Palace Intrigue?: I Make the Emperor Cry by Rewinding Time!-Chapter 133 - 116: Testing the Waters

The eunuch quickly fetched the Red Record.

It detailed which concubine the Emperor favored, how long, and how many times water was called.

"Look, the last time was with you."

Xie Zhixing flipped through it, and the rest was blank.

Seeing his enthusiasm, Yun Jiao played along, pretending to care and glanced at it twice: "I saw it, I saw it."

Her poor acting was instantly seen through by Xie Zhixing.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit discouraged; for the first time, he had an epiphany, but his beloved was like an untouchable Immortal: "Oh well, it’s a good thing you don’t care."

Yun Jiao smirked: "Isn’t the Emperor treating me as a stand-in? Why care about the feelings of a stand-in, as long as they’re well-fed and clothed. I’m willing to do this job, you can even call me by her name. If I laugh and it’s not like her, then I just won’t laugh."

In ancient times, the living conditions of a concubine were quite good.

Yun Jiao gave the proper respect to the one who issued her monthly silver.

"What stand-in?" Xie Zhixing was puzzled.

"The person I saw on the screen in the Emperor’s study last time."

Xie Zhixing was amused and annoyed, pinching her face: "That time you misunderstood, I saw you were foolish, so I went along with it. The person embroidered on the screen is actually you. If you don’t believe, I can call the artisan to let you ask as much as you want. If I were always looking at someone else through you, wouldn’t it feel bad? Even if you have no affection for me, no one likes to be treated as a substitute!"

He put himself in her shoes for a moment.

With his pride, he might want to kill someone the moment he found out he was a stand-in.

"So it’s me,"

Yun Jiao exhaled: "As long as I’m treated well, does it matter if I’m a stand-in? I don’t mind."

She thought, those novels where the husband regrets are all like this? The one thinking they’re a stand-in turns out to be the real one, and after many trials and tribulations, they finally clear up what’s already obvious.

Perhaps because she hadn’t gone through those trials, she felt nothing.

"However, to be favored by the Emperor, I sincerely thank you."

Yun Jiao smiled, with dimples on her cheeks.

Xie Zhixing felt blood choke in his throat; he had held back for so many days, struggled internally for so long, yet he couldn’t hide any of it from her, like a criminal in the Imprisonment Department. She almost stripped him bare, yet she remained unmoved. He knew Yun Jiao wasn’t an aloof, unattainable flower, she was amiable, didn’t resist sharing a bed with him, but she was like lukewarm water that never boiled, touching but unable to respond to his fervor.

"I’ve been trying not to think about you these days,"

Xie Zhixing mumbled.

Yun Jiao was puzzled: "Why control it?"

"I’m afraid that in the future, you’ll affect me. How long have you been in the palace? I already don’t want to see other concubines, feeling none are worthy of you. And if this isn’t even mutual affection, with just a flutter of my heart, it’s already crazy. If our relationship develops, I’m afraid I’d do things that would disgrace our ancestors, be played in your hands, or even not want the empire. So I thought, staying away would dim my feelings."

He bowed his head, like an upset puppy: "It’s not your fault, it’s me being useless, unable to control myself."

Yun Jiao acknowledged: "Then was the Emperor able to control it?"

"I made some progress."

As he said this, he averted his gaze.

The proud Emperor, unable to meet her eyes.

"Then I’ll come and check the progress."

Yun Jiao’s playful spirit arose, she cupped his face with her hands, trying to turn it.

She exerted some effort but couldn’t turn it.

Yun Jiao was surprised: "The dragon’s neck is firm."

No matter, if the mountain won’t come to her, she’ll go to the mountain. She bent forward to look at him. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

This woman’s sense of rules was just calling herself a "Servant Consort," everything else was recklessly bold, yet those curious doe eyes seemed to pierce into his heart, he closed his eyes not to look, but his face flushed.

Yun Jiao chuckled: "You didn’t control it."

Xie Zhixing, both irritated and embarrassed: "I am not thick-skinned like you."

"I still can’t imagine what would make me do anything disrespectful to our ancestors."

Xie Zhixing opened his eyes, signaling for the palace maids and eunuchs to leave.

Once everyone left, he whispered to Yun Jiao:

"The Empress was a marriage arranged by the late Emperor. If one day you desire to be Empress, want me to depose the Empress and make you the Empress, deposing her without a major fault would be considered unfilial, something that would make me infamous, and I’m not sure if I can hold myself in the future."

The old house catching fire, burning his rationality to ashes.

Xie Zhixing was not stingy in suspecting himself with the greatest ill intent.

Yun Jiao also whispered to him: "Emperor, I don’t want to be Empress, palace duties are so troublesome."

"Then what if you want to interfere in politics? Although this is less of a worry, as the Grand Empress Dowager Haotian set a precedent..."

"Emperor, someone who doesn’t want to handle palace affairs, would they want to handle political affairs?"

"I’ll think more," Xie Zhixing pondered: "If you want to take a minister’s heart and liver to look at, maybe I’d agree in a daze."

A beloved woman is like a beast of great disaster.

It’s bad because he became enamored of the beast, loving her madly.

Yun Jiao: "No thanks."

"Actually, if you wanted to, it’s not entirely impossible. I see some ministers are skirting the edge of crimes punishable by death by slicing. When that day comes, I’ll have the executioner save some heart and liver for you."

Xie Zhixing actually started contemplating seriously.

He couldn’t think of a more absurd request at the moment, still feeling uneasy and lofty.

After all, ordinary people bring disaster to their family for love, a king brings disaster to the world for love.

"Sigh..."

He sighed: "I really can’t imagine what madness I’d be capable of if we truly reciprocated our feelings."

Yun Jiao looked at him: "Emperor, just make sure I don’t like you, then that’s solved."

"That’s not okay."

Xie Zhixing swiftly refused.

He clearly wanted it badly, yet wouldn’t admit it, suffering from pre-love anxiety syndrome.

Yun Jiao saw him sitting by the bed, his side profile with lips pursed was also very handsome.

Why does the Emperor like her so much?

She thought she hadn’t done anything, could it be the Emperor had a system and was trying to conquer her?

She had done nothing yet made the Emperor fall for her, if she made a slight effort to seduce him, wouldn’t he be bewitched by her completely?

No, Yun Jiao wanted to test it.

"Emperor."

"Hm."

"I’d like to eat a sweet melon."

—Wanting to eat a sweet melon now, afraid she’d see him as a fool later.

Xie Zhixing worriedly ordered a sweet melon, slicing it for her.

Yun Jiao tested further: "Emperor, I want you to feed me."

—Wanting him to feed her the sliced melon now, afraid she’d want the throne handed over later.

Xie Zhixing anxiously fed her the melon.

Yun Jiao tested yet again: "Emperor, I need my mouth wiped."

She pouted.

—Wanting him to wipe her mouth now, afraid if she kills someone, she’d expect him to clean up the mess?

Through the handkerchief, Xie Zhixing’s hand touched her soft lips.

He suddenly thought killing might not be impossible.