Chapter 388: I Don’t Want the Title of Empress

"The time for half a cup of tea is up. Your Majesty should return to the palace and attend to your business."

Ji Qingwu pointed toward the door. "Otherwise, my father will be coming by to hurry you along soon."

Ji Bo Lian was just the type to do something like that.

Zhao Mingyan said with a note of regret, "Has it been that long already?"

As he spoke, he rested his head against her chest.

Ji Qingwu’s mind raced. "You... are you..."

The words were on the tip of her tongue, but Ji Qingwu swallowed them. ’Whatever the Emperor does is as it should be.’

Just as her mind was running wild, the man who had been beating around the bush finally spoke up.

"Ah Wu, I’m going to lead the army in person to the Northern Border."

Ji Qingwu froze, then pushed his head away and pried his hands from her waist.

She took a step back, putting distance between them, and scrutinized his expression, trying to determine if he was telling the truth or just joking.

"Why?"

Zhao Mingyan said, "To catch Xijin off guard. I’m leaving tonight."

Ji Qingwu’s hands clenched, her nails digging into her palms.

"But the fighting at the border isn’t so urgent as to require Your Majesty’s personal presence."

After Wei Ting rushed over, he effectively pinned down Xijin’s two hundred thousand troops. There had been no news of the two armies clashing, only of them probing each other’s defenses along the border.

Zhao Mingyan said calmly, "Ah Wu, it’s not as simple as you imagine. Nanchu has been secretly reinforcing its forces deep within Qishan."

Ji Qingwu’s heart pounded in alarm when she heard this.

The great Qishan mountains were all that separated Beili and Nanchu. To think that Nanchu was also making moves in secret... If Xijin and Nanchu were to ally, Beili would be caught in a pincer attack.

Zhao Mingyan said, "I recalled your eldest brother from Nanchu partly as a warning, to let them know we are aware of their movements."

Ji Qingwu lowered her gaze.

News of Yu Wen Tianqing and Su Fengyue’s executions had reached Xijin long ago. Logically speaking, Xijin should have been enraged by the execution of its Prince.

But Xijin’s army still hadn’t mobilized, merely posturing and shouting threats along the border. They were clearly plotting something.

The secret report Zhao Mingyan had received from Wei Ting was about this very matter.

He said in a low voice, "Xijin’s treacherous ambitions will not die. This war is inevitable. Rather than wait for them to strike, it’s better to take the initiative ourselves and minimize the casualties among Beili’s soldiers and citizens."

Ji Qingwu understood the logic, but she still couldn’t accept it in her heart.

"It’s too risky for Your Majesty to go in person. If... if..."

Ji Qingwu didn’t dare to think about what might happen.

Zhao Mingyan knew she was worried. He gazed at her, his eyes warm and filled with deep emotion, and made a promise: "When I return, I will marry you and welcome you into the palace."

A lump formed in Ji Qingwu’s throat, and she shook her head.

The light in Zhao Mingyan’s eyes dimmed slightly. "Once you’ve accepted the imperial edict," he said, "there’s no going back on it."

Ji Qingwu raised her eyes and stared at him.

"I’m going with you."

He refused without a second thought. "Absolutely not."

How could Zhao Mingyan allow her to walk into danger?

"And why not?"

Ji Qingwu asked stubbornly, "Who’s to say I’ll be safe staying in Lin’an? The safest place for me is under Your Majesty’s eye. Have you forgotten what happened last time?"

It wasn’t as though Zhao Mingyan hadn’t considered bringing her with him.

But on a merciless battlefield, he couldn’t guarantee her absolute safety.

He said, "That’s still not an option. I will have someone take you to the secret passages of the Imperial Mausoleum for a time. It’s completely safe there."

Ji Qingwu’s eyes glistened as if freshly washed, but the emotion swirling within them was mostly fury.

"Your Majesty has already figured everything out. You’re just here to inform me, is that right?"

’The Imperial Mausoleum... It’s filled with countless traps and mechanisms; it’s the safest place in the realm.’

’And yet, he was the one going off to face such immense danger.’

Zhao Mingyan reached for her, but Ji Qingwu twisted away, evading his grasp.

"Ah Wu..."

Ji Qingwu hung her head, unwilling to even grant him a glance.

’So, the Emperor had already decided to lead the campaign personally. That’s why he’d come to the Ji Mansion with the edict making her Empress, impatiently trying to get everything settled.’

’This edict had been written long ago. Now it was in her hands, witnessed by members of the Ji Family.’

’If...’

’If something really happened to Emperor Wu Su, she wouldn’t be in the same passive position as last time. She could produce the edict, support Yuan Heng’s ascension to the throne, and assume the title of Empress Dowager.’

’He had planned out her entire future without him.’

’But what about him? What was going through his mind? Was he prepared to die?’

’He’d come today, spoken so many sweet words... Was his plan for her to spend the rest of her life clinging to these memories?’

Ji Qingwu was furious.

She spun around and strode back into the inner chamber, sweeping aside the curtain of jade beads with a sharp clatter.

Zhao Mingyan followed her, only to see her storming back out a moment later.

Something came flying straight at his face.

"Your Majesty can take this imperial edict back!"

The scroll that Ji Qingwu had cherished so deeply was now tossed back at him without a shred of hesitation.

Zhao Mingyan caught it and let out a long sigh.

"Ah Wu, don’t be so stubborn."

"That’s right, I am stubborn!"

Ji Qingwu stared into his eyes. "You never listen to a word I say. Since Your Majesty has already made up his mind, then do as you please. Why even bother telling me?"

"I don’t want to have anything more to do with Your Majesty, either. I don’t want the title of Empress, so I won’t have to spend my days mourning a memorial tablet."

She threw out one angry retort after another, and Zhao Mingyan realized what was really bothering her.

"Mourning a memorial tablet?"

The rims of Ji Qingwu’s eyes turned red, and she whipped her head away, refusing to look at him.

Suddenly, Zhao Mingyan let out a soft chuckle.

’He could actually laugh at a time like this?’

Ji Qingwu’s entire body tensed, and she had to restrain herself from punching him right in his handsome face.

She turned and walked back inside. As she passed the rumpled couch, she recalled their intimate embrace from less than an hour ago.

A tightness grew in Ji Qingwu’s chest. She shook her head and retreated to the bed in the innermost chamber.

The sound of footsteps gradually faded into the distance.

Ji Qingwu rubbed the corners of her eyes and pulled the blanket over her head, plunging herself into darkness. When her breathing became labored, she finally pulled a corner of the blanket away, gasping for air.

Unsurprisingly, the room had fallen silent.

’He was gone.’

’He was leaving tonight.’

Tears streamed from Ji Qingwu’s eyes, landing on the pillow and soaking a large patch of fabric.

Regret began to well up inside her. ’Was I too harsh with him? If the worst should happen... we didn’t even get to say a proper goodbye.’

Ji Qingwu glanced at the gloomy gray sky outside. She shot up from the bed and began rummaging through a clothing trunk by the wall, looking for a travel pack.

A moment later, she had a small bundle packed.

’He forbade her from going, so she would just have to follow him in secret. That would be fine, wouldn’t it?’

Ji Qingwu thought for a moment and decided she also had to bring the medicinal powders she had developed over the past few days. She then packed a dozen or so colorful glass vials into a small wooden box.

Her bundle was now stuffed full.

Worried she had forgotten something, Ji Qingwu scanned the room and saw the scroll still lying on the round table.

She had thrown it at Emperor Wu Su, but he hadn’t taken it with him.

Ji Qingwu walked over, picked up the scroll, wrapped it carefully in a piece of silk, and tucked it into her travel bundle as well.

She muttered under her breath, "Trying to trick me into becoming the Empress Dowager... In his dreams..."

"Ah Wu, you want to be Empress Dowager that badly?"