Chapter 29: Zither Making part 1
The candlelight was bright, and the faint light shone on Gu Zhen’s handsome face, softening his sharp, fierce features by a third.
Wu Mao stood below, his legs aching and weak. He wanted to lift his leg to relieve the ache, but when he caught a glimpse of the Emperor’s cold side profile, he forced himself to endure it.
The Emperor happened to be turning a scroll. As if remembering something, he paused his movements slightly, then continued to turn the scroll and read.
When he finally finished reading a scroll, the Emperor threw it onto the table and turned his head to look at Wu Mao. “What did you just say?”
“Replying to Your Majesty, Her Majesty said that she was not feeling well today, so she would not be coming over.” As a close attendant of the Emperor and the head of the inner court eunuchs, Wu Mao managed to remain calm in the face of the Emperor’s simmering anger and relayed the message as peacefully as possible.
Not only that, but to avoid the Emperor’s even greater wrath, he had also added some embellishments for the Empress.
Gu Zhen’s expression suddenly darkened, and a vein throbbed on his forehead. His tense face made his jawline even more defined.
“Is that what the Empress said?” He held the teacup but did not drink. His large hand suddenly clenched the cup with such force that his knuckles turned white.
Wu Mao’s heart trembled. He forced himself to reply, “…Yes, it’s this late. This slave thought that Her Majesty might be tired.”
Tired?
He had underestimated her determination. Her temper was quite something.
He lowered his eyes and thought that it was his own fault for seeing the Empress drunk that time. Her sobbing was so pitiful that he felt a little pity and had indulged her for once.
And now she was getting more and more out of hand, and she was paying less and less attention to him, her husband.
He had originally thought that he would give her the cold shoulder for a few days, and after she had figured things out on her own, he would take the time to coax her with a few words.
Who would have thought that she would become more and more presumptuous? It was one thing for her to stay in Jiaofang Palace and refuse to come out, but today he had sent someone to invite her, and she still refused to come?
“Did the Empress… say anything else?” Gu Zhen suddenly closed his eyes and forced his voice to be cold.
For a moment, he felt a little soft-hearted, thinking that since she was so angry, maybe he should go over in person.
But he rejected the idea in the next moment.
Wu Mao hadn’t even seen the Empress, so how would he know what else she had said? He replied nervously, “Her Majesty only gave this one instruction.” He carefully glanced at the Emperor’s expression and said, “It’s all this slave’s fault for being muddle-headed. Her Majesty forgot to say, and this slave didn’t ask Her Majesty a few more questions. This slave will go to Jiaofang Palace again right now and ask Her Majesty if she has any instructions.”
Gu Zhen raised his eyebrows and sneered, “Who told you to go?”
Although he said that, Wu Mao could tell from his expression that he had agreed, so he quickly turned and walked towards the door of the hall. Because he had been standing for a long time, his legs were a little weak when he turned, and he almost fell forward.
Who knew that he had only walked halfway and hadn’t even touched the edge of the door when the Emperor changed his mind and called him back, “Go where? When did We say that you should go and ask?”
If she didn’t come, she didn’t come. Now that her temper had gotten so bad, it was time to find a suitable opportunity to properly trim her claws.
Although the Emperor had not explicitly said it, his attitude just now was a tacit approval.
But Wu Mao just lowered his head and replied, “It was this slave who thought wrongly.”
Gu Zhen pinched the bridge of his nose, a hint of annoyance in his brow. He, who had always been so adept at handling political affairs, was now uncharacteristically at a loss and found this matter extremely difficult.
He couldn’t help but think that even when his Imperial Father had gone on an expedition and he had been regent for the first time, he had never been so irritable and had such a headache.
If it were in the past, he would never have imagined that the Empress could now stir up his emotions.
After Wu Mao returned, he looked up at the Emperor again. Seeing that he seemed to be dissatisfied with the Empress’s actions today, he couldn’t help but smile and say, “This slave has heard that Her Majesty has gotten two pieces of fir wood in the past few days and seems to be tinkering with zither making. This kind of work is the most tiring, so her hands must be sore.”
“This slave estimates that even if she had come over, she wouldn’t have been able to grind the ink, and might have even needed Your Majesty to coax her.”
Although there was no change in Gu Zhen’s expression, it was obvious that his expression had relaxed a lot. However, he said, “You are very concerned about Jiaofang Palace.”
When the Emperor’s meaningful words fell, Wu Mao smiled and said, “Isn’t it because Your Majesty is concerned about Her Majesty? In the afternoon, you even asked what Her Majesty was doing. If this slave didn’t keep an eye on things, what would I have to report to Your Majesty?”
Gu Zhen tapped his temple, his thick eyelashes concealing the emotion in his eyes.
A few barks suddenly came from outside. Gu Zhen frowned and asked, “Why has it barked several times today?”
“Perhaps it’s because Your Majesty hasn’t taken it out for a while and it’s a little cooped up. This slave will have someone take it out for a walk right now,” Wu Mao replied in a low voice.
Gu Zhen asked, “We remember that one of its littermates recently gave birth to a litter of puppies?”
He had just been to the menagerie a few days ago, so he was very clear about this. Before Wu Mao could answer, he said flatly, “After they’ve been raised for a while and have learned some rules, let the Empress have one. She vaguely said that she wanted to raise a puppy to relieve her boredom.”
In the past, when the two of them had any conflicts, it was mostly the Empress who took the initiative to make pastries and come to him for peace, and then she would admit her mistake to him in a soft and gentle voice.
He thought that this time would be no exception.
She was his Empress. As long as she was obedient, he could naturally be a little better to her.
But she was always unwilling to be obedient. She clearly knew about Zhao Weimin’s recent actions, yet she was still in a pique with him because of Zhao Weimin.
Gu Zhen couldn’t help but think with some resentment, In that case, let’s just give her the cold shoulder for a while. When she figures it out on her own, she’ll be more obedient. Anyway, no matter what I do, the Empress will still come looking for me.
In the afternoon at Wanchun Palace, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, mother and son, parted on bad terms.
The Emperor had come here because the Empress Dowager had said that she was not feeling well, so he had specially come to visit. Who would have thought that before they had even spoken a few words and without asking about her illness in detail, the topic had somehow turned to the Seventh Prince?
The Empress Dowager asked the Emperor why he had had the Seventh Prince beaten the day before and had also dealt with all his palace attendants, “You are the Emperor. He is just a child. What could he have done to provoke you?”
Gu Zhen closed his eyes, hiding the displeasure in his eyes, and asked flatly, “Is Mother trying to stand up for the Seventh Prince?”
“You child, what are you talking about!” The Empress Dowager glared at him reproachfully, as if she was also a little annoyed, “I just thought that he was young, what could he have done wrong?”
Gu Zhen sneered, “Does Mother also think that what happened at the flower-viewing banquet that day was not a big deal? Mother also said that he is already eight or nine years old, yet he is still playing these games with the servants at the palace banquet.”
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