Now, the emperor rested his chin on his hand and said at ease like a relaxed young man, "I heard that Princess Ruizi had visited you yesterday?"
"Yes." Hua Qingxin was alarmed.
"How"s your relationship?"
"Quite good." She was more alarmed.
"Great, then go visit her more frequently."
"Why?" Hua Qingxin asked, extremely alarmed.
His eyelashes shed a tiny shadow in the sunlight. Yun Cang looked at Hua Qingxin with an evil grin. He stretched out two fingers and tempted, "I offer you two ways to become my empress in the shortest time."
Hua Qingxin was baffled by his words, "So he was thinking about how to make me the empress quickly?" And she wondered what she had done to deserve that honor.
Seeing Yun Cang smiling at her joyfully, Hua Qingxin didn"t think that he was joking. She looked away from him and pretended not to care, but she was desperate to hear who he was going to say.
Yun Cang stretched out one finger and shook it in front of her, saying, "First, you can get me some information about Price Yunhai."
Hua Qingxin"s heart lurched. A strong sense of disappointment overwhelmed her. Hua Ruizi"s words suddenly flashed in her mind: the imperial family are those most ruthless! She must be mad. How silly she was to expect him to give her some good advice.
Hua Qingxin raised her lips and sneered, "What"s the second? Kill him for you?"
"Of course not." Yun Cang suddenly stood upright and held her hand, "I know you can"t do the first one, but the second one is easy to do. Have a baby with me. No matter it"s a boy or a girl, every time you give birth to a baby, I will grant you a higher t.i.tle."
Yun Cang even counted for her in amus.e.m.e.nt, "So if you take the second way, it may cost you seven or eight years to be my empress."
He might be testing her or joking. No matter what, Hua Qingxin felt upset deep inside. She withdrew her hand hard, "Don"t even think about it. I will take neither."
Seeing her cold face, Yun Cang was not angry but felt happy, "I know, you must be too thrilled. Isn"t it a good bargain? I"ll create a precedent for you."
This was indeed a rare precedent. The imperial harem was never a place where a consort with most children could be the empress. He would do everything to show his favor towards Hua Qingxin.
However, Hua Qingxin was distressed. It seemed that all his words had evil intention, so she still wore a grave face, "Every time we give birth to a baby, we put our lives at stake. Are you sure it"s a privilege?"
"Well… You made a point." Yun Cang thought for a while awkwardly and finally compromised, "Then, one birth, two ranks higher?"
Hua Qingxin was even more angry, "You think you are buying meat in the market where you can bargain?"
"So, what should I do?" Yun Cang frowned, hands under his chin, and said helplessly, "I can"t think of another way to grant you the t.i.tle as soon as possible."
The women in the imperial harem were different from those officials in the court who could make contribution and earn reputation. The chance for an ordinary woman to become the empress is very slim.
Though the emperor was supposed to make the final decision about who would be the empress, usually that was not the case. The scholars and officialdom in the court were more than happy eager to meddle with the imperial harem affairs for the emperor.
If Hua Qingxin could have a son with him, who hopefully could be promising, then it would be easier for Yun Cang to make the proposal about granting her a higher t.i.tle in the court.
But Hua Qingxin thought differently. She didn"t feel that the emperor was doing this for her good. Instead, he just forced her to follow his logic and ultimately choose the first way.
He was really good at using leverage. In order to make her help him defeat Prince Yunhai, he even used the t.i.tle of empress to tempt her.
With this thought in mind, she agreed with her sister. This emperor was really a malicious man.
Yun Cang didn"t know what she was thinking about, so he poked her forehead slightly, "Sweetie, why do you keep silent?"
"Just leave me alone." Hua Qingxin didn"t want to talk with him.
Maybe Prince Yunhai was right. Everyone should save himself first.
Therefore, Hua Qingxin got a justified reason to be the spy for Prince Yunhai.
"Little Qingxin, we will have Autumn Hunting next month." Yun Cang continued but noticed that Hua Qingxin didn"t respond, so he grasped her hand and forced her to look at him.
Hua Qingxin puckered her lips and pouted in a bad mood. But once again, she saw an extremely beautiful scene.
She saw a man shining brightly, his eyes as clear as stars. He gazed at her, and her figure filled his eyes.
He said, "Come with me, and stay close to me. Never leave me, remember, this is a life-time matter."
Hua Qingxin didn"t come to herself for a long time after hearing Yun Cang"s words. She kept telling herself those were nothing but his lies. He must be deceiving her.
A month later, the emperor did take a crowd of people out for the Autumn Hunting. It was the first time for Hua Qingxin to see Prince Yunhai after she entered the imperial harem.
He deliberately ignored her in front of the crowd, and then met with her secretly.