Gold Medal Mediator [Quick Transmigration] 13

Chapter 13: The Empire This One Conquered For You (3)

The atmosphere in the room was heavy.

Jiang Yao dismissed the other servants. Huan Xi, who knew what was going on, gave Hua Baihe a worried look as she left.

Good luck.

Then, very considerately, she closed the door from the outside.

Hua Baihe: “…” She felt that look was more accurately translated as ‘may you rest in peace.’

The usual smile was gone from Jiang Yao’s face. She reached out and slowly picked up the erotic book from the table. The slow motion of it all terrified Hua Baihe, making her knees go weak.

Her expression was unreadable. Her pale fingers idly flipped through the pages with the same detached air one might use to peruse a historical text.

The thumb guard on her little finger was inlaid with gold and silver, making one feel that the mere contact of this vulgar object with her skin was a defilement.

But Jiang Yao didn’t put it down. As she turned the pages, she asked the stiffly standing Hua Baihe in a flat tone:

“What is this?”

Hua Baihe stared at the ‘doggy style’ illustration on the cover, vaguely recalling a certain genre of action film from an island nation that required no subtitles, no understanding of the language, only visuals to grasp its profound meaning.

With Jiang Yao’s intelligence, how could she not understand something as simple as ‘telling a story from a picture,’ a skill even a three-year-old possessed?

Hua Baihe felt she had just been asked a fatal question. Her tongue involuntarily tied itself in knots, and after a long moment, she managed to force out a single word:

“…A book…”

As she answered, memories of various punishments for ‘debauchery in the palace’ and ‘possessing forbidden books’ came to mind, making her feel that even a hundred lives wouldn’t be enough for Jiang Yao to have her executed by caning.

After hearing her answer, Jiang Yao’s page-turning paused—

She lifted her gaze to look at the person before her, seeming to want to say something.

Hua Baihe stared at her beautiful lips, her heart feeling as if it had been thrown into a wok of boiling oil, struggling on the brink of death with every passing second.

After a long time, seeing that she looked about to faint from fear, Jiang Yao finally, mercifully, spoke. “You have been with This One for many years. You are by no means a careless person, much less one who would knowingly break the law—”

Hua Baihe sensed a hint of mercy in her tone, and her hopes rose.

But then, Jiang Yao’s tone shifted. “Therefore, you let This One see this on purpose, is that right?”

Hua Baihe, who had nearly passed out, thought: …

I didn’t! I wouldn’t! I’m just not skilled at hiding porn!

She wasn’t sure of Jiang Yao’s methods for managing her servants, nor did she know if the Emperor had planted spies in the central palace. If she were to rat out the ridiculous Young Lord Jiang right now, she probably wouldn’t get off lightly either.

So, Hua Baihe’s knees gave way. Gritting her teeth, she shouldered the blame for this explosive package, resorting to the most classic line of servants in period dramas:

“Your Majesty, spare my life!”

She prostrated herself in terror, her forehead pressed against the cold floor tiles.

Seeing her kneel so readily, Jiang Yao’s expression remained unchanged. She placed the book face down on the table, gently pressed her right middle finger to her temple, and let out a sigh that only the two of them could hear.

“Even if His Majesty has postponed this autumn’s selection of concubines, there is still next year, and the year after… As long as This One does not give birth to the eldest prince, my position will never be secure. Qing Jia, do even you believe—that This One needs to use a child to secure His Majesty’s affections?”

Hua Baihe was contemplating the link between prolonged kneeling and arthritis when she heard this and immediately answered in her heart:

Of course not! How could I possibly show such a filthy book to tarnish the eyes of a beautiful fairy!

System: “Right. You’d just keep it for yourself.”

“Your Majesty, it was this servant’s folly. This servant should not have sullied Your Majesty’s eyes with such a foul and vulgar object. This servant deserves to die a thousand deaths,” Hua Baihe replied, mourning internally. It seemed she wouldn’t be able to escape a beating this time.

Jiang Yao looked at the top of her head and listened to her words, then said slowly:

“With your means and connections, it must not have been easy to find a book that was banned by imperial decree, was it?”

Hua Baihe really wanted her to go question her own good-for-nothing little brother, but there was something chilling in her tone.

It was like a man on his wedding day discovering that his best friend had gone to great lengths to smuggle in ten bottles of Indian stamina oil for him—a grave insult to his dignity.

For Jiang Yao, it meant that even though she was the Empress, just one incident involving the selection of concubines had made everyone around her fear for her position. They believed her love with the Emperor couldn’t withstand the test, to the point that even her most trusted handmaiden would go to such lengths to procure such a book for her.

The more Hua Baihe thought about it, the more desperate she felt. “My innocent backside is probably done for today.”

System: …Even getting a caning can be described so crudely. I’m impressed.

Seeing her just kneeling there silently, Jiang Yao’s anger flared. Just as she was about to lose her temper, a sharp voice called from outside:

“His Majesty, the Emperor, has arrived—!”

The hall fell silent, with only the echo of the announcement lingering.

Hua Baihe was suffocating at the thought of her impending punishment being witnessed by more people, but she saw that Jiang Yao had already risen from her seat, walked past her, and gone out to greet him.

A soft sentence floated down:

“What are you still kneeling for? If you don’t put that thing away before His Majesty arrives, not even a hundred heads would be enough for you to lose.”

Hua Baihe: …Eh? Huh???

“This servant obeys!”

**

The man in the golden dragon robe strode in majestically amidst the chorus of prostrations and calls of ‘long live,’ his hands behind his back. He first surveyed the room, and his brows immediately furrowed.

“How do you serve her? It is this late, and you have not yet summoned the meal from the Imperial Kitchen!”

Everyone in the room was stunned. Huan Xi’s face turned pale, and she exchanged a look with Hua Baihe—

To be precise, the Emperor had arrived right at the dinner hour. How were they supposed to have summoned the meal in advance?

It was Jiang Yao who noticed his foul mood, though she didn’t know the cause of his anger. She smiled and went to greet him. “This consort was not aware that Your Majesty was coming. This afternoon, I had the Imperial Kitchen make some special pastries. They were so delicious that I greedily ate a few extra pieces, which is why dinner was delayed.”

As she spoke, she gave Hua Baihe a look.

Hua Baihe understood immediately. She quietly slipped to the doorway and then ran to have someone summon the meal from the Imperial Kitchen, specifically ordering the same pastries Jiang Yao had mentioned from her afternoon snack.

Sure enough, inside, the Emperor was already smiling. “Oh? Which chef’s skill is this, to be able to tempt even my Empress?”

Jiang Yao sat down with him on the soft couch, took a cup of tea from a handmaiden and offered it to him. With a smile in her eyes, she replied softly, “He is a chef from Jiangnan who just arrived a few days ago. His peach blossom crisps are exceptional. The pastry is steamed soft and fragrant, and the filling is made from freshly picked spring peach blossoms. It is sweet but not cloying. Your Majesty should try some.”

The Emperor was made quite hungry by her description and couldn’t help but laugh. “Since the Empress likes him, I shall have him transferred to the kitchens of the Palace of Eternal Joy.”

Jiang Yao then smiled and declined. With this seamless change of topic, the Emperor’s bad mood from when he arrived had long been soothed.

By the time dinner was served, the imperial couple was already seated at the table. Jiang Yao wanted to serve the Emperor, but he pulled her to sit and eat with him.

Seeing the two of them so harmonious now, Hua Baihe felt a bit emotional—

Every resentful couple was once a match made in heaven.

She quietly withdrew with Huan Xi, leaving the warm dining atmosphere to the Emperor and Empress.

**

But the scene inside the hall was far from as sweet as they imagined.

“Today, I went to pay my respects to the Empress Mother, and some gossipmonger mentioned the matter of selecting concubines to her. She gave me quite an earful,” the Emperor said suddenly, slowly sipping his soup.

On the surface, it sounded like he was complaining about being nagged by his mother.

But Jiang Yao understood the underlying meaning and replied smoothly, “The Empress Dowager is also thinking of Your Majesty’s best interests. Since the time of the Sage Ancestor, whenever a new emperor ascends the throne, the selection of concubines has been an urgent matter for the Ministry of Rites and the court. After all, if the harem is empty, there is a risk of having few heirs. The matter of selecting concubines should indeed be put on the agenda.”

The Emperor’s spoon paused. His sharp gaze turned to her. “Oh? The Empress also wishes to persuade me to hold the selection ceremony?”

Jiang Yao’s expression faltered for a moment before she replied in a gentle voice, “This is this consort’s duty.”

The Emperor picked up his bowl and finished the rest of the soup. His expression was unreadable as he replied coolly, “I still have some memorials to review. I will be leaving.”

Jiang Yao rose and curtsied, saying softly, “Respectfully sending off Your Majesty.”

However, even after the flash of gold had left her sight, she did not straighten up.

If the Emperor truly didn’t want to select new concubines, he wouldn’t have brought it up with her today at all. The moment he spoke—he knew what her answer would be.

As for his early departure from the Palace of Eternal Joy, by tomorrow’s court session, everyone would know that the Emperor had decided to hold the autumn selection because of her advice.

At that time, all the officials would praise her for her open-mindedness and her grace as the mother of the nation.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yao supported herself on the cold table and sat down, staring at the table full of untouched dishes, her thoughts unreadable.

**

“Your Majesty.” A worried voice sounded by Jiang Yao’s ear.

She came back to her senses and saw Qing Jia and Huan Xi standing before her. Meeting their gazes, she waved her hand listlessly. “Clear these dishes away.”

Huan Xi didn’t know what she and the Emperor had discussed. Seeing that the rice in her bowl was only half-eaten, she became anxious. “Your Majesty, this servant will have the food reheated for you. Please eat some more. How can you manage on so little?”

Jiang Yao shook her head, signaling for her to just do her work and say no more.

Hua Baihe, on the other hand, was quiet and focused on her task. After all, the Emperor was gone now. What if Jiang Yao decided to settle scores with her?

She turned with the bowls and chopsticks—

“Qing Jia, you stay.”

Hua Baihe: “…” Look at my jinxed mouth.

She turned back stiffly, playing dumb. “Does Your Majesty have any other instructions?”

At that moment, they were alone. The nearest servants were waiting outside the hall, not permitted to enter.

Jiang Yao’s thumb guard tapped lightly on the table. Her gaze slanted towards her. “Weren’t you going to present This One with the arts of the bedchamber?” she said unhurriedly.

Without giving Hua Baihe time to wail about a misunderstanding, she continued:

“Starting today, you will teach This One. Not a single thing is to be missed. Do you understand?”

Hua Baihe: “…”

Hua Baihe: “…………”

Hua Baihe: “………………”

Hua Baihe wept with joy. “System! System, did you hear that! She’s the one forcing me to do this!”

***

Author’s Note: System: …I didn’t expect you to be this kind of Empress. (Damn it, miscalculation!)