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

"Greetings, Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live ten thousand years." A delicate voice came from beside him. Xie Xun didn't even look at her, and led Ning Yu up the high platform and towards the imperial tent.

As the tall figure gradually disappeared into the distance, Xiao Yunnuan straightened up, looked in the direction of the imperial tent, and her expression slowly darkened.

Standing beside her, Gu Ling straightened up as she sensed His Majesty had walked away and glanced at her friend who looked troubled.

She didn't understand Yun Nuan's taste. His Majesty looked like he had a bad temper. How could a man like that compare to someone who was interesting at heart and could devour you completely?

As for his face, His Majesty certainly has a handsome appearance. Thinking of this, her gaze couldn't help but turn towards Xiao Zhiliu's direction. Recalling their contact just now, her heart was pounding.

Xiao Zhiliu was the kind of person who was unruly and even more unrestrained than when she was in Lingnan. After being away for so long, she could hardly remember the scoundrel she had been in Wuya Mountain when she was a child.

Looking at his handsome features as he turned to the side, she took a few steps forward and said with a gentle smile, "This fur is indeed very nice for making a scarf; it's pure white without a single blemish."

"It's just too little. If we could peel off another one, that would be great. We're also missing a knee pad."

Shen Qingge used to be a coroner, spending most of her time in government offices, and sometimes even having to go into the water, which caused her to develop a leg ailment.

She recovered quite a bit after coming to the Xiao family, but there were many rules in this large family. She needed to wake up at dawn and dusk, and sometimes she had to kneel in the Buddhist hall for several hours to pray for blessings. In winter, she couldn't go out to play much.

In recent years, besides the clothes bought from outside, there were also clothes made by the embroiderers in the mansion and clothes given by Xiao Zhiliu. She already has a lot of clothes. She never expected that he would personally go hunting to make furs for her.

I was quite shocked when I received the gifts: a fur scarf covered in snow sculptures and a fox fur coat made entirely of sculpted tails, with a dazzling South China Sea pearl hanging from the collar—they were clearly high-quality items.

"I did this myself, without asking anyone else. It was hard work; my arm was bitten by that beast."

Shen Qingge stood in front of the table, being hugged and shaken from behind by him. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she subconsciously glanced at his arm.

Xiao Zhiliu noticed her gaze, immediately withdrew her arm, and said matter-of-factly, "Wearing this, I won't feel cold even when I'm doing this in the open courtyard."

"---"

He gave her this so she could have wild fun in the wild. Shen Qingge cursed him inwardly for being shameless, but she didn't show it on her face. She kissed his cheek and said, "Thank you."

Looking at her gentle smile, Xiao Zhiliu felt a sense of comfort. "You're not angry anymore, are you?"

Shen Qingge knew what he was talking about. Recalling the scene of being mocked by the sixth young lady when she went to the family banquet on New Year's Eve, her face turned slightly pale.

She lowered her eyes and gave a soft "hmm".

He wouldn't offend the entire family for her sake. He was able to protect her and even scolded the sixth young lady until she cried and dared not speak, thus avoiding further trouble for others. It was much better than before.

It turns out that as long as he was willing to protect her, her life in the Xiao family wasn't so difficult. He lost his temper at the New Year's banquet that day, and recently no one has dared to say anything about her.

Before that, did he not care about her at all, and only bring her back to the capital because he had some affection for her? So he couldn't see the humiliation from others, and he turned a blind eye to her difficult life in the Xiao family.

Thinking about it this way, Shen Qingge felt a chill creep into her heart without realizing it.

He had a pair of affectionate eyes and was mostly gentle with her, so much so that she used to think he loved her. But she soon realized that he rarely stood up for her.

"What are you thinking about?"

Looking at his charming and amorous eyes, she suppressed her suspicions, shook her head, and said, "I'm hungry."

"Let's go eat first."

After the Lantern Festival, the court gradually became busier.

The Duke of Zheng's mansion became involved in a treason case. During the southern expedition, the aristocratic family amassed wealth by privately manufacturing weapons, resulting in hundreds or even thousands of lives being lost and imprisoned. A group of civil and military officials, protected by the Duke of Zheng's mansion, stood by a pillar and died remonstrating before the palace.

The trigger for this incident was that Princess Nanhe could no longer tolerate the Duke of Zheng's favoritism towards his concubine and his neglect of his wife. She filed a lawsuit against the Duke of Zheng with an imperial edict. When the Ministry of Justice investigated, they found evidence of treason and some private correspondence.

Just after the New Year, the palace road was covered in blood that couldn't be wiped clean even after being doused with buckets of water, bringing the festive New Year celebrations to an all-time low.

Princess Nanhe's parents had passed away. She married the top scholar in both civil and military affairs in the second year of Jingyuan thanks to the late emperor's favor. However, a man's favor is fleeting. Fortunately, Princess Nanhe gave birth to a child, which prevented her from being bullied by the concubines and allowed her to live a peaceful life.

The sleeping quarters inside the Imperial Study.

Xie Xun looked at the kneeling imperial physician, who spoke with unwavering conviction, and said sternly, "Both I and she are in good health, so why have we been childless for so long?"

The incident at the Duke of Zheng's mansion also served as a reminder to him. If Princess Nanhe hadn't had children, she probably would have kicked that old bastard Duke of Zheng long ago and wouldn't have been entangled with him for a lifetime.

Yes, the truth back then was that the Duke of Zheng sought to marry Princess Nanhe, but the princess was unwilling to marry him, so he broke up the princess and her original fiancé and forcibly married her.

"Your Majesty, this old minister will go and prepare some nourishing soup for the lady. Perhaps she was upset by the cold medicine she drank earlier."

What he really wanted to say was, could it be that the lady had taken contraceptives? Both of them were perfectly healthy; it shouldn't be like that.

As Ning Yu rested in her bedchamber with the fox cat in her arms, she saw the maids bring over a bowl of dark, murky medicinal soup, and she unconsciously frowned.

"What is this?"

"The imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital just brewed this medicinal soup, saying it's to nourish the lady's body."

Why would I suddenly give her a nourishing soup?!

Ning Yu glanced at her flat stomach, her eyelids trembling.

"Madam, please drink it while it's hot." The nanny placed the medicinal soup on the couch table.

"I understand, you can all go out now. Granny Lü, go and get me some candied fruit, this medicine is too bitter."

After sending everyone away, Ning Yu poured the tonic soup into the potted plant.

Let whoever wants to drink, why isn't he drinking?

With a creak, the palace door was opened from the outside. Ning Yu, who had just sat back down on the couch with the medicine bowl in her hand, froze and turned around to look, pretending to be nonchalant.

It was very hot inside the hall. She was only wearing a thin dress. She turned around with bright eyes and a captivating charm. She had fox-like eyes, but they were as clean as the thin snow on a branch.

Xie Xun wanted to mess with her again.

Let's be patient with her for now. After all, she was exhausted last night. Let her rest for a while.

He glanced at the medicine bowl on the table. "Finished drinking it?"

Ning Yu had just hummed in response when Xie Xun came over, leaned over, pulled her up, and then lay back on the soft couch, placing her on his lap.

She looked up and met his face.

"Why has Your Majesty returned?"

Xie Xun looked at her lips, which were clean and free of lip rouge, like peach blossoms in March. His throat bobbed slightly. "Am I in your way since I came back?"

Ning Yu felt she couldn't talk to him; he was incredibly annoying.