Chapter 32: She Almost Bit the Emperor on the Mouth!
Gan Qiongying’s heart was in turmoil.
The hurried footsteps clearly belonged to the Emperor, and the closer they got, the tighter her neck tensed. Scenes from TV dramas flashed through her mind—the wrath of the Son of Heaven leaving corpses strewn across the land.
She could only pray that this Emperor wasn’t too hot-tempered, that he wouldn’t hit her, wouldn’t hit her, wouldn’t hit her… She couldn’t withstand a beating.
Soon, the footsteps came to an abrupt halt right in front of her. The heavy robes stirred a gust of wind that swept across her exposed neck and brushed her spine. In that instant, a chill ran down her back, making her hair stand on end.
Gan Qiongying remained bowed, her head lowered. So tense was she that she even swallowed carefully, holding back her breath. Just as she was at a loss for how to respond, a hoarse voice suddenly rang out above her head. The voice was no more than half a meter away, having suddenly stopped there. After a long pause, it softly called out, “Elder Sister.”
Gan Qiongying froze. She had never expected the Emperor to call her “Elder Sister” or to refer to himself as “I.” Moreover, the tone made her shudder. Why did it carry such an unmistakable note of resentment and grievance?
For a moment, Gan Qiongying was bewildered.
Currently, the Regent still held sway over the court, while the Emperor was a puppet in name only. Logically, he couldn’t be very old—likely a few years younger than her. Yet why did his voice sound so hoarse and heavy, like that of a middle-aged man?
Before coming here, she had speculated extensively about her relationship with the Emperor, but she had never imagined it would be like this.
She still didn’t dare to raise her head or stand up, unsure of how to react appropriately. She could only continue kneeling silently, her back growing increasingly stiff and tense, not daring to breathe too loudly.
What she didn’t know was that the Emperor wasn’t looking down at her from above. Instead, he stood in place, reaching out and bending down to help her up.
Seeing her prostrate on the ground, insisting on performing the grand ceremony, he could only sigh helplessly.
The Emperor withdrew his hand, letting it hang by his side, and said, “Elder Sister… rise.”
Gan Qiongying still didn’t look up immediately. Hearing the helplessness in his voice, her heart tightened for a moment, and she couldn’t help but frown.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Gan Qiongying slowly withdrew her hands from the ground.
Uncertain of the situation, she remained extra cautious, not daring to slacken in the slightest. Eunuch Li immediately scurried over to help her up, and Gan Qiongying’s field of vision gradually expanded.
A pair of deep purple court boots came into view, their sides adorned with coral and rice pearls forming auspicious cloud patterns. A question flashed through Gan Qiongying’s mind: Had the Emperor been waiting here for her since the morning court session ended?
The color of the boots usually matched the dragon robe. Sure enough, as she slowly rose, she saw the hem of the robe embroidered with waves and mountain patterns, all stitched with gold thread.
Further up were two lifelike giant dragons, one on the left and one on the right. The luster of the cloud-patterned satin was truly as renowned as they said. Her gaze gradually moved upward until it landed on a familiar jade pendant.
The pendant was crystal clear, without a single impurity. Perhaps because most jade pendants looked similar, Gan Qiongying even thought it resembled the one she had retrieved from Zhongli Zhengzhen last time.
She was now half-standing, and at this point, she had no choice but to slowly raise her head.
An overly gaunt chin was the first thing that caught her eye, as if only a thin layer of skin and flesh covered the jawline. The lips were pressed into a tight line, and above the high, straight nose bridge were a pair of narrow, phoenix-like eyes, with sharply angled eyebrows and a resolute outline.
It was not difficult to see that those eyes were almost identical to Gan Qiongying’s. However, the Emperor’s were clearly sharper, carrying an imposing aura that commanded respect without anger.
Only now did Gan Qiongying truly see the Emperor’s appearance. Before her nervousness could fade, a dull pain suddenly struck her chest, causing her to furrow her brow involuntarily.
Her face, deliberately paled with makeup that morning, lost even more color. She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stand straight, but the hand hidden in her sleeve trembled slightly, uncontrollably.
Then, facing the Emperor, she blurted out, “Your Majesty, you’ve grown thinner.”
After the words left her mouth, Gan Qiongying froze, followed by an indescribable shock. How could she have said such a thing?
Along with the shock came an increasingly unbearable heartache. She couldn’t help but clutch her chest, the intensifying pain leaving her no room to wonder why she had suddenly uttered those words.
She bent over, nearly collapsing. Just as Eunuch Li was about to step forward to support her, the Emperor took the lead, stepping forward to steady her.
“Elder Sister! What’s wrong?”
The Emperor caught Gan Qiongying with both hands before she fell, his eyes filled with concern and anxiety. Eunuch Li also watched nervously from the side, observing Gan Qiongying’s condition.
“Go fetch the Imperial Physician immediately!” the Emperor urged anxiously. Seeing Gan Qiongying’s pale face and sensing her trembling, he seemed like a helpless child, stripped of all imperial dignity.
The young eunuch standing nearby immediately obeyed and rushed off. Eunuch Li quickly added, “It must be Physician Xiao!”
Then, together with the Emperor, he helped Gan Qiongying into the inner chamber of the side hall and settled her onto the bed.
Gan Qiongying gasped in pain, her legs weak and her body powerless. Her mind raced—had she missed some crucial plot point, causing this heartache?
She found no answer. Lying down while clutching her chest, she noticed the pain seemed less intense than before.
Gan Qiongying realized that when the Emperor touched her, her heartache symptoms seemed to ease significantly. She couldn’t help but look at him.
At that moment, the Emperor anxiously rose to check at the door whether the Imperial Physician had arrived. The moment he stood up, Gan Qiongying’s heartache flared up violently again.
Bending over in pain, she heard the Emperor say something to the maids at the door, but she couldn’t make out the words.
Fortunately, the Emperor soon returned.
Without a second thought, Gan Qiongying mustered her courage and grabbed the Emperor’s hand.
The Emperor indeed stopped pacing. His body stiffened noticeably, and his fingers curled slightly, but he did not pull away.
“Elder Sister, the Imperial Physician will be here soon.”
His voice was strained, as if he too were tormented by heartache. He forced himself to slowly relax his fingers, allowing Gan Qiongying’s hand to interlock with his, and sat down beside her.
But he clearly grew increasingly uneasy, his words tinged with stiffness. “Elder Sister summoned the Imperial Physician twice last night. Was it due to some physical discomfort?”
At this, he lowered his head. “I didn’t know Elder Sister was unwell. I shouldn’t have asked you to come today.”
Gan Qiongying held the Emperor’s hand tightly, and her heartache eased considerably. She became even more certain that the Emperor was inextricably linked to her pain, but she couldn’t spare a thought to ponder the absurdity of this connection.
She heard the Emperor ask about her summoning the Imperial Physician last night… Could it be that he didn’t know she had called for the physician because of the Little General and the Consort?
How is this possible? Weren’t the eighteen surveillance devices supposed to report her every move in the mansion to the Emperor at all times?
Gan Qiongying’s mind raced with countless thoughts, unable to make sense of the reason behind this.
She spoke up, “It wasn’t because of me that the Imperial Physician was summoned.”
Gan Qiongying briefly recounted the events of the previous day, holding nothing back. After all, she couldn’t tell whether the Emperor’s earlier question was out of genuine concern or merely a test.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor lifted his head and saw that Gan Qiongying seemed somewhat relieved compared to before, yet the worry in his eyes remained undiminished.
“Then why did Elder Sister suddenly experience chest pain?”
Gan Qiongying thought to herself, how should I know!
She didn’t even understand why holding the Emperor’s hand could ease the pain.
Gan Qiongying was still gripping his hand, their fingers intertwined, and she unconsciously began stroking the spaces between the Emperor’s fingers.
The fingers in her palm were long and slender, yet as hard as bamboo joints, with not an ounce of softness to them.
As she gazed at him, Gan Qiongying realized just how extremely thin the Emperor was. Looking up from the hand she held, his wrist emerging from the sleeve of his robe was only half as thick as Lihua’s. His frame even seemed too frail to support the wide imperial dragon robe.
Dark circles shadowed his eyes, and his face was full of sickly pallor—how could he look like a healthy young man in his prime, let alone the ruler of a nation?
The Emperor’s youth and frailty were something Gan Qiongying hadn’t anticipated before her arrival. What surprised her even more was that she didn’t see the coldness and disdain she had expected in his eyes.
Instead, when her heart pain had struck, she had clearly witnessed the genuine panic and urgency in the Emperor’s expression.
And now, upon learning that she had eased considerably, an irrepressible sense of attachment welled up in his eyes.
Yes, attachment.
Like a fledgling bird to its parent, or a cub to a lion. A mixture of fear, reverence, caution, and affection.
Unaware of her own intense gaze, Gan Qiongying tightened her grip on the Emperor’s hand, leaning her whole body forward until she was almost pressing against his nose.
Unconsciously, even without realizing it, she was drawing closer to the Emperor, developing an uncontrollable fondness for him, and naturally wanting to be near him.
But as the distance between them grew too close, with their noses nearly touching, the Emperor slightly turned his face away, avoiding Gan Qiongying’s gaze.
His expression grew somewhat uneasy, and the hand she held tightly grew damp with sweat, his entire body stiffening unnaturally.
He whispered softly, “Elder Sister, you must take care of yourself.”
As he spoke, he exerted some force and pulled his fingers free.
With her palm suddenly empty, Gan Qiongying snapped back to reality.
Only then did she realize that the Emperor was avoiding her—his eyes evasive, his posture on the edge of the bed rigid—and she…
What on earth had she just been doing?!
She had almost bitten the Emperor on the mouth!
Holy shit!
Have I gone mad?!