“I don’t.” Long Yang’s tone was indifferent—it was as if the Pure Consort was just an insignificant person who had nothing to do with him.
“But she’s been in the palace for ten years,” Lu Liangwei reminded.
“The Virtuous Consort had been around for more than that,” Long Yang said coolly.
Lu Liangwei fell silent.
Indeed, the Virtuous Consort had been around longer than the Pure Consort, but the Emperor still did not show her mercy in the end.
Therefore, the Pure Consort’s betrayal was really nothing to him.
Just when she was about to say something, he suddenly lowered his head and interrupted her with a kiss on her fair forehead. “You have always been and will always be my only woman, Lu Liangwei.”
Stunned, Lu Liangwei met his unfathomable eyes and immediately understood what he meant.
He was saying that the Pure Consort was not his woman, and the Four Chief Consorts were his partners only in name.
Long Yang ran his fingers through her tresses and said softly, “I ascended the throne when I was thirteen. I was still young, and there was political instability, so the court officials didn’t urge me to choose an Empress and take in concubines. But a few years later, when the situation was almost stabilized—I was seventeen—the officials started eagerly proposing that I choose an Empress.”
Hearing this, Lu Liangwei said a little uneasily, “I know. They selected the Li Family’s daughter for you.”
Noticing her unusual mood, Long Yang blinked in surprise, then squeezed her soft cheek in amusement. “Are you really getting jealous over something that happened so long ago?”
Lu Liangwei slapped his hand away and shot him a look. “I’m not jealous. I was just thinking that if Miss Li hadn’t eloped with someone else, you’d have had an Empress already.”
Delight flitted across Long Yang’s face when he heard her sulky tone.
So much for not being jealous!
He said teasingly, “You’ve been listening to some gossip, hmm?”
Lu Liangwei snorted. She would never tell him that she had heard it from her grandmother before entering the palace. “Why? Am I not supposed to know that?”
“Then why didn’t you just ask me directly? What they say out there may not be true.”
Lu Liangwei was startled. “Is there more to this than what people know?”
Long Yang gave her an inscrutable look. “Take a guess.”
A thought came to Lu Liangwei, and she inhaled sharply. “Miss Li didn’t elope with anyone at all. It was all your plan, wasn’t it? But why would you do that? Is she that unattractive?”
“On the contrary, her looks are on par with yours.” Long Yang stared at her, his gaze profound.
Lu Liangwei was a little uncomfortable to see him like this. “Since she’s good-looking, why didn’t you just make her Empress? Why did you set her up instead?”
Long Yang sighed. “I wasn’t interested in romance, and I hadn’t eliminated the poison from my body. I didn’t want her to waste herself on me.”
“I didn’t think you’d ever be so considerate of others, Your Majesty.” Lu Liangwei grew increasingly upset, and her tone turned sarcastic. “If you’d been healthy, you wouldn’t have to worry about her wasting herself on you. You could have been living in bliss and harmony with Miss Li now.”
Seeing how annoyed she was, Long Yang said helplessly, “It’s not what you think. Miss Li was already in love with someone else, but her family forced her into agreeing to enter the palace. I merely gave her a push and helped her achieve her happy ending.”
Lu Liangwei was surprised. “So it’s true that Miss Li eloped with someone else, and you even secretly helped them?”
Long Yang nodded. “You could say that.”