Тhe war аmоng thе fоur nаtions raged fiеrсely. Whеn spring arrivеd, Fеng Yuе, lооking аt the battlе reports delivered tо Yin Gеzhi’s desk, сould nо lоngеr sit still. “Gеnerаl Yin is injurеd?”
“It’s а wоund оn his left hаnd, nothing serious.” Yin Gеzhi frоwned аs he glancеd at her nоticeаblу lаrgе bеllу. “Вe cаrеful.”
“Didn’t yоu sау that оncе Yushаn Pass is tаkеn, we wоuld set out to bring thеm back?” Prеgnаnt wоmen tеnd to be anхiоus, аnd Feng Yuе wаs рrасtiсallу burning with imрatiеncе. “Why havеn’t we mоvеd уet?”
Yin Gеzhi lоwеrеd his gaze, thinking, With yоur belly this big, who would darе to set out nоw?
He shоuld havе lеd the trоops to provide support long ago. Otherwise, if they were delayed on the road, time would run out. But…
“Ah, at this point, what is there to hesitate about?” Feng Yue pushed him lightly and stomped her foot. “The negotiations with the State of Qi are settled. Your plans have always been reliable—don’t let yourself ruin them now.”
“Are you that eager to have me gone?” The emperor shot her a sidelong glance, displeased. “Others say women want their husbands by their side when giving birth. Why are you pushing me away instead?”
“Nation and family—the nation comes first!” Feng Yue frowned. “Don’t think I’ve lost the backbone of a soldier just because I’ve eaten too much palace food!”
Frowning at her for a moment, Yin Gezhi said, “You suffer from insomnia at night. If I’m not here, who will tuck the small pillow under your belly? Who will fetch you water?”
“Lingshu can do it!”
“And when you can’t walk during your strolls, can Lingshu carry you?”
“There are palanquins!”
Narrowing his eyes, the emperor was truly angry. So it seemed he was dispensable?
With a cold snort, Yin Gezhi flicked his sleeve and strode out of the central palace, quarreling with Feng Yue for the first time. In the current situation, who wasn’t anxious? He was anxious too! But wasn’t this a dilemma? Instead of comforting him, she kept urging him to leave, as if his concern for her were nothing but wishful thinking and unrequited affection.
The palace servants witnessing this were all stunned.
The emperor and the empress had quarreled! The emperor had stormed out of the central palace!
The news quickly spread throughout the palace and flew to every corner of Lidu. As a result, many ministers who wished to send their daughters into the palace were delighted. Although they had signed agreements not to interfere in the emperor’s harem, if the emperor suddenly decided to take a consort, they would be more than happy to see it happen.
Thus, the imperial garden, blooming with a hundred flowers, suddenly filled with all kinds of young ladies, holding hands and blocking the emperor’s usual paths, each offering their greetings one by one.
“Your Majesty—” Lingshu rushed into the central palace in a panic, lifting her skirt and grabbing Feng Yue as she exclaimed, “Something terrible has happened!”
Feng Yue looked at her blankly. “What is it?”
“Today, Minister Qiao brought many young ladies into the palace. They’re all in the imperial garden now, and it looks like they want the emperor to take a consort!” Stomping her foot in anger, Lingshu said, “Last time Minister Qiao angered His Majesty, it was you who stopped the emperor from punishing him. How could he repay kindness with betrayal?”
Raising an eyebrow, Feng Yue said, “Minister Qiao’s daughter is already married, and his granddaughter is only six years old—hardly old enough to be sent into the palace. If he’s taking the lead, he’s likely being pressured by others. Don’t blame him.”"But..." Glancing at her large belly, Lingshu said, "You're still pregnant, and His Majesty hasn't touched anyone else in a long time. He just had a disagreement with you, and now they're sending people in. It's simply shameless!"
Pinching her round, angry cheeks, Feng Yue laughed, "Our Emperor was never a devoted man to begin with. Keeping him abstinent for so long is already quite excessive. If he wants to take concubines now... I won't stop him."
That's what she said, but deep down, she still felt uneasy. Ever since she became pregnant and was named Empress, Yin Gezhi hadn't touched her once. They say men are most likely to stray when their wives are pregnant, and for Yin Gezhi to hold out for so many months, she already thought he was remarkable. If she truly demanded anything more, it would be asking for the impossible.
She wouldn't demand it, really. Even if one day he truly changed his heart and decided to favor someone else, she would...
She would poison him and let her son directly inherit the throne!
Her sorrowful expression from a moment ago instantly turned fierce, startling Lingshu into taking a small step back. "M-Mistress?"
"Where are they?" Standing up and clenching her fists, Feng Yue smiled without warmth. "Let's go see the commotion!"
A chill ran down her spine as Lingshu carefully supported her. "They're in the imperial garden."
"Let's go!"
Accompanied by three palace maids and eight eunuchs, the Empress charged toward the imperial garden with imposing momentum. But when they arrived and looked inside, hey, why was everyone kneeling?
A sea of colorful dresses knelt on the ground. Feng Yue glanced over them—all were fresh, young girls, just the right age, with lovely figures. Looking further ahead, Emperor Wei Xiao sat expressionlessly in a chair, his demeanor very stern.
"What's... going on here?" A bit bewildered, Feng Yue obediently lowered her sleeves and carefully stepped over the group of girls, walking to Yin Gezhi's side. "Did they do something wrong?"
"They did nothing wrong," Yin Gezhi said calmly. "The ones at fault are those who sent them in."
Feng Yue blinked. If they weren't at fault, why were all these girls kneeling?
"I am deeply pained," Yin Gezhi said, looking up at her with a profound gaze, his voice cold. "Empress, they don't know why I am angry. Do you know?"
What? Feng Yue was confused and wanted to shake her head, but before she could, he held her head still. Then he stood up, looking at her with a sigh. "You truly understand my heart."
Feng Yue: "..." Sorry, but she really didn't understand.
"When I ascended the throne, the ministers and I made an agreement that as long as I succeeded, they would not interfere in the harem," Yin Gezhi said with a pained tone, his expression wounded. "But now, the ministers I trusted have broken their promise."
"Your Majesty," a bold girl spoke up with a frown. "The young ladies from each family entered the palace today of their own accord, not at the behest of their elders. We beg Your Majesty to investigate clearly."
"Of their own accord?"
"Yes," the girl in the emerald-green dress straightened her back. "We, your humble subjects, admire Your Majesty's divine grace and begged our families to let us enter the palace to see Your Majesty. We seek no rank or position, only to earn Your Majesty's favor!"
With that, she kowtowed deeply.
Feng Yue watched, thinking this girl was quite eloquent. When she looked up, hey, she was also quite beautiful. Someone like this—Yin Gezhi might actually take an interest...Before she could think of the last word, Yin Gezhi’s cool voice interrupted her thoughts: “Beg for my mercy?”
The four mocking words fell, causing all the girls to lower their heads, and the one at the front trembled in fear.
Turning to walk in front of the girl, Yin Gezhi half-crouched and said, “Look up.”
Her heart leaping with joy, the girl in green felt she had a chance and quickly raised her head to look at him, revealing a sweet smile.
“Too ugly.” Without a flicker of emotion in his eyes, Yin Gezhi shook his head, stood up, and pointed at Feng Yue beside him, saying indifferently, “If you want my mercy, unless your looks surpass the Empress’s, don’t even think about it.”
His words left no room for courtesy, leaving all the girls speechless.
Feng Yue couldn’t help but laugh, suddenly recalling the training grounds of the Wu Kingdom long ago. Back then, someone had also pointed at her expressionlessly and said indifferently, “This girl’s appearance is ordinary. If any of you below can surpass her in looks, I will take you as my disciple.”
At that time, those standing below were not a flock of beauties but girls from the Wu Kingdom wearing armor, hoping to become his disciple. Time had flown by. In the same scene, with the same her and him, Yin Gezhi had transformed the scheming and calculation of the past into such gentle protection.
Fate was truly an interesting thing.
Casually glancing to the side, he caught sight of the particularly moving smile on Feng Yue’s face. Yin Gezhi’s eyes deepened as he nodded slightly. “Your face still looks the most pleasing.”
With that, he took her hand and led her toward the Dragon’s Saliva Palace.
“Huh?” Coming back to her senses, Feng Yue raised an eyebrow. “What about all those people? Are we just leaving them?”
“Leaving them.” Yin Gezhi replied, “When I return later and throw a fit, all the civil and military officials will have to kneel and apologize to me tomorrow.”
With his skill of making a mountain out of a molehill, supported by his superb acting, how could those old bones in the court be a match for him?
Shaking her head with a smile, Feng Yue followed his steps and teased, “Not angry with me anymore?”
“I was still angry.” Yin Gezhi said expressionlessly, looking ahead. “But not anymore.”
His anger toward her was an internal matter between husband and wife. Once someone tried to take advantage of the situation, he still cared for his Empress. She was pregnant, after all. In life, what could be more important than one’s wife and child?
No more anger. It was time to head to the battlefield. At most, he could leave Guan Zhi behind to guard her.
Having figured it out, the Emperor’s expression softened considerably. He led her back to the Dragon’s Saliva Palace, checked her pulse to ensure she was well, and then fed her.
“My personal expedition this time is a secret.”
That evening in the imperial study, Yin Gezhi summoned all his trusted aides and solemnly instructed, “The news must be sealed and must not leak. In the palace, it will be as if I have been accompanying the Empress all along. The Empress will also cooperate in the act, helping me handle some official duties. But she can no longer endure exhaustion, so the main memorials will still be discussed and handled by the Three Dukes. Understood?”
“Understood!” everyone responded in unison. Emperor Wei Xiao then gave some additional miscellaneous instructions. As everyone was about to withdraw, he looked at Guan Zhi and said, “Those by my side don’t need to be too skilled in martial arts. Leave more of them in the palace.”
With his head bowed, Guan Zhi responded softly.Banners fluttered fiercely, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for the emperor to depart. Nominally, it was a certain general heading to reinforce the border, but this "certain general" was none other than Emperor Wei Xiao, clad in silver armor and wielding a crescent-bladed longsword, standing majestically at the forefront of the procession.
With an uneasy glance toward the direction of the palace, Yin Gezhi said, "Guan Zhi, you must take good care of the empress. If anything goes wrong, I will hold you accountable!"
Trembling slightly, Guan Zhi swallowed hard and replied, "...Yes."
Recalling the reluctant expression on Feng Yue's face as she helped him dress that morning, Yin Gezhi felt a pang of sorrow. He turned his horse around and urged it forward, eager to leave Lidu sooner.
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