Chapter 263: Chapter 262: Beguilement"Sang Ruoshui, you have some nerve!"
He Ying’s face was stern as he rebuked her sharply.
The Sang Family might indulge Sang Ruoshui, but he certainly did not.
Were it not for the sake of Sang Yan, Sang Ruoshui would have been driven out of the palace long ago, with no chance of such disrespect.
The Emperor’s fury startled everyone from the Sang Family. Sёar?h the N?vel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Even Suxi, who had been quietly eating and playing the invisible, shivered and glanced at Sang Jue, questioning whether they should kneel and beg for forgiveness.
Sang Jue understood the meaning in her eyes, smiled gently, and shook his head.
He was confident that with Sang Yan present, the Emperor would not truly lose his temper with the Sang Family members.
Sang Ruoshui felt the same—with Sang Yan around, even if the Emperor became angry, his rage would be limited.
But after all, she was the one who had angered the Emperor, and she was frightened, hastily kneeling on the ground, full of regret.
Alas, it was her fault for losing her temper!
"Emperor, please quell your anger," she pleaded. "In my anxiousness, I spoke out of turn. My admiration for the Emperor is wholehearted, even if the Emperor only has my sister in his heart, I still wish to stay in the palace. I hope the Emperor will grant me this."
As she spoke, she bit her lower lip, averted her gaze, and turned to Sang Yan with a pitiful look, with tears streaming down her face, "Sister, I hope you will take pity on your younger sister!"
Having said this, she began to kowtow with force.
So much so that her forehead soon became swollen and bloody.
As a mother, Ms. Lin couldn’t bear to see her youngest daughter like this, and hurried forward to stop her, cradling her in her arms. She turned to Sang Yan, pleading on her behalf, "Ah Yan, no, Empress, your sister is stubborn, let us persuade her. Don’t push her; please, just give her some more time."
She dared not say that Sang Yan was pressing too hard, and promptly corrected herself.
Truth be told, it was a rather clumsy attempt at a ploy.
Sang Yan could tell, feeling nothing inside for the disheveled, tearful, and bloodied Sang Ruoshui.
She knew Sang Ruoshui’s temperament well and would not be deceived by her innocent facade.
But since Sang Ruoshui had gone to such lengths, especially with Ms. Lin also begging, wouldn’t it seem callous not to give some face?
"Get up. If you don’t want to leave the palace, then stay. I just hope you won’t regret it later."
Sang Yan had tired of her acting.
Her crying was giving her a headache.
Hearing this, Sang Ruoshui felt a surge of relief and quickly thanked Sang Yan.
Sang Kun breathed a sigh of relief too and, with a nod from He Ying, helped his wife, Ms. Lin, to her feet and they sat back down.
Then, trying to lighten the mood, he exclaimed, "The Emperor and Empress have returned to the palace. Today is a joyful occasion; let’s continue with our meal."
The atmosphere at the dining table had been tense.
Eating with the Emperor was always a pressure-filled affair.
Despite Sang Kun’s attempts to ease the mood after Sang Ruoshui’s outburst, the meal was eaten in silence, with no conversation.
Sang Yan had little appetite and only ate enough to get through the meal.
After speaking with Ms. Lin and Suxi, and seeing that it was getting late, she instructed the Palace Attendant to escort the Sang Family out of the palace.
As they were leaving, Sang Kun seemed reluctant to go and reminded Sang Yan to take good care of the Emperor.
She responded noncommittally, "Mm, I know. Understood."
Finally having sent the Sang Family off, Sang Yan felt entertaining was too draining.
She went to the bathhouse for a bath, sitting in the large tub to soak.
The steam rose.
The hot water seeped into her skin.
She closed her eyes and felt utterly relaxed.
Taking a hot bath was indeed very soothing.
If only there were no disturbances.
He Ying disrobed and stepped into the tub.
He embraced the fair beauty in his arms, endearing himself to her fully.
Sang Yan felt that he was bathing in impropriety and had to say something to divert his attention.
Otherwise, with them pressed so close, something was bound to happen.
"Being the Empress is too tiring."
She muttered softly, "After getting back to the palace, there are so many rules. And so many people to deal with."
Heaven knows she just wanted to be a lazy fish!
But it seems she was born to toil.
That pretentious Sang Kun, the white lotus Sang Ruoshui, which one was easy to handle?
No wonder the former He Ying was a tyrant.
Faced with these eccentrics, who wouldn’t go mad?
He Ying was hugging her from behind, eyes slightly squinted, reveling in the wonderful feeling of their skin touching while listening to her gripe.
He quite enjoyed listening to her complaints, showing a united front as husband and wife.
She complained.
He soothed.
She was like a little kitten.
He would pet the kitten.
Talking back and forth, they eventually landed on the topic of Sang Ruoshui.
Sang Yan sighed, "I never expected Sang Ruoshui to be so concerned about you."
She had always thought Sang Ruoshui cared about He Ying only for status and position.
But having heard Sang Ruoshui’s words tonight and observing the way she looked at He Ying, she realized Sang Ruoshui truly harbored feelings for He Ying.
"Concerned? I don’t think so."
He Ying was indifferent and dismissive, "As soon as the grand wedding is over, I’ll find an excuse to send her out of the palace."
And then he added, "If you have no objections, we could send her out tomorrow."
He felt that Sang Ruoshui was restless.
Always playing little tricks in front of them.
He had no interest in playing along.
Even talking about her felt like a waste of time.
"Let’s not."
Sang Yan shook her head, smiling wickedly as she teased, "If we send Sang Ruoshui out of the palace right after our grand wedding, sure, she’ll be gone, but by the next day, word will spread through Da He. Look, look, our Da He’s Empress is a jealous woman, can’t even tolerate her own sister."
She waved her hands, imitating the gossipers as she spoke.
Watching her do this, He Ying couldn’t help but find her adorable. Without resisting any longer, he caught her delicate hands, brought them to his lips for kisses and gentle bites, and hummed lowly, "I wish you would be jealous."
Sang Yan: "..."
This man!
He just wanted to see her jealous, to see her give him more attention.
She understood his desire, but the smile on her face faded a bit: the former court and harem were closely linked. Her reputation was not good, and with the former court having many objections, he still went his own way, marrying her as his Empress, undoubtedly chilling many ministers’ hearts. Later, he left Capital City alone, braving danger to save her, and even traded three cities to bring her back, actions unbecoming of a King’s responsibilities, likely chilling the hearts of even more ministers. Now, if rumors spread that she was a jealous Empress, well, she would truly have to rely on her own strength to become a calamitous seductress.
"Xinyuan, we shouldn’t go against the ministers."
Thinking of the criticism from the ministers she would face at the grand wedding, she held his face earnestly, "I don’t care about being the Empress, nor do I care about having a grand wedding. Really."
As if to prove her resolve, she suddenly pounced on him, kissing his Adam’s apple.
She was like a seductive siren in the water, clinging to him, beguiling him.
He Ying hadn’t expected her to be so passionate all of a sudden and, dreading the long-awaited wedding night might happen in this place, quickly tried to back away.
But behind him was the pool wall.
He had nowhere to retreat.
She took the opportunity to wrap her arms around his neck, breathing hot air into his ear, "Xinyuan, scared? Hmm? Where do you think you can escape to? You can’t get away. I’m going to eat you up."
He Ying: "..."
Eat him up?
He smiled helplessly: Isn’t the picture here reversed? How did he become the one being pursued?