195 Some flowers are born to repay their benefactor Part I
“Xiao Yu.” A soft whisper came with a light shake. She had to force her eyes to open, despite having just entered slumber not too long ago, to look at the person who had disturbed her all night.
“Mm.” In front of her was Ouyang Feilong, in a golden robe. The curtain of pearl strings separated the line of sight between two pairs of eyes. “Your Majesty is leaving already?”
“Mhm.” Despite wanting her to rest, Ouyang Feilong must wake his wife up to do one thing. Her fragrant body was supported to sit up against his broad chest. Drowsiness made Bai Yu obediently lean onto him. A warm cup of medicinal broth was put in front of the half-asleep woman.
“This is…” Bai Yu blinked, chasing away sleepiness when she saw what Ouyang Feilong handed her. Her eyes glanced at the cup before turning to the man who was holding it.
Ouyang Feilong gently smiled. “It’s a tonic.”
“But what about contraceptives?” Bai Yu immediately asked before the conversation was interrupted or made forgotten.
Ouyang Feilong frowned. A smile disappeared from his enchanting face. “Why would you need it?”
“It’s…” Bai Yu tried to find an answer.
If she got pregnant now…it would not be good timing?
.....
“Xiao Yu.” Ouyang Feilong lowered his voice. The gaze from his dragon eyes seemed to pierce into her skin. “Surely you don’t think that zhen will forbid you from getting pregnant?”
“But if I’m pregnant right now…” Bai Yu hurriedly pressed her lips together, unable to continue when under his eyes that clearly expressed disapproval of her thoughts. She was only worried that it might affect his plan in the future.
Ouyang Feilong sighed. He wanted to put down the tonic to clear up the misunderstanding between them. However, Bai Yu immediately took the cup and drank it all at once. She had expected the tonic to be bitter, but strangely, there was a hit of sweetness and fragrance mixed in, making it much easier to swallow.
The red, swollen lips that were bullied for the majority of the night were sheened with the medicine. Ouyang Feilong raised her chin as he tilted his face to press a repeated kiss onto her lips as if wanting to wipe away the trace of the medicine.
“Never think about drinking contraceptives.” The firmness in his voice contrasted so clearly with his gentleness that Bai Yu had to nod in acceptance.
“Da Yang under Brother’s rule has always been prosperous and stable. After this war with Da Chu, we only need to restore the border slightly more for the nation to be peaceful again. As for the dynasty, stability can only come after you have a child for zhen or when there is an heir apparent.”
Her lips were let free. Her naked body was embraced within his arms until she sank into his strong chest, only a layer of blanket between them. Bai Yu leaned into the warmth of his fully-clothed figure and listened to what he was going to tell her.
“Soon, I shall appoint a crown prince.” The most important words were uttered without concealment or hidden implication.
Ouyang Feilong could not ignore Ouyang Hongxian’s original intention. Originally, this throne should have been his nephew’s, not his. And after events had been turned upside down to this point, the title Taizi could belong to none other than…
“Ming-er will be a great emperor.”
——————
Ouyang Feilong’s plan left Bai Yu sleepless. Despite him forcing her back to bed and forbidding other consorts from coming to greet her in the morning, she still woke up to get ready to meet them.
In the future, Ouyang Feilong must establish stability for the nation while at the same time finding a way to appoint Ouyang Mingxian as crown prince, as Ouyang Hongxian had wished.
If she was pregnant, Ouyang Mingxian’s status as a crown prince would be disputed. Yet Ouyang Feilong wanted her to be pregnant, despite her pregnancy possibly causing complications to his plan.
This man knew what a good plan and strategy should be, and he still chose her wellbeing over the perfect plan. From here on, she must support him in stabilizing Da Yang and eliminating internal conflicts in preparation for when the throne changed hands. And one of her duties was to help Ouyang Mingxian become the perfect candidate for Da Yang’s Taizi.
“Blessings to the Empress. May you live and reign for a thousand years, a thousand years, thousands of thousands of years.”
Today, she let the royal consorts wait longer than usual since she was late starting to get ready. She had changed her mind from sleeping in to letting these women come in to greet her. Bai Yu wore a dark blue color she preferred, though the cut was more modest than last time since there was no need to further emphasize how favored she was.
More importantly, the traces Ouyang Feilong had left behind were more than the last time, so many that she was not shameless enough to use them to brag.
“Where’s De Fei?” Finding one empty seat as she swept her eyes through the crowd, Bai Yu asked after all of them had sat down.
“Your Majesty, De Fei is feeling unwell.” It was Zhao Ninghua, in the seat of Gui Fei, who answered her.
“Has a royal doctor been sent to examine her?” Bai Yu turned to the woman who answered her politely, despite being quite older than her.
“I have given the order, Your Majesty.”
Silence instantly fell upon the area. Dark eyes gazed at the woman who seemed to have been so used to taking care of Ouyang Feilong’s women that she had forgotten who the authoritative person in the inner court was.
If someone else was the empress, then Bai Yu did not know what would ensue. But as for Empress Bai, she had a different view…
“Thank you for taking care of her for bengong.” Bai Yu sincerely thanked Zhao Ninghua. Having someone to help was better than having to do everything on her own.
“I am not worthy of Your Majesty’s thanks.” Zhao Ninghua’s face was lowered to the point that Bai Yu could not discern her expression. The atmosphere was still quiet, even though Bai Yu had expressed gratitude. It seemed the listeners had interpreted her words as sarcasm.
“How is De Fei?” Bai Yu chose to change the subject.
“Your Majesty, the royal doctor said that she has a fever after being out in the cold for too long, though some rest would suffice for her recovery.”
It was still Zhao Ninghua who answered the question. And the answer quite amused Bai Yu. Mu De Fei intended to say that she fell ill because Bai Yu had ordered her to kneel. Mu Qilin seemed determined to remain Bai Yu’s enemy. Nevertheless, a villainess like her did not take that to heart. She only nodded and continued to speak with Zhao Ninghua, ignoring what other consorts might think of her true intention. “Then you should send some supplements to her too.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Zhao Ninghua bowed her head.
“De Fei is honored to receive such mercy from Empress.” One of the consorts spoke when she realized that the tension in the air was slowly loosening after the conversation continued without Bai Yu’s chastising Zhao Ninghua.
“Right.” Bai Yu pretended to suddenly recall something. “What level of magic does De Fei possess? It is surprising to see how a little cold can harm her so.”
Silence resumed once more.
“Oh, well.” Bai Yu waved her hand, dismissing the question she had posed. “Then bengong shall have to trouble Gui Fei by telling her to train her magic more in order to avoid falling ill again.”
It was true that women in this era were frailer than women in the future she came from. The reason was none other than the tradition of young ladies being sheltered, only learning sewing while waiting to be married off to an eligible partner. Only a few would train in martial arts or exercise. A slight breeze could easily make them ill.
However, this world also had a wonderful thing called magic. It not only gave special power to its user but also acted as immunity for the body. Mu Qilin wanted to play the role of a fragile heroine to paint the empress as a cruel woman, but she did not realize that it would make her look like a fool in the end. In the future, anyone who fell ill would not be able to use a simple excuse such as this. The royal consorts had to lower their heads and think to themselves that they could not underestimate the new empress too much, otherwise they might end up like Mu De Fei, who was now known as a woman with low-level magic.
“Winter will soon pass. Tomorrow bengong shall call the anonymous master in to sew new dresses for you all. How does that sound?” Bai Yu ignored the reserved manner of the consorts who wanted to see her lash out after being slighted by Mu De Fei and disrespected by Zhao Gui Fei.
“Your Majesty is most gracious.”
“Mhm. Bengong is tired now.”
Hearing that, the royal consorts knew it was time to leave. Starting with Zhao Gui Fei, who left first, followed by other consorts in descending ranks. When all of them finally left, Bai Yu waved her hand to call Xiao Xi and Xiao Chang to her.
“How did Gui Fei come to be His Majesty’s consort?”
Others’ businesses were never beyond Xiao Xi’s knowledge. The woman named Zhao Ninghua was of a similar age to Ouyang Feilong. She was born of the first furen of a merchant family in Da Yang. Her family might be normal merchants, but with a respectable reputation, she was both the first to be bestowed marriage to Ouyang Feilong and also the first woman to become Ouyang Feilong’s second consort. After her came many more royal marriages, though all of them were born of mistresses and concubines, or were from branch families that held no substantial power.
“Since Gui Fei was married into Rui Wang Palace before everyone else, she was quite respected by the other consorts. Words and important matters within the palace used to be handled by her, as well as some other consorts.”
“What about De Fei?”
“Other than Gui Fei, there were De Fei and Consort Wang, who had powers in Rui Wang Palace. Those two women married His Majesty around the same time and were among the last consorts. Problems within the palace were mostly caused by De Fei and Consort Wang.”
‘Consort Wang,’ whom Xiao Xi mentioned, must be a consort from the Wang family whom Bai Yu had met in the palace. Now without Consort Wang, Mu Qilin changed the target from Zhao Ninghua to her instead.
“Sounds like she’s quite a troublemaker.” Bai Yu played with the ring on her ring finger as she pondered. “Then Gui Fei might know a thing or two about dealing with her.”
“Your Majesty means…”
“Summon Gui Fei here.”
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