The Female Emperor Actually Learns Needlework for Ye Xuan

In the following days, the war grew increasingly fierce.

As the Female Emperor, Wu Lingxiao was overwhelmed with work. Battle reports from the front lines flew in like snowflakes. Deploying troops, preparing rations, pacifying the noble families... She wished she could split herself in half to handle it all.

She could no longer visit the Sweet Dew Pavilion every night.

Sometimes, four or five days would pass before she could spare half an hour to disguise herself as the Embroidery Maid and rush to see Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan also noticed the Embroidery Maid's busyness, but he asked nothing and did not complain. Since he couldn't leave, he simply poured all his energy into cultivation.

He swung his sword within the hall, sweating like rain.

Every swing of the sword felt like an attempt to sever these invisible shackles.

The Empress's Bedchamber.

Incense smoke curled upward, but the atmosphere was somewhat eerie.

The Female Emperor, Wu Lingxiao, leaned wearily against the soft couch, resting her eyes.

The Empress, Zhou Xubai, dressed in plain white clothes, was gently massaging her temples. His technique was excellent, the pressure just right, carrying a faint scent of orchids.

"Your Majesty... seems to be in a good mood lately?"

Zhou Xubai looked at Wu Lingxiao's features, an indescribable sourness welling up in his heart. He softly probed:

"This servant consort heard that Your Majesty has frequently disguised yourself as an Embroidery Maid lately to visit that noble person in the Sweet Dew Pavilion. It seems you are having quite a bit of fun."

Wu Lingxiao suddenly opened her eyes.

In an instant, the originally languid aura of the Female Emperor suddenly turned sharp, like an unsheathed sword.

"Your information is certainly well-informed."

Wu Lingxiao grabbed Zhou Xubai's wrist, her voice ice-cold. "Since when is it your turn to question My affairs? I have warned you not to overreach."

Zhou Xubai felt a sharp pain in his wrist, but he did not struggle. He merely lowered his eyes submissively, revealing a wronged yet virtuous expression:

"This servant consort would not dare. I am merely... merely jealous."

He looked up, tears in his eyes, perfectly displaying his deep affection:

"I am jealous that he receives such attentive treatment from Your Majesty. Even when we were married, Your Majesty never stooped so low as to play the role of a washerwoman for my sake."

Wu Lingxiao looked at the face that had accompanied her since childhood, and the anger in her heart subsided slightly. She let go of his hand and snorted coldly:

"It's nothing but a boring pastime."

"Since Your Majesty finds it amusing..."

Zhou Xubai rubbed his wrist, his eyes flickering as he proposed a seemingly considerate suggestion:

"Why not reveal your identity at the right time? Just like Your Majesty did before."

Over a decade ago, Wu Lingxiao had played a similar game.

She had posed as a palace maid and gotten involved with a rebellious, newly arrived concubine.

When the concubine fell deeply in love with the "palace maid" and even planned to elope for her, Wu Lingxiao publicly restored her true identity as the Female Emperor.

Zhou Xubai still remembered the expression on that concubine's face, changing from pleasant surprise to terror, and finally to despair.

That was exactly Wu Lingxiao's favorite sick joke.

And that concubine, after being thrown into the cold palace, was granted a cup of poisoned wine and died.

"That would certainly be interesting."

Zhou Xubai said softly, "It would also let Ye Xuan know how omnipotent Your Majesty is."

Wu Lingxiao fell silent.

She narrowed her eyes, seemingly weighing the options.

But just a moment later, she waved her hand irritably:

"No."

"Why?" Zhou Xubai was taken aback.

"He is different."

Wu Lingxiao stood up and paced around the hall, her tone revealing a panic that even she hadn't noticed:

"Ye Xuan's temper... is too fierce, and too genuine. If I reveal my identity now and tell him that the caring older sister who has been keeping him company is the very Female Emperor who forced herself upon him..."

"He won't feel pleasantly surprised."

"He will die."

"He would not hesitate to die right in front of Me."

At this point, Wu Lingxiao's heart twitched violently. She didn't dare to gamble.

Zhou Xubai stared blankly at Wu Lingxiao's back.

He had never seen His Majesty look so worried about personal gains and losses.

For a mere plaything, the dignified Female Emperor was actually afraid?

Jealousy, like a poisonous weed, grew wildly in his heart, wrapping around his throat and almost suffocating him.

The war subsided slightly.

Wu Lingxiao could finally visit the Sweet Dew Pavilion frequently again.

She found that she had changed.

If her previous visits to Ye Xuan were for the sake of conquest, to see him struggling in despair, then now, she purely just wanted to see him.

If she didn't see him every day, she would feel completely uncomfortable.

She would space out while reviewing memorials, think of him when seeing the flowers in the imperial garden, and even while eating, she would wonder, "Would Ye Xuan like today's dishes?"

This feeling was too terrifying, yet too sweet.

Ye Xuan's attitude toward the Embroidery Maid also grew increasingly warm.

He no longer treated her as an ordinary confidante, but truly regarded her as his only family in this cold imperial palace.

On this day, at dusk.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled into the Sweet Dew Pavilion.

Ye Xuan mysteriously pulled the Embroidery Maid into a corner and somewhat shyly took out a neatly folded handkerchief from his chest.

"Sister, this... is for you."

The Embroidery Maid was stunned. She took the handkerchief and unfolded it.

It was a white silk handkerchief. The fabric wasn't top-tier, but in the corner, embroidered with cyan and red silk threads, was a pair of...

Mandarin ducks.

Although the stitching was a bit clumsy, and even the mandarin ducks' eyes were uneven in size, making them look somewhat comical.

But the dedication woven into every stitch and thread could not be hidden.

In this world, the meaning of a man giving a woman a mandarin duck handkerchief was self-evident.

"Aren't you an Embroidery Maid?"

Ye Xuan scratched his head, his cheeks slightly flushed, his smile bright and pure:

"I figured you wouldn't lack anything else I could give. It just so happens that I learned a bit of needlework from the palace wet nurses a few days ago, so... so I tried embroidering one."

"I just finished it, Sister, please don't disdain it."

Boom!

Wu Lingxiao felt as if something had exploded in her mind.

Holding that handkerchief, her fingers trembled violently.

As the Female Emperor, she had received countless treasures. Merman pearls from the Southern Sea, warm jade from the Northern Frontiers, ten-thousand-year-old spirit herbs... Those things filled her treasury.

But never had any gift felt as heavy as a thousand pounds like this crumpled handkerchief with crooked stitches.

This was the first time Ye Xuan had taken the initiative to give her something.

And it was mandarin ducks.

"I don't disdain it..."

The Embroidery Maid lowered her head, her eyes moist, her voice choking with emotion:

"I like it very much... I really, really like it."

That night.

The Weiyang Palace was brightly lit.

The serving female officials were all dumbfounded.

Her Majesty the Female Emperor, who would normally be reviewing memorials or cultivating at this time, was currently sitting upright before the dragon desk.

But what she held in her hand was not a vermilion brush, but a fine embroidery needle.

On the table lay a piece of high-quality dark brocade, material meant for making a belt.

"Your Majesty... what are you doing?" her personal female official asked cautiously.

"Get out! All of you, get out!"

Wu Lingxiao roared without even lifting her head.

She clumsily pinched the needle, weaving it through the expensive brocade.

She was a dignified Tribulation Crossing realm expert; with one palm strike, she could overturn mountains and seas.

But right now, this tiny embroidery needle was harder to control than her natal flying sword.

"Hiss!"

A soft gasp.

The tip of the needle pierced her fingertip, and a drop of bright red blood welled up, staining a corner of the brocade.

If it were any ordinary day, such a minor wound would heal in an instant.

But at this moment, Wu Lingxiao seemed to feel no pain at all.

She popped her finger into her mouth to suck on it, and an unprecedented, silly smile—like that of a young girl experiencing her first love—actually surfaced on her face.

"If you can embroider mandarin ducks, so can I."

"I will embroider a duck for you... no, a mandarin duck."

Muttering to herself, she continued her fierce battle with the needle.

For an entire night.

The dignified Empress, just to make a return gift, stayed up until her eyes were bloodshot and pricked all ten of her fingers.

It wasn't until the horizon began to pale with the first light of dawn.

Wu Lingxiao looked at the finished product in her hands and smiled with satisfaction.

Even though...

The thing embroidered on it had a neck as thick as a goose, a body as fat as a pig, and two legs of uneven length.

No matter how you looked at it, it resembled a drunken, crooked duck that had been run over by a carriage.

But that wasn't important.

What mattered was that she had made it with her own hands.

Her fingers were all torn up, but her heart was filled with sweetness.

Behind the distant curtains.

The Imperial Consort, Zhou Xubai, had stood quietly for the entire night.

He watched the normally decisive and ruthless monarch act like a young girl experiencing the first stirrings of love, doing such lowly needlework for a wild man.

Watching her smile even after getting hurt.

Watching her hold that ugly belt as if she had found a priceless treasure.

Zhou Xubai's fingers dug so fiercely into the pillar that his nails broke, leaving streaks of blood on the wood.

Jealousy.

Frantic jealousy twisted his originally elegant and handsome face into the visage of a vengeful ghost.

"Ye Xuan..."

"You must die..."

The next day.

Ganlu Hall.

The Embroidery Maid, sporting dark circles under her eyes but radiating high spirits, handed an exquisitely packaged box to Ye Xuan.

"Here, a return gift."

Ye Xuan was a little surprised as he opened the box.

Then, the air went dead silent for three seconds.

Immediately after, an earth-shattering burst of wild laughter erupted.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Ye Xuan laughed so hard he doubled over, tears nearly streaming from his eyes.

He held up the belt, pointing at the unidentified creature on it:

"Sis... Sister! Are you really an Embroidery Maid from the Royal Laundry?"

"Hahahaha! What... what is this? Is this a duck? Or a goose that got squeezed by a door?"

"With these skills... I'm afraid you'd be beaten to death by the managing momo! Hahahaha!"

The Embroidery Maid's face flushed to the color of pig liver.

She was so mortified that she wished she could find a hole to crawl into and hide.

To think that the dignified Empress's first attempt at needlework was being mocked like this!

"You! Shut up!"

The Embroidery Maid, flustered and exasperated, tried to snatch the belt back. "If you think it's ugly, give it back! I'll go burn it!"

"No, no, no!"

Ye Xuan stopped laughing and, with quick hands and sharp eyes, snatched the belt back, guarding it tightly in his arms.

"Even though it's a bit ugly, this represents Sister's heartfelt intentions."

As he spoke, Ye Xuan tied the ugly belt around his waist right in front of the Embroidery Maid.

He was dressed in white clothes as pure as snow, exuding an otherworldly aura. And that black belt embroidered with a crooked-necked duck tied around his waist looked completely out of place, even comical.

But Ye Xuan looked down and stroked the "duck," smiling with utmost gentleness:

"I like it very much."

"Really."

"As long as it's a gift from Sister, it's the best thing in the world."

Seeing him wearing that belt and seeing the cherished look in his eyes,

Wu Lingxiao's feelings of shame and annoyance vanished into thin air. In their place came a heart full of joy and an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

She felt that even if she had to trade half of her empire for this moment's smile, it would be worth it.

And this scene, once again, fell into the eyes of someone with hidden intentions.