Chapter 477: Sleeping Together Is the Rule, and I Like to Cuddle

Chenning Palace was the palace closest to Zhaoyang Hall.

As evening approached, Little Dongzi came running over twice more.

Once to deliver dinner, and another time to bring a scented balm for her bath, which he said was a new tribute from the south.

Ji Qingwu told him to leave it and said little else, so Little Dongzi could only depart, glancing back every few steps.

Fanghua saw this. When Ji Qingwu was bathing, she used some of the balm on her and spoke highly of it.

Ji Qingwu also praised the balm, noting its fresh, pleasant scent and how it left her skin feeling moisturized and smooth, but she never once mentioned the person who had sent it.

That evening, Ji Qingwu lay on her back dressed in rose-colored inner robes, her long hair spread over the edge of the bed. Lan Zhi held a hand warmer to help dry it.

She listened as Fanghua listed the items that had been entered into the inner treasury that day, and her eyes slowly closed.

Fanghua’s voice suddenly faltered, then slowly continued.

Ji Qingwu felt her scalp growing hot. With her eyes still closed, she tilted her head and said, "Lan Zhi, hold that farther away. Be careful or you’ll burn me bald."

Her damp hair was lifted and seemed to be placed somewhere a little higher. A warm current of air washed over her, and Ji Qingwu let out a comfortable sigh.

Fanghua finished reading the gift list and said in a low voice, "I will take my leave now."

Ji Qingwu’s eyelids felt heavy. She nodded with her eyes closed. "You’ve also had a long day. Go get some rest."

As her head moved, her hair fell loose. In just that short time, it had become completely dry, much faster than usual.

Ji Qingwu said, "Lan Zhi, you should go rest too."

But before Lan Zhi could reply, Ji Qingwu spoke again. "Wait, Lan Zhi."

Her jade-like eyelids fluttered, and her lips, moist and pink from her bath, parted.

"Go to the doors right now, close them, and bolt them shut. Don’t let anyone in. I’m going to sleep."

But Lan Zhi remained sitting by the bed, completely still.

Ji Qingwu tilted her head back and opened her eyes. She squinted to adjust to the light before her, only to see a hand with well-defined knuckles twirling a lock of her dark hair.

She didn’t even have to look up to know who this silent visitor was.

She snorted and shuffled to the far side of the bed, trying to put some distance between them.

Zhao Mingyan’s face was cloaked in shadow. He looked at the woman huddled at the far side of the bed and said in a neutral tone, "The Empress has quite a temper. Did you really intend to lock me out?"

Ji Qingwu simply rolled over, turning her back to him.

The intensity of his gaze made her back tense. Staring at the wall, she asked, "Why has Your Majesty come?"

Zhao Mingyan cleared his throat. "For the first three days of a marriage, it is tradition for the couple to sleep together."

"So that’s the only reason Your Majesty came," Ji Qingwu said coldly.

Emperor Wu Su did not deny it.

A rustling sound came from behind her; he was getting undressed. Ji Qingwu scooted further in, wishing she could meld into the wall.

Someone blew out the candles in the hall, plunging her vision into darkness.

The mattress beside her sank as Emperor Wu Su lay down, an enormous distance between them.

Ji Qingwu couldn’t help but recall the events of last night. ’The Emperor’s ability to feign anger is truly something else.’ The more she thought about it, the more awake she felt, her eyes flying open wider than saucers.

After a while, he must have thought she was asleep, because an arm snaked across to rest on her waist. Ji Qingwu immediately flung it off.

"I’m sleeping. Don’t bother me."

In the darkness, Zhao Mingyan’s eyes glinted, a smile playing on his lips. "Does Ah Wu like to sleep with her eyes open?" he asked.

"Can’t I?" Ji Qingwu retorted defiantly.

Zhao Mingyan laughed. "You can. Ah Wu can do whatever she wants."

The heavy arm settled on her again. Ji Qingwu tried to fling it off, but he caught her wrist and pulled her back against his warm chest. He carried the same fragrance she wore.

Zhao Mingyan said, "Ah Wu likes to sleep with her eyes open, and I like to sleep while holding someone."

’A warm, human furnace was certainly better than the ice-cold wall.’ So Ji Qingwu only struggled for a few moments.

She asked sarcastically, "Did Your Majesty also hold all the other consorts like this when you slept with them?"

The fingers on her waist stiffened. Zhao Mingyan said, "Ah Wu, you’ve seen the Daily Life Record. Why would you still ask such a thing?"

Ji Qingwu said, "Records can be falsified, but true feelings can’t. I still want to hear Your Majesty say it with your own mouth."

Zhao Mingyan tightened his arms, his palm pressing against her soft abdomen. "In the days Ah Wu was not here, I always slept alone."

Ji Qingwu had rested well that afternoon, so her mind was now exceptionally clear. She continued her interrogation, "Then if Your Majesty says you like holding someone while you sleep, when did you develop this habit?"

Zhao Mingyan whispered in her ear, "Only recently."

At his words, Ji Qingwu’s eyes flashed. She scrambled up in bed, her eyes fixed on his blurry silhouette in the darkness.

"But Your Majesty didn’t hold me last night. Clearly, habits can be changed."

The smile on Zhao Mingyan’s lips froze.

’Last night, he had indeed lost control.’

’He didn’t care about some special ability; he had known for a long time that she was special.’

’However, when he learned that her intimacy with him was driven by impure motives and not entirely from the heart, he couldn’t suppress his rage.’

’But no matter what, he had gone to such great lengths to marry her and bring her back to the palace. Their wedding night should not have been interrupted.’

’He had vented all the anger built up in his chest on her, taking her without restraint.’

’He admitted that when it came to her, his possessiveness was excessive, almost pathological.’

’When Ji Qingwu lay beneath him, her eyes glistening with tears, calling his name again and again—a pitiful sight, as if she were begging for mercy, or perhaps lost in passion...’

’He found that... it wasn’t entirely unacceptable.’

’As long as she was by his side, that was enough.’

’But when he came to his senses and saw the marks all over her body, his heart ached with a mixture of remorse and guilt.’

’He’d read those manuals for nothing. Once again, he was the one who had caused her the greatest pain. He had practically fled from Chening Hall.’

During the day, Zhao Mingyan had been on pins and needles in Zhaoyang Hall. He sent two of his most capable eunuchs from the imperial court to Chening Hall multiple times, just to see if she was all right, what she was doing, and whether she showed any intention of seeking him out.

He waited until evening, but he finally couldn’t bear it any longer and came to Chening Hall to find her.

When he first heard her order the Maid to lock the doors, he thought she was utterly disappointed in him and would remain angry for a while.

But Ji Qingwu was easy to coax; she wore all her emotions on her sleeve.

Right now, her lips were pursed in a pout, her eyes glistening, her face a mask of grievance.

Zhao Mingyan said in a low, hoarse voice, "...I was wrong."

Ji Qingwu sensed the shift in his attitude. She sat cross-legged on the bed, placed her hands on her hips, and demanded, "I have a special ability. Is that my fault?"

Zhao Mingyan shook his head.

Ji Qingwu leaned forward, bringing her face close to his as if to see his expression more clearly. "I don’t want you to get hurt. Is that my fault, too?"

Zhao Mingyan shook his head sincerely.

Growing even more emboldened, Ji Qingwu tugged on his ear and said indignantly, "I was honest with you about it. Is that really my fault?"

This familiar barrage of three questions once again rendered Zhao Mingyan speechless.

He opened his arms, wrapped them around her waist, and pulled her onto his lap.