The next day, after the court session ended, He Sheng was once again kept behind by the Empress, who clamored to play with him.
She was utterly childish, completely unlike the cold, imposing, and domineering Empress she was in the Imperial Court.
To figure out his circumstances and recover the original owner's memories, He Sheng cooperatively followed the Empress out of the palace in disguise.
The Imperial City bustled with people and prosperity.
The Empress dressed as a man, her fair and handsome face drawing the attention of many women, their gazes flirtatious and their red lips slightly parted.
She paid them no heed and actually reached out to hook her arm through He Sheng's. The sight startled the passersby and made the women who had been staring at her shudder in disgust.
Mocking laughter and scornful snorts rose around them.
He Sheng awkwardly smiled and pulled his hand free from the Empress's grasp. The Empress pouted resentfully.
"Watch your image. You are dressed as a man right now," He Sheng quietly reminded her.
The Empress did not care, but He Sheng did care about his reputation and could not stand all the pointing and whispering.
"What is it? Why care about other people's opinions?"
"Think about it. Wouldn't two grown men being intimate like a man and woman in the street be disgusting? Wouldn't it disgrace propriety?" He Sheng shot the Empress a glare.
The Empress covered her mouth and laughed. "Fine, then!"
She stopped linking arms with He Sheng, but still pressed herself tightly against him, clinging to him so closely that it was worse than holding his arm.
Helpless, He Sheng could only endure the strange looks as he strolled through the streets with the Empress.
They wandered from South Street to North Street, then from North