Before Jiang Yuan arrived, Qi Daiyu was watching Yan He and the others tidy up the fabrics and jewelry.
There were truly too many things. While she had been out during the day, they had stayed in the palace to sort them, and even after she returned, they still hadn't finished.
Categorizing, recording in ledgers, and storing everything away was actually quite a time-consuming task.
Yan He said as she worked, "Mistress, your skin is fair, you look good in fabric of any color. It's just that winter is bleak; if you were to wear peach red or pomegranate red, it would look more vibrant. When spring comes, however, goose yellow and fresh green are best, matching the blooming flowers."
Qi Daiyu didn't really care what she wore. She only had one requirement: "Just have two or three bolts made into clothes. I haven't even worn all my new winter clothes yet. Where would I need so many dresses? If people saw, they'd inevitably say I'm extravagant."
Yan He smiled, "We servants naturally understand."
She then had Qi Daiyu pick a few favorite pieces of jewelry for daily use, while the rest were to be stored away, to be taken out later when needed for matching outfits.
They couldn't finish in one day, so they would have to continue tomorrow. Seeing that it was about time, Qi Daiyu prepared to wash up. She planned to wash her hair today.
The most troublesome thing in winter was washing hair. Typically, one washed it every five days, but Qi Daiyu needed to wash hers every three days. Her last wash was on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month. She had thought about washing it again on the 29th, but felt lazy that day and didn't. On New Year's Eve, custom forbade washing hair. Counting the days, it had been four days now, and she kept feeling her scalp itch.
Putao was the one washing her hair and couldn't help saying, "Illness starts with a chill to the head. If you ask me, in this cold winter weather, washing once every half month is enough. Mistress, you love cleanliness, but we servants can brush your hair several hundred extra times a day, it's just the same."
It was currently popular to nourish hair with oil. Whether imperial consorts or palace maids, they all liked using hair oil to make their hair glossy black and shiny. It looked very lustrous in winter, but a bit greasy in summer. Consorts had people to attend to their washing, so they could wash every five days. Maids were different; hot water required firewood to heat. So, maids like Putao washed their hair only once every half month.
Hearing this, Qi Daiyu shook her head. She couldn't adapt to washing her hair only once every half month. It wasn't just about cleanliness; it simply felt uncomfortable. It probably had to do with her being from the south in her previous life. In that southern climate, if you went half a month without washing your hair, you could raise cockroaches in it.
She preferred to endure the hassle.
After the wash, Shiliu immediately came out holding a quilt to drape over Qi Daiyu, afraid she would catch cold.
Qi Daiyu laughed, "I'm not that delicate. The charcoal fire in this room is blazing, I'm not cold."
Putao was wringing out her hair with a cloth, "It's better to be careful. Mistress, you tend to fall ill easily in winter. Have you forgotten? A few days ago, you were making snow ducks in the courtyard and came back coughing. Luckily, we had loquat syrup ready, otherwise you would have been sick for some time again."
Qi Daiyu immediately felt a pang of guilt.
What Putao referred to was a few days after the heavy snow first fell in the capital. Qi Daiyu had taken out that set of tools for making snow ducks again. This time, she not only made them herself but also brought the Eldest Princess along. The two of them played in the courtyard all afternoon, making a whole corridor of snow ducks.
As it turned out, her constitution wasn't as good as the Eldest Princess's. The princess was perfectly fine, but Qi Daiyu started coughing that night. Because of this, she had to cancel her plan to build a snowman with the Eldest Princess.
"Alright, alright. From now on, for the next few days, aside from necessary engagements, I won't go out at all, is that good?"
"What do you mean, not going out?" Jiang Yuan arrived at this moment.
He had stopped the announcement from outside and, upon entering the inner chamber, heard Qi Daiyu's last sentence.
His sudden, ghost-like appearance startled Qi Daiyu, and she moved to get off the daybed to pay her respects.
Seeing her wrapped in a cotton quilt with her hair still wet, Jiang Yuan raised a hand to stop her, "No need for formalities."
Qi Daiyu asked, "Why has Your Majesty come?" It was only the second day of the New Year. Even if he wasn't going to the Empress's place, he should have gone to Consort Wei, who had just been promoted.
Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow, "What? Can't I come see you?" He smoothly sat down beside Qi Daiyu.
"If Your Majesty wishes to come, you naturally can come anytime," Qi Daiyu said with a feigned smile.
But Jiang Yuan saw right through it, "Putting on an act." He reached out to pinch Qi Daiyu's cheek, but she dodged, a strand of her damp hair slipping down onto the back of his hand.
"Drying your hair?"
"Hmm." Wasn't that obvious?
A hint of amusement flickered in Jiang Yuan's eyes, "Shall I help you?"
He took the cloth from Putao's hand. Putao and Shiliu exchanged a glance and quietly withdrew, leaving only the Emperor and Qi Daiyu in the room.
Qi Daiyu demurred, "How could we trouble Your Majesty with such a task..."
But she was already pulled into Jiang Yuan's embrace. His large hand pressed her to lie down, using his leg as a pillow.
From his position above, Jiang Yuan could easily see the expression on her face, but due to the light, Qi Daiyu couldn't see his clearly.
This posture made her very uncomfortable, and she shifted uneasily.
Feeling her hair being lifted and the dry cloth moving through it, Qi Daiyu slowly relaxed.
Jiang Yuan's technique was naturally not as good as Putao's. He hurt her several times during the process. Each time she hissed in pain, Jiang Yuan would pause, and the next time his movements would be a bit gentler.
Even so, by the time her hair was dry, Qi Daiyu still saw a few strands that had been pulled out on the cloth.
Qi Daiyu: "..."
Under her resentful gaze, Jiang Yuan felt a rare moment of awkwardness. He set the cloth aside and pressed Qi Daiyu back down, "Don't you still need to comb it?" He picked up the comb from the tray and began combing through her hair, stroke by stroke.
Qi Daiyu's hair was well-nourished, smooth and soft even without hair oil. The wooden comb massaged her scalp, and gradually, Qi Daiyu began to feel drowsy. Her eyes slowly closed, and thus she did not see the look in Jiang Yuan's eyes.
Under the candlelight, her skin took on a layer of warmth. She lay thus, utterly defenseless, on his lap, her unpowdered face fresh and pure. Her neck was long and slender. Perhaps because her skin was so fair, upon closer look one could almost see the blue veins beneath. If one were to squeeze it, it would probably snap with a single twist.
So fragile.
His gaze traveled downward. Having just bathed, she wore only a middle garment. The cotton quilt had slipped a bit during their earlier movements, and somehow her middle garment had come half-open, revealing the indigo blue undergarment beneath.
Jiang Yuan particularly loved the color blue. The consorts, guessing his preference, often wore blue-toned clothing. But her... he realized he seldom saw her in blue.
Actually, blue suited her very well. Her features were soft and delicate, and the blue tone was also cool and soft, just like now. The indigo blue undergarment on her added to her gracefulness and a special kind of allure.
Jiang Yuan did not usually favor soft, delicate beauty, but at this moment, his heart missed a beat.
Then, he raised his hand and covered that patch of blue.
Qi Daiyu hadn't actually fallen asleep. Feeling Jiang Yuan's movement, she immediately awoke and opened her eyes.
She had just opened her eyes when Jiang Yuan stopped his movements, gazing intently at her. "Didn't I have Quan Fuhai send you some fabrics today? I remember the last trunk contained garments. Would you put one on for me?"
"Now?" Qi Daiyu was reluctant. She had just finished her bedtime ablutions and didn't want to change clothes again.
Jiang Yuan saw her hesitation and said, "Is Consort Hui feeling sleepy? Very well, then let us retire early." With that, he made as if to pick her up and carry her.
Retire?
Qi Daiyu immediately associated that with some decidedly adult activities and hurriedly said, "Actually, I would like to try on those clothes to see if they fit. Your Majesty has excellent taste; please give me your opinion."
She almost fled in a fluster, instructing Yan He and the other maids to bring in the trunk containing the clothes.
There really was such a trunk. Being the last one, it hadn't been opened yet, so no one had discovered its contents.
Jiang Yuan dismissed Yan He and the others, leaving Qi Daiyu to change by herself.
Opening the trunk, she found quite a few outfits inside, suitable for various seasons, though mainly for spring and summer. She casually unfolded one—the craftsmanship was exquisite. No woman could resist such temptation. A wave of delight washed over Qi Daiyu, lessening her resistance to trying on clothes at this late hour.
A smile on her face, she turned back to ask Jiang Yuan, "Which set would Your Majesty like to see?"
Jiang Yuan pointed casually at one.
Qi Daiyu then gathered that outfit and went behind the screen to change.
In the flickering candlelight, the woman's silhouette was projected onto the screen, her curves completely visible.
Jiang Yuan watched leisurely, but a certain darkness entered his gaze.
It was a peony-red, cross-collar, waist-cinching wide-sleeved ruqun dress. When Qi Daiyu put it on, the vibrant color made her complexion glow, adding a touch of delicate charm.
"How is it?" Without a full-length mirror, Qi Daiyu couldn't tell if it looked good, so she could only ask Jiang Yuan's opinion. To give him a full view, she even twirled in place.
The skirt immediately bloomed like a peony.
Clusters of enchanting red, fresh with dew, a spring masterpiece begging for your gaze.①
A peony bloomed in Jiang Yuan's eyes. "Beautiful."
"Now try that one," he pointed to another garment, his impatience growing.
Happily, Qi Daiyu took the clothes to change. But when she unfolded it and saw the style, she paused, her ears instantly burning red.
She delayed without moving, until a voice from the other side of the screen said, "Not ready yet? Could it be that Consort Hui needs my personal assistance?"
"No need! I'll be right out!" Qi Daiyu said hastily.
This garment in her hands, how should she put it?
By her own modern standards, it wasn't much, but by the standards of this era, it was quite daring.
One could even call it lingerie.
The strapless long skirt, embroidered with large peony blossoms, split into two parts from the waist, revealing a slender midriff. It was covered by a sheer gauze outer robe of the same color. The skirt itself was extremely thin, and with this style, wearing a traditional dudou underneath was impossible. But if she didn't, it would be worn directly against her skin...
After putting it on, Qi Daiyu instinctively raised her hands to cover herself, unwilling to step out.
Jiang Yuan's voice came from behind the screen again.
Qi Daiyu gritted her teeth. "Your Majesty, why would you send such clothes?"
"Such as what?" The voice held clear amusement.
"So... brazen!" By contemporary standards, it was indeed brazen. Qi Daiyu couldn't fathom it. Would the palace seamstresses really make such a garment?
Warmth suddenly enveloped her from behind—Jiang Yuan had come over directly.
The sheer admiration in his eyes left Qi Daiyu with nowhere to hide. Yet, this man seemed oblivious to her embarrassment as he gently pulled her hands away.
Qi Daiyu tried to withdraw her hands, but he drew her into his embrace. The next moment, she felt the suppressed, restrained rise and fall of his chest against her.
"This is a style popular among women in the Northern Desert. The envoy brought back a few pieces. I wanted to see you in one," he murmured, his breath warm against Qi Daiyu's ear.
The first moment he saw these clothes, he had wanted to see her wear them. It was like imagining a pure, harmless little white rabbit wrapped in a flowerbed dripping with nectar. The more gentle and pristine she was, the more he longed to see her radiant and bold.
Just like now, the stunning contrast ignited his blood.
Without hesitation, his long arm swept around her, and he carried Qi Daiyu towards the daybed.
The next moment, the dress she had just put on was torn.
