The Chu Emperor paused for a moment, touched her head, and showed no unusual expression on his face. “Why are you being naughty today?”
With that, he went off to change clothes.
When Chu Yunge saw the Chu Emperor again, she only felt that he was just like her—no flaw was revealed.
The brother and sister completed their identity swap. The Chu Emperor went to the Empress Dowager’s palace to keep her company.
Chu Yunge, meanwhile, took Li Chengzhe to carry out the Anmiao sacrificial rite.
The Anmiao rite was originally a folk custom of Great Chu. After planting rice during the Grain in Ear season, it was held to pray for a good harvest in autumn. It mainly involved dyeing fresh wheat flour with vegetable and fruit juices to give it colors, then shaping it into melons, fruits, vegetables, or figures of the five grains and six livestock before steaming them as offerings.
Because of the importance of abundant grain harvests, later emperors also participated in the Anmiao sacrificial rite.
Such sacrificial rites had set procedures, so Chu Yunge only needed to follow the process step by step. She showed no flaws.
It was her first time participating in such an event. She did it earnestly and sincerely, and found it quite interesting.
It was just that the weather was really a bit hot.
When Chu Yunge returned to the palace to change out of her regular clothes, then went to the Empress Dowager’s palace to pay respects—and to swap identities back with the Chu Emperor—she unexpectedly saw the emperor and Qingchen playing chess.
The two sat under a pomegranate tree, a scene that was extremely pleasing to the eye.
Chu Yunge raised her brow. Qingchen had entered the palace, it seemed, just to create an opportunity to spend time with the emperor.
“Imperial Brother.”
The Chu Emperor, dressed as a woman, curtsied to Chu Yunge. His movements flowed smoothly without the slightest reluctance, and he then politely took his leave from Qingchen.
Chu Yunge and the Chu Emperor paid respects to Empress Dowager Zheng together and took the chance to swap back their identities.
Empress Dowager Zheng had entered the palace at eighteen and conceived a child right after her first night of serving in bed. Now only thirty-six, she maintained herself extremely well and looked no more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight at most. One could even call her an elder sister without issue. However, though her face was beautiful, her words were extremely harsh.
“You’ve really grown some nerve. One Xie Wangze and one Pei Ji aren’t enough for you to cause trouble with—now you even want to steal Master Qingchen! Do you know how people outside are cursing you? You’ve completely disgraced our imperial family’s face.”
“This Empress Dowager warns you: once the poison is resolved, release Master Qingchen from the Princess Mansion as soon as possible. Pei Ji too.”
The Chu Emperor tried to play the peacemaker in the middle, but it only made Empress Dowager Zheng angrier. “This Empress Dowager told you long ago that pregnancy and childbirth are like walking through the gates of hell. Your body isn’t suited for pregnancy either—don’t take such risks lightly. Yet you went straight ahead and drugged Master Qingchen! How can there be such a lewd and shameless woman in this world!”
If Chu Yunge died from pregnancy or childbirth, what would happen to her imperial son?
It was the first time Chu Yunge heard a mother curse her own daughter like this.
Empress Dowager Zheng didn’t look much like her modern mother, and her modern mother had never been so harsh. Yet in this moment, the two overlapped in her mind.
Familiar yet unfamiliar emotions surged in her heart—pain, anger, loneliness, helplessness, despair—all intertwining, making her feel so oppressed she could hardly breathe. It seemed like the remnant emotions of the princess, yet they successfully ignited her own anger as well.
“If Empress Dowager utters one more word of abuse, This Princess will go back, drug Master Qingchen, along with Pei Ji and Xie Wangze, and sleep with all of them. That way, I’ll live up to those four words you call me: ‘lewd and shameless.’”
The princess usually avoided Empress Dowager Zheng and secretly opposed her. This was the first time she retorted like this.
The Chu Emperor looked toward Chu Yunge, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes.
Empress Dowager Zheng could hardly believe it. “You…”
“Imperial Brother, you handle her yourself.” Chu Yunge tossed down those words and turned to leave.
Favoring sons over daughters was one thing, but draining her blood and still cursing her—this modern woman couldn’t tolerate such grievance.
No matter how they cursed behind her, Chu Yunge directly boarded the sedan already prepared and left.
When she returned to the palace gates, Qingchen was already waiting by the carriage.
“Let’s go, back to the mansion.”
After boarding the carriage, she saw Qingchen take the initiative to sit beside her. Chu Yunge reached out as before to take his wrist, but he flinched.
Chu Yunge glanced at his bandaged wrist, where blood had seeped through. “Your hand… it’s injured?”
She frowned tightly. How had Qingchen inexplicably gotten his wrist cut too?
Qingchen pulled down his monk robes to cover it. “It’s just a minor injury. Thank you, Your Highness, for coming to my aid today.”
Chu Yunge raised her brow. She hadn’t come to anyone’s aid—it must be part of the male leads’ plot. She’d left too quickly and hadn’t heard the Chu Emperor’s instructions.
Just as she prepared to brush it off, a voice came from outside.
“Your Highness, please wait.”
Li Chengzhe had arrived, bringing the Chu Emperor’s apologies and gifts as compensation on behalf of his consort.
It turned out that the younger sister of Qingchen’s former third fiancée had entered the palace as a consort. Today, she had run into Qingchen, first mocking him for being taken by the princess as a male pet, then making things difficult for him. Not only did she make him personally copy scriptures to pray for her elder sister’s blessings, she even said it would be more sincere if copied in blood.
Thus, Qingchen had let blood and used his own to copy the scriptures.
This had all been witnessed by the Chu Emperor, disguised as her. The Chu Emperor rebuked his consort and came to Qingchen’s aid.
By then, however, Qingchen had nearly finished copying. Feeling he truly had sins to atone for, he insisted on completing the scriptures.
That was why the two had ended up playing chess at the Empress Dowager’s place.
The Chu Emperor had sent Li Chengzhe not only to apologize and offer gifts to show his stance, but also to indirectly let her know the situation.
Chu Yunge inwardly clicked her tongue. No wonder so many people shipped the Chu Emperor and Qingchen—it really was shippable. She was starting to ship the two of them herself.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Qingchen was surprised but hurriedly gave thanks.
He then thanked her as well. “Thank you too, Your Highness.”
“No need to thank This Princess.” Chu Yunge spoke meaningfully. “Just thank His Majesty. This is all his achievement.”
Coming to the rescue, delivering the medicine, rebuking the consort—it was all the Chu Emperor. She had nothing to do with it.
She wouldn’t claim the credit. Once Qingchen learned the truth later, it would surely make things even sweeter and move him even more.
Qingchen always felt Chu Yunge’s smile was a bit strange, though he couldn’t pinpoint why.
Moreover… for some reason, he felt that the princess’s hand during chess was larger than now, and her gaze during their time together had felt somewhat off-putting.
But now it was fine again.
Her hand was still so soft, and the person was the same as always.
Perhaps the events of today had given him an illusion.
Qingchen looked at Chu Yunge. “Your Highness, would you like some tea?”
“Yes.” Chu Yunge was indeed a bit thirsty.
Qingchen poured her some tea and then proactively recited scriptures for her.
After seeing Empress Dowager Zheng, Chu Yunge—not sure if influenced by the princess’s emotions—had felt a tightness in her chest all along. Now, with the recitation, she felt much better.
Looking at Qingchen, Chu Yunge sighed inwardly. He was truly perceptive.
Despite being bullied himself today, he had noticed her discomfort and timely recited scriptures for her.
Chu Yunge returned the favor. “Master Qingchen, don’t worry. His Majesty said he would order the imperial physicians to find the antidote soon. It shouldn’t be long before you’re detoxified and can leave the Princess Mansion completely.”
“At that time, I’ll explain everything clearly so you suffer fewer rumors.”
Qingchen smiled. “Yes, this little monk believes the princess.”
“As long as you believe it.” As they spoke, they arrived back at the Princess Mansion.
The Princess Mansion wasn’t as formal as the palace, so the carriage entered directly.
Before the carriage had even stopped, Pei Ji’s voice rang out from overhead.
“Is Your Highness in the carriage?”
As soon as the words fell, Pei Ji—who had been sitting on the roof—bit down on a foxtail grass, leaped from the rooftop, landed on the carriage shaft, and yanked open the curtain.
Pei Ji’s wildly handsome face was dazzling.
“Do you need something from me?”
Pei Ji saw Chu Yunge and Qingchen’s joined hands and abruptly dropped the curtain.
“Nothing. I was just asking casually.”
With that, he kicked off with his toes and flew back to the rooftop.