Huang Beishuang indeed caught a chill after returning to the palace that night, yet she still refused to rest properly. Every day, she would run to the courtyard to dig soil and plant trees, making her body even weaker. The three maids were extremely worried, but knowing their mistress’s temperament, they could only help her in her endeavors.
Huang Beishuang planted twenty-one Jiema trees behind her sleeping palace, arranged in the shape of a five-petal flower. When Ye Pei and the others asked what Jiema trees were, she just smiled sweetly: “When the flowers bloom, you’ll know.”
On this day, she leaned against the bed, allowing Zai Ping to force-feed her a bowl of bitter medicine. Shaking her head, she smiled, “Tormenting your mistress like this?”
Ye Pei, looking at her pale face, replied with concern, “Once Mistress is well, you can punish us servants however you like!” As she spoke, she sat on the edge of the bed, repeatedly wiping away Huang Beishuang’s sweat.
Huang Beishuang comfortably leaned back on the pillow, closing her eyes and asking, “Ye Pei, do you have something you want to ask?”
Ye Pei knew her mistress was considerate and never treated them as outsiders, so she replied directly, “What exactly is the relationship between Frost Consort and His Majesty now? After the first night, His Majesty never summoned Frost Consort again.” That day, Huang Beishuang politely declined the king’s favor, citing her menstrual cycle, intending only to delay and collect her thoughts. She hadn’t expected Na Zhan to make any further advances after that.
Huang Beishuang leisurely opened her eyes, looking at the canopy above her bed, “His Majesty is proud and arrogant. I fear he won’t make any more advances until I throw myself into his arms. Perhaps more than beautiful women under the moonlight, he needs a confidant to share his heart with!”
Hearing her say this, Ye Pei nodded, “I see. So the ‘Three Rebukes of Huayu Palace’ was your idea? These days, the old general has finally accepted his age and stopped causing trouble in the army; Prince Chang has also stopped wandering around the palace, currying favor and forming factions. But why did Frost Consort place the Yunpei ambassador under house arrest?”
Huang Beishuang sighed, “If I didn’t confine him, he would face certain death returning to his country without accomplishing anything, not even seeing His Majesty.”
Ye Pei asked, “Why doesn’t His Majesty send troops?”
After thinking for a long time, Huang Beishuang replied softly, “I don’t know either. His Majesty seems to be hiding something from me. In this palace, sources of information are scarce. I guess there must be changes among the five nations. However, our E’na Yi tribe is far in the north, so we shouldn’t be involved.”
The next evening, still in Yunpei Palace. The cold wind lingered outside the golden stone gates, howling fiercely.
Na Zhan didn’t summon any consorts, only meeting with General Wu Jihai in his sleeping palace. The two men drank clear wine and played chess in high spirits.
Wu Jihai pointed at the chessboard, “Your Majesty, you’re a step slow today. I’m about to take your game!” The straightforward Wu Jihai never flattered or let the king win when playing chess. Chances like today to win were one in ten thousand. He looked up at Na Zhan. “Your Majesty, what are you thinking about?”
Na Zhan’s expression was somewhat absent at this moment. He only drank the clear wine, and after a while, he smiled and sighed, “Ah, indeed, I was a step late. How will this end?”
Hearing his words with double meaning, Wu Jihai, who commanded 170,000 national defense troops, fell silent.
Outside the window was a range of majestic mountains. One could vaguely see the pointed tip of the highest pavilion. As the wind blew, it got colder, and Wu Jihai stood up to close the window.
At this time in Liangyue Pavilion, the jade flute was seen freezing hands, the figure slender.
Huang Beishuang sat alone inside, with eight guards and three maids standing watch several dozen paces away from the pavilion, leaving her a space of tranquility.
Her health improved, and her complexion gradually reddened. She gazed at the bright moon, suddenly remembering that day when the red wedding dress fluttered like butterflies, those pitch-black eyes deeply moving her heart. Whenever she recalled it, she felt a surge of emotion and an irrepressible ache. She couldn’t help but laugh at herself, thinking, “What time is it now, and I’m still thinking about these things…”
Huang Beishuang’s Liangyue Pavilion was very close to a secret passage in Guanghan Palace. She didn’t know that when she was leaning against the vermilion wooden pillar alone, playing the flute in the moonlight, Qing Yun was standing behind her, silent, looking at her with complex eyes.
“Cough!” After a while, the jade flute was indeed too cold in this season, and Huang Beishuang couldn’t help but cough, abruptly stopping the flute melody. She frowned, feeling annoyed, and simply leaned against the pillar, muttering softly, “Ah, Qing Yun…” It was just a name, a sigh.
Qing Yun stood behind the low shrubs, originally hesitating whether to meet her at this moment. Unexpectedly, she suddenly called his name. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he suddenly wanted to play a trick. So he quietly walked behind her and whispered in her ear, “Are you calling me?”
Huang Beishuang was startled, the jade flute slipping from her hand, but he caught it. Her heart pounding, she turned her head to see who it was, only to be suddenly embraced and drawn into a deep kiss against his chest. Their wet, hot lips and tongues intertwined endlessly. When Huang Beishuang saw the face of the newcomer, she fell into a midnight dream of longing.
After a long while, Qing Yun finally released her.
Huang Beishuang was quite shocked by this, thinking she had entered a dream. But looking left and right, this was Guanghan Palace, the cold wind still blowing, the moon still bright. She touched her swollen lips, finally coming to her senses, and said in a low voice, “Heavens, how are you here?”
Qing Yun just smiled, turning to take a bite of the pastry on the stone table, answering irrelevantly, “Hmm, not bad!”
Huang Beishuang wasn’t as calm as him. She quickly looked around, afraid of being seen, and asked again, “You’re not from Guanghan Palace, how did you get up here?”
“Oh?” Qing Yun still had one hand around her waist, the other lingering on her cheek, his eyes full of interest, “How do you determine I’m not from Guanghan Palace?” His voice carried a certain restless temptation.
“Na Zhan isn’t blind. If you were from Guanghan Palace, you’d surely be a widely admired figure!” she said.
Hearing this, he was indeed very pleased, and simply pulled her into his arms, “You’re so sure?”
Huang Beishuang’s face heated up, as if all the longing and suppression of these days were a pool of spring water, all disturbed by him.
“You make my mind go blank,” Huang Beishuang said involuntarily, nestling against his chest and inhaling that peculiar wine fragrance from his body. “When I’m with you, I don’t feel like myself. I can’t stay calm, nor can I remain indifferent.”
Hearing her words, Qing Yun was also moved, and couldn’t help but tighten his arms, kissing her passionately again. He advanced, she retreated; she fled, he pursued. No matter how Huang Beishuang tried to avoid it, she seemed unable to leave his embrace even slightly, only allowing him to do as he pleased. She closed her eyes as if seeing an even hazier moon.
“Then… let me steal you away!” Qing Yun’s voice seemed to alternate between near and far amidst their entangled lips and teeth.
As they embraced like this, time seemed to have stopped flowing, the embrace gradually becoming eternal.