Volume 1, Chapter 15: The Imperial Decree Is Hard to Defy, Red Jade Yearns for Love

*Cling—*

The sound of a blade singing echoed as several rays of sword light flashed!

Nangong Li flicked her fingers gently. The pale-white longsword she cradled in her arms emerged only half an inch, yet a thin line of blood appeared across the necks of the few menial eunuchs and the head steward eunuch alike.

"Gurgle..."

The head steward clutched at the crimson line on his throat. Before his consciousness faded entirely, his aged face remained twisted in terror. He could not comprehend why the Emperor’s personal sword guard, Nangong Li, would be so obedient to the commands of a mere lackey named Cao Mo.

This... this was not supposed to happen!

"Deliver..."

Watching the heads of the menial eunuchs and the steward roll to the ground, the Empress remained motionless. She was about to command the cleanup of the corpses, but suddenly remembered that "she" was currently supposed to be in the Kuning Palace, entangled in intimate relations with the Empress.

Gritting her teeth, she swallowed the words back down, instead casting a sidelong glance at Nangong Li.

Nangong Li understood immediately. She turned to the group of imperial eunuchs nearby and commanded, "The palace strictly prohibits provocations and disturbances. These men knew the rules yet broke them intentionally. I have executed them; let this serve as a warning to you all."

"Yes!"

The imperial eunuchs bowed in compliance, though their hearts were already filled with shock. Like the steward before them, they were utterly baffled as to why Lady Nangong, the Emperor’s personal guard, would go to such lengths to protect Cao Mo.

Defending him was one thing, but to kill an imperial steward without a second thought was quite another!

This... even if the Emperor favored Cao Mo, wasn't this going a bit too far?

***

Inside the Kuning Palace.

The Empress had begun to doubt her very existence.

"You little wretch, are you truly trying to wear me to death..."

Seeing that the two-hour limit the Emperor had set for Cao Mo had finally arrived, the Empress took a moment to catch her breath, casting a look of bewitching annoyance at him.

"I can't help it—"

"A royal decree is not to be disobeyed!"

Planting a sweet kiss on her red lips, Cao Mo curled his mouth slightly, a conceited smile dancing across his incomparably handsome face.

"All you ever do is talk!"

"That's enough for now. Hurry out, don't keep the little Emperor waiting outside the palace for too long." The Empress blushed, shooting him another coquettish glare.

She had originally assumed the little Emperor was a woman, and thus had only asked Cao Mo to take her place in completing the wedding night. She had expected him to merely play the part of the Emperor, but from what Cao Mo had told her, the little Emperor was actually disguised as a eunuch, keeping watch right outside the bedchamber.

While she found the situation both laughable and infuriating, it also stirred a strange sense of excitement within her—after all, in name, she was still the little Emperor's woman.

"Very well."

Cao Mo nodded, lingering no longer. He knew the two-hour limit the Empress had given him was likely just a fit of pique. However, since the Empress herself had declared that a sovereign's word is final, he felt compelled to treat even her angry remarks as golden edicts. If he lingered for too long and truly angered the Empress, it would be difficult to resolve.

A quarter of an hour later, Cao Mo rose and pressed one final sweet kiss to her cheek. "I will come again tomorrow."

"I know, I shall be waiting for you~"

Watching as Cao Mo donned the face-mask of the little Emperor once more, the Empress sighed helplessly. Her exquisitely beautiful, charming face, weary from the intensity of the encounter, turned toward the outer chamber. "Someone, come and attend to the Emperor's robes."

*Creak—*

Soon, the doors to the bedchamber were pushed open. A beautiful palace maid led a few younger attendants inside to help Cao Mo dress.

Cao Mo glanced at them and realized that the leading maid was the same one who had presented him with the jade ruyi the previous night. He hadn't looked closely then, and when he arrived earlier, his focus had been entirely on the alluring Empress, so he hadn't paid any attention to the maid.

Taking a sudden look now, he found her features to be quite striking. While she lacked the unparalleled beauty of the Empress, she was fair-skinned, elegant, and graceful. He remembered seeing her at the Qianqing Palace last night, and now that she had appeared at the Kuning Palace, it was clear she was the Empress’s personal attendant.

"Your Majesty, have we failed to serve you well?"

Seeing the 'Emperor's' gaze linger on her for quite some time, Hongyu felt her cheeks flush and asked in a low voice.

She was indeed the Empress’s personal maid, a servant who had followed her from her maiden home. She should have been helping the Empress attend to the Emperor earlier, but for some reason, the Empress had not summoned her.

"..."

Cao Mo said nothing, maintaining the cold, ungrateful persona the Empress had instructed him to display in front of others. He had only looked at the maid because she was pleasant to the eye. After donning his dragon robes, he walked straight out of the palace.

"We humbly see the Emperor off!"

The maids bowed. Once Cao Mo had left, Hongyu looked with confusion at Su Luojin, who lay upon the phoenix couch, looking ravishing and flushed, yet weary. "Your Ladyship, why didn't you call for Yuer to join you?"

"What, has the little girl started pining for love?" Su Luojin teased with a sidelong glance.

"..." Hongyu’s face turned bright red. "Yuer would never dare."

"I have only just tasted such grace myself; how could I spare any for you?" Su Luojin replied with a playful quip.

It wasn't that she didn't want to call Hongyu; it was because the person who had come was Cao Mo, not the Emperor. This matter was of the utmost importance; if even a hint of it leaked out, it would lead to the ruin of herself, Cao Mo, and even the little Emperor. At the very least, for now, she could not let Hongyu in on the secret.

"Your Ladyship is so stingy!" Hongyu pouted.

She and Su Luojin had grown up together and were extremely close. Even though Su Luojin was now the Empress, their bond remained unchanged, and they still teased one another freely.

"You!" Thinking of Cao Mo’s terrifying prowess, Su Luojin smiled slyly. "You'll see in the future. I am doing this for your own good..."

***

Shortly after, Cao Mo emerged from the Kuning Palace.

Seeing the 'Emperor' exit, the imperial eunuchs hurried over with the imperial palanquin. Catching the scent of blood in the air, Cao Mo glanced to the side and saw several eunuchs carrying away a few corpses.

There were the menial eunuchs, and the old man in the uniform of an imperial steward. Noting one of the heads, he recognized it immediately.

Isn't this the fellow who was shouting at him last night, claiming that Eunuch Cao couldn't stay on top forever? How did he end up losing his head so literally?

Wait—

Could these fools have mistaken the Empress for him?