Mo Qi Qi unhappily made a face at him, before asking, “What are you doing, Your Majesty? We were playing so happily. You spoiled everything and even chased them away.”
Jun Qian Che sweeps his eyes over her before speaking in displeasure, “What are you wearing? You are the empress and are dressed so improperly; what kind of example are you showing to the rest of the concubines?”
Hearing that, Mo Qi Qi angrily retorts back, “Your Majesty, do you even know how to appreciate beautiful things? This dress is so beautiful. What do you mean by improper? You are so uptight. Besides, I am wearing this in my own palace, seen by only women and half-men. If you don’t want to see this, you shouldn’t come! Chenqie did not even invite you over.” She angrily sits on one of the cushions in front of a short table.
Jun Qian Che tries his best to swallow his anger. He does not want to fight with her. He opens his robe and throws it to her body.
Mo Qi Qi rebelliously glowers at him, “I don’t want to wear this!” She throws his robe to the ground.
Jun Qian Che sits opposite her before speaking in a majestic, inarguable voice, “If you are too tired of living, zhen does not mind helping you.”
“I—-“ In the blink of an eye, Mo Qi Qi loses her will to fight. She unwillingly picks up the robe from the ground and drapes it over her body, “Are you happy now, Your Majesty?!”
Jun Qian Che gives her a look before his eyes falls on her half-exposed chest.
Mo Qi Qi follows his eyesight and immediately covers it using the robe, “Your Majesty, you have such ungentlemanly eyes.” He is indeed deprived.
Jun Qian Che harrumphs icily, “Do not forget your position, empress.”
Mo Qi Qi purses her lips, having nothing to say. Ugh! Why did the previous owner married this guy? What he means by that is she is his person, he is allowed to look as much as he wants. Such a shameless guy; he thinks too highly of himself that he might as well just ascend the sky.
“Your Majesty sure is idle today; you have time to visit chenqie,” Mo Qi Qi changes the topic.
“Zhen came here to ask you about the preparation to receive imperial grandmother back into the palace.”
Mo Qi Qi confidently smiles, “Don’t worry, Your Majesty! Things are going smooth. Imperial grandmother’s palace has been cleaned thoroughly. Everything for the banquet has been prepared as well. The preparation in the imperial kitchen has been going smooth, everything will be up to imperial grandmother’s liking.”
“Good. Imperial grandmother place the most importance on the face and reputation of the imperial clan. Nothing must go wrong during the banquet,” Jun Qian Che indifferently says.
“Don’t worry, nothing will happen! If it is handled by chenqie, Your Majesty does not need to worry about anything!” Honestly, she didn’t have to do much. She only needs to instruct her people and everything will be handled by them.
“What have you prepared for imperial grandmother?” Jun Qian Che asks.
Mo Qi Qi freezes, almost choked by her own saliva, “W-what? What do you mean?”
“The imperial grandmother went to pray for the kingdom and the imperial clan. As someone of the later generation, you should be proud for having that kind of elder. Although you cannot join her in the temple, you can always do something to make her happy. As the grand daughter in law and the mother of this kingdom, you have your own responsibility. All the concubines, wangfeis and princesses have prepared something for her, how can you be left behind?” Jun Qian Che says.
Hearing that, Mo Qi Qi’s head turns like a gear. “Your Majesty, why don’t chenqie perform that dance for imperial grandmother?”
Jun Qian Che is angry when he hears that, “If you dress like that in front of imperial grandmother, you are going to make her angry instead of happy. The imperial clan will lose face because of you.”
“I can wear something less revealing~! I will perform the Dun Huang dance. Your Majesty, let me perform it in front of you! Wait a minute!” Without waiting for Jun Qian Che’s reply, Mo Qi Qi goes to her chamber to change. This time, Mo Qi Qi changes into her Dun Huang dancing attire.
Jun Qian Che still feels unhappy when he sees Mo Qi Qi changing into this dress. He must admit, she looks very beautiful. But, seeing how much skin she is exposing; he suddenly has the desire to kill her when he imagines her going out like this in the banquet.
Mo Qi Qi can see that Jun Qian Che is not happy, so she quickly tries to appease him, “Your Majesty, look at the dance first. As for the dress, if you don’t like it, I will change into something more conservative when the time comes.”
After saying that, she begins to dance. Her clear face accompanied by her floating red skirt and black hair makes her look like a fairy. She is like a celestial figure whom has graced his dream. The sun emits a warm light and under a beautiful tree, an unbelievably beautiful woman is performing a graceful dance. Her hands and feet are light, like clouds. She looks so elegant and at ease while twisting the ribbons in her hand.
Jun Qian Che is immersed in the beauty in front of him; he never knew that the usually unscrupulous her would have this attractive side.
Under her graceful steps, he gets to see a different side of her. Honestly, a solemn-looking her is very beautiful; so beautiful that people cannot look away. He never knew she can dance; has other men seen this? Thinking of that, anger rises in Jun Qian Che’s heart. The sight of her dancing this in front of another man is playing continuously inside his head.
‘That is enough! Stop dancing!” He bellows angrily.
Mo Qi Qi who is immersed in her dance, receives a shock. She comes to a sudden halt while making a twirl, causing her to stumble backwards.
Seeing this, Jun Qian Che immediately gets up and catches her, pulling her straight into his chest.
A fragrant and soft body is in his arms; Jun Qian Che’s heart unwittingly jumps. He looks at the person inside his arms, his eyes eventually falling on her seductive chest.
Seeing this, Mo Qi Qi pushes him away. The two of them looks at each other, a murderous air flowing around them.
Jun Qian Che looks away and goes back to his seat.
Mo Qi Qi angrily follows him, “Your Majesty, are you sick? I was dancing well, why did you suddenly yells at me to stop? Do you know how dangerous that was? I almost sprain my ankle!”
Jun Qian Che simply replies her with, “Dancing with that kind of dress is not in good taste. Do you want zhen to let you go out looking so crass like that?”
Mo Qi Qi suddenly has the urge to bite him, “Your Majesty, can you stop criticizing everything chenqie does? What do you mean by tasteless and crass? Your eyes have problem! The people from the Tang Dynasty accepted this dance just fine, why not you?”
What Mo Qi Qi does not know that, rather than the dress, Jun Qian Che has a problem with his wife being the one wearing it. If it was other people, it would be possible for him to look at it with aesthetical eyes. He cannot bear to see his wife wearing this dress while performing this dance in front of other people. After all, his mentality is that of a ruler who rules over a kingdom.
“Tang Dynasty?” Jun Qian Che repeats the strange phrase he hears from her.
Mo Qi Qi freezes, “T-They are some people that you’ve never heard of. Your Majesty, are you incapable of appreciating the beauty of a dance? How can you not like that dance?”
“You are the empress, not a dancer. It is improper for you to be dancing in front of the officials,” Jun Qian Che firmly says.
Mo Qi Qi pouts before angrily asking, “What should I do for imperial grandmother, then?”
“Why don’t you play her a song?” Jun Qian Che suggests.
Mo Qi Qi scratches her head, a little embarrassed, “I don’t know how to.”
“Then, once she returns home, go and keep her company. Play chess with her.”
Mo Qi Qi continues speaking in shame, “I don’t know how to.”
“Then, go and draw something for her,” Jun Qian Che helplessly says.
Mo Qi Qi scratches her head again, “Sorry, I don’t know that, either.”
“You should at least be able to write some poem or calligraphy for her, right?!” Jun Qian Che angrily asks.
She lowers her head to the table, “No, I don’t.”
“Just what is it that you can do then, Mo Qi Qi? Before you entered the palace, the Duke and the Duchess of Zhen kept raving about your skills in art and music. Where did they all go?” his voice is full of mocking.
Mo Qi Qi fights back, “Which parents doesn’t exaggerate when it comes to their children? The empress dowager does it too; she calls you everything from literate, formidable, to smart and handsome and considerate!”
“Am I not?” Jun Qian Che asks in displeasure.
Mo Qi Qi scoffs at him, suddenly singing a song while making some cute dance moves, “’I feel so terribly cute, my heart is blooming in joy~!’ Ha ha ha, Your Majesty, you are too in love with yourself! How can you even put the word ‘considerate’ next to your name? You are so thick-skinned!”
(TN: The first line in her dialogue refers to this song.)
“Mo Qi Qi!” Jun Qian Che angrily roars.
Mo Qi Qi is so scared that she starts to tremble. She mumbles softly, “Chenqie was just telling the truth. You said you are a wise ruler, why can’t you even accept other people’s opinion?”
Jun Qian Che narrows his eyes as he looks at her from head to toe.
Mo Qi Qi can’t help but gulp when she sees the look on his face. She is a little scared; did she pissed off this guy?
Jun Qian Che takes out his hand and lifts her chin. He narrows his eyes before leaning close to her.
There is this crisp scent on her. The closer he gets, the more enchanted he becomes. Her soft and supple skin, her exceptional facial features, her seductive clavicles and her soft mounds…
Jun Qian Che’s body starts to react. The anger in his heart gradually disperses as he drowns himself in her beauty. The urge to get even closer to her is really strong in his heart. He slowly leans in closer until their noses touch.
Mo Qi Qi’s heart jumps as she debates about what she should do.
However, a moment later, Jun Qian Che pulls away, putting some distance between them.
Mo Qi Qi sighs in relief as she looks at him.
Jun Qian Che looks back at her, his eyes icy.
Mo Qi Qi approaches him carefully before whispering, “Your Majesty, these kind of things are not embarrassing. Chenqie can understand you!”
“Understand what?” Jun Qian Che looks at her, not understanding what she means.
Mo Qi Qi laughs rottenly before patting him in the shoulder, “There is nothing embarrassing about not having the same orientation as everyone else. Gay love is love too.”
Serene: This chapter was brought to you by Meropi.
