CH 48

TL: Jalyss

Chapter 8 – The Ice Lord’s Life (part 6)

Imperial Palace – Qing Xin Hall

Ye Mu Li was half lying on the couch reading a book. He had an apple in his right hand, eating it as he read. This image was completely unlike one of an emperor who ruled the world.

“Your Majesty, Master Xing has been kneeling outside for two hours. Will Your Majesty summon Master Xing?” a little eunuch asked respectfully.

“Xiao Shan Zi, is it hot outside?” Ye Mu Li asked with a smile.

“Answering Your Majesty, the sun is fierce,” Xiao Shan Zi answered honestly.

“Go tell the people outside that We have already fallen asleep. Whatever they want to discuss can wait until We wake up.” Ye Mu Li took another bite of the apple before saying, “Get someone to fetch some apple juice. Remember, don’t deal with those messy things.”

“Yes. What about Master Xing…?”

“Since he likes to kneel, let him kneel in front of Father Emperor’s mausoleum. We want to go to emperor father’s mausoleum. It will be a little boring, so let him accompany Us.” Ye Mu Li’s eyes flashed with an unknown emotion.

“This servant will go and convey the emperor’s will.” But just as he had walked a couple of steps, a leisurely voice called out from behind him.

“Xiao Shan Zi, someone is coming. Go meet the guest first.”

Xiao Shan Zi was surprised, but quickly understood who the emperor was referring to as that person had already entered Qing Xin Hall.

“The Empress Dowager is auspicious.” A graceful, middle-aged woman in a luxurious dress appeared in the hall, radiating with anger. Her eyes, which should have been filled with kindness, were instead filled with a ferocious anger.

After seeing the guest clearly, Xiao Shan Zi retreated, leaving only the angry empress dowager and the emperor, who was still lying on the soft couch in the hall.

“The emperor is really carefree,” the empress dowager spat out angrily.

“Not as free as empress mother.” Ye Mu Li did not rise and kept his original position. He threw the apple core. It curved beautifully and hit the empress dowager’s clothes before falling to the ground and rolling away.

“You… Is this something the emperor ought to be doing?” The empress dowager held back the erupting anger and maintained her noble image.

“This is not the first day of concubine mother knowing Us.” Ye Mu Li rested his head on his left hand while he held his book in his right as he replied with a smile.

“You want to be angry at This Widowed Empress1? Do you think that when This Widowed Empress dies, you can sit on the throne peacefully?” Her anger erupted, but it wasn’t very fierce.

Ye Mu Li didn’t seem to hear her. He was reading the book in his hand intently. However, after turning one page, the book was snatched out of his hand. A scolding voice said, “You sent Ning’er to the barbarians in Bei Liang and This Widowed Empress endured it. But now, Ning’er has her legs crippled. Why do you still want to marry her off to Bei Liang? Isn’t this just sending Ning’er to her death? She is your younger sister, the biological daughter of This Widowed Empress.”

“Don’t worry. If you die, We will give you three sticks of incense, but only on the day of your burial.” While Ye Mu Li was speaking, he sat upright and the smile on his face was gone. It was rare that he had a serious expression.

“You… unfilial son. You are really unfilial!” The empress dowager paled, and she staggered, almost falling to the ground.

Ye Mu Li smiled, the serious expression disappearing in an instant. “Unfilial son? You are not qualified to use this term for Us. You also said that Ye Zi Ning is Our imperial younger sister. That means that she should do something for Us and for this country. Father emperor raised her for so many years, and We have tolerated her for so many years. She should pay Us[1]  back once.” Although he was smiling, it felt like a blade was stabbed into the empress dowager’s heart.

The empress dowager’s complexion was pale. If it wasn’t for the table and cabinet behind her, she would have fallen to the ground, unable to support herself. Her expression changed rapidly from disbelief to confusion to fear, and finally to panic.

“Empress mother tried to disrupt a marriage between the two countries and sent someone to assassinate Our Yu Lin army on the street. We will not pursue this matter; however, empress mother entered Our bedroom and interrupted Our lunch break. Should We punish you lightly or severely?” The frown on Ye Mu Li’s face showed that he was seriously considering this matter.

The empress dowager was not able to fully process his words before he spoke again. “In case someone decides to do something like that again in the future, We feel that this matter should not be made trivial.”

“Xiao Shan Zi.”

“This servant is here!” Xiao Shan Zi was standing outside and he quickly responded.

“Please send the empress dowager back to the palace. Also, announce that the empress dowager barged into Our Qing Xin Hall and interrupted Our lunch. She has now been confined for three months and must fast for half a year. All the servants working for the empress dowager will have their salaries reduced for three months.”

Xiao Shan Zi was shocked, but quickly returned to normal. He let the two eunuchs ‘escort’ the empress dowager out of Qing Xin hall.

“It’s really boring.” Why did he feel so bored these days? “Where is Chi Ying?”

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the hall. “This subordinate is here.”

“Where is Little Ming Ming now?”

“Prime Minister Feng was in Yi Ping Lou an hour ago. But now… this subordinate is incompetent.”

“Oh well. Not everyone can follow Little Ming Ming and find out where he is. But wasn’t Little Ming Ming with Little Xi Xi after?” He thought that, not long after he left, someone would come and tell him that Little Ming Ming gently hugged a woman in court. When he thought about it, he was re-energised.

“Yes.”

“Mm, you can go.” He could finally leave his days of boredom behind. Little Ming Ming treats Little Xi Xi so well. Wasn’t that because he liked her? Did he want to let Lan Lan know? Forget it. He should wait first, then let Lan Lan know after he has confirmed it in order to not make the beauty sad.

In A Room

Bai Xi was sleeping peacefully. Whether that was due to her being sleep deprived, or because she drank too much alcohol, or because she was ordered to sleep was unknown. When she woke up, it was already late at night. Fortunately, she didn’t sleep the entire day away.

When Bai Xi woke up, she recognised the carriage she was in. She was the only person in it; the owner of the carriage was gone. Because there was a night pearl in the carriage, it wasn’t dark. In addition to the night pearl, there was also a plate of pastries, a pot of tea, and a teacup.

After she gently patted her cheeks to wake herself up, she found that it was late at night when she exited the carriage. She was on a cliff, and the white crescent robed figure was standing far away. She stood 10 metres away and looked up at the night sky.

From her point of view, his handsome profile showed his gracefulness. The son of god was the son of god. Regardless of the time and place, he could show off his beauty.

That person seemed to sense her presence and turned to look at her. His golden eyes were so dazzling in the dark night that nobody could ignore his existence. They looked at each other, neither of them saying anything. They were waiting for each other to speak.

A while later, Bai Xi finally opened her mouth. However, she thought of what he said earlier in the day, and her heart beat faster. “You… When you said you liked me, were you making fun of me?”

1.(哀家) (āi jiā) This is a term of address used by the mother of an emperor when her husband has passed away.