After Discovering The Emperor Was A Woman… - Chapter 13

This was the first time anyone had ever praised Li Nanchu as a “good person,” and somehow, the words sounded distinctly strange to her.

She lifted her eyes and looked at Liu Jiuning, who was wholly absorbed in the pastries before her.

Li Nanchu briefly considered responding, then decided it was unnecessary. Instead, she silently watched the girl, whose cheeks were puffed out like a small animal secretly stealing food.

She was eating with remarkable enthusiasm, so eagerly that one might think she had never tasted such treats before.

She looked remarkably similar to the little tabby cat Li Nanchu had occasionally caught sneaking pastries in the palace.

Liu Jiuning was happily savoring the sweetness when she became aware of an impossible-to-ignore gaze resting on her.

She raised her head and met the emperor’s deep, unfathomable eyes.

She nearly choked.

There was no helping it.

Li Nanchu’s gaze was far too cold and unsettling. It made Liu Jiuning feel as though she were already halfway to becoming a corpse.

She hurriedly poured herself a cup of water to clear her throat. After swallowing with difficulty, she carefully offered, “Would Your Majesty like to try one too? They’re sweet and soft. They’re delicious!”

Anyone who had spent several months drinking bitter medicine would find every pastry sweet and delicious.

After this illness, Liu Jiuning had resolved to improve her health.

Once she fully recovered, she would walk ten or twenty laps around her courtyard every day. She refused to believe she would remain so frail that a single rainstorm could leave her bedridden for months.

“No need.”

After speaking, Li Nanchu pushed the neatly arranged pastries closer to Liu Jiuning.

She had no intention of stealing food from a little tabby cat.

With that thought, she added, with rare generosity, “They are all yours.”

Liu Jiuning responded immediately. Her eyes curved with delight as she said, “Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty! You’re truly so good to me!”

Afterward, she felt slightly embarrassed that she was the only one eating.

Wasn’t she neglecting the emperor?

That was absolutely unacceptable!

The person sitting before her was not merely the ruler of Great Zhao, but also her future superior.

Whether her head remained safely attached to her neck depended entirely on this woman.

Neglecting her?

Impossible. Unthinkable!

And so, while eating, Liu Jiuning tried to keep the atmosphere lively.

“Your Majesty, your injuries healed remarkably quickly. That proves you’re strong and blessed! Unlike me. I was only caught in the rain once, yet I spent several months lying unconscious in bed. I almost thought I would never wake again. Fortunately, I must have benefited from the auspicious joy of your imperial decree. Isn’t it remarkable? I simply recovered like that…”

Her face was filled with a radiant smile, brighter than the sun in the sky and the flowers in the garden.

Her flattery flowed just as smoothly.

Had she been speaking to one of the elders in the Liu household, they would have been delighted by now.

Unfortunately, the emperor’s heart was exceedingly hard. Forget looking pleased—her expression remained every bit as dark and cold as before.

At that moment, Li Nanchu simply wanted to know how the girl’s little mouth could keep talking without pause.

More impressively, she could continue eating while she spoke!

Perhaps that too was a unique skill.

“Your Majesty, you have no idea how much I suffered during those months. It wasn’t only the medicine that was bitter—my heart was bitter too! I lay there, seemingly asleep, yet I always felt awake. It was extremely unpleasant. Of course, what was even worse was the medicine prescribed by the imperial physicians. The taste was as though I had sampled all the bitterness of this lifetime in advance and soaked my entire body in it…”

Liu Jiuning spoke animatedly, tilting her head from side to side.

When the emperor did not stop her, she assumed Li Nanchu enjoyed chatting like this.

That was something Liu Jiuning excelled at!

In the fourteen years since her rebirth, she had not become particularly skilled at anything else, but her tongue had certainly grown quicker.

Otherwise, how could she have befriended the Imperial Preceptor?

The emperor always appeared gloomy and withdrawn. She also carried such an enormous secret, which meant she could not come into contact with too many people. Naturally, no one could speak openly and cheerfully with her.

Over time, she must have become a taciturn, tightly sealed gourd.

People always craved what they lacked.

From this perspective, the emperor probably liked lively people like Liu Jiuning.

Otherwise, why had she agreed to Liu Jiuning’s request so readily? Why was she patiently listening to all this rambling?

Even if her gaze remained cold and her expression unchanged, she had not told Liu Jiuning to stop!

Thinking of this, Liu Jiuning felt she might not be completely useless as empress after all.

She could keep the emperor company and chat with her!

It did not matter if Li Nanchu remained silent. As long as Liu Jiuning still had a mouth, had not lost her voice, and could speak, she could easily continue for several days and nights.

“Master Changkong truly deserves the title of Imperial Preceptor granted by the late emperor. My illness had shown no improvement at all, but on the very day Mother accidentally broke the prayer beads he gave me, guess what happened? At that exact moment…”

Li Nanchu silently listened to Liu Jiuning’s seemingly endless stream of words while watching the pile of pastries slowly disappear.

She truly could not understand how the girl could talk so much.

More importantly, how could so many pastries still fail to block a mouth hardly larger than a cherry?

As expected of Old Chancellor Liu’s own granddaughter.

She had clearly inherited the old chancellor’s ability to drag his sick body into court, lean on a cane, and debate an entire hall of officials for two uninterrupted hours.

Li Nanchu wanted to stop her, but she simply could not find an opening.

Since she had no urgent matters today, and no one had ever spoken to her about such meaningless trivialities before, she decided to see how long Liu Jiuning could continue.

However…

Li Nanchu soon realized that she had still underestimated this frail-looking girl who had only recently recovered from a serious illness.

Even after every pastry had vanished from the plate and not a single drop of tea remained in the pot, Liu Jiuning was still cheerfully describing how delicious the food was at a certain pastry shop and how exquisite the jewelry was at the shop next door.

…

Li Nanchu regretted her decision.

Why had she not spent this time riding a few laps around the training grounds instead?

As Liu Jiuning continued speaking, she noticed that an exquisite little hairpin, which should have been on her head, was lying on the ground some distance away.

Fortunately, she had just finished one topic.

“Your Majesty, please wait here. My hairpin has fallen. Don’t move while I pick it up, and then I’ll continue explaining everything in detail.”

After making a small joke whose deeper meaning the emperor could not possibly understand, Liu Jiuning stood and walked several steps.

She lifted her skirt, crouched down, and reached for the hairpin.

Had she really been shaking her head while talking?

How else could it have fallen so far away?

While pondering this, her half-crouched form suddenly went dizzy as darkness flooded her vision.

She tried to stand, but no strength remained in her body.

The next moment, her consciousness sank into darkness.

Li Nanchu had barely begun enjoying the sudden peace when she heard a heavy thud.

She looked up and saw that the lively girl, who had been chirping like a bird only moments ago, was now lying face-down on the ground.

Her brows drew together slightly.

She quickly walked over and crouched beside Liu Jiuning. Lifting one of the girl’s eyelids, she checked her condition, then placed her fingers against Liu Jiuning’s neck to confirm that she was still alive.

She was about to take Liu Jiuning’s wrist and check her pulse when a familiar voice sounded behind her.

“Your Majesty, please forgive her! My younger sister should never have offended Your Majesty, but her crime does not deserve death! I beg Your Majesty to show mercy!”

Liu Zhuoyi hurried forward and snatched the unconscious Liu Jiuning away from the emperor, pulling her into his arms.

He placed his fingers against his sister’s wrist. Only after confirming that she still had a pulse did he sigh in relief.

Holding his unconscious sister, he retreated three steps from the emperor before respectfully dropping to his knees and pressing his forehead to the ground.

“This subject has also offended Your Majesty. I ask Your Majesty to punish me severely.”

…

Li Nanchu slowly withdrew her hand.

She swept her sleeve aside and stood, turning her back on the Liu siblings.

She wanted to explain something, yet had no idea where to begin.

After a long silence, she spoke toward the place where the shadow guards were concealed.

“Summon an imperial physician immediately.”