Chapter 182 – The Concubine’s Counterattack: The Most Favored Empress – A Short Separation Is Sweeter Than a New Marriage (12)
Bai Tang didn’t wake up until an hour after being sent to the royal villa. After their lovemaking, his whole body felt sore and weak. Out of habit, he turned over to cuddle the person beside him and act spoiled—only to find his arms clutching empty air.
“A Dai, I want a cuddle~” the young man pouted, unhappily waiting for Luo Dai’s embrace.
He waited a long time, but nothing happened.
Opening his eyes, he found himself in an unfamiliar setting.
This wasn’t his Qiankun Palace—it was… the royal villa?!
Finally, he remembered Luo Dai whispering into his ear last night while he was lost in passion.
Despicable. And to think he calls himself an upright ruler! Clearly, he took advantage of him while he was vulnerable.
Angrily, the young man pounded the bed with his fists. The next moment, a group of palace attendants entered the room. They were familiar faces—almost all of them were people who usually served Bai Tang.
“Your Majesty has slept for a whole day. Why not have something to eat and then take a bath?” said the head matron, who managed all affairs in Qian Kun Palace. Though everything appeared to be run by Bai Tang on the surface, it was actually this matron handling matters behind the scenes.
Luo Dai wouldn’t allow Bai Tang to trouble himself over other women in the palace. This head matron was also one of his hidden guards—one of their own, so he could trust her completely.
“Alright then,” Bai Tang nodded. He generally listened to the matron, who had always been supportive of him.
No matter how the tides turned in the inner palace, Luo Dai had issued strict orders that no news was to reach the royal villa. Not only was Bai Tang kept in the dark, even the Empress Dowager had been kept uninformed.
Such frustrating matters shouldn’t be brought to worry the elderly Empress Dowager. And if someone were to accidentally let something slip, that would be no good either.
Just after the Empress Dowager had finished her meal, a palace servant came to report that the consort had come to pay his respects.
The old lady loved nothing more than filial children. What a wonderful daughter-in-law! So long as circumstances permitted, he would come greet her every day. She hadn’t misjudged him—Tang Tang was indeed a dutiful and good child.
“Greetings to Mother Empress~” Tang Tang’s voice was soft and sweet like glutinous rice, obedient and endearing—it won the old lady’s heart every time.
“Tang Tang is here, come, sit,” the Empress Dowager said warmly. At her words, Granny Jin quickly brought over an embroidered stool and placed it to the lower right of the Empress Dowager’s seat.
After sitting down, Bai Tang gave Granny Jin a bright smile without hesitation. “Thank you, Granny Jin~”
Granny Jin’s heart melted completely at the consort’s charming smile.
“Oh, how could this old servant possibly deserve such thanks from Your Majesty?” she replied, flustered.
“You absolutely deserve it. Granny Jin is one of Mother Empress’s most trusted people. You’re kind to her, and you’re kind to me too~”
“What about me then?” the Empress Dowager teased, picking up a handkerchief to feign tears. “Does Tang Tang think I’m not good?”
“Please don’t cry, Mother Empress! You’re the best!” Bai Tang hurried to console her. “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have met Granny Jin, and she wouldn’t be good to me either. It’s all thanks to you~”
With that sweet tongue of his, Bai Tang easily coaxed smiles and laughter out of the two women.
After chatting for a while, the Empress Dowager, who had learned earlier from Luo Dai that Bai Tang had discovered they had worked together to trick him into coming to the royal villa, grew a little worried he might still be upset.
She gently said, “His Majesty truly had no choice. The person behind this incident holds great power. If we want to uproot him completely, it might shake the entire palace. Can Tang Tang understand this?”
Bai Tang nodded obediently. “I understand. A Dai told me before that this person is very influential. He thought it wasn’t safe for me and Mother Empress to stay in the palace, so he brought us here to the royal villa to lie low for a while.”
“Exactly right. Tang Tang is such a thoughtful child.” The Empress Dowager patted his hand affectionately.
The reasoning made sense—but carrying it out was another story.
Since Luo Dai had already asked him to stay, Bai Tang decided to give him a few days. But if he got bored of playing around at the villa and Luo Dai still hadn’t taken care of things, then he would return to the palace—whether it meant life or death. If Luo Dai couldn’t resolve it, then he’d simply face it together with him.
“I heard they’ve opened a hot spring here at the villa. While the weather isn’t too warm yet, if Tang Tang wants to have some fun, you can go soak in it. If not, there’s a spot in the northwest corner where they hit a spring—the mountain spring water there makes a unique brew of tea…”
The Empress Dowager tried everything she could to keep Bai Tang’s attention, following Luo Dai’s request to stall him as much as possible and keep him from returning to the palace.
“Sounds great! I’ve heard mountain spring water is the sweetest. I’ll make candied hawthorns for you, Mother Empress.”
“You can make candied hawthorns, Tang Tang?”
“I…” Bai Tang paused, stunned.
He didn’t recall ever stepping foot in a kitchen, yet in his mind, he suddenly had knowledge of how to make all kinds of snacks, including candied hawthorns.
“I think I can. I’ll give it a try. The first skewer I make will be for you.”
“Good, good, I’ll be waiting…” the Empress Dowager replied happily.
The scenery in the villa was indeed different from the inner palace. Here, natural beauty was emphasized—the houses and trees were scattered artfully, and everything was arranged with elegant taste.
After staying for a few days and not thinking about Luo Dai, Bai Tang gradually relaxed and began to play freely.
Seeing him become more cheerful by the day, the Empress Dowager felt comforted—though the palace attendants were scared out of their wits every day.
Take today, for example.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty, where are you?”
It was another day of Bai Tang playing hide-and-seek with the attendants, and as usual, he was the one being searched for.
He had hidden himself up in a tree, watching the attendants call out and search below. He kept completely silent, finding the whole thing immensely fun.
The sunlight was perfect, dappling through the leaves and landing gently on the boy’s body. Feeling warm all over, Bai Tang leaned sleepily against a tree branch. As the attendants’ voices grew fainter and they moved off to search elsewhere, he dozed off.
“Your Majesty, we can’t find you! Please come out—your humble servants give up!”
After nearly half an hour of searching with no success, the palace attendants began to panic. Originally, they were just playing a game with the royal consort. If they lost, they’d simply forfeit some of their monthly allowance—nothing serious. After all, the Empress Dowager always rewarded them with more than enough to make up for it.
But now that the consort had actually gone missing, that was a serious offense.
The attendants playing with Bai Tang were originally stationed at the villa. The ones from Qiankun Palace could find him too easily, which Bai Tang thought was boring, so he had summoned the villa attendants to play instead. It had seemed harmless—until the royal consort disappeared.
Luo Dai, who rarely had free time, happened to visit the villa just then. As soon as he entered, he heard the frantic shouting of attendants searching for Bai Tang.
Could something have happened to Tang Tang?!
He grabbed one of the attendants. “What happened to the consort?”
The attendant immediately dropped to his knees and confessed everything.
Luo Dai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Tang Tang was really coming to life after leaving the palace—he’d actually started pranking the attendants.
The day before yesterday, he hid on the rooftop. Yesterday, he squeezed himself into the kitchen’s firewood pile. And today? Up a tree, apparently!
Shaking his head, Luo Dai used his light footwork to quickly enter the area where they were playing. Drawing on his understanding of Bai Tang’s habits, he actually began checking the trees one by one.
At last, he found him—fast asleep on a tree near the hot spring.
“Tang Tang, why are you sleeping in a tree? What if you fall?”
Seeing Bai Tang lying on his back, fast asleep in the branches, Luo Dai felt a rush of fear even just imagining what could have happened. Tang Tang loved to roll over in his sleep—what if he’d turned in his sleep just now and fallen?
He looked at the height of the branch from the ground and made a mental note to lecture Bai Tang later. He couldn’t be doing things this dangerous.
“Mm? A Dai?” The boy rubbed his drowsy eyes, his gaze still soft and hazy with sleep. “Am I dreaming?”
Luo Dai chuckled and leaned closer. “Kiss me, and you’ll know whether it’s a dream.”
Bai Tang thought that made sense—after all, you couldn’t feel anything in a dream.
He leaned close to Luo Dai and kissed him on the lips—only to be gently but firmly bitten back.
It didn’t hurt, but it made the boy’s eyes snap wide open in surprise.
“A Dai, why are you biting me? You big bad guy~”
Bai Tang felt wronged. After so many days without seeing him, Luo Dai finally came—and then bit him? Hmph.
He pushed Luo Dai away and tried to turn and leave.
Still half-awake and not fully alert, Bai Tang forgot he was still up in the tree. As he twisted to get down, he suddenly fell toward the ground.
“Ah—!”
After a rustling sound, Bai Tang found himself lying safely in Luo Dai’s arms, who carried him to the edge of the hot spring.
Steam curled up from the water, and the warmth radiated even from the edge.
“Do you still dare to sleep in trees?” Luo Dai threatened. If Bai Tang didn’t give a satisfactory answer, he was going to push him into the hot spring—something Bai Tang feared most.
“I don’t dare, I don’t dare.” Bai Tang didn’t dare argue—not just because of the sudden scare, but also because the steaming hot spring right in front of him was enough to terrify him.
Water—he couldn’t swim and hated it most of all.
“But you bit me, and then you were mean to me.”
Threats weren’t only Luo Dai’s specialty—Bai Tang could dish it out too.
He changed the subject, and the real fear on his face made his eyes well up with tears.
“Let go of me, you bad guy. If you don’t want me anymore, then I won’t bother with you either. Go back to your palace!”
The boy’s crying, tantruming, and struggling left Luo Dai completely at a loss.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have neglected to visit Tang Tang…”
Luo Dai couldn’t argue against the boy’s accusation, but he couldn’t admit defeat either.
The situation in the palace was growing increasingly tense. If it weren’t for his fear that Tang Tang might sneak back to the palace prematurely, combined with how much he missed him, he wouldn’t have found time to come to the villa at all.
Bai Tang wasn’t one to make trouble without reason. It was never easy to get an emperor to admit fault, but between Luo Dai and him, it always seemed Luo Dai was the one who admitted mistakes first—right or wrong.
“You’ve lost weight.” Bai Tang’s hand gently touched Luo Dai’s face, his eyes full of concern. “A Dai, have you not been eating well or sleeping enough?”
Luo Dai caught the boy’s hand and kissed his fingertips. “Without Tang Tang by my side, meals aren’t tasty, and sleep isn’t peaceful.”
“Then how about I go back to the palace to keep you company? No matter how dangerous it is there, I’m not afraid.” Bai Tang again suggested returning to the palace.
Luo Dai kissed his lips. “But I’m afraid. Afraid I might put Tangtang in danger. Just stay a few more days, okay? Just a few. Once everything settles, I’ll proudly come get you and bring you back to the palace.”
“But, ah~”
“Tang Tang, focus…”
“N-no, not here.”
“No one will come…”
At some point, Luo Dai had undone Bai Tang’s buttons. In the newly dug hot spring at the royal villa, he and his beloved boy enjoyed an intimate swim together.
A brief separation is better than a new marriage—their feelings were still deeply passionate.
The attendants searching for the consort tried their luck by the hot spring, only to be stopped a few meters away by the watchful eunuch Xiao Fangzi. Faint sounds of intimacy drifted over, leaving everyone confused yet blushing furiously.
As they left, each person had only one thought: The Emperor and the consort truly have a wonderful relationship!
Author’s Note:
Tang Tang is a little escape artist. Can the tiny royal villa really contain a little squirrel like him? Impossible~