The Chief Eunuch outside the door was completely stunned. Did he hear it wrong? What exactly happened inside? It seemed he could vaguely tell that the Emperor was hit by the Empress. Should he push open the door to save the Emperor? The Chief Eunuch hesitated as he reached out his hand to see whether to push the door open and enter.
"If you want to live, pretend you didn’t hear anything." Suddenly, a low voice reached his ears.
The Chief Eunuch looked in the direction of the voice and saw one of the guards standing under the eaves of the hall, gently shaking his head at him.
In that instant, the Chief Eunuch suddenly came to his senses. Yes, if he went in now, it would seem like he was rescuing the Emperor, but if he knew about such a royal secret as the Emperor and the Empress having a fight, could he still survive? Especially since it seemed like the Emperor lost the fight, such an embarrassing matter—if people knew, could that person still live? Cold sweat broke out on the Chief Eunuch’s back, and then he nodded to the guard, making a mental note of the favor.
The Chief Eunuch, like sitting on pins and needles, waited outside. After a while, the Emperor finally came out with a dark face. Only, his walking posture was a bit awkward.
"We respectfully see off the Emperor." Everyone in the Empress Palace knelt to respectfully see the Emperor off.
The Emperor, however, left quickly with a dark face. The Chief Eunuch didn’t dare to say a word and didn’t even dare to breathe loudly, burying his head and following behind the Emperor.
After the Emperor left with his people, Kong Hou bounced through the hall and came to the sleeping quarters at the back. Seeing Tianmiao lying on the divan, she chuckled, "Master, shall we go to the lake in the Imperial Garden to gather lotus roots in the evening? We can make crispy lotus root salad!"
"It’s too hot. That’s the hottest time on the lake. You go play by yourself." Tianmiao stood up, "Is the hammock in the pavilion in the garden ready? I’ll take a nap there."
"It’s ready, it’s ready. But Master, we’re not afraid of the heat." Kong Hou pouted.
"Just going with the mood is all. By then, I’ll watch you gather from the pavilion, okay?" Tianmiao walked toward the garden.
"Okay, okay. Master, let’s go see the hammock. I tied the corners of the soft bed to several corners and covered it with sheer curtains. It’s cool, airy, and very beautiful. I also prepared the pillows," Kong Hou boasted. "I even tied a swing in the garden. You can play with it when you wake up."
"You want to play with it yourself, don’t you?" Tianmiao laughed, reaching out and touching Kong Hou’s nose, "You can have someone push you on it later."
"Okay." Kong Hou, not at all embarrassed about being seen through by Tianmiao, nodded happily.
In the evening, Tianmiao brought a group of people to the Imperial Garden. By this time, the temperature in the garden had significantly decreased, and sitting in the pavilion with a gentle breeze blowing through was quite pleasant.
Kong Hou, with two palace maids, rowed a small boat, traversing the lake. She plucked a lotus flower, wearing a puzzled expression. Why are there no lotus roots?
The two little palace maids on the boat weakly explained, "Sister Kong Hou, it’s not the season for lotus roots to mature yet; we have to wait a few more months."
Kong Hou looked dumbfounded at Tianmiao, who was smiling enigmatically in the pavilion. Wow, the Master is so mean. The Master knew all along but just didn’t tell her, watching her idiotically search for lotus roots.
...
At this moment, the Emperor was standing by the window with a sullen face, silently watching outside.
It was already mealtime, but the Chief Eunuch didn’t dare remind the Emperor to have his meal like usual. The Emperor was like a firecracker right now; he’d explode at the slightest provocation. With so many years of personally serving the Emperor, the Chief Eunuch had this bit of intuition.
As night fell, the Emperor had completely forgotten about his promise to visit Virtuous Concubine tonight. What was he thinking? He was worried about his own butt, secretly touching it—does it, perhaps, not hurt anymore?