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

After resting in the new emperor's bedchamber for several days, Ruan Xianrong finally regained her strength.

He never missed a single day of taking his two bowls of medicine.

The red paper was used to place the medicine bowl, and the rich aroma of medicine instantly filled the air.

She frowned, her stomach churning.

"Tell me the truth, what exactly is this thing?"

Hongjian lowered her head even further, hesitated and struggled for a moment, and then said in a very low voice, "Reporting to Miss, this is indeed a nourishing soup. It was carefully prepared by the Imperial Medical Bureau and uses only the mildest and most nourishing medicinal herbs. It is not a potent medicine."

Ruan Xianrong's face turned black.

It's not even as good as a potent medicine.

Hongjian lowered her head, not daring to speak.

Ever since the Emperor brought the young lady into the palace, she has never truly recovered; she is always listless and lacks energy.

The female physician came to see him last time and said that the young lady was too young and her body couldn't handle the daily sexual activity. She advised His Majesty to be careful and to avoid sexual intercourse as much as possible recently.

Who would have thought that His Majesty would have a female physician prescribe two bowls of tonic and a medicinal bath a day, and that would be enough...

The marks on the girl's body lingered, the old ones finally fading only to be replaced by new ones, it was almost never quiet.

She felt sorry for her.

"You don't need to send me this anymore, I don't drink it."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the culprit stepped into the hall and waved for Hongjian to leave.

Xie Chengyan brought her the medicine and coaxed her gently, "You're not feeling well, drink your medicine first."

Ruan Xianrong glared at him, her eyes filled with barely suppressed anger and grievance. "Who's responsible for my poor health?"

"You get all the benefits, but I suffer all the pain. This stuff is bitter and astringent, why don't you drink it yourself?"

Xie Chengyan patiently sat down, refusing to back down, and held the medicine bowl to her lips.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He raised his hand and knocked the bowl of medicine to the ground with a loud crash, spilling the medicine all over the floor.

The bowl fell to the ground with a thud, and he immediately regretted it.

He's a capricious and irrational man. She shouldn't have acted so impulsively. What if she really angered him? Would he hit her?

Without making a sound, she moved a little further away and called out "Red Paper".

"Hongjian, come in quickly, I need to get ready."

I called out several times, but no one answered.

She sat down at the dressing table and pretended to comb her hair. Before long, another figure appeared in the mirror.

Xie Chengyan silently stood behind her and took the comb from her hand.

"Why do you need someone else to do your hair and makeup? I'll take care of it for you."

As he spoke, he actually combed and styled her hair.

The bowl of medicine from earlier hasn't been cleaned up yet, but he's acting like nothing's wrong, doing her hair and makeup.

I simply tied her hair up and drew her eyebrows, just like she did with her rag dolls when she was little, letting her do whatever she wanted.

When applying rouge, take the reddest rouge from the table and dab it on the corner of her eye.

It's bizarre, truly bizarre.

Feeling inexplicably irritated, she pushed aside the cosmetics in front of her and was about to get up. "What I want is to do my makeup, not for you to do my makeup."

Xie Chengyan acted as if he hadn't heard her, and pressed her back into the chair with a gloomy expression. He pinched her chin and forced her to face the mirror.

"Look, the corner of your eye looks like a butterfly, isn't it pretty?"

"Looks good, my ass."

The red rouge on the corners of her eyes made it look as if she had been crying.

Don't think she doesn't know. Every time they do it, he likes to see her cry. If she doesn't cry, he'll torture her until she does.

"Don't you like this color?"

"It's alright, we can just choose another one."

She shoved him away. "Are you ever going to stop bothering me?"

He was stunned for a moment, and the next second, he pressed his palm against the back of her neck, pulled her in front of him, and showered her with kisses like a storm.

She even swallowed the last bit of rouge from the corner of her eye, making her eyes appear lighter, and asked with a smile, "Do you like it this time?"

Ruan Xianrong closed her eyes. "Crazy."

He leaned close to her lips, as if murmuring to himself, "You were afraid of me when we were little."

"I thought you were afraid of my identity, and that you would become closer to me once you got to know me better."

"You don't like writing, so I'll have Xie Chengli forge it for you; you don't like memorizing, so I'll have Gu Xingzhi stand behind me and remind you. I can ignore all of that."

"I can help you cover up the mess you made so you won't be blamed."

"I taught you to read and write, taught you manners and etiquette, and I've been your cousin for over ten years."

"But you won't even turn around and look."

He kissed away the tears at the corners of her eyes.

"Niannian, I gave you a chance to come to me, but you didn't."

"Not only do I not have one, I also want to marry someone else."

"If that's the case, then this is what you deserve."

"You should stay by my side, with all your heart and soul, and only me."

The person in the mirror had lingering redness around their eyes; the rouge had faded, but the corners of their eyes were even redder.

Rouge was applied to earlobes, neck, shoulders, and other inappropriate areas, resembling crushed peach blossoms in spring.

Xie Chengyan stared at her, quite pleased with his own skills in doing her hair and makeup.

Although she was being silly, at least she didn't take her medicine today, which gave her a day off.

After everyone left, she lay alone on the bed, lost in thought, not knowing what to do.

Xie Chengyan wouldn't let her leave, and news from the outside couldn't get in either. Was she really going to be trapped here and die?

She asked Hongjian, "Where have all the people from the Eastern Palace gone?"

Hongjian knew what she wanted to ask and replied, "You want to ask about Miss Miaoyin, don't you?"

"On the day the young lady entered the palace, Miss Miaoyin left the capital."

"What?"

"They said they went with that Miss Jiang."

"Did they say when they'd be back?"

Hongjian shook her head. "It should be soon. It's been quite a while since they left."

Well, even the last hope is gone.

She had originally thought that if she disappeared, Miaoyin would definitely look for her, and if she couldn't find her, she would ask Jiang Wantang for help.

Jiang Wantang has a lot of good stuff; he might be willing to help her out of respect for Miaoyin.

Now look what's happened, the roads are all blocked.

*

Inside the Hall of State Affairs, the former Empress, now the Empress Dowager, finally met her son.

"The Imperial Observatory has already set a date; the enthronement ceremony is just a few days away."

Xie Chengyan remained expressionless. "Mother, please speak frankly. I am well aware of the arrangements for the coronation ceremony."

She sighed, "How has Niannian been these past few days? Is she alright?"

"The Ruan family is in complete chaos now. We can't find anyone. Your uncle can't sleep a wink, and your aunt is seriously ill. When...when are you finally going to let them see you?"

"Mother, after the coronation ceremony, you will be the Empress Dowager. The inner palace will need your management. Please don't worry about my affairs."

"But... keeping her confined like this isn't a solution. You can't hide her away forever, can you?"

"If you really like it, you may make her empress, as you wish."

Xie Chengyan raised his eyes. "When did I say I wanted to make her Empress?"