Chapter 5

From that day on, I haunted Wei Qinghe like a ghost.

When she spoke to the other consorts, I lurked behind her, muttering, “Sister won’t even look at me. Sister won’t even look at me…”

When she admired the flowers with her maid, I trailed after them. “Sister, why are you smiling at her? Why?”

When she scolded a servant who’d made a mistake, I leaned in helpfully. “You can scold me like that too, Sister. I won’t get angry.”

…

Thanks to my tireless efforts, Wei Qinghe and I enjoyed a wonderful time together.

But whenever a beautiful relationship blossomed, some monster always came along to ruin it.

The instant Murong Su entered her residence, I swept away all the snacks.

I’d meant to keep the pig from eating the treats. Who knew he wanted to root up my lovely cabbage instead?

He deliberately came over and patted Wei Qinghe’s shoulder. “You’ve had a hard time.”

I looked at him.

He looked back, heaved a theatrical sigh, and patted her shoulder again.

My fists clenched.

…You damned pig. Do you have a death wish?

I promptly leaned close to Wei Qinghe again and whispered like a devil, “Sister, there’s a pig demon in the area.”

She suddenly turned to look at me.

For some reason, her face was full of fury.

The next moment, she slammed her palm on the table and abandoned her serene, unworldly persona. “Enough, enough! What are you jabbering in my ear for every single day? Are you sick in the head? Can’t you go compete for his favor? Every time I tell you to attend him at night, you’re on your period! Are you deliberately trying to make my life miserable?”

As she pointed at my nose and shouted, I silently took several steps back.

Berating me wasn’t enough. She turned to Murong Su and freely vented years of pent-up resentment.

“Your Majesty! Take her away this instant! Could you choose a few normal women next time? Because you play the enlightened ruler, I have to play the virtuous empress. Do you have any idea how exhausting that is? I’m sick of this! Is she your consort or mine? You haven’t come to fetch her once! She bothers me here every day. Can’t you do something?”

She was still yelling when Murong Su and I quietly retreated to the doorway.

Only once we were safely out of range did he speak. “You’ve worked hard, my empress. I’ll take her away now.”

I still felt reluctant to leave. He grabbed the back of my collar and hauled me out.

Once we were outside, my spirits couldn’t help sinking. “I don’t know why she suddenly got so angry.”

It was all Murong Su’s fault.

He shot me a sideways look. “You really don’t?”

All right, then.

I trudged on with my head down.

Perhaps noticing my dejection, he tried to console me as we walked. “Still, the empress doesn’t dislike you that much.”

I looked up. “Really?”

He regarded me serenely. “Really. People she dislikes don’t live that long.”

I said nothing.

That familiar needle rose in my heart and pricked me again.

“Thanks to you, this is the first time I’ve seen… another side of the empress.”

He walked on, hands clasped behind his back, smiling with easy composure.

I followed.

…And there he was, acting all impressive again.