Just as the two were standing in silence, feeling the rhythm of each other’s breathing, Qiu Yao’s panicked voice suddenly rang out from the doorway: "Your... Your Majesty... Your Majesty, please wait! The Empress... the Empress is bathing right now!"
"Since she is bathing, why can’t I enter?"
"..." Qiu Yao!
In the side room, the two exchanged a look of shock. The Empress pursed her lips toward the massive, boat-sized bathtub and nudged Little Ding.
Little Ding, caught like a headless fly with no escape, blew out the nearby lamp. Following the Empress’s silent cue, he stepped onto a wooden stool, flipped over, and dove into the tub.
The Empress was entirely bare, save for a large, apron-like piece of gauze tied around her neck to preserve her modesty.
He buried his head between the two peaks of her chest like a child, not daring to move a muscle. The sound of footsteps grew louder, approaching from afar.
"Your Majesty, why have you come to see me so late?"
"I have urgent matters to discuss with you, Empress. It just so happens you are bathing; I was hoping to see a beauty emerging from the water." The Emperor’s voice was teasing and lewd.
Hiding in the water, Little Ding thought to himself: *What kind of emperor is this, having to sneak around just to see his own wife bathing?*
Little did he know, the next words to fall would strike like a bolt of lightning.
"Your Majesty, please show some respect. I am your sister-in-law. I am only your Empress in name, and you are merely acting in place of your brother."
"It’s all the same. Since my Imperial Brother has passed, aren’t you my Empress now?"
"Your Majesty, you must not defy ethics. Please, get out!"
Little Ding, still buried between the peaks, was shocked beyond measure. He was a fake eunuch, but who would have imagined that the Emperor was also a replacement—a mere stand-in, a fake emperor? How many people knew this secret? Acting as the ruler in his brother’s stead was no simple matter; if more people learned of this "replacement," his authority and power would surely crumble. Those who knew the truth would certainly lose their heads.
Killing one person was trivial, but he would surely silence everyone who came into contact with the secret. The best strategy was to act as if he had heard nothing at all. He hurriedly prepared to sink to the bottom of the tub.
Whether out of tension or fright, his head tilted slightly... The Empress bit her lip in alarm...
The Emperor asked suspiciously, "What was that?"
"My... my leg... it cramped."
"Shall I come in and help you rub it out?" the Emperor asked with feigned concern.
"How insolent! Get out!" The Empress quickly adjusted her mood, her voice commanding and furious.
"Empress, besides you, who else knows that I am the Emperor’s twin brother? You don’t say a word, I don’t say a word, and aren’t we husband and wife in every sense?"
The Empress let out a cold laugh. "Husband and wife? Are you even capable?"
*Capable?* Holy hell, that was a massive revelation. Was this fake emperor impotent? Was he being spurned and mocked by the Empress?
The Emperor let out a dry, awkward laugh. "Empress, your gauze is trembling. Could it be you’re bathing with some pet or a turtle in there?"
*You bastard,* Little Ding cursed silently. *You’re the turtle.*
The tub was full of water, and the Empress was trembling from head to toe with fear; of course, the gauze covering her would move.
Suddenly, the Emperor reached out and ripped away the gauze covering the Empress.
The Empress shrieked in shock, clutching her chest, but the peaks were too large to hide; she had no choice but to crouch down, submerging her body until only her head and neck remained above the water.
Fortunately, Little Ding had already sunk to the bottom. Steam filled the entire tub, the mist so thick that the Emperor saw nothing. He was, however, glad he had been clever enough to grab the tub's inner lining as he dove in.
The Emperor chuckled sheepishly, and his footsteps gradually faded away.
Just as Little Ding breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to surface, the Empress let out a low roar: "What do you think you’re doing again?"
The footsteps rushed back, sending Little Ding’s heart hammering against his ribs in the water.
The Emperor wore a faint, imperceptible smile. Without a word, he plunged his hand into the tub, reaching toward the bottom... he swiped around a few times with a splashing sound.
Fortunately, the Emperor was not tall, and the tub had been custom-made to match the Empress’s statuesque height, making it deep and wide. Little Ding, pressed against the bottom, remained safe and untouched.
"I was just washing my hands," the Emperor said with an awkward grin.
"Xia Wei, if you continue to be this insolent, know that the Yihua Palace can put you on the throne, and it can just as easily pull you down," the Empress warned with irrepressible fury.
*What? Yihua Palace?* The Yihua Palace from the legendary tales? Little Ding was shocked again. Was the Yihua Palace so powerful that it could elevate a man and then tear him down? Just how terrifying were they?
"It is late. We shall discuss the matters another day," the Emperor declared, finally leaving the side room and stepping out the door.
Outside, a nervous Qiu Yao called out, "Your Majesty, it is late. This servant will see you out of the courtyard..."
The Empress let out a long, shaky breath, trying to steady herself. Then, she turned pale with panic. Little Ding had been underwater for so long; surely he had drowned trying to protect her reputation.
Her hands trembled as she frantically fished around the bottom of the tub, but it was too wide, and she found nothing. She leaned down further, straining to reach forward, until she finally pulled Little Ding up from the bottom.
Little Ding’s Turtle Speed Divine Art had already begun to show results; he could hold his breath for hours, let alone this short duration. But he kept up the ruse, pretending to be unconscious as he slumped against her chest.
The Empress was terrified. "Qiu Yao! Qiu Yao!"
But Qiu Yao, fearing the Emperor might return to silence any loose ends, was personally escorting him away; there was no one to answer. The Empress patted and pinched him in a panic.
Suddenly, the Empress let out a cry. "Ah!"
Little Ding had no idea what was happening, but he could no longer remain motionless or pretend to be unconscious. He mimicked the look of someone being revived from drowning, slowly opening his eyes, rolling them back, then closing them again...
The Empress was torn between shock and joy. "Are you alright?"
No sooner had she spoken than she cried out again, "Ow!"
Little Ding shook his head, feigning full consciousness, and asked with concern, "What happened?"
"My leg... my leg really is cramping."
What had started as a lie was now, in her agony, the painful truth. Little Ding looked at the overflowing tub; he couldn't dive back down like a turtle to help her with her cramp.
He climbed out of the tub, reached out to support her back with one hand and her legs with the other, and lifted her into his arms...
The Empress blushed deeply, overcome with shyness. She hurriedly wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her face in his broad chest, and squeezed her eyes shut.