"Your Majesty, I think that you're doing this out of duty. I know that Your Majesty is a responsible Emperor. Thus, I will ease your burden. You don't need to visit me again, Your Majesty."

"What do you mean?" Huang Shu frowned as he looked at how nonchalant and cold Bai Yunyu, no, his wife was. "You're still my wife, my Empress, Bai Yunyu. Even if you've moved to a different palace, it doesn't mean that I don't have any responsibility for you."

"This one believes that Your Majesty has done the utmost best to take care of me. Look at my lavish coat right now," Bai Yunyu said sarcastically. But there was a lingering smile on his face as if he had accepted everything.

"Your Majesty, please don't address me as your wife so lightly. This humble one believes that a wife is for one's man to address his beloved. It is a sacred word. At least for me, I do believe addressing someone as his wife is a sign of endearment, means that you are loving that person from the moon and back."

"But I still—" Huang Shu wanted to utter something before Bai Yunyu snipped his words.

"Which I have to consider, that Your Majesty lacks such basic skill," Yunyu lowered his head, so Huang Shu couldn't see his face. But for Huang Shu, he had imagined that Bai Yunyu was either sneering out of contempt or showing a bitter smile out of pain.

And Huang Shu couldn't bear either of them. He didn't want to see that kind of expression in Bai Yunyu's face, especially in his current state, where he was frail and sickly, unlike the vigorous youth he was ten years ago or the enchanting beauty still bewitched Huang Shu two years ago.

Bai Yunyu right now was in a very pitiful state. He was just skin and bones, ghastly pale, and his body constantly shivered when a cold wind blew, telling him that he was not in good condition right now.

But it was Bai Yunyu's fault that he messed everything up. It would be too difficult to fix unless he would want to repent for all his sins to the Empress Dowager and Concubine Xi.

'But it's not even easy to talk to him right now…' Huang Shu thought.

Bai Yunyu looked up again to meet with Huang Shu's eyes. There was no fear in his eyes, even when facing the most powerful man in the Empire. The man that he had loved once…

"Your Majesty, I have a request for you to call me Bai Yunyu instead of calling me wife. It is quite disrespectful of yourself, knowing that you have a Harem full of women and Ger men. I've counted that you have around a hundred and two concubines right now."

Huang Shu's heart went cold when he got stared at by Bai Yunyu's hateful gaze.

Huang Shu knew that Bai Yunyu was the jealous type, who would always rage whenever Huang Shu took some women or ger men in his harem.

Although it was bound by duty, and both of them knew this Empire was huge and powerful. Huang Shu needed to take some concubines from each occupied kingdom to ensure the connection between them. Even Huang Shu didn't spend the night with any of them. At least he didn't sleep anyone except Bai Yunyu until he found that Bai Yunyu couldn't bear him an heir.

An Empire without an heir was simply outrageous!

"Both of us know our duty. My wife—"

"Please call me Bai Yunyu, or Scholar Yunyu, knowing my real identity before I got trapped in this shabby place, Your Majesty," Yunyu said brazenly.

…

Huang Shu clenched his fist. Even if he still loved Bai Yunyu, there was no excuse for this wife of his to be so brazen and bold. He was still the Emperor of China! The mightiest, and the one titled as the Golden Emperor!

How could his consort, especially Bai Yunyu, who had been banished to the Cold Palace for two years, would brazenly request something so outrageous? This was blatant disrespect!

But Huang Shu didn't want to raise his voice at his wife, at least not now. Huang Shu took a deep breath and said, "Fine, Bai Yunyu, my wife, both of us know that I am bound by duty. So, do you. We are bound by duty to protect and nurture this Empire."

"A simple thing like taking some offered women and ger men as a concubine is no big deal. Bai Yunyu, you're supposed to be the one who leads them since you're the Empress. And you're supposed to be the one who manages them to create harmony. But…"

"But I refuse, Your Majesty," Bai Yunyu replied, with a lingering thin smile on his face. He shook his head. "I refuse to manage something that will eventually bite me from behind. You are so busy with your glorious life as the Golden Emperor, but you don't know what's behind."

Huang Shu sighed. He truly didn't understand the mind of his Empress.

He refused to manage the harem, and he always made such a big deal over small things like a harem. He was the Golden Emperor. He had a lot to do than just taking care of women and ger men's problem. All they did was drinking tea and gossiping!

He had to command the war, discuss the taxing. He also had to manage the ration for the more impoverished region because of this harsh winter.

He couldn't be bothered with such useless harem drama!

"Fine, you can do whatever you want with that harem. I'm just doing my duty. And now we have nine princes and a dozen princesses. It's enough to maintain the future of the Empire. You may return to the main palace now," Huang Shu said carelessly.

Such careless remark made Bai Yunyu's heart pinched in agony. He said nothing, but he smiled bitterly, not wanting his husband to show how painful he felt right now.

Because Huang Shu didn't deserve to be cried, as he also didn't deserve to live in this agony.

"All you need to do is to kowtow in front of Mother Empress Dowager, Concubine Xi, and the Crown Prince, my son, Huang Guowei. Then you may return as the Empress."

[Bitch, what? Did I just mishear that? He wants me to kowtow to those assholes who schemed me?! So he truly believed that I wanted to kill the Crown Prince? Huang Shu believes them instead of me?!]

[Well, they are so deliberate with their scheme and got the whole palace against you. Huang Shu will think rationally and believe the whole palace and court rather than a jealous wife who often went on a rampant whenever he took another woman in the concubine.]

[I… I cannot believe this…]

"Your Majesty, do you want me to kiss the feet of Your mother Empress Dowager, Concubine Xi, and your son?"

"Yes, it is better if you also wash their feet as a symbol of repentance and filial love. Bai Yunyu, you must know that my mother, Mother Empress, is furious at you because you want to poison her beloved grandson."

…

"I think we are done with this conversation, Your Majesty."