Xiu Yong felt uneasy seeing Yun Shunnian in this state.
He couldn't understand what was so good about Mu Qi.
Xiu Yong's voice was dry, "Your Highness, you should know I am speaking the truth."
"Only what I acknowledge as fact is fact. If you only came to say this, you needn't come again."
Yun Shunnian coldly refused him, a complete contrast to the Yun Shunnian who had just lectured Mu Qi on politeness.
With that, Yun Shunnian turned and went upstairs, leaving Xiu Yong by himself.
Xiu Yong watched Yun Shunnian's retreating figure until she disappeared, then he vanished from his spot in an instant.
With the Empress and Zhaoxue together, the Empress no longer wore her usual carefree smile. The Empress cared for him too much, and Zhaoxue was ultimately not a good match for her.
He would make the Empress completely forget Zhaoxue and Mu Qi, and return to being the free and happy Empress she once was.
"Sigh, where did that gentleman go?" Not long after Xiu Yong left, Sister Zhang came out after cleaning the kitchen. Seeing the empty living room, Sister Zhang momentarily thought the visitor had just been a figment of her imagination.
"Mu Qi." After going upstairs, Yun Shunnian ran into Mu Qi, who was guarding her bedroom door as soon as she opened it.
Mu Qi hadn't expected Yun Shunnian to come up so quickly and instinctively felt nervous.
The next second, Yun Shunnian walked into his embrace, and Mu Qi slowly relaxed.
"Mmm, are you finished talking?" Mu Qi stroked Yun Shunnian's head.
"Finished," Yun Shunnian's tone was full of aggression as she recalled what Xiu Yong had said.
Mu Qi wanted to know what Yun Shunnian had said to that man, but he was afraid she would get angry if he asked directly, so he tried to probe indirectly, "Niannian, where's my surprise?"
Yun Shunnian blinked, then realized, "The gift is on its way."
Yun Shunnian swallowed nervously, feeling a bit ashamed. At the same time, she secretly resolved that she must not disappoint Mu Qi.
"Mmm, okay." Yun Shunnian's answer revealed nothing about what she had discussed with Xiu Yong. Mu Qi frowned slightly.
"Mu Qi, I'm unhappy." Mu Qi was still contemplating how to test Yun Shunnian about her conversation with Xiu Yong when Yun Shunnian abruptly interrupted his thoughts.
"I want kisses, I want hugs." Before Mu Qi could respond, Yun Shunnian directly stated her demands.
Mu Qi hadn't even registered what was happening before Yun Shunnian kissed him and pushed him onto the bed.
However, even if Mu Qi had reacted, he would have cooperated even more. After all, Mu Qi was compliant.
By the time Yun Shunnian was appeased, it was already afternoon.
Sister Zhang placed the lunch she had prepared on the dining table and retreated to the side, her eyes on her nose and her nose on her eyes.
That night, Yun Shunnian and Mu Qi slept in each other's arms.
"Your Highness, why don't you come out for a moment? We haven't seen each other for a long time, and after all, we have a friendship of several hundred years."
In her sleep, Xiu Yong's figure appeared before Yun Shunnian's eyes. Then, Yun Shunnian suddenly opened her eyes.
What spell had Xiu Yong cast on her?
Yun Shunnian's expression was strange, but she couldn't resist the drowsiness and fell asleep again.
"Your Highness, is there really nothing to reminisce about from our hundreds of years of friendship?"
Yun Shunnian opened her eyes again, then, unwilling to believe it, closed her eyes to sleep.
...
After this back-and-forth, Yun Shunnian was finally annoyed.
Yun Shunnian got out of bed in a fit of anger. Unexpectedly, as soon as she sat up, Mu Qi grabbed her waist.
"Niannian, where are you going?"
Upon hearing this, Mu Qi even unfastened the chain between them, but Yun Shunnian knew she wouldn't be able to leave tonight.
The next morning, under the pretense of checking on Sister Zhang's breakfast, Yun Shunnian left the bedroom before Mu Qi.
As soon as she went downstairs, Yun Shunnian directly opened the front door.
As expected, Xiu Yong was waiting outside.
Yun Shunnian, helpless, pulled Xiu Yong to a secluded corner outside the villa.
"What do you want?" Do you know that people suffering from insomnia often go mad?
"I just want to reminisce about old times with Your Highness."
"What old times?" Sleep-deprived Yun Shunnian's mind wasn't working.
"Friendship of hundreds of years." Xiu Yong was also a bit confused when Yun Shunnian asked him this.
"Fine, then reminisce." Yun Shunnian rubbed her eyes, seemingly unaware of what she was saying.
Your Highness, I'm sorry, this is all for your own good.
Xiu Yong silently expressed his apology in his heart, then waved his sleeve at Yun Shunnian.
"You reminisce. How do you reminisce?"
Yun Shunnian rubbed her eyes a few times. Not hearing Xiu Yong speak, she became annoyed again.
"Your Highness, do you know who Mu Qi is?"
"Of course, he's my husband. Could he be yours?" Yun Shunnian, not having slept enough, said whatever came to her mind.
Xiu Yong's expression stiffened. He frowned slightly and asked, "What about Zhaoxue?"
This time, after Xiu Yong finished speaking, Yun Shunnian deflated completely, and even her annoyance vanished without a trace.
"Xiu Yong, if you have nothing else to say, don't bother me all the time."
Yun Shunnian felt that Xiu Yong would be on her blacklist for a long time.
With that, Yun Shunnian turned and went back into the villa.
Xiu Yong watched Yun Shunnian's retreating back in silence for a long time, then sighed.
"How could Your Highness have imprinted that person's likeness into her soul?"
However, it wasn't Yun Shunnian's fault. Those that could be imprinted into the soul were the deepest desires of the heart, something Yun Shunnian couldn't control.
After Yun Shunnian turned and entered the villa, she was immediately drawn to Mu Qi, who was already sitting at the dining table.
"Mu Qi, you're down." Yun Shunnian walked groggily to Mu Qi's side, leaning her entire body against him.
"Mmm, just came down." Mu Qi's gaze was evasive as he responded, and his tone was even more ambiguous than usual, almost as if he had written "I'm lying" on his forehead.
"Oh, drink your milk first." The sleep-deprived Yun Shunnian didn't mind this. A well-rested Yun Shunnian wouldn't mind either.
In any case, there was nothing just now that would cause Mu Qi to misunderstand. Conversely, even if Mu Qi did misunderstand, Yun Shunnian would explain it clearly.
Mu Qi took the glass and drank it down in one gulp.
The sleep-deprived Yun Shunnian looked a bit dazed. At this moment, she looked at Mu Qi with a somewhat infatuated expression.
After Mu Qi finished drinking and placed the empty glass back on the table, Yun Shunnian stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly rubbed Mu Qi's head.
"Good husband."
As soon as Yun Shunnian said this, Mu Qi's first reaction was to assume this was the surprise Yun Shunnian had mentioned.