He asked you to serve him in bed and become his concubine, how did you manage to win his heart and s

Mu Xiaoci dislikes stupid people.

To put it bluntly, I don't like brainless, stupid idiots.

The old ministers of the previous dynasty had grown old and their thinking had become incredibly outdated. They would always try to fob him off with so-called grand principles, forcing him to make constant choices. He had had enough of these arguments and threats.

The harem is his own territory. If a concubine is ignorant of the proper order and tries to coerce him like those other women, the outcome is usually not good.

Many women entered the palace after the New Year, but the clever ones didn't understand him, and those who understood his heart were even fewer.

There are a few clever ones, but they are too clever. They are always trying to get something out of him, and everything they do is purposeful. He is now even more tired of these things.

I thought Lan Meiren was different.

She is free-spirited, like a peony in full bloom, flamboyant and noble. Her innate temperament makes her impossible to dislike, and even if she is flamboyant and pretentious, it seems like she was born that way.

I had long heard that the Li family had a daughter who could play the zither beautifully at fourteen and was famous in the capital at fifteen.

At the tender age of sixteen, she entered the palace for the imperial concubine selection. He took a liking to her at first sight and made her Lady Lan.

The ranks of concubines in the imperial harem are all regulated. Although the rank of "Beauty" is not high, it is not low either. She is the only one who can directly enter the palace and be selected as a Beauty.

Mu Xiaoci admitted that he had some bias at the time, but now, looking back, stripped of some of the external factors, Li Ruolan seems to be no different from other women.

He was still hesitating whether he should stop there and go back to review the mountain of memorials.

Hesitating for a moment, he noticed the plum blossom cake that had just been placed down.

Such pastries were rare in the palace; they were more common among the common people. They were filled with plum blossom petals and were considered ordinary pastries, not worthy of being served in a refined setting.

At least in the palace, he had never seen it before.

The beauty lies in the carvings on it. Upon closer inspection, you can see that there are several techniques involved. It's just a few simple steps, yet it perfectly outlines the shape of the plum blossom. In addition, the external design is also well-made, making it look quite appetizing.

What exquisite pastries hasn't Mu Xiaoci seen?

Having grown up in the palace, he has never liked sweets and is particularly picky about them, so he can hardly stand them.

But he smelled a familiar fragrance, a faint scent of plum blossoms lingering at the tip of his nose. The clever thing was that it was so subtle, always faint, yet it whetted his appetite.

"Does the beauty like plum blossoms?"

His eyes were glued to the pattern on it, and he instinctively picked up a piece to examine it.

Li Ruolan disliked plum blossoms, finding them somewhat vulgar and unrefined. However, since the Emperor had mentioned them, she naturally had to go along with what the Emperor said.

"Of course I like it. Ling Han's integrity in blooming alone is what I admire, just like my love for Your Majesty. I know it's difficult, but I still do it regardless..."

She had learned her lesson and simply nestled gently in his arms, looking up at him.

Li Ruolan learned all her seductive skills from her mother. Her mother said that when a man starts a new topic, she must comply and respond, stop what she was doing, and act as if she is completely obedient to him.

All men in the world fall for this, Li Zhengrong does, and the Emperor must be no exception.

They are women, and men prefer to see them humble and submissive, treating them like heroes. Only in this way can they feel that you are obedient and that you need to be loved.

She would be willing to give anything to win the emperor's favor.

Even though she had just been planning to offer a kiss, she now had to stop and reconsider Mu Xiaoci's thoughts.

Some things can't be rushed.

No matter how much Li Ruolan longed for the other person's affection, she had to endure it now.

After all, the Emperor's sudden visit today was already a pleasant surprise. She should try her best to please him, to entice him to come every day and think of him every day, so that he would also leave a place for her in his heart.

There are countless women in the harem. What she needs to do now is to consolidate her position and, ideally, be promoted to a higher rank, becoming the mistress of a palace.

Without the Emperor's favor, Li Ruolan has suffered countless scornful looks from others, as well as the open and covert targeting from Consort Su.

She practically has "promotion" written all over her face now.

But desires cannot be outwardly expressed; they can only be hinted at in another way, trying to please as much as possible.

Little did he know, Mu Xiaoci was no longer there. Looking at the plum blossom cake and smelling its fragrance, he couldn't resist taking a bite.

It was completely different from any pastry I had ever eaten.

To be honest, the texture isn't soft and chewy, but the filling inside is rich in layers. You can taste the sweetness of the flower petals, as well as a soft and sweet aroma that leaves you wanting more.

He, who usually finds pastries too sweet after just one bite, couldn't resist having a few extra bites today.

The old nanny Gui hadn't left yet. With sharp eyes, she handed the Emperor some tea. She tested the temperature and found it to be just right before presenting it to him.

Before the supreme ruler, everyone adopted a humble and respectful posture, bowing their heads and trying their best to hide their existence.

Granny Gui did the same, but after seeing the signal Li Ruolan gave her, she wisely withdrew.

It was a rare opportunity for Li Ruolan to be alone with the Emperor, and even though she was with the familiar Granny Gui, she was still unhappy.

She had to admit that she had a strange possessiveness towards Mu Xiaoci, especially after Yunxi served him in bed last time. This possessiveness became even stronger, and she wished that he could only see her now and not see any other women.

This jealousy cannot cause harm, nor can it be touched.

After sending Granny Gui away, Li Ruolan personally served him tea, even bringing it to his lips, wanting to feed him the tea herself.

However, Mu Xiaoci disliked this behavior, so he took the tea and sipped it to moisten his throat.

The tea wasn't the strong tea he usually drank. Unexpectedly, the light tea paired with plum blossom cake allowed the fragrance of plum blossoms to permeate the air, making him feel warmer.

It's only October now, so it's not that cold, but it's still a bit chilly at night.

After drinking the tea, he felt much warmer, and the aroma was so enticing that he began to reminisce about his uncontrollable state that night.

When he was held hostage by a woman, he, who was usually calm and composed, found that his inner desires were out of control, and his actions and thoughts were being guided by her, and he was falling into her trap step by step.

It felt like drowning, yet also like ascending to heaven.

He had just begun to enjoy the warmth of being enveloped, but it was abruptly cut off, leaving him torn between love and hate, unable to control the situation.

Is this really Li Ruolan?

He didn't think so.

But every time he came here, he was guided in every way, making him unconsciously recall certain things in his mind.

It's like being gently tickled by a feather. You might not care at first, but at some point you feel an intense itch, only to find that you can't scratch or grasp it, and you become extremely anxious.

As an emperor, he absolutely could not allow such changes to occur around him, but every time he tried to straighten things out, he would find himself being tricked.

Who could it be...?

Mu Xiaoci glanced at the palace maid who had just brought the food up. She was an old woman, probably an older nanny in the palace. He wasn't that perverse.

It seems we can only investigate slowly.

The goal was to uncover this person with ulterior motives, investigate their background, and, more importantly, find out their purpose.

People who approach him usually have ulterior motives. Under normal circumstances, he won't actively investigate, but the other party will inevitably give themselves away.

But now he was so eager to know the other party's background that he became somewhat impatient.

Mu Xiaoci restrained himself by forcing him to eat a piece of pastry before letting go. He also took a couple of sips of tea before reverting to his initial cold and aloof demeanor.

"On the day of the banquet, I noticed that the beauty was not feeling well. I came today to check on her. Now that I see you have fully recovered and can even play the zither, you should be out of danger."

Mu Xiaoci was already a master at uttering these polite words, and what he was best at was patting his behind and leaving.

However, after only a few words, he already indicated that he was preparing to leave. "I still have official duties to attend to and must return to the Dragon Palace now. My beauty, please rest well. I will come to see you again in the future."

Seeing that Li Ruolan was starting to panic, and just as he was about to grab her, he added another sentence, subtly moving away to avoid her attempt to stop him.

The women in the imperial harem used every trick in the book when the emperor was about to leave.

Mu Xiaoci was already familiar with the departure process. As long as he used official business to shut them up, nine out of ten of them would not cause trouble.

There was only one exception: Consort Wan, who always complained of chest pain and insisted that he stay and wait for the imperial physician.

This is why Mu Xiaoci avoids Yaoguang Palace, always passing by but never entering.

I just didn't expect that Consort Su would arrange for Li Ruolan to be here later, which must mean that she already had hostility towards her before.

Now it's Mu Xiaoci who's troubled. He'll be leaving soon, and who knows, the one in the main hall might do something strange to stop him.

Having devised a plan in his mind, he also honestly lifted his foot, ready to leave.

Li Ruolan felt like crying. She didn't know what she had done wrong in taking care of him. She wanted to tug at Mu Xiaoci's clothes, but she was afraid of being disliked by him.

"Your Majesty, I will see you off. I hope Your Majesty will take care of your health and not overwork yourself."

That was all she could say. She stood up, straightened her clothes, concealed the pain in her heart, and followed behind Mu Xiaoci.

As she prepared to leave the palace, she was still unwilling to give up and asked one more question.

"Your Highness, it is late now. Shall I prepare some food and send it to the Dragon Palace?"

"No need, Richard will handle these matters. Besides, I don't have the habit of eating late-night snacks."

He refused decisively, and didn't even look up when he answered.

Richard and Yunxi were standing outside. When they saw Mu Xiaoci come out, Richard immediately went behind him and added to his comments after he finished speaking.

"His Majesty is not used to eating at night, which causes indigestion and difficulty falling asleep, and also affects his attendance at court the next day. We are grateful for Your Majesty's concern."

As expected of the Grand Commander, he spoke with perfect tact. Noticing Li Ruolan's emotional decline, he quickly added a comforting word for Mu Xiaoci.

And what about Mu Xiaoci?

The person had already reached the outside of the palace, ready to be carried in a sedan chair.

Consort Wan still wanted to cause trouble today, making her palace maid wait outside. Richard was prepared and had already sent someone to send her away, which is why she wasn't left behind.

But looking at the emperor's expressionless face, he felt that something was off today.

"Your Majesty, was Consort Lan's service inadequate today? Shall we go and rest at the other consorts' quarters?"