She had a sleepless night. The next day, Dongfang Yi was woken up by the pain from the wound on her neck. Keeping the same position all night had caused the wound to keep bleeding, and now the white cloth wrapped around it was completely soaked.
She began to feel a bit regretful. She thought that if she had known better, she should have just brandished the knife as a bluff instead of actually cutting herself.
Not long after, she heard a few knocks on the door. Then came Donghua's voice, "Are you awake, Your Majesty?"
Dongfang Yi let out a soft sigh. She thought to herself that another nerve - wracking day was about to begin. Then she replied, "I'm awake. I'll be out soon." After that, she got out of bed.
When she left the inn, Donghua was already waiting in the carriage. At first, Dongfang Yi was a bit surprised not to see Helian Qi. Later, she learned from Donghua that he had ridden back to the palace in the middle of the night as there were urgent matters in the palace that needed his attention.
Dongfang Yi got into the carriage and looked at the empty space inside. An inexplicable feeling welled up in her heart.
But more than that, she was glad that she wasn't sitting with Helian Qi. It alleviated a lot of the awkwardness.
She started to regret what she had said yesterday. After all, he was the emperor. It was already a blessing that he didn't kill her after she had said such treasonous words.
No matter what happened, she should have been shocked. But she always lost her senses when facing Helian Qi.
Another day passed. Dongfang Yi sat alone in the carriage, bored and drowsy. Their carriage didn't slowly enter the palace until it was deep in the night.
"Your Majesty, we're back at the palace," Donghua lifted the curtain outside the carriage and said to the woman inside.
"Um... I see," Dongfang Yi replied and then got out of the carriage.
When she saw the red - walled and white - tiled inner courtyard of the palace, a bitter feeling welled up in her heart. She still remembered that when she left here a few months ago, she had said that she would never come back. Now, it seemed like a joke.
After walking a few steps, she arrived at the Queen's Palace. Seeing Donghua still following her, Dongfang Yi asked, "Why are you still following me?"
Donghua bowed slightly and said respectfully, "The emperor has sent this servant to follow Your Majesty to protect you. So I'll be living in the Queen's Palace from now on."
"Heh..." Dongfang Yi couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. It sounded good to say it was for protection, but she knew it was actually just to find someone to keep an eye on her. Did he think she would try to escape?
Humph! He should see his own power. How would she dare to escape again?
Thinking of this, she just gave a cold look at Donghua who was bowing and then turned around and entered the bedroom.
The Queen's Palace was exactly the same as when she left. She bent down to look for the package she had hidden under the couch, but it was gone. She guessed that it was because of that package that Helian Qi thought she had escaped on purpose.
The day's journey had made her extremely tired. So she was too lazy to wash up or take off her clothes. She just climbed onto the bed and fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, when Helian Qi came to the Queen's Palace, he first met Donghua. She said softly, "Your Majesty has already gone to sleep."
Helian Qi held his breath and tiptoed into the bedroom.
As soon as he entered the bedroom, he saw Dongfang Yi lying on the bed, sleeping soundly without any adornment. She was even snoring softly. Maybe the long journey had really tired her out.
Helian Qi walked closer and stood by her bed. The little woman in front of him had her eyes closed, but her brows were tightly furrowed, as if she was having an unpleasant dream.
He quietly sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at Dongfang Yi without blinking. He raised his hand, wanting to smooth out her furrowed brows, but his hand hung in the air and he didn't dare to put it down. He was afraid that if he did, he would wake the little woman up, and then they would be at odds again.
A bitter feeling welled up in Helian Qi's heart. He didn't even have the courage to wake her up now. He couldn't bear her hateful look or her complaining and alienating words.
Thinking of this, he gave a bitter smile, then stood up and left the Queen's bedroom.
In the darkness, Dongfang Yi suddenly opened her eyes. Yes, she hadn't been asleep at all.
She always slept lightly and would wake up at the slightest sound.
She had heard the commotion as soon as Helian Qi entered the palace. After some hesitation, she chose to pretend to be asleep. But unexpectedly, the man didn't wake her up. He just stayed for a short while and then left. It was no more than a quarter of an hour.
With her eyes closed, Dongfang Yi couldn't see his expression. She could only feel something hovering over her head for a while, but it never landed.
The moon was shining brightly, making the night seem like day. Both of them had their own thoughts and neither of them could sleep all night.
Dongfang Yi didn't wake up until noon the next day. As soon as she woke up, she heard a commotion outside. She walked out and saw that a little maid was insisting on entering the Queen's Palace. She had been driven away twice by Xiao Qian but still came back. Finally, she was caught by Donghua this time.
Donghua wasn't as soft - tempered as Xiao Qian. She used to be a secret guard. As soon as she heard that the little maid had sneaked in three times, she wanted to beat her up to teach her a lesson. But Xiao Qian stopped her and said, "She's from Concubine Chu's palace. If something happens to her here, Her Majesty the Queen will be implicated."
After Xiao Qian said this, Donghua calmed down. After all, the emperor had sent her to protect the queen, not to cause trouble for her.
Seeing all this, Dongfang Yi couldn't help but let out a cold snort from her throat. Good for Concubine Chu. On the very first day she came back, she couldn't wait to "check on" her.
Thinking of this, she strode over. As soon as the little maid from Concubine Chu's palace saw that Dongfang Yi was really in the palace, she wanted to escape. But Dongfang Yi shouted angrily, "Donghua, catch her!"
Donghua grabbed the maid back with a quick move, as if she was grabbing a little chick. After being controlled, the maid kept shouting, "I'm from Concubine Chu's palace. If you..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Dongfang Yi interrupted her, "Donghua, slap her!"
Hearing the order, Donghua was very excited. She let go of the maid, rubbed her palms, and got ready. She had wanted to slap this annoying maid for a long time.
"You can't..."
"Slap!"
The maid didn't have time to say anything before Donghua slapped her.
"Concubine Chu won't let you go..." the maid continued.
"Donghua, continue!" Dongfang Yi ordered coldly again.
Donghua replied with a smile and slapped the maid again, feeling extremely satisfied.
For a moment, the sound of slapping echoed throughout the Queen's Palace.