Imperial Favor Chapter 12
Alienation
Although the royal physician gave his word that the Crown Princess was merely feverish time and again, and that she should recover by taking the medicinal tonic, Tang Zhuo Zhuo did not show signs of waking until nighttime.
The chamber was saturated with the smell of medicine and mingled with the delicate and soft scent of mint. Huo Qiu sat on a quilted stool not far from the bed, his tranquil demeanor like that of an unclouded moon and fine breeze
He was driven to restlessness by the woman’s soft, fragral body and delirious raving. His originally calm and unwavering heart suddenly became turbulent.
It was best that he stayed at a distance in order for his heart to feel slightly more tranquil.
But even so, his eyes couldn’t help but wander towards and land their gaze on the petite person laying on the bed.
Tang Zhuo Zhuo’s cheeks were still slightly feverish and her palm-sized face set a contrast against her crow-black hair. Her snow-white skin under the candlelight was supple, her form enticing enough to leave the throat dry.
Huo Qiu’s eyes were like that of an overturned inkstone, the dark, murkiness within it too dense to be diluted. The emotions within, which were hard to decipher, were dangerous and repressed.
Tang Zhuo Zhuo was roused to consciousness by the choking, pungent aroma of the medicinal decoction, the astringent bitterness spreading from every inch of her tongue to the depths of her heart and then flowing down to her back. It raised bumps on the skin of her forearms.
She finally opened her eyes and subconsciously turned her head to avoid the jade spoon being placed at her mouth. Her eyelashes quivered for a moment before raising her eyes to meet a pair which were austere and cold.
Huo Qiu who was dressed in a moon-white robe trimmed with silver thread, sat on the edge of the bed with a frown. His hand still held out the spoon of medicine she disliked and his face contained that familiar look of cold rigidity.
Tang Zhuo Zhuo became more clear-headed in that instant.
“Your Highness?”
She called softly and her voice was slightly hoarse but it didn’t hide the surprise that it contained.
Huo Qiu looked down at her with a commanding look and hummed at the back of his throat, the sound deep and mellow.
“Take the medicine.” His well-defined, long fingers (TN: does he have arthritis? That’s the only time when your joints/knuckles should be that defined….) fumbled with the small, jade spoon, appearing awkward and out of character.
Tang Zhuo Zhuo felt troubled and smiled flatteringly at him, “Your Highness, this lowly consort can do this herself.”
Huo Qiu looked at her deeply and then passed the bowl of warm medicine into her hands. It was at this time that he made contact with her soft, supple fingers causing her body to stiffen and the color of her eyes darkened.
The decoction was full-bodied and strong, the smell bitter. Tang Zhuo Zhuo held the spoon handle with the warmth of Huo Qiu’s fingers still lingering.
Her heart suddenly quivered.
In her past life, she often fell ill and with every bout, she would be unconscious for a day. Every time she woke, her entire sleeping quarters would be saturated with the smell of medicine.
She had always thought that it was An Xia who secretly went to retrieve medicine and brought it back to prepare for her to drink. Why had she never thought of how An Xia could possibly have the capacity or authority to do so? For a person relegated to the Cold Palace, who would care for your life or death?
Additionally, it was a place within the palace that often consumed the whole being.
Tang Zhuo Zhuo took a deep breath as she silently covered her slightly trembling hands and then drank the bowl of medicine in one fell swoop.
Her usually bright and rosy face suddenly crumpled in displeasure as she wished with all her heart to beg An Xia to procure her a plate of candied fruits. But because she was impeded by Huo Qiu, who sat by her side with his ever apathetic expression, she could only silently bite her lips and close her eyes to endure the bitterness.
Huo Qiu saw her miserable expression as she gnashed her teeth and his eyes filled with hints of a smile. His ice-like aura disintegrated altogether.
She had never been so lively looking in his presence before.
Upon finishing the medicine, Tang Zhuo Zhuo’s eyes brimmed with crystal clear teardrops. An Xia looked on from the side and then lowered her head till it could go no further as she offered the plate of candied fruits.
It was only tolerable then.
People truly change with the times as she had suffered greater miseries during her time in the Cold Palace. Now that she was used to laying upon a softer, pliant bed, she found even a mere bowl of medicine to be bitter and insufferable.
The servants waiting upon them in the chambers entered to replace the incense and opened a small window for ventilation. The medicinal smell in the chambers gradually dissipated a little then, bringing in starlight along with a bit of chill.
Tang Zhuo Zhuo lowered her head, her soft and slender fingers poking at the brocade quilt cover until two little pits formed; the presence of the man sitting at the edge of her bed was too intense. From her visual perspective, the way his slender long fingers interlaced atop his brocade attire of moon-white color; the way the minty scent emanating from his body mingled with the chamber incense- they caused her to feel dizzy.
“Has Your Highness…. taken a meal yet?” Tang Zhuo Zhuo enquired as she observed the horizon.
Huo Qiu’s eyebrows rose. “I will once I return to the Main Palace.”
Tang Zhuo Zhuo nodded lightly and then gathered the stray strands of hair that had fallen, revealing the corner of an elegant magnolia hairpin.
“Has this lowly consort troubled Your Highness?”
Huo Qiu shot her a light glance and rose to his feet. When he realized that Tang Zhuo Zhuo finally relaxed then, the look in his eyes suddenly became heavy.
Why would Tang Zhuo Zhuo call his name so vulnerably in her sleep, and yet become so alienating and guarded upon waking?
Just what exactly is she thinking within her heart?
“No.” His heart became entangled with the feeling of gloom, wishing to simply grab this person’s shoulder as she lay on the bed and ask straightforwardly. But he had always been a self-possessed and restrained person. He stroked the jade ringed adorning his finger, his emotions akin to a snowstorm raging within his eyes.
“This lowly consort was born with a frail body, Your Highness need not worry.” She raised her head then, her eyes filled with clear sincerity.
She naturally knew Huo Qiu cared for her as she dreamed daily of the image of him in her past life as he stood alone in his study stroking her painted portrait.
It was truly painful to watch.
“Since you knew your body is not well, why was the medicine prescribed by the royal physician not taken in a timely manner?” His voice was frigid, akin to the ice cellar on a winter day. His sword-like brows creased, undisguised anger apparent in his eyes.
He had summoned the royal physician for a cross-examination today and learned that she must regularly take tonics. However, it was discovered that her health had not improved the slightest the moment her pulse was read today. Questioning the maidservants who waited upon her led them to realize she had not drunk a drop of it. All of it was poured out underneath the fruit trees in the courtyard.
He almost laughed angrily.
Tang Zhuo Zhuo weakly swallowed the words that hung on the edge of her lips. Before the smile on the corner of her lips could fully appear, cold fingers reached out to tilt her chin upwards to have her meet the man’s unyielding black eyes.
“When you were still delirious with fever earlier today, you called out my name.”
Tang Zhuo Zhuo’s eyes widened. From the day she returned, every night, she would dream of nights of miserable solitude at the Cold Palace, where Huo Qiu would stand there and look at her from beyond the palace walls.
She had not even thought through the words she fumbled to say when Huo Qiu took another step closer, his deep penetrating gaze wandering over her delicate face. It was not without a hint of infatuation.
“Tang Zhuo Zhuo, I know your disposition well. These intentional acts of good will in the recent days, for what purpose are they?”
His tone of voice was apathetic and stern as if it was a gleaming, sharp sword ready to tear apart any layered deception and leave a person without a means to hide.
Tang Zhuo Zhuo found it difficult to speak as she clenched and unclenched the palms of her delicate, white hands. “This lowly consort…”
Before she could finish speaking, Huo Qiu loosened his hold on her chin as he smiled deeply. The sinister ruthlessness expression was clear on his face, “Since when did you begin referring to yourself as ‘this lowly consort’ in front of me?”
Tang Zhuo Zhuo became mute. She never liked Huo Qiu from the beginning and when she married into the East Palace, she couldn’t help feeling helpless despair. It was already well enough that she had not called him by his full name, just where would she start referring to herself as ‘this lowly consort’?
In thinking like this, was the fact that her actions are so different from the past causing him to be suspicious?
Seeing that she did not speak, Huo Qiu heaved several deep breaths in anger, the mixed, deep feelings of disappointment and indignation enough to make him lose all reason.
For such a person, more than he wanted to hold dear to his heart, he wished to just embrace her hard enough to meld her into his body. Yet held herself aloof and indifferent to him.
Having detached herself from all affairs, it seems the only who made the effort to be affectionate was him alone.
Yes indeed, he was alone in this endeavor.
“Jiao Jiao.” Huo Qiu in his extreme anger clutched her slender waist and drew her to himself close enough to meld almost perfectly together. He finally found some comfort in his heart and sighed hoarsely.
Tang Zhuo Zhuo’s body became unimaginably stiff , her apricot eyes becoming wide and round as her nose was filled with the light fragrance coming from his body. Without the bitter cold, all that was left was this perplexing tenderness.
“Can you not allow me to save my worries?” His quiet and suppressed voice contained light ridicule and was akin to whispers shared between lovers; the scene dispensed the image of a regal and cold persona that surfaced at the imperial court.
Tang Zhuo Zhuo’s heart warmed. Of course she would not let such unexpected happenings overcome her- it was only that it caused the edges of her eyes to feel warm.
“Aside from refusing to take my medicine, I* am naturally one who is free of worry.” She lightly rubbed her nose while muttering, her small face wrinkled in a frown.
***我- she refers to herself in first person here, not using the third person address based on her status as a consort.
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