The Empress felt the Emperor had misunderstood and explained, "Your Majesty, I did not intend to flee the palace."
The Emperor asked uncertainly, "Really?"
The Empress replied, "Of course it's true, if I had really wanted to leave, I would have left long ago, not waited until now. Last time, it was only because Your Majesty was too excessive that this concubine thought about going out to get some peace."
When the Emperor thought about the last time the Empress had run away, he recognized his own role in it. Yet he was the Emperor, and she didn't give him an ounce of face, leaving as soon as she said she would!
"What was Ye Chu doing here?"
The Empress answered, "It has been three years since we last saw each other, he just came to see how this concubine was doing."
The Emperor then asked, "How old were you when you met him?"
The Empress looked at the Emperor puzzledly, "Eight years old, why?"