"Father, I promise I will make sure you take your medicine properly every day from now on!"
When Chu Qing met Xia Xia's unusually serious gaze, she really wanted to say, "Baby, you don't have to be so serious."
"Father, are you sleepy? Your son, would you like to recite a poem for me?"
After Xiaxia finished speaking, she picked up a book of poems and ran to her father's side to read it to him.
The doctor said that it's best for Daddy not to sleep too much during the day, so he won't be able to sleep at night.
No matter which doctor gave her instructions, Xiaxia would keep them firmly in mind.
"I'm not that sleepy."
As Chu Qing listened to Xia Xia recite poetry with squinted eyes, she realized that she hadn't visited His Majesty for a while.
After all, he was the object of her affections in this world. She opened her eyes, glanced at the little prince who was swaying his head while reciting poetry, and reached out to tidy up his stray hairs.
"Your subject is not tired."
"Your father seems to be working quite hard reviewing memorials. Would you like to go and take a look?"
"good."
Xiaxia chose to recite poetry to her father because she knew very well that her father didn't like to go out, and now that she heard this, she immediately perked up.
"Let's go."
Wei Yutang was processing memorials when he heard the eunuch report that the Empress was coming, but his cold expression did not soften at all.
He put the memorial aside, intending to say he wouldn't see it, but before he could utter the words, he felt a pang of reluctance and said in a low voice:
"Go and prepare some pastries that the Empress likes to eat."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Xiaxia looked up at the oil-paper umbrella Xiaozhu was holding outside the door, her cheeks puffed out and her face full of anger.
I came here with my father, and now I have to wait here!
If I had known this would happen, I would have taken Father to take a stroll around the palace where he used to stay.
As soon as Chu Qing walked in, he sensed something was wrong. Before this, no matter what had happened, His Majesty would never have acted like this, not even glancing at them as they walked in.
Xiaxia's senses were just as sharp as her father's. She walked over and tiptoed to help her father grind the ink, cautiously asking:
"Father, are you busy with state affairs?"
Wei Yutang put the brush aside and gave a soft "hmm," which seemed to confirm Xia Xia's guess.
But in reality, this is not the case. This year has been exceptionally blessed with favorable weather and abundant harvests. The reports submitted by local officials from various places confirm that this year has indeed been very good.
There wasn't much to Wei Yutang's mind regarding politics; what troubled him was something else entirely.
Chu Qing sat down on the soft couch, and a eunuch brought over a plate of very exquisite pastries.
He has never been particular about food and doesn't particularly like these dishes, so the palace chefs have to find ways to make them better.
After picking up a piece and tasting it, I found the flavor to be quite good.
While he was eating pastries, he kept glancing at Wei Yutang out of the corner of his eye.
I could tell something was off about Wei Yutang as soon as I entered, and now I'm even more curious about the reason.
"Xiaxia, you haven't done your homework properly for so long, and now the teacher is waiting for you."
After hearing his father's words, the young prince seriously reflected on himself. He realized that he had been too happy spending time in his father's palace and had not listened to the teacher's lessons for a long time.
Normally, Xiaxia would have left obediently by now, but today she stood there hesitantly.
Father is a little angry now. If I leave directly... will Father be in any danger?
Chu Qing noticed the little guy's unease and spoke up:
"Go ahead, I'll pick you up when it's time for dinner."
"good."
After the young prince left, the palace servants who had been serving in the hall also withdrew, and Wei Yutang stood up and walked to Chu Qing.
The original owner liked to wear white, but Chu Qing preferred moon white and light purplish-red. Her complexion had improved a lot after so long, but other parts of her body were still as frail as they were at the beginning.
The hand holding the teacup looked as if it could be broken with the slightest force.
"What's wrong? Is there something you want to talk to me about privately?"
Seeing that he remained silent, Chu Qing took the initiative to ask him a question.
When Chu Qing looked over, Wei Yutang suddenly had an urge to let bygones be bygones for all those things that had happened before.
"yes."
Wei Yutang turned around and took a pile of letters from the table, placing them in front of Chu Qing.
When he first saw it, he didn't want to believe it and it took him a long time to calm down. Now that he has made up his mind to talk to Chu Qing about it, he has no other concerns.
"Perhaps I need an explanation from you."
The words in the letter were ambiguous, yet every sentence expressed his love for Prince An.
The moment Wei Yutang saw it, he felt not displeasure that his queen had fallen for someone else, but an overwhelming sense of resentment.
Chu Qing had never uttered a single word of such sweet talk to her.
Chu Qing opened one of the envelopes, understood what was written on it, set the envelope aside, met Wei Yutang's eyes, thought for a moment, and then asked:
If I were to explain, would you believe me?
Chapter 79
With the evidence laid bare before him, Wei Yutang was already prepared for a potential falling out with Chu Qing when he said those words.
But all the preparations were shattered by Chu Qing's simple words.
The emperor turned his head away to avoid Chu Qing's gaze, looking somewhat disheveled. After taking a deep breath, he said:
"I'm willing to believe you as long as you tell me."
After hearing what he said, Chu Qing thought about it very seriously, wondering how she should answer.
After all, judging from Wei Yutang's current state, it seems like he would believe whatever he said, or perhaps he was just trying to convince himself to believe.
Even if I told him now that all these letters were forged by someone else, he wouldn't ask any further questions.
From Chu Qing's perspective, she could see Wei Yutang's bloodshot eyes, and suddenly she couldn't bear to continue bullying him.
"These letters were indeed written by me before."
After Chu Qing finished speaking, she saw that Wei Yutang seemed to have lost all his strength, and even his face began to turn ashen.
His hands, which were at his sides, were now clenched into fists.
Even he himself hadn't expected that Chu Qing wouldn't even utter a lie anymore.
Now, I'm being honest with myself. Is it because he's certain I won't punish him for this, or because he simply doesn't care about these things?
"Your Majesty, but I have something else to say. Would you please listen to me first?"
"good."
Even though Chu Qing himself had just admitted it, Wei Yutang still couldn't bear to refuse him.
Chu Qing moved from the soft couch she was sitting on to sit in front of Wei Yutang, and sat down next to him. The two of them seemed to be in a rather intimate position.
Chu Qing had never been this close to him before, and Wei Yutang felt a strange sense of sorrow welling up in his heart.
Even he hadn't imagined that he would need to be in such circumstances to barely be able to get close to the Empress.
Chu Qing reached out and hugged Wei Yutang's arm, leaning on his shoulder, which completely dispelled the anger that had just surfaced in Wei Yutang's mind.
After realizing his own unambitious thoughts, Wei Yutang sighed.
"You don't need to worry, those are all things of the past, I won't punish you for them."
Aside from the fear that he would be reprimanded for not speaking out if he found out about this, Wei Yutang couldn't think of any other possibility that could make the usually proud Chu Qing compromise in front of him.
"That's not the reason."
What is that?
"If I don't explain this properly, His Majesty will be upset."
In such a short time, Chu Qing had already come up with various solutions.
"Your Majesty, when I first arrived in the capital, my carriage was startled while I was going to offer incense outside the city. It was Prince An who saved me. At that time, I was too young and mistakenly took the life-saving grace as affection, which is why I sent these letters over."
Since these letters didn't have any specific dates, it wouldn't be obvious if Chu Qing moved the dates back a little.
The most important reason he dared to do this was because he knew all too well how much Wei Yutang cared about him.
Even if I don't offer any explanation, Wei Yutang will come over and come up with a reasonable excuse for me.
Not to mention that if I take the initiative to explain to him now, no matter how clumsy the explanation is, he will believe it and try his best to convince himself.
Chu Qing now feels a strange sense of guilt whenever he sees Wei Yutang, so he hopes he can make the lie sound more believable.
"Your carriage was startled back then?"
"Yes, I almost lost my life."
The original owner fell in love with Prince An because of this seemingly insignificant matter.
Although Chu Qing wouldn't fall in love with someone because of something like this, he could understand it. When someone is about to be in dire straits and suddenly appears to pull him out, it's like a god descending to earth.
Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?
When Wei Yutang heard Chu Qing recount this past event, all his previous resentment towards him vanished, leaving only a touch of heartache.
"I don't want to hide this from you, but I don't know how to tell you the right thing to do."
“I was too young at the time and mistook gratitude for affection. I followed Prince An for so long and wrote so many letters, so it’s understandable that you’re angry with me.”
Wei Yutang put one hand on Chu Qing's shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief, unaware of Chu Qing's resistance.
As the emperor of a country, he was not very willing to admit that he was not actually angry at the time; rather, jealousy had taken over.