehensive Treatise · Emperor’s Carriages).