Chapter 33: A-Huang’s Uncle part 1
Under the soft, warm light, a few loose strands of hair draped lightly at her temples. The pear blossom had long since been removed and pinned to the side of her hair.
Illuminated by the sun, the snow-white pear blossom seemed to glow with a faint golden hue.
The two of them were extremely close right now—so close that Gu Zhen could clearly see the redness at the tails of her eyes, her fragile, slender neck, and the Southern Pearl hanging from her earlobe.
The pearl was threaded on a long gold chain, swaying gently with the slight trembling of her body.
Gu Zhen’s expression was somewhat displeased. However, after his initial burst of annoyance passed, he felt it unnecessary to bicker with her. He reached out, rubbing Zhao Yiyi’s earlobe between his fingers, and asked softly, “What did the Empress just say? Zhen didn’t quite hear it clearly.”
He softened his tone this time, his expression no longer as cold and severe as before.
The Empress had a stubborn temperament and was impervious to persuasion; getting serious with her over these trifles would only end in him angering himself for no reason.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Yiyi kept her lips tightly sealed this time. She turned her face slightly away, staring silently at the floor rug.
Gu Zhen’s eyes darkened. He gripped her chin, forcing the Empress to turn her face back. After staring at her for a long time, Gu Zhen finally spoke in a flat voice, “Answer what Zhen just asked.”
It felt as though something was blocking her chest. The rims of Zhao Yiyi’s eyes reddened slightly. She bit her lip gently, and only after a long while did she say, “This consort has already replied to Your Majesty.”
She clearly saw the man’s eyes suddenly turn dark, like a deep pool with no bottom.
The suffocating feeling struck again. She forced herself to steady her mind and whispered back to him, “This consort believes that I have done nothing wrong.”
Gu Zhen’s expression changed abruptly. He forced himself to endure for a moment before letting his anger show, asking coldly, “Zhen ordered the Empress to think things over during this time, to reflect properly. Is this the result of the Empress’s reflection?”
Zhao Yiyi dug her fingernails into her palms, trying to use this momentary pain to sober herself up, so she wouldn’t sink into his facade of gentleness again. The threads of affection were stained with spots of blood—vivid, alive, and incredibly bright in color.
She suddenly lowered her head and smiled, placing her hand lightly on his shoulder. “But this consort does not know where the mistake lies. Could Your Majesty please tell this consort?”
Faint veins popped on the Emperor’s forehead. Knowing him as she did, Zhao Yiyi knew this was the precursor to his rage. In the Eastern Palace, she had been fortunate enough to witness him lose his temper at his subordinates once or twice.
After that, she had realized that the Crown Prince might not be as gentle as everyone thought.
Once angered, he was no different from the late Emperor, whom everyone regarded as having a hard, unyielding temperament.
Later, after spending time with him day after day, and witnessing his various methods during this period, Zhao Yiyi gradually understood: the difference between him and the late Emperor was that he wore a gentle skin.
Zhao Yiyi looked at him with a smile, waiting for his outburst. Unexpectedly, after waiting for a long time, she saw him forcibly suppress that wave of anger. He only asked in a deep voice, “Does the Empress still not understand where she went wrong to this day?”
“You inquired about matters of the front court without permission. Knowing fully well that your father was at fault, you still attempted to plead for him and interfere with government affairs.” Gu Zhen suddenly felt terribly vexed. He paused for a moment, then added, “That aside, when Zhen reprimanded you that day, you showed not a shred of repentance. Not only have you been in a pique with Zhen until now, but you also spoke those spiteful words.”
Whenever he thought of her standing there that day, tears in her eyes, looking up slightly and saying, “This consort does not have the ability to be Empress; I cannot fulfill this duty,” he felt countless fires springing up in his heart, threatening to burn her to ashes.
He closed his eyes briefly and asked coldly, “To carry on a tantrum until now over such a trivial matter… tell me, Empress, does this alone not count as a mistake?”
Her heart went completely cold, and her blood seemed to stagnate.
All the love she had held for him in the past, all those fervent thoughts, now turned into an endless karmic fire, beginning to consume her.
In this world, there is nothing more painful than being hurt by the person you care about.
Zhao Yiyi only found it laughable. He said these were trivial matters, yet why did he get angry over them? Why did he reprimand her regardless of everything in front of everyone because of them?
If it was just a trivial matter, why did he care so much?
She felt it was too absurd, too ridiculous.
“Zhao Yiyi.”
Suddenly, Gu Zhen raised his voice and called her name.
“Speak. Answer Zhen,” he commanded again.
As if waking from a dream, Zhao Yiyi looked back at him in astonishment. “So, Your Majesty knows this consort’s name?”
Gu Zhen frowned, holding her waist tight. “What do you mean?”
“This consort thought Your Majesty only knew me as ‘Crown Princess’ and ‘Empress’.” Zhao Yiyi’s lips curved slightly into a smile as she replied in a gentle, soft voice.
Her voice was clearly as gentle as always, and even her smile was as mild as usual, but reflected in his eyes, it felt incredibly piercing.
She really had a big temper; she would hold a grudge over a mere form of address.
Gu Zhen found it somewhat amusing, then said helplessly, “In your eyes, does Zhen not even know the name of his own Empress?”
The setting sun sank lower bit by bit. The palace servants had not lit the lamps, so the hall grew dimmer and dimmer, leaving only a little light shining in from the window.
Zhao Yiyi did not answer him, but continued on her own, “Your Majesty made such big moves; matters known to both the front court and the harem—when did this consort inquire privately?”
“Everyone else knew, and only this consort didn’t. Does knowing about it turn into ‘private inquiry’?”
Gu Zhen’s throat tightened. His arms gradually tightened around her, but he did not speak immediately.
Zhao Yiyi lowered her gaze, staring into his majestic, cold phoenix eyes, and whispered, “Moreover, this consort did not plead for Father that day. I had already made my attitude clear to Your Majesty: Father was indeed at fault and should be punished. But my elder brother… Brother was clearly implicated by Father; he never participated in Father’s affairs.”
By the end, her voice was choked with sobs, weeping silently.
So she was still making a fuss over this.
Gu Zhen felt a bit displeased. After a long silence, he lowered his voice. “Your father opposed Zhen, testing Zhen’s bottom line along with those noble families. Zhen thought the Empress should know what kind of crime that is. As for your brother, he is your father’s eldest son and the heir to the Marquisate. It is only natural that he be implicated.”
“Does the Empress know that Zhen had already issued an order that day forbidding anyone from pleading for mercy regarding this?” His gaze suddenly turned ice-cold, sweeping over her face like frost. “Before the Empress, Zhen had already executed several people who pleaded for those decrees.”
Seeing the Empress stunned into a daze, he revealed a hint of satisfaction. He raised his hand to gently wipe away a tear spilling from the corner of her eye and said softly, “Because you are the Empress, Zhen only scolded you a few words. Alright, be good, don’t be in a pique with Zhen anymore. It is already late spring; the Royal Sericulture Ceremony is coming soon. Zhen will accompany you then, and afterwards, take you to the western suburbs to ride horses, how about that?”
The Emperor accompanying the Sericulture Ceremony, riding horses in the western suburbs. These should have been happy things, but hearing them now only made her feel waves of coldness.
There was only one thought in her heart: cold. Cold to the point that her body began to tremble.
Gu Zhen’s arm, clamped around her waist, clearly felt the tremors.
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