However, the little girl in his arms was no docile, well-behaved woman. An ordinary lady, kissed by him like this, would have long since blushed crimson and melted into a soft puddle. She was shy too, shrinking warmly and softly against his chest.
Yet, once she got the hang of it, this little girl actually took the initiative to slip the tip of her tongue into his mouth.
Li Yi ate it up with great delight.
Only when he was finished indulging did Li Yi pinch her cheek. “Who taught you to do that? Have you no shame?”
Qi Yue buried her face in his chest, laughing into his robes. “Does Your Majesty not like it?”
Li Yi liked it very, very much. But a woman couldn’t be spoiled too much, lest she push her luck and climb all over him.
He said, “I do not like it that much.”
Qi Yue had her chin lifted by Li Yi as he inspected her closely. “You didn’t do it well just now. Let’s try it again.”
He had tasted the sweetness and was entirely hooked.
Qi Yue pushed him away. “I don’t want to. This Concubine is getting up. Aunt Yun, Aunt Jing, come in.”
She was served as she dressed, washing and combing her hair with her back to him. Li Yi watched the palace maid holding a handful of her dark silk-like hair; her back view alone was enough to tug at his heartstrings.
As if completely unaware that Li Yi was still right there, Qi Yue chatted with her maids as usual. She said, “Aunt Yun, that dress that was accidentally torn last night—do you think it can be mended?”
“It is woven with gold thread, so it’s a bit difficult, but this servant can mend it,” Aunt Yun smiled. “For the next two days, serving Your Majesty will have to be left to Ah Jing and Xia Lian.”
Li Yi suddenly remembered that he was the one who had ripped Qi Yue’s dress last night. For the little girl to say it like this, she was clearly coming to collect a debt from him.
Qi Yue said, “Alright, Aunt Yun, rest assured, for the next two days this Empress will try not to bother you with other tasks.”
From afar, Xunxue saw the Emperor carrying the Empress out of the room. The Empress was delicately and weakly hooking her arms around the Emperor’s neck, a shallow smile gracing her lips. She looked devastatingly beautiful.
She dropped into a curtsy. Li Yi swept a cold glance over Xunxue but didn’t say anything.
He set Qi Yue down on a nearby couch. “Empress, lunch has been prepared.”
Qi Yue’s lips curled up. “Then this Concubine will serve Your Majesty your meal.”
The lunch was made by the people of Zhengyang Palace, tailored to Qi Yue’s tastes: an entirely vegetarian spread. The leafy greens were vibrant and crisp, practically untouched by oil, and barely seasoned with salt or spices.
Qi Yue picked up two slices of bitter melon for Li Yi. “Your Majesty, please eat.”
Li Yi forced it down, then immediately chased it with a cup of tea.
Qi Yue picked up two stalks of plain greens. “Your Majesty, please eat.”
She was used to eating like this and preferred bland flavors, so naturally, she could stomach it. But Li Yi preferred heavy, rich flavors. Eating these vegetables—which were either unbearably bitter or completely devoid of oil and salt—was worse than taking medicine for him.
Yet Qi Yue was incredibly enthusiastic, like a little wildcat wagging her tail. She looked at Li Yi with sparkling eyes. “Your Majesty, is it delicious?”
Li Yi furrowed his brows. “Is this what you eat every day?”
Qi Yue didn’t answer. Instead, she picked up a silver-thread roll and fed it right to Li Yi’s lips. “Your Majesty, ah—open your mouth.”
Li Yi had no choice but to open his mouth and eat what she fed him.
He nearly spat it right back out.
The silver-thread roll was entirely filled with sugar syrup, frighteningly, sickeningly sweet. And Li Yi absolutely hated sweets.
Yet, with a perfectly expressionless face, he ate every last bite.
After rinsing his mouth, Li Yi declared, “I am already full.”
Qi Yue asked with mock concern, “Is Your Majesty feeling unwell? Why have you eaten so little?”
A certain realization dawned on Li Yi.
This little girl was deliberately torturing him, deliberately feeding him such awful food, deliberately playing dirty tricks on him.
All simply because he had cold-shouldered her for two years.
What a petty, grudge-holding little woman!
Taking a handkerchief, Li Yi elegantly wiped his lips. “The Empress has not eaten yet. Hurry and eat while it’s hot, or it will get cold.”
“Alright.” Qi Yue switched to a clean pair of chopsticks.
Her small bowl contained plain white japonica rice, just a flat, ordinary bowlful. Li Yi suddenly realized that even the favored maids serving Noble Consort Yan wouldn’t eat such rice. Noble Consort Yan consumed tribute-field rouge rice, and even the regular palace servants typically ate green japonica rice.
Qi Yue picked up two pieces of greens and ate them slowly and methodically.
Li Yi watched her quietly, feeling that she was much more destitute than two years ago. The entire Zhengyang Palace had also lost much of its extravagant luxury, gaining a quiet desolation instead.
Qi Yue had always loved gold, silver, and vulgar worldly treasures. When the Empress Dowager was still alive, she wished she could drape herself in gold and silver from head to toe, wrapping herself completely in jewels. But now, without the Empress Dowager, she wore only a plain lotus-root-colored palace dress, with but a single, simple jade hairpin in her hair.
Li Yi mused that Qi Yue approaching him now was likely just to secure a comfortable and luxurious life.
What a pity.
If Qi Yue weren’t a daughter of the Qi clan, if she weren’t the Empress, he would have gladly given her a rank of Concubine or higher. With his utter infatuation with her face and body, as long as she didn’t court death, he wouldn’t tire of her for at least the next five years.
Yet, as stunning as she was, she was the Empress that Empress Dowager Qi had forcefully shoved upon him.
Seeming to sense Li Yi’s gaze, Qi Yue lifted her head, her stark black-and-white eyes brimming with innocence. “Your Majesty, what are you looking at?”
A single grain of rice clung to the corner of her lips. Li Yi wiped it away for her. “Nothing. Just thinking that the Empress looks very beautiful.”
“Am I really beautiful?” Her eyes lit up.
Li Yi nodded. “Truly beautiful.”
Qi Yue shyly lowered her eyes, a blush flying across her fair, tender cheeks. “Then… will Your Majesty always like this Concubine?”
Li Yi scraped the tip of her nose. “Hurry up and eat.”
Qi Yue buried her head and shoveled some rice. After a moment, she picked up a slice of bitter melon, ate it, and then said, “Your Majesty, even if you won’t always like this Concubine, that’s okay.”
She blinked her eyes, smiling so very, very sweetly. “As long as this Concubine always likes you, that is enough.”
Li Yi’s heart skipped a beat.
He knew it. From a few years ago, he had known that the way this little girl looked at him was different.
The little girl’s eyes always seemed to hold stars.
Unfortunately, she had been too young back then, and Li Yi had no interest in her childish self. Now she had grown up, and she still liked him.
Even if she wanted wealth and glory more, deep down, she still liked him.
Li Yi’s heart felt inexplicably sweet, but on the surface, he still lectured, “What is this nonsense about liking or not liking? Empress, in front of Me, you must learn to be dignified.”
Qi Yue nodded.
Seeing that she actually dared to nod in agreement, Li Yi immediately added, “I am your only man, your very sky. Naturally, you must always like Me.”
Qi Yue couldn’t hold it back and let out a pfft of laughter.
By the time Li Yi left, it was already the hour of Wei (1-3 PM). When he departed, he was accompanied only by a few close eunuchs. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Xunxue quietly trailed after him.
Li Yi ordered, “Change the Empress’s medicine to once every two days.”
Xunxue gave a soft “Yes.”
For some inexplicable reason, he was a little reluctant to part with this lively, clever little girl. Although she would sometimes say things he didn’t like to hear and annoy him, he still rather liked Qi Yue.
But this liking was too faint; it couldn’t outweigh his grand plans.
He would just let her walk beside him for a little while longer. This, too, could be considered his final bestowal of grace to her.
“Really?” Noble Consort Yan gripped the armrests of her throne viciously, her face instantly turning iron-green. “His Majesty really went to the Empress’s place?”
“Absolutely true. The people this Concubine sent to ask around all said that last night, the Empress intercepted His Majesty on the road and brought him to Zhengyang Palace. However, His Majesty wasn’t at Zhengyang Palace for very long—after barely half a shichen, His Majesty returned to Hanyuan Hall,” Noble Lady Wu reported. “Your Highness, what should we do?”
Noble Consort Yan took a deep breath.
She then let out a sigh of relief. Barely half a shichen—it seemed the Empress hadn’t managed to captivate His Majesty after all.
That made sense. That eccentric, weird little brat—how could His Majesty possibly like her?
Noble Consort Yan’s complexion relaxed slightly, and she let out a scoffing laugh. “This Consort thinks it’s highly likely she just made His Majesty angry again.”
Just then, another palace maid rushed in frantically. After Noble Consort Yan summoned her in, the maid knelt on the ground and cried, “Your Highness, His Majesty just came out of the Empress’s palace!”
“What?” Noble Consort Yan narrowed her eyes. “Why did His Majesty go to the Empress’s place again?”
Noble Consort Yan dismissed everyone else, including Noble Lady Wu. Once everyone was gone, she commanded, “Speak.”
The maid replied, “Yu Miaowan and Geng Han were both assigned to do chores in the courtyard and haven’t had the slightest chance to get close to the Empress, so they don’t know the exact details either. They only know that His Majesty visited the Empress today, and when he came out… he seemed to be in a rather good mood.”
Noble Consort Yan secretly chewed over the words “seemed to be in a rather good mood” several times. She had never, ever seen Li Yi in a good mood. Yet the maids planted in Zhengyang Palace were actually saying Li Yi was in a good mood.
Noble Consort Yan felt a surge of panic.
Her long nails dug into the armrests. After an unknown amount of time, she snatched a cup and hurled it right at the kneeling maid’s head.
“Get out!”
The maid scrambled out on her hands and knees.
After a long while, Noble Consort Yan instructed her personal maid, “Pass a message to His Majesty’s side. Just say that this Consort is feeling unwell and wishes for him to come take a look.”
By evening, Li Yi arrived.
He didn’t actually want to see Noble Consort Yan. In fact, for the entire day, Li Yi’s thoughts had been completely consumed by Qi Yue.
He thought of her sparkling eyes when she smiled, and thought of the infuriating words she deliberately said just to rile him up.
He felt he couldn’t go on like this. So he came to Noble Consort Yan’s place, hoping to use her to forget Qi Yue.
Noble Consort Yan met him dressed to the nines. The table was covered in dishes—sixteen of them, a perfect mix of meat and vegetables, incredibly fragrant, and all tailored exactly to Li Yi’s tastes. Noble Consort Yan picked up a piece of wine-braised duck for Li Yi.
Li Yi immediately thought of the table full of bitter greens he had eaten for lunch today.
Yuhua Palace was opulent and luxurious; even the palace maids dressed more grandly than the masters of other palaces. Li Yi once again remembered how he had torn one of Qi Yue’s gold-threaded dresses. That little girl with no one to rely on must be strapped for cash, unable to find any nice clothes to wear.
Xue Ying knelt on the ground, not daring to lift his head. “This slave congratulates Your Majesty. Your Majesty has regained His Majesty’s favor, and your glory will surely endure for a long time.”
“Is that really something worth congratulating?” Qi Yue sat high and mighty, a smile playing on her lips. “For this Empress to gain His Majesty’s favor, Eunuch Xue’s help was indispensable. Rise.”
Xue Ying stood up. Seeing that Qi Yue’s teacup was empty, he hurriedly brewed a fresh cup and brought it over.
She took a sip. “How should we deal with those two spies Noble Consort Yan planted in this Empress’s palace?”
Xue Ying stood right by Qi Yue’s side. Faintly, he could smell the cool, serene fragrance emanating from her body. For a moment, his mind actually grew a bit hazy.
Qi Yue violently smashed her teacup onto the floor. With a sharp crash, tea splattered everywhere.
Propping her chin on her hand, she smiled brightly. “Eunuch Xue, whatever are you thinking about?”
Xun Ying hurriedly dropped back to his knees.
Author’s Note: Li Yi: However heartless I am right now, that is exactly how deeply affectionate I will be later.
Translator’s Anecdote:
Emperor Li Yi really thought he could use Yan Guifei (Noble Consort Yan) as a distraction, but his brain is basically just a 24/7 Qi Yue fan-cam now!