The Queen's Thousand Autumns - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Xinyue watched as I drained the bowl of thick, pitch-black medicinal soup in one go.

She slapped herself twice across the face. “I’m such a wretch.”

My tongue was numb from the bitterness. My face was pale, but I forced a smile. “Accompany me on a trip out of the palace. The story between the Emperor and me… it all started ten years ago.”

In the backyard of the Prince’s Manor, there stood a crooked-necked tree.

Since Tang Yichen ascended the throne, the manor had sat vacant for many years.

The servants had grown lazy; the courtyard was blanketed in fallen leaves that crunched underfoot.

I stood beneath the tree, looking up.

“You might not believe it, but I loved climbing trees when I was young. In the summer, the canopy was lush and green, and I loved hiding up there to eat.

“Tang Yichen and I were two peas in a pod. He used to help me steal snow-skin dumplings from the Imperial Kitchen so we could sit in the tree and eat them together.

“The flour from the dumplings would drift down onto the tutor’s head. The poor man thought he had a terrible case of dandruff; the next day, he even brewed a tonic of fleeceflower root to drink.”

Xinyue couldn’t help but chuckle. “I never imagined the Emperor and Empress were such little troublemakers as children.”

I laughed. “He was more mischievous than I was. Ever since he was small, he said he wasn’t cut out for studying and was destined to be nothing more than an idle prince.”

Who could have guessed?

The late Emperor had few heirs, and the throne eventually fell to his grandson.

Perhaps sensing what was to come, the current Empress Dowager-the Princess Consort back then-was extremely harsh with Tang Yichen regarding his studies.

Tang Yichen was often punished by being forced to kneel, sometimes for four hours at a stretch.

Afraid he would feel humiliated, I would bring a small folding stool to sit and keep him company.

With a look of grim determination that bordered on madness, he once said, “Xue Wanjun, I’ve decided. From now on, I will be a heartless study machine. I won’t even pick up side dishes when I eat. I’ll make my parents regret this.”

I gave him a big thumbs-up. “That sounds truly heroic.”

He actually followed through on not eating side dishes.

However, no one noticed.

I would secretly bring him chili oil. He would hold my hand, moved and melancholy.

“Xue Wanjun, you’re the only one in this world who cares about me. I’ve decided to take you away. we’ll elope, roam the world with our swords, and live as a pair of wild lovers.”

I brushed his hand away and said decisively, “I can’t handle a hard life. If you want to go, go by yourself.”

He threw a pathetic little tantrum. “You vain, status-seeking woman!”

I threw my hands up. “My father is a powerful official, my mother is a Commandery Princess, and I am a daughter of nobility. I’m used to a life of luxury and privilege. So what?”

That day, Tang Yichen thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with a single retort.

From then on, his personality shifted, and he became diligent and hardworking.

When the Princess Consort asked him why he had suddenly seen the light, he looked up, his face smeared with ink stains, and answered earnestly, “Xue Wanjun is a daughter of nobility. I must work twice as hard to make her the most honored woman in the world. Otherwise, why would she ever agree to marry me?”