Extra 7
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After that, Yun Qingci began to come to the palace to find Li Ying using the token.
Li Hong liked Li Ying, so he often taught him personally and marked his papers with his own hand. When Yun Qingci came for the first time, Li Ying happened to be doing homework in Jiangshan Palace. When he heard that Yun Qingci was coming, he told the servant: “Let him wait a while.”
Li Hong was very surprised: “Xiao Ci came to find you?”
“Yes,” Li Ying said. “He cried the day before yesterday, complaining that this child didn’t look for him. In order to make him happy, this child gave him the token.”
Li Hong laughed and said warmly: “That’s fine. After that incident, Yun Yu has been very worried about him. With your protection, he can feel rest assured.”
He ordered that Yun Qingci didn’t have to wait in the Prince’s Palace in future but could come to Jiangshan Palace to accompany Li Ying to study, and said that even if he didn’t have the token, no one can stop him.
After arranging everything, he saw Li Ying wanting to say something.
“What?”
“I’m afraid the teacher is not so sure about me now.”
Li Hong’s eyes deepened slightly, he thought for a moment and said, “He has indeed distanced from me now. I think Ah Ruo’s words hit him hard… This kind of thing cannot be forced, but the Yun family has been loyal for generations. Even if it is not as close to the imperial family as before, the blood of loyal subjects is running in their veins.”
What he was talking about was the day when Yun Qingci was seriously injured and fell into a coma.
Qin Feiruo received the news of Yun Qingci’s injury early in the morning and rushed to the pier. She was dressed in plain clothes and pale. She managed to keep her manners when she saw the emperor and saluted him respectfully. He apologized, and she smiled and shook her head.
But when Yun Qingci was put on a small wooden board and carried out, she suddenly collapsed.
Li Hong grew up with Yun Yu, Qin Feiruo and Empress Wei. Seeing her like that, he was full of remorse, and Yun Yu even more so.
Qin Feiruo kept shaking, her tears raining down.
Yun Yu tried to explain to her, but Qin Feiruo refused to listen. She shook her head: “The Prime Minister doesn’t have to say much… I am a woman, I have never understood your overall situation and I don’t want to understand now.”
She was also the woman who had been on the battlefield to kill the enemy before. As soon as she said such a thing, some officials reproached her, feeling that her words were inappropriate. After all, she was a daughter of a general and she was full of loyalty. How could she make such ignorant remarks? It was simply unreasonable.
Li Hong, who was to leave first, stopped by the carriage.
Qin Feiruo sneered: “Since I came down from the battlefield, I have become a wife and raised children for more than ten years. You are in the imperial court where loyalty and righteousness come first, and I am in the courtyard, why can’t my children come first? You are full of ambition to put your country first, why can’t I put my son first? You people, you want to keep women behind closed doors and tell them to be good wives and mothers, but you also want them to look at the bigger picture and understand your loyalty and righteousness… Then who will understand me? Who can bear my pain? My son is between life and death. He is my lifeblood, do you understand?”
She looked at Yun Yu and then at the other officials: “Do you understand?”
“Do you understand?” She asked one by one, and then said with a bitter smile: “You don’t understand. If you understood, you wouldn’t say that I am ignorant, or that my actions today are unreasonable!”
“Since you don’t understand me…” She said in a hoarse voice, “Why should I understand you?”
No one said a word.
Li Hong and Li Ying stood there, watching the woman who had finished sorting out the officials carefully pick up Yun Qingci. Yun Yu stepped forward and heard her whisper, “Go away.”
Her voice was very soft and her hands were very steady. Li Hong knew that she was worried about frightening the baby in her arms.
She didn’t want to understand or accept, and no one could accuse her.
For their group of high-ranking men in the court, the country and its people were everything, but for her, her children were everything.
Yun Yu followed her all the way to the carriage. Qin Feiruo stepped on the wooden steps and walked up and said to Yun Yu quietly, “Did you really feel pain when you abandoned Ah Ci?”
Yun Yu’s face turned pale.
Qin Feiruo said, “Just be a family with His Majesty the Emperor.”
She hid in the carriage with her child in her arms and disappeared.
After that, Yun Yu was still a loyal minister, but between him and Li Hong, there was no more brotherly closeness. He always reminded himself that at that time he had used his rationale to choose Li Hong.
This was why, when Li Ying ascended the throne later, he always treated him courteously as a monarch and stopped treating him like a student as before.
Qin Feiruo’s words wounded his heart precisely.
Yun Qingci had grown up with her when he was little and had hardly seen his father. She hated Yun Yu, not because Yun Yu chose the emperor between her child and the emperor, but because she suspected that Yun Yu didn’t have much affection for Yun Qingci.
She believed that he had abandoned Yun Qingci for his emperor and didn’t even feel the slightest heartache about it. She couldn’t bear for the baby she cherished with all her heart to be turned into an outcast mercilessly.
Yun Yu naturally felt pain.
But when Qin Feiruo’s words were said, he began to question himself in a daze. Did he abandon his child for a righteous cause, or did he subconsciously choose his brother over his child at that moment.
He was very kind to Yun Qingci. He wanted to prove that he loved this child, and he did love him. Back then, he didn’t treat him as an outcast. The moment he abandoned him, it hurt. It really hurt.
No one knew that until he died, he felt that he hadn’t cared enough for Yun Qingci, and until he died, he kept questioning himself whether he had truly loved this child.
But caring is chaotic. Many years later, he also took part in the disaster that forced Yun Qingci to commit suicide. He thought that he and Li Ying had planned out everything and concealed everything, so that his child could be safe and comfortable, and he could be a good father quietly and obscurely.
It was a mistake, and it backfired. His actions still killed the child he tried so hard to love.
Now, in the present.
In front of the warm heater in winter, Yun Qingci snuggled on Li Ying’s chest and whispered, “You have never told me about these things.”
Li Ying didn’t apologize to him anymore, he just hugged Yun Qingci tightly: “In the future, no matter what happens, I will never hide it from you.”
“In those two years I followed you, I never saw my father, did he…”
“After you committed suicide, he fell sick.” When Li Ying was recalling his previous life, his voice sounded hoarse: “Later…”
Later, one night, he suddenly woke up from a dream and staggered to the door on foot.
Yun Qingci’s elder brothers got up and followed him with lanterns: “Father…”
His eyes were dazed as he walked forward: “Madam, Xiao Ci… go to the other courtyard, find your mother and brother.”
“I ordered someone to prepare a carriage.” Yun Qingxiao grabbed him: “Father, I will prepare a carriage for you.”
“I’ll go by myself,” he said, “Don’t follow, I’ll find them by myself, they are waiting for me…”
He had been sick for a month by that time, and he was suddenly able to get out of bed and walk, it was obviously the last flash of light before darkness.
Naturally, he failed to make it to the other courtyard.
He fell in front of Yun Qingci’s favorite restaurant, the one that sold fresh meat pastries.
Reportedly, he stopped suddenly, looked at the sign and said with a smile: “I will buy two pastries for Ah Ci and bring them over. I remember, my Ah Ci, he loves to eat these pastries.”
Then he plunged into the snow.
His three sons carrying the lanterns, their robes trailing on the ground, crouched down next to him.
But he couldn’t hear them anymore.
He just opened his eyes, still smiling, and went silent.
No one knew what he was thinking in his last few moments before his consciousness faded away. Did he think of Yun Qingci, who quietly hid behind Uncle Ding and looked at him when he was little; or of Qin Feiruo who he met for the first time when they were young; or of Qin Feiruo, who asked him when she boarded the carriage: “Yun Yu, did you really feel pain when you abandoned Ah Ci?”
Li Ying went to the funeral.
But he rarely went to visit Prime Minister Yun’s tomb.
So, when Yun Qingci’s soul was with him for two years, he didn’t know whether his father was dead or alive.
Going back in time, Li Hong and Li Ying only had time for a brief conversation. Yun Qingci was quickly brought to Jiangshan Palace. When he saw the emperor, he was still a little nervous and bowed sharply: “Greetings Your Majesty.”
Li Hong called him to his side with a smile and told him, “If the prince is not in the palace next time, you will come to my place to find him.”
Yun Qingci’s eyes wandered around the understated and luxurious Jiangshan Palace, and he said obediently: “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
At first, Yun Qingci actually hated Li Hong. After all, his father had abandoned him to save this man, but as he learned more and more from Li Ying, he began to understand that the emperor was different from others.
Li Ying casually mentioned: “Why don’t you move to the city to live, so it is more convenient for you to come to the palace?”
After all, the suburban courtyard was a bit far away. Whether it was Yun Qingci looking for Li Ying or Li Ying looking for Yun Qingci, it would take a long time to get there.
There was no doubt why he proposed that Yun Qingci move to the city and where he wanted him to live.
Yun Qingci felt stifled for a while, then Li Ying realized his mistake and changed his words. “If you want to continue to live in the other courtyard, we’ll still be the same way as before.”
So it was still the same as before.
Time quickly turned from autumn to winter.
During New Year’s Holidays, Yun Qingci would especially miss his mother.
At this time, he would sit in front of his mother’s memorial tablet, imagining that he was leaning in her arms as he used to do, holding a book all day long.
Last year, Prime Minister Yun sent someone to pick him up during the New Year and also ordered him food and drinks, but he threw it all away.
This year, Prime Minister Yun, as always, sent something and Yun Qingci didn’t even look at it; but it was not thrown away because Auntie Liu persuaded it to be taken back.
On the twenty eighth, Li Ying came and brought him some food. Yun Qingci followed him and asked him sternly: “Will you be busy during the New Year?”
“Yes.” Li Ying unpacked all the food for him and told him: “There will be some activities in the palace during the New Year, and all the princes need to be present.”
Yun Qingci wanted to say ‘I want to have New Year’s Eve Dinner with you’ but swallowed the words silently.
Li Ying asked him, “Do you have something to tell me?”
“No.” Yun Qingci smiled at him: “Then after the New Year, I will go out to play with you again.”
Li Ying rubbed his head and said, “Look, eat well this year, and you will grow taller again.”
“Still not catching up with you…”
“Because when you grow up, I will grow up too.”
Before Li Ying left, he told him: “You have to have a good meal for the New Year. I will come to you on the fifth day of the New Year at the latest.”
“Okay.” Yun Qingci tugged at the door frame, watched him get in the carriage and completely disappear from sight, then rubbed his dry eyes, turned around and returned to the courtyard.
On the thirtieth, Auntie Liu was also having a reunion dinner with her family, so she took time to settle him down and told him to leave the bowl after eating and she would come back later to wash it.
Yun Qingci nodded obediently. She instructed the other maids again, and several people took turns guarding Yun Qingci.
So on the night of the New Year’s Eve Dinner, Yun Qingci carried the bowl by himself and went to the small ancestral hall. He sat at the foot of the table in front of his mother’s memorial tablet and ate a whole bowl of dumplings seriously.
That night, he vomited it all out again, and Auntie Liu returned in a hurry, trying to send someone to invite Li Ying but was stopped by Yun Qingci.
He didn’t want Li Ying to feel as if he couldn’t do without him. As he grew up, he gradually understood that a clingy and troublesome person like him was not likable.
Li Ying was also not obliged to accompany him all day long.
He had a low fever for a while intermittently, and his complexion only improved on the fifth day of the New Year.
Li Ying really didn’t break his promise and came to see him on the fifth day.
When he entered the door, he asked Auntie Liu about Yun Qingci’s condition, and the latter hesitated: “…he has gotten sick again, but he doesn’t want you to know.”
Li Ying pretended not to know.
He hugged Yun Qingci as soon as he walked in the door. Yun Qingci rubbed against him greedily for a while and then raised his face with bright eyes: “I thought you would be coming in the evening.”
In this way, he could still have a small New Year’s Eve Dinner with Li Ying.
Li Ying said, “I have something to do tonight.”
Yun Qingci’s eyes dimmed visibly. He turned his face to look past Li Ying and quietly changed the subject: “What did you bring me?” ”
The servants put everything on the table, and Li Ying walked over and said, “I brought you a glazed finch, which was given by my father. It’s of no use to me. There is also this outfit. I sent someone to make it for you. I didn’t bring it last year, so try it now.”
It was the first outfit that Li Ying gave him. Yun Qingci couldn’t wait to run in and change into it. When he ran out again, his delicate face gleamed against the brocade clothes.
Li Ying was in a daze for a while.
“Do I look good?”
“You look good.”
Yun Qingci smiled shyly and said to him, “I like these clothes.”
The corners of Li Ying’s mouth curved, he took Yun Qingci to sit down at the table and said, “Did you eat well these days?” ”
“I did.”
“Have you eaten everything?”
“I’ve eaten everything.” Yun Qingci held the glazed finch and played with it lovingly. Sunlight hit the glass and turned it dazzlingly bright, making it look like something divine, good enough to belong to a fairy.
He didn’t tell Li Ying about being sick. Li Ying couldn’t understand why the clingy ghost suddenly wasn’t clinging to him anymore. He was a little distressed and worried and said: “When it is the Lantern Festival, I will come to spend time with you.”
Yun Qingci looked surprised: “Really?”
“En.” Li Ying said, “I will accompany you every Lantern Festival from now on.”
Therefore, Yun Qingci looked forward to the Lantern Festival every year.
When the two went to the Lantern Festival for the first time, Yun Qingci donned his new clothes and rushed over, but his face changed as soon as he arrived.
Li Ying called several people to play with him.
Then all the way, he was silent, while the others were guessing riddles and floating river lanterns excitedly. Only he looked dim, carrying the little dragon lantern that Li Ying had won for him, hardly saying a word.
Lin Huaijin was the first to notice something was wrong with him. He leaned over to look at him and asked, “Ah Ci, what’s wrong with you?”
“I’m just a little uncomfortable.”
“Is it your old injury?” Li Ying’s voice came from behind. Yun Qingci turned his face to look at him, and there was a flash of light in his eyes. He left quickly without replying. Lin Huaijin was about to chase him, but Li Ying stretched out his hand and stopped him: “I’ll go and have a look, you guys play first.”
Lin Huaijin opened his mouth, nodded hesitantly and said, “Go ahead.”
Yun Qingci threw away the lamp and ran all the way. He soon came to a place where there were no lanterns hanging. There was a deep darkness in front of him. He stopped in fear. Li Ying had already caught on to him. When he saw it, he suddenly smiled: “You’re so big, are you still afraid of the dark?”
Yun Qingci stepped forward, and Li Ying stretched out his hand to hold him: “Okay, don’t go, does your wound hurt or not? I will carry you.”
“I want to go home.”
“I’ll carry you home.”
Yun Qingci looked at him for a while and then laid on his back with his eyes red.
Li Ying walked with him on his back. At first, Yun Qingci didn’t say a word. Only when they were almost on the outskirts did he ask, “Are you tired?” ”
“You are as light as a kitten, what is there to be tired of?” Li Ying gathered his legs, pushed him up and said, “Why are you unhappy today?”
“Why did you call so many people?”
“I was afraid you’d be bored.”
“I’m not bored with you.” Yun Qingci choked and said, “I don’t want to spend the Lantern Festival with them. If you said that you will go with me during the Lantern Festival, can’t you just go with me?”
Li Ying hesitated: “Are you angry because of this?”
Yun Qingci sobbed on his shoulder: “No, you are not allowed to divide my time with others in the future.”
It was the first time that he felt Yun Qingci’s possessiveness towards him.
But at that time, they were all too young, and no one thought about what this possessiveness contained, and no one told them whether such a relationship was right or wrong.
Li Ying just suddenly felt that there was a barely perceptible joy in his heart. It turned out that Yun Qingci cared about him so much.
However, Yun Qingci’s possessiveness of him seemed to be related only to their friends. Together, they occasionally talked about girls and about being godparents for each other’s children when they married in the future. At that time, Yun Qingci never thought about being his Lord Empress.
Li Ying, on the contrary, lacked interest and felt uncomfortable when they talked about girls
He deliberately said to Yun Qingci: “When I get married, you will not be the most important person to me.”
Yun Qingci corrected him clearly: “I am your most important man, and she will be your most important woman!”
Moreover, Yun Qingci often worried about his girls: “If you become the emperor in the future, do you want to marry many girls?”
He said blankly: “There is only one wife.”
“Then can you stop accepting concubines?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“…I just think it’s unfair to the other girls.”
Li Ying snorted.
Now as he thought about the day when they agreed to swim in the lake and he was suddenly called by Zhang Shixue for his initiation, and later being found by Yun Qingci with an umbrella, he realized that his feelings for Yun Qingci were there from the beginning, but he only figured them out on that day.
Perhaps, he was tempted very early on, but didn’t notice it.
After that day, Li Ying discovered that Yun Qingci would often appear in his dreams. Thus, he would wake up in the middle of the night, approve memorials if he had them or hold a book if he didn’t, and read until dawn and then go to court.
Zhang Shixue discovered his secret because it rained one night, and Yun Qingci stayed overnight in Jiangshan Palace with Li Ying.
It’s not that Yun Qingci hadn’t spent the night in the palace before, but that night, when they were studying together, Yun Qingci fell asleep on his desk. Li Ying personally carried him to the couch bed, then sat by the bed and looked at him quietly for a long time.
Then he leaned over and, involuntarily, wanted to kiss him.
Zhang Shixue broke in suddenly and said with a smile: “Emperor, look what your mother has brought you…”
The young emperor quickly pulled the quilt over Yun Qingci, covered him silently and told her lightly: “He is asleep, please, mother, be quieter.”
Zhang Shixue smiled, opened the food box, put the food on the table and said, “It’s been a hard night, so you can have something delicious.”
“It has been hard on Mother, travelling in person on a rainy night.” Li Ying said politely: “Please, go back and rest earlier.”
After he ascended the throne, there was a lot of alienation between him and her. At that time, Zhang Shixue had already vaguely felt the crisis; the fourteen-year-old Son of Heaven was almost out of her control.
Soon after, when Yun Qingci came to visit Li Ying again, she ordered someone to intercept him halfway. Yun Qingci had a good impression of her at that time, she was nice and sweet-talking. She gave Yun Qingci some snacks and chatted with him casually. However, soon after, Li Ying hurriedly came to the door under the pretext of delivering things to her, pretended to be surprised to see Yun Qingci and took him away quickly.
As soon as they went out, Li Ying frowned: “Didn’t I tell you not to go to her palace casually?”
“She called me… I felt awkward to refuse.”
In Yun Qingci’s impression, Li Ying and Zhang Shixue had some contradictions, but not very serious ones. Because Li Ying was very respectful every time he saw her, and even if there were some differences, there was no hatred.
In addition, Zhang Shixue told Yun Qingci that she blamed herself for being too strict with Li Ying, so Li Ying was alienated from her. She often burst into tears while talking. Yun Qingci thought about his own mother and felt that she was very pitiful.
He was scared and cried many times because his mother was also very strict with him when he was young.
But his mother’s love for him was not fake.
He didn’t know that the relationship between Li Ying and Zhang Shixue was very different from what he thought, and he didn’t know how well Zhang Shixue could deal with Li Ying.
For Li Ying, no matter how Zhang Shixue treated him back then, she had the grace of giving birth to him. He couldn’t be so shameless as to speak ill of his birth mother in front of Yun Qingci.
At that time, Li Ying felt that no matter what, she was still his birth mother. Although she had beaten him, blood was thicker than water; she wanted to gain power, so she would never really harm him.
When he was young, he thought of people as too kind and too simple.
Once, Zhang Shixue called Li Ying and asked him straightforwardly: “Do you like Yun Qingci?”
Li Ying’s gaze met hers directly and his lips pursed into a sword point: “If mother has something to say, just say it.”
Zhang Shixue was taken aback by his cold eyes and then said, “I am worried that you will harm him… You are the Son of Heaven, and you will have three palaces and six courts in the future. If you keep him in the harem, isn’t it a bit inappropriate?”
She reminded Li Ying not to affect Yun Qingci’s life thoughtlessly because of his own lust. She was thinking about Yun Qingci, mentioning Yun Qingci in every sentence, and every word hit Li Ying’s heart, drowning him like a huge wave.
Li Ying only remembered that he said in a hoarse voice: “Thank you, mother, for your teachings, your son knows what to do.”
Taking advantage of the fact that Yun Qingci wasn’t grown up yet and didn’t understand anything, slowly distancing himself and leaving him would avoid accidentally pulling him into the wrong path.
In those days, after the court session, he walked down from the dragon chair, sat on the steps, buried his face between his arms and told Prime Minister Yun: “Teacher…I don’t want to be the emperor anymore.”
It turned out that being the emperor was not free at all, and he didn’t even have the right to like the person he wanted to like.
But his former teacher didn’t comfort him.
Only Liu Ziru was by his side, watching him stay up late to handle official duties and practice swordsmanship during the day. Li Ying also asked him: “Mother said I shouldn’t associate with Ah Ci anymore for his own good, do you think it makes sense, sir?”
He felt very confused and in pain.
But the situation in the court was treacherous, and the palace was a place where people could swallow each other without leaving bones. From a rational point of view, it was best not to bring Yun Qingci in.
He hoped that someone could argue with his ideas and let him contact Yun Qingci openly and without fear of anything.
Even though Liu Ziru, just like the emperor, didn’t like Zhang Shixue, he had to nod and say, “If Your Majesty just wants to be friends with Young Master Yun, then naturally it’s okay… But if… I’m afraid it will hurt him.”
Li Ying remembered that he originally wanted to be friends with Yun Qingci, but his teacher didn’t agree.
Not to mention that kind of thing.
After the cave in the rockery, Li Ying had treated Yun Qingci very kindly, so his deliberate distancing became very obvious. Yun Qingci was also an extremely sensitive person. For a while, he felt a strong sense of uneasiness.
Lin Huaijin often played with him and told him, “He is the emperor now, he is different from before. It is inevitable for him to distance from you.”
Yun Qingci also understood, but he couldn’t understand his emotions. He was sad for a long time. It was Li Ying, how could Li Ying change?
At that moment, Zhang Shixue personally came to his courtyard and found him.
She asked Yun Qingci worriedly if he had any conflict with Li Ying, and Yun Qingci naturally shook his head.
He had a good impression of Li Ying’s mother. He felt wronged and his tears kept falling. Zhang Shixue sighed and reached out to hold him in her arms: “Good boy, don’t cry.”
The hand on his head was very gentle. Yun Qingci cried for a while and then asked in a choked voice, “What on earth does he want for it to be like before?”
“He has grown up and he is the emperor. You want him to treat you the same as before, but unless you can stay with him all the time, he will move forward slowly and will have to leave some things behind. Even if it is not now, it will happen in the future.”
Yun Qingci seemed to understand but not.
“I mean, he is in the palace now, without his father, entangled in political affairs, and he is too busy… How can he have time to go out of the palace to find you?”
“Is it because I live too far away?”
Zhang Shixue nodded.
Yun Qingci was a little uneasy, “But I don’t want to go back to the Prime Minister’s Mansion…”
“Then do you want to live in the palace?” Zhang Shixue said, “If you live in the palace, you can see him often.”
Yun Qingci hesitated: “Is it okay?”
“Of course.” Zhang Shixue told him a way: “In this world, the longest companionship is between a husband and a wife. If you marry him, he will never leave you behind again.”
Yun Qingci was dumbfounded.
He shook his head: “I can’t marry him, I’m not a girl.”
Zhang Shixue sighed and said, “Actually, Ah Ying is not in a very good state these days. The day before yesterday, he slept on the table until dawn and he developed a high fever in the past two days…”
Yun Qingci was shocked.
He hurriedly went to see Li Ying. The other party, who really had a cold, did see him, but only sat far away, as if he was afraid of infecting him.
Yun Qingci got up and wanted to approach him but Li Ying waved his hand, coughed and said, “Why did you come here?”
“I heard that you were sick, so I’ve come to take a look.”
“It’s just a recent change of season, a minor illness, nothing to worry about.”
They sat on their chairs opposite each other and looked at each other. Yun Qingci was looking at Li Ying and Li Ying was also looking at him. With their eyes meeting, Yun Qingci smiled and said, “Are you losing weight?”
Li Ying also smiled and said, “It’s because I’ve grown taller again.”
Yun Qingci touched the things he had brought and said, “I sewed a pair of hand warmers. It’s cold, and you love to read the memorials at night, so don’t freeze.”
He got up again, but Li Ying raised his hand to restrain him, and Yun Qingci had to sit down again.
Liu Ziru went forward and took the hand warmers. Li Ying coughed lightly while accepting them and asked, “Did you prick your fingers?”
“No.” Yun Qingci glared at him, “I learned it when I was a child. My mother said that I would become a parent in the future. Such things cannot always be left to girls.”
Li Ying’s eyelashes flashed; his heart seemed to be suddenly slashed by a sharp knife that left an open wound.
He said, “Ah Ci will definitely take care of someone in the future.”
“Didn’t I come to take care of you?” Yun Qingci muttered: “You are the emperor and you can’t even take care of yourself. How can you take care of the people in your country?”
Li Ying liked the way he curled his mouth when complaining the most. The corners of his lips couldn’t help but lift slightly, and his eyes were overflowing with light: “I was careless. It was freezing when I opened the window at night.”
“Then why did you open the window so late?”
“Because…” I can’t sleep thinking about you. Li Ying said, “Thinking about state affairs, so I can’t sleep.”
“Bad future prospects.” Yun Qingci hummed, “What’s there to be afraid of, it’s not like you can’t do it.”
The smile on Li Ying’s face deepened, and affection overfilled his eyes. He whispered, “You have to take good care of yourself, too.”
“I am much better than you.” After Yun Qingci said that, he asked again, “When will you marry me a sister-in-law so that I can rest assured that someone will take care of you.”
“Well.” Li Ying’s smile narrowed and his tone was soft: “Go back early, it’s okay, don’t come to the palace casually, it’s so far away… I don’t have time to accompany you.”
“I can accompany you.”
Li Ying laughed, shook his head and said, “I’m going to be busy.”
He went to the inner room and Yun Qingci whispered, “It’s no big deal, I’ll stay by the side and watch you…”
It was that kind of distancing.
Li Ying was a very gentle person. He never lost his temper, but he was simply distant and was never close to him anymore.
After that, Yun Qingci thought for a long, long time. He repeatedly thought about Empress Dowager Zhang’s words. If he married Li Ying, they could be together forever.
It was not that there was no precedent for marrying a man in Shangyang City. Although no emperor had done it before, Empress Dowager Zhang mentioned it, so it must be possible.
He later went to Empress Dowager Zhang, who told him that she didn’t know what Li Ying thought about this matter, and asked him to tell Li Ying by himself.
So Yun Qingci plucked up his courage to find Li Ying again.
Two months had passed since the last time they met, and there was deep snow outside the window. Yun Qingci was holding hot tea, sitting uncomfortably opposite Li Ying.
Li Ying sorted out all the memorials on the table, and when he saw that Yun Qingci hadn’t said a word, he turned to look at him.
Naturally, he missed Yun Qingci, but he also hoped that Yun Qingci could live his own life. He hadn’t seen Yun Qingci for two months. He thought Yun Qingci was going to forget him and he didn’t think he would find him again.
But this time, he clearly noticed that Yun Qingci was a little uncomfortable.
Sure enough, everything would fade with time, and his time with Yun Qingci had also faded away.
He adjusted his mood and said, “Is the tea cold?”
Yun Qingci quickly took a sip and said, “No… just right.”
“Then why are you in a daze?” Li Ying took a book and opened it casually. Yun Qingci hesitated and said, “You, what kind of woman do you like?”
Although he had thought about everything clearly, Li Ying definitely didn’t have time to think clearly. He still needed to test the other’s mood. Would Li Ying like to marry him?
Li Ying said lightly: “Why do you suddenly ask this?”
“I just want to know, are you interested in women… and children, do you like children?”
Li Ying didn’t want to answer his question. “What are you trying to say?” he said.
“I want to say…” Yun Qingci whispered in a small voice: “If I become your Lord Empress, would you like it?”
His voice was too small, even though Li Ying’s ears were not bad, he couldn’t hear him clearly. He raised his eyebrows and said, “What are you talking about?”
“I said…” Liu Ziru happened to deliver a dim sum and Yun Qingci swallowed his words temporarily, picked up a piece, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed sullenly.
Li Ying’s mood was messed up badly by his two words.
He looked at Yun Qingci with a complicated expression for a while, then looked away and said, “If there is nothing, you can go back.”
“It’s snowing outside.”
Li Ying looked at him.
Yun Qingci tugged at him aggrievedly and said in a soft voice, “Can I stay here tonight?”
“Where do you want to sleep?”
Yun Qingci pointed to the bead curtain on the other side where his sleeping couch was.
Even if he was angered by his words, Li Ying still couldn’t let go of him in his heart, so he said with a stiff face: “You want to seize my dragon bed again?”
Yun Qingci giggled.
Li Ying was instantly defeated.
That night, because Yun Qingci was waiting in his bed, Li Ying left the desk early and went to bed after bathing.
They were lying on the same bed as before, but that night, it was a little different.
Both of them were lying flat. Li Ying was lying on the outside, and Yun Qingci was lying on the inside, covered with the same quilt.
Under the quilt, one hand moved quietly and caught the other.
Li Ying’s eyelashes trembled and he held his breath.
That hand clasped him cautiously and then stopped moving.
After a while, Li Ying turned his face to look at Yun Qingci, but Yun Qingci didn’t look at him.
He kept staring at the top of the bed and said slowly: “If I say, I want to marry you… what do you think?”
Li Ying looked in a daze: “What, what?”
“I said…” Yun Qingci turned his face to look directly at him and said seriously: “I want to marry you, would you like to?”
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That concubine is so poisonous. Im glad she suffered twice in both lifetimes.
But then it’s also thanks to her that ml and mc got married at all. Otherwise they wouldnt even have thought of it until it’s too late.