The new emperor's first decree upon ascending the throne was to forcibly take his cousin as his

Today, after court, Xie Chengyan was once again kept behind by Emperor Chengxuan.

"The southern border has won a great victory this time. General Shen will be returning to the capital soon. Please give General Shen a proper welcome on my behalf."

"Yes."

"Also, it's time for you to get married. On the day of the welcoming banquet, the Zhao family's daughter will come to the palace. You should have a good chat with her."

Xie Chengyan did not respond.

Emperor Chengxuan's face darkened again. "Don't think I don't know. You've imprisoned several of the Zhao family's sons. You need to be careful in everything you do. If you offend the Zhao family, how will you ever marry their daughter?"

"Is Father certain that Zhao Xuelan is willing to marry me?"

"Why wouldn't you want to? That girl has had feelings for you since she was little, but you ignored her and only had eyes for that good-for-nothing Ruan Xianrong."

"My Crown Princess will only be Nian Nian. Father, it's best not to meddle in other people's business."

"Furthermore, the Duke of Rongguo has already returned to the capital. Father, you should still worry about Consort Jia."

Xie Chengyan turned around, then remembered something and asked, "I wonder if the imperial edict of marriage that our son asked you to write last time has been completed?"

Emperor Chengxuan became furious at the mention of this. "What imperial decree of marriage? Let me tell you, as long as I remain on this throne, you can forget about marrying that Ruan Xianrong!"

The person standing in the hall chuckled, "If Father Emperor won't write an imperial edict to bestow the marriage, then he can write an abdication edict. It's the same thing."

"you!"

Emperor Chengxuan's temples throbbed with anger. Was this how a son should talk to his father?

"Look at you, you're deliberately trying to anger me to death! I have more than one son, you're not the only one. I can depose you and appoint another crown prince!"

"If Father Emperor could have chosen another successor, he would have done so long ago. Why wait until now? After all, your favorite fourth brother does not concern himself with politics and devotes himself to Buddhism."

Emperor Chengxuan sat behind his desk, clearly able to look down upon his son, yet he was stumped by his son's question.

Xie Chengyan raised his eyes, looking less like father and son and more like adversaries meeting on a narrow path. He kept smiling, "Fourth brother is indeed clever. If he didn't believe in Buddhism..." He paused, "...his life would have been over long ago."

"So Father, you have no other choice."

Emperor Chengxuan was so angry he laughed. Listen to this! What kind of treasonous words are these?

"Do you really think I can't do anything to you?"

Xie Chengyan did not answer, and turned to leave the council hall.

A moment later, the sound of shattering cups and saucers came from inside the hall.

The person outside the hall subtly curled the corner of their lips, but did not stop walking.

Back at the East Palace, Miaoyin suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of Xie Chengyan, her eyes wide open as if she had mustered up immense courage.

But when she met the Crown Prince's cold gaze, her shoulders slumped and her lips pursed.

"What is it?"

The courage I had finally mustered vanished the moment those two words appeared.

She really wanted to ask if he was the one who made her father sick, but... she just didn't dare to ask.

"Prime Minister Ruan is fine; he'll recover after resting for a few more days."

Hearing this, Miaoyin finally breathed a sigh of relief, "Really?"

Well, the Crown Prince, always a man of his word, turned and ran off without saying a word.

Cao Shen chuckled, "This Miss Miaoyin has a carefree and romantic nature. Since she arrived, the Eastern Palace has become much more lively."

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a chill run through his body. The crown prince glanced at him, shivered, and fell silent.

Xie Chengyan sneered, "Just a pawn."

"Give the order: Prime Minister Ruan is seriously ill, and I must go to visit him."

"Yes."

Because the head of the Ruan family was seriously ill, not many people in the household were in high spirits, but when His Highness the Crown Prince arrived, no one dared to be negligent.

Fearing she might be impolite, Lady Sun quickly washed her face and changed her clothes to greet the emperor.

When Xie Chengyan came out of the main courtyard, he gently comforted Madam Sun for a few moments, then asked, "Why didn't I see my cousin today?"

Mrs. Sun wiped away her tears. "That child stayed up all night and just went back to sleep."

Xie Chengyan lowered his eyes. "I'll go see her."

Just as Madam Sun was about to refuse, he spoke again: "When I left the palace today, the Empress Dowager had a message for me to pass on to Niannian."

Hearing that the Empress had something to say, Lady Sun had no choice but to have someone take him there.

Just as Yinque had finished serving Ruan Xianrong and she fell asleep, the Crown Prince walked in. Before she could even bow, Xie Chengyan raised his hand and said, "No need for formalities."

"Where's Niannian?"

"Your Highness, the young lady has fallen asleep."

Yinque hurriedly served him tea and stood aside.

Cao Shen, ever the smooth talker, beckoned to Yinque, "When I came today, Miss Miaoyin said she wanted some of our family's pastries and asked me to bring some back to the palace. I wonder..."

Yinque understood. "I wonder which dessert Miss Miaoyin would like to eat? I'll fetch it right away."

"No need for that. Just take me to the kitchen and bring some extra."

Yinque hesitated, glancing inside. The girl was still asleep; what if she woke up and needed to find her?

Cao Shen smiled kindly, "Don't worry, Miss Ruan just fell asleep and won't wake up for a while. His Highness is still here, so everything will be fine."

Yinque hesitated for a long time before nodding, "Then please come with me, sir."

When the Crown Prince arrived, the other servants in the courtyard dared not move, as they were surrounded by people from the Eastern Palace.

Xie Chengyan got up and went into the room, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently stroked her cheek with his fingers.

He had been holding back from seeing her for the past few days, but the touch on his fingertips at this moment easily shattered all his self-control.

His movements were gentle, as if he were afraid of breaking a precious treasure, but his eyes were surging with an almost greedy heat.

Perhaps because they hadn't slept all night and were too tired, the person on the bed only frowned slightly and didn't wake up.

"Niannian, you're still young and don't understand what love is, which is why you were seduced by other men, right?"

He muttered to himself, his fingertips leaving his cheek, tracing his earlobe, grinding against the side of his neck, and slowly stopping below his collarbone.

He leaned down and gently kissed her lips, lingering and licking them.

It was just a fleeting taste, but the moment their lips touched, reason teetered on the brink of collapse.

Before I could leave, I met a pair of misty, wet eyes.

Just as Ruan Xianrong opened her mouth to say something, a hand covered her eyes, taking the opportunity to invade.

"Hmm..."

Ruan Xianrong tried to push the person away, but her hands were restrained and pinned above her head.

My body felt limp and weak; I wanted to struggle but couldn't move, and I couldn't see who was in front of me.

Only when the person on top of her stopped in the crook of her neck did she finally manage to speak, "Let go..."

The voice that came out was sweet and soft; it wasn't a rejection, but rather an invitation.

"Who...who are you?"

The man was breathing heavily, burying his face in front of her and refusing to leave.

Finally, I only smelled a strange fragrance and fell asleep again.

Xie Chengyan chuckled, his lips moist and dark red, as if they had just been soaked in wine and eaten juicy cherries. The usually upright and honest man now had bloodshot eyes and a more bewitching look.

The sound of fabric rubbing together came from inside the bed curtains, mixed with suppressed and restrained breathing. The sachet hanging above trembled slightly, and its fragrance wafted out, decadent and alluring.

The commotion inside the room ended abruptly with a low groan.

Xie Chengyan, his face filled with infatuation, stroked the girl's face and whispered in her ear, "Niannian, I'm giving you one last chance, so please don't disappoint me..."