CHAPTER 713: CHAPTER 580: AN INTERRUPTED AFFAIR

Feng Xun shuddered all over, a clear trace of disgust flashing in his eyes as he silently shifted away from the Empress’s hand.

The royal chamber was empty, it seemed that Ye Lingyue and Little Zhiyo were not around, giving Feng Xun a slight relief.

"Your Majesty, if there’s nothing else, I shall take my leave."

The Empress’s hand fell empty, her cheeks reddening with intoxication now tinged with a hint of annoyance.

Feng Xun’s tone was estranged, nearly foreign.

He refused to call even Qing Shuang, nor would he refer to her as Aunt, but used the formalities of monarch and subject, estranging their bonds.

"Feng Xun, you’re so eager to leave, is it to seek Ye Lingyue! She’s just a woman, and I have already selected many suitable women from good families for you. Just give up Ye Lingyue, and you can choose anyone you want, even many."

The Empress quickly walked to the desk, grabbing a stack of thick papers.

"These are all the finest women from Beiqing and beyond. They excel in both letters and martial arts, and their status and lineage surpass Ye Lingyue by countless times."

The Empress had already inquired into Ye Lingyue’s background, the famed First Lady Marquis of Daxia.

Ye Lingyue was just a discarded daughter born to a concubine of a Noble Marquis in Daxia.

That concubine, shamelessly remarried after being divorced.

A child raised without a father by her maternal family, how good could she really be!

Ye Lingyue, having just arrived in Beiqing, had been frolicking with Chen Tuo’s son, uttering many disrespectful words.

"Your Majesty, although these women are commendable, none are Ye Lingyue. What I want is only Ye Lingyue."

Feng Xun did not reach for the women’s profiles, and the Empress, startled, dropped the papers to the ground.

Feng Lan had once said the same thing.

Over a decade ago, when Feng Lan was ambushed and severely wounded.

His robes soaked in blood, he looked at the masked female assassin and said faintly.

"Qing Shuang, why bother."

He had seen through everything long ago, knew it was a trap set by the Empress, yet still fell for it.

Unable to help herself, the Empress tore off her mask, looking at the blood-soaked Feng Lan, her cold eyes softening for the first time.

Choking up, nearly pleading.

"Feng Lan, give up on Qing Feng. Just agree to be with me, and I can give up everything. You dislike being an Imperial Consort in name only, I can abdicate from being Empress. If you dislike me having other men, I can forsake them all."

Feng Lan covered the wound on his chest, blood dripping from his fingertips and staining his hand.

"What about your children?"

"I can abandon them, or even kill them if you dislike them. I could even raise Feng Xun with you, just agree to be with me." The Empress had never been so humble.

"But I do not wish to. Qing Shuang, you always think I refuse you because I am unwilling to be an Imperial Consort. It’s not that; if Qing Feng and you switched places, for her, I could be the Imperial Consort. You never understand, I only want Qing Feng."

Those words from Feng Lan a decade ago had plunged the Empress into despair.

She hadn’t expected that a decade later, someone else’s words would bring her to face this despair again.

Tears blurred the Empress’s vision, under the lamplight, she could not even distinguish if the man before her was Feng Xun or Feng Lan.

She had only one thought.

This time, she could not let Feng Xun leave.

"Xinxin, you really are a naughty child. How could you not listen to Aunt’s words. Your disobedience has shattered Aunt’s heart." The Empress walked towards Feng Xun, quickly removing her outer robe.

Unlike unmarried women, Empress Qing Shuang had birthed several children.

She was a martial artist and had maintained her figure well postpartum.

The Empress was always confident about her physique.

Her appearance now would be attractive in the eyes of other men, let alone Feng Xun, who was still young.

She firmly believed that once Feng Xun became her subordinate, he would be utterly devoted to her like Chen Tuo.

"Your Majesty, you are drunk."

Feng Xun was shocked, quickly averting his gaze.

He inwardly groaned, his eyes swiftly scanning towards the door, his ears picking up a slight sound of footsteps.

Feng Xun’s eyes flickered, his body swiftly retreating backwards.

The Empress, unwilling to let him escape so easily, reached out to grasp Feng Xun’s hand.

Just as she was about to seize Feng Xun’s arm, somehow he managed a slight shrug of his shoulder and slipped from the Empress’s grasp, his sleeve brushing against, and the door behind him suddenly swung open.

Caught off-guard, the Empress lunged forward, tumbling into a firm embrace outside the door.

Outside, Chen Tuo was about to ask for permission to enter when suddenly the door swung wide open, and a figure tumbled out.

He reflexively caught her, a delightful fragrance overwhelming him, his heart leaping with joy, believing the Empress in her inebriated state had thrown herself into his arms.

Chen Tuo, also drunk, was impatient and eager, tightly embracing the Empress.

"Chen Tuo, you’re insolent!"

The Empress had intended to grasp Feng Xun, but was instead tightly held by Chen Tuo in a flurry.

In a sudden rage, she slapped Chen Tuo across the_face.

Chen Tuo felt his cheek go numb, a sweet, metallic taste filling his mouth, having had two teeth knocked out by the Empress’s slap.

He then came to his senses; after seeing the Empress without her outer robe and glimpsing inside the room where Feng Xun was watching them with a cold expression.

Chen Tuo was hugely embarrassed, having not expected a third person beside the Empress, and that person being Feng Xun.

But then it struck him, his heart filling with jealousy.

In the dead of night, Feng Xun might be the Empress’s nephew, but what was he doing in the Empress’s quarters?

Looking at the Empress’s state, could it be...

Chen Tuo was shaken, he knew the Empress’s nature, though dignified in court, was entirely different in private.

Feng Xun growing increasingly similar to Feng Lan over the years, could it be, the Empress after drinking, intended to...

But if that were true, why would the Empress summon him?

Chen Tuo was frustrated and jealous.

The Empress was no less angry, glancing at Chen Tuo, then back to Feng Xun’s calm demeanor.

Suddenly understanding, Chen Tuo’s sudden arrival was no accident, clearly, Feng Xun had sensed something beforehand and led Chen Tuo here.