Beloved Empress

"How can I possibly endure that kind of thing? That will be an insult to my very being!" retorts Mo Qi Qi.

Jun Qian Che looks at her in disdain, "Do you even have the guts to commit suicide though?"

"You—- You—— You—-" Mo Qi Qi is so angry that she cannot figure out what to say. This jerk has such a poisonous tongue that she suddenly feels light-headed. Stars dance in front of her eyes as her legs turn weak. She staggers to the ground.

"Mo Qi Qi!" Jun Qian Che catches her.

She points at him accusingly, mumbling, "This is all your fault for angering me so much. Turns out, people can really die from anger...." She slowly closes her eyes.

"Mo Qi Qi—-" Jun Qian Che anxiously calls her, but she shows no response at all.

He checks her pulse and sighs in relief when he realizes that her heart is still beating. His eyes fall on her chest when he remembers that she has been striked in the chest by the assassin before falling down the cliff. He opens her collar, but then hesitates for a while. In the end, he opens her collar anyway, revealing her chest to his eyes. He sees a red palm mark on her chest. This must be the reason why she fainted. Her breathing is really faint and weak, if he does not do anything to help her, she will die.

He helps her sit up before he himself sits behind her. He gathers his energy and channels yungongto her body.

He has been poisoned and should not be using his inner power. He has used up his inner power to save her today; if he uses yungong again, his own life will be in danger. However, he does not care about all that. All he knows is that he must save Mo Qi Qi.

He puts his palms on her back as he channels his energy to her.

Two hours later, sweat fills his forehead as he sits behind her. He feels lethargic, but he must make himself strong in order to help Mo Qi Qi.

Cough. He spits a mouthful of blood, but does not stop what he is doing for even a second.

15 minutes later, Mo Qi Qi’s internal injury has fully healed. Jun Qian Che puts his palms away from her back in relief.

Since she is still unconscious, he puts her against his chest so that she can recover properly.

Moments later, her lashes flutter as her eyelids move. She slowly opens her eyes, only to find Jun Qian Che’s heartbreakingly good-looking face right in front of her.

Jun Qian Che sighs in relief before gently asking, "How are you feeling?"

She is not used to hearing such a gentle tone from him. She rolls her eyes at him before saying, "So I am not dead? Lucky me."

Hearing that, he pushes her away and stands up, coldly saying, "Heartless woman!"

Mo Qi Qi gets up as well, while muttering curses under her breath. She tries to fix her dress. Although the dress is half-dry now, it still makes her uncomfortable.

Jun Qian Che can see her discomfort, "There is a little cave in front. We can make a fire and let our clothes dry over there. Be mindful of your health, you will catch a cold if this goes on." He walks towards the cave after saying that.

Mo Qi Qi follows him from behind.

The cave is not really little and the air inside is really cool. If this had been summer, this cave would feel like an air-conditioned room. Unfortunately, the temperature below the cliff is not the same as the temperature above the cliff. The gorge feels like it is enveloped in perpetual cool spring. The air down here is pretty chilly, this cave, even more so. The fact that they are soaking wet does not help the matter.

"Your Majesty, hurry and make a fire! It is so cold in here!"

"Go and look for fire woods," commands Jun Qian Che icily.

Mo Qi Qi points at herself incredulously, "Me? What will you be doing then?"

"Zhen

will wait for you here."

Mo Qi Qi sneers at him, "How could you even bring yourself to say that, Your Majesty? A big grown man stays here idly while I, this weak lady, has to go look for firewood? Isn’t this too much?"

"This is an order, stop wasting time!" says Jun Qian Che imposingly.

Deep inside, Mo Qi Qi is still somewhat intimidated by him. Although she is not willing to do the bidding, she does not dare to retort more. She can only resort to fishing for sympathy, "What if there are beasts around? Aren’t you worried for chenqie’s safety?"

"Don’t wander off too far, then. If anything happens, scream for help," Jun Qian Che is not touched by her pitiful look.

Mo Qi Qi almost vomits blood when she hears that. Since his heart is made of steel, it is pointless trying to reason with him. She stalks off angrily.

The moment Mo Qi Qi left, Jun Qian Che frowns as he clutches his chest. His chest feels so tight.

He purposely drove Mo Qi Qi away so that she will not see him in this condition.

He calms himself and tries his best to even out his breathing. He tries to endure the pain that the poison inflicts as it spreads inside his body. He can only hope that they can cure it in time.

Mo Qi Qi, on the other hand, is not aware of Jun Qian Che’s consideration. She scolds him while picking fire woods. She looks around as an idea strikes her. She smirks deviously as she looks at the direction of the cave before screaming, "Help!"

Jun Qian Che plans to rest after he manages to subdue the poison temporarily. When he hears Mo Qi Qi’s scream for help, he jumps up and runs outside as fast as he can.

When he sees Mo Qi Qi standing not far away, laughing at him, anger rises in his heart.

She raises her brows haughtily at him before saying, "I just wanted to see if you really are going to come to save me."

"Do not test zhen’s patience," Jun Qian Che returns to the cave unhappily.

Mo Qi Qi clicks her tongue in distaste.

When Mo Qi Qi returns to the cave with her stack of fire woods, she discovers that Jun Qian Che has already started a fire. She marches up to him in anger, "You already started a fire? Why did you tell me to look for fire woods then? Is it so fun teasing me?"

Jun Qian Che is too lazy to explain anything, "Hurry and take off your clothes."

She puts her hands on her chest protectively, "W-What are you trying to do?"

Jun Qian Che feels as though his entire lifetime’s supply of patience has already been used up by her. He really wants to knock her unconscious to save himself from all the trouble.

"Dry your clothes," says Jun Qian Che patiently.

Mo Qi Qi looks at him cautiously, "Don’t tell me you are planning to do something again?"

"If you drag this on, Mo Qi Qi, zhen does not mind taking off your clothes for you," threatens Jun Qian Che.

Mo Qi Qi takes a couple of steps back, "Go out, then! Wait outside!"

Jun Qian Che looks at her in disdain before turning around and walking out.

"Don’t peek!" she warns him cautiously, just in case.

Jun Qian Che suddenly stops in his steps. Without turning around, he says, "Don’t think too highly of yourself."

"What do you mean by that?" asks Mo Qi Qi, confused.

Jun Qian Che turns around and looks at her from head to toe. Then, he walks out of the cave without saying anything.

Mo Qi Qi scratches her head.

Realization suddenly dawns her: is he trying to say that she is not good looking enough for him to bother peeking at her?

"You despicable Jun Qian Che!" yells Mo Qi Qi from inside the cave.

Jun Qian Che who is standing outside, smiles when he hears that.

Mo Qi Qi curses Jun Qian Che as she takes off her clothes, "Trash! Calls me ugly after taking advantage of me; wiping everything clean after eating! So what if I am ugly, did I tell you to look at me? Hateful, hateful, hateful!"

She hangs her clothes on a little stick that Jun Qian Che hangs above the fire. Her clothes dry very quickly. After putting them back on, she walks out of the cave, only to find Jun Qian Che missing from there. She unconsciously panics, "Don’t tell me that jerk left me here all by myself. I only forbade him from peeking, did he have to be this heartless? Is he really intending to leave me here to die? I am not wrong in calling him ’trash."’ Mo Qi Qi sits on a nearby rock helplessly. She looks at the cliff; she cannot even see the peak. She really wants to cry. She has been in this weird dynasty for a few months already and never once had she had a peaceful day. It is either living in fear inside the palace, or being the receiving end of a sword. Her life is so pitiful.

She lowers her head desolately.