Boss Ningning: Safe and Sound, Year After Year - Chapter 2

Eunuch Liu arrived along with the commotion.

Today his manner was exceptionally respectful. He smiled as he said:

“My lady, His Majesty requests your presence.”

I blinked. Usually he did not summon me until after noon—why so early today?

I had not even had breakfast.

Eunuch Liu seemed to guess my confusion and added:

“His Majesty’s mood is especially poor today. My lady will need to tend to him with care.”

That one sentence sent my heart straight up into my throat.

I hurriedly had my maid Huanyue help me change, then followed Eunuch Liu to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Before we had even reached the doors, a glass cup came flying out and smashed at our feet.

Eunuch Liu darted aside with remarkable speed and gave an awkward laugh. “My lady, after you.”

I shut my eyes, steeled myself, and stepped inside.

It felt like stepping into a grave.

The hall was dead silent, all the windows shut, which only made it feel darker and more cramped.

Everything breakable in the room had been broken. A ring of trembling maids knelt around the walls.

The emperor sat behind a desk hidden in the shadows, propping up his head, his expression one of intense pain.

I finally found a clear patch among the shards, gathered my courage, and stepped forward to pay my respects.

All was quiet. Not a sound.

I stole a glance upward—and met a pair of bloodshot, foxlike eyes.

At last he spoke, one corner of his mouth curling into something cruel.

“Who told you to come?”

Huh?

Out of the corner of my eye I glanced at Eunuch Liu. Outside the doors he was bowing with his hands clasped, looking thoroughly guilty.

So I had been tricked into coming here to serve as someone’s punching bag.

I forced myself to answer, slowly. “I wished to come, Your Majesty.”

He asked: “What did you come for?”

I thought it over carefully and ventured an answer.

“To put you to sleep?”

The air went still for a few seconds.

The emperor stood up abruptly and strode to the bed.

“Come here.”

The maids all withdrew.

I stood where I was, looking at the floor, unable to decide.

I was wearing my favorite pair of shoes today—the prettiest shoes I had ever owned in my life.

The broken porcelain was sharp and scattered thick. It would be such a waste if it cut through the soles.

Suddenly there were footsteps in front of me. Before I could raise my head, the emperor had already reached me.

He looked as grim as a vengeful ghost. “What are you standing there for? Waiting for me to carry you?”

My eyes lit up.

Carry?

Then my shoes would not get damaged.

What a good solution!

Full of expectation, I carefully opened my arms.

The man before me did not seem to understand the gesture. He looked at me like I was some kind of monster.

So I simply stepped forward and put my arms around his neck myself.

Only then did he move.

Suddenly I was off the ground. I yelped and, by instinct, clung to him for dear life.

He coughed, muffled.

His voice was low and hoarse, as if squeezed up from deep in his throat.

“Are you trying to strangle me?”

I obediently loosened my grip and stole a look up at him.

His eyes were threaded with red, and there was a dark bruise-colored shadow beneath them, as though he had not slept all night.

I turned it over in my mind.

Could it be because the barbarians were coming?

But no—had he not said he would simply hand the country over?

Could a tyrant really find it so exhausting to decide how to destroy his own kingdom?

And then it came to me.

The more I looked at him, the more he resembled the idiot son of the village landlord back home.

Vicious temper, stupid, and a squanderer to boot.

These past few days the emperor seemed to have even more trouble sleeping.

Looking at those ever-present dark circles under his eyes, I could not help wondering:

Did he go out thieving every night?

Watching him toss and turn, I suddenly thought of how, last night, Lu Ming had patted my back to coax me to sleep of his own accord.

Maybe I should try that on the emperor?

I reached out timidly. I managed exactly one pat before quietly withdrawing my hand under a look that promised murder.

After I had read for more than two hours, his breathing finally began to even out.

Just as I was about to relax, a “grrruk” sounded.

My reading faltered. Luckily, the emperor only frowned and did not wake.

I could have cried.

I had come too early today, and now my stomach would not stop growling.

I pressed a hand over my stomach and read on through gritted teeth.

“Grrruk, grrruk~”

Instinctively, I looked toward the bed.

And met a pair of open eyes, brimming with fury.