A Quiet Homecoming

Even though her attitude had softened, Chen Yao still felt her cheeks burn at the thought of saying it out loud, plain and simple.

Xiao Mingting, however, wasn't about to let her off so easily. His gaze lingered on the tips of her ears, which were gradually turning red, and a quiet chuckle stirred in his chest.

He softened his tone even further and pressed again, "So, Yaoyao, will you marry me and become my Empress?"

Her cheeks flushed crimson, and in the end, she couldn't hold out against his persistence. She gave the tiniest nod of her head.

Her voice was just as small, so soft it was almost inaudible.

But she said it firmly, "Mm."

If Xiao Mingting hadn't been standing so close, his eyes locked on her every reaction, he might have missed her shy reply entirely.

But the joy surging through him was like a tide, fierce and overwhelming, washing over him completely.

He couldn't help but pull her tighter into his arms, even spinning her around in a few delighted circles on the spot.

Chen Yao's small hands stayed looped around his neck, and she could feel his chest trembling, as if the laughter inside him was about to spill out.

Moved by his unrestrained joy, she instinctively buried her face in the crook of his neck, her lips curving into a soft smile.

*

The next day, just after the hour of Chen.

Chen Yao was seated upright at the octagonal table in the front hall, head bowed as she carefully reviewed the household accounts.

A hurried set of footsteps came from outside, growing louder as they approached.

When she reached the front hall, Dou Kou, slightly out of breath, quickly reported, "Madam, someone from the palace has arrived at the front gate. They say they bear an oral decree from the Empress Dowager."

Chen Yao froze.

Her hand, which had been circling figures with a brush, paused mid-stroke, and her expression went blank.

She had agreed to enter the palace yesterday, but she'd assumed it would be at least a few days before it was brought up again. She truly hadn't expected the Empress Dowager's decree to arrive this very morning.

...Was he really that eager?

She furrowed her brows in mild exasperation, yet somehow she couldn't muster any real anger toward him.

Setting down her brush and carefully tidying the open ledgers, she replied softly to Dou Kou, "Alright, I'll go right away."

"Madam Shen, by decree of the Empress Dowager, you are summoned to attend at the palace starting today."

The one sent was Dangui, the head palace maid of Shou'an Palace. Her gaze rested on the young woman before her, and her expression was surprisingly respectful.

"Thank you for your trouble, Auntie Dangui. Allow me a moment to give my instructions, and I'll accompany you into the palace." Chen Yao lowered her eyelids slightly and gave a bow.

She hadn't planned to bring Dou Kou into the palace with her. Not for any particular reason, but because with both her and Shen Yunxiu absent from the Shen residence, she needed someone trustworthy to look after things.

"Rest assured, madam. This servant will keep a careful watch over the household."

Hearing her mistress's detailed instructions about the affairs of the estate, Dou Kou immediately straightened her back and promised with earnest sincerity.

Chen Yao's lovely almond-shaped eyes curved into a gentle smile as she answered softly, "Good."

*

Once inside the palace.

Dangui led the way without pausing, and Chen Yao never even got a chance to see the Empress Dowager. She was brought straight to a side hall of Shou'an Palace.

"Madam Shen—no, I should say, Miss Xie."

Once inside the palace, Dangui's smile remained in place as she naturally switched to a different form of address.

"The Empress Dowager is currently in the Buddha hall, observing her devotions, so she's not available to receive guests. However, Her Grace has already instructed that you be settled in the side hall. Please make yourself at home and treat it as if it were your own residence."

"Thank you, Your Grace." Chen Yao smiled softly, her tone gentle as she replied.

She lifted her gaze to take in the unfamiliar chambers around her—carved beams, painted rafters, silver screens, and gilded walls. Even as a mere side hall, it was exquisitely ornate and luxurious.

Dangui carefully watched the young woman's expression. Seeing no sign of displeasure, she clapped her hands lightly and summoned four attendants with sharp, clever looks.

"These are the servants specially assigned to attend to you. If there's anything you need, just give them your orders directly."

As soon as Dangui finished speaking, the two maids and two eunuchs before her knelt low, heads bowed, and said in unison, "This servant greets the young lady."

"Rise." Chen Yao's lashes fluttered slightly, and she lifted a hand, feeling a bit out of sorts.

She silently reminded herself that the palace was not like the Shen residence. Everything before her was something she needed to adapt to as quickly as possible.

*

In the Buddha hall, the incense smoke curled lazily upward.

The Empress Dowager sat with her eyes closed, kneeling on a thick, embroidered cushion below, slowly striking a wooden fish as she devoutly chanted sutras.

Behind her, in the corner, Stewardess Cui stood with her head slightly lowered, hands folded, so still she might have been a statue.

Only when the Empress Dowager's chanting gradually faded and the wooden fish fell silent did Stewardess Cui move quietly forward, bowing low as she reported, "Your Grace, Dangui just came by to say that Madam Shen has been settled into the western side hall, and all the attendants have been properly assigned."

The Empress Dowager did not open her eyes; she only gave a faint nod. "I see."

The Buddha hall fell silent once more.

After a long moment, just as Stewardess Cui thought her mistress had no further instructions and was about to step back, she heard the soft reminder, "From now on, address her as Miss Xie. Let's not let it reach the Emperor's ears and upset him."

Stewardess Cui was briefly taken aback but quickly replied, "Yes, this servant will remember."

Soon, the measured “tock, tock” of the wooden fish resumed in the quiet hall.

As the Empress Dowager chanted, she sighed inwardly.

She was already the Empress Dowager, revered above all. Even if her relationship with the Emperor was distant, she still held the title of his mother, and she could simply live out her days in peace at Shou'an Palace.

If it weren't for the fact that the Zheng family's younger generation were so utterly useless—none of them able to stand on their own—she wouldn't have needed to repair her bond with the Emperor for the sake of propping up her clan, much less willingly wade into this whole mess of a sovereign coveting his minister's wife.

This southern relief mission, led by the Censor-in-Chief Ji Liangxu, was clearly a plum assignment the Emperor had specially arranged to bolster Shen Yunxiu's record. At least her efforts hadn't been wasted—she'd managed to secure a spot for a younger member of the Zheng family to accompany the mission.

She could only hope that child would heed her advice and build a good relationship with Shen Yunxiu. After all, with Xie Chenyao as his wife, and given the Emperor's obsessive fixation on her, it wouldn't be long before she entered the harem as Empress.

That young woman seemed kind-hearted by nature, so she would surely look out for her former husband. And with the Emperor going out of his way to compensate him, Shen Yunxiu's future was bound to be bright.

At that thought, the Empress Dowager shook her head again in private lament.

Ah, well. In the end, she was just a woman of the inner court. The shifting tides of the court were beyond her reach.

She steadied her mind, pressed a little more force into her hand, and the once-slow wooden fish suddenly beat out a clearer, sharper rhythm.

*

At the Xuanzheng Hall.

Xiao Mingting sat high on the dragon throne, his gaze flat as he looked down at the ministers squabbling below. His long, elegant fingers tapped one by one against the armrest, the rhythm quickening by the moment.

Standing at his side, Eunuch De kept his head low, knowing full well that this was a sign the Emperor's patience was about to run out.

It had been Xiao Mingting himself who'd raised the matter with the Empress Dowager, so of course he knew Xie Chenyao would be entering the palace today. She was probably already waiting for him in the inner court by now.

There were no major issues in court lately, so the officials were bickering over trivial matters of departmental buck-passing.

Xiao Mingting had been distracted to begin with, and now the court was caught up in a tiresome debate over the protocols and expenditures of the Ullambana Festival.

As the hour of Si passed without a conclusion, his face, half-hidden behind the tassels of his imperial crown, grew darker and darker.

"Enough."

Xiao Mingting's jaw tightened as he spoke, his expression flat.

His voice wasn't loud—at least, in a court as raucous as a street market, it should have easily been drowned out. But the moment he spoke, it was as if a mute button had been pressed, and the clamorous arguments came to an abrupt halt.

The entire hall fell so silent that a pin dropping would have been audible.

"The Ullambana Festival need not be extravagant. We will hold it at half the scale of past years. The Ministry of Rites will oversee this; submit a proposal within three days. No further debate." Xiao Mingting pressed his brows together and made the call with crisp finality.

"Your subject obeys." The Minister of Rites immediately bowed in assent.

Xiao Mingting said nothing more, merely casting a glance at Eunuch De, who stood in attendance.

Eunuch De understood at once. He stepped forward and announced in a carrying voice, "Honored officials, if there is nothing else, the morning court is concluded. Dismissed—"

The assembled ministers immediately bowed in unison. "Your subjects obey! We bid the Emperor farewell!"

*

The excuse of summoning Xie Chenyao to the palace to attend upon the Empress Dowager was just that—a front. The Empress Dowager knew it well, which was why she never once showed her face.

So, with nothing to do, Chen Yao thought the weather was pleasant and decided to take a stroll through the Imperial Garden.

She remembered that the first time she'd entered the palace, the Empress Dowager's flower-viewing banquet had been held right here in the Imperial Garden. Back then, she'd been pushed onto the stage at the pavilion over the water, performing on the zither like a duck being driven onto a perch.

But in a fleeting glance upward, she'd caught sight of the colorful koi fish in the pond below, their bright scales flashing as they swam in carefree schools, and it had left a lasting impression on her.

So the moment she stepped into the Imperial Garden, her feet carried her almost involuntarily toward the pavilion at the water's edge.

As she settled onto the railing beside the pavilion, a breeze carrying the faint fragrance of nearby flowers and grass brushed past her.

After all, this was the palace. Even as the summer heat swelled, there were plenty of ways to cool down. And once the weather grew truly oppressive, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager would likely arrange a retreat to the summer palace.

Chen Yao mused silently.

But soon, the young woman, leaning sideways against the railing, found all her attention captured by the koi fish below—their tails swaying gracefully as if begging for food, a splash of vibrant color in the clear water.