Mo Qi Qi slowly points the sword towards a man’s most important place. The scene of that night suddenly replays in her head. The reminder of that tearing pain scares her as she looks at that part of his body.
What happened that night continues swimming inside her head: his rush, his overbearing ways, his gentleness, his care……
She moves the sword away from him, allowing it to fall on the floor. Then, she covers her face before running out.
Jun Qian Che slowly opens his eyes and stares at where she just stood.
He sits up and stares at the sword on the floor, relieved. He was right. He noticed her from the very beginning, he sensed her every moves. He pretended to sleep to see what she wanted to do.
When he heard that she wanted to kill him, he remained there, peeking at her while she tried to figure out ways to kill him. She looked adorable when she almost dropped the vase. As she picked up a pillow, and then a sword, he made a gamble. She wouldn’t do it. In the end, he was right.
“Mo Qi Qi, tonight, zhen gave you the chance to kill zhen, to repay zhen’s fault. This opportunity will not come again. You are Mo Clan’s daughter….. If you still choose to side with 7th imperial uncle, then fine, do not regret it.”
As Mo Qi Qi returns to Feng Yang Palace, she mutters to herself, “Why didn’t I do it? He was already unconscious, what was I afraid of? Just one swing and it would have been over! I would have gotten my vengeance and I would even become the empress dowager, why couldn’t I do it?”
“Your Ladyship! Your Ladyship!” Ban Xiang runs over to her.
“What is wrong, Ban Xiang?” Mo Qi Qi curiously asks Ban Xiang.
Ban Xiang heaves heavily as she says, “Killing the emperor is not child’s play. You must think thrice. Even if you managed to kill His Majesty, what will become of Mo Clan? If there is any evidence left, you will be killed and the entire MO\o Clan will be buried with you!”
Mo Qi Qi looks at Ban Xiang and teases her, “Are you sleep-walking, Ban Xiang? Why are you only saying this now? Don’t you think you are too late?”
“Too late? Huhuhuhu, you mean you already killed His Majesty? How are you so fast, Your Ladyship? This servant has just contemplated over whether or not I should inform Duke Zhen or the 7th wang so that they will come and help you! No matter what, you and His Majesty were a pair of husband and wife! Do you really have no feelings for each other? You two were so compatible with each other, why did you kill him? Huhu———-“
“Ban Xiang, did you tell Duke Zhen and the 7th wang about bengong’s plan?” Mo Qi Qi asks with a racing heart. If they know, this matter will become big. Duke Zhen might even rush into the palace with his troops!
Ban Xiang sniffles, “This servant wanted to, but the palace gate was locked, this servant could not leave. What should we do, Your Ladyship? Will anyone suspect you over the emperor’s death? Huhu, we better run, Your Ladyship!”
Mo Qi Qi helplessly sighs, knocking Ban Xiang in the head, “When did I tell you I killed Jun Qian Che?”
Ban Xiang sniffles again, “Didn’t you said that this servant came too late? Didn’t that mean that you already killed His Majesty?”
“Aiya, I was just saying that for the sake of saying! If I really killed the emperor, do you think I would be so idle as to chat with you in here, right now? Do you think I am a contract killer, at ease despite having taken a life?!”
Ban Xiang smiles despite her snot and tears, “Does that mean you didn’t kill him? Hehe, I knew it! His Majesty treats you so well, you wouldn’t have the heart to kill him!”
“Wei, Ban Xiang, can you not speak so carelessly? If Jun Qian Che really treated me well, I wouldn’t have wanted to kill him! I didn’t kill him not because I didn’t have the heart to, but because I didn’t want him to have an easy death! He was unconscious, he wouldn’t feel the pain. It would be too easy on him! If you hate a person, you want them to die in pain. Besides, judging from the night sky, this is not a good night to kill a person. So, I spared him for now.” She said all these for both Ban Xiang and herself; otherwise she really doesn’t know why she couldn’t kill him.
“That’s it?” Ban Xiang asks suspiciously.
Mo Qi Qi firmly says, “Of course! Alright, it is late at night, let’s not talk about killing someone while standing here. What if we bump into ghosts? Bengong is tired, let’s return to our palace.”
As Ban Xiang looks at the back profile of her master who is hastily leaving, she smiles, “Her Ladyship cannot bear to hurt His Majesty. Hihi…..” A cold wind blows by. Ban Xiang looks around, the entire path is dark. Remembering about the ghost that Mo Qi Qi told her, she runs after her master, “Your Ladyship, wait!”
In the blink of an eye, a couple of days passed. Today, Feng Yang Palace welcomes two esteemed guests, Mo Qi Qi’s mother and older brother.
Although it is said that consorts aren’t allowed to regularly meet their family, the empress is an exception. The power of Mo Clan is too big, so the emperor treats them extremely well. They are allowed to regularly enter the palace to meet the empress.
It has been a couple of days since the Mo Madam did not meet her daughter, she misses her so much. She has not been able to visit Mo Qi Qi because of Dong Fei’s death. She was worried that the emperor would mistreat her daughter, so she brings Mo Cheng Xuan with her to visit Mo Qi Qi today.
Mo Qi Qi is surprised by their visit, “Mother, Brother, come on and sit.” She intimately beckons them over.
After sitting down, the mother hold the daughter’s hand in concern, “It has been a while since we last met, Your Ladyship. Are you doing alright?”
Mo Qi Qi smiles, “I am fine, Mother, do not worry.” Although she was also a rich young miss in her previous life, she was taught really well. She was not arrogant and condescending. She was the type that would try her best to not to worry her parents.
Now that she has entered this body, the previous owner’s family members are also her family members. She will not complain about her problem with Jun Qian Che to them lest she worries them.
“Your Ladyship seems like you have lost weight. Do you have any problem?” the mother is still worried.
Mo Qi Qi touches her own face, “Really? Then my diet is successful.”
“Diet?” her mother looks at her in surprise.
Mo Qi Qi laughs, “Yeah. Have you heard of this saying, mother: Gain weight in January and you will be unrecognizable in February, if you don’t lose weight in March, you will be depressed in April. People will make fun of you in May and you will not have any boyfriend in June, you will get tanned in July and will stay indoor in August. You will gain more weight in September and gets rejected on a blind date in October. You will be alone in November and will have no bust-waist-hips in December. Bust-waist-hips are really important, that is why I need to diet, so that I can show my curves when summer comes.”
Her mother gives her a look of disapproval, “You are not fat, Your Ladyship. Your body is perfect, so many people are jealous of you.”
Mo Qi Qi laughs.
Her mother continues looking at her in worry, “Did His Majesty told you to lose weight?”
Mo Qi Qi immediately shakes her head, “No, no. His Majesty has no requirement when it comes to our figures. Daughter thinks that slimming down a little is better.”
Her mother disagrees with her, “It is still better for women to have a little more flesh. Men will like it more. Do not lose any more weight, it will not look pretty.”
Mo Qi Qi nods, “Alright, I will listen to Mother. I will not lose weight anymore.”
Her mother sighs in relief, “That is good. Your Ladyship, your father was worried about Dong Fei’s incident the other day. He almost went to the palace to look for His Majesty, but he was stopped by your brother. This matter is now solved and it has been determined that it has nothing to do with you. Mother is still worried nonetheless; did His Majesty punish you in secret?”
Mo Qi Qi shakes her head, “No, His Majesty treated me really well. Thank you for stopping Father, Brother. Things would have gotten really messy if you hadn’t. His Majesty said that since I had nothing to do with it, he will not do anything to me.”
Her mother and Mo Cheng Xuan exchange a look.
Mo Cheng Xuan asks her, “His Majesty really said that?”
Mo Qi Qi nods, “Yes. Do you think I would lie to you, Brother?”
“Brother naturally believes in what you said. Your Ladyship has gotten a lot calmer and more mature,” Mo Cheng Xuan emotionally says. If this had been in the past, she would have informed Duke Zhen before anything even happens. The emperor would have to suppress everything regardless if it was indeed her or not. She actually handled it calmly, this time. The way the emperor handled this is very curious as well.
Although he had stopped his father from making rash moves, he still sent people to secretly investigate Dong Fei’s death. She died from injuries inflicted from the Art of San Zhi, a kind of art that Mo Qi Qi is very good at. It didn’t matter if she did it or not, the emperor could have persecuted her for it all the same. Hadn’t he been trying to root out Mo Clan? This had been a very good opportunity, why didn’t he take it?
“People will grow up. I was so rash in the past, I was really bad. Not only did I caused all of you to be worried about me, I also caused all of you to become a joke in front of everyone else. I ended up embarrassing His Majesty as well. I will strive to become a virtuous empress in the future, I will not worry you all anymore.” Mo Qi Qi smiles sweetly.
Mo Cheng Xuan praises her when he hears that, “Brother is really happy for you now that you have changed. Mo Clan will always be your family. If you stumble across any problem, do not fret over it by yourself. We will be there for you.”
Their mother nods, “Your brother is right.”
“Do not worry, Mother, Brother; I will.” She really likes this mother and brother, they are so similar to her past ones. They give her the feeling of familial warmth in this strange place.
Her mother pulls her hand once more before saying, “Your Ladyship, you have been married for two years. It is about time for you to give His Majesty a little prince. Once you do, you will no longer have to worry about anything.”
