CH 52

Chapter 52- The Time Has Come

“???” Liao Qing Qing was somewhat dumbfounded. She stared straight at Emperor Jing Li as she puzzled over the meaning of his words. Then, she approached him.

Emperor Jing Li tilted his body to one side.

Liao Qing Qing deliberately sat next to Emperor Jing Li.

Emperor Jing Li did not give up his seat for Liao Qing Qing.

Liao Qing Qing forcefully squeezed in beside him.

Emperor Jing Li had a disdainful expression, but he still silently moved to give Liao Qing Qing some space. He asked in a complaining tone, “Why are you squeezing with me[1]?”

“This imperial concubine[2] just wants to squeeze in beside Your Majesty.” Liao Qing Qing smiled ingratiatingly.

Emperor Jing Li, “….” He continued to tilt his face to the side and ignored her.

Liao Qing Qing hugged Emperor Jing Li’s arm with a smile on her face and softly called out, “Your Majesty, Your Majesty.”

Emperor Jing Li ignored her.

Liao Qing Qing called him again, “Your Majesty, Your Majesty.”

He continued to ignore her.

""

“Husband,” Liao Qing Qing suddenly said.

Emperor Jing Li froze for a moment and turned his head to look at Liao Qing Qing.

Liao Qing Qing immediately offered a sunflower-like smile.

Emperor Jing Li said, “Don’t smile ingratiatingly at me.”

Liao Qing Qing immediately looked serious.

Emperor Jing Li said, “You’re just pretending to be playing dumb.”

“The ultimate state of life is to play dumb,” Liao Qing Qing said.

“Do I have to praise you highly?”

“You don’t have to.”

Emperor Jing Li was about to turn his body to the side again when Liao Qing Qing tightened his arms around him. Emperor Jing Li turned his head, pretending to be cold and asked, “What are you doing?”

“Your Majesty, why are you angry again?”

“You don’t know what I’m angry about?”

“This imperial concubine doesn’t know.”

“Don’t pretend.”

“I’m not pretending.”

“Hmph.”

“This imperial concubine cares about you.”

“Only ghosts will believe that.”

“Humans will believe that too.”

“Don’t joke around.”

“I’m not joking around.”

“You are just relying on the fact that I value you greatly.”

“This imperial concubine also values Your Majesty greatly.”

Emperor Jing Li turned his head to look at Liao Qing Qing and asked, “Then you still want to raise cats and the kind that is bothersome.”

“Cats are a handful, and those that bother people are especially taxing.”

“And then what?”

“Then this imperial concubine won’t miss Your Majesty.”

“You don’t miss me anymore?” Emperor Jing Li’s face turned sullen.

“No, I don’t mean that way.” Liao Qing Qing explained, “What this imperial concubine means is that if Your Majesty visits other imperial concubines, this imperial concubine will play with the cats so that I won’t miss Your Majesty.”

“You still don’t miss me.” Emperor Jing Li’s tone became even colder.

“???” Why is this man so obstinate? Liao Qing Qing felt helpless and amused. She continued to explain, “What this imperial concubine means is that if Your Majesty is having fun with the other imperial concubines, this imperial concubine would feel uncomfortable inwardly. So playing with cats will allow me not to feel so uncomfortable.”

When Liao Qing Qing finished her sentence, she looked towards Emperor Jing Li.

Emperor Jing Li asked, “Why should I look for other imperial concubines?”

“The other imperial concubines are also your wives.”

“Nonsense, only you are.”

Liao Qing Qing stopped talking and quietly gazed at Emperor Jing Li.

Emperor Jing Li said, “I will not look for other imperial concubines, nor will I choose another concubine candidate.”

“Your Majesty, people will change.”

“You don’t trust me.”

“No.” Liao Qing Qing nuzzled her face into Emperor Jing Li’s shoulder and whispered, “Your Majesty, you are good to this imperial concubine now. This imperial concubine is aware of all of that, and this imperial concubine is also delighted by that. But life is long. This imperial concubine will get old and ugly. Your Majesty would be sick and tired of this imperial concubine one day. This imperial concubine has to look for ways to entertain herself.” This was the first time Liao Qing Qing was this emotional to the point where she would express her uneasiness and that she minded it.

The coldness in Emperor Jing Li’s body dissipated instantly, becoming gentler and affectionate. He said, “When you become older and uglier, I will also become older and uglier.”

“This imperial concubine will definitely be uglier than Your Majesty.”

“Of course.”

“???”

“But I will not disdain you.”

“???”

“I said I won’t find anyone else. If you don’t believe me, I can show it to you.”

“How?”

“There will be ample time for that later.”

“Mm.”

“Why don’t we sleep first?”

“Sleep?”

Emperor Jing Li turned around and picked up Liao Qing Qing in a bridal carry.

Liao Qing Qing was startled and hastily wrapped her arms around Emperor Jing Li’s neck. “Your Majesty, what are you doing?”

Emperor Jing Li smiled ambiguously. “What do you think?”

“You can’t. It’s broad daylight.”

“I can see clearly in broad daylight.”

Emperor Jing Li carried Liao Qing Qing towards the bed.

Liao Qing Qing struggled and shouted, “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, don’t be like this.”

“If you are disobedient, we’ll do it here.”

“???”

“Alright. You are obedient now, so that means you agree. Let’s go to bed and sleep!”

“???”

Regret!

Very regretful!

Liao Qing Qing was very regretful for shouting the word “husband” and expressing uneasiness, concern and sadness. That beast, Emperor Jing Li, solved all problems in bed. He finds different ways to torment Liao Qing Qing, making Liao Qing Qing shout “husband” and letting Liao Qing Qing believe his love.

That resulted in Liao Qing Qing sleeping until the sky grew dark.

When she woke up, she was in a daze.

She didn’t know what day it was today.

It took a while before she called He Xiang to come in.

When He Xiang entered, she told Liao Qing Qing about Virtuous Consort’s manner of handling the imperial concubines. Liao Qing Qing asked in surprise, “It was dealt with so quickly?”

He Xiang said, “All the palace maids and eunuchs have confessed.”

“How were they dealt with?”

“Worthy Consort was grounded for six months, and Lady Li of Fragrant Ceremony was demoted….” He Xiang listed a long list.

“Noble Consort Liang.”

“Now, Noble Consort Liang is not Noble Consort anymore.”

“Oh, right. It’s Consort Liang.”

“Mm. Consort Liang is grounded for six months, fined six months of her allowance and moved out of Linhua Palace.”

“Where did she move to?”

“She moved to Water Cloud Courtyard.” He Xiang said, “This time, the matter has become very big. The imperial harem is in an uproar, and it will definitely spread to the imperial court.”

Liao Qing Qing nodded her head.

But she did not expect these things to spread that fast. In just two or three days, not only had it spread to the imperial court, but it had also spread outside the palace.

Her mother, Ji Shi, wrote to her to inquire about Liao Qing Qing’s situation.

Liao Qing Qing hastily wrote back to report her safety.

However, two days later, Ji Shi’s letter arrived again. After knowing Ji Shi was relieved, Liao Qing Qing secretly let out a sigh of relief. Just then, Emperor Jing Li returned from the imperial study. Liao Qing Qing asked, “Your Majesty, did you spread the news about Consort Liang falling into the water?”

Emperor Jing Li nodded. “Yes.”

“How come it’s being spread everywhere?”

“It’s called a tactic.”

“What tactic?”

“The tactics of public opinions.” Emperor Jing Li put down his teacup, stretched out his arms and placed Liao Qing Qing on his lap. He played with Liao Qing Qing’s slender fingers. He slowly said, “Some old fogeys in the imperial court remembered the goodness of Marquis Huaishan and wrote to me every day to make Consort Liang the Empress. There was a lot of bickering once the matter of establishing an Empress was raised.”

The Empress was the mother of a nation. The Empress’ son is the legitimate son and the future Emperor. It concerned the fate of every imperial subject, so it was natural for them to be cautious and prudent.

Emperor Jing Li continued, “What virtue can Consort Liang have to become the Empress? Nonsense, it is too difficult to change the minds of those old fogeys. I will let them see the virtue of Consort Liang and let them know how good Qing Qing is. Then, I will use public opinion to force them to agree with me to establish an Empress.”

“….”

“Ay. It’s not easy to be an Emperor.”

Liao Qing Qing nodded. She did not have extensive knowledge of history, and her understanding of the job of an Emperor originated from television dramas. Initially, she thought that it was easy to become an Emperor. Then, she transmigrated to the Great Wei and got to know Emperor Jing Li… Emperor Jing Li seemed to handle the affairs of the imperial court with ease, without reasoning or rules.

It was as if he was playing.

In fact, Emperor Jing Li knew the art of equilibrium. Behind every policy and joke, there were intricate and complex obvious and hidden implications.

These were all the hard work that Emperor Jing Li did privately.

Of the three hundred and sixty-five days in a year, Emperor Jing Li spent three hundred and sixty-four days in the morning and the evening dealing with imperial court affairs, with only one day off on the Lunar New Year.

Naturally, he would pay more attention to the matter of establishing an Empress.

At first, Liao Qing Qing did not understand why Emperor Jing Li wanted to make her the Empress. However, she heard Empress Dowager say that only the Empress could sit next to the Emperor and be buried with him after death among all the imperial concubines in the harem. She was even more touched in her heart. At this moment, she proactively got up and gave Emperor Jing Li a back and shoulder massage.

Emperor Jing Li took Liao Qing Qing’s hand.

Liao Qing Qing asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Your technique is too poor.”

“???”

“You’re not as good as Fu Sheng.”

“I won’t massage you in the future.”

“You can kiss me.”

Emperor Jing Li brought his face closer to Liao Qing Qing.

Liao Qing Qing smiled and pressed her lips against Emperor Jing Li’s. Emperor Jing Li’s lips then rose and wrapped his arms around Liao Qing Qing’s slender waist. Neither of them deepened the kiss. They just slightly curved their lips and pressed against the other slightly curved lips, feeling each others’ temperature and feeling the sunlight around them.

After a while, Emperor Jing Li let go of Liao Qing Qing. His deep eyes gazed at Liao Qing Qing as he said, “Qing Qing, let’s have a child.”

“Have a child?”

“Yes.”

In her previous life, Liao Qing Qing had grown up longing for a family and had never been repulsed by the idea of having a child.

“I will help you.”

“???”

“Let’s go. I’ll help you now.”

“….”

Excuses, they are all excuses!

Liao Qing Qing and Emperor Jing Li didn’t manage to receive the news of a baby, but the good news about the potatoes. Thousands of mu[3] of potatoes planted in the Zhu prefecture all sprouted seedlings.

This was a huge joyous matter for the imperial court.

As the potatoes sprouted seedlings, the next step was to irrigate, fertilise, remove the flowers and buds, etc. Liao Qing Qing had already written a booklet and handed it to the Bureau Chief of the Department of Agricultural Products.

In order to let the people in Shu prefecture who have a thousand mu of land understand, Liao Qing had printed out a thousand copies of the booklet, which contained her drawings of different periods, at her own expense.

Fearing that there would be a slip-up, Liao Qing Qing once got permission from Emperor Jing Li to disguise as a man and survey the fields to ensure that the potatoes were growing well before her mind was at ease and spent the winter in Lisheng Pavilion.

That was right. In a blink of an eye, it was winter again.

At this time of year, the establishment of the Empress was still up in the air.

No, to be precise, the tug-of-war between Emperor Jing Li and imperial subjects was still ongoing.

However, after the downfall of Consort Liang, the support of Consort Liang and the others had weakened slightly. With the recent rise in potatoes, Liao Qing Qing’s popularity had gradually increased, and some of the imperial subjects silently sided with Emperor Jing Li.

Emperor Jing Li smiled as he accepted the defection of some of the imperial subjects and continued with the ceremony related to the establishment of the Empress. He was waiting for the right moment to announce the imperial decree.

He was in no hurry at all.

Every day, he continued to deal with the imperial court matters. When he was free, he would even arrange a blind date for Xie Yi. Emperor Jing Li happily laughed out loud when he heard that the Xie family seemed to have fancied a family of their choice and discussed the matter of the bride price.

He complacently told Liao Qing QIng about it.

Liao Qing Qing said disapprovingly, “What does his marriage have to do with this imperial concubine?”

This sentence made Emperor Jing Li beam. He hugged Liao Qing Qing in front of everyone, kissing her so loudly that the palace maids and eunuchs dropped their heads in embarrassment. The Empress Dowager and Chang Momo, who came to visit, happened to see this scene and were both stunned.

Empress Dowager, “….”

Chang Momo, “….”

When Liao Qing Qing turned her head, she noticed Empress Dowager and Chang Momo.

She was instantly embarrassed while Emperor Jing Li was indifferent. He walked up to Empress Dowager to pay his respects.

Empress Dowager coughed softly to ease the embarrassment and said, “This grieving one[4] was passing by and wanted to see Lady Xi of Bright Countenance and give a string of pomegranate beads to Lady Xi of Bright Countenance in the meantime.”

Chang Momo took out a small box and handed it to Liao Qing Qing.

Liao Qing Qing hurriedly received it and bowed to Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager glanced at Emperor Jing Li. She said that she had something to attend to, turned around and left.

Liao Qing Qing and Emperor Jing Li respectfully saw Empress Dowager off.

When the Empress Dowager was out of sight, Emperor Jing Li said, “Open it and take a look.”

Liao Qing Qing opened the beautifully carved wooden box to find a bracelet strung like a plump pomegranate. It was extremely sparkling, translucent and beautiful. She immediately said, “Wow, it’s so beautiful.”

“It has an auspicious meaning,” Emperor Jing Li said.

Liao Qing Qing asked, “What auspicious meaning?”

“Many children.”

Emperor Jing Li had mentioned more than once about having children, but there was an inexplicable feeling in her heart this time. It seems that her eldest aunt[5] hasn’t come yet this month?

The author has something to say: —

Bun: I’m coming!

Emperor Jing Li: Who are you?

Bun: Queen Mother, I want my surname to be Xie.

Emperor Jing Li: Where is my forty-metre sword?

[1] 朕(zhèn)- I (imperial) or we (imperial use).

[2] 嫔妾(pín qiè)- This imperial concubine. It is a self-appellation that can only be used by Lady of Talents (才人), Noble Lady (贵人), etc to the Emperor and Empress Dowager.

[3] 亩(mǔ)- Classifier for fields. Unit of area equal to one fifteenth of a hectare

[4] 哀家(āijiā)- This grieving one/ I (self-referring by a widowed empress etc, used in historical novels and operas)

[5] 大姨妈(dàyímā)- Eldest Aunt/Great aunt is an euphemism referring to the menstrual cycle. Similar to Aunt Flo.

Translator’s Note: Sorry for the late update. I have been even more busier lately. Also, I will most likely be posting on Sunday next week since I have a test on Saturday. Thank you for bearing with me. <3 Wishing everyone an amazing week!