After being sent to the cold palace, the emperor’s heart was burned into ashes CHAPTER 15

Chapter 15: Mandarin Fish Congee

How could he say that to her? How could he?

Zhao Yiyi cried frantically, her eyes reddening almost instantly, and tears streamed down her face.

But her cries were soft, choked with sobs, and she even bit her lip, unwilling to make more noise.

In the night wind, Gu Zhen saw her body trembling slightly, her shoulders twitching, utterly pitiful.

He panicked for a moment and reached out to comfort her, but stopped before touching her.

“Why are you so easily angered?” Gu Zhen seemed somewhat helpless, handing back the documents, “I only said a few words. Why didn’t I notice this before, huh?”

He thought that his words had made the Empress cry, but Zhao Yiyi knew that it wasn’t just those words.

She had been feeling very uncomfortable, teetering on the brink of emotional collapse. She had been managing to hold it together.

But he was different. His casual words were enough to break down all her defenses.

Zhao Yiyi wiped her tears and said, “Your Majesty, why…couldn’t you comfort me?”

In such a helpless moment, seeing him suddenly appear, she didn’t know how surprised she was. But before her surprise had passed, before she could pour out her grievances, he said, Can’t you even do something this simple?

Gu Zhen was silent for a moment, then said, “The document was indeed simple. I saw you had been looking at it for a long time, so I asked.”

The voice that once brought her comfort and joy now sounded harsh. Zhao Yiyi lowered her head slightly, her voice mournful, “I know my abilities are insufficient, so I dare not be the slightest bit negligent. I worked hard all day, yet Your Majesty said that, how could I not feel sad?”

A gust of evening wind blew in, making their faces slightly cool. The study was quiet for a long time, only her soft sobs could be heard.

Gu Zhen suddenly remembered that when he was in the East Palace, there were people from the Left and Right Spring Halls specifically responsible for the Crown Prince’s household affairs, and major matters were handled by the Empress. The Crown Princess only had to deal with a small part of them.

No wonder she was a little helpless now.

After a while, Gu Zhen pointed at the palace documents, saying softly, “This matter is not very important, let the Palace Bureau handle it first, and then give it to you to review.”

Zhao Yiyi, with her swollen apricot eyes, looked up at him blankly.

Gu Zhen took the top document, flipped through it casually, and pointed it out to her, “These few lines are the key points, just add a few notes, you don’t need to look at the rest.”

His fingertips brushed across the document, finally pausing on the first few lines, his voice as low and deep as ever. At this point, Zhao Yiyi gradually realized that Gu Zhen was teaching her.

Her heart was pounding. She sniffed, and whispered, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Aren’t you going to hurry up?” Gu Zhen raised his eyebrows, and suddenly flicked her earlobe, causing the South Pearl earrings hanging on it to sway.

Zhao Yiyi lowered her eyelashes slightly, “I understand.” Then she silently lowered her head and quickly picked up the brush, writing a few comments in the places he had pointed out.

The window was slightly open, and silver moonlight poured in through the gap, casting a cold light on the desk.

Zhao Yiyi had taken a new document and was looking down at it when a warm voice sounded beside her, “These documents all have a set format; you don’t need to read them word for word, just follow the format and reply.”

He was unusually patient today, and with a few simple words, he categorized several types of palace affairs and pointed out different ways to handle them.

Gu Zhen occasionally said a few words, while Zhao Yiyi quickly wrote her replies. With his guidance, her speed was more than three times faster than usual. In less than half an hour, she had finished the remaining palace affairs.

“In the future, you don’t have to do everything yourself,” Gu Zhen looked at the tear stains at the corner of her eyes and said softly, “For unimportant matters, let the Palace Bureau handle them and then send them to you. What are they being paid for otherwise?”

In fact, Zhao Yiyi had never known what was unimportant before. She worried about making mistakes, so she could only take on all the work and learn little by little.

Thanks to his guidance, she finally understood the principle.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Zhao Yiyi said softly, her voice like a stream, “I didn’t quite understand before.”

Gu Zhen’s eyes darkened slightly, “Since you didn’t understand, why didn’t you ask me?”

Ask him?

Zhao Yiyi opened her mouth, unable to speak for a moment.

Didn’t he remember? She had asked! She clearly had. Last year in early autumn, during dinner, she had told him that the palace affairs were complicated, and if there were a few things she didn’t understand, could he help her look at them?

But he said that managing the palace affairs was the Empress’s responsibility. If she couldn’t even handle these ordinary matters, how could she fulfill the position of Empress?

From then on, she could only grit her teeth and not dare to slack off.

After a long silence, she said, “It’s my fault, I should have asked Your Majesty earlier.”

They left the study one after the other. Looking at his tall and cold figure, Zhao Yiyi felt a burning sensation in her eyes, and her hands and feet felt cold.

At the Marquis Huai’an’s Mansion, in the Moon Watching Pavilion.

This pavilion was five bays wide and very spacious and airy. There was a small attic next to it, which was ideal for moon-gazing at night.

Hearing from the servant that the second daughter had gone out today, Mrs. Xu couldn’t help but smile, “She’s getting older, and her heart is also wilder. I’m not her real mother, so why would she listen to me?”

The servant said, “Second Miss must have gone to Jiyou Hall again.”

Mrs. Xu’s eyebrows moved slightly. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly saw her daughter coming in.

Zuo Lianzhi was wearing a dark purple jacket with a grapevine pattern, and a white bird-and-flower pleated skirt underneath, with only two jade hairpins in her hair. If one looked closely, one could see that both hairpins were made of nephrite jade.

Looking at her daughter’s charming appearance, Mrs. Xu was very satisfied. She did not regret what she had done at all. If she had not made a decisive decision, as a widow with a daughter, even with help, how could her daughter live such a life.

Zuo Lianzhi sat down beside her and softly said, “Mother, I heard today that the Empress Dowager will be holding an appreciation banquet in the palace at the beginning of next month.”

She spoke vaguely, but Mrs. Xu immediately understood, and asked, “Azhi wants to go?”

Zuo Lianzhi looked up at her with hope in her eyes, “Yes, Mother, you don’t know, many people will be going to this banquet.”

Mrs. Xu stroked the jade bracelet on her wrist, remembering that Concubine He had been noticed by the late Emperor while serving the Empress Dowager. Now, her daughter had the Empress as her elder sister, it was not impossible…

But the Empress Dowager didn’t send an invitation to the Marquis’s mansion, the Empress might be able to get one, but she would definitely only give it to Zhao Duan’s girl, regardless of their Azhi’s fate.

“Then Mother will ask someone to inquire,” Mrs. Xu said softly.

Zi Chen Palace was the Emperor’s sleeping quarters, with a row of auspicious beasts standing on the four ridges of the hipped-and-gabled roof, and the riding phoenix immortals on the eaves were particularly eye-catching.

The late Emperor was excellent in both civil and military affairs, but he only diligently ruled for more than ten years. After he fell ill, he began to seek medical treatment and even came to believe in monks and Taoists, squandering a lot of money, and the treasury gradually tightened.

Gu Zhen had been extremely busy with the treasury these days. When he saw that Jiang Jiayan had been assassinated on his way back to the capital, he squeezed the secret letter tightly, and blue veins bulged on the back of his hand.

Prince Yan softly asked, “Imperial Brother, how is Mingchen? Are his injuries serious?”

“He suffered some minor injuries, lead people to escort him,” Gu Zhen threw down the secret letter, his eyes fierce, and he rubbed his eyebrows in slight irritation.

Prince Yan went to receive the order. Gu Zhen looked through several more memorials, and suddenly felt irritated.

Because he was the eldest son, he was established as the Crown Prince from a young age, and he lived alone in the East Palace from the age of five. He had always been by the late Emperor’s side, listening to him discuss state affairs, and in the years when the late Emperor was ill, he had handled most of the government affairs.

Therefore, these seemingly piled-up memorials were not a problem for him.

Gu Zhen supported his forehead, and the image of Zhao Yiyi burying her head, diligently reading through the palace affairs, appeared in his mind. He thought, how could there be someone so slow in this world?

So slow that he sometimes had the urge to help her handle it.

After a moment, a servant entered the hall to announce that the Empress Dowager had sent snacks. Gu Zhen came to his senses and said softly, “Announce her.”

In the quiet palace hall, a slender girl carrying a food box entered, dressed in very gentle attire, with a delicate yellow plum blossom in her hair.

Noticing the gaze of the person above, He Xunling’s face flushed slightly. After bowing, she said, “My aunt heard that Your Majesty had been reviewing memorials until this time and specially ordered me to bring some snacks.”

She gently opened the food box and took out a bowl of mandarin fish congee.

A fresh fragrance immediately spread through the hall.

Gu Zhen stared at it for a while, inexplicably feeling anxious.

He didn’t speak, and He Xunling didn’t dare to urge him, her heart filled with anxiety, timidly looking at the monarch.

At that moment, Wu Mao entered to report, “Your Majesty, the Empress has sent something.”

For some reason, the anxiety in his heart was suddenly suppressed.

After they quarreled over the bracelet, she hadn’t sent any food to Zi Chen Palace since she returned to the palace.

But he knew that she would always give in first between them.

“What is it?” Gu Zhen asked.

Glancing at the celadon sunflower bowl on the desk, Wu Mao said hesitantly, “It’s…a bowl of mandarin fish congee.”

Author’s Note:

Gu Zhen: I’ll reluctantly teach her, and be a good person for a short while.

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