Du Gu Luanyue growled, "Huo Wei, you've been calling me 'Empress Mother' and yourself 'Your Subject, the Prince' all day. Why are you being so sarcastic!"
Hearing these titles, she inexplicably found them unpleasant.
Seeing her anger, Huo Wei complied with her wishes, saying, "Fine, then this prince will open the door for the empress himself."
At this moment, Huo Wei wasn't even wearing an upper garment, his entire upper body bare. If he were to open the door like this, it would be a disaster.
Du Gu Luanyue grabbed him, saying, "Hide behind the screen. Don't make a single sound."
Huo Wei raised his eyes, a wild smile on his face. "Yes, Empress."
Just as he was about to take a step, Du Gu Luanyue glared at him warningly again. "If you dare to make a single sound, I will never let you off!"
She was clearly losing her composure, her heart filled with fear.
Huo Wei's smile remained. "The empress is getting impatient. Your subject will act as if he has neither heard nor seen anything."
With that, he slowly walked behind the screen and hid.
Du Gu Luanyue fetched an outer robe from the clothes rack, put it on, and then opened the door.
The cold winter night wind rushed into the room all at once, making her blink her eyes.
Before she could react, the person stepped in and slammed the door shut.
With a loud bang, Huo Wei heard it clearly. He sneered. So, there's a man having a nocturnal rendezvous with the empress. This guy has quite a temper.
However, his gloomy eyes darkened again. Could it be that Du Gu Luanyue is spreading her net wide, and he's just one of her many targets?
Du Gu Luanyue looked pale at the man in a Buddhist robe in front of her. Her jade-like eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and she said almost tremblingly,
"Master, we can discuss anything tomorrow." Huo Wei was still in the room, so she didn't dare to recognize him.
Sheng Yunqi was the eldest legitimate son of the Sheng family, the number one noble clan in Southern Chu.
The Sheng family was a powerful and influential family in the Southern Chu Dynasty. Almost every generation produced outstanding talents, and Sheng Yunqi was the most outstanding among them. He was also being groomed as the family's heir.
Apart from that, he was also Du Gu Luanyue's childhood sweetheart. The two had grown up together and had already made a marriage vow.
Sheng Yunqi was originally the designated husband of the Southern Chu princess. But now, he had shaved his head and become a monk, coming to Northern Yan.
Du Gu Luanyue's fingertips turned completely cold. According to the rules of Southern Chu, one was not allowed to become a monk as long as one's relatives were alive.
This was a major taboo in Southern Chu, a very serious matter.
Sheng Yunqi was a man who had always been well - behaved and gentle. How could he have made such a decision? But at this moment, she didn't dare to ask.
Sheng Yunqi was dressed in plain white, with a string of Buddhist beads hanging on his chest. His gentle eyes were filled with deep unwillingness and pain.
"Luanyue, what are you pretending for? Or is it that now that you've become the empress of Northern Yan, you no longer want to recognize me?"
The tears that Du Gu Luanyue had been forcing back in her eyes were still surging and could no longer be held back.
"Just pretend I'm dead. Leave quickly. This is not a place for you!"
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the screen behind which Huo Wei was hiding. Her heart was pounding wildly. She was afraid that Sheng Yunqi would say something inappropriate next.
Sheng Yunqi showed no sign of leaving. He looked at the person in front of him with red - rimmed eyes.
"What are you running away from now? We were supposed to get married in a month, and you were about to become my wife. But why did you leave without a single word and suddenly become the empress of Northern Yan!
Your father and mother kept it from me. The entire Sheng family, including the wet - nurse in the mansion, knew about it. Everyone kept it from me. Luanyue, are you trying to drive me to death?"
Du Gu Luanyue took step after step backward. Her upper and lower teeth were chattering, making a faint, broken sound.
"Just think that I'm blinded by greed and want to find a more powerful man as my husband..."
Sheng Yunqi suddenly interrupted her.
"You're lying. You're going to be the female emperor in the future. Why do you need to find a man to rely on for power? Tell me, did your father and mother force you? Did they force you to secretly go on a marriage alliance with Northern Yan and leave me?"
Du Gu Luanyue shook her head desperately.
"No, it's not like that! I went voluntarily. Southern Chu had no other choice, and I was the most suitable candidate for the marriage alliance."
Sheng Yunqi grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look into his eyes.
"So, what are you really doing here in Northern Yan? Is there some..."
Before he could say the word "plan", Du Gu Luanyue covered his mouth with her hand.
"Stop talking. I came to Northern Yan just to be a well - behaved empress through the marriage alliance. Yunqi, go back to Southern Chu quickly. It's very dangerous for you to stay in Northern Yan!"
Sheng Yunqi's identity was that of the man who had once been engaged to the Northern Yan empress. She had just married Emperor Wenhui of Northern Yan not long ago, and now her former fiancé had come to Northern Yan.
If all this were to reach Murong Min's ears, it was possible that he would have Sheng Yunqi assassinated on a whim.
She pushed Sheng Yunqi away forcefully. "Aunt Mei Jiang, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and take this man away!"
Aunt Mei Jiang rushed in. Just as she was about to take Sheng Yunqi away, Huo Wei walked out from behind the screen at this moment. His upper body was bare, and he clapped his hands as he walked.
"Wonderful, truly wonderful. What a pair of lovesick people. The great drama of the lover chasing after his beloved all the way to Northern Yan."
Sheng Yunqi turned his head and saw a man in Du Gu Luanyue's room. At that moment, he felt as if his blood had stopped flowing, and his heart suddenly stopped after a wild thumping.
Sheng Yunqi looked at them with a desolate expression, his eyes full of heartache as he looked at Du Gu Luanyue.
"Is he forcing you? Are you not doing well in Northern Yan? Have you suffered a lot of grievances!"
Aunt Mei Jiang felt heart - broken. Sheng Yunqi had been extremely kind to Du Gu Luanyue since childhood. She was like a pearl in his palm, honey in his mouth, and the dearest person in his heart.
From childhood to adulthood, Sheng Yunqi had never raised his voice at Du Gu Luanyue. Instead, Du Gu Luanyue often bullied him domineeringly, but he always stood under the tree smiling at her.
Even in this situation, with a man walking out of Du Gu Luanyue's room, he didn't scold angrily. He just asked if she was doing well and if she had suffered grievances.
The thing Du Gu Luanyue feared most in her life had happened. She was most afraid that her former lover would see her most disgraceful moment. Her veil of dignity had been completely torn off. At this moment, her resentment towards Huo Wei deepened even more.
She shouted angrily, "Aunt, hurry up and take this man away!"
Aunt Mei Jiang was afraid that something bad would happen, so she took the eldest young master of the Sheng family away without hesitation. "Young master, come with this old servant quickly. If you have any questions, ask this old servant."
Huo Wei sat down leisurely on one side, carelessly throwing an inner shirt over his shoulder. His black eyes turned cold and menacing. "Want to leave? This prince hasn't agreed yet."
Huo Wei had sent people to investigate Sheng Yunqi's identity before. This man was extremely complicated.
As the descendant of a powerful official, he had great ambition and deep strategies. He had changed his identity and come here for love.
But for the sake of love, with this man's schemes and means, no one knew what kind of chaos he would cause in Northern Yan.
Du Gu Luanyue was getting anxious. "Huo Wei, let him go. I'll give you a proper explanation for today's matter."
Sheng Yunqi's jaw tightened. He rushed towards Huo Wei regardless. His plain white Buddhist robe stirred up a murderous aura in the room.
Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Du Gu Luanyue also rushed towards the two of them without hesitation.