A Pharaoh and Her Beloved Queen - Chapter 15

Ye Zhiqing was stunned for a long time and could not answer; she never expected Edith to ask such a question, and a sense of inexplicable guilt rose in the depths of her heart.

In the brief silence, Edith turned her head. Their gazes met in the air, intertwining, twisting, and tangling—a push and a pull that allowed Ye Zhiqing not a moment of escape.

Edith’s eyes were clear, seemingly devoid of warmth, staring at Ye Zhiqing with an emotionless focus.

Ye Zhiqing had nowhere to retreat, as if she had been forced into a cramped space barely large enough to stand.

Pursing her lips, Ye Zhiqing forced an excuse. “Your Majesty, since I followed you to Tanis, I have never properly observed the customs and people of Egypt.”

“Tanis has nothing but endless yellow sand; what’s more, what could you possibly see at night?” Edith let out a few soft laughs, her gaze suddenly mocking and sharp.

Unable to argue, Ye Zhiqing simply lowered her eyelashes and stared at the soft fine sand beneath her feet.

Edith was strange tonight, and so was she, yet she couldn’t say exactly what was wrong.

Abruptly, one of her hands was gripped tightly by Edith and pulled forward, brooking no struggle. Her other hand reflexively pressed against Edith’s chest, and Ye Zhiqing was forced to look up and face Edith directly.

Amber pupils were covered by an unfathomable shadow of gloom, and the dissatisfaction suppressed deep within the pupils gradually surfaced. Edith suddenly applied force, making Ye Zhiqing lean even closer to her.

From a distance, their overlapping silhouettes under the light and shadow were pressed tightly together without a gap. The guards patrolling and keeping watch nearby exchanged knowing glances; not a few cast looks of contempt and disdain toward Ye Zhiqing.

The Queen’s special preferences were not a taboo within Egypt; many among the Egyptian nobility had same-sex partners, yet no one dared to be flamboyant about it, even if everyone was well aware.

But the Queen could not; her every move was constantly exposed to countless prying eyes.

Cruel and bloodthirsty, tyrannical and arbitrary… adding a “special preference” made little difference to Edith.

“Zhiqing, you should not try to deceive me,” the cold voice pierced her eardrums easily, making Ye Zhiqing tremble uncontrollably.

“Your Majesty Edith, I have said before: if you wish to get what you want from me, please observe royal etiquette. We both know the status of ‘concubine’ is merely an excuse.”

Ye Zhiqing took a long breath, steadied her mind, and tried to pull her hand out. She and Edith were currently in a very delicate state, drifting on the edge of a dangerous abyss.

However, she found that Edith’s hand was like cast iron; she struggled for a while, but it didn’t move an inch. Instead, a thin layer of sweat broke out on her body. The scorching heat passed through the thin robes they were both wearing, making her breathing a bit heavier and hotter.

“Your Majesty Edith,” with crystalline beads of sweat seeping from the tip of her nose, Ye Zhiqing helplessly spoke out to remind her again.

Her features were cold, and her deep amber eyes surged with a chilling frost that vowed to swallow everything. Edith suddenly lowered her head, her warm breath carrying a cold fragrance as it brushed against Ye Zhiqing’s ear.

“Zhiqing, I have also said that I will not keep any potential threat by my side. Never lie to me again.” It sounded exactly like a lover’s whisper, yet the hidden coldness and ruthlessness within it easily triggered the fear in the dark corners of her heart through her clear skin.

A wind laden with moisture drifted ashore from above the water, circling at their feet.

Edith’s eyes were bottomless; just as in the beginning, she gazed intently at Ye Zhiqing, silently waiting for her answer.

Ye Zhiqing believed that if she said no, without a doubt, the Queen of Egypt would seize her fragile neck in the next second and snap away all signs of life.

“Fine,” Ye Zhiqing squeezed out the answer Edith wanted. She comforted herself in her heart: staying in Egypt was to find the scepter and return to the 21st century; her current compromise was unavoidable and not to be blamed.

The bloodthirsty sharpness in her gaze retracted slightly. Edith lightly sniffed the clear fragrance drifting at the tip of her nose, and the hard lines of her face softened somewhat.

“Your Majesty, it hurts,” Ye Zhiqing frowned and moved the hand gripped by Edith. Edith’s strength was great, and the dull, stinging pain was becoming more obvious.

Hearing this, Edith’s eyes flickered. She loosened her grip, only to see several clear blue-purple bruises already on Ye Zhiqing’s wrist.

With a nearly inaudible sigh, Edith turned away and cast her gaze toward the star-flecked water. She spoke calmly, her cool facial lines silently taking on a trace of sorrow.

“The throne beneath me is stained with countless blood. The day I returned to Thebes from the border, I ordered the army to slaughter all the Egyptian nobles who opposed me. The priests chanted on the temple altars, counting my atrocities and cursing me to be judged into hell by the god of the underworld, Anubis, after I die.”

It was a very rare display of vulnerability. The calmer Edith’s tone, the more alarmed Ye Zhiqing became.

She paused. Perhaps remembering something, Edith continued, “After the death of the previous Pharaoh, the priests of Thebes attempted to swallow the divine power of Egypt, but they could not compete with my army. In Egypt, the temples and priests are the links connecting to the gods, receiving the reverence and offerings of Egyptian subjects. No one dares to be disrespectful to the priests on the high platforms. It was I—it was I who took a sword and personally slaughtered every single opposing priest, one by one.”

Edith closed her eyes. The cold lines on her face remained unchanged. Even though ten years had passed, the images stored in her mind were as clear as yesterday: dark red blood filling the stone troughs on the altar, overflowing to soak her sandals; twisted expressions of fear, and countless vicious curses…

“The golden throne beneath me represents blood, slaughter, and the promise I must use the rest of my life to guard Egypt. At the same time, there are countless instances of malice and resentment coming from all directions. I have never relaxed for a single moment.”

Edith never dared to think there would come a day when she would reveal that sorrowful and unbearable past so casually. She could guard Egypt alone in loneliness for decades, and she could prop up Egypt’s faith by her own strength, but she had never accommodated a bit of tenderness, a bit of weakness, or even a bit of hesitation.

“So, Zhiqing, do not deceive me. Never deceive me again.”

Surging ripples rose in the depths of her eyes. Edith stood quietly by her side, her intense sorrow pouring out. Ye Zhiqing’s lips were parted, but she couldn’t utter a word; a dull and clear pain slowly welled up in her heart uncontrollably.

In the dim starlight, the corners of her eyes quietly revealed a hint of crimson, as if tears were about to gush out.

Uncontrollably, Ye Zhiqing lightly grasped Edith’s hand hanging at her side. “Your Majesty Edith, you are now Egypt’s greatest King. Egypt’s territory has never been as vast as it is now. Under your hand, Egypt will step into an incomparable, brilliant prosperity.”

“Everything will have its cause and effect, as long as Your Majesty has a clear conscience.”

A dry comfort. Ye Zhiqing gripped the hand tighter. It was undeniable that in the time Ye Zhiqing had been in contact with Edith, regardless of her methods, her actions were pushing Egypt to a higher position—a position in a world of great conflict that other countries could not shake.

In troubled times, harsh officials and strict laws often create an unsurpassed golden age.

A warm, soft sensation came from her palm. Her eyelashes trembled imperceptibly. Edith abruptly opened her eyes and looked directly into Ye Zhiqing’s complex gaze.

“Zhiqing, remember your promise.” The golden crown adorned in her dark hair refined a dazzling golden light in the dim shadows. Her deep eyes surged with the arrogance and wildness unique to the Queen of Egypt. For a moment,

Edith seemed surrounded by soft golden light, like a deity.

Her voice was as calm as before, yet it carried a sense of hysteria, a desperate gamble.

Only for her.

As if possessed, Ye Zhiqing spoke slowly but clearly: “Alright.”

Her breathing, for an instant, turned chaotic.