After being reborn, the aloof prime minister was once again forced by a tyrant.

The next morning, Gao An took a plate of osmanthus cake to Tingxuexuan.

The osmanthus cake was newly made by the imperial kitchen. Its golden surface was sprinkled with fine osmanthus honey, making it look exquisite.

Gao An bowed respectfully to him from the side, saying, "His Majesty said that the imperial physician has examined Consort Ning's injuries and that she is fine. Please do not worry, Prime Minister Xie. Consort Ning will not bother you again. In addition, His Majesty also said—in early spring, when the weather is still chilly, please keep the charcoal fire burning in Tingxue Pavilion. Please take care of yourself, Prime Minister Xie."

"understood."

After Gao An left, Xie Qinglan sat alone by the window, looking down at the plate of osmanthus cake.

The oil paper package that person brought back from the south of the city in my past life was still steaming when I opened it, and its eyes shone like a wolfhound begging for a reward.

Now that he has beaten Pei Yuning and Xiao Jingyuan, that person only sent a plate of cakes through a eunuch, without even showing his face.

He picked up a piece and took a bite. The imperial kitchen's cooking was indeed excellent. But he still put the remaining half back on the plate.

The next day, breakfast was different. Instead of the usual four dishes and soup served in the imperial kitchen, there were several dishes with extremely questionable appearances—the slices of meat were cut unevenly, some with edges charred black, and others still showing the pinkish color of raw meat in the middle; the greens were overcooked, lying wilted at the bottom of the plate, oozing dark green broth; even more suspicious was the bowl of soup next to it, with a layer of oil floating on the surface and a few grains of overcooked rice at the bottom.

The only thing worth looking at on the entire table was probably the plate of osmanthus cake—that was made by the imperial kitchen.

Xie Qinglan stared at the dishes on the table for a long time. In his past life, that person had never cooked for him. No—they had cooked once. After he was forcibly woken up for the first time, that person fed him a bowl of porridge. That porridge was definitely not from the imperial kitchen; it was terribly awful, and he still remembered the taste.

There seemed to be another bowl of noodles that looked terrible; he only took one bite and couldn't bring himself to eat a second.

Xie Qinglan picked up his chopsticks, took a barely passable slice of meat, and put it in his mouth. It was salty and bitter, and too tough to chew. He put down his chopsticks, his face turning cold.

He was never one to care about food or drink. In his previous life, he was imprisoned in Lan Yue Pavilion for three years, and he ate whatever the imperial kitchen sent him, never complaining even if it was unpalatable.

But as he stared at the charred, unevenly cooked dish, he felt something burning up inside his chest, inch by inch.

He beat his Consort Ning, and he humiliates him with this swill? He put his chopsticks on the table and turned all the dishes upside down into the food box.

That evening, the food delivered was even more outrageous—a fish with its scales not completely scraped off, the black membrane on its belly still intact, and when you poked it with chopsticks, half a bubble of fishy water gushed out.

Xie Qinglan hesitated for a moment, then took a bite and immediately closed the food box lid.

He stood at the doorway and said coldly to those outside, "If Your Majesty wishes to avenge Consort Ning, you may issue an edict to punish her. There is no need to humiliate her with this swill."

Xiao Jingyuan, who was hiding in the corner, heard these words.

He spent the entire afternoon tinkering in the imperial kitchen, scraping the fish scales three times without getting them clean, and even puncturing the gallbladder, splattering bile all over the cutting board. He wanted to make a new one, but the head chef of the imperial kitchen knelt down and begged him not to go into the kitchen again. Only then did he reluctantly put the damaged fish into a food box and have Gao An deliver it.

He didn't want to avenge Consort Ning. He just wanted to please her.

On the third day, Xiao Jingyuan did not cook any more dishes. He changed his approach—he ordered someone to send things to Tingxuexuan.

He opened the national treasury and moved all the valuable items inside to Tingxuexuan.

A luminous pearl, a jade cabbage, a jade Guanyin statue, a thousand-year-old ginseng… box after box of gold and silver jewelry was carried into Tingxue Pavilion, piled up like a small mountain. Xiao Jingyuan thought, surely there must be something Xie Qinglan likes; looking at these things will surely cheer her up.

He personally sorted through the treasures, hoping to pick out a few that Xie Qinglan might like. In the midst of the commotion, an inconspicuous brocade box fell from the shelf and rolled into a pile of jewels.

Xiao Jingyuan didn't notice, and waved his hand, instructing the guards to send everything to Tingxuexuan.

First came a box of jewelry: a box full of thumb-sized South Sea pearls, a jade ruyi carved from jadeite that was completely translucent, and a red coral tree that was half a person tall, shimmering in the sunlight.

The eunuchs carrying the boxes lined up in a row, attracting the attention of all the palace servants who peered out at them.

Xie Qinglan glanced at it once and then closed the lid of the box.

He recalled that in his previous life, the things Xiao Jingyuan had given him were also sent to Lan Yue Pavilion in a similar manner.

Xie Qinglan looked at the gold and silver treasures piled up throughout the hall and felt even more irritated.

He didn't care about these material possessions at all. What he wanted was never these things.

He waved his hand, signaling the palace servants to move all the items out. But just as they were moving the things, a brocade box fell out from the pile of jewels, crashed to the ground, and its lid opened.

A pure white jade dildo rolled out and landed at Xie Qinglan's feet.

Sunlight streamed through the window and shone on the jade pendant, giving it a warm, lustrous sheen. Exquisite orchid patterns were carved on it.

Xie Qinglan's pupils suddenly contracted.

He recognized the jade penis.

In his previous life, Xiao Jingyuan had used it on him. The man applied a cool ointment to the jade dildo, then placed it inside, saying something like, "Jade nourishes the body; if you keep it warm, it won't hurt so much in the future."

Those unbearable images flooded back like a tide—he was pinned to the bed, unable to move, and the person holding the jade dildo was slowly pushing it into his body, asking him, "Does it feel good?" He didn't answer, but just bit his lip in shame and buried his face in the blankets.

His face turned deathly pale instantly, and his whole body trembled.

He thought Xiao Jingyuan was sending these gold and silver jewels to curry favor with him, but he never expected that he would have included this item as well.

Is he reminding him or humiliating him?

It's a reminder to him—you're nothing but a plaything; it's telling him—in my eyes, you'll always be something that can be manipulated at will.

"Xiao Jingyuan—you bastard!"

Xie Qinglan gritted his teeth, trying his best to control his anger. He stopped looking at the jade dildo and the gold and silver jewels filling the hall, afraid that he would smash them all.

Outside the door, Xiao Jingyuan was about to go in to see if Xie Qinglan had anything she liked when he heard the angry curse from inside, which sounded like a sob. He stopped abruptly in his tracks.

He leaned against the wall and slowly slid down.

He didn't know what he had done wrong.

Cooking gets you called garbage, giving jewelry gets you called a jerk.

What exactly should he do to make Xie Qinglan happy?

Xiao Jingyuan sat outside Tingxuexuan all night.

As dawn broke, he finally remembered what Pei Yuning had said—Xie Qinglan liked swords.

He had been hesitant to give the sword to Xie Qinglan, fearing he might harm himself with it. But now, he truly had no other choice.

He got up and strode towards the secret room of the imperial study.

Inside the secret chamber hung a jet-black sword. Several jewels, like cold stars, were inlaid on its scabbard, and the hilt was carved with a wolf totem. This was the Northern Shuo's national treasure, the Cold Moon Sword. Legend had it that this sword could cut through iron like mud and sever a hair with a breath; it was the sword used by the founding emperor of Northern Shuo during his conquests.

Xiao Jingyuan took down the Cold Moon Sword and gently stroked its scabbard.

He had treasured this sword for many years, unwilling to let anyone else touch it. But if Xie Qinglan liked it, he would give it up, not just a sword, but the whole world.

He personally packed the Cold Moon Sword into a brocade box and had Gao An deliver it to Tingxue Pavilion.

"Tell the Prime Minister that this is a gift from me," Xiao Jingyuan said, his voice tinged with weariness. "Tell him... to keep it safe."

Gao An carefully walked into Tingxuexuan, holding the brocade box.

Xie Qinglan sat by the window, her back to him, her figure as thin as a leaf that could be blown away by the wind at any moment.

"Prime Minister, His Majesty has sent me to deliver something to you," Gao An said softly, placing the brocade box on the table.

Xie Qinglan did not turn around.

Gao An opened the brocade box, revealing the Cold Moon Sword inside. The sword was drawn an inch from its sheath, its cold light so sharp it hurt the eyes.

"This is the national treasure of my Northern Shu, the Cold Moon Sword. His Majesty said that the Prime Minister is skilled with a sword, and this sword is worthy of him."

Xie Qinglan finally turned her head slowly.

What was the meaning behind Xiao Jingyuan giving him this sword?

After he hit Pei Yuning, after he humiliated him with swill, after he insulted him with that thing.

Xie Qinglan suddenly laughed, a laugh filled with desolation and despair.

He got it.

This is an implication to him.

He locked him in the cold palace, ignoring him completely, and now he's given him a sword that can cut through iron like mud. What else could this be but driving him to suicide?

He wanted him to use this sword to end his life with dignity, so that he wouldn't be an eyesore if he lived any longer, and so that he wouldn't bully his Consort Ning anymore.

it is good.

What a fine Xiao Jingyuan.