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

Ruan Xianrong was not sleeping soundly, and she woke up as soon as Xie Chengyan came in.

The man didn't move; he simply sat on the edge of the bed, staring intently at her.

After an unknown amount of time, the person beside him finally left.

Her palms were sweating, and the thought of having a bottle of that medicine in her hand made her inexplicably nervous.

As soon as the person left, Jiang Wantang quietly crept in.

"Why are you here?"

"I was just worried about you, so I came to see if you succeeded."

Ruan Xianrong was actually worried. What if the medicine didn't work?

"Can you really guarantee that he'll fall in love with you after eating this?"

"Don't worry, how could my stuff be fake?"

That's hard to say.

The system she had in the book was the most useless system she had ever seen. Not only were the items disposable, but it also knew nothing.

In the book, Jiang Wantang only survives because of the female supporting character's halo.

She had bought an aphrodisiac from the system, confident that she could win over the male lead. However, the drug had expired, and not only did she fail to succeed, but it also caused Xie Chengyan to have an allergic reaction for several days, almost killing him.

She couldn't help but worry.

If Xie Chengyan eats it but it doesn't work, she'll be in real trouble.

An unreliable teammate is more unsettling than a powerful enemy.

"If I actually feed it to him, how will I notify you?"

"How about this, you set a date first, and I'll be waiting outside. Once it's done, just knock on the window three times, and I'll know."

"What if I accidentally take that medicine?"

"This medicine was specially prepared for Xie Chengyan; it won't cause any problems for others."

Ruan Xianrong was somewhat relieved, as long as there was no harm done.

Jiang Wantang dared not linger, and after settling the matter, she quickly left.

In the evening, Xie Chengyan returned early and did not bother her. Instead, he sat behind his desk and dealt with state affairs.

She didn't disturb them, and instead held a comic book, engrossed in reading it.

Today she officially entered the palace, but there was no ambiguity of a wedding night; instead, there was a sense of calm and indifference, like that of an old married couple.

With her hair down, she leaned her head upside down on the edge of the bed, crossed her legs, and flipped through a book without any regard for her image.

A voice suddenly came from the other end of the desk. Before she could turn her head, darkness fell over her. Xie Chengyan was standing next to her, looking down at her.

She pretended not to see it, and the man snatched the book from her hand.

They lifted her up and carried her into the bathtub.

When she came out again, she was limp and leaning against him.

Xie Chengyan wrapped her in a large nightgown, placed her on the bed, and began to dry her hair.

The movements weren't exactly gentle, but they didn't hurt her either.

She was sitting a little stiffly, and as soon as she moved, the person behind her put their arm around her and pulled her into their embrace.

"Don't move."

She wasn't sleepy at first, but the rubbing of her hair made her eyelids feel heavy.

Suddenly his chin tightened, and he was about to lean in, but he dodged.

Xie Chengyan did not immediately pounce on him.

He held her close, his eyes darker than the night outside the window, churning with emotions she couldn't decipher.

He held her earlobe with one hand, and with the other hand he slowly brushed aside a strand of hair from her cheek, his fingertips casually tracing her skin.

"Tired?"

Ruan Xianrong turned her head and mumbled an "Mmm".

His fingertips slowly traced her chin, his calloused fingers slipping inside her already thin bodice.

She tried to dodge, but her wrist was grabbed. "What are you dodging for?"

"Weren't you being very well-behaved in the pool just now?"

Ruan Xianrong's body stiffened further, and her ears burned intensely.

This pervert seems quite abstinent usually, but I never expected him to be such a repressed freak.

All I think about all day is this kind of thing; I'm not afraid of draining my body dry.

"It's getting late, time to sleep."

She nestled in his arms, "Your Majesty..."

"Call me by my name," he interrupted her.

Her clothes were slightly open, revealing a section of her fair and delicate collarbone, where red marks from the bathroom still remained.

She gasped for breath, instinctively trying to pull her clothes tighter, but he gently took her wrist and led her down.

Realizing what he was about to do, she immediately obeyed and called out, "Xie Chengyan!"

He was satisfied and chuckled softly. "What did you say to Shen Qinglian yesterday?"

She knew she would ask.

"Well, they didn't say anything."

"real?"

If you don't tell him, he'll get angry; if you do, he won't believe you.

Tired, destroy it.

Her tone was somewhat sharp, "Tell me in advance next time what you want to hear, and I'll definitely tell you."

He was silent for a moment, then whispered, "Niannian, you know what I want, so don't talk to other men, and don't smile at other people, okay?" He kissed her earlobe.

"Remember, you are mine, and no one else should covet you."

Forget about those irrelevant people and things.

Since reasoning with them doesn't work, I can only resort to feigning ignorance and innocence.

"If I behave, you won't lock me up anymore?"

"Of course, as long as you only have eyes for me and in your heart, I won't restrict you."

"So what constitutes obedience?"

She kissed him on the lips. "Like this?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the desire that had faded in his eyes resurfaced.

He bit her lip, his voice sticky, "You're tempting me."

Ruan Xianrong: ......

Is there nothing else in your brain besides this junk?

"Who tempted you? Didn't you say you were going to learn to be obedient?"

The hint of defiance in her tone actually pleased him.

Xie Chengyan chuckled softly, "You didn't imitate it well."

He pulled her down beneath him. "But... we can teach you slowly."

He didn't press Shen Qinglian any further; only suppressed breathing and the sound of bells from inside the bed curtains filled the hall.

The bell rang until midnight before finally stopping.

Ruan Xianrong was exhausted, but she still reached under her pillow and touched the small bottle. She couldn't delay any longer; she had to find an opportunity to get him to take it as soon as possible.

She had applied the ointment to her body today, but after going to the bathhouse, all the ointment was gone.

The next day, when she woke up, no one was beside her.

Hongjian came in to help her with her makeup and noticed a hairpin on the dressing table that looked somewhat familiar.

She picked it up and examined it for a while. There were cracks on the hairpin, which must have been glued back together after it was broken.

It turned out to be the hairpin that Xie Chengyan bought in Mingzhou.

"Does Your Highness wish to wear this today?" Hongjian asked.

"No, put it away. Just wear the simplest one."

"Yes."

Xie Chengyan did not confine her this time, and she was allowed to leave Hanzhang Palace, so she went to visit the Empress Dowager.

After leaving the Empress Dowager's Palace, the way back to Hanzhang Hall was through Yuxiu Garden. However, Hongjian kept saying that the earliest batch of plum blossoms in the garden in front of it had bloomed and the scenery was beautiful, so she went to admire the flowers.

It was fine once or twice, but after it happened a lot, she became suspicious.

"What's inside Yuxiu Garden that makes you so determined to lure me away?"

Hongjian's expression froze for a moment, then she immediately returned to normal.

"No, I just thought you must be bored in the palace, so I wanted to cheer you up."

Ruan Xianrong ignored her and continued along the same route.

Yuxiu Garden was where the noble ladies of various families lived during the selection of imperial concubines by the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The palace hasn't held a talent show for a long time, and Yuxiu Garden has been vacant. Today, as I passed by, I saw that it was full of people.