Empress, Can I? [Transmigration + GL] - Chapter 13

During dinner, someone suddenly arrived from Chenyuan Palace.

The young maid, sent by Nuanxiang, announced that they had received a new tribute of grapes that day.

The Emperor had ordered them to be gifted to Phoenix Palace.

Xiao Fu accepted them cheerfully, admiring the deep purple grapes tinged with wine-red. She smiled and said, “Your Majesty, the Emperor treats you so well. Whenever there’s something good, she always thinks of you.”

With that, she eagerly went to wash the grapes.

Xiao Yueli ate one but found it too sweet. Frowning, she gave the rest to Xiao Fu and Xiao Rong. “You two can have these.”

After finishing dinner and bathing, Xuan Jingchi headed over.

Just as she reached the gates of Phoenix Palace, before even stepping into the courtyard, she heard frantic screams and wails from inside.

“What’s happening?”

“Your Majesty, Miss Xiao Fu choked on a grape. At this point, she might… she might…”

What?!

Xuan Jingchi was shocked. Without a care for imperial decorum, she rushed inside.

Chaos had already erupted. Xiao Fu’s mouth was open, but she couldn’t speak, her face turning a deep purple—her condition was critical.

Xiao Rong was crying in panic, while Xiao Yueli stood pale, her eyes wide with terror.

A crowd of eunuchs flustered about, slapping Xiao Fu’s back repeatedly.

Someone shouted frantically, “It’s not working! Quick, summon the imperial physician!”

Another tried to lift her upside down.

“Stop!” Xuan Jingchi yelled urgently.

In her state, even if they carried her to the physician, it would be too late.

The eunuchs froze at the Emperor’s command and immediately released Xiao Fu.

Xuan Jingchi swiftly rolled up her sleeves, stepped behind Xiao Fu, planted one foot firmly on the ground, and bent the other into a lunge. She positioned Xiao Fu on her bent leg, leaning her forward.

She wrapped her arms around Xiao Fu from behind, made a fist with her left hand, and grasped her wrist with her right. Then, she pressed firmly just below Xiao Fu’s ribcage.

She was performing the Heimlich maneuver.

She exerted considerable force, and now that she had been practicing horseback riding and archery, the strength in her hands was incomparably greater than before.

With a plop, a large, round grape flew out of Xiao Fu’s throat.

Xiao Fu gasped, finally able to breathe again.

The onlookers in the palace cheered.

“Miss Xiao Fu is alright!”

“Your Majesty is wise!”

“Your Majesty is wise!”

Seeing that Xiao Fu was unharmed, Xuan Jingchi also breathed a sigh of relief. She had only practiced the Heimlich maneuver once before—on a mannequin.

She exhaled heavily, only now realizing she was drenched in cold sweat.

Xiao Fu came forward to kowtow in gratitude.

Xuan Jingchi nodded and smiled, “Xiao Fu, be more careful when eating from now on. I might not always be around to save you.”

The crowd couldn’t help but chuckle, and Xiao Fu, blushing, replied, “Understood. This servant will be more careful.”

Another round of quiet laughter followed.

Xiao Yueli said, “You may all leave now.”

The crowd bowed and withdrew, and the courtyard quickly returned to silence.

Only then did Xuan Jingchi realize her arms were still exposed—though only up to the elbows, in this era, it was considered highly improper. She pulled down her sleeves and followed the Empress into the inner chamber.

Xiao Rong poured the Emperor a cup of water, neither too hot nor too cold. Xuan Jingchi drank half of it in one go—truth be told, she had been far more nervous than she let on.

She hadn’t been sure if she could dislodge the obstruction or if she might accidentally break Xiao Fu’s ribs in the process.

Xiao Yueli took a sip of tea and remarked casually, “This concubine had no idea Your Majesty also knew life-saving techniques.”

Xuan Jingchi’s heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained calm.

“It’s called the Heimlich maneuver. A teacher of mine taught me.”

“Which grand tutor possesses such divine skills?”

Xiao Yueli was curious to see how Xuan Jingchi would respond.

That the elderly tutors in the palace knew such things—not even ghosts would believe that.

To her surprise, Xuan Jingchi smiled faintly. “A deity sent me a dream. The teacher in my dream taught me.”

A dream?

What a convenient “deity-sent dream.”

Xiao Yueli smiled. Even if she knew Xuan Jingchi was lying, there was no way to expose it.

Xiao Fu was about to attend to the Empress’s bedtime when Xiao Yueli said, “It’s still early. We’ll retire a bit later.”

With that, she looked at Xuan Jingchi with a faint smile.

Feeling uneasy under her gaze, Xuan Jingchi sought something to pass the time.

With the talented Empress present, she didn’t dare ask for a book to read.

What if she flipped through randomly and the learned Empress casually asked questions she couldn’t answer? That would be utterly humiliating.

Xuan Jingchi cleared her throat and said, “Since it’s still early and we have nothing to do, I’ll tell you all a story.”

Hearing the Emperor wanted to tell a story, Xiao Fu was overjoyed and immediately asked, “What story will Your Majesty tell?”

“This story is called Sleeping Beauty.”

“Long, long ago, a queen gave birth to a beautiful princess. The king was so delighted that he invited all the fairies in the kingdom to celebrate the princess’s birth. However, one fairy wasn’t invited…”

Xuan Jingchi hadn’t expected fairy tales to be so popular in the palace.

The young maids in her own palace all loved listening to them, and now in the Empress’s quarters, not only were Xiao Fu and Xiao Rong captivated, but even Empress Xiao Yueli listened with great interest.

“The prince leaned down and gently kissed the sleeping princess, who then opened her eyes and awoke. Everyone in the palace, along with the chickens, dogs, and rabbits, all woke up too.” Xuan Jingchi smiled. “Later, the prince and princess held a wedding and lived happily ever after.”

When the story reached the part where the prince kissed the princess, Xiao Fu and Xiao Rong blushed deeply, covering their mouths to stifle giggles.

Xiao Yueli thought to herself, This person knows no propriety—such parts in the story should be refined, yet she speaks them so bluntly.

Watching Xuan Jingchi’s smiling face, showing no awareness of impropriety, Xiao Yueli’s doubts grew deeper.

Who exactly is this person?

What kind of past does she have?

“Your Majesty, tell us another one,” Xiao Fu pleaded, still craving more after the story ended.

“Xiao Fu,” Xiao Yueli frowned, “Her Majesty must…”

She had meant to say “rise early tomorrow,” but recalling how Xuan Jingchi had gotten up that morning, the words “early rising” hardly applied.

She changed her words: “Her Majesty attends to countless affairs daily. How could she have energy for idle stories? Shouldn’t you be helping His Majesty retire?”

Xiao Fu replied, “As you wish,” and stepped forward to assist Xuan Jingchi with undressing.

Xuan Jingchi said, “You attend to the Empress. I’ll change by myself.”

She considered changing clothes an extremely private matter. Since arriving in this world within the book, aside from herself, only Nuanxiang and Chenxiang had helped her undress—and even then, never with her undergarments.

As before, the Empress went to bed first. Xuan Jingchi waited until she was asleep before tiptoeing over and lying down quietly.

Today, she wasn’t as nervous. She stole several glances at the Empress’s profile, indulging her admiration, and after counting over four hundred sheep, finally fell asleep.

Having spent the day practicing horseback riding, archery, and swordsmanship, her body was exhausted. Combined with the mental fatigue of constantly pondering court affairs, she fell into a deep slumber almost immediately.

Xiao Yueli, usually a light sleeper, was startled awake again.

This time, however, it wasn’t from cold—but from fright.