Chapter 569 - 569. Discord Between Emperor and Empress
Su Qing walked over and picked up the memorial. It was written by a Grand Scribe named Zhou Wen. The Grand Scribe didn’t have much power. He was responsible for records, sacrifices, the calendar, and classics. He was commonly known as a historian.
It was unknown if this person was trying to curry favor with Xiao Zeyu, if he was too bored, or if he had other motives. Still, he submitted a memorial to Xiao Zeyu, asking him to take in concubines. He said that the Emperor’s children were a big matter and that he should take in more concubines and have more sons to spread his branches.
He even said that how could the ruler of a country not have three palaces and six courtyards? Only by taking concubines could the ministers in the court be united. Now that the country was prosperous and the people were at peace, they should recruit more beautiful women. To build a good relationship with the neighboring countries, they should also marry them. Only then could the border be peaceful.
This fellow had written a lot. If it weren’t for the limited number of memorials, he probably wouldn’t have finished. He felt a little unsatisfied.
According to what he meant, if the Emperor did not accept a concubine, it would be a sin. If he did not unite the ministers and live in harmony, it would not be conducive to the stability of the court.
Xiao Zeyu hadn’t seen this memorial before. He had just opened it when Su Qing came back, so he had placed it on the table. Seeing Su Qing’s expression change and her body emitting a cold aura, he hurriedly went over to take a look.
His face turned black from anger. Was Zhou Wen bored?
Why didn’t he make any suggestions when the imperial court was discussing how to quell the rebellion? When discussing attacking the small countries that invaded the imperial court, he still tried to stop them. He was simply a guy who couldn’t do anything.
“What does the emperor think?”
Su Qing’s face darkened as she threw the memorial onto the table. She rarely got angry, but now, her stomach was filled with anger. She had just helped Xiao Zeyu conquer the world, and he was already restless.
Did he deliberately open the memorial for her to see to test his attitude? Su Qing looked at Xiao Zeyu with a heavy gaze. If that were what he meant, she wouldn’t want to be the Empress anymore but become the Emperor instead! Facing Su Qjng’s icy cold gaze, he didn’t even dare to call her name when she called him ’emperor.’ Other than during the Empress Conferring Ceremony, she had always called him Shuisheng. It was apparent how angry she was!
Xiao Zeyu felt wronged and hurriedly explained,
“Qing’er, this wasn’t my intention. I haven’t had the chance to read this memorial yet!”
“Emperor, if you’re interested in taking a concubine, I can help you choose one.”
Su Qing looked coldly at Xiao Zeyu, her eyes devoid of warmth. Rage burned in her eyes, and her face was as dark as ink.
“Qing’er, you’ve misunderstood me. In this lifetime, I’m only willing to be with you forever. There’s no room for anyone else between us.”
Xiao Zeyu felt he couldn’t wash his name away even if he jumped into the Yellow River. Qing’er had never been so cold to him before. That gaze of hers felt as though thousands of mountains and rivers separated her, so unfamiliar.
“Humph.”
Su Qing coldly harrumphed, suddenly feeling a sense of despair. She felt that everything she had done was not worth it. She no longer listened to Xiao Zeyu’s explanation and turned to leave the palace. That night, she moved to the Hidden Phoenix Pavilion.
Xiao Zeyu was furious. What was this person’s motive for causing their Celestial Empress to fall out because of Zhou Wen?
At night, Xiao Zeyu arrived at the entrance of Hidden Phoenix Pavilion and saw that the lights had already been turned off. The eunuchs and palace maids had all been chased out. He stood silently outside the door with a heavy heart. If Qing’er no longer cared about him, what was the point of being the Emperor? Seeing the conflict between the Empress and the Emperor, the eunuchs and palace maids wished they were blind and deaf. They lowered their heads and did not dare to make a sound.
“All of you can leave!”
Xiao Zeyu ordered with a dark expression. He wanted to coax his wife back. They couldn’t speak here.
“Yes.”
The eunuchs and palace maids scrambled away as if they had been pardoned. They were far away, sure that they could not hear the conversation between the Emperor and the Empress, but they could still hear when they were called.
After shooing everyone away, Xiao Zeyu coaxed softly through the door, “Qing’er, calm down. It’s not good for the child for you to be angry.” The Hidden Phoenix Pavilion was silent. There was no response. Xiao Zeyu smiled bitterly and sat down on the steps at the door.
“Qing’er, I’ll keep watch for you.”
In the Hidden Phoenix Pavilion, Su Qing was lying on the bed with her eyes closed. She felt uncomfortable after changing beds, and with her stomach full of anger, how could she sleep?
She knew that Xiao Zeyu was here, but she didn’t plan to bother with him.
Even when she heard that Xiao Zeyu acted pitifully and wanted to keep vigil for her, she remained indifferent.
If your heart is cold, you won’t be able to warm it up even if you burn a fire! Xiao Zeyu stood guard outside Hidden Phoenix Pavilion for the entire night. He didn’t even dare to make a sound after that, afraid of disturbing Su Qing’s sleep.
Pregnant women were sensitive and easy to get into a dead end. All he could do was be more tolerant and considerate of her.
“Go get breakfast for the Empress.”
Xiao Zeyu stood up from the stone steps. After sitting for the entire night, his legs were numb. However, he ignored his discomfort and ordered the eunuchs and serving girls who had accompanied him all night to bring Su Qing breakfast.
“The Empress likes to eat egg custard and golden silk cake.”
Seeing that the palace maids were about to leave, Xiao Zeyu stopped them and told them what she liked to eat!
Those palace maids were too envious of the Empress, daring to lock the Emperor outside the door. This was treason.
Not only was the Emperor not angry, but he was even so gentle to her.
They were all women. Why was the Empress’s life so good?
Su Qing heard Xiao Zeyu’s words and had a complicated look in her eyes. Last night, she knew that Xiao Zeyu had been guarding the door for the entire night. There were a few times when her heart softened, and she wanted to let him in, but when she thought about how he wanted to take a concubine, her heart turned cold.
Now, she was starving. It was not her but the child in her stomach. Thinking of the child, Su Qing’s eyes became gentle as she held her stomach.
They were his family, connected by blood. No matter how far he and Xiao Zeyu went, they were still his family. She would love her child with her life.
“Brother, why did you make Sister-in-law angry?”
The palace maid called Xiao Lanxin over. She didn’t know what kind of conflict had happened between her brother and sister-in-law. She felt that it must be her big brother’s fault, so she asked Xiao Zeyu unhappily.
“Ha, I’m innocent.”
Xiao Zeyu smiled bitterly. See, even his sister wasn’t on his side.
“You’re innocent? Innocence can make my sister-in-law move out of anger?”
Xiao Lanxin glared at her brother.
“Did you become angry after becoming the emperor?”
Great!
Xiao Zeyu felt like he was going to be judged by his entire family. He had already been convicted!
“If I get angry, do you dare to talk to me like this?”
Xiao Zeyu glared at his sister. He was so busy every day that his head was spinning. Why would two women go against him at home?
“Look, what did I say? You’ve become angry after becoming the Emperor.” Xiao Lanxin’s tone was firm this time, making Xiao Zeyu so angry that he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Su Qing listened to the conversation between the siblings in the room. The coldness in her eyes melted a lot. Xiao Ying was still so devoted to her.
Forget it; she could choose not to have a man, but she had to have a sister-in-law. She went over to open the door, and Xiao Zeyu immediately revealed a happy expression.
Qing’er, are you willing to forgive me?”
“Xiao Ying, come in.”
Su Qing didn’t even look at him. She waved at Xiao Lanxin and called her into the house.
Xiao Zeyu wanted to sneak into the house with his sister, but Su Qing slammed the door shut. Xiao Zeyu couldn’t dodge in time and was hit in the nose..