Beloved Empress

Yang Shi Han laughs happily, "That's great! Let's give each other a toast to celebrate this!" She proceeds to gulp down another cup of wine.

Mo Cheng Xuan feels as though he has encountered a different Yang Shi Han tonight. The Yang Shi Han that no one else has ever seen and understand. Bold, straightforward, honest, she truly is charming. He also finds her a little familiar. He looks at her, "I hope you and the Empress will get along after this. Do not be each other's enemies."

Yang Shi Han raises her chin haughtily, "Being friends with you does not mean that I am friends with Mo Qi Qi. Only fate knows what the future has in store for both of us. With regards to our friendship, I will not mess with her if she leaves me alone."

Mo Cheng Xuan laughs, "Then, on behalf of Qi Qi, I would like to thank Your Ladyship's generosity."

Yang Shi Han raises her brows playfully before looking out of the window to the merriment below. She laughs, "Is it fate that we meet each other tonight?"

Mo Cheng Xuan is stunned. Just as he is about to say that he dares not have any 'fate' with her considering that she is His Majesty's woman, he finds himself hesitating. He has no idea why he always finds her so familiar. In the end, he expresses his doubt, "Your Ladyship, have we met long before all this?"

Sh stares at him, completely taken aback. Then, she laughs. "What do you mean, General Mo? Although we are now meeting outside the palace, Shi Han is not a promiscuous young lady. Shi Han has always acted accordingly, even before entering the palace. Back then, other than entering the palace to visit the Empress Dowager, Shi Han would quietly stay inside my boudoir at Yang Manor."

"You misunderstood this General, Your Ladyship. This General merely thought you looked really familiar, as though we knew each other. That's why this General asked. This General is at fault for speaking rashly," explains Mo Cheng Xuan.

"You feel as though you have known me before, General Mo?" asked Yang Shi Han with barely concealed glee.

Mo Cheng Xuan nods honestly, "Yes."

Yang Shi Han laughs before poking fun at him, "Perhaps we had a relationship in our past lives, that's why I looked familiar to you."

"Your Ladyship is joking," laughs Mo Cheng Xuan.

They chat for a bit more before Mo Cheng Xuan urges Yang Shi Han to return to the palace.

She agrees with him and gets up to leave.

He is not assured of their safety and insists on escorting them to the palace, making Yang Shi Han very happy.

Since she snuck out of the palace on the first place, she first has to change into a palace maid's dress behind a large tree. After that, she bids Mo Cheng Xuan goodbye before smoothly entering the palace.

For Mo Cheng Xuan, their meeting tonight was an accident.

For Yang Shi Han, their meeting was a delightful surprise. After she returns to her palace, she recalls the encounter with a sweet smile on her lips.

In a forest outside the capital, a man dressed in completely black, paired with a black fur robe stands with his face covered by a silver mask. Nobody could see his face, but his eyes are burning with anger as he glares at another man-in-black who is kneeling before him. "You useless piece of trash," he says coldly. He waves an arm and the kneeling man is immediately thrown back a few metres into the air. He lands between the trees, vomiting blood.

The man immediately clambers back towards his master, admitting fault, "Please spare us, Master."

"Spare you? You still have the gall to ask for mercy? Jun Qian Che left the palace all by himself and even then all of you failed to kill him! What is the point of keeping you?" admonished the man coldly.

"That dog emperor was indeed alone at first. But, when we surrounded him with our forces, the secret guards suddenly appeared. They outnumbered us, so we had no other choice but to retreat. Please give us another chance, Master. We will not fail you, next time."

The Master narrows his eyes, "Alright, since all you have followed me for many years, I will spare you all this one time. For now, the mission to kill Jun Qian Che is aborted. Your new priority will be to kill the Marquis of Ning Nan. He must never reach the capital alive. I will give you more people for this mission. If you fail again, I will give you a life that is worse than death."

"Yes, this subordinate will not disappoint you again," replies the man.

The Master nods, "All of you may leave."

"Yes!" the assassins immediately leave the forest.

Another shadow suddenly appears behind the Master.

The Master turns around, smiling.

The new arrival is displeased, "I don't care what you wanna do, I just want you to spare the Empress. Why did you aim for the Empress using the carriage?"

The Master fiddles with the jade ring on his thumb absent-mindedly, "I've never thought of hurting the Empress. Just, she is now carrying a child. I wish to help her get rid of the baby, so that she can completely cut contact with Jun Qian Che."

"You really can't stand the child that she is carrying?" the new arrival asks icily.

The man shakes his head while laughing, "It is not that I can't stand the child. I just wish that she can completely cut off ties with Jun Qian Che. As long as the child is around, they will never be able to extricate themselves from each other. Once the child is born, the Empress might form a bond with the Emperor. By then, the child becomes our enemy. We must get rid of it. I know that you cannot bear to hurt the Empress, but you must remember that short-term pain is better than long-term pain. The Empress is still young, she will be able to conceive again, after this. To tell the truth, Jun Qian Che is only sparing the child so that he could use it to threaten the Empress and Mo Clan into submission, in the future. Don't tell me you can't see that?"

"I don't care whose enemy that child will become! All I know is that if you hurt her, I will not spare you!" warns the man coldly.

The man in the silver mask laughs, "Don't worry. I care about Qi Qi more than anyone else. I will not hurt her."

The two look at each other for a while, before tacitly changing the topic, "What do you plan to do with the Marquis of Ning Nan?"

A cold glint flashes through the Master's eyes, "The Marquis of Ning Nan is a force that Jun Qian Che secretly cultivated. He is a very strong force, at that. He is a big threat to all of us, we must take care of him. I already sent people to make sure he will never reach the capital alive. If we don't, he will definitely pose a great risk for us, in the future."

The new arrival nods in agreement, "I agree. I will also send my people to rid ourselves of him. Hopefully, the Marquis will not be alive for long."

They look at each other before laughing together.

The next day, Jun Qian Che attends the morning court as usual. Although his wound still hurts, he barely shows it on his face.

During the meeting, Duke Zhen once again brings up the matter of the Marquis of Ning Nan. He wants Jun Qian Che to quickly release the decree to kill the Marquis. He does not like the fact that the general consensus is that the Marquis must be brought to the capital for questioning. What if something happens during the journey and the Marquis is saved by his comrades?

However, Jun Qian Che is equally resolute in his decision. He insists on having the Marquis brought to the capital to be tried before him. All of this is to prevent any mistakes in sentencing him.

Although Duke Zhen is not happy with Jun Qian Che's decision, he still knows his own place. He is only a minister while the other is the ruler, it is not fitting for him to stubbornly express his opinion in front of so many people at court. The Emperor is no longer the youth who needed his support two years back. The Emperor can now stand on his own two feet and fight him off. Hmph, the Duke secretly sneers. Since you are so stubborn, you must not blame me. Do you really think your wings are strong and sturdy? In front of this old man, your wings are still tender and not fitting to fly.

After the morning court, Jun Qian Che heads to Feng Yang Palace to have his wound redressed by Mo Qi Qi.

Mo Qi Qi secretly gauges his mood. He looks particularly solemn today. She originally does not intend to talk much today, however, her curiosity got the best of her, "Did something happen at court this morning, Your Majesty? You seem to be in a bad mood."

Jun Qian Che looks at her, "You are interested in political matters, Empress? Did Duke Zhen say anything to you?"

Mo Qi Qi shakes her head before truthfully replying, "Chenqie is not interested in politics at all. Chenqie knows that the harem is not allowed to interfere with court. Besides, chenqie hasn't meet Duke Zhen lately, so chenqie has not talked to him. Your Majesty, don't tell me you are unhappy because of my dad? Did my dad say something wrong again?" Her dad is so arrogant and is not afraid to say just about anything. Wuwu, don't tell her that Jun Qian Che is going to redirect his anger on her instead?

"No, it has nothing to do with Duke Zhen. Zhen is only thinking about the Marquis of Ning Nan," replies Jun Qian Che calmly. He does not wish to worry her. He will not burden her with Duke Zhen's misdemeanor. Although she is Duke Zhen's daughter, she is also his wife and the mother of his child. Whatever it is that the Mo Clan do, it has nothing to do with her.

Mo Qi Qi sighs in relief when she hears that, "I am relieved to hear that. What did the Marquis do to make you unhappy?"

Jun Qian Che eyes her for a moment before saying, "The Marquis of Ning Nan hid a dragon robe."

Mo Qi Qi nods uncaringly before saying, "Oh."

Jun Qian Che is a little surprised seeing her calm response, "You don't think this is a big matter?"

serene: Hi, guys! The last part of chapter 137~ More mysteries for us haha.

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