Beloved Empress

"Wife, Yue Lao Temple is where unmarried people go to in order to ask for divine blessing for their future married life. You are already married, what is the point of joining the merriment? Perhaps, it will be good for 7^th Uncle. You should go there and pray; perhaps, you will find a wife soon," says Jun Qian Che coldly.

Jun Yue Hen simply smiles, "It's only a superstition, there is no need to put much thought to it."

"Even so, now that you are here, it is better to give it a try. We will not get in your way. Let's go, Wife," he wraps his arm around Mo Qi Qi's shoulder before leaving without even looking back.

Mo Qi Qi is displeased, but she dares not complain. She could only send an apologetic look Yue Hen's way.

Jun Yue Hen gives her a warm smile. His eyes turns cold as he watches Jun Qian Che leading her down the hill with his arm around her shoulders.

Although Mo Qi Qi plays along, she is not very happy deep inside, "You are so unreasonable and overbearing, Jun Qian Che! It's not easy to climb this hill; we are now so close to the temple, why can't we give it a look? There is nothing wrong with visiting Yue Lao Temple despite being married! Isn't it unreasonable to simply left the 7^th Uncle there? He is too pitiful!"

"If you really pity him, you should let him go inside! Maybe if he found his other half, he would cease yearning for something that is not his!" replies Jun Qian Che coldly.

Mo Qi Qi helplessly shakes her head, "You simply are too overbearing. It is not everyday that I get to leave the palace and now that you are here, everything goes to waste. Visiting Yue Lao Temple is supposed to be the highlight of Qixi Festival!"

Jun Qian Che stops in his steps and looks at her.

Shocked, Mo Qi Qi looks back at him timidly, "W-Why are you looking at me like that? Is it wrong to express one's opinion?"

"Are you pig-headed, Mo Qi Qi? Do you honestly believe that the carriage just now was just an accident? Do you think Yue Lao Temple is safe?" asks Jun Qian Che.

"So you are saying that the carriage purposely tried to run me over? And that if I insist on visiting Yue Lao Temple, I might be in further danger?" asks Mo Qi Qi in shock. Hmph, of course I know that! You are the mastermind behind everything. Otherwise, how did you appear at just the right time?

"Lucky you still have a little piece of brain left," mocks Jun Qian Che.

Mo Qi Qi looks at him proudly, "Of course I have brain! I also know that being with people like you is dangerous! You bring danger with you everywhere you go! There is always someone out there who wants to kill you! Perhaps, the real target in Yue Lao Temple was you!"

"It does not matter who the real target is. If zhen takes you away, then it is only for your own good," says Jun Qian Che coldly as he continues climbing down the hill. He walks a little slower, in consideration for her, hoping she can catch up easily.

Mo Qi Qi follows him while complaining, "But if you're really worried about me, you should have left me with 7^th Uncle and leave by yourself. Only then would I be free of danger."

Jun Qian Che immediately stops walking and glares at her.

Mo Qi Qi takes a step back, intimidated, "What? I am only telling the truth!"

"You are just so ungrateful, Mo Qi Qi. You cannot differentiate between truth and lies," too lazy to talk to her, Jun Qian Che walks away in large strides.

Mo Qi Qi stomps her feet while angrily mumbling to herself, "As the ruler of the kingdom, how could he scold people in that manner? Where is his virtue as a ruler? Hmph! He is going to anger me to death! I can't believe my Qixi Festival is going to end in this manner! He simply is my star of calamity!"

Ban Xiang steps forward to comfort her, "Don't be sad, Your Ladyship. His Majesty only cares about you."

"Stop making excuses for him!" scolds Mo Qi Qi.

Ban Xiang nods cautiously before saying, "Let's go home, Your Ladyship."

Mo Qi Qi sighs before reluctantly climbs down the hill.

Jun Qian Che waits her at the foot of the hill and only continues walking once Mo Qi Qi reaches him. They walk past the lively streets and head back towards the palace. As they walk farther, the streets gradually turns empty and quiet.

The night is deep and windy. Dusts float in the air from the wind while trees rustle in the distance.

They are the only people around this part of the city. All the shops lining the road are closed and not a single pedestrian is out and about. Now, Mo Qi Qi has watched a lot of historical dramas, and from experience, she knows that this is the best atmosphere to get jumped at by bandits. She walks faster to catch up to Jun Qian Che and hugs his arm tight fearfully.

This little movement of hers makes Jun Qian Che so happy because it means that she still knows how to depend on him when things get scary.

Women's intuitions are rarely wrong. Just as Mo Qi Qi is quietly worrying about how this night might turn out, more than 10 men in black descends from the sky, surrounding them.

Ban Xiang runs up to Mo Qi Qi in fear and holds onto her sleeve.

Mo Qi Qi looks at Jun Qian Che, scared.

Jun Qian Che looks at back her comfortingly, "Don't be scared. Zhen is here."

Mo Qi Qi stares at Jun Qian Che, a little aggrieved, "Stop playing around, Your Majesty. Chenqie will not leave the palace anymore, after this."

Jun Qian Che does not understand what she means by that, but he knows that she tend to say random things at the randomest times. Besides, now is not the right time to ask her to elaborate.

One of the men in black sneers at Jun Qian Che, "Dog Emperor, you actually dared to leave the palace? They will be mourning for your first death anniversary, on this day next year."

Jun Qian Che sneers, "Let's see if you have the ability to kill zhen."

Hearing that, cold sweat begins to break out on Mo Qi Qi's forehead, "Your Majesty, these are not your people?"

Jun Qian Che glares at her admonishingly, "What on earth are you talking about? Stay here and don't move, zhen will not let them hurt you." After saying that, Jun Qian Che flies up and leads the assassins away so they could not get close to Mo Qi Qi.

The assassins immediately begin attacking Jun Qian Che in hoardes.

Jun Qian Che does not have any weapon with him and could only fight by hand. He strikes an assassin in the chest, causing him to fall down to the ground while spitting blood.

Although Jun Qian Che's movements are neither quick nor slow, they are all full of impact, leaving no space for the assassins to get close to him.

However, there are too many people against one; two of the assassins realized that. They seize the chance to attack him from behind.

"Careful, they are behind you!" warns Mo Qi Qi.

Jun Qian Che saw through their plan long ago. A disdainful smile can be seen on his face as he takes two steps back and grab the weapon off the assassin in one hand and strikes him at the crown of his head with another hand. It's a move that renders anyone helpless. As the other assassin gets closer to him, Jun Qian Che gives him a heavy strike to the chest. The assassin falls to the ground, spitting out blood.

In the blink of an eye, three assassins are down. Realizing that the situation is not in their favour, the rest begins to panic. If they still fail to kill Jun Qian Che even when he is alone outside the palace, how are they supposed to face their Master after this? And so, in order to kill Jun Qian Che, they shift the focus towards Mo Qi Qi. They can tell that he cares a lot for her. They know that by attacking Mo Qi Qi, they will be able to distract Jun Qian Che from fighting. Although their Master explicitly told them to not harm the Empress, using the Empress as a distraction should be alright.

With that in mind, one of the assassins made a move towards her.

Ban Xiang screams when she sees that, "Your Ladyship!"

That attracts Jun Qian Che's attention. When he sees those assassins advancing towards Mo Qi Qi, he immediately flies over to them. Although he knows that it is unlikely for them to hurt her, he also knows that blades have no eyes. Regret will be useless if anything happens to her. He is not in the position to simply sit back and watch everything unfold.

The moment Jun Qian Che lands next to Mo Qi Qi, one of the assassins immediately swings his sword towards him. Jun Qian Che tries to avoid the blow, but is too late in doing so. Blood seeps from the gash on one of his shoulders.

"Your Majesty, you are hurt," points out Mo Qi Qi in worry.

Jun Qian Che smiles at her to calm her down before striking the assassin with his palm, sending him flying a few metres away.

The sword that he left on the ground is picked up by Jun Qian Che, who then, uses it to strike another assassin.

In a matter of minutes, half of the assassins are down. The rest are furious for their fallen comrades. They group together to strike Jun Qian Che at the same time.

At that moment, the secret imperial guards show up and begin battling the assassins.

Very quickly, pretty much each and every single one of the assassins is injured. Realizing their slim chance of winning, they abandon their mission and flee.

The leader of the secret guards kneels in front of the rest, "We were late to come to your rescue. Please punish us, Your Majesty!"

"Get up, Ye Ying. Zhen was the one who quietly left the palace and did not let you follow zhen, this is not your fault. All of you can leave," says Jun Qian Che quietly.

"Your Majesty, your injury—-" Ye Ying is worried about Jun Qian Che's injury.

Jun Qian Che smiles, "This is nothing. You may leave."

"Yes!" the dozens of guards disappear as quickly as they came.

Mo Qi Qi looks at their lightning-quick movement in shock, "Why didn't you order them to escort you back to the palace, Your Majesty?"

"The secret guards are supposed to stay hidden. They can only appear when zhen is in danger. Now that the danger is over, they must return to hiding. Let's go back to the palace," explains Jun Qian Che.

"Wait!" Mo Qi Qi stops him.

Jun Qian Che stops and looks at her in confusion.

She takes out her brocade handkerchief and wrap it around Jun Qian Che's wound, "You are going to bleed yourself dry by the time you reach the imperial palace."

Her little action warms Jun Qian Che's heart. Traces of laughter can be seen on his eyes.

When she looks at him and finds the layer of amusement on his eyes, Mo Qi Qi cannot stop herself from scolding him, "You can still smile even after getting injured? Do you think you are made of iron? Are you incapable of feeling pain?"

What she does not know is that no matter how painful his wound can be, everything becomes alright when she cares for him.

When they reach the entrance to the palace, Jun Qian Che turns to her, "You and Ban Xiang should go first."

She looks at him in confusion, "Aren't you coming in?"

"Of course zhen has to go back. But zhen cannot let them see zhen in this condition," replies Jun Qian Che calmly.

Mo Qi Qi sighs before looking at him in pity, "Being an Emperor is indeed hard. You can't even let others know you're injured. It's too hard on you."

Jun Qian Che knocks her in the head.

She pats her aching head, dissatisfied, "Why did you hit me?"

"You had the nerve get angry when zhen called you an idiot. Zhen got injured in order to save you. If the guards see this, the news will spread. Imperial Mother will not spare you. Idiot!" Jun Qian Che teases her bad-naturedly.

Mo Qi Qi's heart warms up when she hears that. She stares at him.

Jun Qian Che then takes a giant leap and flies into the palace.

"See, Your Ladyship! His Majesty treats you so well! He thinks about you all the time! Aren't you touched?" asks Ban Xiang happily.

"Stop talking for him! Who knows what rotten idea he has in his mind!" warns Mo Qi Qi.

Ban Xiang helplessly sighs while shaking her head. She has no idea when the Emperor and the Empress will actually patch up. She feels like there is a giant milky way separating the two right now, but it's alright; she believes that just like the Weaver and the Herder, the two will unite sooner or later.

Mo Qi Qi and Ban Xiang enter the palace with a specially-issued medallion. They directly return to Feng Yang Palace. Although a lot of things happened tonight, the general mood between them is still pleasant.

Mo Qi Qi enters Feng Yang Palace only to find Jun Qian Che sitting inside her resting chamber. She runs over to him in shock, "Your Majesty! Why are you here? Didn't you return to Yu Jing Palace?"

Jun Qian Che cannot help but bitterly say, "You are too heartless."

Mo Qi Qi purses her lips, "Why are you calling me heartless? If I am indeed heartless, I wouldn't have left the 7^th Uncle by himself and left with you."

"You are zhen's Empress. Are you saying that you shouldn't have left with zhen?" snaps Jun Qian Che, displeased.

She simply nods, not wanting to get into argument with him, "Whatever you say goes. It is late, Your Majesty. You should leave."

Jun Qian Che looks at her, "Help take care of zhen's wound."

She gasps in shock, "Right! How could I forget you are injured!" She sits next to him before gently saying, "Your Majesty, let chenqie see your wound."

Jun Qian Che stretches out his arm.

Mo Qi Qi inspects it cautiously. "Why is the wound so deep? Does it hurt?" She looks at him earnestly.

He smiles at her, "It's fine. Just put medicine on it."

At this moment, Mo Qi Qi is very impressed by him. Such a deep wound and instead of frowning, he is actually still capable of smiling! If the situation is in reverse and she is the one who got hurt in his place, she would have been so pissed and would have dragged him to hell and back! She really is lacking in terms of temperament when compared to him.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. If I had not been adamant to go out, you wouldn't have gotten hurt," apologizes Mo Qi Qi, blaming herself.

Jun Qian Che calmly replies her, "This is not your fault. People who wants to kill zhen would try any method they could to assassinate zhen regardless of the circumstances."

"But if you had not left the palace, those assassins wouldn't have gotten the chance to try, to begin with!" Mo Qi Qi still feels very guilty. It was his own fault for sneaking out of the palace to tail after her, but perhaps he was just worried about their child.

"That's enough. Stop thinking about that. Do you want zhen's arm to be crippled?" Jun Qian Che looks at his arm that is still bleeding.

The muddle-headed Mo Qi Qi knocks herself in the head, "Just look at me, all scatter-brained!"

Mo Qi Qi carefully medicates his wound before bandaging it properly.

Jun Qian Che looks at her before suddenly asking, "When we were surrounded by assassins, the Empress asked zhen if they were zhen's people. What do you mean by that?" Why did she say that? Did someone say something to her?

serene: Sorry for the delayed update guys. I got a new part-time job and is still trying to settle in. It’d get better once I learn to manage my time TT

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