"Why are you lowering your head? Are you afraid to look at me?"
Shen Qing took a deep breath. "Your servant—"
"Try to call yourself 'your servant' again."
Even without looking at him, Shen Qing could guess how menacing Ji Junye's eyes were. For some reason, her nose twitched and her eyes instantly welled up with tears.
Why could he bully her like this?
Thinking of all that had happened today, all the discomfort of the day seemed to burst out at this moment. Her stomach churned, and she couldn't hold back any longer. She retched.
The anger on Ji Junye's face dissipated instantly. He reached out and patted her on the back to help her catch her breath. "What's wrong? Did you eat something dirty? Or are you suffering from heatstroke? Or..." Was the poison acting up?
Ji Junye immediately wanted to send for Qin Ye.
But Shen Qing, for some unknown reason, summoned the courage to slap Ji Junye's hand away. The sound was sharp and clear.
Both Shen Qing and Ji Junye were stunned for a moment.
Shen Qing took the initiative. She endured the nausea in her stomach and looked up to meet Ji Junye's eyes head - on. She glanced mockingly at the person behind him.
"What on earth do you want to do, Your Majesty? Are you here with your new love to humiliate me? I really don't know where I've offended Your Majesty. If Your Majesty is tired of me, you can just leave and have nothing to do with me anymore. There's really no need to do such a demeaning thing."
Ji Junye frowned. When had he ever come with a new love to humiliate her?
And this talk of having nothing to do with each other, she could forget about it!
Just as he was about to ask her to explain, there suddenly came a woman's scream from behind.
"Madam, Madam of the Marquis of Guangping... Your Majesty, you two—"
Yin Zhi had screamed out of sheer shock. Shen Qing's look at her made her come to her senses.
The Emperor and the Madam of the Marquis of Guangping, how could these two...
A bold thought suddenly occurred to her. Could it be that the Madam of the Marquis of Guangping was experiencing morning sickness?
Although Yin Zhi wanted to climb up the social ladder, she also knew that if she knew such a secret, she would be killed. Subconsciously, she tried to take a step back but accidentally stepped on a stone.
Yin Zhi immediately lost her balance and fell to the ground.
"Ah—"
Ji Junye didn't move at all. It seemed as if he wanted to lock Shen Qing in the rockery. Shen Qing lowered her eyes and reminded him, "Your Majesty, your new love has fallen."
Ji Junye looked at Shen Qing again, and his mood improved a lot. "Are you jealous?"
"Absolutely not!" Shen Qing replied instinctively, startled.
But Ji Junye's eyes narrowed dangerously at her words. "Why not?"
She had never had someone she liked, but she had seen how others behaved. Only when one had someone in their heart would they be jealous for that person. She had never been tempted by him, so how could she be jealous?
She just felt that it was a bit unfair.
Shen Qing lowered her head. It was not clear whether she was refusing to answer or seriously thinking.
At this moment, there was a noise. Ji Junye wrapped his arms around Shen Qing and led her into the nearby house. Yin Zhi wanted to run, but Zhuxing covered her mouth and dragged her to the side.
"If you dare to make a sound, I guarantee you won't be able to leave here today." Zhuxing threatened menacingly.
Yin Zhi was really scared. She shook her head fearfully, indicating that she would never make a sound.
Outside, there were voices. A few people were passing by.
Inside the house, Ji Junye pressed Shen Qing against the door. His big hand tightly grasped her waist, preventing her from escaping.
"She's not my new love. When I was looking at you over there just now, she spilled a cup of tea on my clothes. I originally wanted to punish her, but then I thought that you hadn't even looked at me all day, so I wanted you to notice me. But I didn't expect that although you did notice me, you turned around and ran away. I was in a hurry to find you. I have no idea when she followed me here."
"Do you feel better?"
Shen Qing's face had turned red from retching just now.
"Okay."
Shen Qing lowered her head. It seemed that she had misunderstood.
"Shall I call Qin Ye?"
Shen Qing shook her head. "No need. I'm just a bit uncomfortable from the sun. I'll go change my clothes and rest for a while, and I'll be fine."
Strangely enough, both times she had felt like vomiting were because of Ji Junye. Could this be the connection between father and son?
As they were talking, the people outside left.
Ji Junye said, "Where's your room? I'll take you there."
"No need, Your Majesty. You'd better go back to your seat quickly. By this time, the Grand Princess and the Noble Consort must be getting impatient."
Ji Junye chuckled. "You still say you're not jealous."
No wonder she had been looking at him with disdain all day.
"I'm not!"
Shen Qing glared at him and retorted in a low voice.
"If Your Majesty thinks so, there's nothing I can do."
Ji Junye playfully tapped the tip of her nose. "You don't have to worry about the Noble Consort. My relationship with her is not what you think."
If it wasn't what she thought, then what was it?
His gaze was too intense and aggressive. Shen Qing couldn't bear it, so she had to turn her face away.
But the next second, her chin was tightened, and her breath was taken away.
The big hand on her waist was even hotter than his breath. In this still - warm weather, it was so hot that Shen Qing felt as if she was about to melt.
"This dress... looks very nice..."
"Wear it more often in the future."
At first, Shen Qing still had a bit of sense, but later, she was so dizzy from his kiss that she almost collapsed in his arms.
He seemed to like her waist especially today. He kept rubbing and kneading it. If this continued, Shen Qing felt that her waist would be rubbed raw.
It took Shen Qing a great deal of effort to persuade him to let her go back and change her clothes. But as soon as she got back, she found him sitting upright on the bed in her guest room.
Shen Qing immediately remembered the scene in her bedroom that day. She quickly looked at the bed. Fortunately, there were no clothes of hers left there.
"Why are you here again, Your Majesty?"
Ji Junye glanced at the side, where his casual clothes were placed. He said confidently, "I also need to change my clothes."
Don't you have your own room to change in?
She didn't believe that there was no room for him in this garden!
Shen Qing was so annoyed that she didn't want to talk to him.
This wasn't a villa. Didn't he fear being discovered if he came here like this?
If they were discovered, she didn't think she could bear all the gossip.
She picked up her clothes.
"Where are you going?"
Shen Qing said, "Since Your Majesty likes it here, I'll go next door to change."
"No." Ji Junye flashed in front of her and grabbed her wrist. "Change here."
He threw all the clothes in her hand onto the bed. He caught her hand and placed it on his collar. Ji Junye lowered his head, his voice low and seductive.
"Help me change."
Seeing his stance, Shen Qing knew that if she didn't help him today, things wouldn't end well. So she resigned herself to undo his belt.
Actually, he didn't really need her to serve him. He usually did everything himself. But watching Shen Qing bustling around for him, Ji Junye felt satisfied. He felt that at this moment, Shen Qing was just like his wife, with only him in her eyes and belonging only to him.
Every time he thought of this, he wanted to cut Xu Yanchi into pieces.
To be honest, the water stain had already dried up, and Shen Qing could hardly see it.
He was just being fussy.
Who asked her to still rely on him now? One day when she no longer needed him, she would definitely kick him far away!
Shen Qing was already very skilled at changing clothes now. Cursing him in her heart didn't affect her actions at all.
The door was blown open a crack by the wind. When Xu Yanchi stepped into the courtyard, he saw Shen Qing slightly lowering her head, smiling as she tied Ji Junye's belt.
And their cold - faced emperor, at this moment, also inadvertently showed a trace of tenderness in his eyes as he looked at Shen Qing.
This idyllic picture deeply hurt Xu Yanchi's eyes.