A Pharaoh and Her Beloved Queen - Chapter 26
With the sudden sensation of being lifted into the air, Ye Zhiqing opened her eyes. Her pupils constricted violently, still holding the lingering haze of sleep. As she belatedly realized the situation, a burning heat flushed across her ears.
Fortunately, she remained somewhat composed. Ye Zhiqing instinctively gripped the corner of the towel wrapped around her tightly. “Your Majesty Edith—”
“Mm,” Edith hummed lowly in response, carrying her onto the shore and placing her on a nearby soft couch.
Ye Zhiqing curled her body, looking quite warily at Edith, who had stepped aside and remained motionless. Glistening water droplets slid down her exposed skin, and her wet, curly hair clung to the side of her neck, making the graceful curve of her shoulder blades appear even more alluring.
Beautiful lips curved upward into a casual, unrestrained arc. Under Ye Zhiqing’s gaze, Edith turned her back. “Get dressed,” she said, though she did not leave.
Her luxurious robe, embroidered with complex hidden patterns, trailed on the ground, radiating a sense of playfulness.
Out of shame and annoyance, Ye Zhiqing’s entire body was tinted a faint pink. Her heart hung high in her chest as she took the clothes placed aside. Keeping her eyes fixed on the leisurely back not far away, she dressed herself at maximum speed.
It was far too unexpected that Edith would appear while she was bathing.
Under the bright light, the rippling water patterns quietly coated the hall in an enchanting, kaleidoscopic glow.
The rustling sound of fabric behind her gradually subsided. Edith turned around composedly to find Ye Zhiqing glaring at her, puffing out her cheeks.
This was another side of Ye Zhiqing, diametrically opposed to her usual calm and self-restraint. She was like a lion raised in a menagerie—majestic and fierce to the outside world, yet appearing soft-bellied and naive before its keeper, inviting a touch.
Edith couldn’t help but smile. Ye Zhiqing’s current attitude toward her was worlds apart from how it had been in Tanis; it was thought-provoking.
Regardless of what this change meant, Edith found her attitude quite pleasing for now.
“Your Majesty Edith, isn’t your behavior far too disrespectful?” Edith’s candid expression actually caused Ye Zhiqing to be the first to look away. Though it was an interrogation, her soft tone made it sound more like a pouting, slight anger.
In the amber metallic luster of Edith’s eyes was an undisguised sense of teasing. “Lamassu said you have been in here the whole morning. You wouldn’t let them in—were you planning to sleep in the bath all day?”
The temperature in her cheeks rose steadily. Ye Zhiqing’s calm expression was gradually replaced by embarrassment. She looked down at the shifting shadows on the floor, realizing in a daze that she truly had been soaking in the water for the entire morning.
Seeing Ye Zhiqing silent with her head bowed, Edith took the initiative to step forward. She took a cloth from the couch, lifted Ye Zhiqing’s still-dripping long hair, and began to dry it meticulously.
Her callused fingertips brushed against the back of Ye Zhiqing’s neck. Ye Zhiqing instinctively wanted to retreat, but Edith took the opportunity to push her down onto the soft couch to sit. Ye Zhiqing turned her head to look; Edith was standing behind her, focused on drying her wet hair, her eyes swirling with an incredible softness.
For a moment, Ye Zhiqing felt dazed, as if something in her heart were breaking through the soil. She had to admit that, facing an Edith like this, she could not summon a single thought of refusal.
An ambiguous atmosphere circulated quietly between them. Ye Zhiqing could no longer tell which definition of the status “concubine” currently carried more weight for her.
“Don’t soak in such cold water again,” Edith said, putting down the cloth and turning to walk toward the outer hall. It sounded like a casual reminder, but the underlying forcefulness could not be ignored.
The moment they stepped out of the hall, the refreshing sensation after bathing vanished. It was high noon, and the sunlight was wantonly licking the mist lingering in the air.
Edith walked in front while Ye Zhiqing followed behind. One slow, one fast; once Ye Zhiqing caught up, the two adjusted their pace in perfect tacit agreement. In the bright, transparent corridor, they walked side-by-side, while Lamassu and a group of maids followed at a distance.
“Your Majesty Edith, you have a question you want to ask me,” Ye Zhiqing said, casting her gaze forward. Her tone was certain.
Arching an eyebrow, Edith slowed her steps. “The surging water level of the Nile this year has forced Thebes to accept approximately thirty thousand refugees.”
She did not continue. Edith believed that with Ye Zhiqing’s intelligence, she would guess the rest.
Thebes was already the most prosperous city in Egypt. Based on previous deductions, Thebes was currently the economic, military, and political center. Egyptian history recorded that during its peak, Thebes had a hundred gates, was densely populated, and featured continuous grand buildings, accommodating roughly two hundred thousand people.
Two hundred thousand was already a massive number for a city thousands of years ago.
For a city already at the pinnacle of prosperity, the population is often at a saturation point. The thirty thousand incoming refugees would become a complete burden to Thebes.
How to handle these thirty thousand refugees had clearly become a difficult problem.
Ye Zhiqing walked on the outer side, appearing lost in deep thought, and did not speak for a long while.
Edith curled her lips and withdrew her gaze from the garden. “Punt’s artisans are all outside the city of Thebes. Preparations for the reconstruction of the Nile’s waterways began several years ago.”
Since there were no livelihoods for these tens of thousands of people within Thebes, it would be better to lead them outside the city.
Ye Zhiqing shook her head very slightly and took up Edith’s point. “Majesty, the manpower and financial resources required for the waterway reconstruction are immeasurable. Egypt has only just ended ten years of war; clearly, it lacks the strength to support such a project.”
Obviously, Ye Zhiqing had also thought of this method earlier. She accepted Edith’s words without hesitation. The principle was “relief through work”—constructing large-scale infrastructure projects in the name of the government to provide massive job opportunities. The relief recipients would earn wages through labor, replacing direct aid.
The reason Ye Zhiqing had remained silent was that Egypt’s current situation made this path completely unfeasible. Thirty thousand refugees were not something an ordinary project could accommodate.
The wind circled the courtyard, falling outside the sun-drenched corridor following Edith’s long, soft sigh.
“Ye Zhiqing, I have no choice,” the cold, deep amber eyes watched the scenery in the courtyard, untroubled, carrying an arrogance and determination that looked down on all things.
Leaving behind those words, Edith turned the corner of the corridor and walked into the inner hall.
The joyful atmosphere that had been leaping in the air suddenly died down, gradually becoming thick and heavy.
The maids soon presented the noon meal. After a simple meal, a heavy weariness was evident in Edith’s eyes. She leaned against her seat with her eyes half-closed.
Ye Zhiqing took everything in silently. Realizing Edith likely hadn’t rested for days, she signaled the maids to withdraw quietly.
Just as Ye Zhiqing prepared to leave as well, Edith spoke suddenly. “Zhiqing, after the Nile Festival is over, we can begin preparations for iron smelting and the reconstruction of the Nile’s waterways.”
Though Punt’s artisans had long since arrived in Thebes, they refused to reveal any information regarding iron smelting or river irrigation.
The trade between Edith and Ye Zhiqing was only just beginning.
Ye Zhiqing was surprised that Edith would put this on the agenda so soon. She had thought, given Edith’s attitude lately, that the Queen didn’t intend to let her get involved so quickly.
Was the situation in Egypt even worse than estimated?
Without overthinking, Ye Zhiqing accepted first. Regardless of the reason, the sooner this was put on the agenda, the sooner she could break free from the limitations of the palace. The greater her chance of finding that scepter, the higher the possibility of returning to the 21st century.
Over the past few days, Ye Zhiqing had wandered through various parts of the Theban palace and had asked Lamassu indirect questions. A golden scepter with no markings was like a needle in a haystack; no word of it could be found.
Yet, the sentence Priest Saul spoke today had caused a slim chance to flicker back to life in the dark night.
Edith stood up, walked to Ye Zhiqing’s side, and naturally took her hand, leading her toward the sleeping quarters.
The feeling Ye Zhiqing stirred in her heart was impossible to describe or explain. But whenever she was exhausted to the limit, as long as Ye Zhiqing was by her side, she could always calm down quickly and temporarily forget the complicated affairs in her mind.
Grown used to Edith’s sudden intimacy, Ye Zhiqing did not refuse and allowed her to lead the way. They were occasionally very close, yet they never overstepped that final boundary.
Inside the Luxor Temple.
Passing through the front hall into the sanctuary, then turning right into an extremely hidden corridor, one walked straight ahead. The gold leaf on the walls on both sides had peeled off, looking somewhat dilapidated.
Reaching the end and pushing open the stone door, a small courtyard came into view. In the center of the courtyard was clearly a miniature sacrificial altar. The area was enclosed; only this stone door allowed entry.
Lush trees outside the walls shielded this place completely. It was grey and ancient, radiating a trembling sense of decay everywhere.
All the light seemed concentrated on the person standing upon the altar. A single white robe was enough to make one ignore the ruin and decay that was so out of step with the magnificent Luxor Temple.
Karnak steadied his mind and donned a charitable smile. “Priest Saul, the Nile Festival is approaching.”
The person on the altar turned around and looked at Karnak without speaking. His crystalline eyes showed no trace of emotion related to joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness.
“Priest Saul, ten years ago, your father died at her hands. And now, the warning you have been waiting for has arrived. This year’s abnormally surging Nile water level is the Sun God manifesting his dissatisfaction,” Karnak’s smile was replaced by an expression of pained distress, as if he were earnestly advising Saul.
Like a frozen statue, the expression on Saul’s face remained unchanged. He stood silently on the altar, looking directly at Karnak without flinching.
Seeing the person on the altar unmoved, Karnak suppressed the irritation in his heart and continued to persuade. “Priest Saul, the Luxor Temple has not proclaimed an oracle at the Nile Festival for ten years. Her Majesty Edith is cruel and tyrannical; if it were your father, he would never remain uninvolved.”
Hearing Karnak mention his father, the air around Saul trembled almost imperceptibly. He turned away. “High Priest Karnak, the oracle of Luxor will appear when it is meant to appear. You should leave now.”
Without staying, Karnak left with a smug expression on his face.
When the courtyard returned to silence, a string of obscure and profound incantations fell from Saul’s lips. Suddenly, a warm golden beam of light—not piercing to the eye—glowed from the empty slot in the center of the altar.
In the center of the altar hovered a miniature golden obelisk. Its four sides were engraved with ancient and complex incantations, and it was rotating rapidly.
An astonishing and wondrous sight.
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