Chapter 491 Extra Chapter 10: Empress Zhaozhao, Queen Qiuqiu

Zhao Yunhuai braked suddenly.

He had been working under his elder sister since he was a child, and he knew what her every move meant. He immediately became obedient, returned to his original position, sat cross-legged, and his arrogant arrogance vanished.

Yu Chi Tingnan was also sweating profusely. Oh no, oh no, oh no, the Empress's chopsticks might be stuck in his body soon.

As a child, she was the Queen of Chuchu; now she is Empress Chenzhao, and her younger brothers are all afraid of her.

The group all looked at her.

But after a long while, the empress did not speak.

Lu Songwen observed the Empress's expression, slowly stood up from beside her, and said, "The Emperor's Consort has come to see Her Majesty on business, we should take our leave first."

As a result, Empress Chenzhao frowned again, and Lu Songwen dared not make any rash moves, so he could only stand still.

Everyone held their breath, awaiting the Empress's instructions; the atmosphere in the hall was oppressive.

But then Xiu Ningchuan said coldly, "Let them go."

Zhao Yunhuai immediately bared his teeth, not daring to raise his voice, and could only whisper, "Who gave you the right to speak?"

Empress Chenzhao glanced at Zhao Yunhuai, and just when they thought she was going to side with her husband, she said, "You all stay."

She looked up at the person standing in the hall and asked with a faint smile, "Ning Chuan, what brings you here?"

Hearing her call him as usual, with a smile on her lips, he couldn't tell that the two hadn't seen each other for half a month.

Xiu Ningchuan found her laughter irritating, and his voice was cold and distant.

"I invite Your Majesty to return to your chambers and sleep with me. Didn't Your Majesty say that you sleep better next to me?"

Yu Chi Tingnan was holding a wine cup filled with fruit tea. She had only drunk half a cup to calm her nerves when she heard the Emperor's words and almost choked on her breath.

Zhao Yunhuai stared intently at Xiu Ningchuan, his eyes widening like those of a water buffalo.

Lu Songwen's expression was also not good.

Even if they were dissatisfied with the Emperor's consort, they had to acknowledge the fact that the two of them were going to sleep in the same bed that night. Now that it was late, they were disturbing the normal life of the couple.

Empress Chenzhao looked at Xiu Ningchuan in surprise, not expecting him to say such things in public, which was unlike his usual temperament.

She coughed and said, "I will be there in half an hour. You go back first."

Xiu Ningchuan refused to budge, saying, "It's the same if I stay and serve in the Purple Extreme Palace."

Empress Chenzhao glanced at him in surprise.

She didn't want to embarrass her husband in public and put him in a difficult position, so she waved her sleeve.

Yuchi Tingnan immediately pulled Zhao Yunhuai out of the hall. Lu Songwen walked slowly with his hands behind his back, and when he passed Xiu Ningchuan, he bumped into his shoulder as if by accident.

The hall was quiet again.

Xiu Ningchuan turned around and closed the palace door. He walked to the Empress's desk, picked up the wine pot, shook it, and put it down. Only the bottom of the pot remained.

Under the lamplight, the Empress's face glowed with a delicate blush, making her even more beautiful than if she had applied rouge.

Xiu Ningchuan clenched his fingers, unable to resist recalling the feeling of touching her cheek.

He asked, "What troubles Your Majesty?"

Empress Chenzhao only drinks when she is happy or depressed. The last time she was drunk was on their wedding day.

The current situation is clearly not the former.

Faced with his probing question, the Empress propped her head up and smiled vaguely, saying, "It's nothing, it's just that I haven't seen Songwen and the others in a long time."

Hearing this affectionate Songwen, Xiu Ningchuan said, "But I'm troubled."

The Empress raised an eyebrow and said, "Ning Chuan can be troubled? I thought Ning Chuan had already reached a high level and was unmoved by external things."

Xiu Ningchuan said, "Of course, I am also a human being, and naturally I will also be troubled by human emotions and desires."

Upon hearing this, Empress Chenzhao's eyes flickered slightly. She smiled but did not reply. She raised her hand to lift the wine cup, but he grabbed her wrist, and the wine in the cup swayed and spilled onto his front.

The lapis lazuli-colored seal script on Xiu Ningchuan's collar was visible, and the Empress's gaze involuntarily fell on his collarbone.

Why doesn't Your Majesty ask me what my seven emotions and six desires are?

The snow in his eyes seemed to have turned into stars, making Empress Chenzhao's head even more dizzy.

She frowned at her wrist, which he had grabbed, and said feigned anger, "How dare you!"

Xiu Ningchuan said, "Everyone should be bold at least once, or they'll regret it for the rest of their lives."

Empress Chenzhao pushed him away and walked towards the inner hall, saying, "I am tired and need to rest. You may leave the hall."

He appeared before her, but her avoidance became increasingly obvious.

Xiu Ningchuan said from behind her, "Doesn't Your Majesty think you should explain to me why you've been avoiding me all this time? Is this how you're being punished just for calling Your Majesty by your childhood name a few times?"

Empress Chenzhao returned to the narrow couch in the inner palace, closed her eyes, and rubbed her throbbing head.

"Who taught you to be so insolent in front of me? I will say it again, and you will immediately—"

Xiu Ningchuan had already walked up to her, his arms braced on either side of the narrow couch, and he leaned down to look at her face.

"Am I being presumptuous, or are you afraid?"

Empress Chenzhao opened her eyes and said with amusement, "What am I afraid of?"

Xiu Ningchuan's voice was deep and hoarse.

"I'm afraid I'll get into your heart."

The Queen's smile froze. She straightened her lips, turned her head away, and didn't want to see him anymore.

Xiu Ningchuan said in a low voice, "Otherwise, I really can't figure out what could be the reason."

Empress Chenzhao said, "You've misunderstood."

Xiu Ningchuan immediately retorted, "I don't believe it."

Empress Chenzhao then realized that her husband was incredibly stubborn. With her back to him, she said with a tight smile, "You came to me seeking confirmation, yet you won't listen to me?"

Xiu Ningchuan said, "I only believe what I feel."

Empress Chenzhao said in a muffled voice, "Believe it or not, I don't need to prove anything to you."

Xiu Ningchuan simply said, "It's chilly at night, don't sleep here, go to bed."

Empress Chenzhao said, "It's none of your business."

Xiu Ningchuan completely ignored what she was saying, picked her up and placed her on the sandalwood bed in the inner room.

“I can accept that Your Majesty has grand ambitions and a vast empire in your heart, and there is no place for me.”

Xiu Ningchuan said gently, "But there can't be anyone else around."

He lowered his head and gently removed her hair ornament. She looked at his handsome features and said with a strange expression, "You're too greedy."

Xiu Ningchuan thought she was talking about him, so he ran his fingers through the strands of hair that fell to her chest and held them in his palm.

"Yes, I want to have this heart."

Xiu Ningchuan helped her lie down, covered her with a blanket, and blew out the excess candlelight, leaving only one.

Seeing the Queen staring at him with her bright black eyes, refusing to close them.

Xiu Ningchuan's voice was as soft as the feather in the world as he gently coaxed, "I will leave the palace after Your Majesty falls asleep. Go to sleep, you have to get up early for court tomorrow."

Empress Chenzhao rolled over, turning her backside towards him.

Xiu Ningchuan tucked her in, and once her breathing had evened out, he lowered the bed curtains and quietly prepared to leave.

"Can you sing me a lullaby?"

Empress Chenzhao's voice came from inside the bed curtains, filled with drowsiness and a hint of unspoken anticipation.

Xiu Ningchuan turned around in surprise.

She said something else.

Upon hearing those words, Xiu Ningchuan's heart began to pound.

"If you want my heart."