CHAPTER 95: CHAPTER 90: EAVESDROPPING

The Emperor rose: "What year, what month, and what day is today?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, it is now the 20th day of the seventh month of the fifth year of Yongshou..."

The night-duty eunuch replied, feeling uneasily anxious.

Concubine Jiang sleepily sat upright, looking at the Emperor in confusion: "Your Majesty..."

"Have the concubines entered the palace?"

"Your Majesty, the selected concubines are still at home. Which concubine has impressed Your Majesty so much that you’re thinking of her?"

Concubine Jiang said with a trace of complaint.

The Emperor’s choosing of names seemed like a routine matter, and he didn’t always visit the concubines. Tonight, the two of them simply slept under the covers; Concubine Jiang wanted to take the opportunity to talk with the Emperor, but he fell asleep as soon as he lay down, his breathing even. She thought they would just sleep until morning, but unexpectedly, the Emperor suddenly got up and asked what year, what month, and what day it was.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor’s expression changed: "I must leave the palace."

He got out of bed and hurriedly dressed, and Weiyang Palace quickly went from darkness to brightly lit.

"Your, Your Majesty?"

At night, the city gates are closed, but they open when the drum is struck at dawn.

The selected concubines cannot leave the palace, but what if Concubine Xi had another method?

"Absolutely not, Your Majesty, the night is deep, and there’s no preparation to leave the palace, the journey is dangerous..."

"Be quiet, my decision is made."

The Emperor’s outings are complex matters! Even if he goes incognito, he needs to be well-guarded. He wields real power and is not a puppet Emperor. If he insists on leaving the palace today, no one can stop him, but by tomorrow morning, he will surely be admonished by the ministers.

Yet despite this, the Emperor still wants to go.

He wants to personally ask the Yun Family, since he has consummated the marriage with her, he has not wronged her, and just rewarded her family, why does she want to return to the time before entering the palace? She must be planning to escape from his side!

Xie Zhixing held a stern expression, trying to look calm, but the hot night breeze brushed against his face, almost breaking his composure.

Before sleeping, the palace was so cold they had to burn the floor dragon to sleep, but once lying down, it was a summer night filled with the sound of cicadas.

What great abilities she has!

To turn back time, to scoop up a fleeting light in the long river of time, while he seems like an unwitting fish caught in her grasp, only able to swim against the current blindly.

Xie Zhixing had never experienced the feeling of being abandoned by a woman, always others trying to please him, unlike the late Emperor, who was troubled over whether someone liked him or his title of Emperor—the dragon throne has only one seat, and he sits there firmly, so the other must only favor him, right?

Yet this time, he encountered an Immortal, who didn’t even care for the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, please mount the horse."

He found the Imperial Chariot too slow and had someone bring his horse. The Capital City is under curfew; at midnight, besides the city watch, there is no one on the streets. The sound of horse hooves startled the citizens from their sleep, who wondered in confusion—what kind of formidable person can ride through the Capital late at night?

"Where is Brick Pine Alley?"

Xie Zhixing reined his horse, asking.

The guard beside him looked confused.

This group of guards near the Emperor were not from humble backgrounds and only knew good districts. This alley, they might have heard of, didn’t know where it was, sounded like a place for destitute people. The Emperor is leaving the palace in the middle of the night just to come here?

"Your Majesty, I do not know."

The guard knelt in fear.

Xie Zhixing pressed his lips: "Go wake up some locals to ask."

Two households were woken up. Facing the sumptuously dressed barbarians, they were dumbfounded; not only was there someone kneeling to beg for mercy, but a man cried and confessed to smothering his sickly father... a case of patricide! The guards exchanged looks, first let him explain how to get to Brick Pine Alley, then take him to the Government Office.

After two quarters, Xie Zhixing found the place where Yun Jiao lived before entering the palace.

His first thought was, there are such rundown places in the Capital?

Concubine Xi would rather be here, choose a life of exile, than stay by his side?

This really is not a place for romantic encounters, too shabby, the moss on the path glowed green under the light, romantic love stories from operas wouldn’t appear here, but perhaps a spurned ghost seeking revenge.

And isn’t he just that spurned ghost now?

An Immortal teased a mortal and was about to leave without a trace.

Xie Zhixing dismounted, walked slowly toward the Yun Mansion, his hand stayed hovering before the door, changed his mind. The wall wasn’t high, he weighed it up, left the guards outside, and easily climbed in.

A night intrusion into a minister’s residence, heading straight for the quarters of the minister’s wife and daughter.

If this got out, he would ruin his own reputation.

Outside, the guards waited, not daring to breathe audibly, never expecting the Emperor to commit such a daring act! Usually, he didn’t like going to the harem but preferred ministers’ backyards! They were thrilled by the gossip!

Xie Zhixing didn’t care, at least not now.

He only wanted to drag Concubine Xi out of the Yun Mansion, to confront her if she was done with him.

—In a way, Xie Zhixing had no normal experience with romance.

Given more experience, he wouldn’t ask, understanding the virtue of not retaining the one who wishes to leave.

A room in the backyard still had a light on, and he could hear murmured conversations by listening closely.

"Mother doesn’t believe I can gain favor after entering the palace."

Inside, a cheeky laugh came, a trace of proud defiance.

Xie Zhixing paused his steps.

"You,"

Lady Yun pinched her nose: "The concubines in the palace are formidable, and upon entering, you’re just a little Servant Consort, probably won’t even see the Emperor. You’re an invaluable treasure to your mother, but once in the palace, it’s different."

A seemingly ordinary mother-daughter conversation.

Xie Zhixing wanted to hear what she would say to her mother.

"Don’t think just because you’re good-looking you can do whatever you want, the palace has many beautiful ladies."

Lady Yun said.

Her husband held a low-ranking official position, and the wives’ gatherings didn’t invite her, so she truly didn’t know what the palace concubines looked like, assuming they all looked like Heavenly Immortals. To see her daughter day after day, national beauty became ordinary, she worried her daughter might cause trouble in the harem, with no one to protect her.

Listening by the window, Xie Zhixing thought not really.

No one in the harem was more beautiful.

"Mother, what if, I’m just saying what if, I’m returning from nearly a year in the future to before entering the palace and told you I gained favor in the palace, was given a title and promoted to a concubine, would you be happy?"

Yun Jiao asked cautiously.

"Mother would be happy for you," Lady Yun, accustomed to her whimsical talk, rubbed her small cheek: "Our Jiaojiao must be very liked by the Emperor, but do you like the Emperor? Mother never heard you mention wanting to enter the palace."

She surely doesn’t like me at all.

Xie Zhixing fumed inwardly.