After becoming pregnant, the cold-hearted nobles all went mad.

Shen Lingyi looked up into his eyes and her heart skipped a beat.

Anyone else would have agreed. The current emperor has no harem; anyone who enters the palace would become the master of this vast court.

Even a minor noble person has a rank.

But she didn't just want to be a concubine; she wanted the throne, the position of empress, the supreme honor known throughout the land, and a position that he would personally offer to her and beg her to accept.

Pei Heng smiled faintly, "It seems I've put you in a difficult position. One question has left Miss Shen speechless."

"They used every trick in the book to climb into the emperor's bed, but now that the opportunity is right in front of them, they don't even know how to seize it."

The man's hand pressed against the back of her neck, his rough fingertips tickling her tingling sensation.

"With the Crown Prince's wedding imminent, has Your Majesty forgotten your previous admonition to him? Is there any precedent in the world for a father and son to marry at the same time?"

"Besides, the rebellion in Liangzhou has just been quelled, and there are still so many things waiting for Your Majesty to deal with. If I were to concern myself with matters of the heart at this time, wouldn't I be impeached as a wicked concubine in the future?"

Shen Lingyi's back trembled slightly, and her eyes looked timid.

Pei Heng let out a cold laugh. All this rambling is just a way of saying he doesn't want to enter the palace.

He raised his hand and pinched the girl's chin. "You don't want to enter the palace?"

Even if I granted you a harem with only you, a position above all others, would you still be unwilling?

"Please, Your Majesty, spare me."

Shen Lingyi tilted her snow-white neck back, her eyes blurry with tears, her whole being filled with a sense of heartbreak.

She was truly pitiful, if she hadn't been rejecting him.

Pei Heng felt even more ironic, recalling the several times she had deliberately approached and provoked him, and the strength in his hands gradually became difficult to control.

"You dared to provoke me, and now you think you can just leave so easily? There's no such thing as a free lunch."

"Or has what happened before caused you some misunderstanding, making you think I'm a good person?"

Two lines of clear tears slid down her face and landed on her fingers.

Pei Heng felt a sudden burning sensation in his heart.

Shen Lingyi's crying now is different from before. He could tell before that she was avoiding being questioned.

Now she was truly heartbroken, and the tenderness in her eyes had turned into utter grievance.

Especially when Shen Lingyi questioned in a tearful voice, "If Your Majesty is determined to drive me to my death, then you might as well just kill me now!"

Pei Heng's head throbbed even more. "When did I ever say I wanted to kill you? A young lady like you, always talking about fighting and killing."

"If Your Majesty insists on taking my daughter as a concubine, have you considered how the ministers and women will view me?" Shen Lingyi argued vehemently.

"After a trip to Liangzhou, I inexplicably ended up in His Majesty's harem. They will definitely think I am a reincarnation of Daji, a wicked concubine who brought ruin to the country. In that case, I would be no different from being dead."

The ministers' urging of the emperor to fill the harem was merely a way to benefit themselves.

Shen Su came from humble origins and was not fond of forming cliques, plus military officers were always marginalized.

If Shen Lingyi were to enter the palace now and become an imperial concubine...

Those ministers, whose brains are practically popping out of their heads, will definitely be the first to turn their anger towards her.

"It's not as serious as you say." Pei Heng rubbed his temples, saying this, but inwardly he couldn't help but despise himself.

Even though he knew she was a child, he still argued with her.

You have to understand that Xu Yanqing is eight years younger than him, and Shen Lingyi is even younger than Xu Yanqing. No matter what, he shouldn't bully the younger one because he's older.

Seeing that Shen Lingyi remained silent, Pei Heng could only patiently coax her.

"I didn't mean to force you, I just lost my composure a little."

"Don't take it to heart. Who told you to hide it from me for so long? If you had revealed your identity sooner, there wouldn't have been so much trouble, and things wouldn't have come to this."

Shen Lingyi finally looked him in the eye, her eyes red as a rabbit's. "Then, Your Majesty, do you still wish for me to enter the palace?"

"With your temperament, you'd be bullied even if you entered the palace. Let's discuss it another time."

Pei Heng was extremely helpless. He, the emperor, had to lower himself to coax a young girl. If word got out, it would shock everyone.

Well, now is not a good time. Let's wait until she's ready.

"Tap! Tap! Tap!"

The sound of horses' hooves grew louder as they approached, startling a line of birds into flight.

Wei Chengrui slowly pulled on the reins to stop the horse, and looked at the carriage not far away, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

"The Crown Prince of Wei."

Xiao Sha walked up to him, seemingly obstructing his view.

Wei Chengrui, clad in armor and exuding a bloodthirsty aura, had clearly just come from the battlefield. He walked around the area for a few steps.

The horse snorted, accompanied by his question.

"I, the Crown Prince, have just finished suppressing the rebels and come from Ji Province. How did Your Majesty's palanquin end up here?"

"Naturally, it's because His Majesty is on an inspection tour here. His Majesty has always cared about his people, even personally testing the medicines prescribed by the imperial physicians before distributing them." Xiao Sha's cold face was like frost, and his answer was impeccable.

Wei Chengrui, however, felt something was amiss. "Why is Commander Xiao blocking my path?"

Just as Xiao Sha was about to answer, a low sound came from inside the car.

The voice was already discreet enough, but the people present were all martial arts practitioners with excellent hearing. The two immediately changed their expressions. The difference was that Xiao Sha was embarrassed and speechless, while Wei Chengrui's face turned ashen.

They all assumed that Pei Heng was either injured or had something to tell him because he stayed in the carriage.

...but it turned out to be just a way to fool people.

When he heard the deliberately lowered and somewhat gentle coaxing, Wei Chengrui froze.

The arrogant emperor actually went down to coax people, and the emperor overheard it.

Xiao Sha wished he could turn around and leave, and at this moment he also felt annoyed with Wei Chengrui.

If this person hadn't suddenly appeared, how could he have overheard his master's private affairs?

"Young Master Wei should now know why, so he should leave quickly," Xiao Sha said expressionlessly.

Wei Chengrui was about to turn around when the sound of sobbing inside the car made him pause instantly.

In an instant, the young master's expression became quite interesting. He abandoned his idea of ​​leaving and looked intently inside: "No rush. I have important matters to attend to and must see His Majesty now. Otherwise, if we delay important matters, neither of us can bear the responsibility."

Only he knew how much he meant it through gritted teeth.

Wei Chengrui wouldn't mistake that voice; there was only one person he recognized so well, but...

Why was Shen Lingyi in His Majesty's carriage, and when did she become involved with His Majesty?

The voices finally alerted the people inside the carriage.

"Who?"

Pei Heng's voice changed from gentle to authoritative in just one second; his choice of attitude depended entirely on who he was dealing with.

In front of Shen Lingyi, he could be a tolerant elder, but in the eyes of his subjects, he could only be a monarch.

Wei Chengrui bowed towards the carriage. "According to Your Majesty's order, the entire Zhao family has been taken into custody. Only one young child was hidden by the wet nurse who replaced him with her own child. I have already searched for him in Bianyang, the hometown of that wet nurse."

"Apart from these, all other traitors have been executed; the rest await Your Majesty's order."