Shoutout to Tachibanaswife for the commission!
Qi Sheng was still staring at me, his gaze sharp like a hawk’s. But paired with the scattered red marks across his chest, the imposing aura suddenly lost its force.
Seeing my eyes fall on his chest, he subconsciously pulled his collar closed, then seemed to feel that the gesture lacked authority, so he let go again and continued staring at me coldly. “Who exactly are you?”
I suddenly felt furious. D*mn it, you’ve already done it, enjoyed it, and now you ask me this? Why didn’t you ask before you slept with me?
For a moment I didn’t feel like having any “open and honest” conversation with him at all. I simply replied, “Lady Zhang. Crown Princess Zhang.”
When dealing with this kind of idiot, saying more is pointless, he’ll only hear what he wants to hear.
Qi Sheng let out a low, cold laugh. “Do you take me for a fool?”
My heart suddenly jolted, ah! How did he know?
Perhaps he noticed the surprise on my face, because Qi Sheng’s eyes grew darker and deeper, filling with more anger.
I felt rather helpless and could only ask, “What answer do you actually want?”
Qi Sheng was stunned by the question.
I continued, “If I say I’m Lady Zhang, you don’t believe it. If I say I’m not Lady Zhang, will you believe it? Besides, what does it matter whether I am Lady Zhang or not? As long as your Crown Princess is Lady Zhang, isn’t that enough?”
Qi Sheng was even more stunned.
I really wanted to tell him: brother, having a big chest doesn’t mean you have no brains, and having long hair doesn’t mean you lack knowledge. Don’t underestimate people.
So I added a threat: “Chu Wang already intends to propose to my younger sister. Instead of obsessing over whether I’m really Lady Zhang, you’d better think about how to keep the Zhang family from abandoning you.”
Qi Sheng’s expression returned to cold indifference. He sneered, “If the Zhang family abandons me, they abandon you as well. What do you have to be proud of?”
I thought to myself, don’t try to scare me, I really didn’t graduate from Xiamen University.
I stared at Qi Sheng and answered calmly, “If Your Highness ascends the throne, I’ll only be an unfavored empress who constantly offends others, my life probably won’t last long. If you fail to become emperor, with the Zhang family’s power, keeping me alive shouldn’t be difficult. At worst I’ll just be a widow. Rest assured, I’ll definitely keep my widowhood for you. I can’t promise anything else, but this I can guarantee!”
Qi Sheng’s sharp brows lifted, he was clearly angry. I knew he didn’t dare kill me, so I looked at him provocatively. What, brother, do you dare break with the Zhang family now? If you did, would you have rushed to sleep with me the same night you heard the news?
Qi Sheng stared at me for a long while, then suddenly smiled, the kind where only the corner of the mouth lifts, sly and calculating. It sent a chill through me.
Qi Sheng stood up from the bed and walked over to me, stopping at my side and looking down at me.
This posture made me extremely uncomfortable, so I tried to stand up to face him. But the moment I rose, he pulled me into his arms and lifted my chin with his hand.
I was stunned, momentarily unable to react, watching as Qi Sheng’s face slowly drew close. When it stopped just a finger’s width from mine, he breathed softly: “Do you know what I should do so the Zhang family won’t abandon me?”
His fingers slid along my cheek, down my neck, pausing briefly at my collarbone before lifting the front of my robe,
D*mn it! He dared to flirt with me!
He was flirting with me like I was a woman!
I was so angry my body trembled. I wondered, should I punch his face first, or kick him below first?
But Qi Sheng’s smile only widened. He gave a disdainful laugh, withdrew his hand, flicked his sleeve, and left.
I stood there blankly for a moment, then looked at my clenched fist with some regret.
***
On the fourth day, we returned to the palace.
Qi Sheng and I both, without discussing it, wore higher-collared clothes wrapped tightly around ourselves. When our eyes met, Qi Sheng coldly turned his head away. I wanted to go over and slap him a few times.
Luli squeezed my hand. I held back and only raised my middle finger at Qi Sheng’s back.
The entire Zhang household came out to see us off. In front of all the Zhang men, Qi Sheng took my hand. I instinctively tried to pull back but couldn’t, this guy had quite a strong grip.
Zhao Wang and his wife, Lord Toilet, Lord Tree-Climber, and the others had to follow behind us, so they were also standing at the entrance to see us off. When Qi Sheng’s gaze fell on Lady Jiang, his grip on my hand loosened slightly.
I turned to look at Lady Jiang as well. Today she wasn’t wearing white, but a pale moon-colored dress. In the spring breeze, the soft fabric fluttered gently, making her look almost like an immortal.
I leaned close to Qi Sheng and deliberately disgusted him: “Hey, look, under that celestial dress of Lady Jiang’s, do you think there are peach-blossom marks too?”
Qi Sheng turned to look at me, his gaze sharp as a blade.
I refused to fear death and continued provoking him: “Zhao Wang and Lady Jiang both have dark circles under their eyes, probably worked at it all night without sleeping!”
Qi Sheng tightened his fingers, nearly crushing the bones of my hand. I endured the pain and grinned.
Qi Sheng leaned close to my ear. “Don’t think that just because the Zhang family supports you, I wouldn’t dare do anything to you.”
“Then do something already! Hurry and divorce me, or just kill me outright!” I provoked him. I had thought about it all night, when dealing with Qi Sheng, I couldn’t keep yielding and coaxing him. He already looked down on Lady Zhang; if I kept lowering myself, even if he later made me empress, he’d still crush me.
I needed to show him my value, just like you have to show your boss your ability.
We continued exchanging barbed words while walking forward. When we reached the carriage, Qi Sheng kicked aside the eunuch kneeling as a footstool, lifted me up with both hands onto the carriage, then jumped in himself. Only then did he sneer quietly: “If I neither divorce you nor kill you, do you think I have no other methods?”
After saying this, he slapped my chest, and I fell backward into the carriage.
Qi Sheng followed in immediately. At that moment I thought, if you dare try to sleep with me again, I’ll kill you!
Qi Sheng looked down at me from above.
I leaned back halfway, propping myself up on my elbows, staring at him in full alertness, ready to defend my chastity to the death!
It turned out my thoughts were too dirty. He only gave me a few cold looks and walked past me, clearly not intending any “carriage scandal”…
I froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. Thinking about it, unless someone’s psychologically twisted, no one wants to force things. We’re both men, we understand this. One wrong move could cause permanent damage.
Seeing me laugh, Qi Sheng glanced at me again but said nothing. He took a book from the cabinet and lowered his head to read.
I thought to myself, the carriage is shaking this much and you’re still reading, sooner or later you’ll become nearsighted! Hah! I’m not going to warn you!
The carriage slowly traveled from Cuishan toward the imperial city of Shengdu. Along the way Qi Sheng spoke even less. It felt strange, Qi Sheng inside the carriage and Qi Sheng outside the carriage seemed like two different people. Could it be this guy has a split personality?
Thinking this, I became cautious again, afraid he might suddenly lose control and pounce on me.
I stayed tense the whole way, but Qi Sheng didn’t move at all, only leaning casually in the corner reading. My muscles were stiff from tension; eventually I couldn’t help shifting slightly.
Qi Sheng glanced at me lazily, curled his lips in disdain, and ignored me.
The carriage finally entered Shengdu and stopped outside the Eastern Palace. Qi Sheng got out, but before stepping down he suddenly turned back and said: “Do you know how you would ‘keep your widowhood’ if I died?”
I was completely confused and had no idea how to answer.
But it seemed he hadn’t expected an answer. He only sneered and stepped out. By the time I was helped down by the attendants, Qi Sheng had already gone far away.
Full of doubts, I had just returned to my palace and hadn’t even had time to ask Luli how exactly one “keeps widowhood” when the imperial physician arrived. He didn’t even enter the hall, he only stood in the courtyard and gave his diagnosis. No need to repeat the traditional medical terms; simply put, I was ordered to stay in the palace to cultivate my temperament and eat lightly.
D*mn it, Qi Sheng! That’s not how observation in “inspection, listening, inquiry, and palpation” works! He’s clearly messing with me!
Luli’s eyes reddened again, and she kept asking, “Niang Niang was so affectionate with His Highness last night, what happened today?”
I had been fine, but the moment I heard the word “affectionate,” I nearly choked on my tea.
Seeing tears come out of my eyes, Luli assumed I was suffering silently. She quickly wiped my tears with a handkerchief and gently comforted me:
“Niang Niang, please relax. There’s always room for things to turn around.”
I grabbed Luli’s hand, unable to explain my misery. I thought to myself: Girl, how could you understand? They’re determined to bend me whether I live or die!
