SLLBTT Chapter 37
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
⋇⊶⊰Chapter 37⊱⊷⋇
The Snow Wolf King fell ill and did not attend court today.
Although the Snow Wolf King had been criticized for excessively favoring the Beautiful Lady, he had done well in the aspect of "diligent governance." This was the first time he had been absent from the morning court since ascending to the throne, citing illness. Concerned, the court officials had all sent letters of blessings.
Even Censor Xu, while inspecting the ancient river, submitted a memorial expressing his sorrow. He also requested to return to the capital to visit the Great King.
The Snow Wolf King approved his request.
Censor Xu took a plane and returned to Snow City on the same day, then requested to enter the palace for a visit. Surprisingly, the Snow Wolf King granted permission.
Everyone found it very surprising. After all, the Snow Wolf King should be quite intolerant of Censor Xu. Yet, after the Snow Wolf King fell ill, he only met with close confidants. No one expected him to still agree to meet the fault-finding Censor Xu.
But some speculated: "Perhaps it's because Censor Xu is relentless and unyielding. With the Great King being unwell and lacking the energy to argue, he simply granted permission."
After the Snow Wolf King fell ill, Queen Ming and all the consorts also sought an audience, volunteering to attend to his illness.
As expected, after falling ill, the Snow Wolf King only allowed the recently favored Suisui and Liu Jiao to attend to him.
When Suisui and Liu Jiao arrived outside the main hall of the Snow Hall on the Wolf Mountain, Hong Huli instructed them to wait outside because the Great King wanted to meet with senior officials first.
Upon hearing that the Great King was ill, Liu Jiao grew anxious and asked eagerly, "When can we go in to see the Great King?"
Suisui glanced at Liu Jiao and replied, "Beautiful Lady Jiao, don't be hasty. How can the concubines interfere with the Great King meeting important officials? Speaking like that isn't suitable."
Liu Jiao looked puzzled but said, "I indeed don't know many formalities, but..."
"No 'buts,'" Suisui interrupted, "Let's just wait!"
Liu Jiao then took a seat.
After a while, Censor Xu arrived. Seeing Liu Jiao and Suisui, he felt a bit suspicious but followed Hong Huli into the main hall. Once inside, Censor Xu inquired, "Who is the one beside Beautiful Lady Jiao?"
Hong Huli smiled and replied, "Censor Xu has been away from Snow City these days, so you're probably unaware. The other one is the Great King's new favorite, Talented Lady Sui. He's a fox demon."
"Another fox demon!" Censor Xu's racial bias surfaced again. "How can the Great King favor a fox demon? Fox demons are nothing but trouble!"
Hong Huli nodded with a smile, but in his mind, he thought, "Trouble, my foot!"
Censor Xu pondered for a moment and then asked, "Oh, by the way, during my absence, has this fox demon surpassed Beautiful Lady Jiao and become the new favorite?"
"Not really. They share the Great King's favor evenly. Recently, they've been attending to him together," replied Hong Huli.
"What!" Censor Xu exclaimed, stamping his foot. "Isn't that absurd?"
Hong Huli shook his head. "What can we do? It's a team night service project arranged by Queen Ming. The Great King, being pure and filial, can't defy the Queen Dowager's decree. Lately, he's been reluctantly going along with it." With a concerned expression, Hong Huli added, "It's too rushed and exhausting."
"The Great King's illness is because of this...?" Censor Xu was greatly surprised.
"Shh..." Hong Huli pressed a finger to his lips. "You can't talk about it recklessly."
Lowering his voice, Hong Huli added, "The Great King has instructed us not to criticize the Queen Dowager."
"The Great King is truly filial. But why is the Queen Dowager acting so recklessly?" Censor Xu exclaimed in astonishment.
"Well, this team night service project was actually developed by the Queen Dowager. Now he's restarting and promoting it, probably aiming to improve performance metrics."
Censor Xu, upon hearing this, was furious. "This is simply absurd! the Great King is working overtime every day, and now they're introducing this team project. No wonder the Great King fell ill! Isn't this playing with the Great King's health!"
In their conversation, they had already arrived outside the inner chamber.
Hong Huli invited Censor Xu inside. Shaking his robe, Censor Xu entered and paid his respects. Behind the curtain, he couldn't see the Great King's expression, only faintly hearing a few coughs.
Censor Xu thought, "This does sound a bit serious..."
Censor Xu cleared his throat twice, hesitated, and said, "This minister... I... I..."
"Speak whatever you want to say."
"I... I know an old traditional healer..."
"......"
After a considerable time, Censor Xu left the main hall. Upon exiting, he encountered Suisui and Liu Jiao. Flames of reproach flickered in Censor Xu's eyes. He almost spat at the two, huffed disdainfully, and left.
After a while, Hong Huli also emerged and told them, "The Great King still has other officials to meet. He won't keep the two masters any longer. Perhaps the two masters should return to the palace first."
Liu Jiao, concerned, asked, "Why is the Great King, who is unwell, meeting so many officials?"
Suisui, however, said, "As wives, we just need to follow the Great King's orders. Why so many questions?"
Liu Jiao felt awkward and didn't say anything more. The two headed back to the palace using their smartphones to call their sedan chairs. Suisui's sedan chair arrived first. Suisui politely suggested that Beautiful Lady Jiao should go first. Liu Jiao sincerely declined, so Suisui boarded the sedan and left. Watching Suisui depart, Hong Huli approached Liu Jiao and said, "Beautiful Lady Jiao, please stay. The Great King wants to see you."
Surprised, Liu Jiao exclaimed, "Has the Great King not met his ministers?"
Without explaining, Hong Huli just smiled and said, "Beautiful Lady Jiao, please."
Liu Jiao, with concerns for the Snow Wolf King in his heart, didn't ask further. Following Hong Huli, they entered the hall together. Hong Huli lifted the curtain but didn't enter, only inviting Liu Jiao to go in alone.
Stepping inside, Liu Jiao observed a painting of the Heavenly Emperor hanging on the wall. On both sides of the painting were delicate ebony and gold-footed bowls with a string of grapes inside. Golden ginkgo leaves adorned a silver stand by the window, and the window itself was gold-plated wood, slightly ajar, revealing the beautiful snowy landscape outside.
"It's truly beautiful here..."
Liu Jiao thought, finding the main hall much more beautiful than the side hall.
"Why haven't you come over yet?" came the voice of the Snow Wolf King through the pearl curtain.
Liu Jiao quickly pulled aside the curtain and entered the inner chamber. Seeing the exquisite interior, even more splendid than the outer room, Liu Jiao was captivated. But amidst all this beauty, nothing compared to the Snow Wolf King's gaze on the bed.
Beneath the emerald-green curtains, the Snow Wolf King lay diagonally on a cloud-screen white jade bed, wearing only a morning robe. He looked somewhat lazy and comfortable, with a hint of springtime drowsiness in his eyes.
Catching sight of the Snow Wolf King, different from his usual imposing self, Liu Jiao's mind was thrown into disarray.
"Why are you standing there in a daze?"
"Hmm?" Liu Jiao hadn't snapped out of it yet.
"Come here," the Snow Wolf King lazily commanded.