tallest building

Chapter 310 Further Entanglement

At the end of April, the weather suddenly turned extremely hot.

The Queen is most afraid of the heat, so a water curtain has been installed in the room, and ice has also been placed there.

"Who combed your hair?" This was when Wen Mingqian came to serve the Empress in the morning, and the Empress suddenly became interested in her hairstyle.

"Your Majesty, I styled my own hair," Wen Mingqian replied, bowing his head.

"I think this is fine. The way they styled my hair was too complicated and made me uncomfortable." As the weather got hot, the Empress became very impatient, and the extra jewelry on her head felt heavy. "You can redo my hair! Anyway, there's nothing to do today, so just do it casually."

"Then this servant will dare to give it a try. If Your Majesty is not satisfied, I will change it." Wen Mingqian restyled the Empress's hair, which of course could not be exactly the same as his own, but it was simple and elegant, yet dignified.

The Empress looked at herself in the bronze mirror and was very satisfied. She nodded and said, "Your hands are so skillful; everything you make pleases me."

Then a messenger eunuch came in and said that Dong Gang had come to the palace to pay his respects to the Empress.

The Empress was delighted to hear this: "It's so hot, yet he still thinks of me. Let him in!"

Dong Gang was wearing a fishtail gray jacquard silk robe today, and his face was already sweating as he walked in through the palace gate.

"Stop bowing and sit down! I'll have them bring you some cool tea." The Empress said with concern for her nephew, "Look at you, all sweaty. If you go out of the palace again, have someone hold an umbrella for you and a fan in your hand."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I wonder how Your Majesty has been these past few days?" Dong Gang asked with a smile, his eyes subtly sweeping over Wen Mingqian.

"You know I can't stand the heat, so I try to stay in this room as much as possible," the Queen said. "Here are some fruits that they recently presented as tribute, which have been kept chilled. You should try some."

The Empress then thought of Dong Gang's mother, who was also her sister-in-law from her maternal family: "How has your mother been these days? Has her headache gotten any better?"

"Last time, Her Majesty bestowed quite a lot of calming incense, which Mother found very effective, but unfortunately it's almost used up." Dong Gang said, not forgetting to mention Wen Mingqian, "Speaking of which, I really should thank Madam Wen. It's all thanks to her skillful incense that it has such good effects."

"It's good that it works. Mingqian, remember to add one more ingredient when you're making perfume in the future." The Empress said to Wen Mingqian, "Using perfume is much better than taking medicine."

“Yes, I remember,” Wen Mingqian replied softly from the side.

"Alright, you've served me for quite some time now. You have many things to do, so you may leave now." The Empress no longer needed Wen Mingqian and let her do as she pleased.

Wen Mingqian bowed and then withdrew.

As she passed by Dong Gang, he smelled a fragrance of orchid and musk emanating from her, which made him feel weak in the knees and he longed to pull her into his arms.

However, he could not act rashly in front of the Empress.

But Wen Mingqian had only been gone for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea when Dong Gang found an excuse: "Your Majesty, I would like to ask Hanlin Xu for some pointers on a few subjects..."

Xu Hanlin is now teaching Ying Shan in the palace. He is a very learned man and also a tireless teacher.

The Empress was pleased and interrupted him, saying, "Just go ahead and ask. It's wonderful that you're willing to put your heart into your studies. But don't linger too long; remember to come for lunch."

After leaving the Empress's palace, Dong Gang did not go to find Xu Hanlin, but went straight to Wen Mingqian's residence.

At this moment, Chang'an was accompanying Ying Shan in her studies, and Xiao Yue was not there.

Dong Gang burst in, startling Wen Mingqian so much that he dropped the handkerchief in his hand.

Dong Gang rushed forward and snatched it, while Wen Mingqian hurriedly tried to grab it back.

"Good man, please reward me!" Dong Gang said, and then suddenly knelt down. "These days I've been lovesick for you. Day and night, all I can think about is you." This time he didn't use force, because he was afraid that Wen Mingqian would do something drastic again.

At the same time, he arrogantly believed that Wen Mingqian had also fallen for him, but was unwilling to compromise because of Consort Hui and his pride.

So he deliberately acted pitiful to lure Wen Mingqian into his trap.

"My lord, what are you doing? Get up! You're making me feel so ashamed!" Wen Mingqian was flustered and embarrassed, his face flushed red.

"Good wife, living bodhisattva, please, for the sake of how I've been so infatuated with you that I've lost my appetite, please spare me even a little bit!" Dong Gang refused to get up, raised his head, and looked at Wen Mingqian with pleading eyes.

Wen Mingqian's face flushed red, caught in a dilemma, and he stamped his foot in frustration, saying, "What is Your Highness doing? Are you really trying to force me to my death?"

"How could I possibly force you to your death? I love you so much I don't even have time to spare." Dong Gang swore to the heavens, "If I say that I am not sincere towards you, may the sun shine upon me and let me die right here in front of my wife, never to be reincarnated."

“No…” Wen Mingqian shook his head in a panic, “Your Highness, don’t talk nonsense, this… this kind of oath must not be made.”

"What? You feel sorry for me?" Dong Gang's eyes lit up immediately. "You have feelings for me too, don't you?"

"No..." Wen Mingqian denied in a panic, "This servant wouldn't dare..."

"You're afraid, not that you don't want to, right?" Dong Gang grabbed her sleeve. "Don't be afraid, I will definitely protect you."

"Please, Your Highness, show some respect..." Wen Mingqian struggled desperately to break free, "I am not worthy... I must know my place..."

“What duty? You’re all alone now, what do you have to worry about?” Dong Gang said.

“But you are the prince consort… I… I am just a palace maid…” Wen Mingqian was still extremely troubled, “We… can’t be together…”

Seeing that she clearly had feelings for him, Dong Gang felt an intense itch in his heart.

They wanted to take it a step further, but just then, footsteps sounded outside.

"Hurry!" Wen Mingqian hurriedly pulled him out, "Don't let anyone see us."

Dong Gang had no choice but to come out, only to find that Xiao Yue had brought something back from somewhere.

She was quite surprised to see Dong Gang and froze on the spot, even forgetting to greet him.

Dong Gang straightened his face, coughed, and walked straight ahead without even glancing at her.

When Xiaoyue went inside, she saw Wen Mingqian weeping with his face covered.

She quickly stepped forward and asked, "Wife, what's wrong?"

“Prince Consort Dong… he… he just flirted with me…” Wen Mingqian choked up, “Thank goodness you came back…”

"What?! How...how could he do such a thing?!" Xiaoyue was stunned.

But then he realized that Dong Gang was no good person to begin with, and it wasn't surprising that Dong Gang coveted Wen Mingqian's good looks and talent.

"Don't cry, my wife. I'll try my best to stay with you from now on." Xiaoyue couldn't think of any other way. "It's not that I'm being nosy as a servant, but this prince consort is really quite immoral."

She vaguely knew that Dong Gang had defiled and killed a palace maid. As the saying goes, "when the rabbit dies, the fox grieves," and "things of the same kind grieve for each other." Naturally, Xiaoyue also felt sorry for the poor palace maid and hated Dong Gang.