Xue Ying had no idea that Noble Consort Yan would actually dare to say such filthy words to the Empress.
Xue Ying was but a mere eunuch; he had never dared to harbor any improper thoughts toward Qi Yue. He had self-awareness, knowing full well he was nothing but a slave. He didn’t do what shouldn’t be done, and didn’t think what shouldn’t be thought.
The Empress was a radiant phoenix soaring above the nine heavens, while he, Xue Ying, was merely a lowly reptile crawling on the ground. How could a reptile ever hope to touch a phoenix?
Aunt Yun continued, “Her Highness is currently unwell; her spirit is willing but her flesh is weak. Eunuch Xue, to avoid stirring up any further trouble, you should visit Zhengyang Palace less frequently during this time.”
Xue Ying nodded. “I know.”
The high-ranking eunuchs in this palace all loved to pinch their throats and haughtily refer to themselves as “This Eunuch” or “Zajia,” but Xue Ying never did.
He possessed the normal voice of a man—low, mellow, and gentle—along with a handsome face that could easily bewitch the hearts of young girls. Aside from being a eunuch, in all other aspects, he was no less than any ordinary man.
Many young, delicate eunuchs and passionate, pretty maids constantly tried to entangle themselves with Xue Ying. As the head of the Internal Affairs Bureau, holding great power and noble status, those who sought his protection were more than willing to be played with by a eunuch like him.
Yet, no matter how many stunningly beautiful maids and eunuchs there were in the palace, none could ever catch Xue Ying’s eye; he only found these people filthy.
Originally, romantic love had simply never existed in Xue Ying’s heart.
Xue Ying gazed distantly at a certain window—the window Qi Yue often stood beside. In that room, warm as spring, Xue Ying thought to himself that the noble, aloof young girl must currently be falling asleep in pain.
A few maids walked past in the courtyard, whispering quietly among themselves. “I heard His Majesty really loves the fragrance on Her Highness’s body.”
“Of course! The incense our Empress makes is absolutely unique in this world. What man wouldn’t be seduced?”
“Hehe, if you stole some of Her Highness’s incense and put it on, I guarantee you’d seduce His Majesty and soar straight to the heavens!”
“Stop speaking nonsense! If Aunt Jing hears you, do you still want to keep your life?”
“……”
Normally, such words would never reach Xue Ying’s ears, but his hearing and sight were exceptionally sharp, making it extremely easy for him to catch.
Wearing only a blue-grey brocade robe lined with a thin layer of cotton, Xue Ying stood in the freezing wind for nearly an hour. An hour later, a message came from inside, saying the Empress had no energy to see anyone and asking him to step down.
A faint, cold fragrance lingered in the bedchamber. Xunxue carried in a silver basin filled with warm water. After washing her hands and wiping her face, Qi Yue sat down in front of the vanity mirror.
Xunxue said, “Your Highness, your body is so unwell, why force yourself to get up? You should just stay lying in bed.”
“Looking completely disheveled and unkempt—what kind of appearance is that?” Qi Yue was feeling slightly better. She picked up a comb to smooth her soft, long hair. “If His Majesty sees me like that, he might not say anything on the surface, but in his heart, he would definitely despise me.”
Xunxue grabbed Qi Yue’s hand and took the sandalwood comb from her. “You care far too much about your image. To tell the truth, this servant feels that even if you don’t comb your hair or change your clothes, you’d just look like a languid, delicate beauty who just woke up. You would still be incredibly beautiful.”
Surprisingly, Qi Yue smiled. Looking into the mirror, a rare trace of warmth actually surfaced in her clear eyes. “Silly girl. If you slack off even for a moment, your whole life is ruined.”
Xunxue muttered in her heart that the Empress was clearly younger than her, yet still called her a ‘silly girl’. However, she truly loved being addressed this way by the Empress.
Xunxue watched as Qi Yue lightly swept dark powder over her distant-mountain brows, dusted rouge across her cheeks, and dabbed her lips with squeezed rose juice, making them look ever more red and plump. With this, the young girl in the mirror finally gained some color, no longer looking as deathly pale as someone who lived year-round on a glacier.
Later that evening, Li Yi indeed came over again. He brought his unread memorials with him and firmly insisted that Qi Yue stay by his side to serve him.
Faced with this grand master who was the ruler of the nation, no matter how deeply impatient Qi Yue was or how desperately she just wanted to lie down in bed, she had no choice but to obediently stand up, grinding ink, pouring tea, and handling trivial matters by his side.
Li Yi held his brush in one hand. By the time he finished processing the memorials, it was already late into the night. Looking up, he noticed the exhaustion on the standing Empress’s face and couldn’t help but say, “You’ve only been standing for a little while, and you are already this tired? If I handed other matters over to you, I’m afraid you would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.”
Qi Yue’s head was throbbing so hard it felt like it was going to split open. Her heart pounded violently, and her entire body ached. Unable to hold herself up any longer, she lost her balance, swaying forward and collapsing right into Li Yi’s arms.
The freshly ground ink in the inkstone tipped over, completely soaking the memorials and everything else on the desk.
Li Yi caught Qi Yue by the waist, letting her lean against his body. “I only said one sentence to you, and you throw a tantrum? So many memorials have been ruined by ink—how am I supposed to explain this to the ministers tomorrow?”
His husky, magnetic voice rang right by Qi Yue’s ear. “I know your personality is awful and your temper is bad, but to think you would actually be this bold.”
Qi Yue kept a cold face, pressing one hand to her forehead.
She genuinely had no intention of throwing a tantrum or ruining Li Yi’s work, and she certainly had no desire to throw herself into his arms at a time like this.
Qi Yue only felt incredibly terrible all over. She just wanted to kick this stinky man away so she could go rest alone in her warm, comfortable bed.
“This Concubine has a headache,” Qi Yue said, half-truthfully. “Your Majesty, please just let this Concubine go.”
“A headache?” Li Yi stared closely at Qi Yue’s face. Qi Yue had put on makeup; the corners of her eyes, her cheeks, and her lips were a faint, healthy pink. She looked perfectly radiant, not showing the slightest trace of illness.
He lightly pinched her waist. “Being with Me actually gives the Empress a headache. Tell Me, what crime should you be charged with?”
Nestled in Li Yi’s arms, Qi Yue suddenly laughed. Her lips parted slightly. “Then Your Majesty should kiss this Concubine. As long as you give me a kiss, this Concubine won’t hurt anymore.”
Li Yi leaned down, fully intending to press his lips against hers.
Qi Yue turned her head away, flashing a sly, cunning smile. “Too late. I don’t need it anymore.”
Li Yi: “……”
Enduring the pain of her illness, Qi Yue stood up and said, “Just let the servants clean up this mess on the table. Your Majesty, seeing that it is getting late and this Concubine is sleepy to death, why don’t you let this Concubine go back to rest?”
“The moment you see Me, you want to escape. Do you really dislike Me that much?” Li Yi’s face darkened a few degrees. “Or are you deliberately playing hard to get?”
Qi Yue laughed. “Playing hard to get? Exactly where do you see this Concubine trying to ‘get’ you? It was Your Majesty who insisted on coming to Zhengyang Palace tonight, and Your Majesty who insisted this Concubine accompany you. Now that this Concubine is tired and wants to go rest, it has somehow become a crime to be accused by you?”
Li Yi’s complexion grew even uglier.
Logically speaking, Qi Yue wasn’t wrong.
It was him who didn’t want her to leave. Seeing the Empress trying to slip away, he just absolutely had to find a pretty excuse to console his own ego.
Right at that moment, Fang Lu suddenly rushed in in a panic. “Your Majesty, terrible news! Noble Consort Yan slipped and fell in the courtyard, and broke her leg!”
Li Yi stood up. “Everything was perfectly fine, how could she just slip and break her leg?”
Fang Lu replied, “This servant doesn’t know the exact details. Perhaps it was because the sky was dark and the road was slippery.”
Li Yi announced, “Prepare the palanquin for Yuhua Palace. I am heading over right now.”
Saying this, he deliberately cast a pointed glance at Qi Yue.
Qi Yue’s body was overwhelmingly exhausted. Seeing that Li Yi was about to leave, she didn’t even have the energy to ponder what exactly had happened over at Yuhua Palace. She merely said, “Your Majesty should hurry and go. If you are late, the Noble Consort might get angry.”
Li Yi: “???”
Chasing him away?
This was completely different from what he had imagined!
Li Yi had fully expected that upon hearing he was going to Yuhua Palace, this little girl would cry and beg him not to leave, and then repeatedly promise to be obedient from now on. But the result was… she was telling him to hurry up and get out?!
Seeing the Emperor craning his neck to stare stubbornly at the Empress, Fang Lu was at a total loss for what to do. He whispered, “Your Majesty?”
Li Yi abruptly sat right back down. “I am not an imperial physician! Even if I go, I cannot cure her pain. Just send an imperial physician over to take a look and be done with it.”
Fang Lu hurriedly scrambled out.
Qi Yue’s fingertips were ice-cold. She stood frozen in place for a second, and then, completely without warning, she collapsed straight to the floor again.
This time when she collapsed, Qi Yue did not wake up.
Li Yi caught her in one swift motion, instantly realizing something was terribly wrong. “Empress?! Empress?! Fang Lu, hurry and summon the imperial physician!”
Aunt Yun and Fang Lu rushed over. Aunt Yun stepped forward, attempting to take the Empress from Li Yi’s arms, but Li Yi barked coldly, “Hurry and summon the physician!”
Aunt Yun immediately shouted outward, “A-Jing, have someone fetch Imperial Physician Zhou, hurry!”
After passing the message, Aunt Yun said, “Your Majesty, holding her like this is quite heavy. Why don’t you lay Her Highness down inside?”
Holding Qi Yue securely, Li Yi strode toward the inner chamber. “The Empress’s hands are like ice, her breath is as frail as a thread, and she is terrifyingly weak! You bunch of slaves—how exactly have you been taking care of her on normal days?!”
Aunt Yun fell to her knees. “It is all this servant’s fault.”
Li Yi carried Qi Yue into the inner room.
He knew full well that Qi Yue had been consuming a slow-acting poison every single day, and that within half a year, she would lose her life.
Yet right now, seeing this person truly collapse right in front of him, he actually felt… reluctant to part with her.
There was an indescribable, sharp pain piercing the tip of his heart.
Xunxue came in carrying some pastries. “Your Majesty, the night is deep. Please eat something to pad your stomach.”
Li Yi had absolutely no appetite. He grasped Qi Yue’s soft, utterly limp right hand and brought it to his lips, gently kissing it.
Xunxue had been squinting to sneak a peek. Seeing Li Yi’s lips touch the Empress’s fingertips, her emotions were incredibly complicated. Xunxue knew the Empress’s adorable side, and she knew the Empress’s kindness. Ever since entering Zhengyang Palace, her entire heart had fallen onto the Empress.
Originally, Xunxue had been trained by Li Yi’s own subordinates. From the mouths of others, she had a deep understanding of just how unfeeling and fickle this Emperor was.
Xunxue knew that if she spoke up about the Empress’s pitiful state in front of Li Yi, it would only breed suspicion in Li Yi’s heart.
Li Yi commanded in a low voice, “Stop those medicines for now. In a few days, I will have someone transfer you away.”
Xunxue was slightly startled. She gave a soft “Yes,” and withdrew from the room.
Yuhua Palace.
Noble Consort Yan was so furious she aggressively smashed a vase. “What?! This Consort is injured to this extent, and His Majesty still isn’t coming over?! If the other palaces find out about this, where will this Consort put her face?! Seal the news! No one is allowed to chew their tongues about this!”
Her breaking her leg today was originally just an accident. In the past, she had walked up the stone steps from the west side of the Imperial Garden toward Yuhua Palace countless times without ever falling. Yet today, her foot had slipped, resulting in such a disastrous fall. If Lu Lu hadn’t supported her steadily, she wouldn’t have just broken her leg—half her face would have been smashed against the stone steps!
Noble Consort Yan forced herself to calm down for a moment. “Xiang Qing, go back to the place where this Consort fell and inspect it carefully. See if there is anything suspicious around.”
Author’s Note: When the Emperor made the decision to assassinate the Empress to empty the Empress’s seat, he wasn’t familiar with her yet. Admitting that he has fallen in love with a woman he once despised is a bit difficult. Anyway, the Emperor is gritting his teeth and temporarily refusing to admit it. →_→ The Emperor currently feels quite good about himself. He should be living quite comfortably right now.
Translator’s Anecdote:
EXCUSE ME?! The Emperor was the one secretly poisoning her this whole time?! And XUNXUE was his planted assassin?! No wonder Qi Yue’s “headaches and heart ailments” were getting worse! Li Yi was literally trying to murder his wife, accidentally fell head over heels in love with her instead, and is now frantically trying to cancel the assassination plot before she actually dies. Also, Li Yi’s attempt to make Qi Yue jealous by threatening to visit Yan Guifei backfired so spectacularly. “I’m going to see my other wife!” “Okay, bye, don’t be late!” “WELL NOW I’M NOT GOING.” This man is a walking disaster and I love it.