Part 3, Chapter 2

Ch 2

Xun leaned against the wall next to the kitchen entrance and tried to control her breathing. She hadn’t wanted to admit it to herself, but she had been afraid too. If the Emperor had come to her in his stately robes and full presence she would have run, she could admit that now. But when he had rushed in, still filthy from battle with a look of near panic on her face she had known that whatever his name or title, he was still the man she loved. She smiled to herself.

She and a maid were carrying the bathing supplies back to her courtyard when Renping came racing around the corner.

“Leng Zai is the Emperor!” She almost, but not quite, yelled into Xun’s face. 

“Yes,” Xun replied calmly. She motioned for the maid to give her buckets to Renping, who took them, automatically. The two friends continued up the hallway, matching strides with the ease of long habit.

“You are married to the Emperor. Wait. Are you married to him? He never did sign the marriage contract.”

“He did. Right before he left for battle.”

“Wait he already knew?”

“Apparently,” the corner of Xun’s mouth tipped up as she thought to herself that Renping seemed to be channeling Xiaomin. The two girls entered the courtyard side by side.

“So that makes you the Empress, right?”

“Not necessarily,” Xun said quickly. “It’s more likely that I’ll just be a concubine. It would be ridiculous to make me the Empress, I don’t have the training or the connections.”

Jianyu emerged angrily from the back courtyard. “Who says you aren’t my Empress? I will take no other wife than you. You have centuries to gain whatever court polish you need.”

Renping hastily looked away, coughing and blushing hard. Xun’s cheeks also turned pink as she observed more of her husband than he usually put on public display.

“Um, my husband, this seems like a discussion to have when you are more… suitably dressed.”

Jianyu glanced at Renping then stared at her intently as she set down her bucket and was hastily backed out of the courtyard. Xun cleared her throat and he looked abashed before grinning at her. “I wanted to get most of the smell off me before you came back.”

She pointed to the bucket that Renping had been carrying. Jianyu picked it up and followed her into the back courtyard where a steaming tub of water had been placed next to the walkway and screened off. Jianyu poured his bucket of flower petals and oils into the bath while Xun took out the other bath necessities. Jianyu groaned deeply as he sank into the tub.

Xun smiled and began to help him wash. 

He turned to look at her very seriously. “I mean it. You are my Empress. I won’t take another.” 

Xun returned his gaze, “I am not ready to be an Empress, your Majesty. I’m only now coming to terms with the fact that I’m a wife.”

He rose part way out of the water, enough that he came eye to eye with her where she knelt on the walkway. “I’ll be happy to help you with that anytime, my wife,” he said laughingly changing the subject.

She grinned evilly at him and dumped her bucket of rinse water over his head. Spluttering he pulled her into the tub with him and kissed her with all the pent up emotion of the day. Xun sank into his embrace and they enjoyed each other until long after the water cooled.