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

Looking at the beautiful young woman behind Pei Heng, Xu Yanqing suddenly felt a sense of resentment.

If we're talking about who came first, he was the one who arrived first, so why should Pei Heng interfere? Fortunately, judging from Shen Lingyi's tone, she doesn't really like this man.

Did they conspire together...?

Xu Yanqing lowered his eyelashes to conceal the emotions in his eyes and respectfully replied, "Father's teachings are correct. Your son will certainly tame this wild horse."

In an instant, the air seemed to contain ice shards, whistling as it brushed against people's faces. Pei Heng squinted, scrutinizing the young man who rarely looked directly at him. He saw that the young man was tall and elegant, his moon-white brocade robe spotless.

What a beautiful and pure appearance!

His age was also suitable, and most women in the capital admired such an unattainable nobleman. Some even called Xu Yanqing "Jade Gentleman".

Pei Heng turned his gaze to Shen Lingyi and wondered to himself, "Does she like this kind of thing too?"

As she was pondering, her sleeve was gently tugged. She looked down and met Shen Lingyi's pitiful gaze. "Your Majesty, I'm so cold."

In the freezing cold, she was already sensitive to the cold, so every time she went out she was always dressed in layers of clothing and carried a stove with her.

Having ridden a horse outside and then stood for so long, they must have been exhausted by now.

Pei Heng's expression softened instantly. He glanced at Xu Yanqing, who was still bending over beside him, and took the umbrella from the palace servant.

"Let's go, why are we running horses in this cold weather?"

Even after the two had left, Xu Yanqing remained in that position, his breath turning white.

He looked up at a corner of the palace eaves, heard footsteps and hurriedly turned back. When he found it was just a palace servant, his eyes dimmed slightly, but then brightened again because of the next sentence.

The palace servant took a piece of paper from his sleeve, glanced around, and quickly stuffed it into his hand. "The Second Miss asked me to give this to His Highness."

Xu Yanqing clenched the paper ball tightly and only opened it when she was alone.

The characters are still elegant and graceful, yet they also have a touch of whimsy.

Just by looking at the words, you can imagine the fox-like eyes that the person squinted when writing them.

The letter contained only one line of text.

"Please help me, Your Highness..."

As Xu Yanqing read those five words, he felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his heart, chilling him from head to toe, and even his breath was filled with a chill.

The man was furious. He couldn't understand where Shen Lingyi got the confidence to think he would agree.

On the reverse side, the time was written in small characters.

Tonight at midnight.

Xu Yanqing coldly crumpled the paper into a ball. How ridiculous, she thought he would go?

The night was bright and the stars were few. A carriage was quietly parked outside the palace walls, its glass lamps casting faint glows.

A graceful figure approached slowly, and upon reaching her, she softly called out, "Your Highness, I have come to keep my appointment."

After boarding the carriage, Shen Lingyi took off her cloak. Tonight, she dressed rather simply, with only a jade hairpin inserted diagonally in her hair, making her look fresh and elegant.

Xu Yanqing had never seen her before, always arrogant and radiant; this was the first time he had seen her like this.

But then he remembered that someone had already looked closely at his face, and he couldn't be happy anymore.

"I was afraid you would encounter danger on your journey alone, so I waited for you here."

Shen Lingyi raised an eyebrow, a gesture that instantly shattered her carefully constructed composure. "Oh, so Your Highness cares about me that much."

Xu Yanqing hesitated for a moment, then decided to get straight to the point: "What exactly do you mean?"

"Does Your Highness need me to be as explicit as I say?" Shen Lingyi said with a half-smile, "We've come this far, let's stop hiding our true feelings. I want power and wealth, you want the throne. Wouldn't it be better if we cooperate and each get what we need?"

"Once I seize the throne, the wealth and honor you've gained will vanish in the blink of an eye." Xu Yanqing wasn't so easily fooled.

Shen Lingyi clicked her tongue lightly, rested her chin on her hand, and revealed her beautiful face.

She chuckled softly, her words sweet as honey, yet her tone was full of arrogance. "Who said that? Consort Wan, once the most favored concubine in the palace, is now nothing but a handful of dust, while the Empress, once ignored by everyone, is now the Empress Dowager."

In other words, if she had the ability, Shen Lingyi could make Xu Yanqing call her "Empress Dowager" for the rest of her life, until she died.

Do you know what you're saying?

Xu Yanqing was stunned, never expecting that Shen Lingyi harbored ambitions for the throne. His tone was unusually urgent.

"Of course I know," Shen Lingyi smiled slightly, full of composure and confidence. "I'll say it again: Your Highness, will you help or not? If you don't help, I'll pretend I was never here tonight."

The atmosphere was quiet; there was no one outside the carriage, and the attendants stood at a distance keeping watch.

Xu Yanqing naturally dared not let others overhear such a treasonous matter, which could easily result in execution if not handled carefully.

After an unknown amount of time, Xu Yanqing finally said, "Even if I help you, you may not have the ability to sit in that position."

A hint of irony flickered in his eyes. To be made a concubine without a son was difficult enough, let alone to become empress, and yet his good father…

It may look passable on the surface, but it's not necessarily useful in practice.

"You don't need to worry about that." Shen Lingyi crossed her legs over the other one, her hem slipped down, and a section of her white skirt was faintly visible.

"Your Highness only needs to cooperate with me, and I will tell you what to do later."

Xu Yanqing moved her eyes away from that patch of snow-white.

He really wanted to know what made her so confident that she dared to covet even an emperor whose imperial physicians had determined would have few heirs.

However, given their current relationship, these words are not appropriate to say.

They can be partners, allies, but they should never be confidants.

Perhaps it could have been possible, but Xu Yanqing watched the opportunity slip away before his eyes, and there was no possibility of it ever happening again.

The little flame in his heart burned unnoticed, and even Shen Lingyi in front of him did not notice it. Xu Yanqing ordered someone to start the carriage, hiding everything behind his face.

There's no rush. He's still young and has plenty of time to wait.

Shen Lingyi had been waiting since she returned to the mansion, waiting for Wei Chengrui to come and find her.

She had been in the palace for almost two days. Judging by the time, the wolf cub that had run back from the northern frontier should have reached its limit by now. She had already figured out how to deal with the person when they arrived, but the person still hadn't come.

"Miss, Miss Wei has returned to the manor. His Majesty has personally issued an imperial decree to officially recognize her." So much time had passed that even Peony brought the news from outside.

Shen Lingyi murmured, "What mischief is Wei Chengrui up to..."

She panicked a little. There's a saying that goes, "A barking dog doesn't bite."

If Wei Chengrui loses his temper, Shen Lingyi can still smooth things over. Anyway, it's not the first time she's done this, she's very skilled at it, and she'll just suffer a little loss at worst.

But if he doesn't lash out, she can't find a way to attack him.

"Forget it, let's ignore him. We'll find out what he's up to sooner or later." Shen Lingyi decided to stop thinking about it. There's no such thing as a thief guarding against a thief for a thousand days.

If you're so capable, come and kill her.

Time flew by, and the day for entering the palace at the end of the year arrived.

For the past two weeks, or rather, since Linlang's death, Shen Tingjiao has been unusually well-behaved and quiet. Shen Su felt that she had repented and her complexion had improved a lot, so he brought her along when he went to the palace this time.

Shen Lingyi glanced at him and then turned her head away, not giving him any further looks, thus missing the calculating look in his eyes.