Chapter 139: Chapter 139: A Fleeting Romance, Understand?

Ming Lingyi didn’t let Li Yun finish. She cut him off, "Wasn’t last night just a matter of mutual consent? How did this suddenly become about status?"

A smile played on her lips as she spoke, but it drew no similar reaction from Li Yun.

Li Yun’s expression darkened at her words.

"What did you say?" he asked in a low voice.

If any of his court officials had seen him now, their knees would have buckled in fear.

When the Emperor is angry, those who serve him are the ones to suffer.

What’s more, Li Yun was making no attempt to hide his fury.

Ming Lingyi was not intimidated in the slightest. "Did you not understand? Last night," she paused, pointing a slender, pale finger between Li Yun and herself, "was a one-night stand. Do you understand now?"

She looked Li Yun straight in the eye as she spoke, her gaze unwavering.

She couldn’t help but notice the color drain from Li Yun’s face as she finished.

"You... say that again?" Li Yun practically forced the words through gritted teeth.

This time, however, Ming Lingyi had no intention of indulging him.

She pursed her lips, her expression defiant.

Li Yun stared at her for a long time. Seeing her audacity grow by the day, her spirit becoming ever more untamed, his thin lips pressed into a firm line. "You are my lawfully wedded wife. Last night was not a fleeting affair."

He wouldn’t allow Ming Lingyi to degrade what was between them like that.

Even before he married, Li Yun had few women around him, and certainly no messy entanglements.

Now that they were married, Ming Lingyi was the only person he would ever share his bed with in this life. His relationship with her could never be summed up by the three words she had just used.

"But I’m Ming Yao now," Ming Lingyi said.

Li Yun was speechless.

’This woman is going to be the death of me.’

Li Yun couldn’t understand how the Ming Lingyi of the past, who had been so virtuous and decorous, had turned into this woman who treated the intimacy between husband and wife with such casual indifference.

"I don’t agree," Li Yun said.

Ming Lingyi almost laughed out loud. "But whether you agree or not, I am Ming Yao now." She emphasized her identity again.

Li Yun’s expression soured even more.

"Last night... wasn’t it because I am your husband that you..." Li Yun got this far, then pressed his lips together, unable to finish. His hands on the table had clenched into fists at some point, a testament to his helpless fury.

’If that’s really how it is,’ Li Yun thought, ’then would it have made any difference to her if it had been another man last night?’

But the moment this thought surfaced in his mind, he was overcome with the urge to kill.

’He wanted to slaughter every single man who dared approach Ming Lingyi!’

"Oh dear," Ming Lingyi murmured.

The two of them had shared a bed for so many years in their past life that Ming Lingyi could probably guess what Li Yun was thinking from a single glance.

So how could she not know what was on his mind right now?

"Of course not," Ming Lingyi said, seemingly oblivious to how her words were chipping away at his beliefs. She continued without a pause, "Last night, wasn’t it just a case of the atmosphere being right and getting caught up in the moment?"

’She was telling the honest truth. Initially, she hadn’t planned for anything to happen with Li Yun. But then he had suddenly kissed her, and she had felt it too. Otherwise, the rest of the night would never have happened.’

"However, if Your Majesty finds this improper, this commoner will be sure to heed your lesson and never cross that line again," Ming Lingyi added with a radiant smile.

’If Li Yun can’t accept this kind of arrangement,’ she thought, ’if he insists that I belong to him and can only be with him in this life, then it’s better we don’t see each other again.’

’She had no intention of giving him what he wanted.’

’But if...’

Ming Lingyi thought of that scorching body from last night and couldn’t help but secretly rub her lower back under the table.

’A feast like that was great, but not something she could have all the time. It was too much of a good thing.’

’If it’s not on the menu, then so be it. She wouldn’t starve eating other things.’

After hearing Ming Lingyi’s words, Li Yun was silent for a long time.

It was hard to tell if he was simply speechless, or if he was so enraged by her utterly scandalous words that he was at a loss for what to say.

A silence stretched between them.

But Ming Lingyi seemed completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere, picking up her chopsticks again to polish off the last of her supper.

’Wu Zhao Yu’s cooking was too good, and the lamb was so fresh. There was no way she could let it go to waste.’

Infuriated by Ming Lingyi’s nonchalance, Li Yun finally shot to his feet. "You’ve got some nerve," he bit out, then turned and strode away.

Even from the back, he radiated palpable fury.

When the Emperor and Empress were talking, who would dare eavesdrop?

After clearing the main hall, Liu Ye stood dutifully at the entrance. He didn’t know what his master and the Empress had discussed, but when his master swept past, radiating a furious aura like a gale, Liu Ye felt a sudden chill on the back of his neck, as if from the wind itself.

’Yikes.’

Liu Ye couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Even without knowing what the Emperor and Empress had said, he could clearly feel the rage rolling off his master, an inferno powerful enough to burn everyone to ash.

’The next few days are going to be rough.’

That was Liu Ye’s most honest thought.

He didn’t dare delay another second, quickly turning to chase after his master.

But it didn’t seem right to leave the Empress here all by herself, either.

Liu Ye had no choice but to post some men around Ming’s Restaurant before hurrying after him.

When Li Yun stood up and left, Ming Lingyi didn’t even lift her eyes.

’Of course she knew he was angry. But compared to accepting his way of thinking, obediently returning to the palace with him to live as a gilded canary, she would much rather infuriate him and continue living her own carefree life.’

’She would never again be controlled by anyone or anything.’

Ming Lingyi leisurely finished her supper, but when she thought about how she was going to explain things to the large group of people in the backyard, she couldn’t help but rub the spot between her eyebrows.

’Oh, well. I’ll just sit for a while. A troublesome explanation like that can wait. I’ll deal with it later.’

However, just as she was thinking this, the sound of footsteps suddenly grew closer. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

She looked up in surprise, taken aback to see Li Yun returning.

The man who reappeared before her still wore a foul expression, his eyes boring into her.