Gold Medal Mediator [Quick Transmigration] 22p2

Chapter 22: The Empire This One Conquered For You (12-2)

That night, in the back chamber of the Empress’s resting palace, a clear, melodious voice, laced with sobs, sounded until the latter half of the night, eventually growing hoarse.

Jiang Yao usually only allowed Huan Xi and Hua Baihe to attend to her up close. That night, however, one was inside, and one was outside. It wasn’t until the sky was beginning to lighten that the sounds from inside stopped.

Huan Xi sat by the door, watching the sky outside with wide eyes, not feeling sleepy at all.

She counted the stars in the sky, not knowing what was happening inside, and not daring to think about it. She just secretly made a wish to each star:

May the Palace of Eternal Joy… prosper forever.

That way, both Her Majesty the Empress and Qing Jia would be fine. She could pretend that nothing had happened tonight. It just might mean she would have to work harder in the future.

—No wonder Her Majesty had been unwilling to assign tasks to Qing Jia these past two months. She had thought Her Majesty was displeased with Qing Jia for some reason. It turned out to be a different kind of favor.

She just didn’t know if all this was for the better or for the worse.

With a soft creak, a faint sound came from behind her.

Huan Xi quickly stood up from the threshold. Catching a glimpse of the person’s bright yellow hem from the corner of her eye, she immediately curtsied respectfully.

“Your Majesty.”

Jiang Yao replied lazily and instructed, “Bring a basin of hot water inside. Then go and have some light breakfast sent over.”

With that, she went straight to the small study next door to deal with the memorials sent up by the Grand Secretariat the day before, without even bothering to wash up herself.

Huan Xi received the order and, a short while later, entered the room with a basin of hot water. She saw the figure wrapped in the gold-embroidered quilt on the bed. Perhaps sensing someone had entered, the person immediately pulled the quilt over her head.

As if she didn’t know how to face her former fellow servant.

But Huan Xi acted as usual. She placed the hot water on the table and walked to the bed, saying softly, “Qing Jia, it’s time to get up and wash. Don’t worry, no one else will know about this. I understand you. Anyone might try to seduce Her Majesty, but it wouldn’t be you—”

Hua Baihe, pretending to be shy under the covers: “…???”

Well, thank you very much.

Her looks insulted by her friend once again, Hua Baihe threw off the covers without any further pretense. She slowly got dressed. Though she appeared to have suffered a great blow, she seemed to want to forget yesterday’s accident and immediately asked Huan Xi about recent matters:

“The Imperial Kitchen has already drawn up the menu for the Chrysanthemum Banquet. Find a good time to have Her Majesty review it. As this is a major event, we still need to ask the Empress Dowager for instructions. You must remind Her Majesty, to avoid giving the Empress Dowager any cause for complaint.”

Huan Xi took note of it all. She had just brought her a bowl of congee when she noticed that her hand, reaching for it, stopped midway.

“Has Her Majesty eaten?”

Huan Xi realized she had been too blindly obedient to her orders and quickly went to the small study next door to invite Jiang Yao to eat.

Jiang Yao had recently been focusing on the memorials from the Jiangzhe region, wanting to prepare in advance for the problem of the southeast sea pirates. But those old foxes were masters of whitewashing. The memorials that came up were either greetings or complaints to the Emperor—

Because the Great Yong had mobilized its army against the Yelu Di tribe, the state treasury was under great strain, and tax exemptions in various regions had been reduced. Unless there was a major natural disaster, the entire country had to support the war effort.

So, the governors of various provinces were trying to find out what percentage of the usual corvée and taxes would be levied this year, so they could judge how to plead poverty and set the tax rates for their people.

As for minor matters like pirates causing trouble, they would not appear in the memorials, lest it make them seem incompetent in governing.

Jiang Yao was having a headache, not knowing how to prevent the large-scale pirate invasion that was to come. Hearing Huan Xi come to persuade her to eat, she got up and walked over.

Seeing Hua Baihe standing by, ready to serve, she said coolly:

“Sit.”

Hua Baihe opened her mouth and lowered her head. “This servant cannot sit at the same table as her mistress.”

Jiang Yao picked up her chopsticks and looked up at her, seeing her blank expression, as if she had merely been forced to satisfy her mistress’s needs last night.

If she truly had no other feelings for Qing Jia and only saw her as a temporary amusement, she would have been very satisfied with her discretion.

But… that was not the case.

So she just replied unhurriedly, “Oh? But you even climbed into your mistress’s bed yesterday. Why are you only remembering your manners today?”

Hua Baihe: “…” Did she want to climb in!

Now that she mentioned it, she remembered the tearing pain.

She urgently called the System in her mind, “System-boo~”

The System, having just un-censored her, said, “…Spit it out.” Otherwise, it might have to censor its host again.

Hua Baihe said to it sweetly, “Let’s make a deal. In the next world, when we’re setting up the body data, can we not use a virgin’s standard?”

“Having to experience the pain of being broken every time, I feel so wronged,” she whined.

System: “…”

It asked incredulously, “Do you think I will let this happen again?”

Hua Baihe: “Oh.”

Hua Baihe: “But that’s what you said in the last world, and in the end—hee hee.”

The humiliated System said, “…Fine. See you in the next world.”

Afraid that her hard-won happiness would be destroyed, Hua Baihe quickly tried to coax the System. “Hey, don’t be angry. I’m still working hard on the mission, aren’t I? See, I’m not being degenerate at all right now.”

The System’s face was cold. “That’s because—you want both fleeting pleasure and a hundred million.”

Hua Baihe put on a gratified expression. “…My son has grown up. He’s so sensible.”

System: “…Get lost.”

As Hua Baihe was once again teasing the System to the brink of self-destruction, the Empress suddenly placed a piece of water chestnut cake in her bowl and said casually, “This tastes good. This One remembers you like sweet cakes. Try it.”

Hua Baihe looked at her spoon, which was filled with green vegetable congee and pickled radish, now topped with a small piece of sweet water chestnut cake.

—She wasn’t very keen on trying a mixture of sweet, salty, sour, and spicy in her mouth.

So, Hua Baihe’s hand, holding the spoon, paused. Jiang Yao, who had been watching her from the corner of her eye, noticed immediately. Seeing her hesitation to eat, she realized she had made a mistake.

But though she was annoyed with herself, her expression remained nonchalant. She smiled.

“There is no need to look so overwhelmed. You will have to get used to This One’s favors sooner or later.”

Hua Baihe: “…”

What else could she do?

She had no choice but to bite the bullet and eat this mouthful of shit.

Many times, she suspected she had somehow deeply offended Jiang Yao. Otherwise, why was she always the target of her retaliation?

With tears in her eyes, she had no choice but to bring the spoonful of cake, congee, and pickled radish to her mouth. Just then, a palace maid entered from outside.

“Your Majesty, Consort Jing requests an audience.”

Hua Baihe made a move to stand, dropping her spoon back into the bowl with a sigh of relief.

The smile on Jiang Yao’s face vanished for a moment. She threw out a command, “Do not rise.”

Hua Baihe: “…”

Shen Qingyu’s voice was already coming from outside the hall. “Your Majesty, this consort was summoned by the Empress Dowager to the villa to keep her company today. Thinking that you were also here, I came to pay my morning respects. I wonder if Your Majesty has been occupied with many matters recently, and if I have disturbed you?”

As she spoke, she made a move to step over the threshold and lift the curtain at the entrance.

Hearing her words, Jiang Yao sneered inwardly. The Empress Dowager is old, after all, and her energy is failing. Even if she wants to hold all the power in her hands, the old nannies around her have never managed such important affairs. After all, the former emperor had cultivated Liu Ye until he was seventeen before he passed away. The Empress Dowager has always been a woman of the harem and has never been at the center of power.

And she, from a young age, had learned… the art of political maneuvering from her grandfather.

Now, on the surface, she said she was summoning Consort Jing to keep her company. In reality, she wanted to pull another young, controllable person into her hands to pose a threat to her.

The ridiculous thing was, Shen Qingyu’s heart was destined not to be with Liu Ye.

These thoughts flashed through her mind. On her face, her usual gentle smile had already appeared. She didn’t even put on airs and went to the door to greet her.

“What are you saying? Sister can come whenever she pleases. This One has said before, there is no need to be so mindful of paying respects.”

Shen Qingyu, smiling, entered with the support of Chun Tao. Her eyes immediately fell on Hua Baihe, who was sitting silently in the corner. Compared to Huan Xi, who was standing in attendance nearby, she looked a bit out of place.

She was stunned for a moment and asked curiously, “What’s wrong with Maiden Qing Jia?”

Jiang Yao’s gaze swept over her, her eyes narrowing unhappily.

Hua Baihe looked at her innocently.

See? I didn’t get up from the chair. I’m just the chair’s delivery person.

Then she raised a hand to support her back and said to Shen Qingyu, “Greetings, Consort Jing. This servant accidentally strained her back while working yesterday. It is Her Majesty the Empress who is considerate of this servant and has granted this servant permission not to serve during meals, and has even offered a seat.”

Huan Xi, who knew the truth, quickly lowered her head, afraid her expression would give her away.

Shen Qingyu didn’t notice anything unusual and turned to the Empress with a smile. “I accidentally fell into the water last time and scraped my hand. The medicine the imperial physician prescribed is very effective. I have no other use for it, and it is a good, ready-made medicine. Why don’t I have Chun Tao send it over later? The sooner Maiden Qing Jia recovers, the sooner Your Majesty will have another capable person by your side.”

Jiang Yao’s gaze slowly drifted to Hua Baihe, scaring her so much that her back no longer hurt, her legs no longer ached, and she shot up from her seat. “I would not dare to trouble Consort Jing. This servant’s constitution will be fine with some rest. See, I am already alright now.”

A flicker of disappointment passed through Shen Qingyu’s eyes. She nodded and changed the subject, chatting with Jiang Yao about recent matters in the harem. Because it was almost time for the Empress Dowager to rise, she didn’t stay long and took her leave.

She even left some grapes from her own villa for the Empress.

After her figure had disappeared from the doorway, Jiang Yao gave a cool command, “Huan Xi, you may withdraw.”

Huan Xi threw Hua Baihe a ‘take care’ look, then left… and even closed the main door behind her.

Hua Baihe: “…” You are very quick on the uptake.

Perhaps the Empress hadn’t originally intended to do anything with her during the day. With the door closed, she might feel that it would be a waste not to.

Jiang Yao sat back down at the table, plucked a fresh, juicy grape from the fruit platter, and seeing Hua Baihe looking as if she wanted to plaster herself to the corner wall, she gave her a gentle smile.

“What? Is This One a snake or a scorpion to you, that you need to hide so far away?”

Hua Baihe immediately scurried over and stood by her side, biting the bullet. “Your Majesty, this servant did not want Consort Jing to misunderstand you.”

Jiang Yao lifted her gaze to her. “I see you were afraid she would misunderstand you, weren’t you?”

Hua Baihe: “Your Majesty, please see clearly. This servant—”

Jiang Yao raised a hand and popped a grape into her mouth, silencing her unoriginal, dull drivel.

“Is the grape delicious?” Seeing her swallow it, skin, seeds, and all, Jiang Yao stared at the corner of her lips, stained with a light juice, and asked.

Hua Baihe, not understanding, nodded and replied respectfully, “The grapes Consort Jing sent are very sweet. Your Majesty should try some.”

The emotion in Jiang Yao’s eyes darkened. She stood up and looked at her.

“Is that so?”

She said, “Since you like them, then eat some more.”

“After all, This One has already prepared the medicine for your back injury. It would be a waste not to use it all, wouldn’t it?”

Hua Baihe put on a terrified expression. Before she could fully indulge her dramatic instincts, she shouted to the System:

“Let me off! This is not the bus to kindergarten!”

The System was exhausted. “…Weren’t you the one who welded the car doors shut???”

It was reconsidering its selection criteria. It felt that if the Prime Deity were to give it another chance, it would have chosen to dive headfirst back into the production line on the day it was created—and never see Hua Baihe again.

In reality, Jiang Yao gave Hua Baihe no chance to escape, immediately pulling her back to the bed where she had rested the night before.

**