On the wide street that could accommodate three beast carriages side by side, somehow Mingyi’s carriage was jostled as soon as it reached Changyao Street.
Thinking it was just crowded and an accidental collision, she guided the lead beast to move aside a bit.
But after moving ten inches, the carriage beside them squeezed in again. The two wheels collided and got stuck, making a harsh noise.
Mingyi opened the window and frowned at the carriage next to her.
Ji Bozai leisurely opened his window and leaned on the sill, looking up at her.
He wore a long robe of pale yellow covered with black gauze. As his sleeves moved, it seemed as if wind entered his clothes. His brow was like a green mountain, his eyes like a calm pool. His pale lips pursed slightly, appearing pitiable.
Even having seen so many handsome men, Mingyi still found him the most attractive at this glance.
Unfortunately, he was someone she couldn’t have.
Mingyi calmly asked him, “Is Your Majesty’s carriage broken?”
“Mm.” He nodded, “For some reason, it keeps veering towards your side.”
She fell silent, not yet answering when Situ Ling beside her laughed: “I’ve heard these words before. Your Majesty said the same thing when pursuing Miss Li in Muxing City. It became quite a romantic tale then. I didn’t expect that after so long, Your Majesty still maintains your original intention. It’s truly admirable for us.”
As soon as he heard Situ Ling’s voice, Ji Bozai felt displeased. Seeing his face pop out from beside Mingyi, his expression grew cold: “Why is Young Lord Situ here?”
“Sister Ming is expanding her inner court. How could I not come?” Situ Ling looked at him deeply, with an expression Ji Bozai could understand at a glance.
He was coveting Mingyi, taking advantage of her lack of guard against him to act willfully by her side.
Ji Bozai said coldly, “A high official of Muxing City, how can you be in Chaoyang City’s inner court?”
“He’s not just in the inner court, he’ll be in the outer court too,” Mingyi said calmly. “I trust him, regardless of where he’s from. Just like how Your Majesty, a person from Chaoyang City, can lead Muxing City’s troops.”
“That’s not something anyone can do. When Your Majesty married Princess He Lun for Muxing City’s military tally, you swore in the hall that you would never abandon the princess in this life,” Situ Ling said with a smile.
“Oh?” Mingyi clapped her hands, “My mistake for not knowing at the time. I missed quite a spectacle.”
“Sister should have gone. I wanted to inform you then, but all the people I sent were intercepted by His Majesty. It’s truly a pity,” Situ Ling sighed, shaking his head. “It was the grandest wedding I’ve ever seen. The entire Muxing City was setting off firecrackers and pasting red paper everywhere. Princess He Lun’s dowry procession stretched for ten miles, her long wedding dress trailing behind her, the hem embroidered with golden phoenixes.”
“Despite the heavy wedding dress, His Majesty still lifted her, steadily crossing the threshold of the mansion bestowed by the Imperial Court. Princess He Lun smiled shyly behind her veil, and His Majesty’s face was full of joy. When they bowed to heaven and earth, the dragon and phoenix on their clothes reflected each other, truly a perfect match.”
“Later at the banquet, His Majesty drank too much, and Princess He Lun specially came out to receive him. The two entered the bridal chamber hand in hand, their affectionate appearance making countless people envious.”
Situ Ling happily finished reminiscing and turned to look at Ji Bozai: “Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?”
Ji Bozai sat seemingly relaxed, but his hand inside his sleeve had turned white from clenching.
He dared not look at Mingyi’s expression, afraid she would be upset, yet also afraid she wouldn’t be.
At first, he truly thought marriage wasn’t important, and naturally, the ceremony could be used for transactions. But when he went through the ceremony, he realized he was wrong. It was very solemn, almost carrying all of a woman’s hopes and joys.
He couldn’t give it to Mingyi but gave it to someone else.
Perhaps he could still give her a better, more solemn empress coronation ceremony, one he truly meant, but she no longer wanted it.
“The carriage has been stopped here for too long,” Mingyi spoke calmly. “It’s not good to block the road. Please, Your Majesty, go ahead first.”
“I…” he pursed his lips, “I’ve never had true feelings for anyone else.”
With others, he would only think this one wasn’t delicate enough, that one wasn’t gentle enough. But with Mingyi, he found her heroic spirit beautiful, her firmness attractive. When others played hard to get, he would tire after one attempt. But with Mingyi, he felt he could coax her a bit more.
However, the person opposite him said softly: “Your Majesty’s true feelings are so rare, like a stone in the clouds or a moon on the ground. No one can force them.”
With that, the window closed, cutting off his line of sight.
Ji Bozai came to his senses, belatedly feeling somewhat annoyed. She was doing it again, not leaving him any face in front of so many people.
Looking at the tightly closed window, he couldn’t help but say harshly: “I have no intention of reconciling with you.”
There was no response from the other side. He angrily waved his sleeve and drove his beast carriage forward.
Mingyi’s carriage remained stationary for quite a while.
She silently stared at the patterns on her skirt, lost in thought. Situ Ling, regretting what he had said, looked at her and asked softly: “Is Sister upset?”
Mingyi pursed her lips and said in a hoarse voice: “If I said I wasn’t upset at all, I’d be lying to you.”
After all, he was the first person she had taken a liking to, and they had been together for some time. Even if it were just a dog, one would develop feelings, let alone a bedmate.
However, she would never show any weakness in front of him, only relieving her emotions in private.
Situ Ling, feeling heartache, wanted to reach out but curled his fingers back, saying helplessly: “I won’t mention it again. Don’t be sad, Sister.”
“I’m not sad anymore.” Wiping her eyes, Mingyi straightened her back, “Let’s go back and play with Zhou Zihong. He’s quite interesting.”
“I’m quite interesting too…” Situ Ling muttered.
“What?” Mingyi didn’t hear clearly.
“Nothing. Let’s go, Sister. With so many people in the inner court, a great woman fears not lacking husbands.”
Mingyi laughed and immediately drove the beast carriage back to the inner court.
She felt that twelve people in the courtyard were enough, but some court officials openly opposed it while secretly forcing their sons into the inner court. So in the end, she had over thirty people in her courtyard.
“Do you think being a City Lord is happy?” Mingyi sighed deeply.
Bai Ying beside her felt a bit helpless, just about to comfort her when their leader suddenly grinned and excitedly said: “Hey, you can’t even imagine the joy of being a City Lord!”
A courtyard full of handsome men, vying for her attention, competing openly and secretly for her – this feeling was indescribably delightful. She no longer had to please anyone. She only needed to choose one courtyard to visit each day, and someone would have everything prepared, happily waiting for her.
Of course, she gave this group quite a lot of power, so they naturally wouldn’t be servile to her. For example, Zhou Zihong – even when she had reached his door, he was still writing furiously in his study, showing no intention of coming out to greet her.
Before, Mingyi thought, weren’t men cheap? The ones you don’t actively pursue, they like even more. That’s why playing hard to get became the most effective strategy throughout history.
But when it was her turn, Mingyi felt that, well, this attitude of not fawning over her was indeed hard not to notice.