“But, this Concubine is already used to it,” Qi Yue said. “Could it be that Your Majesty feels Zhengyang Palace cannot compare to the Noble Consort’s Yuhua Palace, and feels uncomfortable staying here? If that is the case, Your Majesty is more than welcome to go to Yuhua Palace.”
“Is the Empress trying to chase Me away?”
Qi Yue harbored a sly smile, looking like a thoroughly cunning little beast. “This Concubine never said such a thing.”
Li Yi yanked her into his arms, flipped her over, and with a crisp smack, landed a slap right on her bottom. “Disobedient! Asking for a beating!”
Qi Yue: “……”
She had no idea that Li Yi actually had a fetish for hitting people. Faced with a young girl as delicate and beautiful as a flower like her, Li Yi actually had the heart to strike.
And he hit her so hard it hurt.
Naturally, Qi Yue also didn’t know about the subtle, secret sense of pleasure blooming in Li Yi’s heart after spanking her.
She gently rubbed her bottom, feeling wronged to death. “So heavy-handed, it hurts to death.”
Li Yi’s hand reached over to rub it for her, but she blocked him. Lowering her head, a strand of ink-black hair slipped down.
“Hiss—”
Li Yi let out a sharp intake of breath. “Empress, you—”
Qi Yue had bitten his wrist until it bled. She lifted her head, looking at him with her misty eyes. “Oh my, this Concubine has injured Your Majesty’s dragon body. This Concubine is guilty.”
Her tone didn’t hold a single ounce of guilt; instead, it carried a hint of gloating schadenfreude, as if she were terrified she hadn’t bitten him hard enough.
Li Yi extended his wrist, now sporting a fresh row of teeth marks, right in front of Qi Yue. “You know what to do.”
She lowered her head and pressed a kiss to it, the tip of her tongue tasting the metallic tang of blood. This man, he was also a mortal. He would bleed, he would hurt, he would die…
Qi Yue kissed his wound with a lingering, melancholic tenderness. Li Yi’s lower half grew painfully hard. He hauled Qi Yue up. “You are simply a goblin sent by the heavens to torment Me.”
A trace of blood still clung to Qi Yue’s lips as she looked at Li Yi with a beaming smile. “Your Majesty, have you ever seen a goblin as well-behaved as this Concubine?”
Li Yi wanted to lean in and kiss her, but Qi Yue rolled over and slipped off the bed. “Stop fooling around here. Your Majesty, you surely have many matters to attend to, right? Hurry back to Hanyuan Hall and handle your state affairs.”
“You want to chase Me away?”
Qi Yue pressed her fingers against his lips, blocking whatever Li Yi was about to say. “Your Majesty, were you about to say that only this Concubine would chase you away? That you are actually incredibly popular, and no matter which palace you visit, the consorts there will joyfully welcome you?”
A hint of playful amusement flickered in Li Yi’s deep, narrow eyes. “You know?”
“Naturally, this Concubine knows.” Qi Yue’s temperament was as fickle as the weather, her moods swinging wildly from good to bad. She completely treated Li Yi like a toy.
One second, she wanted to pull this handsome, noble man close to her side and intimately dote on him, yet the very next second, she would suddenly grow bored and want to toss him far, far away.
Li Yi gave a light chuckle, turned around, and left.
How could he not know what this little girl was thinking? Playing hot and cold, drawing close one moment and pulling away the next, giving him a slap before offering a sweet date—this little girl was deliberately stringing him along.
As Li Yi walked out, he left behind only a single sentence: “Empress, stringing someone along for too long will also make a man lose his interest in exploring.”
Faint light spilled in through the thin window gauze. Standing right by the window, her entire figure was enveloped in a faint halo of light. Long after the man had vanished from her sight, Qi Yue maintained her perfectly proper smile. After a long while, her melodic voice finally echoed in the room: “But, you fall for it every single time. Tonight, you will dream of me.”
Unfortunately, Li Yi could not hear it.
Midnight. Li Yi woke up. He was covered in a layer of sweat.
His lower body felt uncomfortably sticky; who knew how much time had passed, but it was already a patch of icy coolness.
“Tea.” His voice was terribly hoarse. The moment he uttered the word, faint rustling sounds came from outside, and soon, a cup of clear tea was delivered into Li Yi’s hands.
Li Yi had never had a spring dream before. As the ruler of a nation, whatever kind of woman he wanted, the people below would eagerly serve up on a silver platter. Plump or slender, tall or short, round or flat—he could take his pick.
Because he had far too many choices, he had never held much fondness for women. Ever since his youth, he hadn’t harbored much feeling or anticipation toward matters of the bed.
Yet for the past two days, whether he was just dozing off or simply closing his eyes, his mind was utterly consumed by Qi Yue.
Just a moment ago, he had even dreamed of that ungrateful little woman actively fawning over him, deliberately seducing him.
In his dream, this woman’s skin had been so delicate and smooth, as crystalline as snow. Beneath him, this woman who was sometimes sweet and sometimes aloof had, for once, revealed a wildly passionate, unrestrained side.
Li Yi took a sip of the tea. The flavor was far too weak; afraid of disturbing his upcoming sleep, the palace servants hadn’t dared to serve tea that was too strong.
With a sharp crash, he smashed the teacup to the floor, a surge of nameless frustration and fire rising within him.
Outside the bed curtains, the palace maids and eunuchs instantly dropped to their knees in a trembling heap.
Fang Lu was hurriedly summoned over. As Li Yi’s most trusted head eunuch, he knelt and shimmied forward. “Your Majesty, did you have a nightmare?”
Li Yi’s face instantly turned even blacker.
He didn’t want to sleep here. He wanted to sleep in the Empress’s bed.
But he had thrown down such harsh words just that day. If he were to go running back now, wouldn’t he lose entirely too much face?
He had firmly declared he wouldn’t be strung along by the Empress’s petty little schemes. As a man of his word, he absolutely shouldn’t be obsessing over the Empress day and night.
Fang Lu was exceptionally skilled at figuring out the Emperor’s thoughts. The Emperor had always been someone who never showed his joy or anger, yet over these past few days, his mood had swung wildly time and time again, all because of the Empress.
Right now, the Emperor was unhappily smashing things and throwing a fit—there was a ten-out-of-ten chance he had just dreamt of the Empress.
Fang Lu narrowed his eyes. He had been in the palace for a very long time; what kind of beauty had he not seen? Well, he truly had never seen one like the Empress. Over the past two days, seeing the Empress fully blossomed into a young woman for the first time, he had been so stunned by her beauty that he couldn’t even close his mouth.
As a perfectly normal, hot-blooded young man, the Emperor had exceedingly high standards and had spent years looking down on those jealous, bickering consorts in the inner palace. So, suddenly seeing his kingdom-topplingly beautiful Empress and taking an interest was only natural.
Fang Lu whispered softly, “Your Majesty, this slave suddenly remembered something during the day but forgot to tell you. The vassal states paid tribute with some rouge and cosmetics, said to be exceptionally rare treasures. How about we send them to the Empress tomorrow? There is also some top-tier tribute tea from the vassal states…”
Li Yi’s complexion eased slightly. “In the middle of the night, why are you bothering Me with these trivial, inconsequential matters?”
Fang Lu hurriedly smiled and mock-slapped his own mouth. “It is this slave who spoke out of turn.”
Li Yi’s complexion softened even more. “Tomorrow morning, send it all to Zhengyang Palace. Send all the tribute tea; the Empress likes drinking tea. And there’s no need to go over too early.”
Li Yi didn’t go back to sleep. His clothes were sticking uncomfortably to his body, making him feel terrible. He went to wash himself off and changed into clean clothes.
His mood had also improved significantly.
Thinking of Qi Yue again, Li Yi no longer felt quite so irritated.
In any case, it wasn’t as if he was purposely wanting to go to Zhengyang Palace, nor had he fallen for her trap and swallowed her bait. To tell the truth, Qi Yue was just a little woman; her allure to him was only minuscule.
He only had one single reason for going to Zhengyang Palace. The vassal states only paid tribute with a few catties of Imperial Garden Jade Sprout tea a year, and since he was giving it all to the Empress, he wouldn’t have any left to drink.
He was going to Zhengyang Palace, naturally, just to drink tea.
Translator’s Anecdote:
Emperor Li Yi: “I am a strong, independent Emperor of my word who will not fall for her traps!”