Chapter 183 Purpose
The wheels rolled over the bluestone road, making a dull "gurgling" sound.
The carriage was filled with the best incense.
Shen He sat upright, his back straight, his hands flat on his knees.
The scene outside the window quickly receded, and the shadow of the vermilion palace wall flashed across her calm face.
She knows.
She had caused such a big fuss at the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet that it was inevitable that the Emperor would be wary of her.
She slowly closed her eyes.
None of this matters. Her goal has been achieved, and she will naturally have to pay some price, but she doesn't care.
***
Imperial study.
The air seemed to have frozen into ice.
The bright yellow dragon robe sat on the main seat, like a silent mountain, emitting a suffocating pressure.
The emperor held a red pen in his hand, but he did not put it down. His pair of weathered dragon eyes, sharp as an eagle, stared straight at the slender figure kneeling below.
Manager Li stood aside with his hands hanging down, even breathing very lightly, for fear of disturbing the calm before the storm.
"Your humble servant, Chen He, pays homage to His Majesty. Long live His Majesty."
Chen He's voice was clear and cold, and it was particularly clear in the silent hall.
She leaned down and performed a standard bow.
The emperor said nothing.
He didn't even yell "Stand still."
Time passes by bit by bit.
The invisible pressure seemed to crush her whole body on the cold floor tiles.
Chen He was still kneeling, motionless, not even his eyelashes trembling.
for a long time.
The emperor's deep voice, with a hint of coldness, finally sounded.
"I have already issued an edict, ordering the Ministry of Rites to begin preparations for the adoption of adopted sons and daughters."
There was no emotion in his voice.
Chen He slowly raised his head, a perfect expression of surprise and gratitude on his face, as if he didn't feel the suffocating majesty.
There was a lilt of admiration in her voice.
"Your Majesty, I congratulate you."
The emperor looked at her.
Looking at her perfect face without a single flaw.
He suddenly laughed.
That smile did not reach his eyes, but instead was like a cold wind that made his bones ache.
"oh?"
He gently placed the red brush in his hand on the inkstone, making a light "click" sound.
"happy event?"
"But why do I feel so unhappy?"
The emperor leaned forward slightly, his eyes, which could see through people's hearts, fixed on Shen He.
"instead……"
"I feel like I've been used as a raft and exploited."
Chen He was slightly stunned.
Then, she raised her eyes, her gaze clear, without a trace of guilt.
There was a perfect hint of pure confusion in her voice.
"Your servant..."
"I don't understand what your Majesty means."
The emperor smiled, but the smile became even colder.
"not understand?"
He stood up from the dragon throne and took two steps. The hem of his bright yellow dragon robe drew a silent arc on the floor tiles.
"It doesn't matter. I have plenty of time."
He walked to the window, stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes seemed to penetrate the palace walls and fall on the distant Shen family.
"I didn't sleep all night last night."
The emperor's voice was slow and every word seemed to be wrapped in cold air.
"I was just thinking about it, ever since you made that shocking statement at the Queen Mother's birthday banquet, saying you wanted to marry Jing Chizi..."
“Every move you make is like placing a piece on a chessboard.”
"Every step, every step, hits my heart, forcing me to follow your wishes, protect you, and even... honor you."
He turned around, his eyes fixed on Shen He again.
"I even admire you a little."
The word "admiration" was spoken with great emphasis and was full of irony.
"Chen He, how did you calculate so accurately and so cruelly?"
There was deathly silence in the hall.
There were only the emperor's footsteps and the occasional sound of wind coming from outside the window.
Chen He was still kneeling, his eyes lowered, his long eyelashes casting a small shadow under his eyes, as if he were an old monk in meditation.
The emperor's question was like a huge rock thrown into a deep pool, but it didn't even cause a ripple.
She didn't speak.
There was no panic at all.
Her silence is itself a silent contest.
The emperor looked at her stubborn expression and the coldness in his eyes grew even stronger.
He stopped, walked back to her, and looked down at her condescendingly.
"At the same time, I am also wondering why."
His voice was low and dangerously inquisitive.
"You are a weak girl from a distant past, but you went through so much trouble to set up such a big scheme. What on earth is your purpose?"
Shen He finally took action.
She slowly raised her head.
There was no fear or grievance on that plain little face, only an unfathomable calmness.
She met the emperor's scrutinizing gaze, and even a faint curve appeared at the corner of her lips.
"That……"
Her voice was soft, but it echoed clearly in every corner of the imperial study.
"Has your Majesty thought of this?"
This rhetorical question is extremely treasonous.
Manager Li was terrified as he listened to this. He lowered his head even lower and wished he could curl up into a ball.
The emperor did not get angry but laughed instead.
"ha."
He uttered a short, ambiguous laugh and sat back on the dragon throne.
He knocked on the table with his knuckles, and the "thump thump" sound was like a death drumbeat.
"I once heard..."
The emperor leaned forward slightly again, his eyes that could see through people's hearts seemed to see through Shen He's soul.
"Minglan."
His voice paused, as if he was enjoying the trembling of his prey before being cornered.
"He likes you very much, doesn't he?"
The air in the imperial study seemed to freeze at this moment.
Manager Li's breathing stopped for a moment, and he felt the cold sweat on his back soaking through his underwear.
An ordinary woman, if such a private affair was exposed by the current emperor, would probably be ashamed to death or panic-stricken.
Chen He's eyelashes didn't even tremble.
She faced the emperor's dragon eyes that seemed to be able to see through everything, as calmly as if she was discussing today's weather.
Then, she opened her red lips and uttered a word.
"yes."
Just this one word.
No excuses, no panic.
Be decisive and open.
He was slightly stunned.
Then, the interest in those deep eyes became even stronger.
"Oh."
The emperor smiled with satisfaction.
He leaned back on the dragon throne, and the tense, oppressive aura suddenly relaxed.
Like a cat playing with a mouse, it temporarily put away its claws and began to enjoy the fun of the game.
"very good."
He nodded, his knuckles pausing to crack.
"So I was thinking..."
The emperor's voice slowed down, and each word had a long tail, echoing in the empty hall.
"You and Jingren, once upon a time, seemed like a done deal."
"Everyone in the capital says that you two are a match made in heaven."
He seemed to be chatting casually, but his eyes were as sharp as a knife, fixed on Chen He.
"I don't know what caused you to turn against each other..."
He didn't expect Shen He to answer at all, so he changed the subject and continued talking to himself.
"So, you set your sights on Jing Chi."
There was a cruelty in the emperor's tone that seemed to know everything.
"Because Jingchi is a child."
"He is simple and doesn't understand anything."
"A blank sheet of paper, free for you to paint."
When he said this, the smile on his lips contained a hint of undisguised sarcasm.
"If it were anyone else, any of my sane sons..."
"Who can accept a woman who has had feelings for her brother?"
These words are extremely hurtful.
He almost tore off Shen He's face and threw it on the ground to step on it.
But Chen He still knelt straight.
There was no trace of humiliation or anger on that plain little face.
It was as if the emperor was telling someone else's story.
"But you, your ambitions go beyond this."
"You didn't give up, did you?"
"So, you put your efforts into Minglan."
"My newly adopted son," the emperor casually announced, "is now considered a prince."
"He likes you so much and is completely devoted to you."
The emperor leaned forward again, resting his elbows on the imperial desk, his eyes that could see through people's hearts seemed to be able to see through Shen He's soul.
His voice was extremely low, like the devil's whisper, full of deadly temptation and deception.
"If you choose him again..."
"Can't you still live a normal life as a prince's consort?"
"Chen He."
He stared at her and asked her word by word, as if it were the final judgment.
"That's what I said, right?"
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