Chapter 99:

Layue slept soundly, in a daze, when she felt an itch on her leg.

She murmured in her sleep and turned over, muttering, “Why are there mosquitoes in the mountains even in autumn…”

A low chuckle followed, and a large hand continued to glide along her leg…

“Slap!”

The playful person received a swat but continued sleeping undisturbed.

The Emperor Jing had a good temperament, and his large hand persisted in caressing her.

Even Jin Xin, who stood nearby, felt uncomfortable watching this and wanted to say something but held back due to her position. She simply stood aside.

Perhaps due to the persistent itch, Layue finally woke up slowly, “Jin Xin, burn some incense… there are mosquitoes…”

Still drowsy, she opened her eyes and saw the person sitting by the bed. She suddenly sat up, somewhat embarrassed, “Your Majesty.”

Emperor Jing burst into laughter.

Yet his hand continued its movement on her leg.

Layue glanced at him, understanding what had happened. She bit her lip and muttered, “So there were no mosquitoes. It was you causing trouble.”

Emperor Jing smiled and nodded, “Daring to compare Me to a mosquito, Yue’er truly deserves a punishment.”

He turned the tables, and Layue narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing him carefully before looking away with a slightly defiant expression.

Seeing her stubborn look, Emperor Jing was captivated again.

“You just provoke Me!”

He fiercely sucked on her neck.

Layue flinched in pain, not knowing why he had another episode.

He was truly hard to deal with.

In broad daylight, Layue feared he might want to do something romantic again, so she spoke up, “Your Majesty, I want to take a walk at the back mountain. Would you like to come?”

Seeing her hopeful expression, Emperor Jing thought for a moment and nodded.

He had nothing else to do at the moment.

Layue smiled faintly, showing her dimples, clearly delighted.

Layue noticed that Emperor Jing seemed to like this expression of hers, so she occasionally pretended to be stubborn on purpose.

Soon, the two were ready to go.

The palace wasn’t very large, and Layue and Consort Qi lived in the front and back courtyards. Seeing Layue leaving with the Emperor.

The senior palace maid beside Consort Qi sighed softly and looked at her mistress, “My Lady, the Emperor and others have left. Why don’t you follow them?”

Consort Qi looked at the gate they had just passed through the window and shook her head.

“Why should I bother the Emperor at this time? Everyone knows that Concubine Chun is favored.”

Perhaps because the maid had been with Consort Qi for a long time and was her confidante, she spoke up, “My Lady, if you don’t strive, how can you have a place here?”

Consort Qi shook her head, “After all, I have been with the Emperor since the mansion days. Although I can’t fully understand his character, I can guess a bit. If I want to get along well, I must follow his nature. Look, I have already become a concubine. This Shen Layue is favored now, but in the future, there will definitely be younger women surpassing her. Besides, I don’t believe she won’t make any mistakes.”

The maid nodded silently.

Regardless of Consort Qi’s thoughts, Layue was quite happy on this side.

Although they were two people walking hand in hand admiring the maple leaves, a large group followed behind them.

Layue wasn’t that foolish, and Emperor Jing wasn’t that careless either.

Jin Xin and Lai Xi followed behind.

Many leaves had already fallen, and Layue stepped on them, making a crunching sound, laughing happily.

Emperor Jing looked at her like this but didn’t say anything.

After walking for a while, seeing her deliberately walking toward places with more leaves, Emperor Jing finally spoke, “You did it on purpose?”

Layue looked up at him in confusion.

Seeing that she hadn’t realized his meaning, Emperor Jing felt that she wasn’t as complicated as he thought.

“You stepped on the leaves on purpose?”

“Ah! Yes!” She hesitated for a moment before answering.

Seeing his confusion, Layue explained, “It’s fun.”

Emperor Jing felt a red leaf fall on his head, he brushed it off, thinking to himself, Am I really getting old?

Layue was unaware of Emperor Jing’s mood. The two wandered through the forest like this.

Actually, Emperor Jing had come here many times, but this leisurely maple leaf viewing was something new. It seemed as if he had already become accustomed to being busy every time he came, and naturally, no other palace concubines were like Layue, dragging him along.

“Others aren’t as cheerful as you.”

For some reason, Emperor Jing said this.

Layue shrugged, “Just because they don’t like it doesn’t mean I don’t. Everyone’s hobbies are different. My hobby is to live comfortably. Your hobby is to govern the country. How could they be the same?”

Emperor Jing couldn’t help himself and pinched her again, “You are indeed mischievous.”

Layue laughed and shook off his hand.

“So what!”

It was somewhat provocative.

Emperor Jing’s eyes darkened slightly as he pulled her close, whispering in a voice only the two of them could hear, “Tonight, I’ll deal with you.”

Layue puffed up her cheeks, no longer dared to provoke him, and became obedient.

The group followed the mountain path, walking quite quickly, chatting and laughing, and because of the beautiful scenery, they even wandered to the edge of a cliff.

Layue was timid and dared not go near, not only avoiding it herself but also pulling Emperor Jing, “Let’s not go there. It’s too dangerous.”

Emperor Jing wasn’t afraid, but seeing her serious expression, he nodded in agreement.

“Ahh—” Layue put both hands to her mouth, making a megaphone, and shouted.

After shouting, she heard an echo, laughed heartily, turned to look at Emperor Jing, tilting her head as if she found this extremely interesting.

“Now that you’re out of the palace, you’ve become even more playful.”

“I haven’t.” She refused to admit it.

Her eyes darting around, she laughed and pulled Emperor Jing’s hand, “Come on, you shout too. It’s really fun.”

Emperor Jing glanced sideways at the people behind him; everyone kept their heads down, saying nothing, as if they hadn’t seen this scene at all.

Layue didn’t care about those things and encouraged him, “It’s really good. You try it.”

Seeing that he wouldn’t, Layue shouted a few more times, “Ahh—Ahh—”

Others didn’t know her mood at this moment. In this beautiful place, she shouted at the mountains, as if all her unhappiness had vanished.

What awaited her was a brand new life.

“Boom… boom…”

Everyone was in a good mood when they heard the sound of thunder. Looking up, they saw dark clouds gathering.

Layue was somewhat stunned, looking at the sky and then at Emperor Jing, “Could it be that I shouted the clouds here?”

Jin Xin couldn’t help but laugh.

Even Emperor Jing showed a smile.

“I think we should go back quickly and discuss the possibility after we return.”

Layue’s face turned red, and she quickly pulled Emperor Jing.

“Then let’s hurry. It looks like it’s going to rain soon.”

Emperor Jing nodded.

Indeed, that was the case.

The pace of the people going down the mountain was somewhat hasty.

There was no shelter in the forest for the rain, and the autumn rain was cold. If they got caught in the rain, they might catch a chill.

Lai Xi quietly approached Emperor Jing for instructions, “Your Majesty, I’ll have someone go ahead to get umbrellas. If we can’t make it back in time, we can at least take some shelter.”

Emperor Jing nodded, and a guard used lightness kung fu to quickly leave.

The group’s pace quickened, no longer the playful manner they had when climbing the mountain earlier. Yet despite this, Layue was still smiling.

Her mood seemed to be very good.

“This is indeed a different experience!” she said.

They had walked this path once before, and the guards followed behind without needing to lead the way. The two walked faster. Seeing the increasing dark clouds, they had already covered half the distance.

Perhaps because they had taken this path on the way here, they weren’t paying much attention and sped up even more. However, they didn’t notice that Emperor Jing slipped and slid down the mountain. Because the two were holding hands, Layue also slid down with him.

The people behind were startled by this accident but quickly rushed forward.

However, perhaps the two were unlucky. They had already stopped sliding onto the soil, but due to their combined weight, the ground collapsed, causing them to slide further down.

In such a situation, even if the guards were skilled in martial arts, it was of no use.

Layue only felt confused as she fell. Seeing that she was about to slide into the ravine, she desperately grabbed at anything, and by luck, managed to catch a broken tree branch. Looking at Emperor Jing, he was also holding onto a branch not far away. Fortunately, there were many trees in the ravine.

“Your Majesty… Your Majesty…” Layue shouted. Emperor Jing was a bit lower than her, looking up at her.

The people above quickly prepared their tools to come down and rescue them.

But as Layue looked down, she saw that the branch Emperor Jing was holding onto was already loose, and he was about to be in danger.

“Your Majesty, grab my leg.”

She shouted loudly.

Emperor Jing had also noticed the problem with the branch. At that moment, he thought of the previous assassination attempt.

His heart sank.

Hearing Layue’s shout, he looked up at her.

“Hurry, hurry! Grab my leg,” she said, holding onto the tree roots with both arms, her voice filled with urgency.

Emperor Jing looked at her, no one wanted to die, but after a brief hesitation, he immediately let go of the swaying branch and grabbed her ankle.

Perhaps because of his weight, Layue felt her body being pulled down and almost let go, but she tightened her arms.

Biting her teeth to hold on.

While holding on, she kept comforting, “It’s okay, it’s okay. Hold on, hold on, don’t let go.”

It seemed like she was encouraging herself as well as Emperor Jing.

Emperor Jing naturally knew that she was light, and if she were alone, she would definitely be safe and wait for rescue.

But now, all his weight was on her, which was different. Both of them were likely to fall into the ravine together.

“Hold on, hold on…” she kept murmuring.

Emperor Jing exerted more strength, moving up a bit, and managed to hug her calf.

“Drip, drip…” Emperor Jing felt something fall on his face. Looking again, it was blood from her arm.

Her arms had been scraped by the branches.

But people have the will to survive, especially an emperor.

Even so, his heart was filled with mixed emotions, yet he did not let go.

“Hold on. You have to hold on. We both have to hold on. We can do this, we can do this…”

“I have a lot of strength, I have a lot of strength…”

“I want to live well. I haven’t had a child yet…”

“I haven’t seen my brother get married yet, haven’t seen Yi Yi get married yet…”

“I can do it, I can do it…”

Layue kept murmuring, as if encouraging herself, telling herself she still had many reasons to live.

Emperor Jing remained silent. At this moment, he had no idea what he could say or what he should say…

Seeing her willpower weakening, Emperor Jing’s heart kept sinking.

Perhaps the heavens heard their prayers, and a guard with a rope tied around his waist slid down. Emperor Jing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Supporting Emperor Jing, the people above exerted force, and the two began to ascend.

Without Emperor Jing’s burden, Layue felt a bit easier, but she was almost exhausted. Although it had only been a short time, it felt like a lifetime to her.

“Hold on. They’ll rescue you soon. You must hold on.”

As Emperor Jing passed by her, he shouted loudly.

Originally, Layue was already somewhat dazed. Hearing his voice and thinking of her own wishes, she weakly replied, “Okay, hurry, hurry!”

Hearing her fragile voice, Emperor Jing felt a pain in his heart, yet he still did not change his decision.

He deeply understood that going up first was the right choice.

Once Emperor Jing was up, the guard immediately continued down to rescue Shen Layue.

Just as she was about to lose consciousness and strength, she was finally supported. Gathering the last bit of strength, she climbed up with the guard.

At this time, the emperor was already quite far behind.

Lai Xi was worried about another collapse at the edge, so he moved the emperor to a safer distance.

Everyone could see that Layue’s injuries were more severe than the emperor’s. As soon as Layue was brought up, the emperor quickly walked over and tightly embraced her small body.

At this time, she was already very weak.

Right at this moment, the heavy raindrops began to fall heavily.

Everyone dared not delay and quickly retreated to a safe place. Jin Xin cried as she supported Layue.

At this time, the guards who had gone down the mountain first also arrived, seeing the scene, they were shocked.

However, with umbrellas already prepared, even in the heavy rain, it was somewhat better.

A guard carried Layue on his back, and another carried the emperor.

Actually, Emperor Jing wasn’t seriously injured, but the guards’ pace was always faster. Emperor Jing also understood that it was urgent to return for treatment.

At this time, Layue had already lost consciousness.

Seeing her injured appearance, Emperor Jing felt an indescribable emotion.

Consort Qi did not expect that the two people who had gone up the mountain in good condition would end up in such a disheveled state.

She watched the imperial physician hurriedly arrive.

Emperor Jing sat there silently, and she could only stand aside and wait.

After the imperial physician had bandaged Layue, Emperor Jing finally spoke, “How is she?”

The old imperial physician knelt, “Your Majesty, Concubine Chun has many scratches, and Jin Xin has already applied medicine to her. These scratches are not serious. The serious injury is to her arm, which was severely strained due to sudden exertion. It will take more than half a year to recover.”

“Bang!” Emperor Jing’s fist slammed onto the table.

Consort Qi quickly spoke, “Your Majesty, your arm is also injured. You must not harm yourself!”

Emperor Jing’s wounds had already been treated, just some scratches, not serious.

He didn’t respond to Consort Qi and continued to stare at the bed. Not only the people present at the time but even Emperor Jing himself understood.

If he hadn’t slipped and pulled Shen Layue, Shen Layue would not have fallen down the ravine.

If he hadn’t kept holding her legs, there would be no Yan Che today.

How could such a small girl have such perseverance?

It must be said that Emperor Jing was deeply moved. It was always others who wanted to harm him, and his brothers all wanted him dead. Never, never had anyone saved him.

Even during the assassination on his wedding night, he had saved himself. No one could save him.

Only she, the only thing in his mind was the shout from the ravine: “Your Majesty, grab my leg—hurry, grab my leg—”

He stood up uncomfortably, not minding others, and walked directly to the bedside. Seeing her furrowed brow in sleep, he imagined that her dreams were also unpleasant.

He gently stroked her brow. Seeing the slight scratch on her delicate face, Emperor Jing slowly lowered his head and gently kissed the wound.

Such a simple scene caused everyone around to turn their eyes away.

Consort Qi’s heart was in turmoil.

“Take good care of Concubine Chun.”

This simple instruction signified Layue’s promotion.

Consort Qi was somewhat surprised but quickly adjusted herself.

“Your Majesty, would you like me to arrange a few more people to come over?”

Emperor Jing shook his head, “No need. I have my own arrangements.”

Now that she was in this condition, at the very least, he had to ensure her safety. Others might not know, but what happened in the palace couldn’t be hidden from him. Consort Qi might not be as innocent as she appeared.

Consort Qi bit her lip and stood aside, indeed showing great restraint without speaking further.

“Your Majesty, your clothes are still damp. Here, there is Jin Xin and also Tao Er. Your servant has also arranged people. You can rest assured. You should go back and change your clothes first. You just got caught in the rain. If you catch a chill, what would we do?” Lai Xi persuaded.

This time, Emperor Jing did not make things difficult for others and nodded.

“Everyone else, leave. Jin Xin, take good care of your mistress. I’ll come back later.”

In an instant, the originally noisy inner room became quiet.

Tao Er kept crying but didn’t ask anything, just diligently serving.

When only the three of them were left in the room, Tao Er cried and spoke, “Jin Xin Sister, my mistress was fine when she left, how did she end up like this when she came back?”

Jin Xin shook her head. Since the mistress didn’t speak, how could the servants dare to speculate.

They would only discuss it after the mistress woke up.

Sighing, she wiped the thin sweat from Layue’s forehead with a handkerchief, then turned away to wipe her tears.