Chapter 69: Chapter 069: New Love
Xuanrao had thought that the Emperor was cold-blooded and unfeeling, incapable of true affection.
Unexpectedly, there ca a day when she witnessed the sincerity of the Emperor’s feelings.
It turned out that the Emperor was just like any ordinary man.
When he fell in love with soone, he too would worry and fret, becoming anxious and uneasy the mont he could no longer see them.
“Well, I’m leaving now. Xuanrao, good night.”
“Alright. Good night.”
...
Xuanrao ca back to her senses and saw Sang Yan out of the palace.
She watched her figure walk away from afar, feeling a mix of envy and lancholy, and also hoping that she would truly have a good outco with the Emperor, living peacefully and joyfully for the rest of her life.
“Lady, why do you think the Emperor, who is so fond of Lord Sang, doesn’t make her his consort?”
Yun Qiao followed by her side, munching on French fries, voicing the puzzle she had harbored for so long: “Could it be that the Emperor really fears her husband-killing fate? That he doesn’t want to be with her for the long haul?”
Xuanrao frowned upon hearing this: “Why would you say that?”
Yun Qiao explained, “People are whispering it all over the palace. They say Lord Sang is beautiful enough to charm n, but won’t achieve lasting favor.”
“That’s their foolishness.”
Xuanrao turned and walked back into the hall, saying as she walked: “In this Imperial Palace, titles and ranks are nothing but vanity; only the Emperor’s love is real. Look at the Empress, even with the title of Empress, what of it? She spends her days cooped up in Qifeng Palace like an ornant, neglected by all. She is only managing to live like a human being because the Empress Dowager is still around. Once the Empress Dowager is gone, she might not be as fortunate as I am. And Lan, how long did she enjoy being a Noble Consort? Rise or fall, it’s all at the Emperor’s whim.”
Having said that, she laughed lightly with a sense of relief: “Anyway, why bother talking about this? It has nothing to do with us. We… should be leaving this cage soon.”
Yun Qiao was taken aback: “Leaving this cage?”
Xuanrao nodded, looking at her with eyes sparkling like twinkling stars: “Yes, leaving. We will leave this Imperial Palace and start a new life.”
*
Sang Yan returned to the side hall of Qingning Palace.
The hall was very quiet.
The palace maids and eunuchs knelt, their bodies trembling.
Pei Muyang, too, had a solemn face as he quietly waited.
No one dared to speak.
Until she appeared.
Only then did Pei Muyang breathe a sigh of relief, smiling as he ca forward: “My lord, you’ve finally returned. Please talk so sense into the Emperor. Tell , why should he be angry with a re official? If he’s unhappy, he can execute or demote them – there are plenty of ways to vent his anger, why tornt himself?”
Sang Yan, unaware of the situation, asked with a frown: “What happened?”
Pei Muyang explained: “It’s those regional officials; they actually wrote in their petition—”
“Pei Muyang, get out!”
He Ying barked sharply.
Pei Muyang clamd up, smiled bitterly, and left the hall.
Before he left, he called all the palace maids and eunuchs away.
The hall grew quiet once more.
Sang Yan walked up to him and saw the stacks of petitions, teasingly asking: “What’s with the petitions?”
“It’s nothing.”
He Ying picked up a petition and continued reading, as if he had forgotten why he was reviewing them in the first place.
Sang Yan knew that his reading of the petitions was just for show; she could tell from his sullen and gloomy expression that he was clearly waiting for her to coax him.
That made sense; she had only just returned now, and he had sent people to urge her and even brought the petitions here to read, no doubt having waited for her for a long ti.
Just like her clingy cat.
“ow—”
Thinking of the cat, the feline jumped off He Ying’s lap and pounced onto her.
Ah, it seed he might have indeed picked up the cat’s clingy trait.
Sang Yan petted the cat and feigned a sigh: “Sigh, before I wasn’t interested in reading the petitions, and the Emperor kept showing them to . Now that I want to see them, the Emperor doesn’t want to show them to . Indeed, the heart of a monarch is unfathomable; love and indifference hinge on a single thought—”
Before she could finish, the petition was placed in front of her.
“If you keep talking like this, I will end up being labeled as a harsh and ungrateful traitor.”
He Ying looked at her helplessly, his tone tinged with a hint of reproach: “It was clearly you who found soone new, pushing aside.”
Sang Yan laughed: “What do you an by finding soone new? The Emperor is using the wrong idiom.”
Her relationship with Xuanrao was at most a friendship between close female friends; the term ‘finding soone new’ was far too ambiguous.
Although she wanted to live as a man, her sexual orientation remained quite normal.
He Ying was unaware of her thoughts, and irritability spread again, “I haven’t misused my ti, I know what’s in my heart. You care more about that Xuan Family than about . What’s so good about her? Worth your lingering thoughts?”
“What lingering thoughts do I have?”
Sang Yan retorted, “Today, at most, I only spent two hours there. The rest of the ti, I was in the side hall, alright? The Emperor is busy with official duties every day, scarcely seen. If I have nothing else to do, can’t I find a companion to pass the ti? Life in the palace is already lonely, if I don’t learn how to amuse myself, sooner or later I’ll beco depressed. The Emperor doesn’t want to die young, right?”
“Don’t talk about such inauspicious things.”
He Ying couldn’t bear to hear her speak of death and related words.
Sang Yan muttered softly, “The Emperor brought it up first.”
He Ying sighed, “I can’t win against you.”
“Then let’s not talk about it.”
Sang Yan reached out to take the petition, her eyes full of interest as she said, “Let’s see what’s written in this petition that made the Emperor so angry.”
A mont later,
She couldn’t help but cover her mouth and laugh, “Hahaha, this official really is—”
A tiger!
He was actually urging the birth of an heir in the petition.
He even said that the Emperor’s indulgence in feminine pleasures was not fatal, that he should not dawdle, just close his eyes and go in, a shiver, and an heir would be born.
This is like saying in modern tis that a man can finish in a second.
No wonder the Emperor got so angry.
The key point was that at the end, so tonics for virility were ntioned.
Obviously, they were more worried about the Emperor being impotent than sick.
“Hahaha, he’s a talent indeed!”
“Stop laughing!”
He Ying’s face darkened with anger, and he threatened, “If you keep laughing, I’ll favor you and have you bear an heir for .”
Sang Yan: “…”
Scared.
Scared.
She imdiately suppressed her laughter.
“Cough, cough, cough—”
She cleared her throat and said seriously, “Your Majesty, from another angle, they are also worried about the future of Da He. They are loyal and patriotic people; the Emperor should feel consoled, not angry.”
These words were just pleasant to hear.
He Ying looked at her with a smile and directly countered, “Their urging for an heir is out of loyalty and patriotism, so what about you? Aren’t you the most kind and selfless? Are you willing to give birth to an heir for and fulfill your duty of loyalty and patriotism?”
Sang Yan: “…”
Numb.
Got complacent.
Dug her own grave.
“Emperor, I’m tired and going to wash up for bed.”
She found an excuse, tossed the petition into his lap, and ran off.
He Ying watched her fleeing figure, unable to help but smile, “Clever in small things, muddled in big ones.”
He put the petition back on the desk and picked up a new one, continuing to read.
After Sang Yan finished washing up and saw he had not left, she hinted at him to leave, “Your Majesty, it’s late; you should rest early. Your health is important.”
“You go to sleep. I’ll watch for a little while longer; I still have so to finish.”
He made it clear he didn’t want to leave.
Sang Yan, not wanting to say more, went to bed.
With the Emperor beside her, she couldn’t fall asleep after all.
She tossed and turned for a while before she finally spoke up, “Emperor, I really don’t want to have children.”
In ancient tis, dical conditions were backward; childbirth was like passing through the Ghost Gate, too terrifying.
He Ying, not realizing she was afraid of childbirth, said, “I will make you want to.”
He believed she just wasn’t in love with him enough.
When she loved him enough, she would naturally want to have children for him.
Sang Yan, hearing his response and feeling misunderstood, added, “But what if I can’t have children?”
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