The prince longs for me every night after mastering thought-reading
Chapter 441 - 396: As cool as the prince was when he discarded her, as awkward he was when he had to retrieve her, the Crown Princess stands by you_2

Chapter 441: Chapter 396: As cool as the prince was when he discarded her, as awkward he was when he had to retrieve her, the Crown Princess stands by you_2

When the damned Emperor bowed his head to kiss her, the Empress couldn’t hold back and pushed him away forcefully.

The Emperor, pushed like this by the Empress, lost all the excitement he had just now, and all that remained was anger.

"Empress, no matter what happened in the past, you are now my Empress. I may forgive and forget, but that does not mean I will tolerate your insolence!"

What happened in the past?

She no longer wanted to pay attention to that.

Now, all she wanted was to be a quiet Empress.

But agitating the damned Emperor was not a wise move, she suggested with a softened tone, "Your concubine is just a bit tired and lacks the energy to accompany Your Majesty."

"Since you returned from Fuyao Residence, I have been sympathetic to your indisposition, but how about you? Time and again you shut me out. Indisposition? Can’t you find a better excuse?"

The Emperor struggled to hold back his anger, "Do you really think I have nowhere else to go?"

As he spoke, he got out of bed and began to get dressed.

The Emperor had been impressive when throwing off his clothes, but now he looked pathetic picking them up.

The Empress watched the Emperor’s frustrated state and felt no comfort in her heart.

While the Emperor was dressing, he glanced at the Empress, noticing her sitting at the head of the bed, indifferent and watching him, with no intention of admitting her wrongs or holding him back.

To think the Emperor had sunk to such a state.

The Emperor had not finished dressing when he noticed the Empress had already lain down, covered herself with the quilt, and gone to sleep...

She was sleeping? He hadn’t even left yet!

The Emperor was furious beyond measure, clearly, it was he who should be angry, but she always managed to get angry first.

And he was too proud to stoop to cajoling.

"Proceed... to Qiluo Hall."

The Emperor left, sweeping his sleeve in departure.

After the Emperor left, the room was silent; the Empress lay on the bed, seemingly asleep.

Qing Ying, seeing the Emperor leave in such a huff, worriedly came in to check, and seeing the Empress had already retired, she then stepped out again and closed the door.

The lights in Qiluo Hall stayed on all night.

The next day, dressed in the Phoenix Robe and wearing the Phoenix Crown, the Empress sat on her throne watching the multitude of concubines pay their respects to her.

Lady De looked at He Jiayu and teased, "Is Lady He feeling unwell? Why does she walk so oddly?"

Concubine Yun glanced at the Empress, covered her mouth, and giggled, "Lady De is unaware that the Emperor spent last night at Qiluo Hall. Lady He was tired from toiling all night—let’s be sympathetic."

Last night, the Emperor went from Fengyi Palace to Qiluo Hall. She had seen it with her own eyes, and the Emperor had not looked pleased.

Lady De immediately caught the innuendo in Concubine Yun’s words, "No wonder! Lady He, you should rest well. The Empress is generous and won’t blame you."

Lady De said this deliberately to put the Empress in a bind.

The Empress, listening to the back-and-forth between Concubine Yun and Lady De, just watched indifferently. She was well aware that the Emperor had gone to Qiluo Hall last night.

A night of upheaval, and to guard against kidney deficiency at that!

"Thank you, sisters, for your concern," said He Jiayu shyly, bowing her head, knowing that they had misunderstood her and offering no explanation.

Last night, the Emperor whimsically insisted on watching her dance, and after a whole night of dancing, her legs and waist felt as if they didn’t belong to her.

Eunuch Li bowed as he entered, first paying his respects, "Empress, may you be blessed with peace and health."

"By the Emperor’s decree, as He Jiayu exhibits good virtue and character, she is promoted to the rank of Concubine. The Empress is to prepare accordingly," he announced.

The Empress paused for a moment upon hearing this; how soon after her promotion to concubine’s rank? Such favor was hardly inferior to Concubine Ning’s.

"I understand."

"This servant will take his leave to report back," said Eunuch Li, maintaining a smile as he withdrew.

Though Concubine Yun was not pleased inside, she feigned excitement in front of the Empress and exclaimed at He Jiayu, "Oh, dear sister He truly enjoys unparalleled favor in the harem, to be promoted to concubine so soon."

Lady De also echoed with a smile, "Such favor is indeed unique to sister He."

He Jiayu felt surprised and favored; only the night before, she had complained that the Emperor only cared about watching her dance without letting her serve him in bed.

Apparently, he genuinely liked her performance last night, which was why he promoted her.

The Empress, annoyed by the chatter below, simply stated,

"He Jiayu is graced with favor, should she need to serve the Emperor late, attendance in the morning may be excused."

He Jiayu curtsied to express her thanks, "Thank you, Empress."

Shen Chuwei spent the previous day looking through the account books; while having breakfast, all she could think of was how much silver a steamer of dumplings cost and how much silver she was spending on her own breakfast.

One doesn’t realize it until one calculates—a startling realization indeed.

She was eating so much...

"Chun Xi, am I eating too much?"

Chun Xi replied, "How could that be? The Master is now the Crown Princess, and your daily meals exceed those from when you were only a Lady."

"Indeed, and it’s fine if it’s a bit more—I have the vegetable garden, the chicken coop, and the fish pond," Shen Chuwei thought, and then she continued her breakfast feeling at ease.

Liu Xi, with the account book in hand, walked in with a smiling face, "Crown Princess, here are all the expenses of the East Palace from last month, along with the monthly allowance for the following month. You need to arrange it soon for distribution at the beginning of the month."

Shen Chuwei, who had been diligently eating, looked at the account book in Liu Xi’s hand and realized that being the Crown Princess was like having a job—it wasn’t just about accounting; she also had to navigate the complexities of social interactions.

Liu Xi set down the account book and returned to convey her orders.

After having her fill, Shen Chuwei stared at the dense entries in the account book, wondering if time-traveling now required accounting skills?

Oh, heavens!

Concubine Xu walked in, waving her handkerchief. As soon as she saw Shen Chuwei, she looked grievously wronged, "Crown Princess, you must come comfort me."

With her head aching, Shen Chuwei saw Concubine Xu and thought someone had bullied her, "Now that I’m the Crown Princess, tell me who’s bullying you, and I’ll back you up. Feel free to wield your talent for confrontation to the fullest."

"Someone did bully me, making me so angry I haven’t eaten or slept well for two days and nights," complained Concubine Xu, truly upset by a darkly clad man’s comment that she couldn’t marry.

Shen Chuwei said, "Then confront them. Speak your mind freely, I’ve got your back. If not, let the Crown Prince support you."

Concubine Xu was vexed, "But in front of him, I just can’t seem to say those confrontational words."

ps: Second update