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

Chapter 34 - Jealous

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Xue Junliang slowly and carefully drew one eyebrow, and then continued to draw the other side.

The way Xiu Yao saw it, there was no other king more affectionate and more infatuated than this Xue Wang. But Teng Yun could only think this Xue Junliang was indeed hard to read.

Xue Junliang had treated him coldly for a few days, and every time they had to come face-to-face, Xue Junliang would glower angrily at him. It made sense, as Teng Yun was the one tried to kill him. His attempt failed, but Teng Yun thought there was really no reason for Xue Junliang letting the matter go and putting on such friendly and loving expression on his face.

When Xue Junliang finished drawing the eyebrows, he leaned back to admire his own handiwork; seemingly very satisfied. Then he waved a hand, letting all the servants go while telling them he'd like to spend the night here at Yunfeng Palace.

Xue Junliang daubed a thin layer of powder on the Empress' face. After Xue Junliang did so much, her face didn't look that much better but at least wasn't so bare as before.

Xue Junliang then picked up a carved wooden comb, stood behind the other person and started to comb her hair gently.

Teng Yun glanced at Xue Junliang's reflection on the mirror. Xue Junliang's reflection was a bit blurry, looking a bit surreal as if he was a dream. Teng Yun took a deep breath, trying to suppress his face from heating up.

Xue Junliang said nothing, so did Teng Yun; both quiet as one of them combed the other's hair.

Then Teng Yun said, "Your Majesty... I heard that the army sent to the northern border had been attacked." Teng Yun had already been exposed, and he wasn't too concerned about his own lifelihood, anyway; he didn't need to wallow in regret and certainly didn't need to keep calling himself Chen-qie in front of Xue Junliang.

Xue Junliang looked up at the mirror and his gaze collided with Teng Yun's. He smiled and said, "This is the first time Aifei initiated a conversation with me, I'm happy. Does this mean our relationship has gone more affectionate?"

Teng Yunb didn't respond nor answered as if he didn't hear Xue Junliang's question.

Xue Junliang didn't stop carefully combing the other person's hair. The black glossy hair was long like a waterfall. He recalled that night, he'd pressed the other person onto the bed; her hair was loose and spread messily on the quilt.

"Do you want to know if Cheng Tian's attack succeeded, or do you want to ask... about Xue Yu?"

When Xue Junliang mentioned Xue Yu, Teng Yun remembered that everyone was still speculating about the relationship between the Empress and Marquis Zhenjiang. If Teng Yun tried to deny it, he knew it would only meaninglessly pass through Xue Junliang's ears.

Teng Yun said, "Neither."

"Oh, neither?"

Xue Junliang didn't ask the other person to clarify as if he was totally uninterested; as if the answer couldn't distract him from the other person's hair.

Teng Yun added, "I... want to ask about Teng Shang."

This time, Xue Junliang laughed before saying, "You might have not heard. Before, Teng Qianyi had said she thought you and Teng Shang had a close relationship."

Hearing this, Teng Yun's heart jumped. He took a quick glance at the mirror, but he didn't expect Xue Junliang's eyes were watching him through it. His glance was fleeting, but Xue Junliang surely could catch the panicked and shocked expression in Teng Yun's eyes.