Beloved Empress

"What? Affair?" Mo Qi Qi stands up, scandalized.

Jun Yue Hen quickly forces her to sit back down, "You promised me you will not be impulsive. The night is so quiet and your voice is so loud, what if other people hear you?"

Mo Qi Qi looks at him incredulously, close to tears, "How could this be? How could Mo Qi Qi did that?" Wuwu, no wonder Jun Qian Che always got so angry whenever they mentioned this. Aiya! No wonder he always looked so cold. If it was another man, she probably would have been killed by now. Never mind the ancient times, even men from modern times would not be able to tolerate straying wives.

"Could the emperor perhaps been mistaken? If I really had an affair, why didn’t the emperor kill me?" Mo Qi Qi tries to reason.

"I only heard about this from people at the palace, I didn’t personally see everything. I heard, when the emperor entered the viewing tower, that man fled while you were left there, your dress in disarray. Perhaps, the emperor suppressed the news from spreading because of Mo Clan’s power. And maybe, he also wanted to save his own face, as well as the image of the imperial clan."

Mo Qi Qi nods in agreement, "You are right. No one will spread the news of getting cheated on by one’s own spouse. No matter how angry he was, he could only hide the matter, otherwise, he would really lose face as the ruler of the kingdom. Everyone would laugh at him. The incident would be recorded in the historical annals and the later generations would make fun of him." Wuwu, previous owner-ah! Did you have to play in this manner? You are already dead and are leaving all these mess for me to pick up! Did I owe you anything in the past life? I always thought he was trashy. I wanted to kill him when he forced me that night, but at least, I was his legal wife. What about you? You were fooling around with unknown men! Let me find a tofu block to kill myself with!

She always thought that Jun Qian Che owed her one, but now, it feels the complete opposite! The previous owner will harm her to death!

Jun Qian Che, I can stop blaming you for forcing me, just can you forget what the previous owner did back then? Let’s start afresh! Huhu, but you are from the ancient era and is the emperor to boot, you will not let me off. I am going to die! I am going to die!

Jun Yue Hen studies Mo Qi Qi’s anxious face, "Don’t be nervous, Qi Qi. This matter has passed. The emperor has forbade people from bringing this up, I don’t think he will bring this up again in the future."

Mo Qi Qi does not share that view, "He will never get over this! If I am a man, even I will not get over this! If he really got over it, he would not bring it up from time to time. He only spared my life back then to save his own face. Once people forget about this, he will try to find excuses to get rid of me so that he can vent his anger! I can just see him remembering the viewing tower incident everytime he sees me. No wonder he is always angry! Ai!" Mo Qi Qi unconsciously shudders.

"If I had known you would be this worried, I wouldn’t have told you," Jun Yue Hen regretfully says.

Mo Qi Qi thinks otherwise, "Yue Hen, you did right by telling me everything! Otherwise, I would never know why Jun Qian Che always got so angry whenever I mentioned the viewing tower. If he kill me one day, I would probably think I was innocent! Now that I know everything, I must make my preparation for the future! Yue Hen, I want to leave the palace!" She looks at Jun Yue Hen earnestly.

Jun Yue Hen is very surprised with what she said. "Am I hearing things wrong? You want to leave the palace?"

Mo Qi Qi nods solemnly. "You are not hearing wrong, I want to leave the palace. If I stay here, I will really get killed. Even though the Mo Clan is really powerful, if Jun Qian Che really puts his mind into killing me, no one will be able to stop him. Once he killed me, he can just put some accusations on me, and Mo Clan probably won’t be able to do anything. Even if Mo Clan wants to avenge me, what is the point when I am already dead?"

"But, are you willing to leave everything you have?" Jun Yue Hen studies every single change in her expression.

"What is there to be unwilling over? The empress position? Nothing is more important to me than my own life!" Mo Qi Qi resolutely says.

"Since Qi Qi has made her mind, I will help you," Jun Yue Hen earnestly says.

"This—- Yue Hen, I do not wish to drag you into this mess. If I leave this way, Jun Qian Che will definitely order people to pursue me. If you get dragged into this, you are screwed. You won’t be able to keep your position." Mo Qi Qi does not wish to owe him anything.

Jun Yue Hen does not care about things like that, "Power, money and riches are only worldly materials. If you can let go of your empress position, I can also let go of my own position. If you leave on your own, I will be worried of your safety. I want to keep you company, traversing the world is also a kind of luxury."

"Yue Hen—" Mo Qi Qi is very touched, but she cannot be that self-centered. "Yue Hen, I will not let you do that. I cannot give you anything, I cannot promise you anything as well, so I will not accept anything from you."

"Aren’t we friends, Qi Qi? What does friendship means? What does it entails? Friends help each other when they are in trouble. By doing this, I am not only helping you, but also myself. I am very tired with my current life. Everyone in court thinks I am always up to something. The emperor is very cautious of me, he does not trust me. Rather than continuing to live this tiring life, might as well leave. It is better to live life in a simpler manner. Qi Qi, if you really consider me your friend, let me help you," Jun Yue Hen insists.

Mo Qi Qi is very touched. She did not think Jun Yue Hen would be willing to let go of everything for her. Even though she does not love him now, who is to say she will still not like him in the future? If she cannot travel back to her time, might as well marry someone warm and gentle like Jun Yue Hen.

"Alright, we will leave together," Mo Qi Qi finally agrees.

Jun Yue Hen is happy beyond belief, "Great. I will go back and prepare everything and plan our escape. We will meet outside the palace at 11pm. I will send someone to take you out of the palace."

"Alright, we will meet 3 days later, at 11pm," Mo Qi Qi quickly replies.

Jun Yue Hen is very happy, "Then, I will go and prepare everything." After that, he leaves.

In the blink of an eye, 3 days have passed. For the past few days, Mo Qi Qi have been busy preparing everything that she will need to take with her. Honestly, she does not need to take too many things. Too many things will hinder their escape. The most important thing is she needs to bring enough money as well as a couple of dresses to change into. Other than that, she only needs to be worried about the escape itself. Because of that, she has asked Ban Xiang to bring her Hua Chen Kingdom’s map.

When Ban Xiang found out that she plans to leave, Ban Xiang insists on escaping with her. Mo Qi Qi does not want to bring her along, lest she ends up dragging Ban Xiang into the mess.

But Ban Xiang said that she is already inside the mess. She is the empress’ personal maid. If the empress ran off, the emperor will deal with the personal maid first.

Mo Qi Qi could see her point. Besides, having Ban Xiang with her out there will give her someone to lean on. They can take care of each other.

The sky gradually turns dark. Mo Qi Qi and Ban Xiang have prepared everything. Now, all they need to do is to wait for other people to sleep. Then, they will escape.

Mo Qi Qi studies the map and points at something to Ban Xiang, "Ban Xiang, we will leave through Shen Wu Gate."

Ban Xiang is very surprised, "Your Ladyship, didn’t you promised the 7th wang to meet him in Hua Yang Gate? Why are you changing the escape route?"

"After thinking this through, I’ve decided to not drag Yue Hen into this. He is an imperial prince, his future is bright. He is so young, so promising. Not only will he be able to help the common people, he can also help the Grand Empress Dowager in the future. If he leaves, imperial grandmother will be so worried. Besides, I cannot promise him love or marriage, what is the point of taking him with us? This will not be fair towards him. Besides, I do not wish to owe him anything. I have made my decision. We will not follow his escape route, we will run through the opposite direction," Mo Qi Qi guiltily says. She really does not wish to owe Jun Yue Hen anything. Although she might end up falling in love with him after being with him throughout this journey, it is only just a possibility. Although Jun Yue Hen is very kind, they might not be compatible with each other. Besides, he might not necessarily be someone with no ambition. Which man in the imperial family does not wish to become the emperor? She does not want him to give up on his ambition for her, what if he regrets it later?

"You are leaving the emperor and is also rejecting the 7th wang, what are you going to do, Your Ladyship?" Ban Xiang is very worried.

Mo Qi Qi knocks her in the head, "If you have time to be worried of that, might as well use that time to figure out our escape route. If we are discovered, we will not be able to even keep our lives. With no men to complicate things, our lives will be easier."

Ban Xiang nods, "Correct. It does not matter who you choose, Your Ladyship! As long as you bring me along!"

Mo Qi Qi laughs, "Hearing that makes me feel so good. Let’s go!"

Both of them carry their bags as they walk out.

The night is very dark and the moon is high up in the sky.

Mo Qi Qi and Ban Xiang use the moonlight to guide them to Shen Wu gate.

When she looks at the sky, Mo Qi Qi sees thousands of twinkling eyes, staring at them, watching their every movement. She can almost imagine the stars watching them, talking about them, which then reaches Jun Qian Che’s ears. And then, an angry Jun Qian Che would come, bringing his angry people with him.

Mo Qi Qi is scared, shaking her head in fear before pointing at the stars angrily, "Stop watching us, little stars! Close your eyes!"

Ban Xiang laughs, "What are you doing, Your Ladyship? Why are you picking a fight with the stars?"

Mo Qi Qi sighs, "Trying to find amusement in the midst of trouble. Once we leave the palace, we will have to go through really hard times."