Shoutout to Tachibanaswife for the commission!
Here I was bent on running away, while over there Qi Sheng asked hoarsely, “So this is what I am in your eyes?”
D*mn! Could it be that after I said so much, he thought I’d been speaking in reverse the whole time? What kind of comprehension is that?
But I didn’t dare answer. I just felt that no matter what I said first, he wouldn’t be pleased, so I might as well play mute.
Qi Sheng fell silent again for a moment, then reached out, grabbed me, and started pulling me toward that palace room.
I hurriedly struggled, only to find his grip extremely tight, there was no breaking free. I could only beg, “Your Majesty, this isn’t the kind of thing the two of us should handle hand in hand! If you want me to play the villain, then let go, let me go in alone. You wait outside for a bit; that’ll also make you look like the heroic type saving the beauty!”
Qi Sheng turned his head to look at me and snapped, “Shut up!”
I’m a coward by nature; I immediately shut my mouth in fright.
Though one of Qi Sheng’s hands was injured, the other was very strong. Half dragging, half pulling, he hauled me outside the palace hall. Some palace maids on night duty had already seen us and hurried forward to salute him, calling out, “Your Majesty!” Then they bowed to me as well, opening their mouths but not knowing what to call me; their smiling faces flushed red with anxiety.
I felt sorry for her and quickly waved my hand. “It’s fine, it’s fine, your intention is enough.”
But Qi Sheng said coldly, “Are you blind? This is the Empress!”
The young maid immediately knelt to me and cried anxiously, “Your Majesty the Empress, please forgive me. This servant has eyes but failed to recognize you.”
I was stunned and couldn’t help looking toward Qi Sheng. Wait, could it be that after I scolded him, he’d suddenly seen the light and no longer planned to spend his whole life one-on-one with Lady Jiang?
Qi Sheng only snorted coldly and kept dragging me into the hall. I glanced back at the little maid; she looked only thirteen or fourteen, petite and delicate, now trembling on the ground in fear. My heart softened even more, and I called back, “Get up quickly, the ground is cold! Poor thing…”
The force in Qi Sheng’s hand suddenly increased, hurting me so much I yelped, and I didn’t even get to finish the rest of that sentence before he had already dragged me into the hall.
There were still several palace maids on duty inside. Seeing Qi Sheng enter, they all came forward to salute. Qi Sheng barked, “All of you, get out!” As he spoke, he pulled me straight to the entrance of the inner chamber, then suddenly stopped, pressed his lips tightly together, and dragged me inside.
He was tall and broad, and although Lady Zhang’s figure was also considered slender and tall, her steps were much smaller than his. So I was pulled along somewhat unsteadily, stumbling forward several steps before stopping, and then I saw Lady Jiang lying on the bed, thin and pale.
Only then did Qi Sheng finally release my hand and stand there silently, looking at Lady Jiang.
Lady Jiang also opened her eyes. Her gaze moved from me to Qi Sheng, then from Qi Sheng back to me. After several rounds, a faint bitterness appeared at the corner of her lips.
Looking at that little bitter face of hers, I felt utterly miserable too.
I’ve lived more than twenty years, when have I ever experienced a situation like this? Given the relationship between her and me, in modern terms, wouldn’t this count as the legal wife and the mistress?
What would count as normal here? Should I slap Lady Jiang, or turn around and smack Qi Sheng?
Subconsciously, I lowered my head to look at my hands. I couldn’t bear to hit Lady Jiang; I didn’t have the courage to hit Qi Sheng.
Alright, d*mn it, I’m really chickening out.
I took several deep breaths, tried a few times, and finally managed to say to Lady Jiang, “You… have suffered.”
The moment those words came out, both Qi Sheng and Lady Jiang were stunned.
Once I got the first sentence out, the rest came much more smoothly. I stepped forward to look at Lady Jiang and asked, “Are your injuries better? What medicine have you been taking recently? Are you used to living here? If there’s anything you’re not satisfied with, just tell me, I’ll arrange it for you. For now, just stay here at ease. Don’t think too much; your health is the most important! As for the Emperor, don’t worry, I’ll keep a close eye on him for you. Though he can’t give you a title right now, you have to understand him; he has his own difficulties. His heart has always been with you…”
Lady Jiang was dumbfounded. Her almond eyes blinked again and again as she looked at me; her little mouth trembled several times, yet she couldn’t say a word.
Qi Sheng, however, stepped forward and yanked me away from the bedside, dragging me straight outside the hall, and shouted angrily, “Wait here for me!”
I didn’t dare argue and quickly raised both hands in surrender. “No problem, no problem!”
Qi Sheng glared at me furiously, then turned and went back inside.
At that moment, however, I felt much more at ease. Since Qi Sheng had acknowledged my status as Empress, then going in now must be to figure out how to appease Lady Jiang.
Sure enough, who knows what Qi Sheng and Lady Jiang said inside, but suddenly I heard Lady Jiang’s voice rise sharply as she coldly said, “Your Majesty need not consider Yingyue. Just treat it as if Yingyue is dead!”
My curiosity was piqued. I couldn’t help edging closer to the inner chamber door, cupping my hand to my ear to listen. Qi Sheng’s voice was low and indistinct; I couldn’t make out what he said. After a while, I heard Lady Jiang say slowly, “If you are heartless, then I will leave. Your Majesty, please go.”
The hall fell silent for a moment, and then I heard Qi Sheng’s footsteps coming outward.
I quickly tiptoed away. I had just stepped away from the door when Qi Sheng’s figure appeared in my line of sight. I hurriedly pretended to look up at the moon. Only when he came to my side did I feign surprise. “Ah? Finished talking?”
Qi Sheng’s face was dark. He didn’t reply, only lowered his head slightly to examine me.
I simply admitted it openly. “I caught a few scattered words from Lady Jiang, not enough to form sentences. As for you, I didn’t hear a single word. Rest assured!”
Qi Sheng said nothing, flicked his sleeve, and strode away.
I turned back to look once more, quickly clasped my hands together and bowed toward the inner chamber. Lady Jiang, just endure for now. Once my position is secure and I hold great power, I will definitely fulfill your wish of spending a lifetime together with Qi Sheng!
Amitabha, God bless!
On the nineteenth day of the eighth month, the Empress enthronement ceremony.
In Daming Palace, I wore the Empress’s ceremonial robes, with phoenix crown and xiapei, kneeling again and again before Qi Sheng, bowing repeatedly. After several rounds, I was nearly dizzy before finally completing the formal procedures and obtaining the “certificate” of Empress!
Qi Sheng then took my hand again, leading me step by step out of Daming Palace, together looking down upon the masses below the high platform.
Amid the loud cheers of civil and military officials and countless soldiers, for the first time I truly experienced the feeling of supreme authority over all under heaven. To lie drunk on a beauty’s lap and awaken to command the world, what a man seeks in life is nothing more than this!
This feeling, d*mn, it’s good!
Of course, it would be even better if Qi Sheng weren’t standing beside me!
On the night of the enthronement, by custom the Emperor should stay with the Empress. Luli was very excited; I was very depressed.
Luli sprinkled rose petals into the bath, her eyes reddened as she muttered, “Your Majesty has endured for so many years and finally made it. If only the old madam could have seen today’s ceremony with her own eyes, how wonderful that would have been!”
Huh? Why does that sound a bit off coming from Luli? It makes it sound like Old Madam Zhang had long since passed away, but she’s alive and well!
I glanced at Luli, opened my mouth, then swallowed my words.
Luli dumped a whole basket of petals into my bath and still felt it wasn’t enough, grabbing another basket and pouring it in.
I really couldn’t take it anymore and negotiated with her, “Luli, can we stop adding petals? Are you washing me or washing the petals?”
Hearing this, Luli shot me a look of exasperation and immediately stopped tearing up, lecturing sternly, “Your Majesty, at a time like this, you still have the mood to joke? His Majesty will be here soon! If we don’t wash you until you’re fragrant, how will that do? Do you know how Li Chenghui got her skin like congealed fat? She soaks in goat milk every day! And Huang Liangyuan’s chest, do you know how much papaya she eats daily? And Chen Liangdi, ”
“Enough! Stop!” I hurriedly cut her off. “I’ll soak, alright? I’ll soak!”
Luli grew smug, poured in another half basket of petals, then whispered in my ear, “Your Majesty, I’ve prepared some fine wine for you and the Emperor. When he comes, invite him to drink a little.”
I froze, immediately understanding her meaning. Forget it! One drunken loss of chastity was enough! I’ve never heard of doing this kind of thing multiple times!
Seeing me silent, Luli dismissed the other maids and earnestly tried to persuade me, “Your Majesty, I know the Emperor has chilled your heart, but you must bear an heir. Only then will your position be secure! For this, the family has already taken care of Imperial Physician Song from the Imperial Medical Bureau!”
That gynecology specialist, Physician Song?
I shuddered. The thought of being pregnant for ten months and giving birth made my stomach cramp in dread. No, absolutely not! There must be a child, but it can’t be me who gives birth. Anyone else can, as long as her maternal family is humble!
Best of all, let Qi Sheng and Lady Jiang have a child, at least it would count as the “fruit” of their love.
Qi Sheng arrived very late; I had already been dozing in the inner chamber for quite a while.
Luli kept poking me. “Niang Niang, wake up, wake up! His Majesty has arrived!”
I jolted awake at once and looked up to see Qi Sheng already changed into casual clothes, striding in with the bearing of a dragon and tiger.
Luli led people forward to help him change.
But Qi Sheng waved his hand, dismissing them. His gaze swept over the wine pot on the table, and a mocking cold smile curled on his lips. He sat down in front of me and sneered, “You don’t need to pretend drunken madness. I’ll sit here for a while and then leave.”
I was momentarily stunned, watching as Qi Sheng filled both our cups, drank one by himself, fell silent for a moment, and then said flatly, “When I was nine, I already knew I would marry Lady Zhang.”
Heh! So he’s going to drink and talk his heart out? I quickly refilled his cup and said nothing, just waited quietly for him to continue.
Qi Sheng looked at me with a mocking smile. “People say that because someone praised me before the Founding Emperor as a worthy grandson, the Founding Emperor passed the throne to the late emperor, intending to pass it on to me through him. But that’s not the truth at all.”
Sticking to the principle of being a good listener, I widened my eyes at the right moment and asked, “Oh? Then what is the truth?”
Qi Sheng curled his lips. “Lady Zhang’s grandfather, Zhang Sheng, was the Founding Emperor’s most favored general. When the Founding Emperor traveled incognito, he often went to the Zhang residence to rest. At first I thought it was because he favored Zhang Sheng. Later I learned that each time he went there, it was only because he wanted to meet one person.”
My heart stirred. D*mn, was the Founding Emperor going to the Zhang house for a secret affair? Who was it? Could it be the famed Lady Yan?
Qi Sheng drank another cup, his gaze shifting to my face. “After many visits, one time the Founding Emperor finally met that person. It was midwinter; that person was playing in the snow in the back garden with five-year-old Lady Zhang. The Founding Emperor stood aside and watched quietly for a long time. Only then did that person notice him and bring little Lady Zhang over to greet him, saying that seeing little Lady Zhang reminded her of her own childhood, so she felt playful. She even smiled and asked me and Ninth Brother if we wanted to join them. I was more unruly than Ninth Brother back then and loved to play; I’d already been tempted watching from the side, so when she invited us, I went. But Ninth Brother shook his head, saying he would stay with Royal Grandfather and refused to go.”
I was completely confused, while Qi Sheng had already drunk quite a lot. He stopped here, his gaze on me yet seeming to pass through me, landing somewhere far away.
Qi Sheng suddenly laughed self-mockingly. “From then on, the Founding Emperor clearly treated me differently from the other grandsons. He once asked me with a smile what I thought of Lady Zhang. I said girls were delicate and overbearing, a nuisance. The Founding Emperor was displeased and said Lady Zhang was a lovely little girl, whoever married her would be fortunate. After that, whenever he asked me about Lady Zhang, I always spoke of her good points.”
I more or less understood. I immediately felt quite sympathetic toward Qi Sheng, relying on a woman to rise in power would make anyone uncomfortable.
Seeing that he was getting drunk, I refilled his cup again and advised, “Anyway, it’s all in the past. No need to bring it up, drink, drink!”
But Qi Sheng didn’t pick up the cup. Supporting himself on the table, he stood up and staggered toward the door.
I followed behind and hurriedly called to his personal eunuch, “Quick, support him! The Youlan Hall in the northeast corner, do you know the way?”
Qi Sheng turned back and shot me a cold glance, then said to the eunuch, “Back to the sleeping palace.”
With that, he left without looking back.
I finally let out a long breath of relief.
Luli, however, was so regretful she nearly banged her head against the wall, muttering, “It’s all my fault, why did we drink, why did we drink!”
Figuring she wouldn’t manage to hit the wall or kill herself anytime soon, and that tomorrow would be even more exhausting, I ignored her, washed up, and went to sleep.
The next day, rumors that the Emperor and Empress were at odds spread throughout the harem.
Lord Toilet came to give me a post-ceremony summary report. I dismissed everyone, took a few chopsticks, squatted on the ground, and explained to him why a love triangle is the most stable relationship in the world!
