When walking past the Empress, Shen Zhongbai turned around and whispered smilingly, “Qiang, you are pushing me. I have countless excuses to kill you. And you are well aware of what you are doing. You are playing with fire. Of course, I think you will burn yourself soon. Just you wait.”

Then he left.

Play with the fire and burn herself? Ridiculous! The truth was that she was in a fiery pit and had no alternative but to rebel. If she succeeded, she would hope to kill Shen Zhongbai as well. If he knew her idea, he would fly into a rage.

Now that either of them was eager to kill the other, it was meaningless to put on an act.

The Empress turned around and said behind Shen Zhongbai clearly and calmly, “Your Majesty, do you still remember who I am?”

Shen Zhongbai paused. He didn’t understand what she meant. Was she still struggling? As an old saying went, the little fish couldn’t eat the big fish. No matter how capable the woman was, could she beat him, the Emperor of the country?

“You are clear about yourself. As a couple, we don’t need to explain everything clearly. So long as you are clear about it, that’s enough.” Shen Zhongbai said, without glancing back. It was not wise to waste time on her.

Who was she? Of course, she was Gu Qiang, the woman who was extremely loyal to him and the eldest daughter of Prime Minister Gu. She was just wise enough to help him come to the throne. Except for that, what else she could offer?

The Empress puckered her face in a smile. Many things had been doomed to happen since she became the Empress. She thought if she could help him consolidate his position, hers would be firm too. However, after that, she even couldn’t hear him call her “Qiang” anymore, which was a simple name but full of love.

It seemed that she had got used to her title as the Empress and undertook all responsibilities brought by it.

If a person wanted to get and undertake something, he or she had to give up lots of things. She had been clear about it earlier. Even if she didn’t want to accept it, nothing had been changed these years.

After Shen Zhongbai left, Shen Qiangwei walked forward and put her hand down from her face. With her eyes wide open, she grinned hideously. It seemed that she had recovered from the slap of the Empress, and her eyes sparkled.

“Your Highness, perhaps I can’t address you in this way later, right? After all, the Emperor doesn’t love you anymore. I’m curious whether it is difficult to act as the Empress? I do want to have a try.” Shen Qiangwei laughed in a voice as sweet as wind chimes.

The Empress turned around and stared at Shen Qiangwei coldly. Though the latter looked defiant before the Empress, she just nerved herself to do it. After all, she was overwhelmed by the imposing manner of the Empress.

Meeting the Empress’s stare, Shen Qiangwei recalled the slap just now. She withdrew her neck at once and went away obediently.

The curtains at the window fluttered in the breeze that night. Like a besom, it cleaned the gloom off her mind.

Her mind was as calm as the moonlight tonight. She looked down and saw the diary on the desk. It was empty. She wanted to write something, but she didn’t know what to write. So many things had happened during these days, and she didn’t know where to start.

The next morning, a breeze blew into the room through the window. The early sunlight shone on her face. She opened her eyes slowly, but she found something was different.

A white curtain came into view first. It was made of gauze and embroidered with plum blossom patterns. The fragrance in the air made her wide awake at once. The smell…was not hers, but she realized at once that the smell was always around her these days.

It was Shen Qianshan’s smell. She turned around, and the first idea that hit her was: had Shen Zhongbai done something to prove she was disloyal to him and then killed her?

After she turned around, the man beside her woke up too. When their eyes met, the Empress and Shen Qianshan sprung away at the same time. Their shouts echoed in the small but exquisite and quiet room.

Shen Qianshan came to his sense first. He got out of bed and put on his clothes. Then he wrapped himself tightly with clothes like a woman who had been raped, pointed to the Empress on the bed who was wearing few clothes, and asked, “What are you doing? Why are you in my bedroom?”

The Empress sprung to her feet, but she couldn’t find her clothes, so she grabbed the quilt from the bed and covered herself with it.

Then she stammered, “I…I have no idea.”

Lowering her head, she looked at her underwear that was not clearly visible. It was so embarrassing that she was eager to explode. But after all, she was the Empress and was experienced. Even if it was extremely embarrassing, she remained calm. Finally, she asked in a trembling voice, “Did you do anything to me?”

The situation was so urgent that she had no time to address herself with her title. She suddenly felt that a great calamity is at hand.

All the efforts she had made would be in vain today.

“Do anything to you? What could I do? Do you think you are very attractive?” Shen Qianshan got dressed quickly, caring nothing about the way to address her. Under such a circumstance, they seemed to forget their identities.

“Damn! Shen Qianshan, what did you say? Attractive? Tell me why I appeared on your bed? I am the Empress. If the news was spread out, what would be the consequences?” The Empress pointed at Shen Qianshan while holding her quilt tightly.

Shen Qianshan’s face became purple with anger. Nobody had rebuked him in that way. He was a duke, and it was improper to quarrel openly with a woman here, but the woman before him was too arrogant.

“If it was known by others, I would have the worst ending, wouldn’t I? I always value my reputation and have never had an illicit love affair with any woman. You were found on my bed today. How can I explain that to others?” Shen Qianshan raised his voice. Because he had dressed, he was not so ashamed as before. With too many feelings to vent, he pointed at the Empress and shouted at once.

The Empress had a hot temper too. As a woman, how could she bear a man’s insult?

“Explain? Are you still in the mood to explain? You will be killed!” The Empress became more irritated. Then she pointed to the door and said, “Get out. I’m gonna get dressed.”

Shen Qianshan parted his lips, but he took his coat slowly and went out because it was indeed embarrassing.

The Empress jumped out of bed at once and looked around for her clothes. Finally, she found them in Shen Qianshan’s cupboard.

Her clothes were put there neatly. There were many.

It was unexpected for her. If she was sent out at midnight, her clothes couldn’t be put so neatly in the cupboard. It seemed as if she…lived here.

Besides, if she was sent here by someone with an ulterior motive, why didn’t Shen Qianshan know? He looked as if it had nothing to do with him at all.

She put on her clothes quickly. When she rushed out, she heard the servant girls in the duke mansion address her “Good morning, Princess.”

Princess?

The Empress grabbed a servant girl and looked into her eyes. The girl lowered her head nervously.

“How did you address me?” The Empress asked.

The timid servant girl answered quietly, “Princess.”

The Empress felt a tug in her chest as if she didn’t believe it. But the servant girl appeared familiar with her and even…was accustomed to her existence.

At least from her repressed anger, the Empress realized the situation seemed to be out of control.

“I am the Empress. Don’t you know?” The Empress became calm suddenly. She was eager to know what had happened.

Or if she had to return to the palace right now.

Shen Qianshan walked out of the adjacent yard. Seeing the reaction of his servant girl, he was surprised. Then he dragged the Empress aside and whispered, “What happened?”

The Empress shrugged off his hand and said coldly, “Leave it aside now. Let’s deal with our relationship after we make the fact clear.”

It was true that Shen Qianshan had helped her a lot, but he shouldn’t take advantage of the chance to touch her body.

Gu Qiang sat in the lobby on the first floor of the inn. There were several fruit trays in front of her. Shen Qianshan was sitting opposite her and looked at her silently. His eyes were as shining as stars.

Gu Qiang seemed to be hungry and began to gorge herself on the fruits. When looking at her mouth, Shen Qianshan touched the mouth of his own suddenly, where Gu Qiang’s kiss seemed to linger. At the thought of it, he felt excited and considered the woman before him as a fairy that attracted him deeply.

He reached out his hand to wipe the fruit juice at her mouth corner and said smilingly, “You need to do something serious after stuffing yourself.”

Gu Qiang nodded. The testamentary edict hidden around her waist made her nervous. But fortunately, it was well kept by her. Shen Qianshan knew she had something secret, but after the kiss, he didn’t try to check it out anymore.

She was grateful for his trust. However, she didn’t expect their relationship would become inexplicable or develop in the way Gu Qiang didn’t want.

What impression has the man sitting opposite her left in her memory? He was short-lived and might die anytime.

“I have to rescue Miss Shen. Though I owe nothing to her, she shouldn’t end up like this.” Gu Qiang wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and smiled at Shen Qianshan. At that moment, he felt as if the spring had come and flowers were in bloom. He nodded.