CH 38

Yun Qingci’s carriage was brought out of the palace; it was wide and stable and it traveled like the wind along the official road.

When he arrived at the gate of the Forbidden City, as soon as he showed his face, the guards immediately let him in.

Prime Minister Yun was a step late and was stopped outside the palace.

He poked his head out and said, “I came with the Lord Empress, he’s already entered.”

The guards hesitated. In the Forbidden City, even an old minister like Prime Minister Yun needed to be announced if he wanted to enter. For many years, the only outsider who had been allowed to enter and exit the palace freely was Yun Qingci who had not yet been married to the emperor then.

It was a precedent set by the Son of Heaven as soon as he ascended the throne.

He was the only one.

Prime Minister Yun didn’t want to make things difficult for the guards, so he could only ask to be announced and waited patiently outside.

The carriage couldn’t move fast in the palace; so as soon as it entered, it slowed down immediately.

Yun Qingci suddenly heard screams and shouts and pushed the door open to see. Several concubines were being driven out by eunuchs. Yun Qingci didn’t remember everyone in the palace; he had seen most concubines only once. 

“Why are we leaving? Why isn’t Yun Qingci?!!” A concubine was yelling: “His Majesty drives everyone out and lets him stay. Can he give birth to a child for the Li family?!”

Those concubines were timid in front of him, but unexpectedly they showed such a big temper behind his back. What a rare thing, how come in the eight years of his previous life he didn’t find out that there was such a powerful character here?

Yun Qingci  couldn’t understand it. They had been in the palace for two years at most. Apart from a few, none of them were easy to provoke. They must have been dormant, waiting for an opportunity.

They were afraid of Yun Qingci and did not dare to fight him head-on, because they had all been warned by His Majesty. Only Ning Rou, this idiot, didn’t take it seriously.

Since His Majesty warned them for Yun Qingci’s sake, it meant that he cared about Yun Qingci. No matter how much trouble Yun Qingci made with His Majesty, it was a matter between the Emperor and the Lord Empress. If they tried to bully Yun Qingci, the next step would definitely not be just a warning.

So they dared not.

But even though they didn’t dare, it didn’t mean that they didn’t want to. Everyone was waiting. Ning Rou might be stupid but stupid people have blessings. If she overturned the Lord Empress and got on the throne, it would mean the people below also had a chance.

But now, all the illusions had been shattered. His Majesty was going to banish them all. It was really a bit of a surprise to be dismissed just after the New Year.

Even if some of them could go home comfortably, there were those who felt that going home would not be very good, and those who would miss their status in the palace. They naturally refused to leave quietly.

Ning Rou was also in this group of concubines. They say there is power in unity, and she surely had to share the hardships with her sisters at this moment.

Suddenly, Yun Qingci was seen. “It’s Lord Empress, Lord Empress is here!”

The carriage was moving slowly, and everyone temporarily quieted and looked at him. Yun Qingci leaned towards the carriage door. He glanced at the beautiful faces in front of him and retreated into the carriage casually.

He was too lazy to care about these people and their affairs. This time he entered the palace to clarify the matter of separation with Li Ying. As for who he was going to banish from the palace, what did it have to do with him?

Suddenly, a concubine yanked Ning Rou who turned her head in surprise. The concubine whispered, “If we have to leave, it’s fine. But you are the best-looking one here. How can His Majesty tolerate a man but can’t tolerate you?”

Ning Rou took a step back timidly. She was also afraid of Yun Qingci.

“Didn’t your mother ask for a talisman for you before? If you get dismissed, it will mean you’ve drunk the medicine for nothing all these days, and the talisman was bought for nothing… It’s such a pity.”

“We can’t let him go, he’s doing it on purpose! Once we leave, this harem will be his sole domain, and the court will be his Yun family’s world!”

The concubines rushed forward. When Ning Rou saw that everyone was moving, she was immediately afraid that she would not be able to grab a position. She hurried to Yun Qingci’s carriage frantically, more arrogant than anyone else: “Yun Qingci! You come down for me!!”

The carriage stopped.

Yun Qingci glanced at her.

Ning Rou said angrily: “Why are you so greedy? It wasn’t enough to occupy His Majesty’s heart and you had to occupy his harem, his power and his body! Now you even have to occupy the imperial court?! Yun Qingci, why are you so overbearing?”

The concubines agreed one after another. When everyone said a word, it was like hundreds of ducks quacking at once. Yun Qingci stretched out his hand and pulled the carriage door close. As soon as it was about to close, Ning Rou rushed over and grabbed the carriage door. “Dismissing the harem, Yun Qingci, are you worthy?! You don’t like His Majesty, don’t think I don’t know. You have been running around recently, refusing to go to bed and talking coldly to His Majesty. You are so arrogant and conceited, you are not worthy of being the Lord Empress!”

Yun Qingci held the door firmly and listened to Ning Rou: “Yun Qingci, if you eat meat by yourself, you have to at least give us a mouthful of soup, right? You have pushed us into a desperate situation, what are you trying to do?”

“It’s not me who forced you, it’s His Majesty.”

“If you didn’t force His Majesty, would he force us?”

“I have already separated from him. No matter what happens to you, it has nothing to do with me.”

“Separated?!”

There was a commotion among the concubines, and some of them didn’t believe it: “If you are separated, why are you still in the palace?”

“Believe it or not, what can you do to me?”

“…” After a short silence, the discussion among the concubines grew louder. Yun Qingci sneered, kicked Ning Rou’s shoulder to push her away and closed the door. “Go,” he said.

They couldn’t go.

The concubines stood in front of his horse and demanded him to give them an explanation.

What could he say?

Yun Qingci’s already bad mood became worse and worse, and by the time he heard Li Ying’s voice, his anger had reached its apex.

“Take them away.” Outside the carriage, the voice was extremely cold: “Fifty boards to each of them and then carry them home.”

There were wails and screams outside the carriage and then it got quiet.

There was a light cough, and the man called for him through the carriage door: “Ah Ci?”

Yun Qingci clenched his fingers.

Even without his reply, Li Ying knew that today’s incident had annoyed him. Originally, he didn’t think there would be any troubles from the concubines. He didn’t expect they would meet Yun Qingci. He glanced at the carriage, his heart sinking. He looked at Liu Ziru.

The latter shivered.

It was not good. He was afraid he’d done bad things with good intentions.

Li Ying took a few steps forward and called out again: “Ah Ci…”

He stretched out his hand to pull the door of Yun Qingci’s carriage, but the door was suddenly pushed open from the inside and slammed against his hand, then hit his head.

Li Ying was caught off guard and felt dizzy for a moment.

Liu Ziru cried out and stretched out his hand to support him.

There was a sound of rapid footsteps, and Prime Minister Yun, who had finally been let in, arrived hurriedly: “This subject greets His Majesty!”

There was a bruise on Li Ying’s forehead left by the night pearl and it was not completely healed yet. This time the door hit hard, and even his nose was slightly bleeding.

Prime Minister Yun happened to see this scene and he was shocked and frightened. Liu Ziru took out a handkerchief and pressed it to Li Ying’s nose. The latter raised his eyes silently, only to see Yun Qingci’s slightly flustered expression.

He didn’t expect to hurt Li Ying.

Taking a quick look at his father, Yun Qingci thought, it’s over, he’s going to be scolded.

Prime Minister Yun really turned to face him, his expression cold, but Li Ying held his arm.

“It’s okay, Qingci didn’t mean to,” the Son of Heaven said lightly. 

Yun Qingci became even angrier.

He didn’t appreciate Li Ying’s niceness at all.

This man was really scheming. While encouraging his father to come over and scold him for leaving without authorization, he was still pretending to be a good person in front of him. With his ability to scheme, maybe he even expected that he would open the door abruptly as he came over, so he deliberately bumped into it.

He couldn’t bear it: “What are you pretending for?! ”

Yun Qingci jumped out of the carriage and said furiously: “Li Ying, if you are dissatisfied with me for being the first to mention our separation, just say it and we can solve it. Why did you bring my father into it? Is it necessary to involve others in our mess?!”

Liu Ziru gasped.

Li Ying said, “…What separation?”

“You don’t understand?” Yun Qingci reached his hand and grabbed Prime Minister Yun’s sleeve, fished out the letter of separation from it and threw it at Li Ying. “Don’t tell me that you didn’t see it. I proposed peaceful separation to save each other’s last dignity. Is your pride acting up  again? You can’t take it anymore? Only you can abolish me but I can’t even mention separation?”

The thin letter hit Li Ying’s chest and slowly fell in the snow.

Prime Minister Yun stretched out his hand to pull Yun Qingci, and the latter pushed him away. “Don’t defend him anymore! He has hardships, don’t I have hardships? He wants face, don’t I want face? It’s not easy for him, is it easy for me? He is the emperor, everyone has to pamper him, but what about me? Do I only deserve to be his foil? Do I deserve…”

To lose my life and get nothing back?

The most ridiculous thing was that they had already separated, but Li Ying’s dismissed concubines could still bully him.

In his previous life, he endured everything willingly for Li Ying. But now he was not willing and he no longer wanted to be involved with Li Ying.

And he didn’t want to tolerate this group of vain women for him!

Li Ying moved his gaze away from the letter of separation with difficulty. Liu Ziru had already knelt down and said, “Lord Empress, His Majesty really didn’t know. Yesterday he vomited blood and contracted wind chills. The doctor ordered to avoid stimulation, so this servant took the initiative and notified Prime Minister Yun of this matter. I meant that when His Majesty got better, you could talk about it again…”

Prime Minister Yun also reacted immediately and said, “Yes, it’s father’s fault, I just forgot to tell you. His Majesty doesn’t know about this… For the sake of the country, you just…”

“What does it have to do with me?” Yun Qingci said indifferently: “You are all pampering him this way and that way. I don’t want to pamper him anymore. If he is a qualified emperor, he should prepare everything in advance just like an emperor should. If he is not in good health…”

He stared at Li Ying and said, “The right thing is to arrange a prince as soon as possible.”

Li Ying didn’t seem to hear what he said. “Why do you want to leave?” he asked insistently.

“I don’t like you anymore, I don’t love you anymore, I don’t want to sleep with you anymore,” Yun Qingci said. “Can’t I?”

Li Ying’s Adam’s apple rolled in silence. He kept his head lowered and his brows wrinkled deeply as if enduring some great pain.

Liu Ziru said in a panic: “Your Majesty, Your Majesty…”

Prime Minister Yun saw that his face was pale and immediately stretched out his hand to help him.

The muscles of his whole body were stiff and his arms were as hard as steel.

A distant voice sounded in his ears: “If everything goes well, it will be fine. But if you go back in time and Your Majesty’s obsession is opposed, I am afraid there will be a backlash. Is Your Majesty ready for it?”

“No matter what, I have to try.”

Li Ying’s hand gripped his hair and held on tightly.

If the spell backlashes, then the deeper the obsession is, the heavier the backlash.

His throat surged and a large amount of blood sprayed on the snow.

Yun Qingci took a step back; his pure white clothes were splashed with specks of red.