The Ugly Empress by Yun Guo Shi Fei / 丑娘娘 by 云过是非

Chapter 22 - Assassination

Teng Yun didn't expect this person would save his life. He stared at Xue Junliang with a complicated emotions warring in his eyes. They were enemies all their life, Teng Yun even died by Xue Junliang's hands. But now, this person was willing to save him.

But how did Xue Junliang suddenly appeared here? Did Xue Junliang find out Teng Yun tried to flee?

Teng Yun took in Xue Junliang's poorly appearance. It was as if Xue Junliang wasn't afraid of losing against a group of assassins, as if he didn't realize he'd landed himself in a difficult situation.

"What? Is Aifei feeling touched? Don't worry, when we're back at the Palace, you can stare at me to your heart's content." Xue Junliang remarked suggestively; deliberately deepened his voice.

Teng Yun ignored him. He got up to search for a fairly-thick twig nearby. Then he sat beside Xue Junliang, tore a strip from Xue Junliang's tattered outer robe and fixed him a makeshift splint for the broken hand.

Xue Junliang used his other hand to poke at his torn robe, as if regretting how bad its shape now. Smiling, he casually said, "Aifei is very good at this."

Teng Yun's movement paused, and then he continued, pretending not to care. Teng Yun was used to fighting outdoors, used to handle small injuries and wounds like these by himself. But a sheltered grand princess most definitely didn't; not to mention handling injuries, she would have been very flustered in this kind of situation.

He thought all of the above, yet he still helped fixing Xue Junliang's hand.

Xue Junliang felt something was odd about his Empress, but the feeling was fleeting and he soon forgot, not giving it much thought.

With one good hand, Xue Junliang took off his black outer robe and spread it on the ground. Patting it, he said, "Let's sit down and rest. Houyang's soldiers should find us soon."

Teng Yun glanced at the robe on the ground. He was both didn't want to talk and didn't have the strength to argue. The body he was in right now was really spoiled; had zero physical strength and poor endurance. Teng Yun's throat felt raw and swollen. He thought he'd throw up if he attempted to talk.

Teng Yun sat at the spot farthest away from Xue Junliang. Seeing this, Xue Junliang shifted to sit right next to Teng Yun. He reached a hand to guide Teng Yun's head to rest on his shoulder, saying, "If you're tired, close your eyes and rest."

Teng Yun was indeed very tired and as soon as he sat down, his weariness came over him. But because he was leaning against Xue Junliang, his mind couldn't rest and his body was tense.

Xue Junliang found that, despite obediently resting her head on his shoulder, the Empress was tense all over. He couldn't help letting out a laugh, then he circled the Empress' waist, hugging her from behind.

Teng Yun's drowsiness fled away in an instant, replaced by shock. Xue Junliang only felt the other person shivered so he tightened his hold, saying, "It's cold, we'll be warmer like this."

Xue Houyang's moves were swift; in under one shichen, he'd already found Xue Wang and the Empress, and had captured most of the assassins.

Xue Houyang knelt and plead guilty, but Xue Junliang didn't say anything because at this time, the Empress had fallen asleep and no one dared speaking too loudly for fear of waking her up.

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Teng Yun surfaced from his slumber in a daze, feeling very warm like he was cocooned in something. He shifted to burrow deeper into the cocoon but felt something fur-like tickled his face. He was startled into waking up.

Xue Junliang watched as the Empress woke up so suddenly and thought she had a nightmare. Gently patting the other person's back, he said, "It's alright. Go back to sleep, we'll arrive at the Palace soon."

Still half-awake, Teng Yun stared at Xue Junliang for a long time. He felt like he was swaying gently and was tightly covered with a fur blanket. Xue Junliang had changed his clothes and was now back to his usual well-groomed and confident persona.

Xue Junliang looked down at the Empress, who was resting her head on his lap and still groggy from sleep. He'd thought the Empress wouldn't wake up until after they arrived at the Palace.

He hadn't allowed people to change the Empress' clothes because he didn't want her to wake up. He didn't mind being dirty again, so he lent his own legs as the Empress' pillow.

Right now, the Empress' face was a little bit flushed, maybe because she was feeling warm and comfortable. Her eyes were somewhat misty; staring vacantly at him.

Xue Junliang knew this was not the proper time and place; but being stared like that, with that kind of expression, he felt a stirring of excitement. Added that the Empress' head was pillowed on his legs; this kind of position really gave people ideas.

If they were to stay in this position for a minute longer, Xue Junliang knew the other person would be able to tell his reactions.

He laid the Empress down onto the couch and put a few loose strands of her hair behind her ear. When he gently pinched the Empress' earlobe, she softly mumbled 'Enn.' Hearing the sound, Xue Junliang's heart tightened as if someone was squeezing it.

His hands slipped from the Empress' earlobe to grip her chin, then he leaned down and clamped her lips with his.

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  [T/N : Argh! Just as we're about to have the juicy bits...]