Palace Intrigue?: I Make the Emperor Cry by Rewinding Time!-Chapter 145 - 125: Every Action Receives a Response

Chapter 145: Chapter 125: Every Action Receives a Response

Expressing feelings through letters requires mutual consent.

Xie Zhixing, expressionless, tossed the letter back to Qing Que: "Tell her to rewrite it."

Qing Que had no choice but to visit Xianfu Palace once more.

"Lady, the Emperor..." He carefully chose his words: "Perhaps he feels that your reply was too short, so you might want to add a bit more."

This back-and-forth left the ink ground by Xue Ya still wet.

Yun Jiao picked up the pen again, pondering.

She knew no classical language, only plain speech:

"I was playing chess with Concubine Li when I received the Emperor’s letter and was instantly taken aback. Regarding what you mentioned, Emperor, I’ll just keep it simple. As long as you understand, that’s what matters. Your decision is your decision, my thoughts are my thoughts, the meaning is as it is. For those who understand, they understand, those who don’t never will; the waters of the harem run deep, involving many complexities."

Like a student tasked with an 800-word essay, Yun Jiao racked her brain to add content.

Others might add arguments to enrich their content, but she chose to write in large characters.

She enlarged the text larger and larger, wishing a single character could fill a page.

Because she thought of this midway, the beginning of the letter started with normal-sized text, and got increasingly larger towards the end, forming a trapezoidal shape.

"Alright, take this back to the Emperor now."

Seeing the letter was noticeably thicker this time, Qing Que felt relieved.

He trotted back to present it at the Imperial Court, placing it in the Emperor’s hands.

Xie Zhixing unfolded the letter, still carrying the scent of Yun Jiao’s favorite incense. Between men and women, letter writing bears a poetic intimacy restrained by decorum, sharing private flirtations during times apart...

Seeing the end of the letter, his fist clenched.

"Tell Concubine Xi she needn’t paint for Concubine Wei anymore each month," he ordered, "Instead, have her write articles for Concubine Wei."

Knowing that Yun Jiao’s nature couldn’t be forced, Xie Zhixing opted for a compromise, without demanding she lengthen her replies, as long as there was enough talk on one side. Hence, he would write her small notes whenever he thought of it.

And Yun Jiao made sure to respond to everything——

"Ah? This is too much!"

"What’s going on?"

"Indeed."

"Hilarious."

"Makes sense."

"Well said."

"Ol’ boy."

...

When Xie Zhixing unconsciously noted "indeed" on a document, he suddenly realized that Yun Jiao might not write heartwarming letters, but she was a master at bringing others to her level.

Thinking, he extracted a portion of the letters, handing them to Qing Que.

"If anyone inquires about the content of the letters, just reveal a few of these."

"I understand, your servant."

The Emperor, as wise as anticipated, knew that the constant comings and goings of a little eunuch between Qiankun Palace and Xianfu Palace wouldn’t remain hidden, and Yun Jiao’s reply soon reached the Empress’s hands that evening.

"Letters? Who would have thought the Emperor had this side," the Empress said, full of jealousy: "Concubine Xi at best recognizes characters, she can’t compare to me. Some treat pearls like dirt, while others cherish fish eyes, how utterly absurd."

A bit sour, but it was the truth.

Bred by the meticulously educated Wei Family, the Empress’s literary flair far exceeded Yun Jiao’s by a great margin.

Opening the letter, the Empress had expected lewd innuendoes but found only cryptic chatter.

A lengthy text of hundreds of words, with the only useful line being "I was playing chess with Concubine Li."

"Ha,"

She let out a cold laugh, tossing the letter onto her desk: "At first glance, one might think Concubine Xi is illiterate, unable to pen decent words, only prattling nonsense, but this letter was meant for the Emperor, there must be some hidden agenda. Concubine Xi’s diversionary tactics are still juvenile. Dong Hua, come look at this. The larger and larger text, combined with the line about the deep waters of the harem, could it possibly imply the turmoil within the harem under my governance?"

This was clearly an attempt at tarnishing her image in front of the Emperor!

The Empress was full of suspicion, increasingly desirous to uncover the true meaning behind this nonsensical letter.

"No, just me alone might not be enough to decipher the true content."

The Empress contemplated, instructing Dong Hua to make a copy of it and send it out of the palace.

The Wei Family kept a circle of guests, essentially a think tank.

Even if Concubine Xi possessed some wits, she couldn’t rival the Wei Family.

The Empress brooded overnight on how to deal with Concubine Xi, dreaming of dethroning the mother and keeping her son. But the next morning, an imperial decree left her in a daze— the Emperor favored the palace maid Yan Yun and bestowed upon her the title of Servant Consort Zhen.

The rank of an attending consort wasn’t high, the issue lay in the bestowed title.

A mere palace maid climbed into the Emperor’s bed and was deemed worthy of a ’Zhen’ prefix?

It was as if a dry thunderstorm exploded in the Empress’s ears, her face burning hot and stunned for a long moment before anger took hold: "Palace maids serving at the Imperial Court harboring thoughts to enchant the Emperor? The title should have been my bestowment, how could the Emperor be so impatient?"

For the Emperor to take a palace maid to bed, and then let the Empress confer the title, it displayed the Empress’s generosity and served to let the newly favored consort know that despite her favor, the Empress still ruled the harem and should be respected.

Seeing the Empress’s stern expression, Dong Hua braced herself to comfort: "Lady Yan Yun happened to break Concubine Xi’s monopoly, Lady also hoped for someone else to take care of the Emperor..."

Before she finished, she was slapped across the face.

"I had just arranged for her to be elevated to serve tea at the Imperial Court, and she crawls into his bed the same night. Is there no sense of me left in her mind? Clearly, she’s a harlot, a wretched woman!"

The Empress’s expression was as vicious as a demon’s.

Dong Hua dared not argue or plead, only knelt and kowtowed.

"A heartless wench, I raise her a little, and she immediately forgets restraint, utterly disgracing me!" she cursed, as palace maids supported her shaking frame: "Has the Emperor gone to court yet? I must see, what kind of sorcery could enchant him to confer upon her the ’Zhen’ title!"

People who are greedy and oblivious to propriety live in constant anger, burning with rage daily.

In the Empress’s plan, though Yan Yun frequently appeared before the Emperor, with his indifference towards women, she doubted Yan Yun would ever gain favor. She sent her before him hoping he’d pay no mind. Yet Yan Yun, a mere maiden, should have been cautious: guarding her chastity, and if favored, singing praises to the Empress’s virtue while on the dragon bed.

Yet the two got along immediately that day, and the Empress’s mentality crumbled on the spot.

Meanwhile, Qing Que delivered a new letter to Yun Jiao, with four words inscribed:

"Replacing plum with peach."

Having never read Sun Tzu’s Art of War, and only having studied for a few days, Yun Jiao was somewhat dissatisfied with the scholarly Emperor frequently quoting idioms, so she briskly penned a four-word response:

"Zun du jia du o.O"