A Pharaoh and Her Beloved Queen - Chapter 21

An air of detachment, even colder than the night itself.

With the corners of her eyes curving slightly downward like two amber crescents under the pale light, filled with fragmented, chilly starlight, Edith abruptly reached out and pulled Ye Zhiqing to her waist. Her flickering gaze blurred jest, scrutiny, palpitation, and the desire for conquest into a kaleidoscopic play of light and shadow, making it impossible to discern Edith’s true emotions.

“You haven’t answered my question. Willingly stay by my side?” Her voice went up at the end; Edith’s tone was deep, with traces of a biting chill mixed in, nearly imperceptible.

It was a flat inquiry, yet saturated with the intent to test. Edith leaned casually and lazily against the soft couch; the smirk playing on her lips possessed an arrogant wildness that seemed capable of piercing the night.

Edith knew very well that her initial curiosity and intent to utilize Ye Zhiqing had long since changed flavor. Her silent heart had never beaten so cheerfully. No one had ever been like Ye Zhiqing, repeatedly overstepping her boundaries.

It was a strange yet pleasurable feeling. Edith never restrained the desires of her heart, allowing this sensation to spread and grow.

She was like a predator poised to strike, staring intently at her chosen prey, plotting to cut off all of Ye Zhiqing’s paths of retreat until there was nowhere left to run.

Yet prey, in the end, remains prey—no matter the effort or the ruthless means used to capture it, the ultimate purpose is merely to satisfy a hunger.

Ye Zhiqing steadied the tremors in her heart and stared quietly back at Edith. She spoke suddenly: “Your Majesty Edith, ‘willingness’ must be built on a foundation of mutual trust.”

Her brow arched in a contemptuous flick. Edith slowly traced the gold-threaded patterns on Ye Zhiqing’s robe. “You’ve forgotten again. In Egypt, I am your only support. Besides me, whom else can you trust in this land?”

“Your Majesty Edith, if I recall correctly, there is only a transaction between us,” Ye Zhiqing said. Detecting the threat in Edith’s words, her black eyes grew deep, gradually filling with layers of coldness.

“If I haven’t guessed wrong, every intimate gesture you’ve displayed to others—from the bow of the ship until now—has merely been a prelude to your upcoming schemes,” Ye Zhiqing said with certainty. She did not shy away from Edith’s gaze. She didn’t understand the political situation in Thebes, so she couldn’t yet guess what Edith intended to do; she only had a clear intuition that Edith’s next move was closely linked to her.

An eerie yet perfectly tacit silence followed. Their gazes intertwined, twisted, and tangled in the air—a chase where one followed the other, inseparable.

This was a silent contest between two superiors. Even though Ye Zhiqing was currently at a disadvantage, the sharpness she projected did not weaken by a fraction.

Edith let out a light laugh and averted her gaze. The suddenly freezing atmosphere vanished instantly. She pulled Ye Zhiqing’s waist toward her, successfully making Ye Zhiqing fall softly onto the couch.

Lightly sniffing the faint fragrance in Ye Zhiqing’s hair, she softened her tone. “Since your situation can no longer be changed, why not try to trust me?”

Ye Zhiqing didn’t respond. She looked at Edith sideways. If she hadn’t asked Lamassu, she would have undoubtedly believed Edith was a master of romance who had spent years in the field, capable of making one lower their guard and lose their reason with just a few words.

Ye Zhiqing didn’t know how things had reached this point. The development of events had far exceeded her expectations. She continued to maintain her silence.

With a helpless sigh, Edith saw Ye Zhiqing’s somber expression and knew she was planning to avoid the question again. Strands of irritability and impatience quickly wound through her brilliant golden eyes.

Her upper body suddenly exerted force. Edith braced one hand on the couch and held the other around Ye Zhiqing’s waist—one above, one below—in a posture that hovered over Ye Zhiqing.

“Ye Zhiqing, I want you,” she stated—domineering and blunt, slow and steady.

To Ye Zhiqing, Edith’s actions tonight seemed like those of an extremely insecure child. In essence, it was the same as one partner in a relationship repeatedly asking, “Do you love me or not?” An Edith who didn’t play by the rules clearly gave Ye Zhiqing a headache.

The most direct and effective solution was the same as the previous two times: agree quickly to soothe her.

The tips of Edith’s falling hair brushed against the side of her neck, stirring up bursts of tingling itchiness. In Edith’s brilliant golden eyes, there seemed to be a bottomless vortex surging, now bright, now dim, appearing both true and false. A moment’s lapse in focus would result in drowning within them.

Her chest, rising and falling slightly with her breath, felt as if it were being tightly suppressed by a heavy weight. Ye Zhiqing took a deep breath. “Your Majesty Edith, we still have a long time together. If you prove to be trustworthy, I will, of course, choose to believe you.”

It was an ambiguous answer. Edith knit her brows in obvious dissatisfaction, clearly realizing her own somewhat childish and uncomposed behavior tonight. She slowly rose and stood steady, but within moments, she returned to her high-and-mighty, lazy posture.

Ye Zhiqing was leaning softly against the couch, a faint flush still lingering on her face. Her water-shimmered eyes were watching her, inadvertently soul-stirring.

Her mood turned inexplicably pleasant. Curling her lips, Edith suddenly bent down and picked Ye Zhiqing up, walking toward the bed. She was as soft and warm as expected.

A gasp was caught in Ye Zhiqing’s throat. Edith’s steady and powerful strides soon calmed her down.

There was still a distance between the couch and the bed. Edith slowed her pace and took the initiative to mention: “The Hittite diplomatic mission will arrive in Thebes in five days. What is your solution to the dispute between Egypt and the Hittites in Nusya?”

The cold fragrance lingering at her nose brought an inexplicable sense of peace. Ye Zhiqing steadied herself and asked softly, “Does Your Majesty know of the port of Ta-Seti?”

Edith nodded slightly. “Ta-Seti is a port on the eastern border of Nusya, adjacent to Egypt.”

“Your Majesty Edith, this port controls the most lucrative trade routes. The primary goods are ebony, ivory, and the gold from the mines in the Wadi Alaki in the eastern desert. Once Egypt stops its wars of expansion, if it wishes to continue accumulating wealth, the only path is to open up trade.”

Seeing Edith look puzzled, Ye Zhiqing continued, “The Hittites are very far from this port. So, even if they know its importance, they have no extra strength to fight Egypt for it. In the negotiation process, the Hittites will surely use this port as an excuse to make Egypt cede more benefits. But for Egypt, no other port is as important as Ta-Seti.”

Edith listened with a faint smile as Ye Zhiqing spoke eloquently. She knew Ye Zhiqing was exceptionally intelligent; the vision in her eyes was vast and expansive, and the things she saw were often further and more comprehensive than those seen by ordinary people.

Her eyelashes fluttered. Edith’s gaze darkened when no one could see. A Ye Zhiqing like this always gave her the illusion of something she couldn’t grasp. Yet, this was precisely what attracted her most—it was as if she had to hold her tightly in her palm at all times to feel at ease.

It was as if she possessed the most precious gemstone, yet might lose it without warning.

She placed the woman steadily on the bed and adjusted the soft pillow. Edith sat by the bedside, listening thoughtfully to Ye Zhiqing’s explanation.

“Furthermore, unlike Egypt, the Hittites do not lack iron resources. What they truly covet are the port resources of Nusya.”

“You mean using port resources other than Ta-Seti to exchange for iron resources?” Edith frowned slightly. If ports were traded for iron, it would be a losing bargain for Egypt.

Ye Zhiqing shook her head with a smile. “Your Majesty Edith, have you ever thought of using the condition of ‘alternating control of the ports’ between the two nations to exchange for all of Nusya’s iron resources? As long as the port of Ta-Seti is excluded, Egypt will only profit. And for the Hittites, this is also the optimal solution; they won’t refuse.”

Ye Zhiqing narrowed her eyes, radiating a clever and comfortable aura. Actually, solving this using 21st-century methods was simple. The current situation between Egypt and the Hittites could be viewed as a cooperative game. Both nations had suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Kadesh, and both hoped to extract the maximum benefit from the Nusya region.

The most direct solution was for each to take what they needed, providing a method that satisfied both. While in Tanis, Ye Zhiqing had skimmed the draft treaty proposed by Egypt. At this time in Ancient Egypt, the application of a rotation system was very rare; it was only natural that Edith and the others hadn’t thought of it.

With just a small hint from Ye Zhiqing, Edith reacted quickly. Meticulously chewing over the meaning in Ye Zhiqing’s words, the many obstacles in the treaty seemed to resolve themselves.

The wonder in her heart grew a few shades thicker. This was a reverse-thinking method she had never encountered or heard of in her ten years of rule.

Capturing the shock and amazement in Edith’s eyes, Ye Zhiqing tilted her head slightly with a rare sense of pride. Her gaze fell upon the Egyptian Queen who was still immersed in thought. The smile at the corners of her lips grew more obvious. She had merely provided a direction; the specific implementation measures would still depend on the concrete situation.

Having always been restricted by Edith, Ye Zhiqing thought to herself: This counts as winning a round. Her unique and sharp modern thinking was indeed enough to cause wonder in this world of thousands of years ago.

However, before Ye Zhiqing could continue being proud, Edith quickly straightened out Ye Zhiqing’s logic. Her gaze toward Ye Zhiqing took on another layer of deep meaning.

A gaze that seemed capable of burning someone lingered on Ye Zhiqing for a long time. Finally, Edith rose and extinguished the distracting candlelight.

To Ye Zhiqing’s surprise, after dousing the candles, Edith didn’t close the door and leave. Instead, she walked toward the bed.

The side of the bed dipped slightly, and Ye Zhiqing was pulled tightly into Edith’s arms.

Silence fell, with only the sound of their breathing audible.

“Majesty, aren’t you going back to the Palace of Ra?”

“The entire royal palace is mine.” The implication: I sleep where I want.

“Majesty, aren’t you hot?”

“Be quiet.”

It seemed as if nothing had changed between her and Edith, yet it also felt as if some imperceptible changes had occurred.

Ye Zhiqing closed her mouth as desired. With practiced ease, she found a comfortable position in Edith’s arms and closed her eyes. The cold fragrance on Edith seemed to have a hypnotic effect; whenever she smelled this familiar scent, she could fall asleep quickly.

As the breathing of the person in her arms grew steady and long, Edith suddenly opened her eyes. Her eagle-sharp gaze stared intently at Ye Zhiqing without concealment. Complex emotions intertwined, and her knit brows signaled Edith’s inner struggle.

Faint moonlight climbed onto the window frame. Finally, Edith let out a nearly inaudible sigh, closed her eyes again, and made no further move.

The room was silent.