How she wished she could forget everything that had just happened, but things went against her wishes.
All along, she had never shed tears for him. She could brush off many grievances, but this time, why did her heart ache and feel so sour? Had she really fallen in love with him? Was it because of love that she couldn't accept that he was such a vengeful and cruel person? Was it because of love that she would feel sad and wronged whenever he raised his voice at her?
No, she didn't like him. She hated him, loathed him, and never wanted to see him again!
Ji Feiyu ran all the way back to Qiwu Palace in a sorry state, which scared the people in her palace.
They hesitated to step forward to serve her, but Ji Feiyu waved them away irritably. She knocked over a blue-and-white porcelain vase and shouted at everyone, "Get out! All of you, get out of this palace!"
The timid palace servants all retreated at the sight. After venting her anger, Ji Feiyu ran to a corner of Qiwu Palace and slumped down weakly.
She didn't want to like him. She didn't...
Because true love brought fear of loss, and it was too painful!
At this moment, in Zixiang Palace, Yong Yaxuan looked gloomy.
Xi Zhuang rushed over. He was about to leave after the meeting in the imperial study. He was almost out when he remembered something and turned back. When he got to the imperial study again, he heard that the emperor had returned to his bedroom. So he wanted to go directly to the bedroom to find him. On the way, he saw the empress running out crying. Xi Zhuang was immediately at a loss and quickly went forward to report and ask for an audience.
"Your Majesty, what happened? You and the empress were fine before. Why did you start arguing again? The empress is crying!" As soon as Xi Zhuang was let in and saw no one in the hall, he rushed to say.
Yong Yaxuan was startled and his heart ached. He murmured, "Why is she crying? She never cried before when something happened. Did I really go too far just now?" He began to blame himself and frowned even tighter.
Seeing this, Xi Zhuang said, "Then why doesn't Your Majesty go and bring the empress back and comfort her?"
Yong Yaxuan quickly shook his head. "If I wanted to comfort her, I wouldn't have argued with her just now."
Xi Zhuang immediately understood. He couldn't help covering his mouth. "Your Majesty, you did it on purpose."
Yong Yaxuan nodded with a frown. But in his heart, he was thinking about why she had cried. It was really his fault that he shouldn't have made her cry. But for now, he had to find an excuse to argue with her.
Xi Zhuang was very smart. He immediately thought of what they had discussed in the imperial study and said, "Your Majesty thinks the current situation is not optimistic, so you want to drive the empress away?"
Yong Yaxuan was pulled back to his senses by Xi Zhuang. Thinking of what they had discussed in the imperial study, he became heavy-hearted again. He glanced at Xi Zhuang and said in a deep voice, "The situation of the coup was originally under control. As long as the mighty general returned to the court smoothly, I could capture all the rebellious vassal kings at once. But now, he has been blocked."
Xi Zhuang also looked serious and sighed, "Yes, I didn't expect that Beihan would intervene at this critical moment."
Yong Yaxuan heaved a heavy sigh. "Beihan's intervention means that none of us is safe anymore. Before I can think of a better way to break the situation, I don't want her to stay in the palace anymore."
Xi Zhuang seemed a bit reluctant. "But isn't it too cruel for you to treat the empress like this? You two just reconciled. You don't tell her anything and then push her away. If she knows the truth, she will surely hate you!"
Yong Yaxuan couldn't help closing his eyes painfully. "Let her hate me then. It's better than dying with me. Beihan has intervened, the reinforcements have been blocked, and the vassal kings' troops are approaching. The imperial city doesn't have enough troops and will be breached sooner or later. A forced abdication is also inevitable. In this situation, the farther away she is from me, the better!"
"But how can you be sure that the empress will stay away from you?" Xi Zhuang was a bit puzzled.
A bitter smile appeared on Yong Yaxuan's lips. "According to my understanding of her, she will surely go to rescue Lin Zhiran tonight and then personally send him out of the palace. As long as she leaves the palace, I won't let her come back."
"But isn't it more dangerous for the empress to leave the palace at this time?"
Yong Yaxuan shook his head. "No. If you knew Lin Zhiran, you would know that once he is rescued by her, he will never let anyone hurt her, including his father. If I can make her hate me, those people outside will try to win her over when they know about it. After all, she has the support of the people, and the non - war agreement with Beihan was also signed by her. She is much safer outside the palace than inside."
"So, Your Majesty has already paved this way for the empress and made her stand on the opposite side of you?" Xi Zhuang was so surprised that he couldn't speak. "But Your Majesty, didn't you promise to walk hand in hand with her?"
Yong Yaxuan said coldly, "If I can't protect her, what right do I have to walk hand in hand with her? She deserves to take another better path."
His expression was cold and lonely, just like the high - ranking emperor who pretended in front of everyone. But who knew his loneliness and pain?
Looking at Yong Yaxuan's deliberately cold expression, Xi Zhuang immediately felt heartache. "But what about Your Majesty yourself? Your Majesty clearly loves her more than anyone else, but you have to make her hate you with disgust. Does Your Majesty really not need companionship? Your Majesty, during the time when you reconciled with the empress, I saw the happiest Your Majesty. Even the court coup couldn't defeat you. But once the empress leaves, according to the current situation, how can Your Majesty hold on?"
Yong Yaxuan forced out a smile. He looked at Xi Zhuang and said, "There's no need to pity me. I'm sitting on this highest position. The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. Many of the current troubles in the court were left as hidden dangers when the previous emperor was still alive. The incident with Beihan just made them break out earlier. If we want this country to get better and eliminate the decay, this step must be taken today! I had been on guard against today and left some tricks in advance. I thought that things with Beihan would go smoothly like this, but I didn't expect that the people of the Yuchi family would break their promise so determinedly."
Xi Zhuang looked at the emperor with a worried frown and sighed. "Your Majesty's far - reaching plans can't match the ever - changing situation. I will do my best to assist Your Majesty to break the situation. But regarding the matter of the empress, I hope Your Majesty will think twice. I believe that if Your Majesty talks to the empress properly, she will surely understand Your Majesty."
Yong Yaxuan smiled bitterly. How could he tell her? He was just afraid that she would really never leave him and would go to the underworld with him. He already owed her too much. He couldn't bear to let her suffer. Once the city was breached, if he let her stay, she might not even have a whole body. How could he be so selfish as to keep her by his side?
Yong Yaxuan regained his composure. Suddenly thinking of something, he said to Xi Zhuang, "By the way, during the argument between me and the empress just now, I felt that the empress's emotions were a bit strange. She must have misunderstood something. Later, you ask Zhan Shan to go to the dungeon to see if Lin Zhiran is okay and if those reckless people have added extra punishment to him without permission. Then, wait for the right time and let Zhan Shan protect him and transfer Lin Zhiran to another dungeon."
Xi Zhuang was so smart that he immediately knew that the emperor was afraid that Ji Feiyu couldn't rescue the top - ranked scholar and would directly send him out. And asking Zhan Shan to protect him, wasn't Zhan Shan just there to let things go smoothly?