The Empress genuinely looked at me in shock, as if she had seen a ghost. Her gaze was so intense that it even started giving me the creeps... "Empress, what's wrong with you? Is, is there something wrong with me, Your Majesty?"
"Your Majesty, you... you don't look like the Your Majesty I used to know." The Empress stared at me with her lovely eyes wide with terror.
"Good grief... how am I not myself anymore? The person just fell into the water and lost her memory! It's no big deal, is it?"
This Empress just talks too much, has a face like a block of ice, and her figure is just a tiny bit—ah, spit it out! Her figure is simply, top-tier gorgeous!
Still, I looked at her with a bit of puzzlement.
She circled around me to the left, then to the right, spinning a solid four, five, six, seven times before finally stopping, shaking her head, and saying, "No, that's not right. Your appearance is clearly my Yún Zhāo, but..."
When she said that "but," a look of extreme sorrow crossed her face again, and the tears in her eyes looked as if they were about to breach the dam.
I hurriedly pressed on, "But what?"
Why do people in ancient times always love to leave half their sentences unsaid? It's enough to drive a person crazy.
The Empress finally broke down in tears, and I quickly stepped over to pull her into my arms, gently patting her back with my large hand.
Although her back lacked meat and wasn't as soft and squishy as Little Green Tea's, the texture when touching it was still quite nice.
She slowly raised her head, her eyes filled with sorrow and a lingering tenderness. "The Yún Zhāo of the past would never embrace me like the current Your Majesty..."
Ah! Just because of this? Just because of this she doubted my identity as the emperor?
Oh, for crying out loud... No wonder the Emperor didn't like this Empress; she was so jealous and so ice-cold that no man on earth could possibly stand it!
Seeing that I didn't speak, the Empress actually reached out a hand to stroke my face.
Inside, I struggled over whether to dodge. After all, my soul was still stuck in my previous life!
Dear Heavens! Will someone save me... save this child!
Yet this damn male body not only refused to dodge, it actually reacted!
I simply couldn't bear this situation any longer, so I quickly pushed the Empress away, sat back on the bed, and feigned composure as I said, "Empress, well, I've lost my memory, and I no longer remember how I used to treat the Empress. But from now on, you are my Empress, my wife, and we will just treat each other with mutual respect!"
The Empress didn't seem ready to let me off the hook; she leaned in close to me once more.
Although she was the tallest among the imperial concubines and had a top-tier figure, what about her face?
It was no worse than that Little Green Tea's.
Her height reached right to my shoulder, and sitting beside me, she looked the picture of a little bird leaning on a person.
"Since Yún Zhāo has lost his memory, can Yan'er and you go back to the past..."
Her tone now sounded just like Little Green Tea's—coquettish and cloyingly sweet.
I couldn't help shivering, and my body reacted all over again...
"Well, Yan'er, no, Empress, I'm still feeling a bit unwell today, so... why don't you make an appointment with me another day!" I hurriedly issued an eviction notice. My brain hadn't even transformed into a man's yet, what good was having the body react...
Damn Little Fate Master, I cursed every single ancestor of the Fate Master's family down to the eighteenth generation in my heart.
Hearing this, the Empress's face once again assumed an icy expression. "I knew it, you are not the Yún Zhāo of the past at all. You are the Emperor, the Emperor revered by all, and also the man that all those little vixens have their eyes on."
How could this Empress change her face faster than turning the pages of a book? One second she was all coquettish, and the next she was icy cold.
With this alternating heaven and hell, what man could possibly endure it...
Yet, fearing she might cry again, I didn't dare provoke her at all.
I had no choice but to sidle up to her with a cheeky grin, close my eyes, and plant an insincere kiss on her cheek.
She looked as if she had suddenly tasted a cup of extremely sweet milk tea, her fair face instantly flushing red.
Yet she actually leaned in close, suddenly wanting to return one... Oh my word, how could I let her take advantage of me.
After all, I wasn't used to this fleshly vessel yet, and even if I got used to it later, that would be a matter for later.
I quickly leaned my upper body backward, pretending to have a terrible headache. Fearing I wouldn't act convincingly enough to scare the Empress away, I kept up a soft groan, "Empress, hurry and leave. My, this headache of mine is acting up again, and I need to get some good rest."
Seeing me like this, even though she knew I was deliberately dodging her, the Empress seemed to think this was the most normal behavior for me.
A trace of forlornness appeared on her face, and she said wistfully, "Your Majesty really is still the Emperor of old... Take good care of yourself!"
"This concubine will take her leave!"
Why did that final sentence sound so sad? What on earth had my current body done to hurt her in the past?
After she left, I hurried over to bolt the heavy doors. The doors were quite substantial, and although the carved designs were lovely, they felt rather impractical overall.
I lay back down on the bed, wanting to close my eyes and sleep a bit longer. After all, as a modern corporate drone in my past life, I had never once gotten to sleep in properly.
Now that I was an emperor, I had to make up for all the lazy mornings I owed from my previous life.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, look what old slave has brought you!"
Just by the sound of that voice, I could tell it was Eunuch Gui, who was as kindly as my father from my past life.
At that moment, I didn't want to deal with anyone at all; I just wanted to sleep in.
"Your Majesty, hurry up and take a look!" Eunuch Gui persisted relentlessly.
I had no choice but to lazily sit up once more. Goodness gracious, not looking was one thing, but looking gave me such a fright it almost sent me off to reincarnate all over again.
Seven or eight young eunuchs, each hugging a towering stack of little booklets... Good heavens, Mom! Could these possibly be imperial memorials?
With an incredulous look, I stared at Eunuch Gui. "These, these wouldn't all be memorials, would they?"
Eunuch Gui nodded and said, "Your Majesty, you've been unconscious for three days. Now that you're awake, you should get up early and review these memorials!"
Good heavens! I stared again in disbelief at those mountain-like piles of memorials. How, how could there be so many...
Ancient corporate drones really are different! They actually review them in whole mountains...
Still wanting to escape, I lay back down, pulled the covers over my head, and mumbled, "Today I am tired, I'll review them another day!"
However, Eunuch Gui gave me no chance to be lazy. He walked straight over, placed a few memorials right by my bedside, and said softly, "The Prime Minister said that while you can postpone reviewing the other memorials, these few must be reviewed right away!"
"Why?"
I threw off the quilt in one swift motion, sat up, and took one of the memorials from his hand to examine it. The characters looked somewhat like hieroglyphs, yet also had a style resembling small seal script.
That blasted Fate Master didn't give me the Soup of Forgetfulness, leaving the memories of this body unopened.
As for the characters on these memorials, I could only rely on guesswork!
The gist of the top memorial seemed to be about a flood in some region, urgently requesting disaster relief funds. I could handle that part... but the moment I saw the sum requested, I was lost again!