CH 24

Yun Qingci went directly to bed.

He had always been pampered and spoiled, and his body had its own timetable. Even when he was thrown to the Cold Palace later, he would fall asleep on time as long as his basic food and clothing needs were guaranteed.

The only time when he had trouble sleeping was in the days before he jumped off the tower. Yinxi was strangled in front of him and he looked for Jin Huan everywhere and couldn’t find him. Only when he rummaged through the cabinets, searching for warm clothes, did he see Jin Huan there, with his bones broken, stuffed into a box almost too small to hold an adult body.

Stuffed to death.

At that moment, Yun Qingci knew that he could not live anymore.

He gradually understood that all this was probably tacitly approved by Li Ying.

Perhaps Li Ying didn’t want to kill him personally because of their past affection and let him be bullied by those people who might be humans or might be ghosts.

He only knew that Yinxi was killed by Zhou Zhao, but he didn’t know who killed Jin Huan in such a way.

Maybe it was Concubine Ning, maybe it was someone else who had a grudge against him.

It didn’t matter. Li Ying was accountable for everything.

Li Ying’s movements were very light, but the sound of water still reached his ears. Yun Qingci closed his eyes for a moment, and even though he told himself that Li Ying was not the Li Ying of the previous life, it still made him unhappy to be disturbed when he was already falling asleep.

“Don’t make sounds.”

He deliberately embarrassed Li Ying.

He didn’t know how Li Ying kept washing, but from then on, everything fell silent. Yun Qingci didn’t have time to think why Li Ying was so obedient as he fell asleep contentedly thanks to Li Ying’s cooperation.

Li Ying put on his clothes, and Liu Ziru came to him with light steps: “Your Majesty, drink this bowl of warm soup first, lest Lord Empress worries.”

Yun Qingci wasn’t worried about him at all.

Li Ying took it and drank it all. After rinsing his mouth with fragrant tea, he took a handkerchief and wiped his lips.

Liu Ziru left quietly with the tray in his hands.

Yun Qingci’s bed curtains were not closed. Li Ying went over and replaced the lampshade with a night-use one. The room became dim. He walked all the way to Yun Qingci’s bed and lowered the curtain.

The phoenix bed was very wide. Yun Qingci only occupied a quarter of it, leaving a large space, enough to accommodate another person.

But Li Ying didn’t lie down.

Now, he finally had to face the fact that Yun Qingci didn’t love him anymore.

He could no longer think it is a matter of course to come to his palace, lie beside him, and do the things done between lovers.

He couldn’t even match any behavior to make an evaluation.

Yun Qingci woke up in the middle of the night.

He faintly heard a soft whispering, as if someone was calling his name. Yun Qingci pricked up his ears and sat up slowly. The bed curtain almost completely isolated the dim light. He took out his night pearl from the black cloth bag beside his pillow, and stretched out his hand to open the bed curtain.

Li Ying had fallen asleep on the couch beside his bed. His forehead and neck was covered with cold sweat, while his face was pale as a ghost’s in the light of the night pearl.

Perhaps bothered by the night pearl’s light, Li Ying suddenly opened his eyes.

At that moment, Yun Qingci’s heart beat wildly. He let go of the night pearl and reflexively retreated a few inches back into the bed.

The bed curtains fell down, hiding him.

Outside, the night pearl was firmly caught by a slim white hand.

Yun Qingci’s eyelashes trembled and he held his breath.

He wondered if Li Ying went to the Cold Palace of the previous dynasty tonight and was possessed by one of the rumored ghosts there. Otherwise how could he have such a terrifying look in his eyes.

On that pale face, the pupils were like black holes, like two dark pits dug out by someone, without the slightest light there.

Li Ying’s eyes seemed to want to eat a person alive.

There was silence outside the bed curtain.

After a while, Yun Qingci heard a voice: “Qingci?”

It was Li Ying’s voice, very gentle, and Yun Qingci hesitated: “Your Majesty?”

“En.” Li Ying said, “I’ve had a nightmare again, did I scare you?”

Yun Qingci did hear that Li Ying often didn’t sleep well recently, but it was the first time he had seen it with his own eyes.

He couldn’t help wondering why Yuanbao didn’t mention a word if Li Ying’s nightmares were so abnormal.

No, Yuanbao had wanted to say it that time, but Li Ying’s sudden appearance stopped him.

After that, when Yuanbao came to report again, he just said Li Ying didn’t sleep well; obviously someone had deliberately sealed the information. Yun Qingci used to worry about Li Ying’s health and body before, so he was not surprised to have such a thing reported.

Why did Li Ying have nightmares? When did it start? Why didn’t Yun Qingci remember anything like that from his previous life?

Why did Li Ying want to stop Yuanbao from telling him about it?

What does he want to hide?

One mystery after another filled Yun Qingci’s head, but he found that he had no idea how to solve them.

He frowned and heard Li Ying speak again: “Are you okay?”

After a pause, Li Ying asked, “Can I take a look at you?” ”

Did he need to ask such a little thing?

Yun Qingci kicked the bed curtain with his foot, and Li Ying raised his hand to open it. The night pearl was shining brightly, and the bed canopy was instantly bright. Li Ying’s gaze became gentle and deep again, just that his face was still pale. It was as if everything right now had been just an illusion.

The man took the black cloth bag, put the night pearl inside, hung up the curtain, then went to turn on the light. He walked back, sat by Yun Qingci’s bed and said, “Sorry, I scared you.” 

Li Ying had already told him a lot of apologies today.

Yun Qingci felt a little uncomfortable. He was used to Li Ying’s loftiness, not to mention there was nothing special to apologize for. He glanced at the low couch and couldn’t help showing a look of incomprehension.

This couch was for palace servants, it was low and narrow. With Li Ying’s height, his legs would hang from it by half, and his wide shoulders would suspend in the air from the couch sides.  He would fall as soon as he decided to turn over.

Yun Qingci suddenly gloated a little and said, “Why did you sleep there?”

“I was afraid to disturb your rest.”

“It’s so uncomfortable,” Yun Qingci said solemnly: “Can’t you sleep in Jiangshan Palace?”

Li Ying was silent for a moment: “I want to be closer to you.”

Yun Qingci laughed out loud.

He kicked Li Ying and said, “What are you doing, have I not made myself clear enough? I said I don’t like you anymore, what are you doing?”

He tilted his head and said, “Why do you want to wrong yourself like this?”

He felt really confused and puzzled, “Even if I am your Lord Empress by name only, aside from this aspect of our relationship, we are still friends and partners of interest. I will not deliberately make trouble with you.”

He continued to push Li Ying with his feet, his tone soft and his expression very negotiable: “Ah Ying, don’t torment yourself, be good, go back to Jiangshan Palace, you should still be able to catch an hour of sleep.”

He used to kick Li Ying like that to act coquettishly and make Li Ying do this and that for him. At this moment, his movements were not different, and his tone was not different, but every word was like a sharp blade, cutting Li Ying’s heart to pieces.

Li Ying caught his feet.

Yun Qingci didn’t pull away.

He really didn’t want Li Ying to continue to suffer discomfort. He would no longer put all his thoughts on loving this person, and he also didn’t want Li Ying to spend all his thoughts on him.

If the gains are not worth the loss, it will lead to hatred.

Li Ying raised his eyes, his thoughts unfathomable, as if the only thing he wanted was to look at Yun Qingci: “If I don’t love you, will you be happy?”

Yun Qingci thought about it for a while very seriously.

Li Ying held his feet quietly, his fingers curled unconsciously. His heart ebbed and flowed; it was difficult to describe whether he was longing or fearing.

He wrapped his fingers around Yun Qingci’s ankles, the skin smooth and delicate under his touch. As he lowered his eyes to look, Yun Qingci’s feet were as ice-white and exquisite as ever.

Yun Qingci’s voice reached him clearly: “I won’t feel anything.”

Neither happy, nor unhappy.

Li Ying loving or not loving him, for Yun Qingci, it didn’t matter anymore.

Li Ying rolled his Adam’s apple and swallowed all his unsaid words.

All he asked for in his previous life was to see Yun Qingci alive again, but people are always greedy. Seeing him alive, Li Ying still hoped that Yun Qingci would love him, and hoped he would love him as deeply as before.

People are cocky, arrogant and cruel, and don’t want to lose something they once had.

You can’t have it both ways. It wasn’t until the end that he understood that his pride, self-esteem and his throne was actually worth nothing in front of that fierce burning fire.

However, there were no more chances.

He suddenly recalled a short conversation.

“Has Your Majesty ever thought that there is no such thing as changing your destiny? But if there is, then it’s actually just your fate.”

“I did have this thought.”

“Even if you really go back to the past, you should know that the established ending of this life cannot be changed.”

“…If another me can go back, then all these years will be worth it.” He asked, “Master, can you give me this faith?”

“If this lamp turns red, it will mean that your sincerity opened the golden stone.” The man recited the mantra: “Your Majesty can feel rest assured.”

……

If he in his previous life had known that it really worked, and that the Lord Empress who had fallen from the top of the tower was alive again, he would probably not care whether Yun Qingci loved him as before.

Li Ying’s heart sank into the abyss, without a trace.

Yun Qingci said slowly: “But I will still be a little unwilling.”

Li Ying suddenly raised his eyes.

The unquenchable fire in his heart burst into flames.

He looked at Yun Qingci, infinite hope overfilling him. But then he saw Yun Qingci raise the corner of his mouth, his expression tinged with malice: “If I say this, will Your Majesty love me one-sidedly, with wishful thoughts?”

He was teasing him again.

But only then was this Yun Qingci. As long as he had invested in something, he would definitely want to be rewarded. Even if he wasn’t paid back with that thing, he would want to be paid back another way.

Li Ying did not speak.

He lowered his head and carefully put Yun Qingci’s feet under the quilt. The latter lazily drew up his feet, secretly thinking the dog emperor was either crazy or a liar.

He didn’t repeat the question and regained his harmonious mood and friendliness, casually saying, “It’s almost time for the morning court, would you like to rest a little?”

“What about you?”

“Of course I have to go to sleep. On such a cold day, I can sleep until the sun is three poles high (9 a.m.).” 

Yun Qingci rolled up in the quilt and saw Li Ying tuck the corners of the quilt for him.

He couldn’t help but look up at him again.

In the end, he didn’t hold back and asked: “Why did you go to the Cold Palace of the previous dynasty today?”

“…Didn’t you say that you want to build a tower?”

“Didn’t you say that you won’t build it?”

Li Ying looked at him for a while, “Why do you want it built?”

“I think you owe me,” Yun Qingci said, “You tricked me back into the palace. I didn’t get anything in return, can’t I even ask for a building?”

“I haven’t tricked…”

“There you go again,” Yun Qingci interrupted and stared at him. “Do you want to say that you can’t help yourself? I just want this building, give it or leave it.”

He covered his head, stretched out his hand and said sarcastically, “You’re stingy.”

Li Ying: “…”

He watched Yun Qing shrink back, turn his back and kick the quilt hard with his feet.

“Do you really want it that much?”

In fact, he didn’t want it that much, but he had long been used to seeing the lanterns of the Gilded Qifeng Tower as soon as he looked up. The gilt-painted eaves were magnificent. Now when he didn’t see them, he always felt that something was missing. But, of course, the most important thing was the meaning that the building represented.

The Gilded Qifeng Tower was built for him alone. With its heavenly glory for everyone to see, no one would dare to underestimate his Yun family.

Besides, standing on the top floor, one could see the suburban courtyard where he lived with his mother when he was a child. Yun Qingci liked that building very much, otherwise he would not choose that place to jump down.

In his previous life, Li Ying had tarnished his reputation by driving him out of the palace, so he had to build this building to declare to the world that Yun Qingci was still his most favored Lord Empress. Although Li Ying had arrived with the ceremonial cortege for him in this life, it was intangible, while the tower would be a real, continuous proclamation.

Yun Qingci was a shameless and vain person.

He stayed with his back turned to Li Ying and said, “En.”

“Okay,“ Li Ying let out a sigh: “Tomorrow, I’ll ask the Ministry of Labor to prepare a drawing.”

“I have a drawing.” Fearing that Li Ying would regret it, Yun Qingci turned over and jumped off the bed. He rushed to the table barefoot to get the drawing, then ran back and handed it to Li Ying. “Look, how about it? I painted it, not bad, right?” ”

“…” It was clearly the credit of the Ministry of Labor.

Li Ying glanced at the drawing, and there was another pang of sharp pain in his head. He quickly folded the paper, and Yun Qingci immediately said, “What are you doing, don’t fold it. You can’t see it clearly later if you wrinkle it.”

Li Ying let go and put it on the bedside table for the time being, then bent over and hugged the barefoot Yun Qingci. He placed him back on the couch and covered him with the quilt again. “You ask for it directly like that, are you not afraid of making me angry?”

Yun Qing raised his eyebrows. “I provided your Li family with drawings for free, so that your Forbidden City will look beautiful from now on. It might be even famous for centuries to come. Why would you be angry instead of thanking me?”

Yun Qingci was not afraid of him at all.

Since it was a marriage of interests, the tower was just the first honor he asked Li Ying for.

Zhang Siyong’s position was now empty. Yun Qincgi was going to push his third brother into it. But it was a more sensitive thing to discuss political matters with Li Ying. Li Ying was not a fatuous emperor hooked by him and couldn’t be influenced by pillow talk.

But with Li Ying’s order to build a tower for him, the people below would see with their own eyes who was favoured in the imperial family.

It would be much easier to plan at that time.

Li Ying looked at him intently and smiled a little.

“Lord Empress has a point.”