CH 29

She carefully rearranged her demeanor, stepped on the ladder with her embroidered cotton boots and raised the hem of her skirt crossing the threshold.

The sedan chair stopped in the courtyard. Yun Qingci was ‘unconscious’, Li Ying’s clothes were draped over him while he stood patiently by his side, with a caring look.

Feeling that the Empress Dowager was approaching, he turned to her.

When the ceremonial cortege arrived to pick up Yun Qingci that day, the Empress Dowager had noticed that the emperor’s eyes were different from those of the past. And now when she saw him, her whole body felt cold.

She chuckled lightly and said, “Why is the emperor making such a big show today?”

“I heard that Royal Mother was in a hurry and that the Lord Empress was unconscious, so I was worried whether there was an assassin at work and sent some escort.” Li Ying looked at the Empress Dowager calmly and said, “Seeing that Royal Mother’s face is sweaty from her brisk pace, has she been frightened by something?”

Of course, Empress Dowager Zhang couldn’t say that she hurried back to give Yun Qingci a small punishment and a big admonishment. Her brother was killed and the position of commander-in-chief was taken away. The Zhang family hated the Yun family now, especially Yun Qingci.

But Li Ying looked like he was protecting her openly and targeting her secretly, so she could only say, “It’s because Qingci suddenly lost consciousness and I was in a hurry to bring him back to summon the doctor to check on him. I also gave him my sedan chair.”

“Oh?” Li Ying stepped forward and said, “I wonder why Lord Empress suddenly fell ill?” ”

His proximity made the Empress Dowager nervous.

The child she had raised was so much taller than her now. When he lowered his gaze to look at her, he had a mighty spirit, like a king over the world, full of heavenly magnificence and great authority.

She suddenly felt scared.

The crown prince who was allowed to grow up with her had become the new emperor, but he should have respected her and feared her like before, and remained grateful to her even though he knew her education of him was somewhat unscrupulous.

After all, she was the Empress Dowager who loved him.

She should have been above him, like a dark cloud, like a clear sky, giving thunder or sending rain, just as she wished.

Empress Dowager Zhang took a step back and said with a forced smile: “Maybe the weather is getting cold, and his old illness relapsed. Ai Jia just greeted him. Unexpectedly, the child said he was dizzy and fainted. It was really worrying.”

After she said that, she looked at Yun Qingci with a kind expression on her face.

“It turns out to be like this,” Li Ying said, “I thought my mother was angry with the Lord Empress because of my uncle’s affairs.”

He did not shy away from talking about this matter. The Empress Dowager’s complexion immediately turned slightly blue. She tried to endure but still could not hold back and looked at Li Ying, unable to conceal her anger: “You still know that I would be angry? Just because he took Yun Qingci’s porcelain, did he deserve to die?!”

“It was more than that,” Li Ying said in a soft voice, “I have exhaustive evidence that he once led troops to surround a house of a simple family on the outskirts of the city. He took the girl of the family by force, beat her father to death and buried him hastily. The girl also left the Marquis’s Mansion horizontally.”

In fact, there were many more, but they happened in the previous life. This extremely serious incident, on the other hand, had occurred during the past few years of supporting the Zhang family to the top.

Empress Dowager Zhang’s eyes widened, and she murmured, “Actually, there was such a thing?”

“From snatching the Lord Empress’s porcelain, one could see that he was familiar with this.” Li Ying said meaningfully: “It was already a great gift from me to allow my grandfather to deal with my uncle personally.”

He actually called it a gift?!

It was clearly a ruthless murder, done with sinister intentions!

Empress Dowager Zhang’s nails pierced her flesh.

How could he say this without his face changing? He was in front of his mother!

“I didn’t come to disturb mother because she lived in the deep palace for a long time and did not know about Zhang Siyong’s evil deeds.” Li Ying finally withdrew his eyes from her and looked sadly at Yun Qingci, saying: “But Royal Mother is angry with Qingci over the matter of my uncle. It seems she heard some unpleasant things in the Zhang family during her recent daily condolence visits?”

It was a knockout!

The Empress Dowager was confused and said, “There is no such thing! It’s just that Ai 

Jia is sad with the sudden loss of her brother and feels a little bit uncomfortable…”

“That is, Royal Mother is overwhelmed with grief.”

“Yes……”

“You have to take a good rest,” Li Ying said. “The guards I bring today will stay in Taici Palace to protect Royal Mother from being disturbed.”

Empress Dowager Zhang’s face turned pale.

Li Ying said slowly: “Tomorrow, on New Year’s Eve, the palace banquet will be noisy, and Royal Mother doesn’t have to attend.”

Empress Dowager Zhang suddenly raised her eyes.

So, it was house arrest.

Yun Qingci looked up secretly.

Li Ying was really good at calculating. When he killed Zhang Siyong, he said that if he didn’t hand over the porcelain, he’d bury Zhang Siyong with it. The guy handed over the porcelain but it meant he had been deceiving the monarch.

He was dealing with the Empress Dowager today using almost the same method. If the Empress Dowager admitted that she was instigated by the Zhang family, the Zhang family would inevitably lose a layer of skin. Her only choice was to say that she was overwhelmed with grief, and so she got house arrest.

At this time, Li Ying shouldn’t be so skillful

But no matter what, Yun Qingci was still happy in his heart. It seemed that in this life, he would be able to appreciate the mother-son battle between Li Ying and the Empress Dowager. If Li Ying got rid of the Zhang family, he would lose his right arm, and if the Yun family became more dominant, wouldn’t he be even more afraid to speak out in anger?

Contradicting the emperor right now would only have the opposite effect, and the Empress Dowager could only hold back her anger and endure.

Liu Ziru said, “The imperial doctor is here.”

As soon as the imperial doctor with a wooden box on his back was about to salute, he was stopped by Li Ying. The sense of oppression he emanated when facing the Empress Dowager had disappeared, as he said, “Don’t be polite, come and see the Lord Empress.”

“Hmm…” Before the doctor came up, Yun Qingci woke up slowly, ignoring the Empress Dowager’s glaring eyes, and said with a confused expression: “Where am I?”

Li Ying stepped towards him, wanted to reach out and touch him, then carefully shrank his hand back and said softly: “You are in the Empress Dowager’s palace.”

Yun Qingci scrutinized his attitude towards himself and said, while secretly calculating, “Why am I here?”

“It doesn’t matter.“ Li Ying didn’t want him to know that the Empress Dowager had something on her mind. “I will take you back to the palace right away.” ”

“Oh.” Yun Qingci leaned back softly, glanced at the Empress Dowager quietly and said, “I feel weak and can’t move.” 

“Then don’t move, just go back to the palace in the Empress Dowager’s sedan chair.“ Li Ying made a decision without the consent of the Empress Dowager: “Since the Empress Dowager loves you so much, she definitely won’t mind.”

Empress Dowager Zhang who was forced to agree: “…”

The husband and wife sang in harmony, apparently to confiscate her sedan chair.

The imperial doctor confirmed that Yun Qingci was fine, and the sedan chair was carried back the same way it’d just arrived.

Seeing Yun Qingci, who was ‘weak’, being carried away, the Empress Dowager slowly walked into her palace. Her calm expression gradually became hideous. She waved her hand sweeping down all the items on the table and said angrily: “How can those wretched peasants deserve to be compared with Siyong? If he had at least some affection, how could he attack his uncle?! I think he is bewitched by Yun Qingci!!!”

After a fit of anger, she finally calmed down.

Her pupils suddenly shrank.

Li Ying’s move, did he know something?

Li Ying abandoned his sedan chair and hurried towards Yun Qingci. But at this moment, Yun Qingci continued to lean on the sedan chair’s wall, so Li Ying could only walk on one side.

The two of them had their own thoughts.

All the way to Chaoyang Palace, Yun Qingci kept pretending and softly stretched out his hand to Yinxi. Before the little eunuch could step forward, a hand held his arm.

Li Ying picked him up and quickly walked inside.

Placing him on the soft bed, Li Ying touched his face with his broad palms. Yun Qingci opened his eyes to see his attitude, and many motives that were previously unclear seemed to have become clearer.

Yun Qingci spoke, his approach not aggressive, his tone soft: “Are you from eight years later?”

He really asked this again.

Li Ying sat down by the bed and pursed his lips, “Puff pastry, why didn’t you eat it?”

“I was afraid it was poisoned.”

Yun Qingci’s eyes gradually clouded with a layer of mist, and he said solemnly: “Li Ying, were you reborn like me?”

Li Ying lowered his eyelashes and did not dare to look at him.

Yun Qingci grabbed the corner of his clothes and asked, “Are you? Tell me.”

Li Ying didn’t want to lie to him anymore, so he could only admit it.

With a sharp pain splitting his forehead, Li Ying breathed out and finally raised his eyes.

Yun Qingci’s expression looked a little pitiful.

It was the familiar pitifulness that appeared whenever he felt hurt.

Li Ying’s heart seemed to be pierced with a needle.

“Yes…” He said, “It’s me.”

It was the answer to everything.

Yun Qingci shrank back and let go of his cuff. For a moment, he hoped that he had a knife beside him so that he could stab the man in the chest.

His shoulders shook as the seeds of hatred took root inside him and sprouted, growing into a tree that reached the sky in an instant, its canopy breaking through his chest.

But it didn’t.

Every inch of his appearance looked extremely calm.

“If that’s the case, why don’t you just abolish me?”

“I can’t do without you.”

“What do you mean you can’t do without me?”

Li Ying stared at him, dark mist swirling in his eyes, as he said, “I regret it.”

Yun Qingci’s pupils dilated and a shudder of excitement slowly climbed up his vertebrae. He tilted his head humbly and said: “I don’t understand.”

“I…” Li Ying said, “I regret that I didn’t love you well in my previous life.”

Yun Qingci’s eyes widened hugely, monstrous malice rising from his heart. The corners of his mouth curved uncontrollably and he pursed his lips carefully.

“You mean, you…” He asked while recalling, “You did all this because you still have me in your heart?”

“Yes.”

Yun Qingci lowered his head, his thin neck looking fragile and graceful. He tugged at his fingers and said, “Do you want to explain anything to me?”

“I was…”

“Actually, I don’t care.” Yun Qingci interrupted him, raised his head again and said, “I don’t want to hear it at all. ”

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

Yun Qingci pulled up his knees and carefully counted all the things after the rebirth.

He thought that Li Ying had no feelings for him anymore, at least Li Ying in his previous life shouldn’t have had feelings for him. But if Li Ying regretted his death for the rest of his life, then the icy lake, the ceremonial cortege, the song and dance indulgence, the porcelain and the killing of his uncle, the beating of Concubine Ning, including today’s house arrest of the Empress Dowager, everything appeared to have a good reason.

Li Ying, after his death, regretted it and wanted to love him.

How ridiculous.

Had he not been reborn, his Yun Qingci would have been shattered to pieces. Based on what could Li Ying love him?

What qualifications does he have to love him?

How dare he say that he loves him.

Yun Qingci clenched his fingers tightly, his knuckles turned white.

Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. When Li Ying rushed to the Prime Minister’s mansion that day, he still clearly demonstrated all his arrogance and his imperial dignity. He obviously killed him, but he wanted to go back to the past as if nothing happened.

Had he not been reborn, at this moment, Li Ying could’ve erased everything, continue to enjoy his crazy love, and continue to be worshiped like god by him.

While he was forced to choose a place of his suicide, it woke him up and allowed him to understand… oh, having been through a thousand sails, his love was still him.

Li Ying’s subsequent indulgence of him was only because he discovered that he actually came from eight years later. Thus he was afraid to face it and could only hold himself carefully.

Yun Qingci said, “Get out.”

“Ah Ci.”

He suddenly grabbed the night pearl from under the pillow and threw it fiercely. 

With a muffled sound, the pearl wrapped in black cloth slammed heavily on Li Ying’s head and bounced into the side of the bed.

The forehead became red visible to the naked eye.

Li Ying looked at him gravely.

Yun Qingci stared at him for a while, and his expression gradually became innocent: “I’m sorry.”

“I was out of control.”

“I just hate you too much.”

“…If you love me so much, you will forgive me, right?”