Chapter 32: The Splendid Country Part 1

“What does ‘laopo’ mean?” Xia Lingyu asked, her eyes lowered.

Xiao Luo smiled charmingly, wrapping her arms around Xia Lingyu’s waist. “A laopo(Wife) is a companion you can grow old with—it means ‘my beloved,’ you know~”

“Oh, so that’s what it is. A companion to grow old with.” A smile touched Xia Lingyu’s face. She liked that meaning.

She turned and brought over the nuptial wine, handing one cup to Xiao Luo with a smile. “Wife, let’s drink the wedding wine. After we finish, we can perform the rites of Zhou.”

Xiao Luo’s cheeks flushed faintly. She drank the wine with Xia Lingyu. Though it was fruit wine, it was rich and mellow, warming her stomach and leaving her limbs limp and soft.

She raised her eyes to look at Xia Lingyu, a trace of tipsiness in her gaze, her face radiating a bewitching allure.

“Your Majesty~ You look so beautiful tonight,” Xiao Luo laughed, leaning in to touch Xia Lingyu’s face and kissing her all over in a flurry.

Feeling her actions, Xia Lingyu’s eyes darkened with desire. She caught Xiao Luo’s restless hand and said, “It seems my beloved consort has no head for wine.”

Xiao Luo swayed her head playfully. “Guess if I’m drunk or not?”

Xia Lingyu looked at her. In the flickering candlelight, the lavishly dressed woman was even more stunning, her dark eyes sparkling with mischief.

Xia Lingyu smiled. “Drunk or not, tonight is our wedding night. Beloved consort, a moment of spring is worth a thousand gold pieces. I will not let you off.”

“All right.” Xiao Luo spread her arms wide. “Then help me take all this off. This headpiece is so heavy it’s killing me, and this whole outfit…”

Xia Lingyu glanced at the elaborate phoenix crown and embroidered wedding gown she wore. It was indeed cumbersome. She remembered how long Xiao Luo had been wearing it today—she must be utterly exhausted.

“All right, let me help you.” Very carefully, Xia Lingyu removed the phoenix crown, letting Xiao Luo’s ink-black hair cascade down.

Next came the many-layered phoenix robe wedding dress. Xiao Luo lay on the bed with her eyes closed and let Xia Lingyu peel the garments off her one by one. Xia Lingyu patiently undid her clothes…

“Your Majesty, your servant fears pain.” Xiao Luo grasped Xia Lingyu’s wrists, her voice laced with a coquettish note.

Before this, they had only flirted and never gone all the way.

Amused, Xia Lingyu withdrew her fingers. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll be very gentle.”

Seeing the smile on her face, Xiao Luo was momentarily dazed. For some reason, she suddenly felt that the woman before her had such familiar features, as if they had known each other long ago—a memory carved deep into her bones…

Xia Lingyu bent down and sealed Xiao Luo’s lips with a kiss. “Luo’er, don’t get distracted.”

……

Inside the chamber, the red candles had already burned halfway down.

Xiao Luo lay on her stomach with her eyes half-closed, unwilling to move.

“Do you want a bath?” Xia Lingyu lay beside her, her voice husky.

Xiao Luo nodded. Xia Lingyu scooped her up and carried her out of bed, and they sank into the hot water together.

Xiao Luo couldn’t stand steady and wrapped her arms tightly around Xia Lingyu.

“Hold on to me. I’ll wash you now. Don’t squirm,” Xia Lingyu said.

The moment her body immersed in the warm water, Xiao Luo finally felt a little better.

“How does my beloved consort feel?” Xia Lingyu asked.

Xiao Luo’s ears turned pink. “I feel a bit better after the bath.”

Not quite satisfied, Xia Lingyu pressed on. “And before the bath? How was it? For the sake of our future… Consort, you must not tell a lie.”

Xiao Luo quivered and curled up, saying, “It was all right.”

“Oh, so my consort is that satisfied. Yet I’m not quite satisfied.” Xia Lingyu wrapped an arm around her waist, kissed her gorgeous profile, and then fixed her burning gaze upon her.

“Then what does Your Majesty want to do?” Xiao Luo’s eyes brimmed with seductive charm.

Xia Lingyu smiled slightly, leaned close to her ear, and whispered something secret…

“Is that all right?”

Xiao Luo thought for a moment, her face flushing as she nodded. “Then Your Majesty must promise me one condition.”

Xia Lingyu kissed her cheek and asked patiently, “Fine. Tell me.”

“I want Your Majesty to massage my legs.”

Xia Lingyu laughed. “No problem.”

She was quite good at leg massages.

……

They slept until the sun was high in the sky. When Xiao Luo got up, she felt sore all over.

Then she suddenly remembered the gift the female lead had given her—that box of ointment. She heard it was very effective. Should she try it?

After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to give it a try. She had casually tossed it into her dressing case earlier, and after some effort she found it. She was secretly using it on the bed when—

“Her Majesty arrives—!” The eunuch’s announcement nearly made her jump and fling the thing out of her hand.

“What is my beloved consort doing?” Xia Lingyu appeared before her without warning.

Xiao Luo wrapped the blanket tightly around her naked body and snorted. “Nothing.”

Xia Lingyu smiled, clearly unconvinced. “What’s that in your hand? Let me have a look, all right?”

As she spoke, she moved to pull back the blanket. A small box of white cream tumbled out.

“What is this?” Xia Lingyu looked at the object curiously.

Xiao Luo blushed with embarrassment and tried to snatch it back, but Xia Lingyu dodged. Xia Lingyu teased, “Why so flustered?”

Unable to wrest it away, Xiao Luo grew irritated and could only explain the ointment’s purpose. Finally, she said, “If you won’t give it to me, then you’ll have to apply it for me.”

She cast a glance at Xia Lingyu and noticed that the other woman seemed almost eager.

She felt both a flush of shame and a strange sense of anticipation.

Xia Lingyu’s fingers were long and well-defined, the hands of a martial artist with faint calluses. Last night, because of those hands, she had nearly cried herself unconscious.

“All right. Are you ready?” Xia Lingyu scooped a tiny dab of the white ointment with her noble index finger and looked at Xiao Luo, her gaze deep.

Her face scarlet, Xiao Luo nodded. Obeying, she lay on her stomach. While the ointment was being applied, she couldn’t help letting out sounds and buried her head under the blanket.

But Xia Lingyu mischievously pulled the blanket aside. “Don’t be shy, my consort. Is there any inch of you I’m not familiar with? It’s not good for you to stifle yourself either.”

After the whole ointment ordeal, Xiao Luo listlessly got dressed.

She felt like she had once been a fresh, juicy peach, and Xia Lingyu had mercilessly squeezed her dry.

“Your Majesty promised to massage my legs.” Xiao Luo wrapped her arms around Xia Lingyu’s arm and shook it.

“Fine, fine, you little fox spirit. I’ll massage them tonight. Now wash up and have something to eat.”

It was already past noon by the time Xiao Luo got up, and she still hadn’t eaten. Xia Lingyu didn’t want her to go hungry.

“All right.” Xiao Luo thought for a moment and added, “Tonight, aside from leg massaging, nothing else is allowed.”

Xia Lingyu raised a brow and squeezed her waist. “Are you sure, my consort?”

Xiao Luo gave a dazzling, seductive smile, wrapped her arms around Xia Lingyu’s neck, and said, “Mhm. But if Your Majesty can’t hold back, this servant is more than willing to help.”

“Little vixen…” Xia Lingyu, seeing her alluring look, couldn’t resist cupping her face and giving her a hard kiss.

Because of Xiao Luo, she had barely made it to morning court today, and the ministers’ expressions hadn’t been kind.

……

After Xiao Luo became Empress, the titled ladies of the capital were originally supposed to pay respects to her at dawn the next day. But because Xiao Luo hadn’t risen, the audience was postponed to the third day.

That day, Xiao Luo got up early and dressed splendidly again. Once all the noble ladies had assembled, she made her graceful entrance into the reception hall.

“Her Highness the Empress, may you live for a thousand years, a thousand thousand years!” All the titled women rose and bowed to her—except Princess Dowager Heng at the front.

Xiao Luo narrowed her eyes at the old princess, smiling faintly. Pretending not to recognize her, she asked, “And this lady is…?”

The Old Princess Heng threw her a proud, disdainful glance and gave a cold snort. “I am Princess Heng, personally enfeoffed by the late emperor, a first-rank titled noble. Aside from the Empress Dowager, I need not bow to anyone.”

Just thinking about it made the old princess furious. A few days earlier, she had arranged for the Imperial Observatory to accuse Xiao Luo of being a disaster-bringing demon in court. But not only did Xia Lingyu refuse to listen, she threw the Observatory officials into the Imperial Prison.

These past few days, she and Heng’er had been living in constant fear that the Observatory would expose them. Thankfully, after the officials were jailed, nothing happened.

As she was thinking this, Xiao Luo’s voice came from above: “Oh~ You don’t need to bow to this palace? Who said that?”

“The Empress Dowager, of course…”

Xiao Luo shot a look at Chuntao.

Chuntao, who had grown exceptionally sharp-witted during her time serving Xiao Luo, understood her meaning with just one glance. She cleared her throat and stepped forward. “Her Highness is the Empress personally chosen by Her Majesty, in charge of the Phoenix Seal. What is the Empress Dowager? Just because she said you don’t need to bow, you don’t? Princess Dowager Heng flouts palace rules and shows disrespect to the Empress. Someone, slap her mouth!”

The Old Princess Heng’s eyes went wide with shock. “You dare? This princess is a first-rank titled noble!”

Xiao Luo elegantly propped her chin on her hand, not saying a word. Chuntao spoke entirely on her behalf: “So what if you’re first-rank? Everyone here is a titled lady. Who else dares show disrespect to Her Highness like you? Hit her hard!”

At once, three palace maids entered. Two restrained the Old Princess Heng while the third slapped her across the face repeatedly.

The crisp sound of slaps rang through the hall.

The other titled ladies watched, and flickers of schadenfreude passed over their faces.

This Old Princess Heng had always been arrogant and overbearing in the capital. She’d snatch up anything that caught her eye and let her son bully men and ravish women. Both mother and son looked down on others with such superior eyes, as if everyone else was a lowly slave beneath them.

Now, seeing Old Princess Heng slapped, they felt they’d vented a bellyful of rage.

“All right, all right, stop hitting her. It pains this palace to watch,” Xiao Luo said hypocritically.

The maids immediately stopped and withdrew to the side. The Old Princess Heng’s face was swollen from the slaps, and she swayed unsteadily.

Chuntao cleared her throat again and declared, “Her Highness is so magnanimous. Princess Dowager Heng, are you not going to express your gratitude?!”

The Old Princess Heng snapped out of her daze and looked up at the high seat to see Xiao Luo’s eyes glinting with amusement. She erupted with fury. “You cheap—”

The maid beside her hastily grabbed her and whispered, “Your Highness, think of the prince. Please endure for now.”

The Old Princess Heng trembled all over before finally swallowing her rage.

She was so furious, so utterly furious! One day, when Heng’er ascended the throne, she would flay the skin off this demon empress!

Gritting her teeth, she said, “This old body thanks Her Highness the Empress!”

Xiao Luo replied, “No need. This palace is a woman who respects the old and cherishes the young. Although… some elderly people have no respect for themselves, this palace is still kind and magnanimous enough to teach them proper conduct.”

Hearing this, the assembled ladies couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Xiao Luo raised her eyes and smiled at them. “Don’t you all agree, honored ladies?”

“Exactly, exactly! Her Highness is virtuous, good-hearted, considerate, and magnanimous. It’s just that some blind fools insist on ramming into her.”

“Perhaps they’re just cheap and asking to be hit.”

“Indeed. And they think they’re so noble when their son has already been reduced to a commoner.”