Wei Chi Lianping had wanted to ask her if she would be sad and miss him.
But as he was about to speak, he lost confidence that he would hear the answer he wanted, so he said the opposite instead.
Princess Hua Chang said, "I’ve been overjoyed ever since the mont I learned you were leaving."
This ti, Wei Chi Lianping didn’t argue. He just curled the corner of his lip. "That’s fine. As long as you’re happy."
He was acting strangely today, so somber he seed like a different person. He just stared at her intently, not even trying to snuggle up to her side.
When Princess Hua Chang saw him, she had a bellyful of anger ready to unleash. But in the candlelight, seeing the bluish stubble on his chin and the exhaustion etched on his face, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
They would have to part in another hour. Princess Hua Chang thought back to what Ji Qingwu had told her.
’What is the Prince Consort thinking? The matter of having a child is sothing two people should discuss...’
Princess Hua Chang sat up, pulling the quilt around her, and said icily, "The army is about to depart. Did you rush back just to give a fright?"
Wei Chi Lianping’s gaze fell on the curve of her spine, visible through her snow-white nightgown. "No," he said.
"Tianhua."
He suddenly called her na in a low voice.
Princess Hua Chang looked up at him in disbelief.
"Tianhua."
Wei Chi Lianping called out again, his voice much louder this ti and crystal clear in the silent room.
The pleading tone in his voice made it sound particularly moving.
Princess Hua Chang’s red lips parted slightly. The coldness vanished from her expression, and the corners of her eyes softened.
But after calling her na so tenderly twice, he said nothing more.
Seeing the sky outside growing brighter, she knew they didn’t have much ti left together. She took a breath and asked directly, "You don’t want children?"
The tenderness in Wei Chi Lianping’s eyes was instantly replaced by awkwardness. He took a step back in surprise. "You know?! That’s impossible. I was so careful, so secretive..."
"Give a reason. I don’t have ti for your nonsense."
A rare blush appeared on Wei Chi Lianping’s rough, sun-and-wind-weathered skin.
He hesitated. "No, it’s not that I don’t want one."
Princess Hua Chang grabbed the jade pillow at her side and interrogated him with a deadpan expression, "Oh. So you just don’t want *my* child?"
Wei Chi Lianping shook his head frantically. "Of course not! If we had a child together, I’d be ecstatic."
"Then why are you using birth control dicine?"
"To prevent pregnancy."
Princess Hua Chang grabbed a softer bolster and threw it at him, her head aching with anger. "If you’re not going to tell , then get out!"
Wei Chi Lianping clutched the pillow embroidered with gold branches to his chest and said defensively, "It’s only been these past few days that I’ve been able to sleep beside you every night. I finally get to hold my sweet-slling wife while I sleep and have a few days of bliss. If we made a little one now, I’d have to abstain for a whole year. Wouldn’t I just be making things difficult for myself?"
The jade pillow went flying anyway.
*
「Star-Picking Platform.」
Below the platform stood fifty thousand elite soldiers.
Before all the assembled officers and n, Wei Chi Lianping ascended to the top of the Star-Picking Tower, where he knelt to receive the Emperor’s military directive.
Emperor Wu Su’s gaze lingered for a mont on the bruise on his forehead.
He asked, "Have you said your goodbyes to my elder sister?"
Wei Chi Lianping touched the wound on his head and grinned proudly. "Yes, the Eldest Princess has already given this humble general his send-off. Your Majesty may rest assured."
Anyone who didn’t know better might have thought his hand was covering a love bite, not a wound from being hit.
Emperor Wu Su instructed, "General Wei Chi, your journey to the Northern Border is of grave military importance. Do not seek unnecessary conflict. Subdue them with our might."
"This humble general receives his orders!"
Wei Chi Lianping tucked the directive into his robes, hurried down the tower, and mounted his horse. At his command, the great, dark mass of the army marched away.
Emperor Wu Su walked to the edge of the tower and stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His expression was distant as he watched the swirling dust and the vast procession of iron-clad cavalry.
Just then, by the parapet of the Star-Picking Tower, a small, furtive figure was about to slip away unnoticed.
Emperor Wu Su parted his lips. "Bring her up."
Li Yuzong could now recognize that feminine silhouette, as ethereal as the morning mist, from her back alone.
Having been "caught," Ji Qingwu could only resign herself to her fate and follow Eunuch Li up the tower.
The Star-Picking Tower, as its na implied, seed tall enough to touch the myriad stars in the night sky. Its defining feature was its height.
It was incredibly high.
’If I could, I’d ask His Majesty the Emperor to co down. He has to co down eventually anyway, so why tornt like this?’
Ji Qingwu reached the top floor, out of breath. She placed a hand on her lower back and walked forward.
Emperor Wu Su, dressed in a profound gold imperial robe and a crown, did not look at her. His gaze remained fixed on the distant, departing army.
He stood there, his silhouette more handso and erect than the distant mountain peaks.
She curtsied behind him and said softly, "May Your Majesty be blessed."
He said, "Co here, to my side."
Ji Qingwu obediently drew closer, only then realizing how magnificent the view from the Star-Picking Tower was.
From the top of the tower, you could not only see the Beili Army marching into the distance but also a panorama of intersecting ravines and layers of verdant peaks—a truly majestic sight.
But she only took a few glances before turning her head. The sight of the profound gold robes beside her made her quickly step back.
Emperor Wu Su glanced over at her. "Afraid of heights?"
Ji Qingwu shook her head. "Your servant is not afraid of heights. It’s just... who would dare to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Your Majesty?"
Emperor Wu Su frowned. "It has only been a few days, and you’ve already grown so distant from , Ah Wu?"
’I’m just observing propriety. How is that being distant?’ Ji Qingwu pouted.
Emperor Wu Su’s gaze fell on her pink, petal-like lips. "I still rember that day on the grasslands, when you..."
"Your Majesty!"
Ji Qingwu interrupted him, her eyes panicked.
’Rember what! He can’t say that here!’
Back then, there was no one around but a fine steed for company. Now, they were surrounded by guards in full armor and regalia.
Eunuch Li’s heart seized. He lowered his head, then stealthily raised his eyes to peek at the Holy Emperor’s expression.
’You could say Fifth Miss Ji doesn’t understand etiquette, since she dares to interrupt the Emperor. But then again, she knows enough not to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Holy Emperor.’
Emperor Wu Su looked sowhat displeased at being interrupted.
But then he saw Ji Qingwu’s limpid eyes, glistening like a fawn’s as she looked at him with a pleading gaze.
He asked, "Was I wrong?"
Seeing that he wasn’t going to continue, Ji Qingwu quickly agreed. "You weren’t wrong, Your Majesty wasn’t wrong at all. It was my fault."
"And what was your fault?" he pressed, refusing to let it go.
Ji Qingwu didn’t think she was at fault at all.
She forced a smile and said in a strange tone, "My fault was in being so distant with my esteed cousin. It’s all on , your humble younger cousin."
This talk of "cousins" was sothing Princess Consort Wei had said after the archery competition to stake her claim, but coming from Ji Qingwu’s lips now, it took on a different flavor.
He looked at the expression on her face—a mix of vexation and resignation, but mostly, it was a charmingly petulant pout.
Emperor Wu Su suddenly burst out laughing.
A brilliant, irresolvable smile lit up the depths of his eyes. His low, pleased laughter echoed across the top of the Star-Picking Tower, scattering on the wind and brushing past her ears.
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