Chapter 204 - 204 She must have known before anyone could Part II
204 She must have known before anyone could Part II
“Your Majesty, I have something I’d like to suggest.”
Ouyang Feilong brought Bai Yu back to the palace. She did not wait long after sitting down before pulling him to sit next to her and speaking with a serious look. She seemed to have forgotten that she had almost fainted.
“Change your clothes first,” Ouyang Feilong firmly said.
“But…” Bai Yu wanted to quickly tell him her thoughts, but the golden eyes that stared back made her obediently nod. “Alright. But Your Majesty has to stay here and wait to hear what I’m going to say.”
“Is it about Bai He?”
“Your Majesty knows?”
Ouyang Feilong laughed low. “Zhen’s empress can never wait when a matter involves her brother. Once, she even abandoned zhen to be with him. Of course, such a hurry can’t mean anything other than Bai He.”
“Then please wait for me.” Her nose touched the side of his cheek before she moved to call a maid to help her change her clothes behind a partition. Her movement was energetic, carrying no trace of exhaustion or dizziness at all.
Shortly after, Bai Yu returned to sit on the bed, wearing a nightgown as Ouyang Feilong had instructed. She was pushed to lie down on the mattress, then her husband lay next to her.
.....
“What do you want to talk about?” Ouyang Feilong adjusted the blanket for Bai Yu. The emperor turned sideways to face the stubborn empress. His one arm supported his body to prevent him from fully lying down. Golden eyes gazed into the begging dark ones.
“About the envoy for cultural exchange in Da Chu.”
Ouyang Feilong smilingly nodded. He seemed to have known this. “What does Empress think?”
“I see this as Brother being in the group as a soldier, with Wei Wang as a doctor. So I think Xu Luanle should join them to help with the aspect of commerce.”
“Mhm.” Ouyang Feilong followed along with her train of thought. “Reasonable.”
“But Xu Luanle has a beautiful and talented sister named Xu Peipei, so I want the Xu siblings to join the envoy and help in this cultural exchange.”
“So this is where Bai He comes in, huh?” Ouyang Feilong pinched the schemer’s nose. Regarding Bai He, he could see his vague relationship with Xu Peipei as well. However, as a fellow man, he believed that each had his own path, and so he decided against interfering. His mindset was the opposite of Bai Yu’s, who wanted to help both her brother and her friend.
“Please, Your Majesty?” Bai Yu grabbed the hand that bullied her and put it next to her cheek, trying her best to plead with her eyes.
Ouyang Feilong shook his head. Bai Yu immediately grimaced.
“Zhen will think about it, but you need to sleep first.”
Bai Yu did not nod to accept or deny, only using her stare to pressure Ouyang Feilong.
A large hand covered her eyes. Then, a gentle whisper was heard next to her ear. “If you don’t sleep, zhen shall not let you sleep.”
“I’m sleeping!”
Ouyang Feilong suppressed a smile at her reaction as he pulled her into an embrace. He waited until she fell asleep before carefully getting up and heading to the royal study to continue his work. While there, his thoughts went back to considering Bai Yu’s suggestion with a smile dotted on his lips, surprising his personal eunuch.
Usually, Ouyang Feilong would be expressionless when he was not with Bai Yu. The emperor revealing an emotion on his face without the empress’ presence was such a rare sight.
—————-
Bai Yu did not know where she was. A white mist obscured everything so completely that she could not be certain whether she was in the royal palace or not. She remembered that she had not slept for long, yet the sky was dark, and the air was frighteningly cold.
‘It has been a long time.’ A clear voice of a woman echoed throughout the area. Bai Yu looked around in an attempt to find the source of the voice that sounded strangely familiar. She thought she had heard it before.
‘I must thank you for aiding in the god of war’s return to the heavenly king.’
God of war? Ouyang Hongxian?
“You’re the goddess of fate?”
‘Correct.’ This time, the voice was lower, though the tone was still soft. Bai Yu could not determine whether it was a male or female voice, and that was what confirmed to her that the other person was Yue Nan, who was an incarnation of the goddess of fate.
“Are biaoge and his majesty well?” She wanted to know about those who were human, not the gods in heaven.
‘They are well in the divine valley and well in heaven.’
Both Yue Nan and Ouyang Hongxian she knew were no longer the Yue family’s first son nor former emperor. Their existence was greater than she could comprehend. They were the reason she had crossed into this world. It was not surprising that the incarnated gods would periodically appear in the mortal world.
‘Someone wishes to meet you.’ The goddess of fate’s voice was heard again. But before Bai Yu could ask who that someone was, a beast’s cry rang above her head. Bai Yu looked up at the ray of golden light that was heading toward her, coming closer and closer until she could see that it was...a dragon.
A golden dragon was heading toward her!
Its long body, gleaming gold, flew above Bai Yu. Its golden light prevented Bai Yu from looking directly at it. She had to put her hands over her brows and narrow her eyes to see the dragon.
Her heart suddenly raced when the sacred dragon opened its mouth and something moved straight in her direction. Dazedly, she extended her hand to take a round, golden object.
When it was within her palms, she discovered that it was a golden orb that emanated warmth into her skin, seeping into her heart.
This warmth greatly resembled Ouyang Feilong’s healing magic. Bai Yu turned her gaze away from the golden orb. But the dragon had disappeared. There was only her and an orb in her hands.
Who exactly wanted to meet her?
Bai Yu frowned. She looked at the orb again, but before she could observe it thoroughly, the golden light turned into a bright, silver ray that Bai Yu had to close her eyes to avoid.
Bai Yu was awoken by the feeling of a ray of light on her eyelids. She blinked rapidly to adjust her sight, and when consciousness fully returned, she realized that the ray was sunlight from the window. It seemed that her personal maid had opened it.
“Your Majesty has woken up?” Xiao Xi, who had just now opened the window, turned around to greet her when she saw that her mistress had woken up. “Your Majesty has slept for so long, and I couldn’t wake Your Majesty up no matter how much I tried, so I opened the window to let the sunlight in. Your Majesty once told me to do this when I can’t wake Your Majesty… Your Majesty? Is something the matter?”
“None.”
Bai Yu stared at her empty hands. There was no golden orb. Was that only a dream?
“Allow me to help Your Majesty wash up.”
Bai Yu did not answer. She only moved down from the bed to let Xiao Chang, who had been waiting, swiftly help her with her morning routine. Seeing her maid’s haste, Bai Yu then realized that she had slept through the whole day and night and had woken up later than usual.
“Are the consorts here?”
“They’re all here, except De Fei.”
Bai Yu frowned. She was already this late. Was Mu Qilin going to be even later?
“Then let’s hurry.”
Soon, Bai Yu was ready for the morning greeting, where royal consorts and concubines must come to see her. Though she was late, no one uttered a word of complaint. Even Mu Qilin, who arrived slightly earlier than she, was quiet since, ultimately, Bai Yu was the authority of the inner court. Furthermore, she was the only woman the emperor visited and spent the night with almost every day.
“The Empress Dowager’s birthday will be in a few months. His majesty is busy with royal affairs, so we must make the banquet a befitting occasion for the Empress Dowager while at the same time enjoyable for his majesty.”
Bai Yu spoke to the consorts who were gathered there. Everyone nodded in agreement with her since there were no festivities at all after Ouyang Mingxian’s wedding. Even the party held yesterday was only a small one. This time, Bai Yu wanted to organize a grand banquet to represent Ouyang Feilong and please Empress Dowager Wei, who was always cold toward her and Ouyang Feilong.
“Your Majesty, how do we organize a banquet that will be to the Empress Dowager’s liking?” A Pin level consort asked. Bai Yu had to agree with her. Other than something related to Ouyang Mingxian, she knew nothing about Empress Dowager Wei’s liking at all.
“Lately, Empress Dowager often summons Mu De Fei. Why don’t we let her handle this, Your Majesty?”
“That’s not possible, meimei. It is only that Empress Dowager enjoys speaking with me, nothing more.” Mu Qilin turned to act humbly towards the Pin level consort who had brought up the topic.
“Jiejie, please don’t sell yourself so short. Everyone in the inner court knows how jiejie frequents her majesty’s palace more than anyone else.”
“How can meimei say so? Don’t forget that Empress is here with us.” Mu Qilin gave Bai Yu a fake smile. Her eyes gleamed bright with challenge.
She wanted to say that she was closer to the Empress Dowager than she was to her? She, the empress, had an audience with the Empress Dowager fewer times than she? Do you think you’re better than me?
Bai Yu arched a brow. “Continue.”
“Us consorts have been in the palace for quite some time, ever since His Majesty held the title of Rui Wang. Even so, we knew next to nothing about Empress Dowager’s likes and dislikes. Since we moved to the royal palace, Mu De Fei was closer to Empress Dowager than anyone. I think this will be useful for us, Your Majesty.” Truthfully, the Pin consort was correct. Apart from Bai Yu, Mu Qilin was the only one who ‘presented herself’ to the Empress Dowager most frequently.
“Have you forgotten, Qing Pin?” A clear voice from Bai Yu’s left side interrupted the thoughts of those who agreed with the claim. After remaining silent for a long while, Zhao Ninghua spoke under the eyes of all the consorts. “Before Empress married into Rui Wang Palace, Her Majesty had regularly visited Empress Dowager’s palace since childhood. How could Mu De Fei compare?”
“My worldview is still narrow. I have embarrassed myself in front of jiejie.” Qing Pin lowered her head. An insincere, light smile appeared on her lips.
Aw! Who’s the fool now?
“Your Majesty, I have something I’d like to suggest.”
Ouyang Feilong brought Bai Yu back to the palace. She did not wait long after sitting down before pulling him to sit next to her and speaking with a serious look. She seemed to have forgotten that she had almost fainted.
“Change your clothes first,” Ouyang Feilong firmly said.
“But…” Bai Yu wanted to quickly tell him her thoughts, but the golden eyes that stared back made her obediently nod. “Alright. But Your Majesty has to stay here and wait to hear what I’m going to say.”
“Is it about Bai He?”
“Your Majesty knows?”
Ouyang Feilong laughed low. “Zhen’s empress can never wait when a matter involves her brother. Once, she even abandoned zhen to be with him. Of course, such a hurry can’t mean anything other than Bai He.”
“Then please wait for me.” Her nose touched the side of his cheek before she moved to call a maid to help her change her clothes behind a partition. Her movement was energetic, carrying no trace of exhaustion or dizziness at all.
Shortly after, Bai Yu returned to sit on the bed, wearing a nightgown as Ouyang Feilong had instructed. She was pushed to lie down on the mattress, then her husband lay next to her.
.....
“What do you want to talk about?” Ouyang Feilong adjusted the blanket for Bai Yu. The emperor turned sideways to face the stubborn empress. His one arm supported his body to prevent him from fully lying down. Golden eyes gazed into the begging dark ones.
“About the envoy for cultural exchange in Da Chu.”
Ouyang Feilong smilingly nodded. He seemed to have known this. “What does Empress think?”
“I see this as Brother being in the group as a soldier, with Wei Wang as a doctor. So I think Xu Luanle should join them to help with the aspect of commerce.”
“Mhm.” Ouyang Feilong followed along with her train of thought. “Reasonable.”
“But Xu Luanle has a beautiful and talented sister named Xu Peipei, so I want the Xu siblings to join the envoy and help in this cultural exchange.”
“So this is where Bai He comes in, huh?” Ouyang Feilong pinched the schemer’s nose. Regarding Bai He, he could see his vague relationship with Xu Peipei as well. However, as a fellow man, he believed that each had his own path, and so he decided against interfering. His mindset was the opposite of Bai Yu’s, who wanted to help both her brother and her friend.
“Please, Your Majesty?” Bai Yu grabbed the hand that bullied her and put it next to her cheek, trying her best to plead with her eyes.
Ouyang Feilong shook his head. Bai Yu immediately grimaced.
“Zhen will think about it, but you need to sleep first.”
Bai Yu did not nod to accept or deny, only using her stare to pressure Ouyang Feilong.
A large hand covered her eyes. Then, a gentle whisper was heard next to her ear. “If you don’t sleep, zhen shall not let you sleep.”
“I’m sleeping!”
Ouyang Feilong suppressed a smile at her reaction as he pulled her into an embrace. He waited until she fell asleep before carefully getting up and heading to the royal study to continue his work. While there, his thoughts went back to considering Bai Yu’s suggestion with a smile dotted on his lips, surprising his personal eunuch.
Usually, Ouyang Feilong would be expressionless when he was not with Bai Yu. The emperor revealing an emotion on his face without the empress’ presence was such a rare sight.
—————-
Bai Yu did not know where she was. A white mist obscured everything so completely that she could not be certain whether she was in the royal palace or not. She remembered that she had not slept for long, yet the sky was dark, and the air was frighteningly cold.
‘It has been a long time.’ A clear voice of a woman echoed throughout the area. Bai Yu looked around in an attempt to find the source of the voice that sounded strangely familiar. She thought she had heard it before.
‘I must thank you for aiding in the god of war’s return to the heavenly king.’
God of war? Ouyang Hongxian?
“You’re the goddess of fate?”
‘Correct.’ This time, the voice was lower, though the tone was still soft. Bai Yu could not determine whether it was a male or female voice, and that was what confirmed to her that the other person was Yue Nan, who was an incarnation of the goddess of fate.
“Are biaoge and his majesty well?” She wanted to know about those who were human, not the gods in heaven.
‘They are well in the divine valley and well in heaven.’
Both Yue Nan and Ouyang Hongxian she knew were no longer the Yue family’s first son nor former emperor. Their existence was greater than she could comprehend. They were the reason she had crossed into this world. It was not surprising that the incarnated gods would periodically appear in the mortal world.
‘Someone wishes to meet you.’ The goddess of fate’s voice was heard again. But before Bai Yu could ask who that someone was, a beast’s cry rang above her head. Bai Yu looked up at the ray of golden light that was heading toward her, coming closer and closer until she could see that it was...a dragon.
A golden dragon was heading toward her!
Its long body, gleaming gold, flew above Bai Yu. Its golden light prevented Bai Yu from looking directly at it. She had to put her hands over her brows and narrow her eyes to see the dragon.
Her heart suddenly raced when the sacred dragon opened its mouth and something moved straight in her direction. Dazedly, she extended her hand to take a round, golden object.
When it was within her palms, she discovered that it was a golden orb that emanated warmth into her skin, seeping into her heart.
This warmth greatly resembled Ouyang Feilong’s healing magic. Bai Yu turned her gaze away from the golden orb. But the dragon had disappeared. There was only her and an orb in her hands.
Who exactly wanted to meet her?
Bai Yu frowned. She looked at the orb again, but before she could observe it thoroughly, the golden light turned into a bright, silver ray that Bai Yu had to close her eyes to avoid.
Bai Yu was awoken by the feeling of a ray of light on her eyelids. She blinked rapidly to adjust her sight, and when consciousness fully returned, she realized that the ray was sunlight from the window. It seemed that her personal maid had opened it.
“Your Majesty has woken up?” Xiao Xi, who had just now opened the window, turned around to greet her when she saw that her mistress had woken up. “Your Majesty has slept for so long, and I couldn’t wake Your Majesty up no matter how much I tried, so I opened the window to let the sunlight in. Your Majesty once told me to do this when I can’t wake Your Majesty… Your Majesty? Is something the matter?”
“None.”
Bai Yu stared at her empty hands. There was no golden orb. Was that only a dream?
“Allow me to help Your Majesty wash up.”
Bai Yu did not answer. She only moved down from the bed to let Xiao Chang, who had been waiting, swiftly help her with her morning routine. Seeing her maid’s haste, Bai Yu then realized that she had slept through the whole day and night and had woken up later than usual.
“Are the consorts here?”
“They’re all here, except De Fei.”
Bai Yu frowned. She was already this late. Was Mu Qilin going to be even later?
“Then let’s hurry.”
Soon, Bai Yu was ready for the morning greeting, where royal consorts and concubines must come to see her. Though she was late, no one uttered a word of complaint. Even Mu Qilin, who arrived slightly earlier than she, was quiet since, ultimately, Bai Yu was the authority of the inner court. Furthermore, she was the only woman the emperor visited and spent the night with almost every day.
“The Empress Dowager’s birthday will be in a few months. His majesty is busy with royal affairs, so we must make the banquet a befitting occasion for the Empress Dowager while at the same time enjoyable for his majesty.”
Bai Yu spoke to the consorts who were gathered there. Everyone nodded in agreement with her since there were no festivities at all after Ouyang Mingxian’s wedding. Even the party held yesterday was only a small one. This time, Bai Yu wanted to organize a grand banquet to represent Ouyang Feilong and please Empress Dowager Wei, who was always cold toward her and Ouyang Feilong.
“Your Majesty, how do we organize a banquet that will be to the Empress Dowager’s liking?” A Pin level consort asked. Bai Yu had to agree with her. Other than something related to Ouyang Mingxian, she knew nothing about Empress Dowager Wei’s liking at all.
“Lately, Empress Dowager often summons Mu De Fei. Why don’t we let her handle this, Your Majesty?”
“That’s not possible, meimei. It is only that Empress Dowager enjoys speaking with me, nothing more.” Mu Qilin turned to act humbly towards the Pin level consort who had brought up the topic.
“Jiejie, please don’t sell yourself so short. Everyone in the inner court knows how jiejie frequents her majesty’s palace more than anyone else.”
“How can meimei say so? Don’t forget that Empress is here with us.” Mu Qilin gave Bai Yu a fake smile. Her eyes gleamed bright with challenge.
She wanted to say that she was closer to the Empress Dowager than she was to her? She, the empress, had an audience with the Empress Dowager fewer times than she? Do you think you’re better than me?
Bai Yu arched a brow. “Continue.”
“Us consorts have been in the palace for quite some time, ever since His Majesty held the title of Rui Wang. Even so, we knew next to nothing about Empress Dowager’s likes and dislikes. Since we moved to the royal palace, Mu De Fei was closer to Empress Dowager than anyone. I think this will be useful for us, Your Majesty.” Truthfully, the Pin consort was correct. Apart from Bai Yu, Mu Qilin was the only one who ‘presented herself’ to the Empress Dowager most frequently.
“Have you forgotten, Qing Pin?” A clear voice from Bai Yu’s left side interrupted the thoughts of those who agreed with the claim. After remaining silent for a long while, Zhao Ninghua spoke under the eyes of all the consorts. “Before Empress married into Rui Wang Palace, Her Majesty had regularly visited Empress Dowager’s palace since childhood. How could Mu De Fei compare?”
“My worldview is still narrow. I have embarrassed myself in front of jiejie.” Qing Pin lowered her head. An insincere, light smile appeared on her lips.
Aw! Who’s the fool now?
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