The Emperor's Phoenix

Chapter 24 | Her Judgement

刘 映 月

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Liu Ying Yue

She slowly opened her eyes as she withdrew from the kiss, placing her lips by his ear.

"Be careful of what you drink, husband," Ying Yue whispered coolly as she released her grip.

Zhang Wei grabbed her arm and pulled her to him again with a smoldering gaze, the slight stain of her rouge on the side of his lips as he smirked. She narrowed her eyes in warning, trying to escape from his grip but to no avail. "Wife, I appreciate that you're so worried about me...but rest assured that I wasn't actually going to drink it all along."

Ying Yue's eyes widened. "You...!" she hissed as he let out a low chuckle, releasing her.

Still feeling his gaze on her, she internally cursed at herself as she placed a hand on her forehead with furrowed eyebrows in self-consciousness. After all, displays of open affection were frowned upon in their conservative society, especially during formal events.

...Why did I do that of all things just as the minister happened to arrive?!

"Ah, Minister Xi, please take a seat..." Zhang Wei's voice was awfully calm. "We were just resolving a minor marital dispute..."

With his back to them, the elderly man cautiously turned around with a tinge of red on his face and cleared his throat before taking a seat. Feng Mian gave her a wide smile with a thumbs up before exiting with the other maid as Ying Yue pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh.

"I could certainly tell..." the minister muttered drily, directing the topic towards the tea. "Anyway, I already brewed a batch myself and found it pleasing, so I hope my gift is satisfactory."

"It's--"

"--very fragrant as you said," Ying Yue interrupted her husband with a calm smirk. "Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

"Your Highness is too kind." Minister Xi slightly bowed his head with a pleased look before procuring some reports from his sleeve.

...His batch of tea was definitely not poisoned for him to be here like this. After all, monkshood would kill a normal person in a day...Could he have been the one to poison ours?

Zhang Wei cleared his throat, discreetly placing a hand on the middle of her back much to her dismay. "...Then, shall we begin our discussion?"

"Ah, certainly..." The elderly man organized the scrolls into a neat pile, "The rest of the Jin prime ministers have been working towards settling the nation's current matters, and I have gathered some observations as of now."

"You have done what I have requested of you, yes?" Her husband questioned, "From what I'm seeing so far, nothing seems to have changed."

"The general already sent a patrol over to the Jin-Sui border along with a relief plan to the townspeople so far. There's also the drought we need to worry about..."

Ying Yue raised an eyebrow. "It rained last week. Don't you think it's quite unusual that there is one now?"

He shook his head, letting out a sigh with a serious expression. "That's also what I figured...We can only hope that the patrol carries out the plan soon before more complaints come in."