Chapter 217: I Can’t Wait That Long

When Mu Yunlian chose to be reserved, he had an ethereal air about him, like a celestial being detached from worldly affairs.

But now that he had let his true nature show, he exuded a foxy, devilish charm. His stunning looks, however, made it easy for people to overlook one simple fact: he was incredibly shameless.

While Rong Yin was bold enough to hold the Emperor’s hand in public, he would never stoop to acting coquettishly to beg for affection. Mu Yunlian, on the other hand, had no such reservations.

He only had eyes for the Emperor, and everything he did seemed perfectly natural to him, without a care for what anyone else thought.

Yet, he was blessed with such a divinely handsome face that none of it came across as cringey or affected. Everything he did felt natural, harmonious, and utterly pleasing to the eye.

Even the cheesiest sweet talk sounded plausible coming from him—his good looks made any argument.

Xiao Yang watched him, shooting him a playful glare. "What mischief are you up to now?"

He crouched before Xiao Yang. The moment she slightly lifted her hand, he followed the gentle pressure and settled in beside her.

Instead of putting an arm around the Emperor’s shoulders, he gently hooked his arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him before resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Alas, Your Majesty’s words grow more heartless by the day."

’He was clearly trying to seduce her, so how could she call it ’making mischief’? It was like casting pearls before swine.’

Xiao Yang tried to push his head away, but when he didn’t budge, she simply let him be.

Two beauties, watching from the side, exchanged a glance. Seeing the same emotion in each other’s eyes, they immediately huddled together in excitement.

’Hehe, this scene is a true feast for the eyes! For now, we’re on Team Minister Mu!’

The whole business of "shipping CPs" was a trend started by Xie Liuzheng. She hadn’t promoted it much—she simply explained the concept to a few people like Xiao Jinsu, Song Qingyi, and Princess Suiyi. From there, it gradually spread throughout the harem.

Now, it had not only become a popular pastime but had even branched out into different "schools" of thought.

The Regent King and the Emperor: The older uncle and the younger ruler—the "Nurturing" ship.

Xu Xingchen and the Emperor: The puppy-dog boy and the alpha Emperor—the "Enemies to Lovers" ship.

Minister Mu and the Emperor: The foxy immortal and the tsundere Emperor—the "Mutual Teasing" ship.

General Li and the Emperor: The loyal hound and his master—the "Devoted Guardian" ship.

In short, the Imperial Palace was no longer the lifeless, gloomy place it once was. Now, it was buzzing with gossip, and everyone was so blissfully entertained they’d lost all track of time.

Shipping CPs perfectly enriched their inner lives. It was mainly thanks to the Emperor’s magnanimity and the freedom of speech she granted; her refusal to police such trivial matters greatly boosted everyone’s morale. It reached the point where even the veterans who had served in the palace for years didn’t want to leave when they reached the age of retirement.

On a related note, Princess Suiyi was now working with the two young ladies from Prince Jing’s family to publish books for the fans.

The three of them banded together, wholeheartedly shipping their CPs and publishing fanfiction. As for marriage and men, such things never even crossed their minds.

The Emperor wouldn’t force them into political marriages and was willing to support them indefinitely, promising to grant them a blessed union whenever they found someone they truly loved. Life was simply too comfortable to be in any hurry to marry.

’After all, no man, no matter how wonderful, could ever compare to Her Majesty.’

The three of them were having so much fun they got carried away. When the Emperor discovered their fanfiction-writing venture, she had them all join the News Department to run a special entertainment section. To say it thrived would be an understatement.

Of course, all this happened later.

For now, Mu Yunlian had seized a rare moment of the Emperor’s free time and, with just a few words, spirited her away.

"Your Majesty, I know a wonderful place. Let me take you there."

"Your Majesty, you so rarely have a moment to spare. Won’t you spend a little time with me?"

Xiao Yang was bored to begin with, and after a dose of Mu Yunlian’s sweet-talking, the two of them left the Imperial Palace together.

As it turned out, the "wonderful place" this scoundrel spoke of was his own private estate. It was planted with peonies of every color, and though it wasn’t yet their season, the entire garden was in full bloom.

In the center of it all was a lakeside pavilion surrounded by peach trees. Peach blossoms were currently in full bloom, filling the garden with shades of pink.

Xiao Yang was astonished. "You forced all these flowers to bloom, didn’t you?"

These flowers shouldn’t bloom until the fourth month. It was only the beginning of the third, so how were they already so lush?

Mu Yunlian said, "I used a few little tricks."

He bent to take Xiao Yang’s hand, led her beneath a peach tree, and lowered his head to steal a kiss.

"They were supposed to bloom in the fourth month," he murmured, "but I couldn’t wait that long."

’Why did that sound like part of a long-premeditated plot?’

Deeper within the peach garden was a secluded chamber. Inside, steam rose from a pool—it was a hot spring.

The hot spring was shaped like a flower petal, its edges polished to a perfect smoothness. The surrounding floor and the pool itself were paved with jade.

Beside the hot spring was a well-appointed room, enclosed by embroidered folding screens and draped with dream-like gauze curtains. In the center of it all sat an enormous round bed.

Seeing all this, the corners of Xiao Yang’s mouth twitched. She was at a bit of a loss for words.

’This was clearly a well-laid, ill-intentioned trap.’

’She really hadn’t summoned them to the palace much lately. Was he really this pent-up?’

"When did you start preparing all this?"

Mu Yunlian replied, "I bought this place when I first arrived in the Capital City. I started decorating it after I returned from Beimeng."

Even seeing this obviously meticulously arranged, purpose-built setting, Xiao Yang didn’t yet grasp the gravity of the situation. She assumed Mu Yunlian just wanted some private time with her, no different from their usual intimate moments.

Soaking in the hot spring was not merely about the soak itself. Fruit wine, flower petals, and pastries had been prepared on the side.

The romantic atmosphere was set to the absolute maximum.

Xiao Yang was pulled into the water by Mu Yunlian’s combination of coaxing and outright seduction. She had barely taken a few sips of wine before his kisses left her feeling dizzy.

When they finally broke apart to catch their breath, Mu Yunlian revealed his body, glistening with water droplets and strewn with flower petals. The sight was enough to make Xiao Yang instantly turn into a wolf.

In the throes of passion, self-control was impossible.

Xiao Yang took a sip of wine and lounged lazily on the edge of the pool, wondering why she put herself through such torture.

’If this keeps up,’ she thought, ’I’m going to be completely worn out.’

Mu Yunlian leaned against the side of the pool, elegantly arranging his water-slicked hair.

"Does Your Majesty not like children?"

Xiao Yang replied, "It’s not that I dislike them. I just don’t want to have them myself."

"Why is that?" Mu Yunlian asked.

Xiao Yang said, "My parents had me when they were deeply in love, but when they finally separated, it was a complete and utter mess. Afterward, they each started new families. They still had a responsibility toward me, but the love was gone. I was sent abroad when I was very young, and after living on my own for so long, I became cold and unfeeling myself."

"It’s almost laughable. Just as I saw through the illusion of familial love, I discovered how shockingly similar I was to my parents. In that moment, I felt like I was truly their child, with the same coldness running through my veins."

’Being cold-blooded isn’t about walking around with a scowl, acting like the world owes you something. It’s not like those unhinged, domineering CEOs in stories who’ll ruin someone over the slightest disagreement. True cold-bloodedness is indifference. It’s a complete lack of emotion, treating someone as if they don’t exist at all—a coldness that seeps out from your very bones, from your very soul.’

Her parents gave her enough money to be financially secure for life. That was based on their parental responsibility; they had to give it to her. After all, she was only a child back then. They couldn’t just abandon her.

And once they had given her that, they considered their job done. So they sent their young daughter abroad, calling it a way to ’cultivate her independence,’ and never checked in on her again.

But they had no idea how many times she had nearly died.