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The Emperor sighed again after speaking, knowing that some things would inevitably remain beyond his control, even if he could start over.

Sometimes people are too greedy, wanting to have everything, and the more they want, the less they get.

When the Empress heard the words "start over", she suddenly thought of a question Ye Chu once asked her: if she could choose again, would she still choose to enter the palace?

After so many years, she still didn’t know the answer.

"Your Majesty really knows how to joke," said the Empress. "If you truly liked the way I was before, why then cultivate me to be as I am now?"

After saying this, the Empress continued bandaging his wounds. Once she finished, she helped the Emperor dress and covered him with a quilt.

The Emperor grabbed the Empress’s hand, "Empress."

The Empress looked at him, "Do you need anything else, Your Majesty?"

The Emperor gazed at the Empress for a long time before finally asking, "Do you believe me?"

The Empress paused, considering the Emperor’s serious expression. It took her back to the year she turned fifteen when Xiao Qi personally visited to give her a birthday present.

It was also on that day that Xiao Qi asked her if she would marry him.

And if she would believe that he would always treat her the same.

Over twenty years had passed, and she understood what it meant to always be the same—perhaps it meant that she would always be the Empress.

She pulled her thoughts back and replied indifferently, "What would you have me believe, Your Majesty?"

The Emperor’s gaze was firm as he said slowly, "Just as at the beginning, ever unchanging."

The Empress gave a bitter smile, "I understand, Your Majesty. You promised me that I would be the Crown Princess, and in the future, the Empress, forever unchanged."

The Empress took a deep breath and continued, "Your Majesty is wounded. You should rest well, and I shall not disturb you any longer."

The Emperor grabbed her hand again, his voice almost pleading, "Empress, don’t leave."

Ever since the Empress returned from the Fuyao Residence, their relationship had been locked in a state of cold impasse.

And now that things had finally eased a bit today, how could he bear to let her leave?

The Empress asked, "Does Your Majesty have more instructions?"

The Emperor spoke soothingly, "Empress, sit down and keep me company for a while."

The Empress, "..." If we keep talking, I might just develop a heart condition—the topic is so vexing!

"Your Majesty, you’re injured, and resting to recover is of the utmost importance."

The Emperor sighed, "How can I recover in peace when the Empress is so cold and distant all the time?"

Empress: "...How would I dare to be cold or distant toward Your Majesty? I’ve been taking good care of you these past few days."

The Emperor felt slightly aggrieved, "You say you dare not, but since your return from the Fuyao Residence, you’ve been cold to me. Since when do husband and wife sleep apart for half a year?"

The Empress thought about it; indeed, it had been a very long time since they had been intimate. She didn’t feel much about it, but the Emperor seemed to be taking it to heart.

"I’m getting older and cannot compare to the young girls. With three palaces and six courtyards, why should it matter to Your Majesty?"

The Emperor wasn’t a fool; he knew the Empress was using excuses to avoid him.

"What is it about Ye Chu that makes you so unable to forget him?"

At his words, the Empress froze and looked at the Emperor’s serious face. She suddenly realized that he thought she was acting this way because of Ye Chu?

To think that he was the ruler of a nation, and yet his mind could concoct such drama!

"Your Majesty, I think you’re not quite lucid. You should rest more."

The Empress pulled her hand back and turned to leave, lest she actually become furious enough to have a heart attack.

Seeing the Empress leaving, the Emperor got out of bed and chased after her.

"Empress, I am very lucid."

The Empress had just reached the door and sensed something amiss. She turned around and saw the Emperor right behind her, only to notice he was barefoot.

"Your Majesty, what are you trying to do?"

The Emperor sighed again today but couldn’t help himself.

"Empress, I cannot recover in peace while you are like this."

The Empress, out of options, helped the Emperor back to bed. It would be bad if his wounds were to become infected because he caught a chill.

The Emperor held the Empress’s hand, not letting her leave. Without resolving this matter, it was like a thorn lying between them, making it difficult for both.

"Empress, where have I gone wrong? Tell me, and I will change, won’t I?"

Who could have imagined, that the ruler of a nation would say such words?

Suddenly, the Empress asked, "I remember asking Your Majesty before, if I were not the daughter of a general, would you still have married me?"

The Emperor sighed again, unable to hold back, "Why must the Empress ask such a non-existent question? I admit that initially, to secure my position as Crown Prince, I specifically investigated General Chang’s legitimate daughter, Chang Wenling.

It was because of this thought that I had the opportunity to meet you and wanted to marry you as Crown Princess. "

Hearing the Emperor openly say these words, the Empress felt heartache, even though she had known all along. Indeed, it was because of her identity as General Chang’s legitimate daughter.

"In Your Majesty’s eyes, whom you marry isn’t important. What’s important is that the person is General Chang’s legitimate daughter. If the Concubine were a common girl, Your Majesty certainly would not have married her."

The Emperor extended his arms to embrace the Empress, disregarding her struggles, holding her tightly without letting go.

"Why does the Empress always fixate on this issue? If you were a common girl, with no status or background, you wouldn’t even have the qualifications to be selected. Would I have had the chance to meet you? Without even the chance to meet, how could I marry you?"

Upon hearing this, the Empress was momentarily stunned. The dog Emperor did seem to make some sense...

But that still couldn’t hide the fact that he wanted to marry her because of her identity.

The Emperor continued to explain, "Empress, please don’t dwell on these matters, alright? I married you not only because of your identity, do you understand?"

"None of this matters anymore. The Emperor has the right to marry whomever he wishes, and the Concubine has no say in it." The Empress looked at the dog Emperor who was holding her and did not dare to genuinely resist, afraid that his wound would reopen.

The Emperor said, "The Empress has been ignoring me all because of this issue, so of course it’s important."

Empress: "..." There are plenty of reasons why I’ve been ignoring you.

The Emperor whispered in the Empress’s ear, "Lingling, won’t you stop ignoring me?"

"..." Empress: "Your Majesty can rest assured, I don’t dare."

The Emperor chuckled, "Lingling, you’ve got quite the nerve, to have even dared to hit me."

Recalling something, the Empress suddenly pushed the dog Emperor away and questioned him, "Your Majesty, when you were dealing with the python a few days ago, your Kung Fu was very impressive. It’s nothing like someone who doesn’t know Kung Fu. How come you were beaten down by me before?"

Now that she thought about it, although the Emperor’s Kung Fu wasn’t super impressive when he fought the python, it was much better than hers.

The Emperor had not expected that, after so many years of pretending, it would be at this moment that the Empress discovered the truth.

"... Of course, I let you win. Your fancy moves, who could they actually defeat?"

The Empress turned green with anger. So it turned out that all these years, the dog Emperor had been playing her for a fool? Was it amusing to him?

There was also the first time, when she mistook the dog Emperor for a thug and beat him up. He not only pretended to be defeated but also faked begging for mercy...

And whenever they encountered trouble afterwards, she even told him, "I know Kung Fu, I will protect you from now on!"

It all sounded like a joke now.

Seeing that the Empress looked very upset, clearly annoyed, the Emperor hurriedly tried to soothe her, "Lingling, don’t be angry. I didn’t mean to deceive you."

The Empress snorted, "Your Majesty truly lives up to being the ruler of a nation, keeping such deep secrets and treating me like a fool. Do you find it amusing?"

"How could I possibly play with you?"

"Not only does Your Majesty keep deep secrets, but you’re also silver-tongued." The Empress grew angrier the more she thought about it. If she had known he was pretending, she would have given him a sound beating then.

"Lingling..." The Emperor reached out to embrace the Empress.

But how could the Empress, in a fit of anger, allow him to have his way? She pushed him away and stood up to leave.

Only to hear a muffled groan from behind, the Empress stopped in her tracks and turned around, only to see the dog Emperor covering his arm, frowning tightly in apparent pain.

Thinking that the force of her push might have opened his wound, she went back to the bed, pulled open the Emperor’s clothing, and saw blood seeping through the white bandage.

"Your Majesty really should rest properly. Now look, the wound has opened again." While speaking, the Empress removed the bandage, revealing the reopened wound. Standing up, she fetched a new bandage and sprinkled some powder sent by the Crown Prince onto it. Only then did she rewrap the wound.

The Emperor looked down at the bandaging process, not caring about the reopened wound. He lifted his head to look at the Empress, "Lingling, can we not talk this out properly?"

While bandaging, the Empress replied, "I’m not sure what Your Majesty wishes to discuss. Bringing up the past does nothing but pour salt on the wound, why bother?"

It was the first time the Emperor heard the phrase ’pour salt on the wound’ from the Empress’s mouth. He grabbed her hand asking, "Lingling, was it not of your own will to enter the palace initially?"

The Empress did not answer the Emperor’s question but instead counter-questioned, "Your Majesty, why didn’t you let Consort Xu become the Crown Princess, given how fondly you doted on her?"

ps: One update