Broken Jade - Chapter 148
Chapter 148
Sheng Zhaoning slept deeply.
Wei Yi had grown up amid the wind and sand of frontier battlefields, with strength he never seemed to run out of. His entire body was hard as iron, and although he had restrained the force he used with her, Sheng Zhaoning could hardly bear it.
She truly could not withstand his terrifying stamina. She had slept fitfully through the night, waking who knew how many times because of him.
In her anger, she bit him hard. A clear set of teeth marks, dotted with beads of blood, stood out on his shoulder.
Wei Yi hissed. Knowing she was truly furious, he finally stopped fooling around.
After calling for water one last time that night, Wei Yi slept with her wrapped contentedly in his arms, his iron-hard arm locking her in place and making it difficult for her even to turn over.
Sheng Zhaoning did not like sleeping beside him.
Wei Yi’s body was too hot, and his hold too forceful. At times, she was pressed so tightly against him that she could scarcely breathe.
But Wei Yi loved keeping her snugly locked against his side. It gave him a strange sense of security.
With one retreating and the other advancing, Sheng Zhaoning was the one who ended up compromising every time.
She slept until the sun was already high in the sky. Even after Wei Yi finished court, she still had not woken.
The bed curtains blocked most of the sunlight. Wisps of agarwood incense curled through the air, and despite the warm spring weather, a faint charcoal fire still burned in the hall.
He had not changed out of his court robes. Stepping inside the curtains, he looked at the person still sleeping and slowly curved his lips into a smile.
The overwhelming fury of the previous day had all dissipated amid each forceful union. Once the coldness faded, endless tenderness gradually emerged in its place.
A slender wrist exposed beneath the brocade quilt still bore red marks from where he had unconsciously gripped it, while several suggestive red marks had appeared on her neck as well.
This docile, harmless look was what Wei Yi liked best about her.
He could even tolerate her losing her temper from time to time or being unreasonable.
The one thing he could not tolerate was hearing her mention that person. Not a single word of it.
Zhao Quan entered the inner chamber and stood outside the bed curtains. Daring not to look around, he asked carefully in a lowered voice, “Your Majesty, shall I have the meal brought in?”
Wei Yi glanced at the deep exhaustion between her brows and waved a hand. “Not yet. Bring it in after she wakes.”
Zhao Quan stole a glance at the person on the bed from the corner of his eye, answered, and withdrew with his head lowered.
Wei Yi tucked the arm she had left outside back beneath the brocade quilt, then walked quietly to the window.
The low table beside the Imperial Consort’s couch held the book she had been reading these past few days. He picked it up and glanced at the cover. It was a book on law, Sixteen Chapters on Gongyang’s Adjudication of Criminal Cases.
It was exactly the sort of book she would like.
He considered, for a moment, the possibility of letting her return to court.
But the thought was dismissed almost as soon as it arose.
A person like Sheng Zhaoning would never settle down as long as there was any chance of escaping his control.
Once she touched power again, who knew what might happen?
……
Sheng Zhaoning woke shortly before noon.
Spring had warmed considerably. Sunlight poured through the half-open window, its square shadow falling across the floor, while some bird perched beneath the eaves chirped merrily.
She kept her eyes open for a while before her mind finally cleared. An ache like that of being run over by a carriage spread through her entire body.
Sheng Zhaoning frowned and, enduring the soreness, slowly shifted herself upright with stiff limbs.
The rustling caught the attention of the person by the window.
The light and shadows swayed briefly as footsteps approached.
A tall figure leaned over after lifting one corner of the blue-green bed curtain. With ease, he gripped her around the waist and helped her sit upright.
The pleasant scent of agarwood drifted lightly across the tip of her nose.
Looking at the enlarged profile before her, Sheng Zhaoning frowned and pushed him away.
It was broad daylight, and there were still people in the room. Why was he pressing close again, like some dog-skin plaster that would not come off?
Wei Yi had already changed into ordinary clothes embroidered with pale silver and gold. Even when she pushed him with strength as feeble as an ant trying to shake a tree, he did not get angry. He merely yielded slightly to the force, putting a little more distance between them.
Standing beside the bed, he lowered his eyes to the person leaning against the headboard, and his expression softened somewhat.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, a smile in his eyes as he gazed at the crown of her soft hair.
Sheng Zhaoning really did not want to speak to him.
He had clearly tormented her on purpose last night, making sure she suffered. Even now, her body was covered in bruises, as if someone had beaten her viciously.
A flood of chaotic memories surged into her mind. Suppressing the cold fury in her chest, she said, “I’m not hungry.”
Her rejection was unmistakably laced with anger.
Hearing the cold rebuke, Wei Yi’s lips curved upward instead.
He liked Sheng Zhaoning best when she was vividly angry like this, no longer hollow and lifeless like a soulless puppet, incapable of stirring the slightest ripple.
“Have something to eat. Whatever you want, have the Shangshan Directorate prepare it for you.” Wei Yi’s gaze softened as he spoke with unusual patience.
Sheng Zhaoning gave him a strange look, unable to accept such a tone coming from his mouth.
Was something wrong with him?
Had he been possessed?
She did not understand how frightening a man’s sudden tenderness and tolerance could be after having his desires satisfied. But Wei Yi clearly had no intention of pursuing what had happened yesterday, and that allowed her to quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
After being nursed back to health for so long, her body was no longer as frail as it had been at the beginning. Perhaps it was now strong enough to endure the hardships of flight.
The most important thing now was to lower Wei Yi’s guard against her.
There was no doubt that he had not completely let down his guard, nor did he trust her absolutely.
Perhaps he had been waiting all along for the day she could no longer hold back and finally exposed a weakness.
Like yesterday, when she had let something slip while not fully conscious. It had been perilously close.
Sheng Zhaoning curled her fingers slightly and said in an indifferent tone, “Just have a few dishes prepared. Anything will do.”
She was not really in the mood to eat anyway.
At her words, Wei Yi’s brows lifted slightly.
Anything?
That would be difficult.
He called Zhao Quan over and named several dishes Sheng Zhaoning usually liked. When she showed no sign of displeasure, he instructed him to have the Shangshan Directorate prepare them.
Wei Yi was unusually patient today.
After accompanying her through the meal, he did not return to reviewing memorials. Instead, he carried her to the low couch by the window, held her securely in his arms, and quietly read alongside her.
Feeling the waves of heat radiating from his chest against her back, Sheng Zhaoning’s body remained somewhat tense and rigid.
There was something she had been thinking about the entire time.
The tiny pills in the porcelain bottle hidden in the secret compartment of the wooden box inside the cabinet still lay untouched. She had yet to find an opportunity to take them.
Wei Yi had not had anyone bring her a contraceptive decoction.
He had said that he wanted her to bear him a child.
How could Sheng Zhaoning possibly allow that?
Her heart had remained taut for most of the day, never once relaxing, until a commotion broke out beyond the palace hall and drew everyone’s attention.
Zhao Quan hurried in, looking first at Sheng Zhaoning before turning to Wei Yi with an expression of obvious difficulty.
“Your Majesty, Consort Gui… has fallen into the water.”
Sheng Zhaoning’s gaze shifted.
Chi Wan had fallen into the water?
It had been so long since she had heard anything about her that Sheng Zhaoning had nearly forgotten her existence.
Given Chi Wan’s obsessive and twisted love for Wei Yi, perhaps she had long since been unable to tolerate having another woman constantly lingering at his side, haunting her like a ghost.
Sheng Zhaoning had stayed by his side for too long. No matter what she did, he could never bear to let her die.
How could Chi Wan not hate her?
She wanted to kill Sheng Zhaoning so badly, wishing she could make her disappear from this world forever.
But at its root, the purpose behind everything was simply to make Sheng Zhaoning leave Wei Yi’s side.
That was jealousy, and it was also what drove Chi Wan to risk taking action against her.
So whether she meant to kill her or help her, as long as they shared the same goal, they could work together.
Sheng Zhaoning’s eyes darkened.
The instant she lowered her head, a thought flashed through her mind.
