CH 31

Li Ying left Chaoyang Palace.

Along the palace wall, the Son of Heaven walked slowly, stepping on the snow, with only his supervisor Liu Ziru following him.

“Find out the details on Ruan Lian, whether he is from Lingzhou or not,” he ordered: “Remember to inform Qi Renwei that the Jing people who were ambushed in Beichen recently should not act rashly.”

He said in a deep voice: “Hurry.”

Liu Ziru nodded and quietly glanced at the injury on his forehead: “Your Majesty, do you want to take care of it?”

“No need.”

He raised his hand and pressed his fingers against his forehead, the pain of his flesh outweighed by the loneliness in his heart.

At least, his Lord Empress was still willing to lose his temper with him.

At this moment, Yun Qingci got back on the couch and touched his beloved night pearl.

When they got married, Li Ying took him to the treasure house to choose this pearl. Yun Qingci fell in love with it, and from then on, as long as he slept, he would definitely take it with him.

After the death of his mother, everything around him was inseparable from Li Ying.

Li Ying was almost his faith.

This man had put him in the Cold Palace back then but, except for revoking his status as the Lord Empress and confiscating his ceremonial driving, almost everything else was the same. He wore the same damask, brocade and cotton clothes, and even Yinxi was free to go out of the palace to buy and sell things. 

Yun Qingci began to think about the details of his previous life again.

He realized that maybe Li Ying really couldn’t help it. Assuming that everything he said was true, combined with Li Ying’s attitude towards the Zhang family and his attitude towards the Prime Minister’s mansion, the imprisonment of the Yun family in the previous life might have been a scene they conspired to play.

Li Ying couldn’t wait to give him an explanation.

Since there was something to explain, it meant that Li Ying thought there was a misunderstanding between them.

But so what?

No matter how much Li Ying suffered and how much he couldn’t help it, Yun Qingci was dead.

A dead person doesn’t care how much the living person is suffering. Li Ying tried to explain to a dead person, either he was stupid or he thought that Yun Qingci was stupid.

After all, Yun Qingci really couldn’t live any longer. He was desperate and he did jump off a building and commit suicide. He did hit the ground heavily in the ice and snow. Sometimes, he could even recall the moment he landed, feeling his ribs pierce his heart and lungs and blood slowly leak through his ear canals. 

It hurt, but it didn’t hurt that much, because by that time his body was already frozen and his skin felt so numb it seemed wooden.

And all this was thanks to Li Ying.

It was impossible to write off the past because he was still alive.

Yun Qingci stroked the night pearl.

Li Ying’s head was really hard. Fortunately, the pearl was wrapped in black cloth and it was not cracked.

He laid on the bed for a while and then lit the cyan horn incense to summon his people.

Li Ying was living a new life but still couldn’t be cruel to his mother, so Yun Qingci had to be the one who’d push him.

Empress Dowager Zhang, how could putting her under house arrest be enough? Yun Qingci couldn’t wait to skin her.

The fact that the Forbidden Army enclosed the Taici Palace could be manipulated into something quite interesting. On New Years Day, Li Ying placed his biological mother under house arrest. If this matter was to get out, the Zhang family would inevitably be frightened.

It was not going to be a good year.

When it concerned Zhang Siyong’s affairs, other families would definitely be able to quickly understand which way the wind was blowing. As soon as they made sure that the Zhang family no longer was favored by the Son of Heaven, those who had a grudge but dared not speak would definitely come forward.

Everyone was very free during the New Year, and this incident quickly made waves in the city.

The Zhang family practically became a street rat.

Yun Qingci called people to the palace every day to sing and dance, drink and have fun. Li Ying still came often, but every time he just sat aside and watched quietly.

Yun Qingci also discovered that those people didn’t dare to do anything too out of line, and it was almost impossible to say whether they were threatened by Li Ying.

On the evening of the third day of the New Year, Yun Qingci returned from visiting relatives in the Prime Minister’s Mansion, and sent for Ruan Lian to learn the qin.

He didn’t want to learn anything else, just that “Tricky beauty”, but this piece was very difficult to memorize, and Yun Qingci always failed to touch the strings in the right way.

As Ruan Lian watched, he suddenly couldn’t resist and reached out, wrapping one arm around Yun Qingci and putting his fingers over his. His breath spraying over Yun Qingci’s ear, Ruan Lian whispered, “Like this.”

With Yun Qingci’s hand held by him, the sounds flowed quickly.

“I know it now.” Yun Qingci took his hand away and tried it once again with confidence.

With a burst of laughter, Ruan Lian said, “Just this and you know it?”

“Yeah,” Yun Qingci said, “In my mind I can do it.”

Ruan Lian leaned towards him again and held his hand patiently.

The skin of the Lord Empress’s hand was creamy, his fingertips were tender like spring sprouts. At first glance it was obvious he was spoiled. Ruan Lian tilted his head slightly, looked at the other man’s delicate face and suddenly squeezed his fingers quietly.

Yun Qingci raised his eyes in surprise.

When their gazes met, Ruan Lian’s eyes were like glazed glass as he asked casually, “Lord Empress, did you have a good time when you went to the Prime Minister’s mansion today?”

“I did,” Yun Qingci smiled and said, “But I have a better time when you accompany me to learn the qin.”

“I can always accompany you.”

Yun Qingci raised his eyebrows.

Ruan Lian looked at him for a moment, then turned away. Slowly letting go of his clenched hand, he sat aside with restraint and said, “It’s this little one who took the liberty.”

Yun Qingci glanced at him, blinked and said, “Today at home, Aunt Ding cooked me some sweet cakes. Would Ah Lian like to taste them?”

He did not continue the topic Ruan Lian started.

Lord Empress Yun was only interested in his looks and had no intention of getting closer with him.

Ruan Lian felt a pang of inexplicable discomfort. 

Lord Empress Yun was very different from the rumors, and his attitude towards the Son of Heaven was equally unpredictable. As for him, it seems that the Lord Empress really just regarded him as a dispensable plaything.

Yun Qingci got up to get the food box, brought it and handed it to Ruan Lian, saying, “Come on, try it.”

Ruan Lian’s fingers were white. He tentatively picked a piece, took a bite and his eyes lit up slightly: “It’s really delicious, thank you, Lord Empress, for your reward.”

“When I was about to go, my second brother gave it to me and told me to have a late-night snack tonight.”

Yun Qingci put the box aside, sat down by the qin again and continued to struggle with the music.

“Official Yun is your second brother, why have I never heard you mention an eldest brother?”

“My eldest brother?” Yun Qingci stopped his movements and tried to think for a long time before he said, “He seemed to have passed away at the age of three or four. I have never seen him, nor have I ever heard my father mention him.”

“Died when he was three or four years old?” Ruan Lian said. “If your eldest brother was still alive, how old would he be now?” ”

“I don’t know.” Yun Qingci was not interested in this matter: “Almost thirty, probably.”

Ruan Lian’s eyes sank a little.

Since Yun Qingci didn’t want to talk more about things he was not interested in, Ruan Lian could only shut up temporarily.

Yun Qingci practiced until he was slightly sleepy before he stopped. He said, yawning, “I’m tired, go back.”

Come as soon as you are called, and leave as soon as you are told to, don’t think of staying.

Ruan Lian straightened up and bowed.

Yun Qingci had already walked behind the screen without looking back. Yinxi quickly ordered someone to prepare hot water and bring it in. The silhouette behind the screen took off his clothes, removed his jade crown and let his long hair loose.

Ruan Lian watched for a moment, pursed his lips slightly and left with the qin in his arms.

Yun Qingci soaked in the bathtub, letting Yinxi and Jin Huan wash his hair and bathe him. His neck was supported by a wooden headrest. Yun Qingci liked this design very much; even when he was sitting in the bathtub, he could lean back lazily for a while.

He thought there was something odd and unusual about Ruan Lian.

But when he’d asked the Qing Division to investigate, they found out that there was indeed a family named Ruan in Lingzhou, and that their young master had indeed come to the capital to make a living.

Hmm.

Something was not right.

Eldest brother… His eldest brother seemed to be named Yun Qingji, but it was really too many years ago. Yun Qingci had only heard his mother mention him a few times, saying that she didn’t know how to raise a child and didn’t take good care of him.

But Yun Qingci never heard of him having any acute illness, so it must have been an accidental death. But under what circumstances would a first-born encounter an accident, since his mother should’ve been especially careful with him. 

Did Ruan Lian ask casually, or was he curious about his family?

When Li Ying arrived, Yun Qingci, soaked in hot water, was about to fall asleep. Yinxi was carefully wiping his slender arms that were resting on the sides of the wooden bathtub, while his long hair was soaking in a small basin attached to the bathtub and carefully cleaned by Jin Huan.

After washing Yun Qingci’s hair, Jin Huan removed the basin and was startled, finally noticing Li Ying.

Li Ying stopped him from saluting. He took a towel and carefully wrapped Yun Qingci’s long hair, wiping it from the root to the end.

He also brought a hand stove and gave it to him to warm up.

Yun Qingci’s hair was long and heavy. It was impossible to dry it completely at once, so he could only get it dry enough to stop dripping water.

Li Ying brought a small blanket, and Yinxi called out, “Lord Empress.”

Yun Qingci came round and stood up from the water in a daze. He was immediately wrapped in a soft blanket and his body was lifted up in a light hug.

Jin Huan hurriedly came over and wiped his dripping feet and exposed slim calves.

Yun Qingci finally saw the person in front of him  and said casually, “Why are you here?”

“I’ve come to see you.”

“Oh.” Yun Qingci yawned again and allowed Li Ying to put him on the bed. He was very sleepy and didn’t want to bother to talk.

Li Ying took a towel and wiped him dry, then ordered someone to bring a soft inner shirt and put it on him.

Yun Qingci didn’t resist. His eyes half-closed in a daze, he was like a porcelain doll in Li Ying’s hands.

After being taken care of, he took advantage of the situation and laid down. His long half-wet hair draped on the pillow, his porcelain and jade face looking well-behaved and clean.

Once again, Li Ying fetched a hand stove and continued to dry his long hair, while Yun Qingci rolled over and turned on his side, breathing softly and delicately.

It was impossible for such long hair to dry completely in less than half an hour. This chore Li Ying had done in the first two years of their marriage. But in the past two years, it was the first time.

Jin Huan and Yinxi glanced at each other, thinking that the relationship between His Majesty and the Lord Empress had finally returned to its original state, and tentatively proposed: “Let these servants do it.”

“Go and rest.”

The two attendants could only leave first.

Li Ying dried Yun Qingci’s long hair earnestly and patiently, then probed the roots with his fingers to check whether the inside was still wet. Only then did he finally put down the towel and took a comb to untangle the strands.

Yun Qingci’s breathing was very light, meaning that he was not sleeping deeply.

In the past, Yun Qingci trusted him with all his heart, and as long as he was by his side, he would sleep like a pig.

It was all his fault.

The hand holding the comb gradually stopped, and the Emperor sat on the side of the bed, staring at his Lord Empress. After a while, he slowly leaned down and tried to kiss his white cheek.

Yun Qingci suddenly flipped around. He half-opened his eyes, looked at the man close to him and snorted, “What are you doing?” ”

Li Ying touched his ears and said softly, “I am just combing your hair.”

Yun Qingci seemed to have felt it vaguely.

“Then what are you doing now?”

“Now… I want to look at you more.”

Yun Qingci closed his eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them again, his eyelashes trembling.

“I’m already dead, what’s so nice to look at?”

Li Ying’s eyes dimmed and he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

His eyes seemed to be glued to Yun Qingci, and he refused to look away for a while.

Yun Qingci suddenly stared straight at the bridge of the other party’s nose.

He liked the bridge of Li Ying’s nose, which was very tall and upright. Every time he saw Li Ying’s nose before, he faintly felt his spine go numb, because he liked the touch of Li Ying’s nose pressing against the skin.

At the beginning, when Li Ying kissed him, the tip of his nose would just press unconsciously on the skin near the place where he was kissed.

Sometimes it was pressed on his cheek, sometimes on his artery, sometimes on his belly button, and sometimes on his chest. Then, Yun Qingci discovered that he loved Li Ying and he loved his nose even more.

Li Ying noticed his gaze.

The tip of his nose twitched slightly, his expression vaguely restrained and hopeful.

“Ah Ci…”

“Do you want to go to bed with me?”

Li Ying’s muscles tightened, and the sound of his Adam’s apple rolling was clear and audible.

“Yes.”

“Will you obey me?”

“I will.”

Yun Qingci looked at the bridge of his nose covetously.

“Is it okay if there are conditions?”

Li Ying leaned closer to him, unable to hold back his urgency, and said dully, “That’s not a problem.”

Yun Qingci smiled.

That’s what you said.