Chapter 85 The Elegant Gathering (Part Two)
"Qingniang, I have a headache!"
Yan Di, pale-faced, buried his face in front of her and hugged Qingqing's waist tightly, his body trembling slightly, as if he had suffered a great injustice.
Qingqing was anxious, but when she heard him call out like that, her hand that was stroking his head immediately froze.
Wang Ke, Zhu Si, and the others stood dumbfounded to the side, unsure whether to advance or retreat, creating an extremely awkward situation.
This unassuming young woman, so out of place, was none other than Imperial Attendant Yang, no, Empress Yang? The young emperor rushed towards her without a word, showing such utmost trust?
After considering the matter for a moment, Wang Ke took the lead in paying his respects: "Your Majesty, His Majesty has suddenly suffered a headache. Would it be necessary to summon a physician to examine him?"
Learning from past mistakes, Wang Ke dared only take half a step forward this time, speaking from a distance across an open space. The other scholars, following suit, all apologized from afar.
As soon as he finished speaking, Qingqing felt her waist being pinched.
She then spoke solemnly to the unfamiliar young man:
"Your Majesty suffers from an old ailment from childhood, which is incurable, but it has not flared up for a long time. Young sir, may I ask what happened just now that agitated Your Majesty and caused it to relapse?"
Her face was serious, yet she exuded an air of authority. Wang Ke was startled and quickly glanced at Zhu Silang, who was still clutching his arm.
Zhu Silang was startled: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, just now we invited Your Majesty to play dice. Your Majesty won a great victory and suddenly fell ill while celebrating, which is why you injured me."
Ailanthus?
Qingqing lowered her eyes quietly, while the dark head in her arms kept nuzzling around, pretending to be completely innocent.
Her private parts throbbed with pain from being pressed against the ground, causing her to involuntarily gasp and loosen her grip slightly, asking with a hint of accusation:
"His Majesty never touches these gambling games when he is in the capital. Your sudden invitation has only provoked him. Please have a carriage brought so I can take His Majesty back to the governor's mansion to rest."
Wang Ke sensed something was wrong; their return would likely displease his uncle. Just then, Cui Shenxiu and Wang Shu arrived at the waterside pavilion with the noble ladies from the warm chamber. Wang Du, with his sharp eyes, quickly went to greet them.
"Cui Shiqi Niang, Your Majesty, what should we do?"
Before he could finish speaking, Wang Shu rebuked him:
"What do you mean by that, cousin? His Majesty's headache was triggered when he was with you. Why don't you ask yourself, but instead ask Shenxiu?"
Wang Ke's face darkened. Wang Shu was fiercely protective of her own, not even giving face to her own cousin. However, his status was inferior to Wang Shu's. "Cousin, are you being unreasonable? Are you implying I deliberately plotted to harm His Majesty? Cui Shiqi Niang is the head of the household; if something happens to His Majesty, can she absolve herself of responsibility?"
Cui Shenxiu remained silent, his gaze fixed on the two people huddled together in an extremely inappropriate manner, and suddenly said:
"Since this incident occurred at the Cui family's villa, the Cui family naturally bears the responsibility. Your Majesty is already feeling unwell and will not be able to endure further travel. It would be better for you to rest at Yunshui Courtyard for the time being until you feel better before continuing your journey."
Qingqing suddenly felt her waist being wrapped even tighter, and quickly said:
"No! Your Majesty... has trouble sleeping in a particular bed! Please, young lady, escort us back to the manor immediately."
Choi Sin-soo's eyebrows twitched slightly, and she was about to say something more when a calm male voice interrupted her.
"This old servant, Cui An, has come on the orders of my master."
The crowd looked in the direction of the voice and saw a middle-aged scholar standing at the entrance of the waterside pavilion. Although he was dressed as a servant, his speech and manners were quite elegant.
Cui Shenxiu asked in surprise, "Uncle An?"
While others might not know, Cui Shenxiu was certainly the most familiar with him. Cui An was Cui Xun's personal attendant, and like the reclusive Cui Xun, he rarely appeared in public.
My uncle has been detached from worldly affairs for many years, yet today he has made an exception for this young emperor.
Cui An smiled and said, "My lord is looking for his wife, so please entrust this matter entirely to this old servant."
Cui Shenxiu had known Cui An since childhood. His uncle had asked him to clean up the mess, meaning there was no room for maneuver.
Even if they don't want to, they have no choice but to agree.
Wang Shu looked at her with concern, but didn't dare to interrupt, so she simply stepped aside.
Only then did Cui An gracefully walk past the silent scholars and solemnly bow towards Yan Dibai and Qingqing:
“Cui An, servant of the Cui family, pays his respects to Your Majesty. My master heard that Your Majesty was feeling unwell and specially ordered me to bring you calming incense pills. He also asked me to convey a message: Today’s gathering was meant to be enjoyable. If Your Majesty has been troubled due to our inadequate arrangements, it is all the fault of the Cui family.”
These words lightly shifted all the blame onto the Cui family, giving everyone a way out.
Qingqing hesitantly nudged Yan Dibai, but he seemed to have truly fainted, remaining motionless. She had no choice but to turn to this new figure with sparkling eyes.
"His Majesty's old illness has flared up again, and he is temporarily unable to hear clearly. I will speak on his behalf. Thank you, my lord."
Cui An raised his eyes, scrutinizing the girl who had spoken so loudly, her smile unreadable:
"This... is this Imperial Attendant Yang?"
Wang Ke gently reminded him, "Uncle An, this is the Empress."
Cui An glanced at him but ignored him. Wang Ke shut up, feeling annoyed.
Qingqing could only nod: "It's me. Forgive my ignorance, but I don't know who your husband is?"
Cui An lowered his eyes, "It's alright. I heard that the young lady risked her life to carry His Majesty out of the fire. I've imagined it many times, but I can hardly picture what she looked like. Seeing her now, I'm quite surprised."
As he spoke, he looked her up and down again. Then he frowned slightly. His expression wasn't exactly one of disgust, but rather a strange hint of regret.
Qingqing didn't understand what this meant. Cui An had already turned to the guests, his tone gentle but unquestionable:
"The autumn dew is heavy. Gentlemen and ladies, why don't you return to your residences to rest? My husband will certainly host a banquet another day to invite you all to enjoy tea and discuss poetry."
Wang Ke and the others felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and quickly bowed and took their leave.
Cui An: "To make up for today's dereliction of duty, the Cui family will soon prepare generous gifts to send to Your Majesty's residence as an apology. Please have Your Majesty take good care of him. If there is anything lacking, just let the gatekeeper of the Cui residence know."
Qingqing thanked her and helped the unsteady Yan Dibai board the carriage with a clatter.
Only after the person left did Cui An finally turn his gaze away and quickly step into the backyard.
After passing through a winding corridor and behind a rockery pavilion, Cui An parted the beaded curtain and said in a deep voice to those inside:
"My lord, His Majesty is disheveled and clinging to that maidservant, refusing to let go or stay any longer."
The scent of sandalwood wafted through the air, and the owner inside sighed:
"Does he now completely disregard all respect and etiquette? That maid... how dare she have such audacity?"
Before Cui An could answer, the man gave his own answer: "That's true. The bond forged in adversity is different, and he's young, so it's understandable that he might not see things clearly at first."
"How was the birth?"
"Today I saw that this maid had not applied any powder or makeup. Judging from her facial features alone, she is of above-average quality."
"...I'm not good enough for him."
The man coughed a few times, and finally asked, trembling, the question he dared not ask most: "Is he still healthy?"
Cui An was pleased: "He has the strength to punish the scholars and his steps are steady. Now that he's far from the poison of that lacquer on the wall, things seem to be getting better and better."
Cui An heard the person inside laugh: "Good, good. My hard work has not been in vain, not in vain... cough! I have cleared the internal affairs. As expected of the Yan family and... bloodline. It's good that you are healthy, it's good that you are healthy."
The man laughed for a while, then fell silent: "Summon Shenxiu. I want to ask her some serious questions."
Upon receiving the order, Cui An took Cui Shenxiu, who was detained in the courtyard, away.
Upon seeing this, Cui Shenxiu's doubts deepened.
-
As soon as they got in the car, Qingqing pushed Yan Dibai inside and hurriedly straightened the front of her shirt, which he had rubbed so badly.
Yan Dibai was no longer sickly at all. He casually smoothed his slightly disheveled hair, not even glancing at the incense pills Cui An had sent. He then casually laid out a dozen or so tokens from his sleeve—jade pendants, gold buttons, fan pendants, and the like—on the cushion.
He picked up Wang Ke's jade pendant engraved with the character "Ke", twirled it between his fingers, then tossed it aside with disdain and sneered, "He really is richer than a country."
Qingqing leaned closer and saw his pockets full of loose change, which reminded her of the earth-shattering "Lu" she had heard in the warm pavilion.
Thinking about everything that had just happened, she was both annoyed and amused: "Did you go to rob someone?"
"They brought this on themselves." Yan Dibai scoffed, handing a few unmarked items to Qingqing. "As for Wang Ke, I was already showing that old man Wang Du some respect by not killing him on the spot."
He suddenly remembered something, turned his head and glared at Qingqing:
"And you, that old servant from the Cui family was sizing you up, and you didn't even try to look away? You just let him stare at you!"
This unfounded accusation startled Qingqing: "...If someone wants to see, am I supposed to blindfold them?"
"Why don't you stand behind me? If anyone stares at you again, just tell me, and I'll gouge their eyes out!"
Qingqing: "...My Emperor, you were just having a headache."
Yan Dibai choked, "There isn't a single good old man in this world. Wang Du is like that, and Cui Xun must be the same. He ordered his half-hearted niece to organize an elegant gathering to scout the way, and in the end, he even wanted me to stay. You can see what he's up to."
As they were talking, Yan Dibai suddenly grabbed Qingqing's shoulders with a serious expression and examined her carefully from her hair to her shoes.
How did those women make things difficult for you?
When the topic of the warm chamber came up, Qingqing remembered her boastful words and said rather unnaturally:
"It's not really making things difficult. It's just the usual mockery of my clothes and makeup, it's not harmful at all."
Yan Dibai didn't believe it: "None of the people here are easy to deal with. Confess honestly."
Qingqing brushed his hand away, turned around and sat up straight: "Really, no. Even if you're not exactly easy to deal with, you're still much easier to deal with than the imperial harem. All they want to know is about you. For example, when are you going to marry your principal wife?"
Qingqing looked at him again: "By the way, what did you say to those people? They suddenly called me Empress, and I had just explained my identity to the noble ladies, and then—"
Yan Dibai's expression grew increasingly strange. Qingqing hesitated, "You don't really mean that you and I are...that kind of relationship, do you?"
Yan Di's white eyelashes suddenly drooped down, as if she had tacitly agreed.
Qingqing was stunned: "How could you do this!"
She learned from the lessons of many online novel protagonists, warning herself not to get too emotionally involved and to try to view everything independently and objectively, all to avoid such a complicated entanglement!
What happened when the noble and aloof Emperor Yan Dibai suddenly launched a sneak attack and labeled her as "Empress"?
"If you really want to thank me, then hurry up and bring peace to the world, and quickly return to your throne as the ruler of the world. There's no need to risk your entire life... This kind of thing will be recorded in history, won't it?"
The reason she spoke those words to the noble ladies was ultimately because she was Yan Dibai's confidante and a person with an independent personality. But Qingqing had never truly coveted that position.
Never before.
Qingqing was very flustered.
She could already imagine how the rumors would spread.
"Or... why don't you go back and dispel the rumors? All the powerful families are eyeing your position as empress; I can't help you with that—"
"Yang Liuqing! Are you really going to be so stubborn?"
The boy, who had been silent all along, suddenly let out a low growl and grabbed her wrist with such force that it hurt her. His eyes instantly turned red, and he stared at her intently.
Qingqing was stunned by the surging emotions in his eyes. "I—"
Yan Dibai lunged at her relentlessly, their noses almost colliding, and the veins on his forehead throbbed violently.
"I know you love me very much!"
These days, whenever I see her, my heart races uncontrollably, and I can't help but pretend to be gazing at her face and voice.
Hanging clothes out to dry, cooking, making beds, sweeping and dusting.
It was something so ordinary, yet it possessed immense power. He longed for... to savor every insult and reproach she uttered.
Fear and anxiety filled her. She tossed and turned for several nights, and as time passed day by day, Yan Dibai gradually and helplessly came to terms with the truth.
He seems to have become completely inseparable from Yangliuqing.
She had fulfilled the woman's expectations of a man perfectly, though not flawlessly. Yan Dibai, despite his own harshness, was repeatedly rendered speechless by their shared experiences. She didn't complain, nor did she ever entertain the slightest thought of leaving him.
The boy's inherent pride softened unexpectedly overnight. His eyes were filled with her face, and after a moment of trembling, he felt a surge of excitement, thinking: the gathering is a good opportunity. He planned anxiously for days, and when the plan finally came to fruition, he suddenly realized that openly explaining their relationship, giving her a surprise, and offering her a position he had never spoken of, yet one worthy of her every word and action, was not difficult at all.
Instead, I felt light and airy, as if I were floating in the clouds.
But why did she show no joy at all?
"Why won't you admit it!"
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Author's Note: Duck Egg White: This woman is so damn stubborn. She clearly loves me to the point of risking her life, but she just won't admit it. It's so painful.
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