The Prince Wants to Assassinate Me Every Day-Chapter 857 - 441: The "Yandere" Takes the Initiative (Part 1)
An Ning and Xie Ruotong chatted in Xiaoxiang Palace for an entire day.
Until dusk.
Only then did Xie Ruotong reluctantly leave the Imperial Palace.
After all, there was no precedent for a minister, not even a female official, to stay overnight in the harem.
She walked out of Xiaoxiang Palace.
Then she saw Song Yanqing standing beneath the sunset.
The sunset elongated his shadow, and his already frail figure appeared as if it could be blown over by the wind at that moment.
When Song Yanqing saw Xie Ruotong emerge, he quickly took two steps forward.
Xie Ruotong had the illusion that Song Yanqing might collapse from exhaustion after just a few steps.
"Ruotong." Song Yanqing called her name.
"We’re not married yet, Master Song can address me by my name." Xie Ruotong replied coldly.
"General Xie." Song Yanqing quickly corrected himself.
Heavens knew how much courage it took him to just wait for her and call her by her first name.
At this moment, his palms were full of sweat.
Yet outwardly, he had to appear very calm.
"Is there something you want?" Xie Ruotong asked.
"I wish to accompany you as you leave the palace." Song Yanqing replied.
Xie Ruotong looked at Song Yanqing.
She hadn’t expected him to be so direct.
Song Yanqing was always a reserved person.
"And by the way, tell you about the Emperor and the Empress." Song Yanqing added.
The words of refusal that Xie Ruotong was about to utter fell silent.
Song Yanqing always knew what her Achilles’ heel was.
Xie Ruotong walked ahead in silence.
Song Yanqing accompanied her by her side.
The two of them walked down a little alley under the sunset in the Imperial Palace, experiencing a rare moment of harmony.
"These years while General was at the border, you may not know many things about the Emperor within the palace, especially, the Emperor’s feelings towards the Empress." Song Yanqing said, "When the Emperor is not handling the affairs of the court, he spends most of his time with Princess Anqi, treating the child the Empress once brought back as his own. He teaches her to paint and read, as well as often talks to me about the Empress."
Xie Ruotong listened in silence.
In the early years, she had also heard some things about the Emperor within the harem.
The most memorable thing was that the Emperor had truly left the harem empty.
So she wondered, if the Emperor really felt as the Empress said, simply indebted, he couldn’t have gone a whole five years without a single woman.
Others aside.
He was the Emperor after all.
To sire princes and cultivate the next Crown Prince was not only the Emperor’s business, nor only the business of the royal family but also the business of the Daxuan Kingdom.
The Emperor could withstand such tremendous pressure and resolutely refuse to set foot in the harem to favor concubines. She did not believe that it was not love, or deep love.
But she knew clearly, no matter what she said, the Empress wouldn’t believe it.
Not even if the Emperor himself said it, the Empress might not believe it.
The Emperor could only express it through his actions.
Yet it might not even be enough to move the Empress.
"Oh no." Song Yanqing suddenly remembered something.
Xie Ruotong frowned.
Song Yanqing, who always handled matters meticulously, had something he overlooked?
"Today, I only mentioned to the Empress that the Emperor didn’t want Princess Anqi’s handwriting to be as unsightly as the Empress’s. I forgot to tell her the reason the Emperor taught Princess Anqi by hand was because, back in the day, the Empress was always diligently practicing calligraphy. The Emperor believed the Empress wanted to master beautiful handwriting, so he taught Princess Anqi so well." Song Yanqing said, feeling somewhat guilty, "The Emperor has always remembered every bit of the Empress’s past efforts, trying his utmost to make up for all the regrets the Empress had in her lifetime, compensating for all the regrets he had with the Empress."
"But in the end, the Emperor chose the Imperial Concubine over the Empress." Xie Ruotong stated bluntly.
"That’s why the Emperor’s heart aches even more." Song Yanqing replied.
Xie Ruotong pursed her lips, "You want me to speak well of the Emperor in front of the Empress, is that it?"
Song Yanqing lowered his eyes with a smile.
He honestly replied, "Yes."
"The Emperor asked you to do this?" Xie Ruotong raised an eyebrow.
"Yes." Song Yanqing nodded.
He didn’t tell Xie Ruotong that he used the Emperor’s order as an excuse to have a reason to approach her.
"Of course." Xie Ruotong gritted her teeth, not aware of Song Yanqing’s intentions.
The Emperor, as always, was sly and deceitful.
They reached the palace gate.
Xie Ruotong’s carriage was already waiting at the entrance.
She boarded the carriage. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
As she was about to leave, she saw Song Yanqing still standing at the palace gate.
As Xie Ruotong was about to put down the curtain and leave, she imagined seeing Song Yanqing standing in the cold wind, looking disheveled.
The day she took the medicine and shared a room with Song Yanqing.
His body temperature was evidently lower than that of an ordinary person.
At that moment, she could almost imagine Song Yanqing being frozen into an ice block in the chilly evening breeze.
"Go ask him if he’s leaving or not?" Xie Ruotong suddenly spoke up.
The coachman paused for a moment.
Then immediately understood.
A short while later.
Song Yanqing climbed into the carriage.
Even though they weren’t sitting very close, Xie Ruotong seemed to feel the chill emanating from Song Yanqing’s body.
"Head to the Song Residence first." Xie Ruotong instructed the coachman.
"Yes, General."
The carriage departed from the Imperial Palace.
The interior was as quiet as could be.
It seemed they could even hear each other’s breathing.
"Are you in pain?" Song Yanqing spoke.
Xie Ruotong had thought they would remain silent until they parted ways.
Never expecting Song Yanqing to suddenly speak.
And she didn’t quite understand what he meant.
"I mean, the day we shared a room, did it hurt?" Song Yanqing repeated, slightly embarrassed.
Xie Ruotong pursed her lips.
She turned her gaze to the side.
Coldly replied, "I lost my senses then, had no feeling at all."
Song Yanqing suddenly chuckled.
"What are you laughing at?" Xie Ruotong frowned, obviously displeased.
"Nothing."
Xie Ruotong looked at Song Yanqing.
Song Yanqing said, "That day, you kept asking, I thought you felt great."
Xie Ruotong’s face flushed a little.
The events of that day, though hazy at the time, were crystal clear afterward.
So she completely knew what she had done with Song Yanqing.
Was Song Yanqing mocking her for being contradictory?!
"I wasn’t in pain either." Song Yanqing suddenly added.
Not that she cared at all about how he felt.
"Although my back was sore, legs were weak, bite marks, scratches..."
"Song Yanqing, if you say one more word, I’ll throw you off the carriage right now." Xie Ruotong directly interrupted him.
Song Yanqing stopped talking.
His obedient demeanor made Xie Ruotong feel as though Song Yanqing had endured great grievance.
It made her feel a sense of oppression inside.
The carriage reached the Song Residence.
Song Yanqing bowed to Xie Ruotong in gratitude before leaving.
"Song Yanqing." Xie Ruotong called to him.
Song Yanqing turned back, "General Xie."
Humble yet respectful.
"I asked you to marry in just to sever any further entanglements with your mother. It’s the only method I could think of." Xie Ruotong said, "So you needn’t act so humbly in front of me. I never intended to trample on your dignity. The grievances between us ended five years ago. You owe me nothing. My rejection is simply because I no longer love you, nothing more."
