Chapter 495: Extra 10: Empress Zhaozhao, Queen Jiu Jiu

Chapter 495: Chapter 491: Extra 10: Empress Zhaozhao, Queen Jiu Jiu

Zhao Yunhuai froze.

He had grown up under his elder sister’s thumb and knew the meaning behind her every move. He instantly behaved, returning to his spot and sitting down cross-legged, all his arrogant demeanor vanished.

Wei Chi Tiningnan also broke out in a sweat. ‘It’s over, it’s over, it’s over. Is the Empress going to stab me with her chopsticks next?’

She was Queen Jiu Jiu when they were children, and now she was Empress Chenzhao. All of these “brothers” were afraid of her.

They all looked at her in unison.

But after a long moment, the Empress still hadn’t spoken.

Lu Songwen observed the Empress’s expression, slowly rose from his place beside her, and said, “The Imperial Consort has come to see the Empress on business. We should take our leave.”

But then, Empress Chenzhao’s brow furrowed again. Lu Songwen didn’t dare make a rash move and could only remain standing where he was.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the Empress’s command. The atmosphere in the palace hall was oppressive.

But then Xiu Ningchuan’s cold voice cut in, “Let them go.”

Zhao Yunhuai immediately bared his teeth. Not daring to speak loudly, he hissed, “This is no place for you to speak.”

Empress Chenzhao shot Zhao Yunhuai a sideways glance. Just when they thought the Empress was going to side with the Imperial Consort, she said, “You will stay.”

She lifted her gaze to the man standing in the middle of the hall and asked with a faint smile, “Ning Chuan, what brings you here?”

He heard her call him by name as she always had, a smile even gracing her lips. There was no sign that the two hadn’t seen each other in half a month.

Xiu Ningchuan found her smile jarring. His tone was cold and distant.

“I’ve come to invite Your Majesty to return to your chambers and sleep with me. Did Your Majesty not say that you sleep more soundly by my side?”

Wei Chi Tiningnan was holding a cup of fruit tea. He had just taken a sip to calm his nerves when he heard the Imperial Consort’s words and nearly choked.

Zhao Yunhuai glared daggers at Xiu Ningchuan, his eyes bulging like a bull’s.

Lu Songwen’s expression wasn’t much better.

No matter how dissatisfied they were with the Imperial Consort, they had to face one fact: the two of them slept in the same bed at night. It was late now, and they were interrupting the couple’s private life.

Empress Chenzhao looked at Xiu Ningchuan in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to say such a thing in public; it was so unlike his usual disposition.

She cleared her throat and said, “We will be there in half an hour. You may return first.”

Xiu Ningchuan didn’t yield an inch. “It would be the same if I remained here in the Purple Extreme Palace to serve you.”

Empress Chenzhao gave him a look of surprise.

She didn’t want to publicly embarrass the Imperial Consort and make things difficult for him, so she waved her sleeve.

Wei Chi Tiningnan immediately dragged Zhao Yunhuai out of the hall. Lu Songwen walked out slowly with his hands behind his back, deliberately bumping Xiu Ningchuan’s shoulder as if by accident on his way past.

The hall returned to tranquility.

Xiu Ningchuan turned to close the doors, then walked to the Empress’s desk. He picked up the wine jug, swirled it, and set it back down. Only a little was left at the bottom.

In the lamplight, a faint blush bloomed on the Empress’s face, prettier than any rouge.

Xiu Ningchuan clenched his fingers, unable to stop himself from recalling the feeling of her cheek against his touch.

He asked, “Is something troubling Your Majesty?”

Empress Chenzhao only drank when she was either very happy or very agitated. The last time she’d gotten drunk was on their wedding day.

Given the current situation, it clearly wasn’t the former.

In response to his probing question, the Empress propped her head on her hand and said with a vague smile, “It’s nothing. It has just been a long time since I’ve gathered with Song Wen and the others.”

Hearing her use the intimate name “Song Wen,” Xiu Ningchuan said, “Well, I am troubled.”

The Empress raised an eyebrow. “You get troubled, Ning Chuan? We were under the impression you had reached the level of a sage, unmoved by worldly things.”

Xiu Ningchuan said, “Of course. I am only human, so naturally, I am troubled by human emotions and desires.”

Hearing this, Empress Chenzhao’s gaze flickered. She smiled without answering and raised her cup, but he grabbed her wrist, causing the wine to splash onto the front of his robes.

The lapis-blue seal script on the collar of his robes became visible through the damp fabric, and the Empress’s gaze fell involuntarily on his collarbone.

“Why doesn’t Your Majesty ask me what emotions and desires I have?”

The snow in his eyes seemed to have melted into stars, their glittering making Empress Chenzhao’s head feel even hazier.

She frowned at the wrist he held and said with feigned anger, “You are getting bold.”

Xiu Ningchuan said, “A person must be bold at least once, or they will regret it for a lifetime.”

Empress Chenzhao pushed him away and walked toward the inner chamber. “We are tired and wish to rest. You may leave the palace.”

He had come before her, yet her avoidance was becoming more and more obvious.

Xiu Ningchuan spoke from behind her. “Doesn’t Your Majesty think you owe me an explanation for why you have been avoiding me all this time? Is my crime so great for merely calling Your Majesty by your pet name a few times?”

Empress Chenzhao went to a narrow couch in the inner chamber, closed her eyes, and rubbed her throbbing temples.

“Who taught you to be so insolent before Us? We will say it again, you will immediately—”

Xiu Ningchuan had already walked up to her, planting his arms on either side of the narrow couch and leaning down to gaze at her face.

“Am I being insolent, or are you the one who’s afraid?”

Empress Chenzhao opened her eyes, finding his words amusing. “What would We have to fear?”

Xiu Ningchuan’s voice was deep and husky.

“You’re afraid of me walking into your heart.”

The Empress’s smile froze. Her lips flattened into a thin line, and she turned her head away, unwilling to look at him any longer.

Xiu Ningchuan said in a low voice, “Otherwise, I truly can’t think of any other reason.”

Empress Chenzhao said, “You’re mistaken.”

Xiu Ningchuan immediately retorted, “I don’t believe you.”

Empress Chenzhao was only now discovering just how stubborn her Imperial Consort could be. With her back to him, she said through taut lips, “You came to Us for confirmation, yet you refuse to listen to what We say?”

Xiu Ningchuan said, “I only believe what I can feel.”

Empress Chenzhao said sullenly, “Believe what you want. In any case, We have no need to prove anything to you.”

Xiu Ningchuan simply said, “It’s cold at night. Don’t sleep here. Go sleep in the bed.”

“It’s none of your concern,” Empress Chenzhao said.

Xiu Ningchuan completely ignored her and simply lifted her into his arms, carrying her to the large sandalwood bed in the inner room.

“I can accept that Your Majesty’s heart is filled with grand ambitions and the empire, with no place for me.”

Xiu Ningchuan continued in a gentle tone, “But there can be no place for anyone else, either.”

He lowered his head and gently removed her hair crown. She gazed at his handsome face and said with a strange expression, “That’s too greedy.”

Xiu Ningchuan thought she was talking about him. His fingers brushed through a lock of her hair that had fallen across her chest, and he gathered it in his palm.

“Yes. I am greedy for this heart.”

Xiu Ningchuan helped her lie down, tucked her under the covers, and blew out the extra candles, leaving only a single lamp lit.

Seeing the Empress staring at him with her bright, dark eyes, refusing to close them, Xiu Ningchuan’s voice became as soft as a feather. He coaxed her gently, “I will stay until Your Majesty is asleep, then I will leave. Sleep now. You have to rise early for court tomorrow.”

Empress Chenzhao rolled over, turning her back to him.

Xiu Ningchuan tucked the corners of her blanket in. He waited until her breathing became even, then lowered the bed curtains and started to leave with light steps.

“Can you sing me a song to help me sleep?”

Empress Chenzhao’s voice drifted from within the bed curtains, thick with drowsiness and something else he couldn’t quite identify—a hint of anticipation.

Xiu Ningchuan turned around, stunned.

She said something else.

After hearing her words, Xiu Ningchuan’s heart began to pound.

“If you want Our heart.”