So what if she's my sister-in-law? You seduced me first.

Ning Yu took a couple of bites and then lost her appetite. She frowned as she looked at the bowl of medicinal soup that the palace servant had brought in, and then looked at the man beside her.

Xie Xun said calmly, "A nourishing soup to regulate the body."

Why didn't he say that he was the one with the problem and make her drink the tonic soup? Ning Yu cursed inwardly, but thinking that she had been taking contraceptives all along, she dared not say anything and decided to just pretend that she was the one with the problem.

"Drink after you finish eating."

A palace maid placed a bowl of Seven Treasures Vegetarian Porridge in front of her. Ning Yu looked at the porridge, which was made with walnuts, pine nuts, red beans, lotus seeds, and other ingredients, and slowly began to eat.

Remembering what her aunt had told her about Qinghe's illness, she glanced at the man's slow and deliberate movements. She couldn't bring herself to beg him, but she couldn't bear to see Qinghe suffer, so she spoke up.

"Qinghe is ill, could we let her leave the palace?"

Hearing her soft voice, Xie Xun recalled her tenderness and affection when they were in the East Garden. He glanced at her lowered face and said, "Embroider a sachet for me and then let her come in to serve you."

A sachet?!

Ning Yu glanced at his clothes subconsciously. He was wearing a jade pendant, which she had embroidered for him before, since she wasn't good at needlework.

The sachet she embroidered was so ugly that Xie Xun couldn't wear it and it remained in the study.

"What, you don't want to?"

Why wouldn't I want to? Being locked up here all day, there's nothing to do but read books to pass the time. Embroidering a sachet to contact Qinghe is a very worthwhile deal.

She gave a soft "hmm".

"Make sure you embroider it nicely, let the nanny teach you."

If you think her embroidery is ugly, just ask someone else. When asked what she wanted, Ning Yu glanced at the chain on her ankle and remained silent.

Xie Xun noticed her gaze. The soft leather lining wouldn't hurt her skin. If she didn't want to lower her head, she could just wear it.

After finishing the meal, the dog emperor left, but before leaving, he wrapped her up on his lap and kissed her for a long time.

Half an incense stick later, Qinghe was brought in by the head maid. She had caught a cold a couple of days ago, but fortunately the head maid was taking care of her, so no one dared to bully her. She recovered after a couple of days of rest.

Upon suddenly seeing her mistress locked up here, her eyes reddened. "Miss."

"Miss Qinghe, watch your address." The head maid's words immediately brought Qinghe back to her senses, and she quickly bowed, "Madam."

Ning Yu waved his hand and dismissed everyone except Qing He.

The hall fell silent. Qinghe immediately told her everything that had happened in the past few days. Ningyu breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she was alright.

"Oh, right, Miss, this is your medicine. The other day, when the palace maids sent all the clothes to the clothing department, I took all the medicine from the bundle."

Ning Yu was overjoyed and quickly took the several medicine bottles that she took out from her bosom. She found the prepared contraceptive medicine and opened it to take a look.

"Keep this safe and don't lose it. I'll ask you for it when I need it."

"Okay." Qinghe walked to the edge of the couch, looked at the chain on her ankle, and frowned. "Miss, how do you untie this chain?"

The moment Ning Yu saw the chain, she thought of that scoundrel emperor. "Could you even think of a way to make a man who has everything wish for death?"

"Ah, when I returned to the manor, I saw the Second Master again. He was drinking heavily under the peach tree that the Second Madam planted herself. I wonder if the Second Madam will ever come back. This feeling is truly tormenting."

Ning Yu knew she was referring to her second brother, who deserved it all.

His sister-in-law and he were married by their parents' arrangement. His second brother slept with his sister-in-law while still unable to let go of his childhood sweetheart, the illegitimate daughter of the Minister's family, thus harming both women. She used to ignore this second brother when she was in the mansion.

Too lazy to think about family matters, she leaned back against the soft pillows, thinking, "But what if this man has no feelings for me?"

"How could that be?" Qinghe knew who she was talking about and whispered a bad idea in her ear, "I think the most torturous thing is to make him fall head over heels in love with you, but not be able to have you."

Ning Yu fell silent. The dog emperor would never fall in love with her, but he could easily get her.

"Miss, what are your plans for next?"

Wei Qingxue had not seen the emperor since she moved into Biyuan. A servant whispered in her ear that there was a woman living in His Majesty's bedchamber. She had heard these gossips at the banquet and wanted to see what this widow looked like, so she came to Changxin Palace.

When Ning Yu heard the announcement from outside, the person had already entered, dressed in a magnificent palace gown, and possessing a beautiful face.

Compared to Ning Yu's unadorned face, she wore heavy makeup and a glamorous outfit.

When Wei Qingxue saw her face, she suddenly remembered the portrait the makeup artist had drawn for her that day. It was her! A surge of jealousy welled up in her heart. With a gentle smile on her face, she stepped inside.

Neither of them bowed. Ning Yu remembered what the head maid had said. It seemed that the woman Xie Xun had favored the other day was this woman.

She watched silently as the person sat down opposite her.

"My elder sister entered the palace before me; I should have come to pay my respects long ago—"

"We're about the same age, so let's call each other by our names."

The distant and indifferent voice sent a flicker of displeasure through Wei Qingxue's heart, but she maintained a friendly demeanor and said, "My name is Wei Qingxue, the eldest daughter of the Wei family. May I ask which clan you belong to, elder sister?"

How could a woman whom His Majesty abducted from the common people be worthy of seeing them if she didn't have a beautiful face?

Ning Yu paused for a moment, then simply said that her surname was Ning.

Wei Qingxue chuckled, picked up her tea and took a few sips. Her eyes seemed to be casually glancing at her, but when she saw the chain on her ankle, she paused for a moment, the steaming tea quickly obscuring her gaze.

Ning Yu had nothing to say to the women in Xie Xun's harem, but this girl smiled and showed no intention of leaving. She even picked up the sachet she had embroidered out of curiosity to look at it.

"Did Miss Ning embroider this?"

"Just practicing to pass the time."

What is this embroidery? Is that fat bird a python? Wei Qingxue thought with disdain that her needlework was so bad, but said outwardly, "Is this embroidered for His Majesty? It doesn't look like something a woman would use."

Ning Yu chuckled, "Yes."

The two simple words made Wei Qingxue feel provoked for no reason. She smiled back and said, "Miss Ning comes from the countryside, but her skills are quite good. If she didn't enter the palace, she could make a living by embroidering handkerchiefs and selling them."

Ning Yu sensed the sarcasm in her voice. "It seems Miss Wei's needlework skills are quite good. Why don't you embroider for me?"

Who would have asked her to embroider such a flawed piece? If His Majesty were to present it to him, he would surely accuse her of disrespect. She could embroider it herself.

Seeing her disdain, Ning Yu took the round embroidery frame and began to embroider without much care. No matter how bad it turned out, she had done it.

Seeing her indifferent expression, Wei Qingxue's eyes flashed with a dark light. She said softly, "We serve His Majesty together, but Sister Ning doesn't seem to like me very much. I really didn't do anything with His Majesty that day. I hope Sister Ning won't be hostile towards me."

Ning Yu said calmly, "I'm not interested in His Majesty and Miss Wei's bedroom affairs. If Miss Wei has nothing else to say, she should go back."

"His Majesty only asked me to take off my clothes that day, and I came out in just two hours. Sister Ning, please don't be angry."