PFC Chapter 232 What I Desire Is More Than I Expect
Chapter 232 What I Desire Is More Than I Expect
Before we knew it, night had fallen.
Inside the meditation room, the candlelight flickered, illuminating Chu Qingyin's cool profile.
A few snowflakes drifted down outside the window, and soon it turned into a heavy snowfall. It wasn't as cold as it had been the previous two days.
"Your Majesty, it's time for your meal," Xianglan gently reminded her.
The young novice monk had just brought over dinner; if it had been any later, it would have gotten cold.
Chu Qingyin nodded slightly. "Let's set out the meal."
After the food was set out, she sat down at the table.
You can't starve yourself just to act.
However, the food at Baohua Temple wasn't very good, and it was all vegetarian, so she didn't have a good appetite.
Xianglan stood to the side, serving her food, but hesitated to speak.
"What are you thinking about?"
Chu Qingyin parted her red lips slightly and asked her softly.
Xianglan was startled by the sudden question, and quickly came to her senses, hesitating whether to tell them what she had heard outside: "Your Majesty, those scoundrels outside have such big mouths, they actually said things about you... said things about you..."
"What are you saying about me?" Chu Qingyin's tone remained calm, but Xianglan could sense the coldness in it.
"They say that Your Majesty... because of Consort Qiao's jealousy, you have incurred His Majesty's displeasure."
Xianglan's voice grew softer and softer, afraid of angering Chu Qingyin.
After hearing this, Chu Qingyin did not show much emotion on her face, and simply said, "Let them say whatever they want, there's no need to care."
Seeing her so calm, Xianglan felt even more saddened, but worried about the damage to Chu Qingyin's reputation, so she said, "Your Majesty, your status is now very important. If those rumors are not stopped, they may affect your prestige."
Chu Qingyin smiled gently, took the handkerchief from Xianglan's hand, and wiped her mouth.
"It's alright, take these dishes away."
She stood up, walked slowly to the window, and looked at the night outside: "It's late, I should rest too."
She was certain that Pei Yuanling would come to find her tonight. This matter was his fault, so why would he expect her to beg for reconciliation?
As for Qiao Qingling, let her run wild for another two days.
The candlelight in the meditation room gradually went out.
In the stillness of the night, Chu Qingyin lay in bed, unable to fall asleep.
Suddenly, there was a slight noise from the window, and by the time she realized it, the bedside beside her had collapsed.
A cold wind crept into the bed, and a tall, cold body pressed close to her, making her shiver involuntarily.
"Yinyin, it's me..."
The man's voice sounded somewhat hoarse in the darkness.
Chu Qingyin turned around, and in the dim moonlight, she could see the concern in his eyes.
Although she had guessed he would come, Chu Qingyin still feigned surprise and asked, "Your Majesty, what brings you here?"
"I heard you didn't eat much for dinner tonight, so I've come to see you."
Pei Yuanling moved closer, gently stroking her hair, and said in a low voice, "I know you're upset. It's my fault; I shouldn't have let you suffer."
Chu Qingyin didn't speak, she just lay there quietly, letting Pei Yuanling's hand wander through her hair.
"Yinyin, what happened during the day was all my fault. I promise that I will never let you see those unpleasant things again."
The man hugged him tighter. "Please forgive me this time, okay?"
How could a ruler of a country truly only be devoted to one woman?
Moreover, Qiao Qingling was a noblewoman from a high-ranking family, and she was the younger sister of this body.
Seeing that he was no longer bothered by the shoes and socks, it seemed that he had already believed her previous explanation.
Chu Qingyin was relieved and said softly, "Your Majesty, I am not a petty person, and I know that Your Majesty has your own difficulties, but, but..."
Towards the end, she choked up a little.
Seeing this, Pei Yuanling coaxed Chu Qingyin for a while before she gradually calmed down.
Chu Qingyin slowly said again, "The original owner of this body was killed by Qiao Qingling and her aunt Jiang. Now that she is favored, I truly feel sorry for Qiao Qingyin..."
Upon hearing this, Pei Yuanling's face immediately turned gloomy.
He only thought that Qiao Qingling was, after all, a member of the Qiao family, and that it would be better to give this glory to the Qiao family than to favor someone else. He never expected that there was such a connection between them.
"Your Majesty, if Qiao Qingling and her daughter had not tricked Miss Qiao into jumping into the lake, I would not have been able to come back to life in this body."
Chu Qingyin said sadly, "Since I have accepted this favor, how can I not seek justice for her?"
"Yinyin, I don't know these things..."
Upon hearing this, Chu Qingyin simply lowered her head and pretended to cry.
The fact that the original owner had secretly pledged his life to someone else caused a great uproar in the capital. No matter how deeply Qiao Gongquan suppressed it, as the emperor, he could find out the truth with just a little investigation.
He just didn't want to.
"Don't worry, Yinyin. Now that you have told the truth, I will definitely seek justice for you and for this Miss Qiao."
Pei Yuanling gripped Chu Qingyin's hand tightly, a ruthless glint in his eyes: "Qiao Qingling can't escape."
Seeing him say this, Chu Qingyin understood that he had taken her words to heart.
"Since my beloved consort cares, I will find an opportunity to deal with Qiao Qingling and that Jiang woman directly. Why should you get angry over such things and harm your health for nothing?"
Pei Yuanling felt both delighted that Chu Qingyin was jealous of him and resentful of Qiao Qingling.
I initially thought she was a timid and submissive young woman, but I never imagined she could be so malicious.
He had already made his stance clear, so Chu Qingyin naturally had to give a response.
So she climbed onto his neck, her expression intimate, and said, "Your Majesty is fair and just, and will not show favoritism."
As she spoke, she blew warm air onto the man's neck. Noticing his stiffness, Chu Qingyin's lips curled slightly, and she whispered in his ear, "Your Majesty, how about we have a child?"
The man's breath hitched, unable to hide his surprise, "Yinyin, are you serious?"
These days, she has never been willing to respond directly to me, but tonight, she actually brought it up herself.
"Of course we're serious. Does Your Majesty not wish it?"
Chu Qingyin's eyes were alluring, and every word she spoke was like a feather gently brushing against a man's heart.
Pei Yuanling could no longer restrain himself, and his tall figure turned around and covered him.
His dark eyes gazed intently at the alluring woman in his arms, his voice growing increasingly hoarse: "I could not have asked for this more than I could have."
As he spoke, he eagerly kissed those rosy lips, as if he wanted to pour all his love and longing into them.
"Well……"
"Your Majesty, please be gentle."
The curtains swayed gently, and a beautiful night unfolded.
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the carved window lattice onto the bed, and Chu Qingyin slowly woke up, while Pei Yuanling was still fast asleep beside her.
The man's face appeared exceptionally gentle in the morning light, completely devoid of the usual imperial majesty.
Chu Qingyin gently got up, trying not to disturb the man, put on an outer robe, walked to the window, and quietly looked at the white expanse outside.
Recalling everything from last night, a complex look flashed in Chu Qingyin's eyes.
Since Pei Yuanling has already agreed, Qiao Qingling's good days are probably numbered.
They had originally planned to return to the palace today, but a sudden heavy snowfall last night made the mountain roads difficult to travel, so they had to stay at the temple again and have people clear the snow from the mountain roads before returning to the palace.
Chu Qingyin, on the other hand, was quite content with this situation.
With nothing to do in the mountains, and having grown tired of admiring the plum blossoms these past few days, and most of the concubines being afraid of the cold, Chu Qingyin had someone prepare writing brush and ink and went to the pavilion called Jingting in the back of the mountain.
A cold wind carrying the fragrance of plum blossoms rushed towards her. Chu Qingyin pulled her cloak tighter and sat down on a stone bench inside the pavilion.
Xianglan arranged the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone properly.
Chu Qingyin picked up her brush, dipped it in ink, and with nimble wrist movements, she clearly saw red plum blossoms in her eyes, but what she painted was an ink plum blossom, with dark ink stains spreading on the white Xuan paper.
"Why did Your Highness paint plum blossoms in ink?" Xianglan asked, puzzled. She had clearly prepared red ink, so why didn't Your Highness use it?
Chu Qingyin said casually, "What does it matter if it's ink plum or red plum? It's whatever color you want it to be."
Xianglan frowned slightly, puzzled.
As they were talking, a series of rustling footsteps came from not far away.
Chu Qingyin looked up and saw Qiao Qingling walking towards the pavilion, surrounded by a group of palace maids.