Indulging in Carnal Desire

Consort Rong had been by His Majesty’s side before he ascended as emperor and had even given birth to the Fifth Princess, Jing Yi. Even though she wasn’t doted on that much, the emperor still gave her respect, putting the Sixth Prince born from another noble, who had passed away, under her foster care.

“Godfather, why have we never seen the Sixth Prince in all of our visits?”

On the road, Chu Jiao delicately brought up this topic.

At present, the fifth princess was still a child, and the female lead had not yet been brought into the palace to serve as her companion. The entire plot would only start once 10 years had already passed, so she simply didn’t know of the male lead’s current identity or whereabouts. Apart from the fact that he was a prince, she didn’t know even which one he was and where he was residing at.

The story only mentioned that the male lead’s childhood was rough. It also further explained his gloomy and overbearing nature when he ascended the throne as an adult and also the reasons for his obsession with the female lead. She organized the memories in her brain and felt that since his mother had passed away, only the Sixth Prince who was fostered elsewhere would fit this condition.

“Remember not to mention him when we arrive at Qiu Xi Palace! That person is even loathed by the king. Consort Rong may be taking care of him, but she won’t even let him appear in front of the emperor so you’ve naturally never seen him until now.” Zhang Shun warned her in hushed whispers.

“Do we even know the emperor’s likes and dislikes?” Chu Jiao felt it was odd.

“The Sixth Prince was born with abnormal eyes, his appearance is as strange as Luo Cha¹Luo Cha is a demon in Buddhism.. He scared Lord Meng as soon as he was born and that his eight characters²This refers to the Four Pillars of Destiny, where a person’s destiny can be divided by two sexagenary cycle characters assigned to their birth year, month day and hour. You can read more here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Pillars_of_Destiny were a bane to his parents’ fates. If it weren’t for His Majesty’s benevolence, adding onto Consort Rong’s avid pleas back then, perhaps the Sixth Prince would have been…” Zhang Shun silently made a gesture of cutting his neck, terrifying Chu Jiao.

“Hiss…” Chu Jiao’s neck instinctively shrank back, no longer asking any questions. However, she thought to herself, the story described the male lead as being mysterious and handsome, so why did it not seem to fit with the appearance described today. And, the ‘abnormal eyes’ also seemed to take significant part in setting the plot.

Chu Jiao then decided by herself to look for an opportunity to meet the Sixth Prince later and see whether he was the person she was looking for or not.

While the two were casually conversing, they had eventually reached Qiu Xi Palace.

As the chief, Zhang Shun usually didn’t have to cout himself for such tasks, only when the emperor was to confer things would he personally go out for the trip.

It was currently the chilly winter, and Prince Ping Xi travelled through a long distance to offer fresh winter strawberries as tribute. The emperor was delighted and had enjoyed his tribute, even instructing sto be given to the Empress Dowager and the rest to be granted to his imperial concubines who held prestigious titles in the rear court, Consort Rong included.

“Consort Rong,” Zhang Shun respectfully bowed and smiled, “These are winter strawberries from Yun Nan, each piece big and full in shape, fragrant and delicious to the taste. The emperor thought of you, and as a matter of fact, he had asked this slave to sample a taste of these fresh fruits!”

Consort Rong perfectly fitted her title, virtuous and refined. She appeared extremely sweet-tempered while sitting on her couch. She smiled gracefully and raised a hand, signalling the palace maid by her side to take the meal box from Chu Jiao’s hands.

“Little Shunzi, your mouth sure can talk very well,” She picked up a piece and sampled a taste, nodding her head, “It’s not bad. Strawberries are usually products of spring. To be able to eat these in winter is surely a different taste.”

“It certainly is. This slave has been in the Directorate of Palace Delicacies for so many years, but this is still this slave’s the first tseeing such a rare object in the winter. To tell the truth, I was shocked to see it!”

Chu Jiao quietly watched Zhang Shun skillfully put a smile on Consort Rong’s face with just a few words and received a few rewards, she couldn’t help but admire him on the inside. She secretly decided to learn how to beca competent court eunuch since this world was not like the previous ones. If she weren’t careful in her actions and words, her head could be easily chopped off before she could even finish her mission.

“That’s enough,” Consort Rong only ate a few pieces before putting her hand down, “Pick out a few pieces to give to the two little masters. Du Juan, go and see whether the Fifth Princess has awakened from her afternoon nap or not.”

Even though the emperor had bestowed this for his imperial concubines, he did not have a lot of sons at present. Apart from the crown prince, there were only four princes and two princesses, and Consort Rong herself raised two of them in her palace.

Although Consort Rong only wanted to leave the rest for her daughter, the Sixth Prince was still put under her foster care. Despite not caring much for the child, if she did not think of him when giving these strawberries away, it would certainly attract harsh criticisms towards her demeanor.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The three people left the hall with Du Juan taking the bowl, picking the contents of the meal box for a long tand taking out the ones that had unpresentable broken skin and were unripe.

Chu Jiao thought that Du Juan meant to throw these away but didn’t expect that she would stuff them in her hand.

“Here, take this to the Sixth Prince.”

Before Chu Jiao could even have tto think, she immediately responded out of habit, “Yes, Sister Du Juan.” After saying this, she then slipped away, not giving Zhang Shun the opportunity to refuse the order in her stead.

Following the direction the palace maids from Qiu Xi Palace pointed to, Chu Jiao went through the confusing winding corridors and walked further inside, the area becoming quieter and more remote. In the end, she finally arrived at the Westernmost side room of the Qiu Xi Palace. And there, she saw a child who looked to be the Sixth Prince.

She used the terms ‘looked like,’ because he had his back to Chu Jiao, crouching on the fields beside the palace walls, stuffing something into his mouth. His robe was dirty, and apart from the size of his head which looked a little big, his body was frail and small, not the least bit like a prince at all.

“Sixth Prince, this slave has cto deliver strawberries for you.”

Chu Jiao quietly informed him.

When the small child slowly turned towards her, letting Chu Jiao finally see his appearance, she nearly dropped the bowl in her hands.

[Completed]