Chapter 81: Like Mother, Like Daughter

Once the imperial physician finished checking her pulse, Luo Wushuang breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed her sudden weakness was merely the result of overexertion. With her mind at ease, she headed straight for her private chambers, intent on teasing Shangguan Liqian.

However, Shangguan Liqian—who rarely left the bedchambers and lacked any form of regular exercise—had spent the state banquet weighed down by heavy ceremonial robes and a head full of golden ornaments. She was already exhausted to the point of collapse and was in no mood for the Empress’s advances.

Left with no other choice, Luo Wushuang suppressed her playful desires. After bathing, she climbed onto the Phoenix Bed and pulled Shangguan Liqian into her arms to chat.

Mostly, it was Luo Wushuang speaking while Shangguan Liqian offered the occasional hum or nod to show she was still listening.

It wasn’t until Luo Wushuang mentioned that the Princess of the Western Regions had requested to marry Princess Liyang, Luo Yunjin, that Shangguan Liqian finally showed a spark of interest.

“Are you saying the Western Princess wants to change the person she is marrying to Princess Liyang?”

Seeing Luo Wushuang nod, Shangguan Liqian bit her lower lip gently and asked, “And Princess Liyang?”

Luo Wushuang thought for a moment. “She likely favors her as well.”

She recalled reports from the Secret Guards stating that Luo Yunjin and the Western Princess shared a deep history. Furthermore, Lou Yanhui had stayed at Luo Yunjin’s manor for a considerable amount of time immediately upon arriving in the capital.

How could there be no feelings between them?

As for the specific details, Wushuang wasn’t entirely sure. She was busy with court sessions and even busier trying to win her sister’s heart; she barely had time to breathe, let alone pry into the romantic affairs of others.

Hearing that Luo Yunjin might actually love that icy Western Princess, Shangguan Liqian nearly laughed. She had to use every ounce of her self-control to keep a straight face.

She felt her previous suspicion might actually be true: there was definitely something wrong with the Luo family’s ancestral graves.

Three. That made three of them.

Actually, the former Emperor only had these three daughters left, and not a single one of them liked men. If that wasn’t a sign of a deeper issue, what was?

Luo Wushuang poked Shangguan Liqian, who had begun to drift off into her own thoughts. “What are you thinking about, Sister?” she asked petulantly.

Shangguan Liqian spoke without thinking. “I was thinking that while the former Emperor had both sons and daughters, his lineage is still going to end with this generation.”

Her tongue was a step faster than her brain. The moment the words left her mouth, a flash of regret crossed her beautiful eyes.

She tilted her head slightly, glancing at the now-silent Luo Wushuang. Liqian poked the Empress’s waist in return and whispered, “Are you angry?”

Luo Wushuang shook her head. “I could never be angry with you. In my heart, the former Emperor isn’t worth a single strand of your hair.”

She had only gone silent because she felt her sister was right. In fact, in Luo Wushuang’s heart, anything Shangguan Liqian said was right.

However, having experienced death and retaining the memories of her past life, Shangguan Liqian still held a lingering reverence for the supernatural and the divine.

Hearing Wushuang speak so dismissively of the former Emperor, she patted the Empress’s hand. “Do not be disrespectful to your ancestors.”

If the deceased truly did protect their descendants, what would happen if the former Emperor heard Wushuang’s words and withdrew his blessing? When it came to the person she loved, Shangguan Liqian couldn’t help but be a little more cautious, perhaps even a little superstitious.

Luo Wushuang relished the way Liqian worried for her, but when the former Emperor was mentioned, a flicker of internal struggle crossed her Phoenix eyes.

After a moment of hesitation, she spoke candidly. “The former Emperor isn’t dead.”

“Huh?” Shangguan Liqian froze, nearly certain she had misheard.

The former Emperor wasn’t dead? Hadn’t he passed away several years ago?

Luo Wushuang understood her shock. After all, when the Emperor “passed,” every required ritual and ceremony had been carried out perfectly under the joint coordination of herself and the Empress Dowager. No one knew that the Imperial Tomb held nothing but the former Emperor’s dragon robes.

She had promised the Empress Dowager that no one else would ever know.

But… Liqian wasn’t “someone else.”

As long as her sister didn’t think of leaving her, Wushuang would give her the world and hide nothing from her. As for breaking her promise to the Empress Dowager, Luo Wushuang didn’t care in the slightest.

Over the last few years, she had seized control of both the court and the inner palace. Aside from the servants in the Palace of Benevolent Peace, almost everyone was under her thumb.

Even if the Empress Dowager tried to hold her accountable, what could she do? Wushuang wasn’t afraid.

Moreover, she had already begun secretly planting her own people in the Palace of Benevolent Peace. It was just that the old woman was far too shrewd and cautious; the spies Wushuang sent in were never given positions of importance.

She had other methods, of course, but out of respect for the fact that the Empress Dowager was her biological mother and had helped her during her ascension, she hadn’t resorted to lethal force.

Otherwise… if the loyal eunuchs and mamas by the Dowager’s side were to suddenly end up dead or crippled, the old woman would have no choice but to use the servants Wushuang provided.

Just as Shangguan Liqian was struggling to digest this news, Luo Wushuang dropped another bombshell.

“That old thing isn’t dead. Mother broke all four of his limbs and keeps him like a pet in the Palace of Benevolent Peace.”

“What?” Shangguan Liqian was stunned again. She lifted her head from Luo Wushuang’s embrace, her eyes glazed with shock.

Old thing? Not dead? Broken limbs? Kept like a pet?

She understood each of those words individually, but when they were strung together, the reality was beyond anything she had imagined.

Who did Wushuang say was being kept like that? The former Emperor?

Oh, no. Since he wasn’t dead, she couldn’t call him the “former” Emperor. But Wushuang’s throne was… forget it, that wasn’t the important part.

What was the important part? She didn’t even know anymore.

Everything Wushuang said today was so bizarre that she wondered if she was hallucinating from exhaustion. But seeing that Luo Wushuang didn’t look like she was joking at all, Shangguan Liqian closed her eyes in mock agony.

Heavens! Is this actually real?

If it was true, she really didn’t want to know!

Faced with Shangguan Liqian’s look of utter disbelief, Luo Wushuang nodded solemnly, confirming that she hadn’t misheard.

The look on Shangguan Liqian’s face became even more pained.

Why did Wushuang have to tell her this? It seemed she would have to be careful even when talking in her sleep from now on.

But did Wushuang really trust her this much? Thinking of it that way made her feel a tiny bit better.

Seeing the expressions on Liqian’s face shift rapidly, Luo Wushuang couldn’t help her curiosity. “What are you thinking about now, Sister?”

Shangguan Liqian glanced at the Empress, whose curiosity was clearly piqued, and sighed helplessly. “I think I finally understand why you were always shouting about wanting to break my legs.”

It turned out there was a precedent set by the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. It wasn’t hard to understand why a high-achiever like Wushuang would be so eager to follow in her mother’s footsteps.

However, considering how many times she had tried to run away in her past life and yet Wushuang could never bring herself to actually do it, it seemed the woman truly loved her to her very marrow.

Letting out a long sigh, Shangguan Liqian suddenly became curious about Wushuang’s current thoughts.

Taking the teacup Luo Wushuang handed her, Liqian locked eyes with those elegant Phoenix eyes. “And now?”

“Huh?” Luo Wushuang looked up, momentarily dazed.

Shangguan Liqian asked again, “Do you still have those thoughts now?”

Luo Wushuang looked down, trying to avoid her gaze, but a single look from Liqian stopped her in her tracks.