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

"It's not like you haven't slept with them before, what are you pretending for?" Ning Yu said, "As the Son of Heaven, Your Majesty should naturally have many concubines in the palace and spread your favors evenly, so you can take in more beauties."

She didn't want to be tied to him for life. He should sleep with several women, change women frequently, experience the benefits of other women, and not want to touch her anymore. He should let other women try out all his tricks on her.

Xie Xun looked at her and suddenly laughed, a somewhat eerie laugh. Why did those words sound so jarring coming from her mouth?

"No matter how many women I take in, you will still sit in this position as Empress. While others may enjoy the same favors, you must consume every last drop for me."

The more she rejected him, the more he wanted to cling to her.

Ning Yu knew he would say anything in bed, so she pretended not to hear him.

Xie Xun's hand slid down, lifted her waist, and whispered in her ear, "My offspring will come from your belly. You will have to bear children for me for the rest of your life, and when you die, you will be buried with me in the mausoleum, lying together."

"You're crazy! What are you saying? He should go die himself. She doesn't want to die."

Ning Yu felt overwhelmed by his words, "Having a child is fate; we'll have one in the future."

Perfunctory.

Xie Xun, with a gloomy look in his eyes, took her earlobe into his mouth and sucked on it, causing Ning Yu's cheeks to flush red and her mouth to involuntarily let out a soft moan.

"If you don't get up, you're going to crush me to death."

After a long, intimate kiss, he lay down beside her.

The two of them squeezed together on the small soft couch. Ning Yu felt like she was being squeezed so tightly that she could hardly breathe. Noticing that he was still not behaving himself, she called out to the outside.

The head maid guarding the palace gate was taken aback when she heard that she wanted a fox cat. His Majesty was still inside the palace. Would it be alright to send the cat master inside?

After hesitating for a moment and not hearing His Majesty's voice, he quickly ordered a servant to fetch the child, who was in the warm pavilion next door, where there were people specifically serving him.

A moment later, a palace servant carrying a cat bowed and walked in. Ning Yu pushed him aside and took the cat from him.

Meow~

The lust in Xie Xun's eyes hadn't faded yet. He pulled her into his arms, glanced at the fox cat on her lap, and a barely perceptible glint of coldness flashed across his face.

"Why are you hugging it so late at night?"

Ning Yu pulled her clothes closer, lowered her eyes, and stroked the obedient fox cat in her arms. "It was a gift from His Majesty. I like it and want to sleep with it."

"I'm here."

She leaned closer to him, tilted her head up, and kissed him on the lips.

Xie Xun grabbed her head, wanting to kiss her even deeper, but the oblivious cat bared its teeth and meowed annoyingly.

Ning Yu immediately stepped back, picked up the cat, and returned to the large bed with the mattress on it. The man who followed her looked at the cat lying in the corner of the bed and scoffed.

Did he think that having a cat watching over him would make it impossible for him to continue?

The woman lying on the inside tugged at his clothes, her voice soft and menacing, "Come up and sleep."

Xie Xun lowered the curtains, climbed onto the bed, and held her in his arms. "Fine, I'll spare her this time. We still have plenty of time."

"Give me another kiss."

Ning Yu gave him a perfunctory kiss on the lips. Xie Xun grabbed her waist with one hand and pulled her back, his eyes filled with intense desire. He pressed his breath against her lips and kissed her deeper.

I can never get enough of kissing him.

The palace has a huge racecourse located behind the South Garden. In the winter, when it was cold and windy, Xie Xun would order someone to take her to the racecourse as soon as she finished court.

Ning Yu had been confined in that hall for many days without sunlight. Suddenly, the morning light shone on her face. She looked up at the blue sky and white clouds and revealed a long-lost smile.

Looking at her body, which was only dressed in riding clothes, Qinghe behind her said with heartache, "Miss, it's cold, please wear something thicker."

The head maid, who had chased after her, saw that she hadn't gone far and quickly tied a cloak adorned with dazzling black pearls to her neck. She smiled and said, "This garment was ordered by His Majesty. It's of excellent quality, a top-grade masterpiece. It's perfect for Madam to wear when she goes out."

Her bright little face was framed by clusters of white fox fur. Ning Yu nodded and followed the little eunuch who was leading the way.

Upon arriving at the racecourse, the eunuch in charge of the horses told her that His Majesty was still busy in the military tent and asked her to choose a horse first. Ning Yu picked out a short, brown horse for Qing He and patted Qing He's head.

"Why don't you play for a while? The area here is lush with vegetation and has plenty of land, perfect for playing."

"No need, madam, I'll lead the horse for you."

"Good girl, listen to me." Ning Yu asked the little eunuch who was feeding the grass to teach Qing He to ride a horse, saying that she wanted to ride a horse by herself.

The young eunuch hesitated for a moment, "Why don't we servants follow the lady? There are many wild beasts in the hunting grounds ahead—"

Before she could finish speaking, Ning Yu gave her a look, and the little eunuch dared not speak. He could only lead her to choose a horse first.

"These are all tributes from the northern deserts. They are gentle in nature, and they are perfect for your riding, Madam."

Seeing Ning Yu's gaze fixed on the pure black Akhal-Teke horse in the far distance, surrounded by many people serving it, the little eunuch hurriedly said, "That one? That's His Majesty's warhorse. It's very fierce and might hurt the lady."

"Find me a spirited horse, one that runs faster."

Ah, this---

"This servant will go immediately."

The young eunuch quickly brought over a fine white horse. Ning Yu stepped into the stirrups, leaped onto the horse, and with a shout of "Giddy up!" galloped off into the forest.

The little eunuch behind her hurriedly chased after her, "Madam, slow down, slow down!"

Ning Yu ignored the palace servants chasing after her, riding her horse through the woods, breathing in the feeling of freedom and relaxation. She became much more radiant and cheerful.

Even though it was the dead of winter and the wind on her face stung a little while riding on horseback, Ning Yu's eyebrows and eyes were full of smiles, and she couldn't hide her comfortable joy when she saw Princess Huayang.

Princess Huayang came to the hunting grounds with Xie Ling to retrieve something. She heard that Xie Liulang had hunted a rabbit for her, which was very beautiful. Xie Ling wanted to take it home and raise it, so she went to the hunting grounds to get it.

She made an excuse that she came out for some fresh air and had a eunuch lead her here on horseback. She didn't believe that bitch Wei Qingxue when she said that His Majesty had really favored a woman.

But to my surprise, the woman I saw was Ning Yu!

What happened?! Wasn't she dead?!

As she watched the person ride away on horseback into the distance, she stared wide-eyed in disbelief, as if struck by lightning, her hands reddening as she gripped the reins tightly.

Could it be that the woman His Majesty kept outside was her, which is why the Xie family never had time to come and discuss the marriage? In the end, when His Majesty ascended the throne, the Xie family had no intention of fulfilling the marriage agreement.

Recalling her previous suspicions, Princess Huayang gritted her teeth and glared fiercely at the slender figure that had left.

She wasn't stupid; she knew Wei Qingxue wanted to use someone else to do her dirty work, but when she saw it was Ning Yu, that bitch, she couldn't help herself.

If it weren't for her, she would have married Xie Xun long ago. If Xie Xun had ascended the throne, she would have naturally become the empress, instead of being delayed until now with no one daring to marry her.

And Ning Yu, that vile woman, could never stay peacefully in the harem. She's a truly despicable wretch, actually abandoning her husband to seduce His Majesty. How shameless!