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

The bed curtains were hung on the hooks of the mythical bird on both sides. When Xie Xun came out of the washroom, Ning Yu was still fast asleep.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. The lady is prone to drowsiness due to her pregnancy. The imperial physician has already prepared the medicine, and she can drink it when she wakes up," the head maid said perceptively.

"Everyone, go out and let her sleep a little longer."

It was already dawn. Xie Xun looked at the woman sleeping soundly, his throat tightening as he walked to the table, poured himself a cup of cold tea, and drank it down, suppressing the lust surging within him.

Suddenly, a hand painted with nail polish grabbed his sleeve. "Your Majesty~"

The head maid had already left with her entourage. This palace maid was the last to leave. Taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, she handed the fox cat she was holding to the maid in front of her and stayed inside the hall herself.

Xie Xun glanced at her sideways and saw an unfamiliar palace maid. She didn't look like a woman from the Great Xia Dynasty, but rather like a woman from the Donghu Dynasty, with heterochromatic eyes.

This woman was presented to the new emperor by the Donghu envoy. She had been staying in the palace and had to make some connections before she was able to enter the Changxin Palace and meet His Majesty.

The emperor of the Great Xia was such a young man, much more handsome than the men of the Donghu, though his eyes looked somewhat frightening.

She suppressed her fear and stared intently at the emperor's handsome yet aloof face, seemingly oblivious to the danger. "Your Majesty, I am pregnant and cannot satisfy you. I can serve you well."

Xie Xun laughed. He'd had plenty of women offering themselves to him before, but this was the first time a woman had used this excuse to annoy him. He wasn't so desperate that he'd be interested in anything.

"If Your Majesty is worried that the Lady might see this, this servant may go to the side hall to serve you."

"Your mistress is still asleep on the bed, and you're already seducing her man like this?"

His calm and indifferent voice carried a hint of barely perceptible mockery, which the palace maid did not notice, her slender hands climbing up his sleeve.

The next moment, half of her face was suddenly grabbed and lifted up. Before she could say anything, she was dragged out of the inner hall.

It hurts, it hurts so much. My cheeks feel like they're being pinched raw. My nose and mouth are blocked, and I'm choking and sobbing. My legs are weakly struggling on the ground.

With two thuds, she was thrown heavily into the courtyard outside the palace. The sound of bones breaking echoed, and she immediately collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood, unable to stand up again.

The servants outside the hall were terrified by what they saw and immediately knelt down on the ground, especially the head maid, whose head was pressed tightly to the ground and whose body was trembling like a leaf.

"Gag him and execute him with a cane." Xie Xun stood on the steps, took the damp handkerchief handed to him by Qingfeng, wiped his hands clean, and spoke calmly.

The eunuchs below immediately ordered the guards to lift the person up, cover their mouth with a handkerchief, and take them out of Changxin Palace.

When the indifferent gaze fell upon her, the head maid immediately slapped herself repeatedly in the face, pleading, "Your Majesty, spare me! It was this old servant's fault for failing to discipline her properly. I beg Your Majesty for mercy!"

If I had known, I wouldn't have listened to the head eunuch and transferred her to serve the emperor. Now, she's doomed; she probably won't be able to save her life either.

"Give me the punishment of caning; if I survive, I will spare my life."

The guards holding long sticks immediately dragged the head maid to her feet, who was so frightened that she hurriedly begged Ning Yu in the inner hall for mercy.

But soon, the guards covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief and stuffed it in to gag her.

Xie Xun looked at his hands, then threw the handkerchief away in disgust. "Since the Grand Eunuch of the Ceremonial Affairs Department likes receiving gifts so much, I will also reward him with one."

Qingfeng immediately understood his master's unspoken meaning, "I will go and do it."

Xie Xun went to the side hall next door and carefully washed his hands. When he came out, he saw Ning Yu standing at the entrance of the hall. As if she saw him, she immediately turned her body away.

He walked over. "What are you hiding for?"

Ning Yu didn't know what mistake her aunt had made. She had just woken up when she heard her aunt calling for her to beg for mercy. She rushed out to see what was going on and was shocked to see blood on the ground. What had happened?

He originally wanted to tell the group to stop, but when he saw Xie Xun, he was too scared to say anything.

Seeing him approach, she hesitated for a moment, then suppressed her emotions and stepped forward with a smile, taking his arm. "Auntie is usually very cautious, how did you offend His Majesty? I'm pregnant and don't want to see blood."

The affairs of the harem should be her responsibility, and upon hearing this, Xie Xun lifted her up and hugged her, saying, "Whatever you say."

Ning Yu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly called out, "Alright, take Auntie downstairs to get treatment first."

Xie Xun was on his way to court. He glanced at her thinly dressed body and led her into the hall.

The palace servants immediately filed in, bringing in the prepared toiletries and attending to the washing and grooming needs.

After finishing her work, Xie Xun had already left. Ning Yu sat on a heated stool eating her meal and asked the palace servants next to her about what had happened that morning.

Hearing that a palace servant had been beaten to death, she quickly got up to find Yunshu and saw him sweeping in the courtyard, which immediately put her at ease.

Yun Shu also saw her and slipped in through the window when no one was looking.

All the palace servants had left the hall, and only Ning Yu stood in front of the table waiting for him to come in.

"The new emperor is ruthless; he killed someone without hesitation."

"Why did the palace maid touch his brow?"

Yun Shu said, "I heard that she was trying to seduce His Majesty and climb the social ladder. I don't know the details. I hid in the living quarters at the time, afraid of being seen by the new emperor."

"Princess Consort, you are now free to enter and leave Changxin Palace. I will go and contact the people above you."

Without needing to communicate via cloud letters, after receiving the letter from Beihai, the forces hidden in Kyoto were all mobilized.

Yun Shu received the instructions from his superiors that evening, telling him to take his wife to the path behind the treasure pavilion three days later, where someone would be waiting.

When Ning Yu heard that the time was three days later, she understood the deeper meaning behind those people's words.

In three days, it will be the prayer ceremony. Since the new emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty ascended the throne and launched numerous campaigns in the south and north, the Imperial Observatory has calculated an auspicious day. This year's prayer ceremony will be more grand than in previous years, and Xie Xun will be very busy.

"Someone's coming."

Ning Yu was startled. Turning around, she saw Yun Shu hurriedly climbing out the window and running outside. She cleared her throat and went to the outer hall to greet him.

"Your Majesty has returned so early."

As soon as Xie Xun stepped into the palace, he saw her push the door open and walk out, a smile on her face.

He squinted at the inner hall, but then thought, this is the palace, what can she do?

With her arm wrapped around his, Xie Xun snapped out of his thoughts, looked down at her, and said, "Your Majesty, let's go for a walk together. I've been cooped up in the palace all day."