Luo Wuhen’s sudden movement made the meditating Su Qianqian open her eyes in confusion.
“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
“Nothing, just a disturbance at the border. Two reckless troublemakers fought their way across the national line, but they had the sense to leave already.”
Luo Wuhen replied with a blank expression, making up a lie.
But Su Qianqian was quite suspicious of this.
She stared intently at Luo Wuhen’s face for a long time but couldn’t make anything out. Su Qianqian sighed, knowing she couldn’t see through her anymore…
Luo Wuhen knew exactly what Su Qianqian was suspicious of, but instead, she smiled playfully and said, “My dear Qianqian, are you staring at me because you’ve finally realized how beautiful I am?”
“Heh, do you actually believe what you’re saying?” Su Qianqian shook her head in exasperation.
“Then tell me honestly, don’t you think I’m good-looking?”
“Your face is certainly not bad, but your heart is just too dark for me.”
“What about besides my face? How about my body…?” As she spoke, Luo Wuhen slowly loosened her robe…
Su Qianqian was so startled that she sat up immediately, “What are you doing? Trying to force yourself on me again? If you dare, don’t even dream of me ever looking at your face again!”
Seeing Su Qianqian like this, Luo Wuhen only smiled and continued to open her robe—then changed into her sleepwear.
“I’ve just finished dealing with State Affairs, why don’t we go to bed together?”
“Who wants to sleep with you? Even when I ask to have separate beds, you don’t agree. Sigh, so untrustworthy, I’m disappointed in you.”
“This is my bottom line. As my Empress, even sleeping apart would be an utter loss of Demeanor. If word got out, where would my Majesty be?”
Su Qianqian said nothing, only sighed and rolled further inside…
Luo Wuhen stretched and slowly got into bed.
The very first thing she did was to hug Su Qianqian from behind, then, with a tender and tingling voice, whispered into her ear:
“I love you. I really love you…”
“Mm, I know.”
“I love you, I love you…”
“Mm, mm.”
“You must always stay by my side. I’ll give all my love to you…”
“Alright, alright.”
Su Qianqian replied half-heartedly. Recently, Luo Wuhen always had to say this a few times before bed.
At first, Su Qianqian would mock her, but now she couldn’t even be bothered.
Then Su Qianqian felt the back of her neck kissed again, and Luo Wuhen’s voice came once more:
“Can I kiss you?”
“No.”
“Can I give you a kiss?”
“No.”
“Really can’t?”
“No.”
Another round of the same repetitive conversation.
Lately, Luo Wuhen was very clingy. She did less with her hands but talked even more than before—more troublesome than ever.
“Then let’s just sleep. At least I still have the right to hold you…”
“Actually, I really don’t want you to hug me either.” Su Qianqian retorted mercilessly.
But no matter what she said, she was still being held in Luo Wuhen’s arms…
“Don’t move your hands around. Otherwise, I won’t even let you hold me!”
Hearing Su Qianqian’s complaint, Luo Wuhen finally, reluctantly, withdrew the hand that had wandered to somewhere it shouldn’t.
As night deepened, Su Qianqian fell into sleep out of habit.
But Luo Wuhen had already gotten used to years without rest.
Now, lying in bed each night was only for Su Qianqian’s sake.
She gently stroked Su Qianqian’s face in her arms, her face full of doting, but it quickly turned cold:
“Lin Muxue… truly like a lingering ghost.”
……
The moon set, and the sun gradually rose from the horizon.
The morning air was still crisp when Luo Wuhen gently woke Su Qianqian:
“Qianqian~, Empress~, my dear~, time to get up…”
“I’m up… I’m up…” Su Qianqian opened her eyes in a daze, still not quite awake, but this was exactly what Luo Wuhen wanted…
“It’s time to go to court. I’ll accept today’s morning kiss now…”
“Mm…”
Taking advantage of Su Qianqian’s confusion, Luo Wuhen leaned down and kissed her deeply.
“Mmm…” Su Qianqian, confronted by something suddenly aggressive in her mouth, was still not fully awake.
Her eyes grew hazy under the assault, but that soon made her snap awake—then promptly fall into another daze, drool slipping from the corner of her lips…
After a long while, as they parted, Luo Wuhen still very tenderly helped Su Qianqian wipe the corner of her mouth.
Yet she was rewarded with a fierce bite on the finger by the shy and furious Su Qianqian!
“I warned you in advance, and you didn’t refuse. It’s within the agreement.” Luo Wuhen had already guessed what Su Qianqian was about to say, so she spoke first.
“But—”
“Qianqian, hurry up. The Children will be here soon.”
“Children?” Su Qianqian was distracted by Luo Wuhen’s words.
“Didn’t you say last time you wanted some children to keep you company? So I prepared it early for you.”
“Oh, that did happen… but it’s so sudden. You couldn’t have told me a little earlier?”
“Life needs surprises, so I’m telling you today~. Hope you have a wonderful day, my dearest Qianqian, Empress…”
“Oh… Wait, back to the earlier topic, you—”
“I’m off, busy today. Have fun with the Children.” Leaving only this sentence, Luo Wuhen suddenly vanished on the spot, giving Su Qianqian no chance to speak.
Watching Luo Wuhen disappear, Su Qianqian could only swallow her words and helplessly begin to tidy up.
First, she had to smooth her hair, then change into something friendlier and easier to move in…
“Alright, this will do!” After a little grooming, Su Qianqian briskly walked out the door.
“Empress, we’ll need to wait a bit more. His Majesty said to let the Children wake up before coming, so it’ll be a little later.” Ying was dutifully waiting at the door.
“Heh, for once she’s actually done well.”
“You seem to be in a good mood today, Your Majesty. That’s wonderful.”
“If not for someone suddenly doing something indecent this morning, I’d be in an even better mood right now.”
……
After several hours, Su Qianqian waited at the door. From a distance, she heard chattering and lively voices.
Stepping outside to greet them, she saw Shun leading more than a dozen adorable-looking Children, walking in a not-so-orderly line.
Among them, one child seemed rather timid and was dressed much more simply than the others…
But upon seeing Su Qianqian, that child’s face lit up with joy at spotting a familiar person and hurriedly called out in delight!
“It’s pretty sister!”
Naturally, Su Qianqian smiled in response.
As Su Qianqian approached, Xiao Yuanxiao, who had been nervous, cheerfully clung to her, while the other Children, knowing Su Qianqian’s identity, became more reserved.
Before coming, their families had repeatedly warned them not to upset the Empress.
Looking at the restrained group of children, Su Qianqian did her best to use a gentle tone with them:
“You don’t have to mind my status so much. Just call me Sister Qianqian… Have you eaten breakfast?”
The Children all nodded. Breakfast had been prepared for them when they arrived, but noticing that Su Qianqian seemed easygoing, they soon lost their initial restraint, staring at her with wide, curious eyes.
For a moment, Su Qianqian felt awkward—she didn’t know how to handle so many Children at once.
“Would you like to take a walk with me? This place is pretty big, and there are some interesting spots…”
“Yes, yes! We want to see! So curious! Your Majesty, you’re so pretty!” the little ones all chattered, making Su Qianqian straighten up proudly—maybe she was pretty good at looking after kids after all.
“Alright, Children, follow behind me. I’ll take you on an adventure in the Palace!”
“Okay!”
Su Qianqian led the way, with a group of kids trailing behind her, all squeaking and chattering.
Given the height difference, it looked just like a group of children on a spring outing, with Su Qianqian as their guide.
“Sister Qianqian, Sister Qianqian, you really are the Empress! No wonder you’re so pretty, even more beautiful than the Empress in my stories~”
Xiao Yuanxiao caught up to Su Qianqian, showing undisguised adoration.
“Haha, such a sweet talker. By the way, didn’t your little sister come with you?”
“My little sister’s too young. She’s still at home sleeping.”
“A few days ago, some people dressed really fancy came to my parents and wanted to take me and my sister to visit the Empress. My parents were so scared they nearly fell over. But those people explained a lot of good things, so my parents calmed down.”
“Before coming, my parents told me over and over not to make the Empress mad. But you’re so nice, I could never make you angry~”
“That’s right, Xiao Yuanxiao is so well-behaved. How could I ever be angry with you~”
Su Qianqian’s eyes curved into a smile as she gently rubbed Xiao Yuanxiao’s head.
Mmm, just like how she remembered from years ago. Too bad, before long, Xiao Yuanxiao would be taller than her…
“Right, right, there’s another big sister looking for you, too.”
“Hm? Another big sister? I don’t think I know anyone here…”
“I remember she wanted me to tell you… The big sister who likes playing the flute has found you~”
Suddenly, Su Qianqian froze, causing a chain collision behind her. Her heart began to pound!
Flute—that was Lin Muxue! She’d found her?!
“That’s right, that’s right, Luo Wuhen’s expression yesterday… she must have sensed Master… Does she know I’m here?!”
“Sister Qianqian?” Xiao Yuanxiao’s puzzled voice rang in Su Qianqian’s ear.
“Ah, I spaced out. I do know her, thank you for delivering the message, Xiao Yuanxiao. You’ve been a great help!”
“Yay, glad I could help Sister Qianqian!”
Suppressing her excitement, Su Qianqian felt even more elated!
“Children, follow me! I’ll take you to see the Garden of the Harem!”
“Okay!”
……
“Sister Qianqian, I’m a bit tired…”
After a while, Xiao Yuanxiao tugged on Su Qianqian’s sleeve and whispered carefully.
Su Qianqian stopped and gently rubbed Xiao Yuanxiao’s head.
Looking back, most of the little ones looked wilted too. After all, they were just kids with limited stamina.
Su Qianqian thought for a moment, then activated her spiritual sense!
“Sister Qianqian—I’m flying!” Xiao Yuanxiao, already floating in the air, called out to Su Qianqian in excitement!
Not just her, but all the other Children behind her were floating too!
“Alright, Children, are you ready for a big adventure?”
“Yeah—!”
……
The whole day passed like this. As night fell, Su Qianqian conjured up an artificial light source.
The Children gathered around her, still excitedly discussing their day, while Su Qianqian, exhausted from a day of flying around with more than a dozen kids, collapsed onto the ground.
“Your Majesty! Do you live here all the time?”
“Sister Qianqian, I still want to fly!”
“Your Majesty, here are some flowers for you!”
Children truly had no filters. Despite their parents’ repeated warnings, after playing together all day, they’d thrown all caution aside!
Su Qianqian loved being with these pure-hearted Children. She did her best to answer every question—until one came up, from Xiao Yuanxiao, that left her stumped…
“Sister Qianqian, do you have a Crown Prince?”
“Ah? What?” Su Qianqian was flustered—why bring that up all of a sudden?
“I’ve read storybooks, the Empress and King always have a Prince or a Princess!”
“Sorry, not yet.” Su Qianqian replied awkwardly.
“Aww… that’s too bad. Sister Qianqian’s child would definitely be as beautiful as you! Oh, do you know if the King, His Majesty, is really handsome? In all the storybooks, the King is super handsome!”
Su Qianqian almost let something slip.
She really wanted to tell her that the beautiful sister she saw last time was actually the King, but thinking about it—for the sake of the children’s innocent minds—she decided to tell a little white lie:
“Yes… very handsome…”
“Are you two very much in love? Did you have a magical meeting story?”
“Yes, yes, we’re very much in love.” Su Qianqian forced herself to reply, feeling a little awkward.
“Then, then, Sister Qianqian, can you have a beautiful Princess? I, I could be her big sister and take care of her!”
“This…”
Su Qianqian really didn’t want to agree, but when she saw Xiao Yuanxiao’s big, sparkling eyes, she hesitated. Then the other Children joined in!
“My father always says he hopes the country will have a Crown Prince soon! Though I don’t really know why…”
“There should be a Crown Prince, and I want to marry her, just like in the stories, hehe…”
“Father told me to study hard, so I can help the future Emperor. The future Emperor would be Your Majesty’s child, right?”
……
Listening to the children’s chattering, Su Qianqian wondered if Luo Wuhen had set her up.
All she could do was shout in exhaustion and resignation:
“Alright, alright! Princesses and Princes, we’ll talk about that some other time!”
In the end, Su Qianqian took the Children for a happy dinner and waved them off at the door as they left.
Watching the Children get sent home one by one, Su Qianqian felt lighter, but so very tired.
“I wonder when Master will come save me?” Su Qianqian knew full well Lin Muxue’s capabilities—if she was prepared, Lin Muxue’s strength was formidable.
Even within Ziyuan Kingdom, she might be able to take Su Qianqian away.
Rubbing her temples, Su Qianqian trudged back to her room, unsurprised to find Luo Wuhen waiting inside.
“You look exhausted. Was looking after those Children that tiring?”
“The Children are lovely, but I don’t want to talk to you right now. I’m going to sleep.”
Whenever Su Qianqian saw Luo Wuhen now, all she could think about was the Crown Prince and Princess conversation.
“Hm?” Luo Wuhen was genuinely puzzled—was it because of what happened in the morning? Could she really be holding a grudge over a single morning kiss?
……