[ 11 ]

The emperor was not very happy today.

Not only did the emperor’s mother not feel bad for him, but she also stood on the Empress's side!

Not only did she side with the empress, but Zhen also got scolded!

You've been eating sweets since childhood! You eat without any sense of moderation!

Just wait, sooner or later, you'll ruin both your teeth and your body from eating so much!

It's a good thing there's a capable empress to keep things in check!

Seriously. Was she really his biological mother?

The unhappy emperor angrily stormed back to his Palace and firmly refused the empress's offer to share his bed!

But later that night, the empress still came by, sneaking in through the window.

The emperor’s expression was both amusing and pitiful, lying on his stomach, with a cushion under him for support.

Actually, the swelling on his backside had gone down a bit.

The empress took out some ointment from his sleeve, wrapped his fingers in a silk cloth, and carefully applied medicine to the emperor.

Most likely, tomorrow the emperor would wake up and pout again, saying the empress took the opportunity during the night to destroy the evidence of his crime—just thinking about it made the empress suppress his laughter, leaning in to kiss the emperor’s pouting lips even in his sleep.

 

[ 12 ]

The emperor was not very happy today.

The unhappy emperor stormed off angrily to find the empress.

—How dare he sneak in during the night and destroy the evidence!

??? The empress is actually not in the palace?

What? The Emperor went drinking with the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue???

Wasn’t the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue the Emperor’s childhood friend, that brat!!!

The Emperor became even unhappier.

 

[ 13 ]

The emperor was not very happy today.

The Emperor decided to go to the Prime Minister’s residence to have a chat about life!

Although the Prime Minister was the nearsighted Prime Minister, he was actually still very young. Before entering the cabinet, he had served as the Crown Prince’s tutor. The Prime Minister had a very good temper—when the Emperor, as the Crown Prince, used to fold The Analects of Confucius into little paper boats, he never even got a slap on the wrist from him.

As a result, the Emperor enjoyed talking to the Prime Minister about life, dreams, and being an emperor. The Prime Minister, with his gentle temperament, would always smile and listen patiently.

Unlike the , whose smile always carried a certain something!

The Emperor arrived at the Prime Minister’s residence with a cheerful face, planning to give the Prime Minister a surprise.

But to his absolute shock, the General was also at the Prime Minister’s residence?!

The Emperor felt quite startled!

 

[ 14 ]

The emperor was not very happy today.

Facing the General’s grim expression, it would be strange if he could stay happy.

The General was the Empress’s older brother; the two of them were like father and son.

The General took after his father, while the Empress took after his mother.

The Empress was six feet tall, but the General was still half a head taller than him.

When the Empress wore casual clothes, he looked elegant, like a scholarly general.

No matter what the General wore, at first glance, he always appeared like a military man.

Back when the Emperor married the Empress, the General had patted the Emperor on the shoulder at the entrance to the Empress's family home. At that moment, the Emperor was completely frozen and only managed to slowly pull himself together after a while. When he looked down, he saw a dragon-shaped boot imprint pressed into the ground.

So, when the Emperor saw the General sitting in the Prime Minister's garden, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

Damn it, even though the Prime Minister was older than him, he was just as intimidating!

So graceful! Like a delicate willow swaying in the wind!

The General might actually pat him!

If he patted him, Zhen would have no more Prime Minister!

 

 

[ 15 ]

The emperor was not very happy today.

The Emperor racked his brain, trying to find a topic to chat about with his brother-in-law.

"Does the General know where the Empress went?"

"To Ronghua Alley in Pingnan District, West City, to drink with the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."
The Emperor: ???

Why does everyone except Zhen know where the Empress went??

"That’s the tavern Ah Yun went to the most before entering the palace. Their plum wine is the best in the capital."
The Emperor: ???

There’s such good wine, and no one ever told Zhen!

"Don’t worry, the Empress can handle his alcohol well. When he gets drunk, he just sleeps it off, no big deal."
The Emperor: ???!!

This is a big deal! Zhen is not even there—if the Empress gets drunk, who’s he going to sleep with?!

 

 

[ 16 ]

The emperor was not very happy today.

The Emperor, with a dark expression, found the Empress, who was reeking of alcohol, her peach blossom eyes glazed over and already starting to get drowsy.

Fine, if he’s sleepy, let him be sleepy! But he even had the nerve to flirt! The Emperor quickly covered his eyes with his hand.

In response, the Empress smiled and leaned his head into the Emperor's palm — and that made the Emperor explode with embarrassment.

Enraged, the Emperor dragged the Empress to his feet! The guards all stepped aside, not daring to interfere!

It was the perfect moment to assert his authority as the head of the household—of course, he had to act now!

Then the Emperor stumbled.

The Empress was too heavy, and maintaining authority was proving difficult.

The Emperor thought about the distant imperial palace in the northern part of the city. Then he thought about the nearby Duke Zhen Guo's residence just around the corner.

Fine, Zhen is a considerate and loving husband!

With that, the Emperor huffed and puffed as he carried the Empress back to his family’s home.

 

[ 17 ]

The emperor was not very happy today.

Although at first he was a little happy.

He brought the Empress back to his original family, in the courtyard where he used to stay — the room where Xie Yun lived before he became the Empress! It sounded just like a boudoir!

That definitely deserved a good visit!

The Emperor examined the Empress's brushes and ink, his bookshelf, and flipped through the paintings in his scroll. Wait? Who was that fatty silly-looking rabbit squinting and grinning in the painting?

The Emperor kicked the Empress playfully:

“Xie Yun, you bastard! Is Zhen really that fat?!!!”

 

[ 18 ]

The emperor was not very happy today.

The Emperor had never seen the Empress drunk, and certainly not seen him awake and still drunk.

If the Empress was fierce at times, then last night, he had crossed over into a frenzied kind of fierceness.

Moreover, the Empress was a general! Trained in martial arts!

And the bed was made of hardboard! It felt like he was pressing against the Emperor's bones.

Even if the Empress hugged him as he slept on top of the Empress afterwards!

But it was no use!

It was of no use at all! The Empress's body was still hard. It was all muscle!

The Emperor's heart was quite hurt; even punishing the Empress to kneel on the wooden board for half a stick of incense in the morning didn’t help — Actually, kneeling on the wooden bed did not have any effect on the Empress.

What hurt even more was that when the Emperor had carried the Empress home last night, it was dusk, and not many people had seen them.

But this morning, he was carried by the Empress through the entire Zhen Guo Mansion, to board a horse-drawn carriage back to the palace under the glaring eyes of everyone in broad daylight.

His authority was shaken!

[ 19 ]

The emperor was not very happy today.

The Emperor’s pet rabbit had fallen ill.

The rabbit was actually quite old. When the Emperor sent the jade pendant as a betrothal gift to the Empress, he returned the gesture by gifting him the rabbit the following day. Back then, it had been a small, fluffy white ball of fur, caught by the Empress himself. The Emperor had been overjoyed, personally feeding it and watching it hop around every day.

Now, the rabbit had aged, barely able to hop anymore, and perhaps didn’t have much time left.

The Emperor leaned sadly against the Empress's chest. “Zhen doesn’t want to raise another rabbit. They can only stay with Zhen for such a short time.”

The Empress stroked his hair and said, “Then don’t raise another one. After all, your Magesty has me. I’ll be here with your Majesty for a very, very long time.”

 

[ 20 ]

The emperor was not very happy today.

The Empress did not keep his word!

A few days ago, a military report came in: the southern barbarians had launched a full-scale invasion. Urgent news had arrived from the army, and the old General of the South, after years of service, had finally succumbed to his age. After a fierce battle, he had fallen ill.

From his sickbed, the old general struggled to write a letter with trembling hands, requesting that the Empress personally lead the army to take command of the situation in the south!

The southern barbarians were known for their cunning and ruthless tactics. Having fought them since the age of fourteen, the Empress had been the old general's most favored disciple. By all reasoning, it was time for him to wear his armor again and lead the troops as a general.

But they had promised to go to the hot springs together once autumn arrived!

The Emperor sulked, wrapping himself tightly in blankets, refusing to speak to the Empress.

“I’ll be back very soon,” the Empress reassured him, gently rubbing the curled-up Emperor through the blankets.

“You’d better not get hurt!” The Empress had many old battle scars, and they always made the Emperor feel pained along with him.

“I won’t. I won’t get hurt.”

"This time, you must keep your word. No deceiving the Emperor!"

"I won’t deceive Your Majesty."

"If you dare deceive Zhen, Zhen will take concubines! And depose you!" The Emperor poked his head out from the blankets, glaring fiercely at the Empress.

The Empress’s eyes darkened slightly, then he leaned closer and said, "These next few months, I’ll undoubtedly be in agony, wishing I could send those barbarians home as fast as possible, just so I can return to Your Majesty’s side sooner."

“Hmph, that’s still not enough!”

"So, before I leave, could Your Majesty perhaps... give me something more to remember you by?"

The Emperor: "???"

 

Translator : DarNan