Qingping Palace.
The table was laden with dishes, and the Emperor looked at Situtu Xueer ingratiatingly: "Miss Situ, knowing that you like Hibiscus atballs, I specially had the Imperial Kitchen prepare so for you. Do try them, they are truly delicious." As he spoke, he scooped so Hibiscus atballs into Xuexue’s bowl with a ladle.
Faced with the Emperor’s attentive hospitality, Xuexue found the food tasteless.
After all, the other party is the supre ruler, and she is nominally the War Prince’s woman, the Emperor’s deadly rival whom he has always wanted to eliminate.
Now that the Emperor is behaving so unusually, not only inviting her into the palace but also warmly entertaining her, could there be so conspiracy involved?
These questions kept swirling in Xuexue’s mind.
At this mont, the little eunuch guarding the door shouted loudly: "The Empress is here."
The Emperor’s face, previously filled with joy, suddenly darkened. He put down his chopsticks and said coldly: "What’s she doing here?"
Xuexue stole a glance, it seed that the relationship between the Emperor and the Empress wasn’t good!
"Oh! The Emperor is dining! It seems that I arrived just in ti." The Empress walked in with a full smile, dressed in luxurious elegance, with a pink palace dress that made her appear very young, not at all like soone in her thirties.
The Emperor said expressionlessly: "Empress. Why aren’t you dining in your palace, what are you doing here with ?"
Turning a blind eye to the Emperor’s indifference, the Empress continued to smile warmly and said: "I haven’t seen the Emperor for days, and I miss him, so I ca to join you for a al. But I didn’t expect Miss Situ to be here too, it seems we are really fated to et."
Saying this, she covered her mouth with a small handkerchief and giggled.
As the saying goes, you don’t hit a smiling face. With the Empress having such a good attitude, the Emperor couldn’t find an excuse to lose his temper, so he had the eunuch add another seat, allowing the Empress to join the al.
Although Xuexue did not like the Empress, her arrival at this mont let her breathe a sigh of relief. With the Empress around, she no longer had to worry about what tricks the Emperor might play.
The Empress glanced at the Hibiscus atballs in Xuexue’s bowl, which was almost full, and laughed: "It seems Miss Situ really likes Hibiscus atballs, but there are rules when dining with the Emperor; no dish should be eaten more than three bites."
Saying this, she glanced pointedly at the bowl in front of Xuexue.
Xuexue knew in her heart that the Empress was hinting that she didn’t understand the rules.
The Emperor was very displeased, his face gloomy as he said: "It’s the first ti Miss Situ is dining with in the Imperial Palace, not knowing so small rules is understandable, why make a fuss, Empress."
The Empress looked at the Emperor in surprise: "Emperor, the rules left by our ancestors should not be broken!"
Suddenly, the Emperor shouted angrily: "Since when is it your place to interfere with what I do?"
The Emperor rose suddenly, startling the Empress into silence, no longer daring to make a sound.
The Emperor took a deep breath, suppressing the anger on his face, and looked at Xuexue with a smile again, apologetically saying: "I’ve embarrassed you, Miss Situ."
In the past, rumors circulated outside that the Emperor and Empress were deeply in love. Now it seed to be just a façade.
And no one cared more about appearances than the Empress. This reputation was beneficial and harmless to the consolidation of her position.
The Emperor had Three Palaces and Six Courtyards with Seventy-Two Concubines, so many won, why would she care about being deeply in love with the Empress?
Xuexue analyzed from this information, concluding that the Empress deliberately sent people to spread rumors benefiting her outside.
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