Chapter 20: The Emperor's Joy

Fortunately, this sacrificial ceremony was already nearing its end; the palace staff carried the fainted Empress into the inner hall to rest, while Chen Ajiao stayed behind to continue the remaining procedures.

Guided by the Vice Minister of Rites, Chen Ajiao walked up into the high temple, offered incense to the ancestors of the Great Han and performed the final rites.

In the side hall, Liu Che lay on a soft couch and woke up after a short while; Fuqu knelt at the bedside, fanning him, and when she saw the Empress awaken, a smile appeared on her face: "Young Master, you're awake."

Liu Che furrowed his brow in great discomfort and asked, "Where is Chen Ajiao?"

Fuqu was a bit bewildered: "Young Master, what are you talking about?"

Liu Che paused, then remembered that he and Chen Ajiao had already swapped bodies; now he was Chen Ajiao. He took a deep breath and asked again, "Where is the Emperor?"

Fuqu replied, "The sacrificial rite is not yet finished; the Emperor is performing the sacrificial ceremony."

Upon hearing this, Liu Che gave a low response, pressed his hand to his forehead, and felt throbbing pain in his head, too weak to contemplate the current situation.

Seeing his discomfort, Fuqu whispered, "Your servant will press your head for you, Young Master."

"Hmm." Liu Che closed his eyes.

Only after the sacrificial rite ended did Chen Ajiao find a moment to come see Liu Che. At the side hall entrance, Chen Ajiao met Dou Taizhu, who was leading Liu Li over to visit "her daughter."

"Aunt." Chen Ajiao called softly.

After the sacrificial rite concluded, Liu Piao, concerned for her daughter, led her granddaughter over, and happened to meet the Emperor at the doorway.

Liu Piao's eyebrows relaxed slightly, and she smiled, greeting her nephew: "Your Majesty, how is Chen Ajiao?" She was very pleased with today's events, and even showed a good disposition toward the Liu Che before her.

The twenty thousand shi of money donated last month was not in vain.

Chen Ajiao naturally knew why her mother was happy; she pursed her lips and said, "I have just arrived, and I still don't know how Chen Ajiao is doing."

Liu Piao nodded, "Then I'll go in and take a look." As she spoke, she turned her head toward Liu Li: "Little Liu Li also cares deeply for the Empress."

Liu Li gave Liu Piao a simple, innocent smile, and then the three of them walked into the side hall together.

Inside the side hall, the lingering sandalwood incense calmed the mind and could also somewhat ease Liu Che's headache.

Fuqu saw that the Emperor and Dou Taizhu had both arrived, and hurriedly whispered, "Young Master, the Emperor and Dou Taizhu are here."

Liu Che responded lazily, "Hmm."

He had already removed his heavy garments, lounged lazily on the couch, a thin blanket draped over him, revealing a delicate, curvaceous figure. His glossy black hair fell in a long cascade behind him, giving him a somewhat frail appearance.

Liu Piao hurried over, sat at the bedside, grasped her daughter's slender hand, and asked concernedly, "Jiao Jiao, how are you feeling?"

Liu Che frowned, then slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Liu Piao before settling on the man before him; his eyes grew deep as he rasped, "Nothing in particular, just a bit of a headache."

Liu Piao saw his complexion was quite poor and, still uneasy, asked, "Has the imperial physician come yet?"

Liu Che: "Fuqu has already sent for the imperial physician." After a pause he said, "Mother, you take Liu Li out first; I have some words to discuss with the Emperor alone."

Liu Piao turned to glance at her nephew behind her, then looked at her daughter's displeased expression and asked, "Are you two throwing a tantrum again?"

Liu Che let out a light snort, and Chen Ajiao smiled, saying, "Perhaps it's because I conferred the title of Grand Princess on Liu Li without telling you, so you're upset."

Liu Piao disagreed: "Our Little Liu Li being made Grand Princess is a good thing. You, as a mother, why aren't you happy?" She snapped, "This time the Emperor did well; Chen Ajiao, that's your fault."

Liu Che: "……"

Chen Ajiao lifted her eyebrows and said, "Aunt, you take Liu Li out first; I'll talk with her."

Liu Piao, pleased with Liu Che's good attitude, thought and decided to let the young couple resolve it themselves, stood up and grabbed Liu Li's hand: "Liu Li, go out with your grandmother so your father the Emperor and mother the Empress can talk properly."

Liu Li looked at Chen Ajiao with some worry, but received a reassuring smile. "Fine, I can't intervene, let them handle it themselves," she thought.

Liu Li took Liu Piao's hand, and the grandparent and grandchild left the side hall together. Liu Li pursed her lips and asked Liu Piao, "Grandmother, where is Jianling?"

Upon hearing that, Liu Piao became enthusiastic, smiling, "Jianling is in Donghai Prefecture; it's a very nice place. In the future, the pearls and shells produced by Jianling County will belong to Liu Li."

Liu Li's eyes lit up as she listened, thinking that Chen Ajiao seemed to have given her a good place.

Inside the side hall, only Chen Ajiao and Liu Che remained; Liu Che propped himself up and sat, gave Chen Ajiao a cold snort, and asked, "Since when have you been planning this?"

Facing Liu Che's question, Chen Ajiao walked to the bedside, spread her robe and sat, looked at his pale face, and did not hide: "Since I learned you intended to confer the title of Grand Princess on your eldest daughter."

Hearing this, Liu Che's expression tightened slightly.

Chen Ajiao mocked, "Liu Che, I actually want to ask you, what qualification does Liu Yue have to be made Grand Princess now? Has she done anything beneficial for the realm?"

Liu Che was at a loss for words.

In fact, in the previous life, after Wei Zifu gave birth to the crown prince Liu Ju, Liu Che then proceeded to confer Liu Yue the title of Grand Princess.

Chen Ajiao recalled that before the sacrificial rite, when she approached the Department of Ancestral Affairs to propose making her legitimate daughter Liu Li a Grand Princess, the department initially opposed it.

After all, the position of Grand Princess is that of the Emperor's sister; such a cross‑rank conferment is unreasonable.

At that time, Chen Ajiao said, "Princess Liu Li offered a plan that helped me manage the Yellow River floods, saving the people of sixteen prefectures. Why shouldn't such a great merit be rewarded? If the Department of Ancestral Affairs finds it improper, they can send someone to investigate locally and see which villagers are not grateful to Princess Liu Li."

Long before Chen Ajiao decided to make Liu Li a Grand Princess, she had Grandmother Dou Taizhu arrange for people in the disaster‑stricken areas to proclaim that Princess Liu Li's plan had rescued them.

Having done a good deed, one must leave a name; otherwise who would know it was you?

Those words left the Department of Ancestral Affairs unable to rebut, and with Dou Taizhu's backing, the matter was settled.

At that point, Chen Ajiao refocused on Liu Che, saying firmly, "Liu Che, I don't know what you're angry about. If you think my Liu Li is unfit to be Grand Princess, then your Liu Yue is even less so!"

"I am not angry that you made Liu Li a Grand Princess," Liu Che declared his stance, his eyes narrowing dangerously, "What I am angry about is that you did this without consulting me!"

A Grand Princess title is just a name; it means little to Liu Che. His anger stems from the fact that Chen Ajiao acted without informing him, which he cannot tolerate.

He felt his position was being threatened.

Liu Che straightened his back, stared at Chen Ajiao, and said deliberately, "If you had told me beforehand, how could I have refused?"

Chen Ajiao, gazing at the stern beauty before her, gently lifted his chin with her fingertip, caressing his slightly pale lips, and her voice suddenly softened: "But Liu Che, now I am the Son of Heaven; why must my decisions be consulted with you?"

Listening to Chen Ajiao's words, Liu Che's whole body stiffened, his pupils constricted, and finally he could not conceal his confusion: "What did you say?" He even doubted he had heard incorrectly.

Chen Ajiao coldly pushed him away, rose with great presence, looked down from above at Liu Che on the couch, and said, "Weren't you the one who said you'd make me your Empress for life? I think that proposal is fine."

Liu Che finally understood, and roared, "Chen Ajiao, how dare you, how dare you? Aren't you afraid that one day we'll switch back and I'll kill you?!" He was so angry he omitted any title.

Facing Liu Che's raging anger, Chen Ajiao showed no fear. After all, their previous quarrels had been even fiercer; she was already accustomed to it.

"You have already killed me once, Liu Che," Chen Ajiao said coldly, a hint of malice flashing in her eyes. "Even if we hadn't swapped bodies, you still couldn't tolerate me as Empress, could you?"

In her previous life, she was accused of childlessness and the fabricated crime of witchcraft, and was...

He ruthlessly deposed her, and she was even driven out of Weiyang Palace; in the desolate Changmen Palace in the outskirts, no one inquired after her.

After rebirth, she fortunately became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter. She thought that this time, as long as she stopped competing, stopped caring whether Liu Che favored others, and obediently played the role of empress, she could avoid the fate of being deposed.

But she never expected that, even after doing this, he still harbored the idea of deposing her.

"How could you think that?" Liu Che's heart secretly startled, but he would never admit it on the surface.

"You should ask, how would I know?" Ajiao sneered: "Liu Che, I'm not a fool. If you had no intention of deposing the empress, how could your Lady Wei and Lady Wang dare to act against my Ali? They're merely concubines!"

The earlier incident of falling into the water seemed to be Wang Lady scheming against Wei Zifu, but in reality it was their struggle for the empress's position!

At that time the empress had lost favor, and Liu Che still intended to depose her. Wang Lady, as the natal family of Empress Dowager Wang, had long coveted the empress's position. She feared that the child in Wei Zifu's womb would be a prince and threaten her own child, so she acted against Wei Zifu.

These were discovered after Ajiao and Liu Che exchanged bodies, and they secretly arranged for Zhang Tang to re‑interrogate.

At that moment she thought, if that's the case, then let's go all‑in. After all, she had already endured the worst outcome—she was someone who had died once.

This time heaven let her become Liu Che; why shouldn't she fight for a future for herself, for her daughter, for her mother?

"Since we don't know when we'll switch back, before we do, just stay put and be a good empress." Ajiao took a deep breath: "Liu Che, I won't be as ruthless as you. As long as I remain the Son of Heaven, you are my empress."

Liu Che went from initial fury, his head spinning with rage, to now hearing Ajiao's promise; he forced himself to calm down, trying to win her over again: "Ajiao, take back what you just said to me, and I'll pretend today never happened. I will not depose the empress; you will forever be my empress."

"I don't believe you, Liu Che."

I will never believe you again.

Meeting Ajiao's dark, icy gaze, Liu Che's pupils trembled slightly; he suddenly realized that the Ajiao before him was no longer the one who used to quarrel with him, throw little tantrums, yet still loved him and clung to him.

She no longer loved him.

The atmosphere in the hall had already dropped to freezing point; a voice came from the hall entrance: "Your Majesty, Xiao Jun, the Imperial Physician Xu has arrived."

Ajiao responded: "Please come in."

Fuqu led the Imperial Physician inside, and Liu Piao and Liu Li also followed him in.

The atmosphere is off!

As soon as Liu Li stepped through the door, she felt the room's air was stiff, especially Liu Che's expression—dark and grim, clearly he was angry.

Imperial Physician Xu first bowed to Ajiao, then bowed to Liu Che, before beginning to take Liu Che's pulse.

Liu Che's complexion was awful; he suppressed his anger but had nowhere to vent, now finding everyone displeasing to the eye.

Imperial Physician Xu felt anxious, and also sensed that the empress's pulse was truly disordered; after hesitating repeatedly he said: "Your Majesty, Xiao Jun's pulse is uneven, seeming to be a slippery pulse; pardon my shallow learning, but please invite Imperial Physician Zhang for a re‑examination."

Liu Li was still wondering what a slippery pulse meant, while Liu Piao beside her lit up with delight: "Really?"

Imperial Physician Xu: "Perhaps Xiao Jun's months are still few; I cannot be completely certain. Imperial Physician Zhang has studied slippery pulse extensively; please invite him to re‑take Xiao Jun's pulse."

Liu Piao couldn't care less about that, laughing as he walked over to Liu Che: "A slippery pulse is just a joyful pulse—my lovely Ajiao, you might become a mother again."

Liu Che: "?" He was utterly bewildered; this day was simply stimulating.

Even when he first ascended the throne he had never felt this stimulated.