Yu Jiuqing’s bedchamber was very large.
The adjoining outer room was also quite spacious and contained a wide daybed for napping.
Shen Qing nonchalantly sat down on the daybed and looked at Chen Li, who was staring at her with a look of stunned displeasure.
“I’m going to rest,” she said irritably.
“Where are the blanket and pillow?”
Chen Li was speechless.
Though he was deeply displeased with this woman, given his Lord’s earlier attitude, he could only acquiesce for now.
‘I’ll have to wait until the Lord is clear-headed again before I can deal with her.’
‘Until then, I can only watch her closely and make sure she doesn’t harm the Lord.’
He pulled a spare blanket and pillow from a nearby cabinet, tossed them onto the daybed, and threatened in a low voice, “You’d better watch yourself.
If you do anything to harm the Lord, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
‘Oh?
We haven’t seen each other in ten years, and Chen Li’s aura has gotten quite sharp.’
Shen Qing gave him a faint, unreadable smile but said nothing.
She slipped off her shoes, got onto the daybed, and pulled the blanket over herself.
“I’m going to rest now.
Chief Chen, would you please put out the light?”
Chen Li was speechless.
He took several deep breaths before finally suppressing the frustration rising in his throat.
‘Let’s see how long she can keep up this arrogance!’
In the end, he could only shoot her a fierce glare.
After checking with Yu Jiuqing, he extinguished the lights in the outer room, leaving only a single dim oil lamp by the windowsill, and departed, his heart heavy with worry.
Although Shen Qing had said she was going to rest, she couldn’t fall asleep immediately under the circumstances.
She turned over on the daybed, gazing at the bright moonlight through a nearby window.
‘Has Yu Jiuqing recognized me?’
‘If he has, why hasn’t he exposed me?’
‘Could he be sulking?’
‘That guy…
I haven’t even started sulking at him, and he has the nerve to sulk at me?’
‘And what was that assassination attempt today all about?’
She knew that Yu Jiuqing’s position had never been particularly secure.
It was a classic case of a subject’s achievements overshadowing his lord.
Ten years ago, she and Yu Jiuqing had almost single-handedly quelled Da Qi’s internal and external troubles.
Although the Sima clan still ruled Da Qi in name, even a three-year-old commoner knew that the true power in the land lay with Da Qi’s Prime Minister and the Prime Minister’s wife.
In the eyes of others, they were likely seen as a treacherous couple throwing the court into chaos, even though they were the ones who had saved Da Qi.
To the ministers loyal to the Daqi Royal Family and most of the royal family themselves, she and Yu Jiuqing were a major eyesore.
Ten years ago, just as the situation in Da Qi had stabilized, countless people targeted them, both openly and secretly, with innumerable enemies wanting them eliminated.
But…
ten years had passed.
Although she didn’t know the specifics, according to Guo Chengfeng, Yu Jiuqing seemed to have consolidated his position quite well.
He no longer needed to act as discreetly as he had ten years ago, so things should be much better now.
‘I still need to find a way to figure out the current situation with Yu Jiuqing and the Prime Minister’s Mansion as soon as possible…’
It had been an exhausting day, and Shen Qing’s current body wasn’t in good health.
As she mulled things over, she drifted off to sleep without realizing it.
An unknown amount of time passed before the soft sound of footsteps suddenly broke the silence in the dark, quiet room. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Yu Jiuqing, with an outer robe casually draped over his shoulders and his black hair unbound, slowly walked to the daybed in the outer room.
He lowered his gaze to the sleeping woman, and as he watched her, the ever-lucid and calm Prime Minister Yu’s eyes hazed over for a moment.
‘Even…
even the way she looks when she sleeps is so similar.’
He knelt on one knee unconsciously and raised his hand.
But just as he was about to touch the woman before him, he froze.
After a long moment, he finally spoke in a low, hoarse voice, “Are you her or not?
If you are, why won’t you reveal yourself to me?”
He had held onto this hope so many times over the past ten years, only to be battered and bruised by reality each time.
He was truly starting to feel afraid.
But what he feared more was that this was all just another all-too-real dream he had woven for himself.
Shen Qing felt she hadn’t had such a sweet sleep in a long time.
Not only was it dreamless, but she slept so deeply her bones felt soft.
Even so, thanks to a powerful internal clock, she still woke up at the crack of dawn.
She sat up in a daze, momentarily unable to tell where she was or what day it was.
While she was still groggy, the curtain to the inner room was lifted.
A man in white with a cold demeanor walked out slowly.
When he saw the woman sitting on the daybed—her slightly messy, waist-length black hair unbound, her dewy, almond-shaped eyes half-closed—his brow furrowed sharply.
“Get up and tidy yourself,” he said, his tone unpleasant.
“What a disgraceful sight.”
Shen Qing was speechless.
‘It was such a beautiful morning.
Why did I have to see this damn man first thing after waking up?’
‘Even if this damn man is a feast for the eyes, it can’t hide his rotten nature!’
Shen Qing gave a cold chuckle.
She ran her fingers through her waterfall of long hair like a comb, then got off the bed and slipped on her shoes.
With an air of languid indifference, she said, “If my appearance displeases you, Lord, then simply don’t look.
Besides, who’s to blame for my current state?
This servant would love to get dressed and do her makeup, but does the Lord have what I need here?
It would be better to let this servant le—”
Yu Jiuqing’s gaze darkened instantly.
He snapped, “Chen Li!
Have someone bring in her things!”
Shen Qing paused, stunned.
The next moment, a soft knock came from the room’s main door, followed by a timid female voice.
“L-Lord…
This servant is coming in…”
‘It was Zhu Yuan’s voice!’
After speaking, Zhu Yuan cautiously pushed the door open.
Her eyes lit up when she saw Shen Qing in the room.
But when she caught sight of Yu Jiuqing standing off to the side, as cold as a block of ice, she jumped in fright and quickly lowered her head.
“Shen…
Shen Qing, I brought your clothes and toiletries.
I also brought you a basin of warm water and things to wash up with.
See if there’s anything else you need.”
Shen Qing was speechless.
‘When on earth did he summon Zhu Yuan?’
She glanced at the items Zhu Yuan had brought, picked up a towel, and soaked it in the warm water.
“This is enough.
You were kneeling all night, weren’t you?
Are your knees okay?”
‘How could they possibly be okay!’
‘It’s all that wretched Mu Shuangshuang’s fault!
At the beginning, when Steward Su and the others were drawn away by the fire, we could have snuck back into our rooms to put on more clothes or put something under our knees to lessen the pain of the punishment.
Who knew Mu Shuangshuang would discover us!’
‘After that, Mu Shuangshuang brought back Sister Qiu Yun, who was in charge of watching us.
We had no chance to prepare and ended up kneeling in the cold wind all night long!’
‘After finally finishing the punishment, I just wanted to go back to my room and rest.
But then Chief Chen suddenly showed up with a terrifyingly grim face and told me to pack some clothes and jewelry for Shen Qing.’
‘Even though I was worried about Shen Qing and wanted to use this chance to see what had happened to her, it couldn’t change the fact that I’m cold, sleepy, and my knees are numb and aching.’
Seeing the pained expression on Zhu Yuan’s face, Shen Qing understood immediately.
“I don’t need anything else here.
Hurry back and get some rest,” she said at once.
Zhu Yuan timidly glanced at the silent Yu Jiuqing.
“But…”
‘The Lord hasn’t given me permission to leave.
How could I dare go?’
“That’s enough.
I said you can go, so go.”
Shen Qing gave her an exasperated look and, without another word, began pushing her toward the door.
Zhu Yuan was so shocked she felt her heart was about to leap out of her chest.
She quickly shot a panicked glance at Yu Jiuqing.
That one glance, however, left her dumbfounded.
She saw their Lord still standing there, expressionless.
His phoenix eyes were watching them, but he showed no trace of anger or displeasure at Shen Qing’s blatant disregard for his authority.
It was as if it were perfectly normal for Shen Qing to act on her own accord, ignoring her master’s presence.
In that brief moment of stupefaction, she was pushed out of the room.
To prevent the stubborn girl from trying to come back and serve her, Shen Qing slammed the door shut with a SLAM and said, “Now go back and rest immediately.
Don’t listen to the words of a man who doesn’t know how to care for his subordinates.”
Zhu Yuan: !!!
‘Shen Qing…
What is Shen Qing saying?!
Isn’t she openly insulting the Lord?!’
‘She’s got some serious nerve!’
She couldn’t help but turn her head to look cautiously and searchingly at Chen Li, who stood nearby.
Chen Li remained expressionless, desperately suppressing the suffocating feeling of having swallowed a nest of flies.
‘Don’t look at me!
I don’t know anything!’
‘This might be the master’s old ailment, but this time it’s gotten way too serious!’
‘This is completely beyond my ability to handle!’