Volume 1, Chapter 171 – Understanding One’s Own Heart

“Your Majesty.”

She raised her head, uncertainty flickering in her eyes.

“I may not understand, but Lanxing might.”

“Lanxing?”

Empress Lingshuang arched a brow.

“Yes.”

Lanling nodded and explained,

“That girl has always been quick-witted. She enjoys reading storybooks and all manner of miscellany, and she has a knack for dealing with people.”

“Perhaps she can shed some light on the matter.”

Empress Lingshuang fell silent for a moment before saying softly,

“Summon her.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Lanling accepted the order and vanished soundlessly from the room.

A moment later, slightly hurried footsteps approached.

At Lanling’s signal, Lanxing, the more lively of the female generals, entered the room with visible unease.

“Greetings, Your Majesty!”

Lanxing dropped to one knee, her voice clear and crisp.

She had no idea what was going on.

It was already late at night, yet Her Majesty had suddenly summoned her. With only Lanling and herself present, this did not seem like an ordinary discussion of state affairs.

“Rise. Sit.”

Empress Lingshuang’s voice remained cool, revealing little emotion.

Lanxing rose as instructed and took a seat on the other jade chair beside Lanling.

She could not resist stealing glances at Her Majesty and Lanling, trying to glean some clue from their expressions.

Yet Her Majesty remained composed, while Lanling sat with her eyes lowered in solemn silence. Lanxing could only suppress her curiosity and unease.

Silence descended over the room once more, with only moonlight spilling in through the window.

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After a long while, Empress Lingshuang finally spoke, her voice lower than usual.

“Lanxing.”

“At your command, Your Majesty!”

Lanxing answered at once.

“I have a question for you.”

Empress Lingshuang’s gaze settled on her, deep and inscrutable.

“If someone constantly finds herself noticing another person’s every word and action without meaning to, and feels displeased whenever that person grows close to someone else…”

She paused as if weighing her words, her fingertips absently tapping the armrest.

“And if that person is unlike anyone she has ever met before, making her curious, making her want to draw closer and understand her, even…”

Empress Lingshuang faltered slightly. A rare trace of bewilderment crossed those perpetually cold and imposing eyes.

“Even making her unwilling to let others get too close to her.”

“What… does that mean?”

When her words faded, the room fell so silent that a pin drop would have been audible.

Lanxing went rigid. Her eyes widened slightly as she instinctively looked at Lanling beside her.

Lanling gave her the faintest glance, both encouraging her and warning her to tread carefully.

Lanxing’s heart immediately began to race.

What Her Majesty had just said… that description…

Combined with the subtle atmosphere between the two Empresses over the past few days, as well as Her Majesty’s clearly unusual attitude toward the Yaochi Empress…

An astonishing suspicion exploded in her mind like a thunderclap!

Her Majesty… Her Majesty was asking about romantic feelings?!

And those feelings were for the Yaochi Empress?!

Lanxing’s throat went dry as her thoughts raced.

She did enjoy reading storybooks, and she sometimes gossiped about romance with her sisters in private, but that had all been idle amusement!

The person asking her now was the Empress who had ruled the Northern Region for tens of thousands of years!

And the object of Her Majesty’s affection was another Empress!

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How… how was she supposed to answer?

If she understated it, Her Majesty might think she was being evasive.

If she said too much, what if…

Just as Lanxing’s thoughts raced and she grew increasingly restless, Empress Lingshuang’s cool voice sounded again, carrying a note that brooked no argument.

“Speak truthfully. I will not hold it against you.”

Those words steadied Lanxing’s nerves at once.

Since Her Majesty had asked, she truly wanted an answer.

Lanxing drew a deep breath and forced herself to calm down, rapidly organizing her thoughts.

“Your Majesty,”

Lanxing began, a faint trace of nervousness in her voice, though her words remained clear,

“I… I believe the feelings Your Majesty described usually mean…”

She paused, carefully choosing her words.

“That person is no longer merely an ordinary fellow Daoist or rival to Your Majesty.”

“Instead, she has come to occupy a rather special place in Your Majesty’s heart.”

“Special?”

Empress Lingshuang’s gaze sharpened slightly.

“In what way?”

Lanxing gritted her teeth, knowing she could no longer be vague.

“Your Majesty notices her without meaning to because she has captured your attention and become someone you care about.”

“If seeing her close to others causes displeasure, perhaps that is the first sign of possessiveness, an unwillingness to see her grow too close to anyone else.”

“As for finding her intriguing and wanting to draw closer and understand her…”

Lanxing lowered her voice, her judgment almost certain.

“Those are signs of growing fondness, perhaps even the stirring of romantic feelings.”

She spoke the final words extremely softly, yet they struck Empress Lingshuang’s heart like a hammer.

The stirring of romantic feelings?

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Empress Lingshuang’s pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

It was not that she did not understand what those words meant. She had simply never imagined they could have anything to do with her.

Much less that the object of those feelings would be a woman, and that woman would be Gu Han.

But now…

“If that is truly the case, what should I do?”

Empress Lingshuang spoke again. Her voice remained cool, but held less confusion now and more curiosity.

The instant those words left her lips, Lanling and Lanxing exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Lanxing thought of Her Majesty’s usual hard, unyielding manner, then of the Yaochi Empress’s cool and serene disposition.

Although the other party was also a woman, she was still an Empress, and an exceptionally powerful one at that.

If Her Majesty truly felt this way, then as her personal guard, Lanxing naturally had a duty to offer advice.

With that thought, she gathered her courage and said,

“Palace Master Gu may appear aloof, but she is perceptive and understanding.”

“If Your Majesty truly likes her, perhaps there is no need to rush.”

“It may be wiser to treat her sincerely and take things slowly.”

After saying this, Lanxing let out a long breath of relief and lowered her head, no longer daring to look at Her Majesty’s expression.

Her words already amounted to an extraordinarily bold conjecture and piece of advice.

The room once again sank into a long silence.

Empress Lingshuang sat upright on the jade chair, the chill surrounding her seeming to recede.

Lanxing’s words were like a key, quietly unlocking doors that had long remained shut within her heart.

Her unwillingness to let others approach Gu Han was possessiveness?

She had developed romantic feelings for Gu Han?

Treat her sincerely and take things slowly…

Those words were completely at odds with how she had always conducted herself.

She was the Empress of the Northern Region, decisive and forceful in all she did. If she wanted something, she simply seized it. Why would she need to go to such lengths?

But the other person was Gu Han.

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She could not defeat Gu Han, so trying to force the matter was clearly out of the question…

Perhaps… Qingxuan had been right.

She truly did not understand.

She did not know how to express that she cared, how to treat someone gently, or even how to distinguish the desire to win from genuine attraction.

But she could learn.

Now that she understood her own heart, she would act on it.

She simply could not be as blunt and reckless as before.

Gu Han disliked being pressured and did not want them to fight.

Then Empress Lingshuang would temper her edge and treat Gu Han with sincerity.

She slowly raised her eyes and swept her gaze over Lanxing and Lanling, who waited with bowed heads.

“You may withdraw.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

As if granted a reprieve, the two saluted respectfully and quietly left the room.

The door closed softly behind them.

Empress Lingshuang sat alone in the silence as moonlight filtered through the latticed window and flowed across her ice-blue palace robes.

She raised one hand. A wisp of cold energy swirled around her fingertips, gradually condensing into an ice lotus on the verge of blooming.

Ice… could also nurture life.

Gu Han’s words seemed to echo in her ears once more.

Empress Lingshuang gazed at the ice lotus in her palm. A faint but unmistakable warmth flickered in her eyes.

“Gu Han…”

She murmured the name, gently brushing a fingertip over the ice lotus’s petals.

“We have all the time in the world.”