Yi Wenkui's confused face quickly turned expressionless when he heard her. He clenched his fists in order to control his annoyance. "You know that ladies of the harem are not meant to interfere with political matters. Even if the other concubines were doing it, I didn't expect you to join them so soon. This are one of the things this emperor detests the most."
Although he was the emperor who ruled over the land, he had tried his best to be impartial in all matters so he never favoured any of the concubines easily. Anytime he visited them, they always had a favour to ask for their clan and some of them would even try to sway his decisions in bed. That's why he was slightly worried when he had recieved a memorial about the Zhan family a few days ago saying that they were colluding with the Rudaks, barbarians from the north. When he heard no complaints from her these past few days, he was relived to know that she trusted him to be a fair judge over this matter but it seemed that he was wrong.
Zhan Yanhui smirked coldly as she replied. "If I really didn't say anything about it, you would have been even more suspicious and might have even concluded that my clan and I were indeed colluding with the Rudaks, am I not right? What I just want to know is if you really believe what the Left Prime Minister is saying. Don't you know how serious this accusation is? My whole clan could die for this!"
"I won't discuss this with you." He got up angrily but couldn't bear to leave her like he had originally intended so he attempted to persuade her. A part of him didn't want to fight with her but he also didn't want to sacrifice his principles and morals in order to please her. "Enough, Hui'er. There are things that you should do and things you should not do as the noble consort. Your position puts you in a dangerous spot with all the concubines envying you. You should not interfere."
Zhan Yanhui dodged the arms that almost circled her waist and pushed him slightly away. "So what you are saying is you want me to abandon my family for imperial power and wealth? Is that the kind of person I am to you? Without them, how can I have a stable foothold in this palace? Who should I trust? Aren't you saying this because of your empress?!"
Yi Wenkui suppressed the disappointment in his heart over her words and said. "You and I have different opinions over this issue, there is nothing this emperor can do about this. You should rest early, I have still have some matters to take care of."
Zhan Yanhui managed to turn in time to see the hurt in his eyes as he left her palace. The whole room was in silence and she didn't dare exhale for a while as she waited for her servant to return. She felt a lingering panic and regret about her actions and for a moment she wondered if she was doing the right thing. An emperor's heart was unpredictable, would he still forgive her?
Xue Li entered the room quickly and said. "Mistress, I followed the emperor to the study but when I was about to leave, I saw Consort Li going there. She even bribed that fat eunuch and entered that place. Mistress, this...."
"There was no way I could her him to leave me alone tonight. This argument was necessary, Xue Li. Alright, get me my cloak and the lantern so we can get there before the patrol guards switch." She tried not to be bothered but she knew that she was deceiving herself about the news. As a noble consort, she felt that she was the least person to demand faithfulness from the emperor. She wasn't even the legal wife.
They arrived at the secret spot where they meant two patrol guards waiting for them under the bright moonlight. She saw them kneel down when she approached them. "Greetings, Noble Consort. The general is waiting for you."
Every step she took made her heart pound but she walked resolutely towards her enemy. She wasn't sure she could contain her feelings when she met him again but she swore that she would never let him get his way in this life. She was never going to let him destroy her country again.
After a while, she saw a man dressed in black cloak waiting for her under a peach blossom tree. His back looked strong and intimidating, a strong aura honed from years in the battlefield. He immediately sensed her and turned around. "Hui'er, you are finally here."
She wondered how she had never realized that he had never greeted her with a smile. He always went to the palace with the excuse of serving the emperor but the truth was he was just lusting after the empress. She decided to respond in the same manner. "General Wei, you have returned from battle. Congratulations on your victory."
Wei Yating's poker face faltered when he heard how she addressed him making him scrutinize her . He heard that she was sick a couple days ago and the emperor had nursed her back to health. It made him wonder if she had been moved by the emperor. "Your health has been poor recently and I wasn't able to take care of you. You must have suffered."
Zhan Yanhui felt like laughing when she saw how uncomfortable he was trying to be caring. It must have been hard for him to behave this way for so long but to her as long as he gave her a glance or a smile, she would do anything he asked her to do. "Not really, the emperor has accompanied me these past few days. I didn't feel lonely at all."
Wei Yating frowned at her words. "Hui'er, I know you are angry at me for going to battle this time without telling you. It's my fault. But I had no choice, it is my duty to protect our country. Can't you forgive me this time?"
Zhan Yanhui didn't change her expression even when he heard her hand. She felt the overwhelming need to slap him and make him suffer for all he had done but she managed to suppress it with a small smile. "Alright, this matter is not big enough for us to fight. Tell me why you summoned me here, Yating."