Blindfolded

Chapter 8 - Empress

During my time back at home, I vaguely felt that Jingting had sent more people to protect me.

But my activities were not affected, and I continued to go about my daily routine.

Days passed by, and I heard that the daughter of the fourth-rank official had gotten married, the one that Liu Yu liked according to rumors.

I felt sorry for Liu Yu's rocky love life.

One day, I went out to buy jewelry and coincidentally met that girl in the same shop. She smiled at me warmly and said, 'Madam Liu is also here.'

I intended to chat with her, so we ended up sitting together in a restaurant. Finally, I brought up her past with Liu Yu, but she unexpectedly laughed and said, 'Since it's just a rumor, it's not entirely true. I met Mr. Liu because we encountered bandits on the road when we were out of town. Mr. Liu saved me, so we started to interact. I felt grateful to him, and he also accepted my gratitude. Later, I did develop feelings for Mr. Liu, but he never said he liked me, so we never made any lifetime commitment.'"

Everyone says that Liu Yu cares about her, but since the parties involved are so indifferent, there must be no inside story.

Liu Yu finally returned from disaster relief, but he brought back a woman from Jiangnan. On the same day, he let her serve tea to the Duke and his wife as a concubine. The woman was gentle and beautiful, and her eyes towards Liu Yu were full of love.

On Liu Yu's first night back, I thought he was going to sleep in that girl's room, but he came straight to me instead and sat down, saying, "Yueyue, do you like the things I brought back for you?"

"They're all good, pretty and useful." I smiled and said to him, "I haven't had a chance to congratulate you on getting a beautiful concubine."

Liu Yu is always indifferent, "You seem happier than I am."

"Of course I'm happy for you when you have something to be pleased about."

Liu Yu nodded and asked, "Is your health getting better now?"

"Do I look like I'm not doing well?"

Liu Yu smiled.

The Duke's family has been in the limelight recently. The eldest son, Liu Yu, has been promoted for his contributions to disaster relief and has a real job. He can also inherit the title in the future, so it seems that his future is bright.

Now the Duke and his wife are hoping that I will have some good news about pregnancy soon, bringing them double happiness.

But they never expected that the first news they would hear would be that Liu Yu and I were going to separate.

The Duke and his wife thought it was because Liu Yu was favoring his concubine over me, which angered me, and they almost made him kneel in front of the ancestral hall until I repeatedly stated that the decision to separate was made after careful consideration with Liu Yu, and it was not a momentary impulse, so Liu Yu didn't have to be punished by family law.

On the day of our separation, Liu Yu personally put on the beaded hairpin that he had won for me before and said, "I wish you a happy marriage."

"The emperor will not arrange a marriage for you anymore," I stared at Liu Yu in the mirror and said, "If you really like someone and have trouble in the future, the emperor will still help you."

"The emperor doesn't owe me anything, and neither do you." Liu Yu said.

The news of my separation from Liu Yu had spread throughout the capital in just one day. Various rumors and speculations were rampant, but most people were expressing their confusion and inability to understand why, given my high social status and my past sacrifice to save my husband, I suddenly couldn't continue on with him.

People were eager to discuss the hidden details, until they heard that the Empress Dowager had left the palace and gone to the Guosi Temple to recuperate. Then they shifted their focus to this new topic of conversation.

I followed the Empress Dowager to the temple and served her there.

At first, the Empress Dowager didn't want to acknowledge me or let me near her, but I accompanied her every day as she recited sutras and ate vegetarian meals, and eventually she couldn't maintain her cold demeanor towards me. One day, she even sighed and said to me, "You have no idea how treacherous the palace can be."

But I knew, I knew all too well, having lived in the palace for several years. But...I still couldn't let go of Jingting.

Now I realize the depth of my feelings for Jingting, just as he realized his obsession with me only after I was married.

Before long, Jingting sent a letter through a palace servant, with just a few words written on it: "My wife Wei Yueyue can return to me now."

I didn't reply to his letter, but instead sent a handkerchief to him through someone else.

During this time, there was some happy news in the capital. Liu Yu had remarried, to the same girl he had brought back from the south. She was the daughter of a provincial governor who had lost her memory after being injured by river bandits, and had followed Liu Yu all the way back to the capital.

I sent Liu Yu many congratulations gifts, but was surprised to receive even more gifts from him in return, with him saying it was also a congratulation for me.

In the second year of Jingting's reign, he announced my coronation as Empress. Even the imperial regalia for the coronation was brought to me.

The palace attendants informed me that the coronation ceremony had already been prepared, and they were just waiting for me to be fully ready.

I asked the attendants quietly about the rumors from the previous dynasty.

The attendants honestly admitted that there were differing opinions from the previous dynasty, with some saying that a woman who had been married before could not become the empress of the palace. After all, there had never been such a precedent before. Some bold court officials even directly asked Jingting whether he had taken a someones' wife.

Jingting refuted all the objections with three sentences: firstly, Wei Yueyue was the daughter of a duke, a meritorious official's daughter, and the fact that she had been married before was not enough reason to prevent her from becoming the empress. Secondly, Wei Yueyue had already separated from the man from the Liu family, so how could she still be considered someone else's wife? Thirdly, since there was no precedent, this would now become the precedent for the future.

The coronation ceremony was already solemn, but Jingting added even more treasures to it, even having extra pearls added to the phoenix crown.

After the grand ceremony, it was time for the wedding night.

I never expected that I would share a wedding night with the same man twice. But this time, I blindfolded him with a silk ribbon while he wasn't paying attention.