I think they were becoming a married (dysfunctional but fun) couple. They fought for years in the court and then they were pretending to be married (he was pretending, she made assumptions) while she harassed him in the alley neighborhood. It made both of their lives less lonely, as they both were unmarried, in a way. She never loved her husband, the previous emperor and she lived like a madam taking money from the concubines to sleep with him. The previous emperor thought she was being big heartted and not getting jealous over his many concubines, never knowing that she couldn't care any less for him. The Old Chief never married. The closest they got to being a happy, normal couple was with her threatening him for betting money and him making her food on demand or on his own initiative. They enjoyed the bickering and now it's over. He knows why he's feeling blue but she's lost a lot and doesn't know it yet.