After Losing My Memory, I Became My Rival's Palm-Sized Chirper - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: The Emperor and Queen Reach a Consensus

Standing on Yu Baixi’s shoulder, the fat bird shifted his claws, waddling around to turn his body and look down upon the entire Hall of Nine Heavens.

This was the first time Qi Jia had looked down at the great hall from this vantage point. He suddenly felt the Cloud Hall was majestic and magnificent, lofty and steep, towering with a powerful aura. Even a little bird like him, who usually had no ambition for climbing the ranks, felt a sense of vastness and superiority in his heart.

“The view is nice here,” Qi Jia said.

Yu Baixi replied, “Mhm.”

Qi Jia asked, “So, since I’ve become the Heavenly Queen, do I need to attend court in the future?”

“If you officially become the Heavenly Queen and receive the Queen’s Imperial Seal, it will be required,” Yu Baixi introduced in a steady voice, then paused briefly. “…Are you willing to come?”

“I’m willing,” Qi Jia said without hesitation, stretching his soft little neck as he surveyed the court below. “This is so grand!”

The Heavenly Emperor fell silent.

Bearing the status of the prospective Heavenly Queen and accompanied by General Han, Qi Jia hadn’t faced any obstacles on his flight here. He had actually been sneaking a listen to the Grand Court Meeting outside for a while. At the time, he thought the Emperor looked quite handsome sitting at the head of the hall being worshipped by a hundred officials.

Now that he had come directly to the highest level of the Hall of Nine Heavens, a bird standing on a handsome dragon’s shoulder, he felt he was even more handsome and cool.

This is probably the taste of power, Qi Jia thought. Many of the storybooks he had read mentioned this kind of state of mind.

After quietly soaking in the grandeur for a moment, Qi Jia turned his head back to Yu Baixi. “Right, I came because I have something to tell you.”

Yu Baixi said, “Mhm, go ahead.”

Qi Jia: “I just dealt with that… Immortal Huaji. He’s your cousin.”

Yu Baixi gave another indifferent “Mhm.” “I am aware.”

“You know?!” the fat bird chirped in surprise.

Yu Baixi also turned his head to look at the bird, his voice remaining steady. “You just ordered his arrest, and his retainers immediately made a scene in the Hall of Nine Heavens.”

Qi Jia: “…Then you…”

This time the little fat bird was truly shocked. Mostly because the Emperor’s reaction was too ordinary—even less of a reaction than the most indifferent response he had imagined! How could a bird not be surprised?

He flapped his wings and flew down to stand on the table directly in front of the Emperor. He tilted his head back to meet the Emperor’s gaze. “Then what do you think about it?”

Yu Baixi said, “You are the Heavenly Queen. Since he was disrespectful to you, it is up to you to decide how to deal with him. Besides, your punishment was very reasonable.”

The Emperor’s gaze was lowered, his eyes calmly fixed on the fat bird. He spoke fluently, his voice clear and pleasant, like wind passing through a bamboo forest.

This answer satisfied Qi Jia quite a bit. Even most of the anger he felt from waking up and finding Yu Baixi had run away vanished.

He squinted his eyes contentedly, accepting the last bit of praise. The fat bird said, “It seems you aren’t a muddled dragon after all.”

Yu Baixi: “…?”

Qi Jia continued, “I’ve seen it written in many storybooks. When the male lead has a big family and a lot of relatives, there’s always a bunch of cousins and relatives acting like tyrants outside.”

“Even if the male lead is strict with his subordinates, due to things like ‘face’ or stubbornness, he never restrains his brothers. He even shields them in many ways, letting them stir up trouble outside until they eventually set themselves on fire!”

Yu Baixi: “…”

The Emperor pressed his temple again.

“Don’t get impatient listening to me!” Qi Jia split his claws to steady himself, putting his wings on his hips. “Your cousin is convinced you won’t have an heir and that the throne will belong to his son in the future. His ‘Sima Zhao’s heart’ (obvious ambition) was clear to me on my first day here! How could you…”

He paused, his round eyes suddenly darting around. “Right, Immortal Huaji said… he said you ‘can’t perform,’ and he said your Red Phoenix Star (star of romance) hasn’t moved.”

Yu Baixi: “…”

The Emperor continued to maintain eye contact with the round, fluffy bird.

Qi Jia, standing on a pile of memorials, wasn’t flustered at all. He looked back with wings on his hips. The tall, slender human form on the Cloud Seat stood across from a round little bird less than the size of a palm.

After a moment, it was the Emperor who looked away first. “Mhm, what he said was correct.”

Qi Jia’s eyes darted again, filled with hesitation. “When you say he’s right, do you mean your Red Phoenix Star hasn’t moved, or that you… can’t perform?”

Yu Baixi: “…………”

The Emperor’s breath hitched slightly, as if the airflow in the entire Cloud Hall had stagnated. He suddenly gave a short laugh and asked the bird, “Does the Queen not firmly insist that he is pregnant? Do you not know what my ‘condition’ is?”

“…Well, I have amnesia, I don’t remember.”

The fat bird sounded quite self-righteous at this point, but a moment later, Qi Jia shrugged his shoulders. It was actually quite embarrassing to bring up. “The key is that I asked Immortal Shuoling. She said even if the outside world says you’re no good, and even if you’re truly not great, it’s very possible that for that one time we mated, you were actually fine!…”

“Wait a moment.” Yu Baixi had to interrupt him, his voice slightly heavier. “Not only do you spend all day mingling with an Immortal lady, but what on earth are you discussing with her?”

“Aiyah, that’s not the point!”

Qi Jia simply hopped up and landed directly on the back of the Emperor’s hand. “The point is, we just looked through some ancient texts. If your Red Phoenix Star truly hasn’t moved, then you are still a virgin dragon! Virgin dragons don’t have children!”

The fluffy bird landed lightly on the back of his hand, and Yu Baixi felt a spark of warmth. Feeling no real weight, he silently looked down at the fat bird chirping up at him and said slowly, “Since you already know, then I shall be clear about it.”

Qi Jia: “…Clear my bird-butt! You’re not being clear at all!”

He ran back and forth on the back of the man’s hand twice, saying anxiously, “I just want to ask you what the real story is, but you refuse to tell me!”

“I have told you, there is nothing between us.”

“Then whose child is this?”

Yu Baixi: “…”

The Emperor’s grey-blue eyes reflected helplessness. “Is it possible that you really aren’t pregnant?”

Qi Jia was not convinced. The little bird reacted quickly: “Then what’s with the Dragon Breath? And why did you make me the Heavenly Queen?”

Yu Baixi: “…I cannot say.”

“Once you regain your memory, you will naturally know.” This was the sentence Qi Jia said for him. Seeing the Emperor shut his mouth, the fat bird put wings on his hips. “…This bird knew you would say that!”

As an amnesiac bird, Qi Jia sometimes felt very miserable. It was like being in a thick fog; there were mysteries everywhere, yet he knew nothing. He didn’t know what path he was on, nor where he was going. He finally met someone who knew his past, but that person wouldn’t tell him anything. And even if they did, it didn’t seem believable.

So, besides confusion, Qi Jia also felt very angry. However, anger was meaningless; it only brought more pain, and in a cycle, brought more confusion.

As Qi Jia felt this painful confusion and didn’t know how to vent it, he suddenly felt something soft on his head. A distinct, delicate sensation came down—someone was lightly stroking the crown feathers and down on his head.

Qi Jia: “Chirp?”

Qi Jia looked up. It seemed he had never been touched like this on the top of his head before. He saw Yu Baixi’s warm palm and his long fingertips lightly tapping his head. A strand of cool spiritual energy flowed out from the man’s clean, rounded fingertips. That energy resonated with the Dragon Breath in Qi Jia’s belly, slowly flowing through his limbs and bones, nourishing his divine sense.

Yu Baixi said softly, “Don’t be angry anymore.”

The Emperor’s voice was lower than ever before. Although his tone was still flat, it carried a deep sense of soothing. Then, meeting those slightly lowered grey-blue eyes, as if by some magic, Qi Jia really wasn’t that angry anymore.

He hopped forward again. Yu Baixi’s finger hurriedly avoided him because of this hop. But Qi Jia tilted his head and continued to stretch out his little neck. “Pet me again.”

The Emperor’s fingertips touched the fluffy bird head again gently. A cool wave of spiritual energy enveloped Qi Jia once more. It was extremely comfortable. The little fat bird was delighted. “Again, again.”

Yu Baixi’s fingers were habitually as cold as ice; normally, his touch would be felt as uncomfortable. But as a bird, Qi Jia had thick head feathers, so he didn’t feel the cold. Instead, because he had never been treated this way and due to the effect of the spiritual energy, the bird found it fun and incredibly comfortable.

Unfortunately, this comfort didn’t last long. Because Qi Jia suddenly thought that if they practiced “Dual Cultivation,” he would definitely be more than just this comfortable.

Yu Baixi: “…”

Knowing what the other was thinking, the Emperor withdrew his hand decisively.

The fat bird started chirping and flapping its wings again, jumping high. “So where did you run off to last night? Why on earth won’t you Dual Cultivate with me!!”

The round bird jumped up and down on His Majesty’s jade tablet. On the Cloud Seat, Yu Baixi calmly pinched the bridge of his nose.

With a flip of his palm, a green glass bottle appeared safely in the Emperor’s hand. Yu Baixi said, “For you.”

“What is it?” The fat bird quieted down for a moment, looking at the clear, translucent glass bottle in the man’s hand. “It’s quite pretty.”

Yu Baixi said, “This is a Spirit-Nurturing Pill.”

“Chirp?”

“It consolidates the foundation, nurtures the origin, and increases spiritual power,” Yu Baixi said as he handed the bottle over, tucking it directly into Qi Jia’s little wing. “Take one every day, then meditate to circulate it. Your spiritual power will recover faster.”

“Spirit-Nurturing Pill… I haven’t heard of it.” Qi Jia wasn’t polite. He took the bottle, opened the stopper, and peeked inside, suddenly seeing a rising purple mist.

He knew spiritual energy had five colors, and top-tier miraculous elixirs would have a slight purple glow. But even though he was an amnesiac, he had only heard of it; this was the first time he had seen such a flourishing crimson-purple mist.

“Is this medicine very precious?” Qi Jia asked.

Yu Baixi didn’t answer. Qi Jia shook the bottle himself. “Feels like there are only a few inside?”

Only then did the Emperor speak: “I have ordered the Grand Alchemist to speed up the refining. From now on, a bottle of this medicine will be sent to Weiyang Palace every five days.”

Qi Jia: “…”

“So this bottle was just refined,” Qi Jia said. He couldn’t be sure of this conclusion, but he was somehow certain that’s what Yu Baixi meant.

The other man indeed said nothing. Generally, when the Emperor was silent, it was either because he couldn’t speak or it was a default confirmation.

Qi Jia’s eyes widened even more in surprise. “…You didn’t come home all night, could it be you were looking for the Grand Alchemist to refine medicine?! So, just to avoid Dual Cultivation with me, you actually… you actually made your subordinate work overtime!”

.I refined this personally,” Yu Baixi continued to rub his temple.

“Then the problem is even bigger!” Qi Jia felt even more astonished. “Just to avoid Dual Cultivation with me, you actually worked overtime personally! …Did you even skip soaking in that medicine pool?!!”

“If you Dual Cultivated with me, wouldn’t you avoid having to refine these pills?” Qi Jia said even more indignantly. “…The Heavenly Emperor running out in the middle of the night to refine pills just to avoid sleeping with the Queen—what would people think if word got out!”

The bird was fuming. The Emperor listened to his roar in silence.

After Qi Jia finished complaining, the man finally spoke in a deep voice: “If I truly Dual Cultivated with you, you would certainly blame me in the future.”

Qi Jia strongly disagreed with this statement: “This bird made the decision himself, why would I blame you!”

The misty-blue eyes, as still as a cold pond, slowly lowered. Yu Baixi’s voice was still faint: “You would make such a decision because you have amnesia and don’t remember everything.”

“Exactly! I want to regain my memory right now!”

Qi Jia was a bit excited and simply flew toward the Emperor’s face, wishing he could just pounce on Yu Baixi’s nose. “I can regain my memory once my spiritual power is replenished!”

With some fine, soft down feathers brushing against his cheek, Yu Baixi suddenly turned his gaze away, his voice turning cold: “Use the Spirit-Nurturing Pills.”

With that, the Emperor stood up directly. “I have matters to attend to…”

Qi Jia hurriedly landed on him. “Don’t you dare leave!”

Just then, Immortal Shuoling came in at a trot, reporting: “Lord, the meal has been ready for some time. It won’t taste good if you don’t eat it now… Would His Majesty also like to have some?”

On the first morning of the prospective Heavenly Queen’s “term,” the Emperor and the Queen had breakfast together in the Emperor’s Hongmeng Palace.

Because Qi Jia loved to eat, the Heavenly Kitchen had prepared a very sumptuous meal. Not only was there a great variety, but the quantity was also large. One bird clearly couldn’t finish it, so in the end, even the Emperor ate some.

After eating and drinking his fill, the round bird stretched, feeling even rounder. Rubbing his little belly while hiccupping, Qi Jia said, “I couldn’t be pregnant with twins, could I? My belly is so big!”

The Emperor’s movement of wiping the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief paused.

Regarding the pregnancy, after a morning of adjustment, the two had developed a startling tacit understanding: each spoke their own mind, neither tried to convince the other, but both insisted on their own viewpoints.

So Yu Baixi simply gave an order: “Han Mo, go prepare some hawthorn tea for the Lord.”

“Aye,” replied Han Mo, who was standing by.

General Han had been secretly laughing at the strangely harmonious atmosphere of the two speaking past each other, but then he suddenly felt something was wrong. “Huh??”

Qi Jia also heard the problem. “What did the Emperor say? Do you know what hawthorn is used for?”

Yu Baixi spoke calmly: “To aid digestion and dissipate stasis, to transform turbidity and eliminate fat.”

“Pah, pah!” Qi Jia flapped his little body and struggled to sit up, wishing he could pounce directly on the Emperor’s face. “Even with amnesia, I know that hawthorn promotes the circulation of ‘qi’ and blood. Eating too much can easily cause a miscarriage! You… you… you big scumbag dragon!!”