It's Better to be the Empress Dowager

Chapter 80

Tang Shishi combed her hair in the inner room, even though it was a bit uncomfortable to be hungry, Tang Shishi was very calm.

From childhood to adulthood, she had used this trick numerous times. It was no exaggeration to say that no one could resist it. Lin Wanxi, Tang Mingzhe, Qi Jingsheng… without exception.

This was how people bully the weak and feared hardships. Tang Shishi never acted like a spoiled child in front of concubine Su and her daughter, because she knew that even if she starved to death, concubine Su’s brow would not frown once but other people were different. Tang Shishi knew that she was beautiful, and she also knew that she was favored. As long as she did not eat or made a fuss, it did not take long for the other party to obediently gave what she wanted.

Especially when it came to men, it was time-tested shots without fail accuracy. In the past, her target used to be Qi Jingsheng, and now it was Zhao Chengjun.

Tang Shishi thought without guilt that she took the risk of losing her beauty, getting out of shape, working so hard to conceive a child for Zhao Chengjun. So, was it too much to incite him for five or six months?

Not at all excessive.

Sure enough, after a while, Tang Shishi heard that the servants outside went out. Tang Shishi still did not move and still looking at herself in the mirror attentively, but the corners of her mouth were raised quietly.

She knew that she has won.

Zhao Chengjun’s helpless voice came from outside, “All right, come out to eat.”

“No.” Tang Shishi became increasingly fearless, “I’m busy combing my hair and I can’t take off my hand.”

Zhao Chengjun took a deep breath and walked to the inner room with a calm face and said with an implicit threat in his tone, “You don’t overdo it. Eat properly and don’t starve the child in the belly.”

Tang Shishi slammed her comb on the dressing table, “Don’t starve the child, so the adult doesn’t matter? If Wangye is not happy, then take the things away. I can’t afford it.”

Zhao Chengjun looked at her deeply, Tang Shishi raised her neck while sitting in front of the mirror with confidence. From Zhao Chengjun’s perspective, only her side face can be seen. She has a slender neck with straight shoulders. The lines from the profile to the shoulders were extremely beautiful. Her long hair behind the shoulders was naturally loose, and the luster flowed like a waterfall.

Looking at such a face, he could not express his anger even though he was angry. Moreover, all the more he could see her slender stature with no outer clothing to cover her. She has been pregnant for four months, but her figure was the same as that of a young lady and even thinner than before his expedition. How could Zhao Chengjun be willing to criticize her?

Zhao Chengjun clearly knew that it would be endless as soon as he started, but he still could not take it. So, he eased his tone and said, “Well, I’m not considerate and shouldn’t upset you. You are naturally more important than the child. It’s not good for your health to be hungry for too long. Come out.”

Tang Shishi still did not move. Zhao Chengjun could only step forward to help Tang Shishi go out with his own hands, and carefully placed her in the dining room.

Tang Shishi won a complete victory and was very satisfied. After she sat down, she said, “I can’t eat alone. Wangye, you eat with me?”

Zhao Chengjun has achieved this step. Was he still short of such concession? Zhao Chengjun nodded faintly, “Sure.”

Tang Shishi happily took the bowl immediately and served the two of them with rice. Zhao Chengjun sighed deeply as he watched her movements.

A woman who was beautiful and knew she was beautiful was really frightful. Because she found that others were unwilling to refuse her request since childhood, so she became increasingly arrogant and unrestrained, and finally became such a squeamish character she was now.

Her current manners were all great contributions from her parents and relatives. However, Zhao Chengjun thought about it the other way round and secretly laughed at himself. He did not have any qualifications to talk about Tang Shishi’s parents as he was also equally unwilling. He obviously could remedy these shortcomings by severely challenging her nature, but he was never willing to do it all along.

Zhao Chengjun ate the evening meal with Tang Shishi. It was already quite late when the servants came to clean up the cups. Zhao Chengjun looked at the sky outside and said, “You should rest.”

Tang Shishi covered her belly, felt embarrassed for a moment, and whispered, “I’ll get fat if I go to sleep after eating.”

Zhao Chengjun raised his eyebrows when he heard that, “You still have so many things. You already thin like this and still afraid of getting fat?”

Tang Shishi was worried after she heard that. Anyone could say she was stupid, but no one could ever say she was not beautiful! She was extremely angry and retorted at once, “Of course, you’re not afraid since it doesn’t flourish on your body. Pity me, I’ve worked hard to get pregnant and still have to be talked by others.”

Zhao Chengjun looked at her quietly and felt deeply that he has self-inflicted and could not live. However, what could be done, Zhao Chengjun could only take a step back once more and said, “Fine. I will go with you to digest food and then go to bed. Is this all right?”

Tang Shishi nodded with satisfaction. She looked at the surrounding furnishings and said with disdain, “This place is too small for movement.”

After Tang Shishi finished speaking, she felt that she was too arrogant. She even dared to say that the main courtyard of Jing Wang’s mansion was small. Zhao Chengjun glanced at her clothes and raised his eyebrows slightly, “You want to go out dressing like this?”

Tang Shishi lowered her head to see that she was wearing inner clothes and her hair was not tied up which was indeed not suitable to go out. Tang Shishi had no choice but to dispel the idea of going out and said, “Well, then let’s walk in the courtyard.”

Tang Shishi went into the inner room to tie her cloak. When she came out, she found that there were no servants in the Yan’an courtyard. Tang Shishi was surprised and asked, “Where are the people? Why is it empty?”

Zhao Chengjun’s expression was indifferent, and said, “They have things to do.”

Tang Shishi blinked, gave a soft “oh”, and did not ask any more questions. As servants of the mansion, what other things they could be doing before Wangye? These people were clearly driven out by Zhao Chengjun, right?

He could really toss people in the middle of the night. Tang Shishi smiled secretly. In fact, apart from maids, there were also eunuchs who could not be counted as men. The eunuchs in the imperial palace served imperial concubines to take baths. As a result, Zhao Chengjun even bothered about this and insisted on sending the eunuchs out.

Knowing that there was no one, Tang Shishi also relaxed. She was strolling in the deserted Yan’an courtyard with Zhao Chengjun beside her who tossed around with her. After Tang Shishi finally digested the food and made sure that she would not be fat, she said with satisfaction, “That’s good. Let’s go back.”

Zhao Chengjun drove everyone away, and when they returned to the room, they had to rely on themselves. Tang Shishi lowered her head to untie her cloak. She accidentally tied it into a dead knot just now and the lace was not visible from her angle, which made it particularly difficult to untie it. Tang Shishi was tossing around and suddenly a pair of hands took the things from her hands.

Tang Shishi raised her eyes surprisingly and saw Zhao Chengjun standing in front of her, lowering his head, and carefully untying the dead knot on her neck. Since the length of the lace was limited, Zhao Chengjun was standing very close to Tang Shishi. His breath enveloped Tang Shishi, and Tang Shishi could even feel the temperature on the fabric.

Tang Shishi was a little uncomfortable and moved back quietly. As soon as she moved, Zhao Chengjun held her shoulder. Zhao Chengjun held her waist with the other hand, and pulled her closer, “Don’t move.”

In this way, the distance between the two people was even closer. Tang Shishi almost stuck to Zhao Chengjun’s body. She was stiff all over and did not even dare to breathe. Fortunately, her neck loosened quickly, untied by Zhao Chengjun. Anyway, he did not let Tang Shishi suffocate herself to death.

Zhao Chengjun caught the cloak, went around to put it away by throwing it to the side of the screen. Zhao Chengjun patted Tang Shishi on the head and said, “If you have enough of mischief, then go to sleep properly. I’m going to take a bath and you don’t have to wait for me. You go to sleep first.”

Tang Shishi nodded slowly. After Zhao Chengjun finished speaking, he walked to the cleanroom. Tang Shishi stood there alone in dazed, and not knowing what she was thinking.

Soon, there were sounds of water came from the cleanroom. Tang Shishi covered her face with the back of her hand and patted softly, “Calm down, it’s not that you haven’t slept with him before. What am I afraid of?”

However, by the time Tang Shishi really walked to the bed, her whole body did not feel right. The last time she was caught in the rain and was drugged, she was already delirious. In fact, she could not remember what happened afterward. The only impression she had was painful and long. But this time, she had to lie on the same bed with Zhao Chengjun while awake.

Although she was pregnant, Zhao Chengjun would not do anything to her… However, the psychological shadow left on her last time was so great that Tang Shishi was terrified when she saw the bed.

She was dawdling to work on mental construction for herself. Before she had made any decision, a voice suddenly came from behind, “What are you doing?”

Tang Shishi was shocked and nearly fell down. Fortunately, a hand stretched out from behind and firmly supported her arm. Zhao Chengjun’s face sank and said softly, “Be careful, don’t be startled.”

Tang Shishi was still in shock. She covered her heart and turned her head in disbelief, “When did you come out? How come you walk without sound?”

Zhao Chengjun had changed into his inner clothes with his long hair hung loose behind him and still slightly wet. He supported Tang Shishi’s arm and was very helpless, “I thought you were asleep.”

He deliberately made light movements for fear of waking her up. As a result, she was fine and dawdled for a long time, not knowing what she was doing standing there.

Tang Shishi was at loss for words and used lame arguments, “Who knows you will suddenly appear? Didn’t you go to bathe? Why did you come out so fast?”

“Yes, it’s just bathing. How much time can it take?” Zhao Chengjun also could not understand Tang Shishi. When he saw Tang Shishi trembled and did not know what she wanted to do, he completely lost his patience. He bent over to put an arm under her knees and directly picked her up.

Tang Shishi suddenly became weightless and was startled. She instinctively gripped Zhao Chengjun’s collar while leaning on Zhao Chengjun’s chest. When she watched him strode to the bed, she was nervous, “What are you doing?”

Despite Tang Shishi’s struggle, Zhao Chengjun leaned over to put her on the bed. As soon as Tang Shishi touched the bed surface, she quickly rolled to the side, but Zhao Chengjun held her back with force to keep her from moving. Tang Shishi was even more frightened and said in a hurry, “I have a child in my belly now. You can’t mess around…”

Mess around? Zhao Chengjun raised his eyebrows and glanced at Tang Shishi meaningfully, “I didn’t plan to do anything to you. I’m just afraid that you will hurt the child in your belly.”

Tang Shishi awkwardly propped up on the bed, her hands and feet seemed to be losing their senses. Zhao Chengjun pulled up the quilt to cover her body, and slowly looked at Tang Shishi, “Sleep well and don’t let your imagination run wild.”

Whose imagination was running wild? Tang Shishi was anxious, but Zhao Chengjun did not say anything. She was holding on to his collar which look like she was looking forward to it. Tang Shishi thought about it, and finally, she could only stare at Zhao Chengjun angrily and grabbed the quilt to sleep on the other side.

When Zhao Chengjun saw her panting movements with her back raised high, he broke into laughter, “Sleep on this side. It’s cold inside. Be careful of catching a cold at night.”

Now it has entered the ninth month. Although the sun was very hot during the day, it was already chilly at night. If Tang Shishi slept against the wall, she was bound to be cold at night. However, Tang Shishi did not care. She slept facing the bed curtain with her back facing Zhao Chengjun and said in anger, “I’m not cold. Thank Wangye for your concern. Wangye, just take care of yourself.”

Who was ungrateful here? Tang Shishi was. Zhao Chengjun could not pull her back forcibly, otherwise, it would appear as if he was really plotting something bad. Besides, they were on the bed and Zhao Chengjun did not dare to take any chances.

What if the action was too big and really started a fire?

Zhao Chengjun could only let her shrink to the corner. He thought that since he was a light sleeper and with someone besides him tonight, he guessed he could not sleep all night. When the coldness of autumn rose in the evening, he would get up and helped her cover the quilt.

Zhao Chengjun made up his mind and did not care about Tang Shishi anymore. He went outside to extinguish the lights. When he returned, he put down the curtain, and the whole space suddenly became dark.

An unspeakable ambiguity permeated the air. The babu bed* itself has a beautiful meaning. Two people on the bed, a man and a woman, both young and youthful. How could they not respond?

(babu bed* – a type of canopy bed, the largest bed in traditional Chinese furniture)

Tang Shishi was so embarrassed that she silently pulled up the quilt to cover her face. As if as long as she could not see it, it was the same as it did not exist.

Tang Shishi initially thought that she would not be able to sleep tonight, but Tang Shishi became really sleepy after lying down not too long. Previously, Tang Shishi pulled the quilt too high and caused herself to feel suffocated. However, she could not calm her body, so she could only struggle slightly.

After a while, the other side of the bed sunk slightly. Someone pulled the brocade quilt that blocked her face and said helplessly, “If I don’t watch you for a moment, you’ll create trouble and could not sleep peacefully.”

Tang Shishi could not hear him anymore, she passed out completely without any reaction.

Zhao Chengjun helped Tang Shishi arranged the quilt. When he looked up again, he found that the person was already asleep. Her hair was pressed under her body at random, her side face leaned on the pillow with her eyes closed and light breathing. She looked delicate and pitiful.

This picture was extremely provocative. Zhao Chengjun’s fingers move. He wanted to touch Tang Shishi’s side face, but he put it down halfway for fear of disturbing her sleep. He stared for a long time and chuckled softly, “Heartless. Let’s sleep.”

Zhao Chengjun lay back to his position again. He lay down for a long time and did not feel sleepy at all. In fact, Tang Shishi’s sound was so light that he could not hear her if he did not pay attention. However, Zhao Chengjun could not sleep well since he was a child and even a little disturbance would not do, let alone a person sleeping next to him.

He thought he was going to wait until dawn again, but after an unknown period, his shoulder was suddenly weighed down. Zhao Chengjun opened his eyes and found that Tang Shishi unknowingly came over with her forehead resting on his shoulder, sleeping especially sweetly.

Zhao Chengjun had no choice but to help her up and carefully put her back on the pillow. After a while, her sleeping posture gradually changed, and finally, she leaned on him again.

After Zhao Chengjun tried twice, he could not help but discovered that Tang Shishi liked to bury her face in sleep, especially like to lean on something. Zhao Chengjun stopped on the outside, his body was still emitting heat, no wonder he attracted her.

It seemed that he also needed time to correct her sleeping posture, but it was useless to say anything now, Zhao Chengjun could only lay down to the original position and endured it silently.

He already could not sleep in the first place, and now there was a person on his shoulder. He was afraid it was even harder for him to be sleepy. However, it was unexpected that Zhao Chengjun fell asleep unconsciously after smelling the subtle and quiet body fragrance of Tang Shishi.