Chapter 1008: Chapter 268: The Empress’s Demeanor

So she simply went out in her pajamas.

Auntie Liu was coming back today, but she hadn’t arrived yet that morning, so breakfast was still made by Yue Yao.

By the time Li Yan had breakfast, the two of them had long finished eating, and there was no sign of Yurong. Yue Yao sat with him while he ate, watching him from the side with a half-smile.

Her expression made Li Yan feel a bit uneasy. He couldn’t help asking, "Is my hair a mess, or do I have sleep in the corners of my eyes?"

"No." Yue Yao shook her head, puzzled.

"Then is my face falling apart?" Li Yan stared at her. "Being stared at by a girl like this, the pressure on me eating breakfast is huge. Look, I’m being forced to act all refined!"

Only then did Yue Yao realize what he meant, and she couldn’t help but burst out laughing. "From top to bottom, inside and out, what about you do I not know? In front of me, what do you still need to act for?"

Li Yan smacked his lips, muttering inwardly, That’s quite a line... we haven’t exactly gotten to know each other on a more "in-depth" level yet.

Yue Yao lowered her voice and asked, "Did you finally get Yurong last night?"

Li Yan almost spat out his food and said irritably, "She’s my wife, what do you mean ’get her’ or ’not get her’? You make it sound like I’m some flower-thief who toys with women."

"Fine, then I’ll put it more elegantly. Did you two finally consummate the marriage last night and fulfill your conjugal duties?" Yue Yao said helplessly. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Because the two of them were so close, usually one hint from her was enough for Li Yan to know what she meant. Now that she was asking so bluntly, it actually made him a bit embarrassed. Then he thought, If even Yue Yao as a girl isn’t embarrassed, what am I shy about?

He cleared his throat and deliberately lowered his voice a bit more. "Why are you asking that? Did you see something? You’ve always been someone who only talks theory on paper and has no combat experience, you know!"

Yue Yao didn’t expect him to drag her into it and blushed slightly. "Of course I saw something different. Whatever. Say it if you want, if you don’t, forget it."

"Say it, what’s there to hide from you?" Li Yan said with a slight pang of guilt, "Actually, not yet..."

"Not yet?" Yue Yao seemed a little unconvinced.

"Ahem... it was about the same as that time with you, under the covers, that, you know, that..."

Even though he was being vague, his meaning was already very clear, which made Yue Yao’s face burn even more, and she didn’t dare keep asking. "Looks like it’s not far off! Yurong asked me to tell you she wants you to go visit Yu Xiaodi today."

She finished and was about to leave the dining room, to avoid the shy awkwardness of facing him.

But Li Yan was shocked by that line. That he and Zhang Yurong were close to going all the way wasn’t anything strange—he himself knew that well. But that last sentence was out of the ordinary!

He quickly stood up and grabbed Yue Yao’s hand. "What’s going on? You’re not trying to prank me, are you?"

They were at home, with Yurong also there. Afraid of being seen, Yue Yao cleverly pulled her hand back, then sat down again and said helplessly, "Why would I prank you? This really is what Yurong asked me to pass on. Precisely because what she said is a bit unbelievable, she didn’t feel it was convenient to tell you herself. It’s said that the more of a strong woman she is, as long as you can conquer her in bed and make her submit obediently, the more she’ll be completely compliant with you. That’s also why I guessed you might’ve already settled things with her."

Li Yan’s eyes lit up. "For real?"

Yue Yao rubbed her forehead, speechless. This kind of talk, and he really takes it to heart!

"Ahem... back to business. If she really said that, then do you think..." Li Yan glanced toward the doorway and lowered his voice. "Do you think this is testing me?"

"I’m not her, how would I know?" Yue Yao said helplessly.

"Help me think it through, you’re both women."

Seeing Li Yan like that, Yue Yao felt a faint bitterness in her heart. This was the man she liked, and now she had to help him analyze another woman, even help push him toward another woman!

But that feeling only brushed past the bottom of her heart and didn’t grow stronger, because she had never pinned too much hope on it to begin with, so naturally there wasn’t that much disappointment.

"I’m not her, and I’m not in her position. I can only do a general analysis of her mindset. If I’m guessing right, after this stretch of intimacy between you two, she’s already decided she’s sticking with you. So when faced with a third-party love rival, she doesn’t want to use extreme methods—like that separation last time, when you two almost divorced. Blocking is worse than guiding; since she can’t restrict you, she might as well be generous and ’fulfill’ you. Over the New Year she’s been with you the whole time, which already gives her a big advantage over Yu Xiaodi. Letting you go visit her also lets you feel a bit better about it." Yue Yao said calmly.

Li Yan sat back down and continued eating breakfast, still somewhat doubtful. "She’s not afraid I’ll do something to betray her again? Men can’t control themselves when they run into temptation."

"Heh, haven’t you already slept with Yu Xiaodi? Once or twice, it’s still sleeping with her all the same. Besides, if she doesn’t want you to go, would you really not go? Since that’s the case, she might as well give you the green light, at least then you’re not sneaking around behind her back. And... that way, you’ll more or less feel grateful to her, or guilty toward her. Back in ancient times, the Empress ruling over the harem, and the legitimate wife keeping the inner courtyard in order—this is exactly the kind of concession they’d make." Yue Yao analyzed fluently.

Li Yan’s eyes were shining, quite excited. Could it be that Yurong had already stepped back from the position of the one and only and was now taking the stance of the Empress, the main wife? Doesn’t that mean there’s hope for a whole harem?

Seeing him apparently sinking into a YY, Yue Yao poured a bit of cold water on him. "Of course, it’s even more likely that she’s testing you! But not to test whether you go or not, she’s testing whether you’ll get carried away and overstep your bounds. She’ll decide whether to give all of herself to you, without holding anything back, based on that. If you go too far, when things are just about to succeed, you might end up losing everything."

"Heh... Yue Yao, if we compare Yurong to the Eastern Palace Empress, she still needs you, the Western Palace Consort, to assist her to rule the harem, you know!" Li Yan said with emotion.

Yue Yao frowned, speechless. This guy... not only is he getting carried away, he’s practically planning to run wild.

"Enough, stop joking. I get what you’re warning me about. I’ll tread carefully, like walking on thin ice. This is something extremely hard to accept for either of you. Being able to have you both not abandon me is already something I should feel grateful for. How could I possibly be some petty man who gets a bit of success and then loses his head?" Li Yan said solemnly.

Seeing him say that, Yue Yao finally felt a little relieved. To be honest, when it came to Yurong, she really did envy her, but she also sincerely gave her blessings. Since she herself couldn’t do it, she hoped Yurong could be with Li Yan, felt they were the best match. Even if he wanted to have several women, it’d be best if things didn’t blow up between him and Yurong.

"Then you go by yourself. Yurong said she has to go into the office first today to have a meeting with some of the higher-ups and won’t be back for lunch."

"Then I won’t come back either. What about you? You’ll be alone at home?"

Yue Yao smiled faintly. "I’m used to it. I’ve always spent the New Year by myself anyway, what’s the difference?"

Looking at Yue Yao sitting across from him, Li Yan felt a wave of tenderness. No matter what, he still hadn’t wronged this girl who gave him her whole heart.

He reached out and held her hand, letting everything go unsaid between them. (To be continued. To find out what happens next, please log on to www.qidian.com. More Chapters available. Support the author, support authorized reading!)