Chapter 74. Chapter 74. Perhaps there's something to be interested in.

Yuan Chaolu lifted her foot to leave, but was pulled back behind the curtain by the person behind her wrist.

Yuan Chaolu asked, "General Helan, do you understand what you're doing?"

"Of course I know."

Yuan Chaolu said, "That general is really bold, daring to lay hands on His Majesty's woman. If I give the order, would General Helan still be standing here talking to me like this?"

Helan Yi suddenly leaned closer, sunlight slanting down from his brow bone, making the small wound at the corner of his eye clearly visible: "If Your Majesty dared to call for help, you should have called for help when I held your wrist just now."

He watched her pause for a moment, a knowing glint in his eyes, "It seems the Empress has not confessed to the Emperor about our past."

Helan Yi turned to her side, his breath brushing against her ear, "If His Majesty knew that his woman once served me and knelt at my feet, what would he think?"

Yuan Chaolu asked, "General, do you dare to speak?"

The emperor is known for his wisdom and virtue, but equally renowned for his ruthless and cold-blooded methods. How could such an emperor, who cannot tolerate the slightest imperfection and is the only one who matters, allow a subject to provoke him?

“I know my husband better than anyone. If you dare to leak even a whisper of this matter, General, you can try.”

The atmosphere was tense and confrontational.

Her hair was slightly damp, her cheeks were as pale as cold porcelain, but her eyes were surprisingly bright.

Helan Yi said, "It is surprising that Your Majesty is so wise that you would fall in love with a woman who speaks nothing but lies."

Yuan Chaolu's vermilion lips curved into a smile: "But His Majesty just loves to elevate me to the throne, and that's not all—"

“I am carrying his child in my womb, who will be carefully nurtured by his father. When he sits in the Zhaoyang Palace in the future, you will not only have to kneel before me, but also before me and his child.”

Just then, Zhong Changjun's voice suddenly rang out from outside the hall, "Your Majesty, are you there?"

Yuan Chaolu did not linger and turned to leave, but Helan Yi grabbed her wrist again. He said, "Your Majesty's appearance in such a magnificent robe surprised me, but I still feel that Your Majesty's stubbornness in the past, when she was locked in the woodshed with simple clothes and hairpins, is even more captivating."

Helan Yi raised the corners of his eyes slightly and pulled her closer. "Your Majesty doesn't really think you can accept such a great imperial favor?"

Yuan Chaolu tried to escape but couldn't, so she suddenly raised her voice and called out, "Zhong Changjun—"

Upon hearing this, the person outside the tent walked over.

Helan Yi immediately released her wrist.

The Empress stepped out from behind the curtain, and soon after, her gentle voice, as she spoke with the eunuch, echoed in the hall. She was a completely different person from the one who had been so aggressive towards Helan Yi just moments before.

The scent of her lingered where she had just stood behind the curtain.

Helan Yi raised his hand to lift the curtain, slowly walked out, and watched her departing figure.

**

Although the Empress left Zhaoyang Palace, she sent someone to deliver a water bag to the Emperor.

At that moment, the emperor was adjusting his sleeves by the edge of the garden, surrounded by his ministers. Naturally, the empress's words of advice reached everyone's ears.

The ministers observed the emperor's expression and saw that he looked relaxed with a smile on his lips. They then joined in the teasing, saying, "Your Majesty even made a special trip this afternoon, showing such concern for His Majesty's water pouch."

Xiao Zhuo casually tied the water pouch to the belt around his waist and lazily urged, "Hurry up. It's all your fault for taking a little longer. Otherwise, if we finish sooner, I can see the Empress. There are still three arrows left. Whose turn is it to shoot?"

The emperor was skilled in archery, and in the first few rounds he was evenly matched with the other generals. The battle was at a stalemate when, unexpectedly, the last few arrows he shot were far off target.

The emperor remained calm, showing no regret whatsoever. Instead, he clapped his hands, praising the victorious generals. Then, he raised his hand, removed his thumb ring, and said, "I will take my leave first. My dear ministers, please make yourselves at home."

The emperor's hasty departure inevitably leads one to suspect the empress.

As Xiao Zhuo left Zhaoyang Palace, Lu Changli, the Minister of Revenue, followed closely behind, took out a roll of plain silk from his sleeve and handed it to him, saying, "Your Majesty."

The map painted on the plain silk depicts the geomantic landscape of the area south of Luoyang.

“A few days ago, His Majesty instructed me to select a site outside Luoyang to excavate a Buddhist cave. My colleagues and I have already drawn up the geomantic map.”

Xiao Zhuo glanced at it, closed the plain silk, and said, "The Jingming Temple project is now complete. My dear minister, you have worked hard these past few days. Take a rest for a while before you begin the excavation of the Buddhist cave."

Just as Lu Changli was about to reply, the emperor said, "The treasures in Jingming Temple are related to the imperial treasury. Go and explain this to the empress."

The emperor's sudden words made Lu Changli's throat tighten: "Your subject..."

Recently, Lu Changli has been busy with Lu Runlan's affairs. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he has been trying to delay and suppress the matter, but he never expected that the emperor would personally intervene.

"Don't test the Queen's patience."

The emperor left after saying those words, without lingering, and walked past him.

Lu Changli stood under the eaves, his back drenched in cold sweat, and bowed to see the emperor off.

**

As autumn deepened, the sky darkened earlier. By the time the emperor arrived at Changqiu Palace, the moon had already risen above the night sky.

Zhong Changjun said, "Your Majesty, the Empress seemed to be in a bad mood after returning from Zhaoyang Palace this afternoon."

As Xiao Zhuo walked towards the palace, he gestured for him to continue, "What's wrong?"

Zhong Changjun said, "This servant finds it strange precisely because I can't figure it out. If anything happened this afternoon, it was when Her Majesty the Empress and General Helan met in Zhaoyang Palace."

As they were talking, the two of them entered the main hall.

Without instructing the palace servants to report, the emperor walked around the screen and into the inner palace. There, he saw the figure crouching by the window.

The Empress rested her cheek on her arm, gazing out the window, her eyes seemingly lost in the darkness of the night.

Suddenly, a cool fragrance approached, and a pair of slightly cool arms wrapped around her waist from behind, startling her so much that she trembled and leaned her back against the man's chest.

Xiao Zhuo hugged her from behind, "What are you thinking about?"

"His Majesty walks without making a sound, it's quite frightening."

His laughter tickled her ear, and she heard him say, "Is it because of Helan Yi?"

Yuan Chaolu turned around, a red mark on her cheek, her eyes looking at him pitifully.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I did not expect to meet General Helan today."

“You are the Empress, the Helan family should be afraid of you,” Xiao Zhuo met her eyes and suddenly said softly, “The Empress wasn’t like this before, it’s only after she became pregnant that she became so sentimental?”

He suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to sit on his lap.

He noticed Yuan Chaolu's gaze falling on his fingers, and following that gaze, he saw the red marks on them. He withdrew his hand. "These are marks left from drawing the bow and controlling the string this afternoon. Don't worry. How are you feeling today?"

Yuan Chaolu felt the gentle pressure of his hand caressing her, and smiled slightly, saying, "He's very well-behaved."

He smiled and withdrew his hand, just as a roll of plain silk rolled out from his sleeve. Yuan Chaolu picked it up and asked, "What is this?"

"It's a geomantic map outside Luoyang, where we plan to carve a Buddhist cave. I originally intended to take you to choose the site after our marriage, but the Empress is too busy."

Yuan Chaolu glanced at the blueprints, and her expression became even more surprised when she heard him say that the Buddhist cave was built to pray for her.

"Is Your Majesty carving a Buddhist grotto for me, or for the child in my womb?"

He rested one hand on his forehead, leaned against the table, and said lazily, "I just said that I plan to take you there after the wedding, and the money for the excavation will come from my private treasury."

Yuan Chaolu felt her cheeks burning as he stared at her with burning eyes. She closed the blueprints and leaned closer to him. “When I was in the Northwest, I saw the Buddhist statues in the grottoes left by the previous dynasty. They were so tall and majestic, and they have stood there for hundreds of years. Will the grottoes that Your Majesty has carved this time also last for a long time?”

"It will remain as long as nature allows it."

Yuan Chaolu, incredulous, opened the silk paper again and looked at it. "May I go and see for myself?"

Xiao Zhuo said, "Then it's your fault for neglecting to come see me these past few days. Now your health prevents you from traveling through mountains and rivers."

Yuan Chaolu stood up and spun around in front of him. "Look, it's okay, our baby is very well-behaved in my belly."

She leaned forward again, "Besides, I will be pregnant for ten months. Right now, my body isn't that heavy, and I can still walk easily. But when I'm in the sixth or seventh month, I really won't be able to walk anymore. Wouldn't it be a long time before I can see it for myself? Your Majesty—"

Her voice rose at the end, sweet as honey, with a coquettish tone: "Since it's for me, may I go and see it first?"

Xiao Zhuo simply said, "No."

Yuan Chaolu deliberately teased her, wrapping her arms around his waist, "Is it really made for me... I have seen many Buddha statues, but I never thought that one day a Buddha statue made in my name would be left behind."

"Your Majesty, shall we go together?"

When Xiao Zhuo saw her speak, her eyes shone brightly, her expression was joyful, and her brows were filled with undisguised happiness. She leaned closer and pressed him for more information, so Xiao Zhuo finally relented and said, "I need to have the imperial physician examine your pulse before I can consider it."

Yuan Chaolu readily agreed and immediately sent someone to the Imperial Medical Bureau to invite a physician.

Soon after, Qi Yu examined the Empress's pulse and said that her pulse was steady and there was nothing wrong.

Yuan Chaolu looked back at him and said, "See, it's alright."

She walked to the imperial chaise lounge and saw the emperor lying there, so she lay down as well, snuggling into his arms. When he looked down at her, she smiled and wrapped her arms around him.

Her adoptive father was a Buddhist statue craftsman. When she was young, she would go to Buddhist temples with him, squat down under the Buddha statues, and feel that the Buddha statues were so tall, while she was so small and unreachable. She never dared to hope that one day, there would be a place in this world that would be known to the world and that would be related to her name.

The man before her was going to carve a Buddha statue out of the mountain for her, a statue that would stand there for hundreds and thousands of years, for future generations to admire.

It's hard to deny that Yuan Chaolu was moved by it.

Her arms around his waist gradually tightened.

The chaise lounge was cramped, and he was tall and slender, so when he lay down there, he took up most of the space. Yuan Chaolu asked him to move over and squeeze onto the chaise lounge with her.

Xiao Zhuo could only let her do as she pleased, her arms encircling his neck. Several times she felt uncomfortable and adjusted her position, finally finding a comfortable spot, leaning against him and closing her eyes.

The person in his arms gradually calmed down.

Xiao Zhuo gradually closed his eyes.

It wasn't until Zhong Changjun quietly entered the hall and whispered in the emperor's ear, "Imperial Physician Dou has arrived," that things changed.

Xiao Zhuo moved gently, pulling his arm out from under her head. Seeing that she was still holding the geomantic map in her hand, he gently pulled it out and placed it on a low table beside her. He then got up, picked up his outer robe, and put it on, gesturing for Physician Dou, who was waiting at the door, to come to the outer hall to speak.

"Go and take the Empress's pulse to see if the pregnancy is stable."

Physician Dou was the emperor's preferred physician. Among all the physicians in the Imperial Medical Bureau, he was the oldest and most experienced. It was during his diagnosis of General Xianwu that he discovered the anomaly in his pulse case and reported it to the emperor.

Physician Dou agreed, but as he was about to enter the inner hall, he turned back and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

"The Empress's pulse was confirmed by the signatures of three imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau: Qingheng, Qi Yu, and Zhang Su. This morning, Your Majesty instructed me to open the Empress's pulse record and then question the three physicians. The first two said the Empress's pulse was stable, but Zhang Su gave a different account."

The emperor took a sip of tea: "What?"

"Zhang Su said that he was summoned in a hurry that night. The two female doctors were in a hurry and had outstanding medical skills. So he did not take the Empress's pulse, but just signed his name on the pulse table."

"Never?" Xiao Zhuo raised an eyebrow and sneered, "He certainly has an easy job. With such a position of incompetence, I don't think he needs to stay in the Imperial Medical Bureau!"

"Please go and take another look."

Physician Dou replied, "Yes."

"By the way," the emperor said in a low voice, "be quiet and don't wake the empress."