Chapter 69: Glistening Tears, a Pitiable Beauty
Now that the unpleasant person was gone, the food on the table suddenly seemed to glow, looking all the more delicious.
Xiao Yang ate with gusto, but Xiao Suiyi was trembling. When two titans clashed, all she wanted to do was hug her small, helpless self.
’Sister Xie, I need you!!!’
Xiao Yang glanced up, realizing she had frightened the little girl. She pointed to the seat beside her. "Come here."
Xiao Suiyi didn’t dare. That was the seat the Empress Dowager had just occupied. But Sister Xie had repeatedly drilled into her that she absolutely must stick close to her Brother, the Emperor.
She rose hesitantly, not daring to take the Empress Dowager’s seat. Instead, she sat down on the other side of Xiao Yang.
Xiao Yang smiled and had a servant place food on her plate. "Eat whatever you like."
She personally picked up a slice of fish and placed it in Suiyi’s bowl. "What happened between me and the Empress Dowager has nothing to do with you. She won’t harm you."
Xiao Suiyi gazed, mesmerized, at Xiao Yang. ’She wholeheartedly agreed with what Sister Xie said. My Brother is so handsome, and he speaks to me so gently.’
’Even though my Brother looked terrifying when he was confronting the Empress Dowager, I think he’s incredible. That aura of a master strategist, of someone completely invincible... it’s just so charismatic.’
"Thank you, Brother."
’The Empress Dowager is bad. My Brother is good.’
’Just like Sister Xie said, stick with my Brother and you’ll eat well!’
Xiao Yang had always been detached from her family and wasn’t a deeply emotional person. She had been good to Xiao Lv only because she’d wanted to offload the throne onto him and then freeload off a powerful backer to live a carefree life. In the end, it seemed Xiao Lv had really started to see himself as her older brother.
As for Xiao Suiyi, she shared no blood ties with her. But the child had been exploited from birth, destined to become a discarded pawn in this dog-eat-dog Imperial Palace. The sliver of conscience Xiao Yang possessed made her willing to look after the little girl, but that was the extent of it.
Xiao Suiyi ate like a bird and didn’t have much. Xiao Yang ate until she was about seventy percent full. The requisite dishes had all been sent out to their destinations.
’Looks like there’s nothing else to do tonight.’
Xiao Yang told Xiao Suiyi she didn’t need to stay up for the New Year’s vigil and could return to her quarters. Then, she took a pot of wine with her to Lan Yue Pavilion.
It was the highest point in the Imperial Palace, a place for admiring the stars, the moon, and the lights of ten thousand homes below.
Yet here she was, amidst the lights of all those homes, utterly alone.
’"Alone in a foreign land, a lonely stranger, I miss my family all the more on every festive day?"’
’How absurd. Even in her original world, she had no family to miss.’
’She was used to being by herself, so it wasn’t really loneliness she felt.’
’She just hated that this world had so little entertainment. She wanted to flirt with a handsome man, but she had no idea where to even begin.’
’Life is so boring.’
’It seems I’ll have to order someone to select a couple of handsome men for the palace. There’s no reason an Emperor should have to live so austerely.’
’Besides, she’d only been paying lip service to her supposed preference for men. If she didn’t take any action, people would think she was just joking.’
’Song Qingyi was a perfect example.’
Xiao Yang was a woman of action. Having made up her mind, she immediately summoned Lin Yi and ordered him to send people to make the arrangements.
The fact that Xiao Yang had chosen Lin Yi meant he was no fool. He already had his suspicions that Xiao Yang was a woman, but a smart man knows when to stay silent.
All he knew was that he was to serve His Majesty with all his heart and carry out His Majesty’s commands.
Just as Lin Yi withdrew, Li Wei appeared.
He was carrying a jug of wine. "Your Majesty."
Xiao Yang watched him approach. "It’s New Year’s Eve. Why aren’t you with your family? What brings you to the Imperial Palace?"
Li Wei sat down beside Xiao Yang and placed the wine jug on the table.
"I came to invite Your Majesty to share this jug of wine."
Xiao Yang glanced at the jug, which appeared to still have some soil clinging to it.
Li Wei ran a hand over the jug, his sharp, piercing features softening with a hint of nostalgia. "This wine was buried back when my father was still alive. Every year, during the New Year, we dig up a jug and drink it together. It’s a way to feel like he’s still with us... This is the tenth year."
"To this day, my mother has never been able to come to terms with my father’s death. Every year, she insists on digging up the wine herself. The moment she unearths it, she starts to cry. She cries until she faints, every single year. This year was no different."
At this, Li Wei suddenly realized it was hardly appropriate to be speaking of such things on New Year’s Eve.
’His mother crying herself into a faint... It had been like this for ten years. No amount of comfort or persuasion ever worked.’
’In years past, he would always finish the rest of the wine alone, then spend the latter half of the night keeping vigil with his brothers-in-arms. A moment ago, on some strange impulse, he had thought of His Majesty and brought the wine to the palace.’
’Thinking about it now, it seemed rather ill-timed.’
He reached out to take back the jug. "I... I must be drunk. To think I would bring this into the palace."
’To him, this was wine buried by his own father. But to His Majesty, it was wine buried by a dead man. To drink something like this on New Year’s Eve... he must have lost his mind.’
Xiao Yang, however, didn’t seem to mind at all. She glanced at the wine cup in her hand and said to Liang Sha, who stood nearby, "Bring two bowls."
Two wine bowls carved from white jade were placed on the table.
"The Great General’s private stash? I must have a proper taste."
Xiao Yang gestured toward Li Wei. "Go on, pour it. You brought it all this way. Don’t tell me you’re going to be stingy now?"
Li Wei couldn’t help but smile. He felt he finally understood why he’d brought the wine to the palace. Subconsciously, he must have known His Majesty would accept.
He opened the jug and poured. The rich, heady aroma was enough to make one feel drunk without taking a single sip.
This was potent stuff!
The bowls were filled to the brim. Xiao Yang took a sip. As expected, it was incredibly fiery.
"Good wine! It’s got a kick!"
Li Wei, being used to it, was fine. He downed the whole bowl in one go.
Though it was the same wine, for some reason, he tasted something different in it this time.
He poured another bowl and raised it toward Xiao Yang. "This bowl, I offer to Your Majesty on behalf of the soldiers. Thank you for ensuring they have winter clothes and can celebrate the New Year properly."
Xiao Yang raised her bowl to lightly touch his, accepting the toast.
Li Wei downed it in one gulp and poured another. "This bowl, I offer to Your Majesty on my father’s behalf."
Hearing this, Xiao Yang quickly raised a hand. "You have it backward. It is I who should be toasting General Li."
Xiao Yang filled her bowl to the brim, rose to her feet, and poured the wine onto the ground as a libation.
Li Wei froze for a second, then also rose and poured his wine onto the ground, just as she had.
They sat back down, and their bowls were refilled.
Li Wei looked at Xiao Yang, his chest filled with an unidentifiable emotion that swelled within him, leaving him speechless.
’His Majesty’s charisma didn’t come from being exceptionally brilliant or talented. It came from her bold, unrestrained nature and her candor.’
’She was straightforward in her ruthlessness and effortless in her kindness.’
’Just now, for instance. She hadn’t said any deliberate words to move him. It was just a simple, natural gesture that showed him an Emperor’s respect for his father. It soothed his heart.’
"This bowl... is from me to you, Your Majesty. Thank you for your willingness to trust me."
Xiao Yang raised her bowl and drank without a word.
Suddenly, a cold gust of wind blew past, and Xiao Yang’s nose began to itch.
"ACHOO!"
She nearly choked to death on the last mouthful of wine.
"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..."
Li Wei hurriedly patted her on the back. "Your Majesty, are you alright? Would you like some tea to soothe your throat?"
The coughing fit sent a jolt straight to the crown of her head. She slumped over the table for a long moment before recovering, waving a hand. "I’m fine. Not dead yet."
As she spoke, Xiao Yang looked up. Li Wei had been watching her intently and was caught so off guard by her gaze that he froze, completely stunned.
’He had leaned in to pat her back, bringing him extremely close. He saw the misty, tearful sheen in her eyes from the choking fit—a sight so pitiable and lovely it could stir compassion in anyone. The sight made his mouth go inexplicably dry.’
’Instantly, Li Wei’s heart began to pound like a war drum. A tingling numbness spread across his scalp, and he felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy.’