Chapter 75: The Melody’s End

Chapter 75: The Melody's End

But at this moment, the Emperor's gaze was already drawn to Lady Xiao. With everyone watching, the Empress could not simply ignore Lady Xiao.

Lady Xiao raised the long sword and called out loudly, "Your Majesty, there is something wrong with this sword. A wooden splinter got lodged in the hilt, which caused me to accidentally prick my finger."

She was very aggrieved, holding her injured finger and said, "I must have been set up. Someone didn't want me to perform in front of Your Majesty, fearing that you would like my sword dance! I beg Your Majesty to uphold justice for me!"

The festive New Year's Eve banquet was once again disrupted, and Shen Huai's good mood was significantly dampened. However, the Xiao clan had recently made contributions, and Lady Xiao was the victim, so Shen Huai did not wish to reprimand her.

Seeing the Emperor's expression, the Empress thought that the good situation might be ruined, and she couldn't help but show some displeasure in her eyes.

She looked at Lady Xiao kneeling in the hall, wanting to quickly move past this matter, and said in a slightly deep voice, "The swords used by palace women for dancing are intricately carved and hollowed for beauty, and they are stored in wooden boxes. Over time, it is inevitable that wood shavings may fall in. Lady Xiao should have carefully inspected the sword before dancing. Now, due to her own carelessness, she's using a single splinter to accuse someone of trying to harm her."

"If your claim is false, then you're falsely accusing a concubine before me and His Majesty."

The Empress frowned and said, "Besides, today is the New Year's Eve banquet, a joyous occasion. Do you understand?"

Without any investigation, the Empress once again shifted the blame onto Lady Xiao, implying that it was due to her own carelessness.

The meaning behind this was already clear enough.

Anyone with any sense would understand what the Empress was hinting at and know that it was time to stop and settle the matter later to avoid offending the Empress.

But unfortunately, the one suffering at this moment was Lady Xiao.

She was proud and arrogant, leaning on her status from the Xiao clan, and she looked down on many people in her heart. She could not bear to suffer a loss in front of the Emperor without a fight.

How could it be a coincidence that a wooden splinter got stuck in the hilt? What about the banquet? Should she just swallow her anger and lose face in front of the Emperor?

Besides, everyone in the palace knew that Miaoyu was the Empress's favorite. It must be Miaoyu who plotted against her, and the Empress was covering for her!

Lady Xiao sneered and shot back, "Empress, without even investigating, how do you know it was my own carelessness? I was so anxious about performing at the palace banquet today that I began checking everything early at Lingbo Hall, not even daring to let a single hair out of place. Everyone at Lingbo Hall knows this, so how could it be my own carelessness? I've always known Your Majesty to be fair, but this time it's truly odd! Today, I happened to clash with Miaoyu over our attire, and we had some words before the banquet. Moreover, coincidentally, the person before me was Miaoyu. How could I not be suspicious?"

She did not explicitly say that the Empress was covering for Miaoyu, but she was hinting at it everywhere.

Miaoyu, seated, gave a cold smile and did not bother to defend herself. Instead, she calmly picked up a piece of winter bamboo shoot with her chopsticks and chewed it slowly, as if it had nothing to do with her.

Lady Xiao's words made sense. Hearing this, Shen Huai glanced at the Empress, thinking she seemed too quick to judge, which was not her usual style.

Though impatient, he couldn't let this matter slide today, as it would chill the hearts of the Xiao clan.

Shen Huai frowned and said, "Someone, go and question the palace servants in the side hall to see if anyone tampered with the sword."

Seeing this, the Empress immediately lowered her head and said, "I wasn't careful enough."

She smiled apologetically, "I arranged today's palace banquet and feared that any mishap would displease Your Majesty. If Your Majesty is displeased, you won't see the effort I put into preparing this banquet, which is why I was a bit hasty."

After saying this, she added, "Your Majesty is wise and will surely vindicate Lady Xiao."

The Empress's words were sincere, and Shen Huai's dissatisfaction dissipated. Instead, he calmly comforted her, "The Empress has put in a lot of effort. How could I leave hastily and embarrass her?"

With the Emperor letting the matter go, the Empress's heart, which had been in her throat, finally settled back down. She stared at Lady Xiao in the hall, thinking about how she had publicly contradicted her earlier. Though her face showed nothing, she felt displeasure in her heart.

Seeing that the Emperor was finally willing to uphold justice for her, Lady Xiao was satisfied and stepped back to wait for the result.

The dancing mishap was a minor issue, and soon, the banquet resumed.

Shen Huai recalled that the Empress had mentioned Lady Ji had prepared a vertical flute, so he skipped drawing lots and casually summoned her to play a tune.

Once the tune ended, the earlier incident's lingering displeasure was somewhat eased.

At this moment, the palace servants in the Liangyi Hall stepped forward to serve the freshly prepared hot dishes, each dish arranged neatly and in perfect order. During the brief pause, Shen Huai regained some interest, leaning casually on the cushion, he glanced once more at the palace servants standing behind him.

The servants behind the Emperor were all quick-witted, immediately understanding what the Emperor meant. They stepped forward with a brocade box, bowing their heads to let the Emperor choose at his leisure.

Shen Huai took one out and opened it himself, finding it read "Min Jieyu's embroidery."

Min Jieyu's embroidery had always been exceptional; he had received many embroidered items and sachets from her before, none of which were commonplace.

But she usually sent finished pieces, and he had never seen how her embroidery was staged for a performance, which intrigued him.

Noticing that the Emperor did not intend to show it to the Empress, Cai Shan immediately stepped forward, smiling and saying, "Congratulations, Min Jieyu, the Emperor has chosen you. Please go and prepare."

Min Jieyu, seated below, had never expected the Emperor to choose her at this moment. She instinctively glanced up at the Emperor, her eyes brimming with joy.

The Empress calmly watched Min Jieyu rise to thank the Emperor, sipping her tea without a trace of emotion. In the hidden depths, however, she clenched the cup handle tightly.

Though the Emperor had not reprimanded her for the earlier incident with Talented Lady Xiao, their relationship could no longer be as close as it once was.

It was absurd that after so many years of marriage, there had never been any affection between them. Even attempting to grow closer required immense effort—how laughable and pitiful.

In the past, she would have been heartbroken for days, lying awake at night, endlessly questioning what she had done wrong and why the Emperor did not favor her.

But now, after so many years, she had grown accustomed to it and no longer longed for any foolish marital affection.

Perhaps the Emperor's disdain for her required no reason; no matter what she did, it was in vain. It was better to live contentedly with the authority he had granted her.

Fortunately, she still had a beloved daughter, and surely a son in the future. As long as she protected her children, married her daughter into a good family, and supported her son's ascent to the throne, she would be the most noble and content woman in the world.

Marital love—if it's absent, so be it!

Before long, the palace servants had arranged the hall, setting up the embroidery frame that Min Jieyu had prepared in advance.

The embroidery frame was initially tilted, displaying a splendid spring scene of a hundred flowers, exquisitely embroidered. A golden dragon coiled among the flowers, entirely embroidered with gold thread, shimmering under the palace lights as if alive.

Everyone marveled, whispering praises as they looked at the embroidery on the frame.

Min Jieyu's eyes flashed with pride as she stood by the embroidery frame, saying, "Your Majesty, what I present today is this 'Dragon Among a Hundred Flowers.' Please look here."

She pointed to the dragon's eyes, smiling, "In ancient times, there was the saying of 'dotting the eyes of a painted dragon.' Today, I dare to imitate, embroidering the dragon's eyes in the hall, and then presenting the complete embroidery to Your Majesty."

Shen Huai raised an eyebrow and looked over, indeed seeing a blank space where the dragon's eyes should be, with gold thread and needles prepared on one side, clearly ready in advance.

He nodded slightly, raising a finger elegantly, saying, "Begin."

Min Jieyu curtsied, then laid the embroidery flat and sat on a round stool brought by the palace servants.

Her fingers were slender, and her posture of threading the needle and holding the thread looked both skilled and pleasing. Shen Huai, watching Min Jieyu embroider for the first time, also focused on her delicate hands.

Min Jieyu held the thread in her left hand and the needle in her right, finding the right spot. As she inserted the needle, she began to sing a melodious tune: "Far, far away, the Cowherd Star, bright, bright, the Weaving Maid..."

Her movements were graceful, her tune soft and gentle, clearly practiced.

Min Jieyu focused on embroidering the dragon's eyes, completely unaware that the Emperor sitting on the throne in front of her was growing increasingly grim and cold, his gaze as if looking at something extremely repulsive.

His gaze was icy and distant, as if seeing through Min Jieyu to another person.

Memories long buried deep within his heart suddenly surged to the surface, causing Shen Huai's veins to bulge on his forehead as he struggled to suppress his rage.

—"Your Majesty, Consort Lian has been disrespectful and impudent in your presence. Why waste your energy on her? Come to my palace instead; I can sing for you."

The voice of the woman in his memory was sweet and alluring, yet laced with overwhelming malice and disdain. Accompanied by the image of a palanquin carrying the two of them as it gradually faded from his sight, Shen Huai's childhood memories were filled with endless resentment and sorrow.

—"Consort Rou's singing is captivating, and she holds the highest favor in the harem. Your Majesty hasn't visited Consort Lian since..."

—"Consort Lian tried to harm Consort Rou but failed. She's already lost Your Majesty's favor. Now, Consort Rou is the one who matters. Why bring this up?"

—"Consort Lian has had a miscarriage! Quickly, inform His Majesty!"

—"His Majesty has gone to Consort Rou's palace. He probably won't come back..."

—"Sister Lian, just stay quietly in your cold palace. Still pining for His Majesty? Don't you find yourself disgusting? Even if you threw yourself against a pillar, His Majesty wouldn't spare you a glance. You'd only be hurting yourself for nothing. You might as well just die."

—"Huai'er... what's that sound outside? Is it your father coming?"

—"Mother, it's Consort Rou's singing."

—"Father won't come."

Childhood memories flooded back, and Shen Huai's anger grew even more intense.

He had always hated singing more than anything else!

Inside the hall, Min Jieyu smiled as she sang while embroidering.

Shen Huai clenched the armrest tightly and barked, "Quiet!"

"Who gave you permission to sing in my presence!"

Shen Huai took a deep breath and roared, "Take her away!"