Chapter 73: Afraid of the Emperor's Difficulty

The eunuch outside Chengqian Palace stopped Concubine Zheng: "My Lady, the Emperor said that he would not see anyone during his time of government affairs. You..."

Concubine Zheng glared at the young eunuch, her eyebrows knitted in displeasure: "I have something to ask the Emperor."

After saying that, he took another step forward.

The eunuchs did not dare to touch her and could only vaguely block her way, looking embarrassed: "Your Highness, please don't embarrass me."

"Get lost."

Concubine Zheng gnashed her teeth, her face showing impatience. She knew the emperor had said not to see anyone during his time of government affairs. But everyone in the palace knew she was an exception; it wasn't like she hadn't been there before.

This little eunuch is so tactless.

The eunuch still stopped him.

Concubine Zheng's eyes fixed.

She flung aside her cloak, knelt on the ground, and held her back very straight: "Then I will wait for the emperor here."

The eunuch looked embarrassed.

Li Dexian heard the noise and left the hall. "What happened?"

Seeing the imperial concubine kneeling on the ground, he was startled and ran to her side, reaching out to help her up, saying, "My lady, why are you kneeling on the ground? Get up quickly, get up quickly."

Concubine Zheng brushed his hand away, her face determined, and said to the eunuch, "I will kneel until the emperor is willing to see me."

Li Dexian bent over and smiled flatteringly, "Your Highness, you also know the emperor's rules...why don't you stand up first?"

In Li Dexian's mind, Concubine Zheng was becoming increasingly unreasonable. Although she was unique, she was also too arrogant and willful. Moreover, things were different now.

Concubine Zheng tilted her head and continued to kneel stubbornly.

Li Dexian sighed and turned to enter the hall.

Fortunately, the Emperor was in a good mood today. He whispered, "Your Majesty, Concubine Zheng is requesting an audience outside the palace."

"not see."

All I heard was the emperor's refusal without even raising his head.

Li Dexian was becoming increasingly embarrassed. He pinched his fingers and said, "The Imperial Concubine is kneeling outside the palace. She said...she is waiting for the Emperor."

Xie Junyao's eyes were stern, with a hint of sinister intent in them. "Never mind. I spoiled her in the past, letting her become ignorant of her own limitations and ignore my orders. Let her in."

"Hmm." The emperor's voice revealed the feeling of impending storm. Li Dexian secretly worried about Concubine Zheng.

When Concubine Zheng knew that the emperor had summoned her, she quickly stood up, adjusted her skirt, and walked into the hall with light steps.

"Greetings to the Emperor."

Xie Junyao narrowed his eyes slightly: "Didn't I say I wouldn't see anyone? The imperial concubine is increasingly disregarding me."

Concubine Zheng's eyes flashed with surprise, and her tone softened: "Your Majesty, are you blaming Yao'er..."

Xie Junyao shook his head slightly, feeling more helpless than before. He asked, "What do you want to see me for?"

"Your humble servant...Yao'er paid her respects to the Queen Mother today, but she really didn't want to see me."

"It's different now. Yu'er is in Shoukang Palace. Yao'er is Yu'er's mother, and the Queen Mother is Yu'er's grandmother..."

Xie Junyao looked at her coldly, "If you had recognized the truth earlier, the Queen Mother wouldn't have disliked you so much."

The Emperor's words chilled her heart, and breathing became difficult. Concubine Zheng asked, "Your Majesty, are you blaming me..."

Xie Junyao found it ironic.

A few years ago, Concubine Zheng took advantage of the fact that she was his original wife and his guilt towards her to be disrespectful to the Queen Mother and even made Yu'er not be close to the Queen Mother. That's why the Queen Mother disliked her so much and didn't like her.

"Okay." Xie Junyao was getting impatient with her pestering. He didn't want to continue talking to her about these meaningless things. "I'm busy with government affairs. If you have nothing to do, go back."

Concubine Zheng couldn't help but curl her fingers, looking lost, with a gleam of light in her eyes.

The next moment, he raised his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, there is one more thing..."

"explain."

"I heard that Concubine Ling requested to be confined to Fuyao Palace. Since the Queen Mother dislikes me, I also request to be confined to Fuyao Palace as a sign of respect for the Queen Mother."

Xie Junyao was slightly stunned, then returned to normal.

He said calmly, "Stop messing around. Go back."

Concubine Zheng had achieved her goal, so she naturally stopped clinging to him. She bowed and left.

After she left, Xie Junyao glanced at Li Dexian beside him.

"Self-imposed confinement?"

There was suppressed anger in his voice, as if asking him why he didn't say so earlier.

Li Dexian said awkwardly, "Yes, Your Majesty. Master Shen Shiling sent someone to close the door of Chang Lixuan today."

When Xie Junyao heard Li Dexian's report, he frowned and his face darkened.

Li Dexian seemed to be hesitant to speak, and Xie Junyao's eyes turned a little colder. "Just say it."

What he was about to say would undoubtedly offend the Empress Dowager, and some might even exacerbate the conflict between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. But he had to say it. Li Dexian gritted his teeth and said, "After Madam Liu, who was with the Empress Dowager, went to Chang Lixuan and said a few words, Miss Ling requested to be confined to her room."

Hearing this, Xie Junyao pressed his brows hard. Suddenly, he felt a headache that could not be stopped. His mother knew that she could not stop him, so she started with Wanwan. His mother was sure that Wanwan would not dare to resist.

But Wanwan didn't even send anyone to inform him. She endured all the suffering and swallowed all the grievances. It was as if she had completely forgotten about him.

Since he had promised to protect her, he would not break his promise. But in the end, she still couldn't trust him.

Xie Junyao's tone also became a little annoyed. "There's one more thing. Go check if the Queen Mother has made things difficult for her."

"yes."

——

The moonlight, like water, cast a silver halo over the night. The swaying shadows of the trees swayed under the lanterns, adding a touch of elegance to the quiet path.

The weather was getting colder, especially since Wen Wanyu had asked people to open the windows.

The wind blew in, and Wen Wanyu was lying on the desk, writing furiously. His exposed fingers were frozen red.

Bai Su stood in the way of the wind: "My lady, let me close the window."

"No. No. I can only wake up if the wind blows in." Wen Wanyu raised his head. "Bai Su, look, I can't even open my eyes."

Wen Wanyu wasn't a masochist; she was simply gambling that the Emperor would secretly visit her tonight. The window was open, adding a touch of pathetic intensity.

Bai Su could only let her do as she pleased: "Then I'll go get the hot water bottle and warm your hands."

"good."

The room was silent except for the gentle whistling of the wind.

Wen Wanyu raised her hand to lift the hair by her ear, and when she was about to put her hand down, someone grabbed her wrist.

She was frightened and let out a cry, turning her head quickly.

I turned around and was stunned.

The Emperor was actually behind her! How did he teleport behind her? How could he walk without making any sound?

Seeing her dazed look, Xie Junyao chuckled, put down her hand, and touched her face: "You're scared silly. Who else could it be?"

She lowered her head and whispered, "I am still under house arrest."

Xie Junyao leaned against the desk and asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Huh? Why aren't you talking?"

Looking down, I saw that she was dropping pearls.

He pulled her up from the chair, held her in his arms, put his chin against her forehead, and asked, "Do you feel wronged?"

Wen Wanyu shook her head.

"Afraid…"

"What are you afraid of?"

Her voice was soft, "I'm afraid it will embarrass the Emperor."

He repeated: "I'm afraid it will embarrass me."

Xie Junyao looked out the window and saw countless stars, like crystal pearls, scattered in the deep night sky.

On a quiet night, I can almost hear the sound of my own heartbeat.