I Became the Devil Queen's Heart Demon

Chapter 1259 - 480: The Empress’s Duplicity! A Brand New Cultivation Method! (Part 2)

"Then at least not here. If Qingyi notices..."

"It’s going to happen sooner or later anyway. Your Majesty can’t hide it from her for a lifetime, right?"

"But..."

Yu Youhan was still somewhat hesitant.

But after everything that had happened, the tight defenses around her heart had long since loosened. In the end, she resigned herself and closed her eyes.

"What sin did I commit in my last life, to end up falling into your hands in this one..."

"But Your Majesty also enjoys it, doesn’t she?"

"Shut up!"

After a while—

"Why are you still dazing there?"

"Without Your Majesty’s permission, this humble servant wouldn’t dare act rashly."

"...You... Do you have to make me lose all face before you’re satisfied? Mm, hurry, hurry up..."

"As you command!"

...

...

Xu Qingyi had a very long dream.

She dreamed that she followed the Empress to marry into the Chen Family. On the day of the grand wedding, in the bridal chamber, both she and the Empress wore bright red wedding robes, and Chen Mo stacked them together, saying this was called double happiness at the door...

"Your Majesty?"

The face in the dream gradually became clear, and Xu Qingyi jolted awake.

She got up and looked around. Dusk was falling, the room was empty, and there was no sign of the Empress. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief and wipe the cold sweat from her forehead.

"Even if it was just a dream, it felt a bit too real."

"Maybe I just haven’t been resting well lately, but this dream was really too ridiculous. What kind of person is Her Majesty—how could she and I..."

Xu Qingyi shook her head, driving away the stray thoughts.

Looking at the mess before her, a flush climbed up her cheeks. Aside from embarrassment, there was a bright, blooming joy in her heart.

Although the process had been a bit bumpy, she and Chen Mo had finally confirmed their feelings for each other, and their relationship had indeed taken a step forward. It was just that this man left a bit too quickly and didn’t even think to accompany her a little longer...

Dong dong dong—

Just then, the door was knocked.

"Who is it?" Xu Qingyi asked.

A Palace Attendant’s voice came from outside: "Director Xu, Her Majesty has summoned you."

?!

Xu Qingyi’s expression stiffened.

Could it be that what just happened had been exposed?

Though she felt a bit uneasy, she didn’t dare delay. She quickly put on her clothes, straightened her appearance, forced herself to endure the discomfort, pushed the door open, and followed the Palace Attendant toward Frozen Sky Palace.

They went all the way to Haitang Pond. The Palace Attendant bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Director Xu has arrived."

"Let her in," the Empress said calmly.

"Yes."

The Palace Attendant pulled open the main doors. "Please, Director Xu."

Xu Qingyi steadied her mind and stepped inside.

Steam curled above the bath, a white mist everywhere. Vaguely, she could see a graceful figure sitting at the edge of the pool, wiping down her body. Her snow-white skin was like mutton-fat jade; beads of water rolled down her collarbone and disappeared into the hollow below.

Even just from the side, she was breathtakingly beautiful, like someone from a painting.

"Your Majesty, you’re out of seclusion? What orders does Your Majesty have for this humble servant?" Xu Qingyi asked softly.

But Yu Youhan’s next words plunged her into an ice-cold abyss. "You and Chen Mo tossed around for so long; you must have worked up quite a sweat. Come in and wash together."

Xu Qingyi’s breath hitched, her pupils suddenly constricting, a chill running up her spine!

It was over. The thing she’d feared most had still come to pass!

Yu Youhan glanced at her and said lightly, "You have nothing you’d like to explain to this palace?"

Since the Empress already knew, how would Xu Qingyi dare argue? She hurriedly dropped to her knees, lowered her head, and said, "This servant deserves death. Please quell Your Majesty’s anger! But this matter has nothing to do with Mr. Chen. It was all this servant’s one-sided infatuation..."

"..."

Yu Youhan’s eyelids twitched. In a bad mood, she said, "That’s enough. Stop trying that pitiable-act routine on me. Besides, what sort of person Chen Mo is—would I not know? If he weren’t pestering you every few days, would you have fallen so fast?"

Xu Qingyi kept her head lowered, not daring to speak.

Yu Youhan took a deep breath to steady herself, her expression complicated. "Do you know why I won’t agree to you and Chen Mo being together?"

Xu Qingyi said softly, "Because this servant is the court’s Director, and to be privately involved with a Foreign Minister may invite gossip. Right now we should put the bigger picture first... This servant has failed Your Majesty’s cultivation. Please punish me, Your Majesty..."

"Would punishing you do any good?" Yu Youhan said helplessly. "Even if I broke your legs and locked you in the palace, so what? Your heart left long ago, didn’t it?"

Xu Qingyi bit her lip. After a brief silence, she said, "This servant truly likes Mr. Chen."

Yu Youhan snorted. "Who doesn’t?"

"Mm... Huh?!"

"Your Majesty, what did you just say?"

Xu Qingyi lifted her head in confusion, wondering if she’d misheard.

Yu Youhan sighed and said frankly, "Things have come to this; there’s nothing left to hide. The reason I wouldn’t let you and Chen Mo be together wasn’t because I was worried about rumors. It’s because he and I have long since privately pledged our lives to each other..."

"In other words, you just slept with my man."

"..."

Xu Qingyi swallowed with difficulty.

The Empress would absolutely never joke about something like this!

So when Chen Mo said before that he’d ’win over the Empress first and then come marry her,’ he was actually serious?!

As for their relationship, she’d already sensed something was off long ago; she’d just never dared believe it. Now that the Empress had thrown it out there so directly, she was caught off guard and didn’t know how to respond.

Bang—

Xu Qingyi came back to her senses and knocked her forehead heavily against the floor tiles. "This servant deserves a thousand deaths!"

"Enough." Yu Youhan waved a hand and said, "Actually, what Chen Mo said makes sense. If I really do marry into the Chen Family one day, you’ll naturally be coming with me. Since this was bound to happen sooner or later, there’s no need to dwell on it."

No wonder the Empress and Lady Chen had gotten so close—it turned out she’d been planning this all along?

Xu Qingyi’s mind was a muddle. She tentatively asked, "But with Your Majesty’s status, even if the ministers had no objections, His Majesty wouldn’t agree, right? How do you plan to handle this?"

The corners of Yu Youhan’s lips curled into a cold arc. "That’s the second matter I wanted to discuss with you..."

...

...

Night had fallen low, and the palace lanterns were just being lit.

Chen Mo walked along the palace road toward Changning Pavilion.

Thinking of the scene of the two of them welcoming him in that narrow corridor just now, his heart was still a bit stirred.

Facts had proved his choice was right. At first the Empress had been a bit reserved, but in the end she had taken the initiative to undo Xu Qingyi’s seal. The two of them clung to him tightly, rising and falling together...

Although out of shyness she still used Illusion Technique to interfere with Xu Qingyi’s perception, it was already a great step forward.

As for that Dual Cultivation Magic Technique, after multiple tests, it did indeed transmit Dragon Qi.

However, since it wasn’t a true union of yin and yang, the Dragon Qi couldn’t remain in the Empress’s body; it merely flowed through once before dissipating.

Even so, the gains were considerable. Theoretically, as long as the connection wasn’t severed, the Empress could maintain a state of being enveloped by Dragon Qi and could attempt to break through the barriers and comprehend the Tao Origin.

The biggest problem was that in that state, the Empress simply couldn’t calm her mind...

It seemed they still needed long-term desensitization...

"I originally wanted to stay and keep Director Xu company, but Her Majesty kicked me out, saying she wanted to speak with her alone. Could something have gone wrong?" Chen Mo muttered inwardly.

But knowing the Empress’s temper, if she’d really wanted to make a move, she wouldn’t have waited until now. The chances of her settling accounts afterward were low.

He shook his head and stopped thinking about it, passed through the winding palace walls, came to the bedchamber doors, and raised his hand to knock on the ring.

Dong dong dong—

He waited a moment. No response.

Chen Mo pushed the door open directly and searched inside and out, but found no trace of Chu Yanli.

"Strange. Where’d she go?"

Just then, there was a faint sound.

Chen Mo turned his head to see a woman in a plain long dress entering the main hall, running right into him.

"You?"

Chen Mo raised a brow slightly.

The two of them had met several times before. If he remembered correctly, she should be Lv Huaiyu’s daughter and also Chu Yanli’s personal adjutant.

"Mr. Chen?" Lu Shuangge paused for a moment, then broke into a smile. "You really are here. I came specifically to find you on Her Highness’s orders. The Princess is currently waiting for you at the Observatory."

"The Observatory?"

Chen Mo’s eyes flickered. "All right, let’s go."