The Ugly Empress by Yun Guo Shi Fei / 丑娘娘 by 云过是非

Chapter 32 - Nightmare

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"Si... Sister-in-law!"

Xue Houyang came to an abrupt stop and quickly retracted his hands. The sword that he'd blocked fell to the ground with a clank; the sound was quite loud, alerting the guards outside. They rushed inside but then halted in shock.

Jiang Yu thought he'd been caught in dilemma too many times today. What kind of situation was this?

Her Majesty the Empress' hair was loose as it wasn't pinned with anything; cascading down her shoulders. Her clothes were untidy, her belt was gone and her outer garment was opened, her wide flowing skirt barely covered her long legs.

Her Majesty's eyes were slightly bloodshot, her lips blood-red as if she had been biting them. She was glaring at Xue Wang like she wanted to skin him alive.

Xue Houyang noted the way she was dressed at the same time he realized he was standing the closest to the Empress. He immediately lowered his gaze. Eyes still down and not daring to lift them, he stepped back behind Xue Junliang.

Xue Junliang reacted slower. He took off his own outer robe then reached his hands towards the Empress before tightly covering her with his robe; preventing others from seeing her disheveled state. He didn't look angry, instead smiled and said, "Aifei, are you angry with Gu? Gu realized Gu must have worn you out."

Hearing this, the others instantly lowered their gazes and scrambled to withdraw. The couple were having a lover's quarrel; they, as lowly subordinates should remove themselves from the room as quickly as possible.

This incident only cemented their realization that no one could shake and doubt Her Majesty's status. Her Majesty throwing a sword and glaring daggers at Xue Wang; instead of getting angry, Xue Wang actually put on such pleading expression, trying to appease the Empress.

A woman who could make a supreme king beg for her favor, really should not be taken lightly.

The Empress had gone pliant when tightly hugged by Xue Wang, confirming Xue Wang's words.

But the truth was, Teng Yun couldn't move because Xue Junliang had hit his acupuncture point. His whole body felt so numb and painful that if Xue Junliang wasn't holding him, he would have already fallen on the floor.

After wrapping the Empress, Xue Junliang lifted her into his arms. Jiang Yu immediately pushed the door to the inner chamber open. When Xue Wang and the Empress had passed the door, Jiang Yu silently closed it.

Xue Houyang scratched his nose in embarrassment. Taking the urgent report away, he turned to go.

Xue Junliang threw Teng Yun on the bed and sneered, "You actually tried to kill Gu. You must be courting for death."

Then he tidied the Empress' messy hair and covered her with the blanket. The action didn't match up with his menacing tone, making it hard for Teng Yun to predict Xue Junliang's mood.

Xue Junliang added, "Or were you thinking that, even if Gu hated you, Gu wouldn't be able to kill you?"

As he said this, Xue Junliang turned to look at the inside of his own wrist. There was a small wound on it; it was still bleeding but didn't look very serious. If Xue Houyang's reaction was a tiny bit slower than it had been, Xue Junliang reckoned the sword might have taken his life.

[T/N : Ooh... So the sword was actually well-aimed? Xue Houyang said it was clumsy so I thought Teng Yun's skills had gone.]

Noting the other person said nothing, Xue Junliang continued, "Gu has finally taken Teng Country's Eldest Princess as hostage, but now those barbarians are attacking, so Gu really cannot deal with you right now. If by any chance Feng Wang sends his troops here right this moment, Gu would have too many enemies attacking at the same time. But you must understand, even if Gu won't throw you away to the Cold Palace; even if Gu can't kill you, you shouldn't be too happy. There are many ways to make your life so miserable, you'd think you'd be better off dead."