Beloved Empress

Mo Cheng Xuan excuses himself when he notices that they are going to persist with womanly topics.

Mo Qi Qi almost chokes to death on her tea when she hears her mother, "Mother, can I please trouble you not to crack a joke right when I am drinking? I almost choke to death!"

"This child! Mother is being serious! It was not a joke!" her mother says in gentle aggravation.

Mo Qi Qi looks at her in horror, "You were serious? Mother, please get rid of those thoughts! I would rather die than to give birth to Jun Qian Che"s child!"

"Why are you saying that, Your Ladyship? You have always liked His Majesty.  Hadn"t it been your dream to give His Majesty children?" the d.u.c.h.ess looks at her child curiously. Her daughter has changed too much, to the point where she barely recognizes her anymore.

"Huh? That was the old Mo Qi Qi! I no longer harbour those thoughts. Life is so short, why should we live it in hardship? I only want to live in peace." The thing she wants the most right now is to go back to her own world.

Seeing the earnest look on her child"s face, the d.u.c.h.ess cautiously asks her, "Do you not love His Majesty anymore, Your Ladyship? Or maybe—- you think that the 7th king suits you better? Honestly, both the 7th king and His Majesty are good. Marrying either one of them is good."

"The 7th king is indeed good. He is warmer, kinder and more handsome than His Majesty. But what does that have to do with me? Both of them does not suit me, to be honest." Yue Hen is good, but there will always be an invisible line separating them. Being the wife of an imperial family member is too tiring, if she has a choice, they will not be in them.

Her mother sighs, "Wretched destiny, ah! Your father wanted to marry you off to the 7th w.a.n.g back then, but you were h.e.l.l-bent on marrying His Majesty. Now that you got what you wanted, you realized that you are not compatible with him. But do not worry. If you want to be with the 7th w.a.n.g, your father can arrange everything for you."

"I think you"ve misunderstood me, Mother. I never said I want to marry the 7th w.a.n.g. Being the empress is not that bad, honestly." Stop tossing me around. Be it the emperor or the 7th king, they are both imperial family members.

If she divorce Jun Qian Che and marries Jun Yue Hen, she will still have to meet Jun Qian Che in the future. How awkward will that be! Besides, she cannot afford to leave the palace yet. Her way back to her own world might be here.

Her mother smiles when she hears that, "If you want to protect this position, you can. Your father will just make the 7th king the emperor, you can be the empress."

Mo Qi Qi covers her mouth in surprise, "Mother, you actually dared to say such taboo words?"

Her mother smiles, "The only reason the emperor managed to ascend the throne so easily was because Mo Clan was supporting him.  Your father only supported him because you liked him, and because he promised you the position of his empress. Now that you no longer like him and still wants to be the empress, your father can arrange the person you like to be the emperor so that you can keep your position."

Mo Qi Qi laments over the previous owner"s fate: You were too pitiful. The man that you wanted so much only used you to get his throne. You were a mere p.a.w.n.

"Does Father have the intention to rebel, Mother?" Mo Qi Qi cautiously asks. If Duke Zhen really wants to rebel, she must find the way back to her world before he even begins.

Her mother shakes her head, "Mother does not know matters regarding the men."

Mo Cheng Xuan waits for his mother outside Feng Yang Palace.

Yang Shi Han who is on her way to the imperial study spots his tall and lean physique from afar. A sly smile is formed on her lips as she changes route, heading straight towards Feng Yang Palace.

"Bengong was wondering who is standing over here, turns out it is the capable Great General Mo!" Yang Shi Han says while carrying a small smile, her voice gentle and sweet to the ears.

Mo Cheng Xuan cups his fists in front of her, "Greeting, Your Ladyship."

"You are being too courteous, General Mo. You must be here to see the empress. The empress is too much, how can she let her own brother wait outside like this!" Yang Shi Han unhappily says.

Mo Cheng Xuan remains calm as he says, "You misunderstood the empress, Your Ladyship. Mother and the empress are chatting inside, so this general decided to wait outside until they finish."

"Oh, so it is like that! Bengong indeed misunderstood the empress. But still, you are a guest. What will people say if they see you waiting outside like this? They might say that the imperial palace is discourteous towards guests. Why don"t you sit in bengong"s palace while you wait? Let bengong entertain you on behalf of the empress," Yang Shi Han enthusiastically says.

Mo Cheng Xuan looks at her in shock, "Thank you for your kind intention, Your Ladyship, but this General is a man, it is not proper for me to sit in your palace."

Yang Shi Han covers her smile, "What is there to be improper? Will you be doing something you ought not to do?"

"This General does not dare to! Just, this is the harem, inviting a man to your palace will taint your reputation. It is better for this general to wait for Mother here," Mo Cheng Xuan calmly rejects her offer.

Yang Shi Han sighs, "Ah, bengong have always heard that General is brave and awe-insprising, bengong didn"t think that you will pay that much importance to etiquette. Since you refused bengong"s offer, bengong should not force you. But still, bengong really admires you. Ever since bengong was little, bengong have always looked up to great heroes. Bengong always thought that heroes are admirable and brave, especially in the battlefield. Bengong have heard of your famed reputation, bengong have always wanted to meet you. Although we"ve met during banquets, we"ve never really met directly. Today can be considered a pleasant coincidence. Bengong heard that you crushed the enemy"s 300,000 troops with only 100,000 troops a while ago. You are too remarkable, General Mo. You have worked hard for our Hua Chen Kingdom. Let bengong give this tonic to you to convey bengong"s grat.i.tude over your hard work. This was originally meant for the emperor, but since bengong b.u.mped into our kingdom"s trusted official along the way, might as well give it to him," Yang Shi Han personally picks up a bowl on a tray that is being carried by a maid. She hands the bowl over to Mo Cheng Xuan.

Mo Cheng Xuan carefully says, "This is a tonic that you brewed for His Majesty, this General dares not drink it."

"No need to be so courteous, General. This is just a bowl of tonic. Bengong will just ask people to brew some more for His Majesty," Yang Shi Han persistently offers the bowl to Mo Cheng Xuan.

Mo Cheng Xuan declines, "Thank you for your kind intention, Your Ladyship, but this General will not receive this."

"It is alright, drink it."

"No, thank you."

The two people keep pushing and pulling. In the end, they end up spilling the tonic on Yang Shi Han"s beautiful gown.

She snaps angrily at him, "You sure are gutsy, Mo Cheng Xuan! It is one thing to reject bengong"skind gift, but you actually dared to spill it on bengong!"

Mo Cheng Xuan politely says, "Please forgive me, Your Ladyship. It was unintentional."

"Hmph! It was clearly done on purpose. You must have done that to let out some steam since bengong is more favoured than the empress!" Yang Shi Han says angrily.

"It really was not done on purpose, Your Ladyship. This bowl was meant for His Majesty, this General naturally did not dare to drink it. You were the one who kept insisting…."

"Are you trying to say that this is all bengong"s own fault?" Yang Shi Han demanded.

"This General does not dare to." Mo Cheng Xuan is not very good when it comes to talking to women.

"Does not dare to? That means that deep inside, you are really blaming bengong!" Yang Shi Han purposely does not let the matter go.

Mo Cheng Xuan does not know how to explain himself, "Since Your Ladyship thinks that this General is at fault, this General can only give in. Please forgive me for spilling the tonic on you, Your Ladyship."

Yang Shi Han"s eyes light up as she smiles arrogantly, "If you dare to do it, you must be prepared to admit it. Since General has admitted fault, bengong naturally will have to punish you, but punishment will have to wait until after bengong changed. Please follow bengong to Gui Ning Palace."

"Yes!" Mo Cheng Xuan follows her to Gui Ning Palace. This Yang Guifei appears fragile and gentle, but the truth is, her personality is the complete opposite. No wonder Qi Qi hates her so much. She enjoys making things hard for other people, Qi Qi naturally will not tolerate that.

The smell of incense fills Gui Ning Palace. It is not thick and overbearing like other incense. Instead, this one feels light and cooling.

Mo Cheng Xuan stands inside the entertaining hall. Although he is here to receive punishment, he does not show any trace of fear at all.

Yang Shi Han orders her people, "All of you may leave first. Bengong has something to say to the general."

"Yes!" Her servants retreat, leaving only her and Mo Cheng Xuan inside the hall.

He respectfully looks at her, "How will you punish this General, Your Ladyship?"

Yang Shi Han glances at him before arrogantly saying, "What are you hasty for? Bengong is still soaking wet. Wait here while bengong change. After that, bengong will come up with a suitable punishment."

"Yes," Mo Cheng Xuan calmly replies.

Yang Shi Han walks into her chamber with a smirk. Mo Cheng Xuan, bengong kindly invited you but you refused to come and forced bengong to resort to this method. You must not blame bengong!

Yang Shi Han goes to change while Mo Cheng Xuan obediently waits outside. He is indeed a calm and level-headed young man. His temperament is the complete opposite of his father"s.

She picks up a dress that she likes before slowly changing into it.

Not long later, a scream can be heard from inside her chamber, "Ah! Help!"

Mo Cheng Xuan who hears that scream hesitates over what he should do. That is the Guifei"s chamber, a man must not enter it.

"Ah! Do not come over! Go away! Go away!" Yang Shi Han screams from inside her room.

After a moment of hesitation, Mo Cheng Xuan rushes in, "What happened, Your Ladyship?"

"Ah!" Yang Shi Han screams in horror when she sees him.

Mo Cheng Xuan really wants to poke his own eyes out.

———————-

Serene: What an idiot smh