Just moments ago, she had suspected that the person I loved was Lan Xiaolou, and now she comes running for a hug? Am I some kind of lowly person?
Jiang Xinyue muttered to herself, twisting her body to break free from the Emperor's embrace. She sat on the bed, her back turned to him, remaining silent.
The Emperor sighed and sat down beside her. "Xinyue, it's my fault. I didn't have a part in your past, which is why I feel uneasy. I'm afraid you don't love me."
"Ultimately, Your Majesty has never truly trusted me."
Jiang Xinyue's face remained cold as she refused to look at him. "If in the future, anyone accuses me of having improper relations with some gentleman or actor, and Your Majesty sends people to investigate me, giving others the chance to frame me, I beg you to depose me now. But I don’t want to die. I hope Your Majesty, for the sake of the children I’ve borne you, will spare my life and send me to the cold palace, where I’ll be out of sight and out of mind."
Her tone was calm, her eyes dry and lifeless, which made the Emperor even more anxious than if she had been crying.
"Why are you saying such things out of the blue?"
The Xuanwu Emperor felt a moment of discomfort but quickly regained his composure, trying to soothe her. "I investigated to clear your name. I don’t want them to gossip about you."
"So, Your Majesty was doing me a favor?"
Jiang Xinyue's voice was filled with self-mocking sarcasm. "Then I must thank Your Majesty for always thinking of me."
"Xinyue, can’t you speak to me in a different tone? It breaks my heart."
When harsh words didn’t work, he resorted to soft ones. Did the Emperor really think he had her under his thumb?
Jiang Xinyue let out another cold snort. "Not only have I never liked Lan Xiaolou, I only respected him as my teacher. But even if I had someone I liked before entering the palace, so what? Was I Your Majesty's first love? Was I the first person you favored? Have you only ever loved me? Haven’t I been hurt and saddened too? Why is it that Your Majesty can treat me this way, while I must always greet you with a smile, never showing the slightest neglect?"
When it came to such matters, the Emperor was undoubtedly the most guilty.
Had he not loved more than one woman?
In his youth, he had adored the Former Concubine Shu, protecting her like she was the apple of his eye, even using Jiang Xinyue as a shield for her. Later, when Concubine Li entered the palace, he fell for her vivacity and beauty, favoring her for over a decade.
Among the women in the harem, he had slept with so many that he couldn’t even remember their faces.
But he was the Emperor!
Thinking this, a complex emotion flickered in his eyes.
Jiang Xinyue exploded, rising abruptly. The Emperor, alarmed, quickly reached out to steady her. "Careful, careful! Xinyue, you’re carrying a child! Don’t get so angry, you’ll harm yourself."
Oh!
She had almost forgotten—she was pregnant. Pregnant women’s emotions were the most volatile, and she could afford to be even more dramatic.
Immediately, she covered her belly, closed her eyes, and feigned unbearable pain, staggering as if she might collapse.
The Emperor tried to support her, but she pushed his hand away, saying coldly, "Is Your Majesty thinking that as the Son of Heaven, you can love and favor whomever you please, without needing my permission? Do you think I’m only daring to treat you this way because of your favor?"
The Emperor quickly waved his hands. "I’m not! Don’t accuse me wrongly!"
But in his mind, this was how emperors were supposed to be. He favored his concubines to stabilize the court and to produce heirs. This was how it had always been—what was wrong with that?
Moreover, since falling in love with Jiang Xinyue and realizing she would feel hurt and jealous, he had not favored anyone else.
Even when she was pregnant, court officials urged him to spread his favors, but he ignored them.
For an emperor, this was already an extraordinary effort.
"You do!"
Jiang Xinyue took a few steps back, distancing herself from him. "Love is about setting aside all external factors—status, power, wealth, and societal expectations. It’s about two equals sharing a genuine emotion. But Your Majesty always stands above me, looking down. When you hurt me, you brush it off with a simple 'it’s for your own good.' I can’t accept that."
Her words left the Emperor at a loss.
Was she this angry because she felt he was too high and mighty, looking down on her?
Heaven knows, he never looked down on her.
But she said that in love, men and women were equal, and external factors like status and power should be set aside.
This was the first time he had heard such a notion.
In the Great Yan Dynasty, women were bound by the Three Obediences and Four Virtues: obeying their fathers before marriage, their husbands after marriage, and their sons after their husbands’ deaths.
Women were expected to uphold virtues, speech, appearance, and skills, but no one ever spoke of men’s virtues, speech, appearance, or skills.
That was the crux of the problem.
The Emperor was an astute and intelligent man. When Jiang Xinyue said she couldn’t accept it, he understood she was referring to this inequality.
Men demanded their wives and daughters to uphold moral standards, follow etiquette, and sacrifice everything for their husbands and children.
But no one ever considered their feelings.
"Are you saying you want to stand as my equal?"
Jiang Xinyue thought to herself, *What would be best is if you pave the way for my son to ascend the throne, then abdicate and let me become the Empress Dowager, so I don’t have to live under your shadow.*
Before she could formulate a response, the Emperor stood up, gave her a deep look, and walked out.
What now?
Couldn’t handle a few soothing words, and now that she wanted equality, he was done?
Jiang Xinyue gritted her teeth. "Xi Que, pack up His Majesty’s belongings and send them back to Chengqian Palace."
The news of the Empress quarreling with the Emperor spread through the harem in no time.
Not only did they quarrel, but everyone in the palace, from the masters to the servants, saw Xi Que packing up the Emperor’s belongings and having them carried to Chengqian Palace.
The Emperor was furious. The eunuchs on duty at Chengqian Palace heard him scolding Xi Que for being audacious, aiding and abetting, and being a troublemaker.
He threatened to have her beaten sooner or later.
Xi Que simply lay on the ground. "Whether it’s sooner or later, I’ll be beaten. Your Majesty might as well do it now!"
She had many audacious days ahead of her.
It was better to get it over with.
Eunuch Tang finally gave the Emperor an out, pushing and pulling Xi Que out of Chengqian Palace.
Yanxi Palace—
Concubine Shi was trimming her pot of orchids.
Maner chuckled. "They say Xi Que is formidable, but I think she’s just shameless. Daring to cause a scene at Chengqian Palace—His Majesty must be even more disgusted with the Empress now."
"Don’t celebrate too soon."
Concubine Shi put down her scissors. "The Empress is very capable. She won’t fall so easily."
But it didn’t matter. Slowly eroding the relationship between the Emperor and the Empress would keep her own hands clean.
