Returning after a three-year escape from death, the tyrant has turned evil.

Chapter 291 Tribute from the Northern Qiang

Seeing that Song Yi didn't speak, Jiang Lanye hugged her even tighter.

His voice rang in Song Yi's ears: "Sometimes I am really anxious and insecure. I always thought that after becoming emperor, I could have whatever I wanted, but when it comes to you, I have never been sure that I could have all of you."

Song Yi sighed helplessly: "Look at you, I was just asking casually. You have all of me, my body and my heart, isn't everything yours?"

"Besides, I'm carrying your child now, and you'll be the emperor in the future. If you keep saying things like that, I'll laugh at you."

Jiang Lanye kissed her earlobe with a satisfied expression:

"No matter what, you can only belong to me."

She teased, "I'll have to take care of the kids during the day and you at night, Jiang Lanye, you're so childish."

"Yes, only to you."

Day two.

Song Yi slept for a long time, and by the time she woke up, Jiang Lanye had already returned from the morning court session.

She stretched lazily on the bed, and Jiang Lanye looked at her with a smile and walked over.

"Yiyi, I have something to tell you."

"what?"

"Consort Zhuang is dead."

She paused slightly. "When?"

"I had someone feed her medicine, which was supposed to torture her for twelve hours, but perhaps because she was bitten by the poisonous snake too many times, or perhaps because she was driven mad by the torture, in any case, she did not last that long and died from the poison."

He said this calmly, “I have already sent people to her residence. She has made such a big mistake that others will hardly be spared.”

Song Yi didn't know what to say. After a long silence, she said in a low voice, "In my world, there is no such thing as collective punishment. Whoever makes a mistake is punished."

His voice was gentle: "Because your world is full of order and justice, but this is not the case here. As the emperor, I know best what should be done, so please listen to me on this matter, okay?"

“I know that you’ve made the right decision. I just felt a little scared when I heard about it and thought about so many people dying in one go.”

Jiang Lanye looked at her intently, then suddenly pulled her into his arms:
"I finally understand why you always give me a different feeling. Your inner qualities are different from ordinary people. This may be related to the environment you have lived in. In short, you are free and kind, but you are also strong and unwilling to be wronged."

Upon waking up to Jiang Lanye's words, Song Yi's cheeks flushed, and she awkwardly pushed him away, saying, "Alright, you're making me uncomfortable with all this praise."

"So, do you want to get up now?"

Song Yi opened her arms wide, signaling Jiang Lanye to pick her up.

Jiang Lanye chuckled softly, then bent down and lifted her up in his arms.

Song Yi wrapped herself around him with both hands and feet, hanging on his chest like a koala, and rubbed her chin against his shoulder.

"So clingy?" Jiang Lanye lifted her up by her bottom and strode towards the dressing table.

Song Yi swung her bare feet, speaking with self-righteousness: "I'm giving you a chance to train."

"You are too light, I won't get any training."

After saying that, he placed Song Yi on the dressing table, placed his hands on either side of her, and looked down at her: "Some gemstones and jewelry have been presented to the capital today. I will send people to bring them over in a while. You can choose some that you like."

Song Yi's eyelids twitched: "Where did it come from as tribute?"

"Northern Qiang".

She opened her mouth, and a person quickly came to mind, her expression going blank for a moment.

Jiang Lanye squinted, observing her changing expression, and asked casually, "What's wrong?"

She snapped out of her daze and shook her head: "It's nothing." What had happened before was still a knot in Jiang Lanye's heart. During that time, he really felt that he was very likely to lose Song Yi.

Soon, several eunuchs carried in two large boxes.

Song Yi glanced inside and saw that it was full of jewelry. She walked over and, under Jiang Lanye's gaze, squatted down and casually rummaged through it.

"Some of these pieces of jewelry are indeed quite unique."

Jiang Lanye walked over, casually picked up a smoky purple gemstone, and handed it to the eunuch: "Go to the Imperial Household Department and have them polish this jade into a jade bracelet for Consort Yun."

"Yes."

Indeed, they were all good items. Song Yi looked through them for a long time and suddenly saw a necklace at the very bottom of the box.

The necklace is nothing special, but it looks particularly plain when placed next to these gold and jade jewels.

Because it was a necklace of wolf teeth, Song Yi had no doubt about the authenticity of the wolf teeth. After all, the people of Beiqiang were indeed very good at hunting. She couldn't help but pick it up and rub it, recalling how she had deliberately reached out to touch the wolf tooth necklace around the neck of the wolf owl while sitting on the grassland.

This necklace looks familiar; could it be his?
"You like this?"

Jiang Lanye's voice rang out above her head.

Song Yi shook her head, put it back, and casually picked up a bead: "This jade bead is quite pretty. Can it be set into a hairpin?"

Jiang Lanye took it, then casually picked out a few more items and had the eunuch deliver them as well.

He pulled Song Yi up, cupped her face in his hands, and asked earnestly, "Do you like the grasslands?"

Song Yi hesitated.

Seeing her hesitation, Jiang Lanye chuckled and said, "I'm not angry, I'm just asking you seriously."

“I loved it. I was thinking then that if the timing hadn’t been wrong, I should have seen that beautiful scenery with you.”

Jiang Lanye said gently, "Then we'll go again when we're able to leave the palace, but not too far, since there's still danger."

Song Yi nodded.

She gave Jiang Lanye a deep look.

She knew Jiang Lanye too well now; a single glance was enough to see through his current emotions. He wasn't angry, but it was clear that he wasn't in a good mood and was trying his best to suppress something.

She tiptoed and kissed Jiang Lanye: "Are you unhappy?"

"No."

"You lied to me? You think I can't tell?"

Jiang Lanye pursed her lips. "Who were you thinking about just now?"

Song Yi hadn't expected him to ask so directly. She blinked and answered honestly, "Wolf Owl."

Jiang Lanye remained silent.

"The fact that I'm being so honest with you shows that I simply have that past memory in my mind, so I can't help but think about it. If I were to hide it, you would be even more unhappy, right?"

".Um."

Song Yi chuckled and pinched his cheek: "Jealous again?"

He hugged Song Yi.

Song Yi was wearing thin clothes today, revealing a section of her fair and slender neck. He couldn't control himself and turned his head to bite her neck.

"How dare you think of other men in front of me?"

(End of this chapter)