Chapter 346 Extra Chapter 2: What if the transmigrator hadn't appeared (1)
(Note before reading: The dream described at the beginning did not actually happen; it was just a dream the female protagonist had after hearing what the transmigrator said.)
"His Majesty……"
"Your Majesty... wake up..."
The calls grew clearer as they approached from afar.
Chen Yanqing suddenly opened his eyes, only to be met with complete darkness and a blurry figure in front of him.
His heart was pounding so hard it hadn't calmed down, and his back was soaked in cold sweat, as if he had just struggled out of the water.
Seeing him open his eyes, the person in front of him breathed a sigh of relief and asked gently, "Your Majesty, what's wrong? Are you having a nightmare? You're covered in cold sweat."
Chen Yanqing was stunned for a moment before his chaotic consciousness gradually returned.
He then realized that everything that had just happened was a dream.
But that dream... felt too real.
The bitterness of unrequited love, the agonizing pain of flesh and blood decay, and the bittersweet taste and the despair that surged from the back of the tongue when biting off one's tongue to commit suicide...
Every scene felt so real, as if I had experienced it myself.
Who exactly is the woman in his dream who caused him such despair, love and hate, and obsession?
And finally, who was the person who told him, "This story is over, and I'm going to start a new one"?
For a moment, dreams and reality intertwined, making him dizzy and unable to distinguish where he was or who he was.
He took a deep breath and raised his hand to rub his throbbing temples.
Seeing that he looked dazed, the person in front of him reached out and pulled back the bed curtains.
Inside the bedchamber, several palace candles burned quietly, and the dim light shone through, finally allowing him to see the person in front of him clearly.
Oh, right, it's his empress, Su Qingci.
She was only wearing a plain white silk undergarment, her long, black hair loose and flowing over her shoulders. She was kneeling on the dragon bed, looking at him with a worried expression.
Chen Yanqing raised his eyes again and slowly scanned his surroundings.
The familiar bright yellow curtains, the bedposts carved with dragons and phoenixes, the ambergris scent that permeated the air, unique to the imperial bedchamber...
It turned out that this was not a dungeon, but his own palace, on his own dragon bed.
"Your Majesty, you don't look well." Su Qingci picked up a silk handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Did you have a nightmare? Are you feeling any better now?"
"It's nothing, just a dream." Chen Yanqing shook his head, his voice still slightly hoarse from the nightmare.
Su Qingci's slender eyebrows furrowed slightly, clearly indicating that she was not entirely at ease.
Seeing that he seemed unwilling to talk more, she did not press him. "That's good. I was really frightened just now. I couldn't wake you up no matter how I called you."
Seeing that his lips were dry, she asked, "Your lips are a little dry, would you like some water to moisturize them?"
Seeing Chen Yanqing nod, Su Qingci got up, poured a glass of water under the bed, and helped him drink it slowly.
The warm water seemed to slightly alleviate the dryness in my throat and the inexplicable stuffiness in my heart.
Feeling a bit better, Chen Yanqing asked, "What time is it now?"
Upon hearing this, Su Qingci turned and glanced out the window.
The faint morning light was already filtering through the windows of the sleeping quarters, and the sky was turning a pale white.
"It should be almost dawn soon. Soon, it will be time for the morning court session."
She placed the empty cup back on the low table by the bedside and sat back down beside him. "Does Your Majesty wish to get up now? Then may I assist you in changing your clothes?"
Chen Yanqing's gaze fell on her gentle features, and his heart suddenly stirred.
Compared to the blurry figure in his dream that brought endless pain and destruction, the woman before him, with her tranquility, gentleness, and wholehearted devotion, gave him a sense of warmth, as if he had survived a catastrophe.
The more I look at him, the more pleasing he seems.
He suddenly reached out and grabbed Su Qingci's wrist.
His other hand then wrapped around her slender waist without saying a word.
With a little effort, he pulled that soft body, warm and faintly fragrant, into his arms.
"Ugh..." Su Qingci was caught off guard and let out a soft gasp as she fell into his warm and firm chest.
Chen Yanqing buried his face in the hollow of her neck, which exuded a delicate fragrance, and whispered with a sigh, "You smell so good..."
Su Qingci instantly understood his intention, and her cheeks flushed crimson.
She struggled to push him away, her voice trembling with shyness: "Your Majesty, no... it's getting late, you still have to attend court..."
Chen Yanqing tightened his arms, holding her even closer, his lips brushing against her earlobe. "It's still early... Besides, I am the emperor. What's wrong with making them wait a little while?"
"As the saying goes, the spring night is too short and the sun rises high, so the emperor no longer holds morning court." His breath brushed against her neck, causing her to tremble slightly. "With such a beauty as my beloved concubine by my side, what does it matter if I don't attend court?"
"Your Majesty..." Su Qingci's voice became softer and more gentle, and her resistance lessened.
A large hand suddenly ripped down the bright yellow bed curtains, cutting off the light from both inside and outside once again.
The atmosphere was just getting warmer when a sharp, urgent shout suddenly came from outside the door, breaking the idyllic scene.
"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! The Cold Palace... the Cold Palace is on fire!"
Chen Yanqing was immersed in the warmth and fragrance of the woman when he was suddenly interrupted, and his face instantly darkened.
"If there's a fire, put it out! What do you need me for? Do you think I can put out fires?"
Only Su Qingci, nestled in his arms, had a clearer look in her eyes and whispered a reminder, "Your Majesty, the Cold Palace... is now occupied by Consort Zhao."
"Consort Zhao?" Chen Yanqing frowned.
He had many beauties in his harem, each with their own unique charm, and for a moment he couldn't recall who this title corresponded to.
Seeing that he didn't remember, Su Qingci explained in a low voice, "Zhao Jieyu is the eldest princess who once impersonated His Majesty."
Chen Yanqing's mind went blank for a moment, and he became completely awake.
It's her! Li Yuanzhao!
The woman who took his place for over a decade, causing him to suffer countless hardships in the common people!
That troublemaker should have been eliminated early on, following his father's dying instructions, at the beginning of his reign to prevent future problems!
But that fiery, unruly woman always made him feel a little itchy whenever he saw the undisguised contempt and disdain in her eyes.
Kill her? That's too lenient.
He wanted to break her pride, crush her dignity, and make her willingly grovel at his feet.
So he not only didn't kill her, but also casually bestowed upon her the title of "Zhao Jieyu" and put her into the harem.
However, in the past two weeks, he has visited Linfang Palace several times, trying both soft and hard approaches, but to no avail.
A few days ago, he even had the Imperial Hospital secretly prepare aphrodisiacs and mix them into his food.
He thought everything was foolproof, but he didn't expect that the woman, even after being drugged, was still fierce and almost broke his neck on the spot!
Since then, he was still shaken and felt really disappointed, so he ignored her for a few days.
Yesterday, she was so angry that she ordered all of her servants to be dismissed, her food and drink cut off, and her to be banished to the Cold Palace on the grounds that she had tried to poison the Empress, in an attempt to temper her arrogance.
But unexpectedly, something bad happened after only one day!
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