The prince longs for me every night after mastering thought-reading
Chapter 455 - 404: Truly Scared ~ Afraid that Feng Wuyou will Take Your Highness Away ~

Chapter 455: Chapter 404: Truly Scared ~ Afraid that Feng Wuyou will Take Your Highness Away ~

The Emperor was taken aback by the words, all he had wanted was to spend the night.

Yet seeing the Empress resist so vehemently, a shadow fell over his eyes.

"Why does the Empress reject me time and time again?"

"I told you I’m not feeling well, but Your Majesty doesn’t believe me." Ever since she learned the truth, she couldn’t be like before. She always had a knot in her heart and didn’t want the damn Emperor anywhere near her.

"Once or twice could be overlooked, but to act like this every time, how do you expect me to believe? You must still be thinking about that Ye Chu, aren’t you?" The Emperor didn’t know how much self-control he had to muster to keep from exploding.

The Empress knew the damn Emperor was angry. Though somewhat afraid, she still retorted stiff-necked, "Didn’t Your Majesty say you understood me? Now you don’t understand again."

The Emperor sat on the bed, staring at the candlelight at the head of the bed, burning as brightly as the candles on the day he married the Empress. Only now, their love was not as it once was.

"As husband and wife for over twenty years, I thought I knew you well, but your actions have me puzzled. Why have you become so cold and detached since returning from Fuyao Residence? I’ve said that I would let bygones be bygones, what more do you want from me?"

The last sentence was spoken with great restraint.

The Empress sighed upon hearing this, time flew so quickly, it had been over twenty years.

"Your Majesty, I was born into a Martial Family. I’ve had a bad temper and been obstinate since childhood, I can’t be like the soft and yielding concubines in the palace who always go along with Your Majesty’s wishes."

The Emperor countered, "When did I ever ask you to be soft and yielding? Don’t I know what you’re like?"

The Empress ignored the Emperor’s retort, caressing her face with resignation, "I am getting older. I can’t compare with the beauty of fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girls, nor do I have their energy to wait on you."

"You’re forty, of course you can’t compare with fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girls, and there’s no need to do so." What the Emperor meant was, I have never despised you, Who isn’t aging since fifteen or sixteen?

But what the Empress heard was wholly different; it was a clear disdain. She, at forty, was not fit to be compared with fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls.

Women are often double-standard bearers; they can criticize their own aging looks, but their husbands cannot—these are women’s taboos.

"You’re right, Your Majesty. How could I have the strength and energy to be up all night with you? You should go to Qiluo Hall instead."

After speaking, the Empress huffed and puffed her way under the covers, completely ignoring the damn Emperor. She was truly asking for a scolding!

The Emperor snorted, "I am the ruler of a country, I don’t need your directions on where to go."

Looking back, he saw the Empress had already lain down to sleep again.

Her temper was getting worse. He hadn’t stormed off in anger, yet she had already fallen asleep first.

The Emperor sat on the bed, mulling over whether to leave in a huff.

Having come all this way, to leave now would just give those gossips in the palace something to chew on.

But seeing the Empress’s dismissive demeanor, he was again infuriated to no end.

After a long struggle, the Emperor stood up, began to undress, not tossing his clothes on the floor, but neatly placing them one by one on a clothes rack.

The Empress first thought the damn Emperor was leaving, but then she heard the rustling sound of undressing behind her, furrowing her brow in confusion. She’d made her refusal clear, couldn’t he understand?

Just as the Empress was brooding, the Emperor slipped under the blanket and lay down beside her.

The Empress: "..."

Time passed, and the Empress, not feeling any movement from the damn Emperor, finally succumbed to sleep herself.

It had been three months since they’d shared a bed, and though the Emperor was somewhat excited inside, the Empress’s attitude made him dare not make a move.

He feared she would kick him out of bed.

It wasn’t the first time the Empress had done such a thing.

He moved closer to the Empress. Seeing no reaction, he moved even closer until he was pressing against her body and then he stopped.

The Emperor turned to face the Empress, thinking about her earlier resistance, feeling increasingly upset.

As he dwelt on these thoughts, he fell asleep.

Before dawn,

The Emperor woke up on time to attend the morning court. After getting dressed, he gazed at the Empress, who was still sleeping sweetly, seemingly more compliant in her sleep.

Eunuch Li reminded him through the screen in a low voice, "Your Majesty, it’s time to go to the morning court."

The Emperor, looking at the sleeping Empress, said, "What exactly do you want me to do?"

He sighed and left Fengyi Palace.

*

Concubine Xu arrived at Hehuan Hall early in the morning, twirling her handkerchief in her hand.

Seeing Shen Chuwei, she felt unhappy about not getting any information about Feng Wuyou from the man in black the night before.