The Tyrant’s Drama Queen Empress

CHAPTER 7: It’s Getting Way Too Exciting

　　Shen Ling obediently let Xie Yuanxun rest on her lap. With his eyes closed, he was taking a light nap. As long as he had no intention of getting up, she had no choice but to quietly act as his personal cushion. Maybe the sunlight was just too warm and cozy, because Shen Ling ended up dozing off while sitting upright. Sleepiness was contagious, after all. Seeing that Xie Yuanxun was asleep, Senior Eunuch Feng gestured for the palace servants to withdraw from Chang Le Palace and remained inside alone, standing calmly with lowered eyes as he kept watch.

　　Shen Ling didn’t sleep long before she woke up from pins and needles in her legs. With Xie Yuanxun lying across them, she could only pinch her thighs lightly to ease the numbness. Then she glanced toward Senior Eunuch Feng.

　　—If only Senior Eunuch Feng weren’t here. I could move Xie Yuanxun onto the couch and finally free my poor legs.

　　—But he’s here, so I don’t dare move Xie Yuanxun even a little.

　　With Senior Eunuch Feng around, Shen Ling truly didn’t have the courage. She knew very well how skilled he was in martial arts. Once, in the Taiji Hall, she had witnessed it herself: a bird on a tree chirped too loudly, Xie Yuanxun said it was annoying, and Senior Eunuch Feng flew up and instantly turned that bird into a dead bird. Shen Ling’s eyeballs nearly fell out on the spot. She had actually seen a flying human!

　　A real flying human!

　　Xie Yuanxun didn’t wake. Shen Ling didn’t dare call him, so she could only wait until he woke on his own. With her body frozen in place, she had nothing to do but stare at his face. And goodness… his face was truly something. When he slept, he looked like an angel.

　　The longer she stared, the more her expression shifted into a very suspicious auntie-smile.

　　Her fingers began to itch. She quietly lifted a hand, tracing shapes in the air above his hair without touching him, but that obviously didn’t satisfy her. Air didn’t count. She wanted the real thing. He was asleep anyway; he wouldn’t know.

　　Shen Ling finally touched his hair. It was so soft, so smooth. She then brushed her fingertips lightly against his eyelashes. They were so long. And finally, she touched his face. The sensation was heavenly, making her reluctant to pull her hand away. Shen Ling thought, no wonder he liked to pinch her cheeks; it felt so good to touch.

　　Xie Yuanxun suddenly shifted, turning from lying flat to facing her chest instead.

　　Shen Ling’s expression twisted through a whole storm of emotions. Her gaze grew deep. In an almost inaudible whisper, she murmured:

　　“Baby, want some milk?” (T/N: I can't! FL! That eunuch can hear it too, you dummy!🤭)

　　Xie Yuanxun opened his eyes. His gaze was clear. He lifted a hand and pinched her chest.

　　Shen Ling jumped, letting out a startled “Ow!”

　　“Your Majesty, you’re awake?” She shrank her neck, praying he hadn’t heard the thing she said earlier. He must have just woken up, right? Right?

　　Xie Yuanxun looked at her with a strange expression. So his Shen Guiren had aspirations of becoming a wet nurse? But honestly, he wasn’t all that surprised. She was Shen Ling, not like those boring people outside. He could tolerate her little quirks. It’s not like he would ever let her try them on anyone else anyway. Let her fantasize all she wanted. He would still give her that much freedom.

　　Xie Yuanxun pinched her again. “Soft?”

　　Shen Ling stared at him. “……”

　　Why did he have to ask it like a serious question?

　　—If it wasn’t soft, did he think it would be hard?

　　Xie Yuanxun sat up. Under her stunned gaze, he began loosening her clothes, looking annoyingly calm while doing it. Shen Ling nearly fainted. Did he even know what he was doing? He was one layer away from pulling it open enough to reveal her ¹dudou. Shen Ling couldn’t afford to stay shocked anymore. She hurriedly grabbed the thin fabric over her chest. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead…

　　She burped. Loudly.

　　Shen Ling: “……”

　　—My face is burning. This is so embarrassing, ahhhhhh!　　

　　Xie Yuanxun said, “Let go.”

　　Shen Ling thought he must be dreaming if he expected her to release her hands. She did not have the habit of stripping outdoors! But meeting Xie Yuanxun’s half‑smiling gaze, she suddenly felt like she might not escape today’s disaster.　

　　Still, until the last moment, she refused to give up!

　　“Your Majesty, this doesn’t seem proper. It’s broad daylight, we’re outside, and there are people……” What kind of shameful play is this?! She was so embarrassed she wanted to dig a hole in the ground with her toes.

　　Xie Yuanxun waved for Senior Eunuch Feng to leave. Then he leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers, and wrapped his fingers around her hands that were guarding her chest.

　　“You said you wanted me to eat.”

　　Shen Ling was completely stunned. Her soul nearly left her body.

　　“Y‑Your Majesty, weren’t you asleep? You… you heard?!” she whispered in horror.

　　Xie Yuanxun said, “I heard.”

　　She thought he didn’t. But actually…

　　Ahhhhhhh she wanted to die!

　　This was too humiliating!

　　Shen Ling’s lips trembled. She looked small, pitiful, helpless, and her eyes darted in guilt. Why had she said something like that? How was she supposed to fix this now? As she was thinking, a chill ran down her chest; Xie Yuanxun had already undressed her. Shen Ling was speechless.

　　Xie Yuanxun first tasted her through the thin layer of her dudou, then slipped it off and pressed her onto the couch to savor her properly. Throughout the whole process, Shen Ling could only cling helplessly to his head.

　　Too intense!

　　Xie Yuanxun summoned Shen Ling to the Taiji Hall every night, but in truth, he had never truly slept with her. Her body was still untouched. But ever since that first time he kissed her chest, things had changed. When they lay together at night now, he always took things a little further… mainly by touching her chest.

　　Before, he had simply slept beside her like it was nothing. Now, there was definitely some color added to those nights. Shen Ling sometimes felt like her chest was getting bigger when she put on clothes, which only proved how much Xie Yuanxun had been contributing. As for why he never went all the way or made her his woman, Shen Ling never asked, and she wasn’t curious.

　　The more you know, the faster you die. Shen Ling understood that very well.

　　......

　　In a garden of one of the palace halls, a few maidservants walked together, whispering. “Have you heard about Shen Guiren? Ever since she entered the Palace, she’s been favored by His Majesty. Even after all this time, he hasn’t grown tired of her.”

　　“Who in the Palace hasn’t heard of Shen Guiren by now? When I went to deliver the meals, I ran into people from her residence. The staff from the Imperial Kitchen were bending over backwards for them. They’re dressed better than we are. Life in the Chang Le Palace must be really good.”

　　“If only Jing Fēi could also gain favor...”　　

　　“Shh! Are you trying to get yourself killed? Saying something like that… have you forgotten what happened to the last concubine who tried to win His Majesty’s favor? The Emperor had her thrown into the beast compound, and they never even found her remains. Do you want the same fate for our lady?”

　　“N-no, of course not.”

　　After chatting a little more, the maids went their separate ways. As they left, Jing Fēi stepped out from behind the artificial hill, having heard every word.

　　Jing Fēi was the daughter of Prime Minister Yang. When she first entered the Palace, her goal had been to win Xie Yuanxun’s favor and bring glory to her family. But after witnessing and hearing about all the killings he had carried out, all thoughts of vying for his favor or her family’s glory had vanished.

　　She murmured to herself, “Shen Guiren...” Anything the maids knew, she of course knew too—probably even more.

　　Everyone in the Harem surely knew that Shen Guiren was summoned to His Majesty’s bed every night.

　　Jing Fēi frowned and looked toward Chang Le Palace across the sprawling palace halls. If no one were favored, she wouldn’t have minded, but Shen Ling was different. Her heart felt uneasy—why did Shen Ling get His Majesty’s favor?

　　On top of that, Prime Minister Yang had sent word telling her to get along with Shen Ling. That only made Jing Fēi more dissatisfied.

　　Shen Ling was just the daughter of a high-ranking official, while she was the daughter of the Prime Minister. Why shouldn't Shen Ling be the one to curry favor with her?

　　Nanny Zhou beside her said, “Your Grace, Prime Minister Yang’s advice is for your benefit. Your position in the Palace is already high, you just need favor. And since Shen Guiren has His Majesty’s attention, if you draw her close, there are two benefits. First, Your Grace can learn from her how she earned his favor. Second, when Your Grace goes to Chang Le Palace, you’ll have more chances than other concubines to meet His Majesty. The more Your Grace sees him, the higher your chance of gaining his favor. Your Grace should tolerate Shen Guiren now. When she loses favor, won’t Your Grace still have an opportunity to deal with her later?”    

　　Nanny Zhou was one of the Prime Minister Yang’s people, and she cared a lot for Jing Fēi. But to make Jing Fēi follow Prime Minister Yang’s instructions, Nanny Zhou had to seize every little opportunity to persuade her.

　　Jing Fēi said, “Then I’ll listen to Nanny.” With Nanny Zhou’s analysis, Jing Fēi took the opportunity to back down; otherwise, she really wouldn’t have the face to go to meet Shen Ling.

　　“Since I'm going to see Shen Guiren, those palace maids from earlier don’t need to stay. Nanny, take care of them. Consider it a meeting gift from me to Shen Guiren, after all, their behavior counts as gossiping about her behind her back.”

　　“You’re so wise, Your Grace.”

　　When Jing Fēi arrived at Chang Le Palace, Shen Ling was pounding balsam flowers with Liu Zhu to prepare for nail dyeing. However, Shen Ling was clumsy, so most of the time she just propped her head on her hand and watched Liú Zhū work. Shen Ling had wanted to fan Liú Zhū, but seeing her look so terrified, she gave up the idea.

　　Jing Fēi was stunned by the Chang Le Palace’s decorations. Everything in Chang Le Palace—the objects, the arrangements, even the things to look at—was exquisite, far better than her own palace. Jing Fēi’s expression soured. She was a Fēi (consort)! Her rank was far above Shen Guiren’s, yet this one was living so well.

　　Shen Ling noticed someone had arrived—a woman she didn’t recognize—and asked, “Who are you?”

　　Jing Fēi, “.....” This Shen Guiren is truly arrogant!

　　Liú Zhū stood and bowed, subtly reminding Shen Ling of the visitor’s identity. “Your servant greets Your Grace, Jing Fēi. Wishing you well.”

　　Shen Ling knew it was Jing Fēi, whose rank was higher, so she gave the proper greeting.

　　Jing Fēi looked at Shen Ling. With any other palace woman, she could have pretended not to hear, but Shen Ling wasn’t like the others. Since Shen Ling was favored, Jing Fēi had no choice but to speak. She wanted to get close to Shen Ling, not intimidate her.

　　Jing Fēi had just been about to use the incident with the palace maids gossiping about Shen Ling as a reason to start talking, when a palace servant came in and said:

　　“Your Grace, His Majesty has arrived, and his expression doesn’t look very good.”

　　Shen Ling thought to herself, When does Xie Yuanxun ever look good? His mood is always unpredictable. She stayed calm, but Jing Fēi suddenly grew nervous.

　　“I just remembered there’s something I need to attend to in the Palace. I’ll leave first.” Jing Fēi hurried away with Nanny Zhou and the palace maids.

　　Shen Ling was left baffled. “???” Didn’t Jing Fēi come to see her just to meet Xie Yuanxun? And now that he was arriving, she was running off? Was she not going to see him? How strange.

　　Back in her own palace, Jing Fēi anxiously told Nanny Zhou, “Nanny, let’s take it slow. I’m not in a rush to meet His Majesty. We’ll plan carefully.”

　　Equally flustered, Nanny Zhou nodded quickly. “Yes, yes, we’re not in a rush.”

________________

Glossary:

¹Dudou (肚兜)

Pronunciation: dùdōu

Definition: A traditional Chinese undergarment, usually a piece of cloth covering the chest and stomach, tied at the back and around the neck. Historically worn by women and children, it served both modesty and warmth purposes.

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T/N: Hello 👋 I’ll be postponing this novel for a few days so I can finish “The Male Lead I Wronged Has Blackened” first. Don’t worry, it’ll only be a few days. Please wait patiently, okay? Thank you.

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