The curtain hung low, letting in weak light, making it impossible to tell what ti it was.
Tang Xiaobai stared at the top of the curtain, zoning out for a while before gradually coming to her senses.
Instinctively, she reached out to touch the side of the bed, only to find that even her fingers were hard to move, as if exhausted from overexertion.
What sort of strenuous activity did she do with her fingers last night?
Tang Xiaobai thought back, but accidentally recalled too much.
Sculpted abs... a narrow waist...
Taut back muscles that revealed gorgeous lines, hard enough that they couldn’t be pinched—
Suddenly, she understood why her fingers were exhausted...
After a while longer, Tang Xiaobai sat up slowly, pulled the quilt over herself, and then called out.
Her throat seed to be overused as well; her voice was hoarse, making Tang Xiaobai blush once more.
The maid opened the door and entered, arriving behind the screen, only to freeze.
Gold and jade adornnts scattered all over the floor, and there were quite a few torn clothing pieces, unclear from whose body they were ripped.
On the dragon bed, the Empress wrapped herself tightly in the quilt, only exposing her head.
Her raven-black hair was tousled, her eyes red, and fatigue still lingered between her brows, looking as if she had been thoroughly bullied.
Was His Majesty the Emperor that fierce?
As they delivered new clothes, the maids were both amazed and a little frightened.
Tang Xiaobai cleared her throat and casually asked, "What ti is it?"
"Almost evening!"
It’s evening already... Did she sleep for that long?
"When did His Majesty get up?" Tang Xiaobai asked again.
"He got up soti after the third quarter of the hour in the morning and even ca back at noon."
Tang Xiaobai felt envious.
How could he get up so early?
"Empress," Tao Zi suddenly leaned in and whispered mysteriously, "It seems His Majesty summoned the Imperial Physician and prescribed a decoction, currently brewing in the back hall. Not sure who it’s for."
Though she said she didn’t know who it was for, her sly look clearly suggested it was prepared for Tang Xiaobai.
A decoction?
Is she that unwell? Surely she’s not weak enough to need dicine, right?
Tang Xiaobai puzzled over it for a while, still baffled, when she asked, "Where is His Majesty?"
Just after asking, there was commotion outside the hall: "Greetings to His Majesty!"
Li Mu had arrived.
Tang Xiaobai turned her head to look outside, the screen casting the all-too-familiar silhouette, elegantly tall, akin to pine or bamboo, carrying a clean coolness sowhere between a youth and a young adult.
But in Tang Xiaobai’s eyes, that cool restraint vanished in an instant, her mind flooded with his fierceness from last night...
Li Mu rounded the screen, yet the person expected was not to be seen.
On the bed, the quilt had ford a small trembling bundle—both adorable and hilarious.
He dismissed the attendants, took the garnts from the maid, and sat at the bedside, smiling as he reached for the quilt.
As soon as his hand touched the quilt, she yanked it back roughly.
"Don’t move!" ca a muffled, fierce voice from within the quilt.
Li Mu set down the clothes, enveloping her, quilt and all, in his arms, and asked close to the quilt, "Why is Ah Jiao hiding from ?"
Struggling within, she retorted, "Who’s hiding from you?! Let go! I’m suffocating!"
Li Mu let go of a corner with a chuckle.
Clearly stifled, she imdiately popped her head out from that corner.
Her face flushing, topped with disheveled, fluffy hair.
Seeing this, Li Mu found her utterly adorable.
Her expressive almond eyes glistening, she cast a faux-pouty glare at him, "What is His Majesty here for?"
Li Mu suddenly felt his heart flutter, pulling her into his embrace, leaning in with a threat, "Call brother!"
Tang Xiaobai blushed deeply, "No way!"
Hadn’t she called him enough last night?
The Emperor pressed closer, pinning her beneath him, hand venturing into the quilt, softer now as he said, "Calling husband works too."
Tang Xiaobai couldn’t help but gasp softly, cheeks reddening further, "Brother, spare ..."
The girl’s voice was so tender it was almost dripping, how could anyone resist?
Li Mu ceased replying, capturing her resistant hands, enveloping her once more.
Tang Xiaobai struggled, kicking him twice, half annoyed, half pleading, "I’m so hungry..."
She hadn’t eaten all day!
Li Mu rembered this as well, freezing in his movents.
He paused for a long mont before slowly lifting his head from her.
After that tussle, his hair had beco a bit tousled too, eyes dark and moist, utterly unsatisfied, seemingly even hungrier than her.
Quickly, Tang Xiaobai snatched the garnts tossed aside and was about to hide under the quilt to dress, but he grabbed them away.
Averting their earlier intensity, His Majesty calmly dressed her, ticulously tying her sash before calling the maids to serve them in washing up.
...
Tang Xiaobai was genuinely hungry, eating with utmost concentration.
Focused to the point where she was nearly full before noticing sothing amiss.
She stopped her chopsticks and glanced up at the person opposite her.
Li Mu sat across from her, dinner also laid out in front of him, but Tang Xiaobai guessed he hardly touched it, only quietly staring at her.
His gaze was profound, like a beast lurking in the night forest.
Perhaps it was because Tang Xiaobai threw him this glance that he finally looked away, leisurely picked up his chopsticks, and put a piece of stuffed fish into his mouth.
Then he looked up at her again.
Tang Xiaobai: ...
I suspect he’s not interested in the fish but rather in .
Being stared at like this, how could Tang Xiaobai possibly eat?
Clearing her throat, she found a random topic: "Did you have soone brew dicine in the rear hall?"
As soon as she said this, Li Mu’s expression visibly changed.
His chopsticks froze in midair, and his eyes were filled with unease.
Tang Xiaobai imdiately beca curious, her gaze intense: "Is that dicine for yourself?"
That’s what she thought!
Despite being young, one cannot indulge excessively!
Why else would she only recover a bit of energy by sleeping until the evening, while he seed perfectly fine?
That’s just not scientific!
So, is he exhausted?
"What did the Imperial Physician say? Must you take dicine? Dietary supplents can also help, but most importantly, don’t show off—" Tang Xiaobai spoke seriously, but stopped abruptly when t with Li Mu’s displeased frown.
"I’m showing off?" Li Mu coldly asked.
"Ah... no!" Given a man’s pride, Tang Xiaobai hurriedly corrected herself, "I an, dicine is three parts poison..." At this point, Li Mu’s eyes wavered again.
Tang Xiaobai sensed sothing was off and closed her mouth, waiting for him to explain.
"It’s... Birth Control Soup..."
Tang Xiaobai was montarily stunned.
A surge of anger was about to burst, but his dejected look softened it sowhat, and she rely let out a cold laugh: "What do you an by that?"
Li Mu, knowing he was at fault, lowered his head and said quietly: "Won giving birth is a gamble with life and death, I can do without offspring..."
Tang Xiaobai was stunned again.
"You don’t have to worry about those court officials. They can’t pressure , and later on, we can adopt Li Xingyuan’s son to inherit the throne."
Tang Xiaobai laughed: "My sister and her husband haven’t even seen their son, and you’re already thinking about it!"
She hadn’t expected he’d thought it through so thoroughly.
Seeing her laugh, Li Mu felt relieved and continued to justify himself: "I simply had the dicine brewed just in case, I hadn’t decided to use it... You’re right, dicine is three parts poison, we shouldn’t—"
"Li Mu," Tang Xiaobai interrupted, waving him over, "Co here!"
His Majesty the Emperor imdiately stood up and quickly walked to her side, sitting down, tilting his face slightly, and gazing at her attentively, waiting for her to speak.
So obedient it was endearing.
Tang Xiaobai’s heart softened imnsely, and she knelt upright, cupping his face and eting his gaze.
"Li Mu, I always thought we weren’t suitable for each other—don’t move!"
Li Mu clenched his fists, lips pressed together, obediently sitting back, but there was still a nacing look in his eyes, as if daring her to say one wrong word.
Tang Xiaobai couldn’t help but chuckle, giving him a kiss, and only then did His Majesty’s expression and gaze soften considerably.
"I used to think we weren’t suitable, why did I later feel we could be?" Tang Xiaobai continued.
Li Mu naturally replied, "Because I grew up."
Tang Xiaobai couldn’t help but roll her eyes: "You weren’t that old then either!"
When she decided to give it a try, Li Mu was only a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, just skin and bones without a shirt, unlike now...
"Ahem..." Tang Xiaobai cleared her throat and said, "I just suddenly realized—"
"Before, I always felt we were too young, our personalities still forming, so much was uncertain. Maybe after a couple of years, you’d grow up, and your thoughts would change from the beginning;"
Maybe realizing it was all a misunderstanding with her, perhaps even truly falling for another girl.
"But being overly cautious is just like stopping to eat for fear of choking, I suddenly realized, if I want to have a regretless relationship, I must first have the courage to face separation;"
"Even knowing you are the Crown Prince, even now you are the Emperor, even if the court officials pressure you to fill the harem, I fear nothing;"
"From the mont I decided to be with you, I accepted all possibilities of separation with you."
Acceptance, therefore peace of mind.
Every mont together no longer filled with anxiety.
"Life is unpredictable, we don’t know when separation will co, nor should we spend every day in unease over that unknown mont and miss the chance to pursue happiness—"
"I think having a child would be a blissful and beautiful thing;" Tang Xiaobai thought for a mont, figuring she’d said all she needed, then graciously gave him the chance to speak, "What do you think, Li Mu?"
Li Mu watched her quietly for a while, waiting until Tang Xiaobai was vaguely feeling defeated, then spoke: "Call brother!"
Tang Xiaobai: ...
"Calling husband is also fine." He said, with a calm expression, sneaking in a request.
Tang Xiaobai raised her hand to pat him: "Stop it! We’re having a serious discussion here!" Such a serious topic!
"You’re right, having a child wouldn’t be bad either."
Since they reached a consensus, then it was ti to take action.
Li Mu picked her up and whispered by her ear: "Have you eaten enough, Sister Ah Jiao?"
(End of the Empress and Emperor Extra Chapter)
(Next, I plan to insert a short side story I wanted to write, although no one requested it. It’s a sweet love story~)
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