NOVEL NEXT “Because of Jiang shi, Zhang shi kept acting up and the late Emperor had on several occasions summoned me over to have me reprimanded. Though he was angry, deep down, he felt less uneasy about me, as the Zhang clan wouldn’t root for me as long as Zhang shi and I were not on good terms. Besides, a lust-driven Crown Prince with a bad reputation wouldn’t pose any threat to him. He could have me deposed whenever he felt like it, using my personal affair as a pretense.”
I was so surprised and asked offhandedly, “He is your father, right?”
Qi Sheng was struck dumb and frowned.
On second thought, it’s not polite to ask in that way, so I hurriedly explained, “I mean he doesn’t look like your father.”
Qi Sheng frowned more deeply and his face was getting darker and darker under the moonlight.
The more anxious I was, the more unconvincing my explanation became. “The late Emperor is your father! Definitely! No! No! No! I should put it in this way. He should be your…”
“Enough!” Qi Sheng yelled angrily.
Feeling embarrassed, I obediently shut my mouth.
We looked at each other quietly for a while. When I wanted to say something, Qi Sheng swept a look at me with a frown. I hurriedly explained with my hand up, “I want to know what happened after that. What happened?”
Qi Sheng suddenly looked at me and smiled, as if he had just been reminded of something. After a while, his smile receded and he turned his back to me and said, “I have already told Zhang that I have a reason for my later association with Jiang. Jiang was my brother’s wife, and so there is no way I will have an affair with her. But Zhang refused to believe me and continued targeting at Jiang. Then there is the falling and you know the rest.”
I quickly followed, “What happened next?”
After thinking about it for a while, he replied in a low voice, “Later, I knew that Lord Fifth hated Jiang shi deeply because of me and almost tortured her to death. She has been through a lot, but she never complained anything to me,” His voice was getting lower and lower, and in the end he was like talking to himself, “It’s unfair to her. She risked her life for me, but all I could do was to make her want for nothing.”
By now, I had pretty much figured out where this story was headed, but I couldn’t help but continued asking, “What happened then?”
Qi Sheng turned back and looked at me with lips lowered.
I realized what that meant immediately and regretted inwardly. Usually, when reaching the climax of a story, you were expected to either clap your hands or shake your head with a sigh. People didn’t usually respond by asking more questions.
As sleepy as I was, all I wanted was going back to sleep as soon as possible. After seeing his face, I tried to do something to make up for the mistake I made just now. Shaking my head, I replied with a long sigh, “What a pity. It would have been a good marriage. You just never know how everything would turn out.”
After I finished my words, Qi Sheng’s face got darker again.
Qi Sheng sized me up and down for a long time, and then asked, “Pengpeng. Are you really confused or are you playing dumb?” I didn’t like the way he talked about anything as if they were some mysteries I have to solve by myself. After pondering over his words, I looked up at him and asked, “Where are you going with this?”
Qi Sheng looked at me and said nothing.
Realizing that he was probably confused, I rephrased, “Put it this way, what do you want me to do exactly? For example, how frequent should me meet? How long should our conversation last? Do you want me to be passionate or cold when we meet? How big a smile do you expect from me when I smile?”
Qi Sheng said nothing, but he was obviously gasping for air.
I was really frightened that he would be mad at me, so I continued bluntly, “Qi Sheng, I hear you. I know you are trying to justify your decision to marry Zhang for power and your decision to give up Jiang. You want me to know that you didn’t have a choice and that you are actually a good man. However, Zhang was dead, and Jiang shi who you have wronged before is now living in the palace. That is the truth! You want to bring down the Zhang clan now, so you come for me, don’t you?”
With fists clenched, Qi Sheng stood there quietly looking at me. After a long while, he slowly asked in a cold voice, “Is that what you think?”
My legs had been suspended for a while, so I felt a little numb. I couldn’t help but place a leg on the railing and then I looked up at Qi Sheng, “What else am I supposed to think? That’s just what you have been doing all along! Qi Sheng. Couldn’t you quit using woman as if they are your tools? You have learned so many about how to govern a country. Apply what you have learnt to solve your problems, will you?”
Qi Sheng stared at me, and asked, “Pengpeng, you hate me, don’t you?”
I felt it’s a subtle question and it was a bit difficult to answer. I thought about it over and over, then I decided to answer this question with more of a direct answer, “No, I don’t. I mean it. If I were you, I will crack down on the Zhang clan as well. However, I am the empress now, and an empress from the Zhang clan no less. Going against the Zhang clan would be the same as going against myself. What do you expect? I should dance along feeling happy for your success?”
Qi Sheng kept silent.
I continued, “Besides, even if I don’t mind you going after my family, you cannot expect me to believe that I am important to you when you are trying to ruin my family. Are you taking me for a fool?”
Qi Sheng remained silent for a long while before asking, “You are really insightful…”
I sighed, “It wasn’t hard to see through the whole thing.”
Qi Sheng smiled and replied, “I know you are just pretending to be stupid.”
I shrugged my shoulders, “It has been hard on me.”
Qi Sheng looked at me and said, “Lord Ninth is no simple person. Do you really trust him?”
I goggled my eyes and looked at him in disbelief, “No. I don’t even trust you. How is it possible that I would trust him? After all, we’ve shared a bed before. I don’t even know him that well.”
Qi Sheng was rendered speechless and he only sighed in response.
I laughed and said frankly, “But now I understand that neither the Zhang clan nor Lord Ninth should be brought down. I am counting on them to support me. Besides, Your Majesty doesn’t have to get rid of them right now, after all, what is a successful reign without a balance of powers? Isn’t it good for them to keep each other under check?”
Qi Sheng laughed. “Pengpeng, I have never known a girl like you before.”
All of sudden, Qi Sheng suddenly reached out to me.
I was dumbfounded and didn’t know what he was trying to do.
His hand was suspended in the air and he made a gesture to beckon me over. I hesitated to put my hand on his hand, then he picked me up and suddenly held my waist and lifted me up on top of the railing. Then he turned my body back and told me to face towards the outside.
From where I stood, I could see the starry sky above and the glistening city down below, coupled with the breezy wind and the fragrance from the flowers, it almost felt like a dream.
My goodness. Though I was a man, I must admit that what Qi Sheng just did was brilliant!
Qi Sheng spoke from behind me in a soft tone, “Pengpeng, let’s have a bet, shall we?”
I hesitated over how I should reply. The steep cliff under me was too much of a horror. I wonder if I said no, he would push me down and call it an accident.
Sensing my hesitation, Qi Sheng gently placed his forehead on my back and asked, “Hmm? What do you say, Pengpeng?”
His words sent a thrill down my spine. I couldn’t help but tremble. After taking a big breath, I turned back and asked, “What’s the wager?”
Qi Sheng held his head up and looked at me, his dark eyes reflected the beautiful moonlight. He replied, “My empire, you and me.”
I then added, “A bet about what?”
Qi Sheng replied, “See if can protect you all my life.”
I smiled and remained silent.
Qi Sheng then added, “If I lose, I will willingly give you my empire. But if I win,” he paused, and then resumed speaking, “You have to be totally devoted to me and admiring this world together with me.”
I blurted out, “Forget it!”
Qi Sheng was struck dumb and asked, “Why?”
I couldn’t help but laugh, “What do you take me for, a little girl? If you lose, you have no means to protect me. If that’s the case, how is it possible that you give me your empire? It’s not as easy as taking off your pants.”
Qi Sheng just looked at me in silence.
I was a bit concerned with whether I was being too harsh on him.
After a while, Qi Sheng smiled and held me down from the railings and said, “Let’s head back.”
Then, he dragged me out of the pavilion. I tried several times to free my hands, only to find that his grip had been stronger. Unable to break free, I could only follow him.
We had been silent for the entire trip home. Qi Sheng accompanied me to the entrance of the Xing Sheng Palace and only then did he turn back and leave.