Chapter 57 - 057: Profanity

Sang Yan rolled her eyes with disdain, “You’re overthinking. I wasn’t planning on pushing any women your way. I just feel like I get along with Consort Xuan and wanted to do something for her.”

He Ying looked skeptical, “Really?”

Sang Yan nodded, “Really. If you don’t believe me, should I swear?”

As she was about to raise her hand—

He Ying hurriedly refused, “Forget it. Don’t say anything unlucky.”

He probably copied Buddhist Scriptures too often and now he’s superstitious about these things.

Especially coming from her mouth.

Seeing this, Sang Yan then asked, “Then, does the Emperor agree?”

“No.”

After He Ying refused, he quickly proposed a condition, “Unless you agree to enter the palace as a consort.”

Sang Yan: “…”

She was not noble enough to sacrifice herself for others.

She immediately changed her tune, “Oh. Then never mind. Forget I said anything.”

He Ying: “…”

This wasn’t how he had imagined things.

She gave up so quickly?

He unwillingly added, “Just like that? Won’t you reconsider? You enter the palace, she leaves the palace.”

Sang Yan shook her head, “No. If the Emperor disagrees, then that’s that.”

She had done her best.

Besides, the conditions in the Cold Palace were poor; she could help improve them.

If Fuji Mountain won’t come to her, can’t she go to it?

Thus, she returned to the side hall and, after looking around, had some of her seldom-used items moved to the Cold Palace.

“This tea set, oh, and these two vases, move them over.”

“And these pieces of jewelry, I don’t like them much either. Oh, and these cosmetics.”

“These pastries—”

It made quite a noise for a while.

He Ying heard the noise and came over, “What are you doing?”

Sang Yan honestly said, “Sharing things. The Cold Palace is too shabby, I’m sharing some things over.”

What the Cold Palace lacked, she provided, giving so much that the Cold Palace surely wouldn’t be cold anymore.

He Ying saw her intention and oddly regretted it a bit.

When a eunuch carrying an entirely honey-yellow jade phoenix was walking out—

“Stop, everyone stop, that’s my collection!”

The Yellow Jade Phoenix was He Ying’s memento from the conquest of Min State.

It symbolized good fortune and wealth.

Not only was the craftsmanship exquisite, but such a large piece of Yellow Jade was also hard to come by.

If it weren’t for Sang Yan moving into the side hall, he wouldn’t have let her keep it there as a decoration.

Yet here she was, about to give it away.

She really was a spendthrift wife!

He Ying walked over, snatched the Yellow Jade Phoenix, and held it tight, his face filled with distress, “This one is not okay. This is mine.”

Seeing this, Sang Yan remarked sarcastically, “Everything in this palace belongs to the Emperor.”

He Ying, intimidated by her sarcastic tone, sighed, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll have someone renovate the Cold Palace and add some things for her, alright?”

Sang Yan smiled satisfactorily, “That’s fine. That’s fine. The Emperor is really kind. The Emperor is wise. Thank you for your great grace.”

The result of her whims seemed not too bad.

He Ying, seeing her happy smile and softened by her flattering words, felt quite comfortable and turned to Pei Muyang to give the order, “Go make it happen.”

“Yes.”

Pei Muyang nodded and took his leave.

He Ying then ordered them to move the items back, everything back in its place.

Sang Yan also returned to her seat.

“He Ying reminded, “Emperor, don’t try to brush me off. In a couple of days, I’ll go to the Cold Palace to check on the progress.”

He Ying sounded displeased, “When have I ever deceived you? Listen to yourself—I do things for you and yet I can never do right.”

Sang Yan, feeling rather good, heeded the Emperor’s words, and after a thoughtful pause, realized she was at fault and admitted her mistake, “Now that you put it that way, it indeed is my fault. Emperor, I’m sorry, I misspoke.”

She rarely apologized so earnestly.

He Ying, unused to this, replied, “It’s fine. It’s not a big deal.”

He put back the Yellow Jade Phoenix and, looking at the returning ornaments, thought about how they were almost given away, and felt a pang of pain.

To avoid experiencing this pain again, he reminded her, “The items in your palace are all treasures of immense value. Be cautious in gifting them away.”

Sang Yan, taken aback at first, then realizing what he meant, laughed, “I didn’t expect the Emperor to be such a miser.”

It was her first time seeing the Emperor act so ‘stingy.’ It was quite amusing.

He Ying, of course, wasn’t pleased with the nickname “miser,” but her laughter was genuinely captivating, as if parting thick fog to reveal a sunny day, open and expansive, so he found himself laughing along.

“What’s wrong, Emperor? You are human too. All humans have their personal desires.”

“Then what other desires do you have that I don’t know about?”

She proactively inquired about his preferences.

This was truly rare.

Especially since her tone was so relaxed, infused with the lively spirit of a young girl.

For a moment, He Ying felt as if all the barriers of status between them had vanished.

He was almost entranced by this calm and casual conversational atmosphere.

Unconsciously, he began, “Speaking of personal desires, my greatest desire—”

He stopped mid-sentence, sobering up, feeling that continuing would seem reckless.

And he feared she might not like to hear it.

Sang Yan, puzzled, questioned, “Why did you stop?”

He Ying, meeting her purely beautiful eyes, ultimately didn’t say what he had intended—my biggest desire is you!

That would have been too reckless.

It would have been a desecration of her.

So, he changed his response, “I like collecting beautiful things, like jade and weapons.”

Sang Yan retorted, “Everyone likes beautiful things. It’s just that some, despite their desire, lack the means to possess them. That’s hardly a personal desire.”

He Ying countered, “What about you then? What are your desires?”@@novelbin@@

Sang Yan was stumped.

She thought carefully and realized that whether in modern times or in this world, she hadn’t harbored any personal desires, always suppressing herself just to survive.

“It seems I have none.”

No wonder she felt unhappy.

He Ying suggested, “Then maybe you should cultivate some desires.”

What he really wanted to say was, I hope that one day your desire will be for me.

Unaware of his thoughts, Sang Yan nodded seriously, “Okay.”

From today onwards, she would try to be a little more selfish.

“Emperor, would you like some wine?”

This query unexpectedly reminded He Ying of a past incident—she had once tried to intoxicate him with wine to seduce him.

So, was she hoping for him to lose his inhibitions now?

His nerves began to throb.

His heart also unhelpfully pounded.

Ordinarily restrained from carnal desires, He Ying rarely thought of such matters. After falling for her, he had even less desire to defile her in such a way, so now these wild thoughts flooded his mind for the first time.

He tried to stop them, but some thoughts, the more suppressed, rebound with equal force.

In fact, he was quite repelled by these affairs.

The late Emperor had indulged excessively in romantic escapades, eventually leading to his downfall, which made He Ying feel deeply uncomfortable just thinking about it.

It started an itching sensation.

Like it emanated from deep within his bones.

Turns out, not only touching women but merely thinking of such absurd affairs was enraging.

He Ying, frowning and enduring, said, “If you want to drink, I can join you.”

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