Favored concubine deposed empress? I'll seize your throne and marry you to a powerful minister.

"Xiang, Mr. Xiangguo."

Ling Xianru leaned against the trunk, one long leg dangling down, a smile on her devilishly handsome face.

I have never seen him so unconcerned about his image.

However, without the official robes, he seemed to possess a more casual and handsome air.

Upon seeing his smile, Qiaoyu hurriedly looked away.

"Your Majesty has quite the arrogance," Ling Xianru said without even bowing, her words harsh: "What is this little beast worth, ten cities?"

Wei Rong covered the little phoenix's ears and retorted, "It understands what we say. Be careful it doesn't peck at the Prime Minister's eyes at night."

"Chirp chirp!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xuanfeng glared angrily at her master.

Add to that Wei Rong's dissatisfied eyes, and all four eyes had clearly defined whites, rolling around.

Ling Xianru sighed resignedly. He leaped down from the tree and flicked the little black phoenix on the head: "It's one thing for her to rely on her power, but what power do you rely on?"

What do you mean by "it's okay for the empress to abuse her power"?

Qiaoyu found the Prime Minister's words strange, but it turned out that the black phoenix was his pet.

So the Prime Minister is such a good painter.

But how did Your Majesty know that Xuanfeng was the Prime Minister?

Even though she's by his side every day, why does it feel like the Empress and the Prime Minister have become inexplicably familiar with each other?

No, it wasn't Shen Mingxiu and the Prime Minister...

Qiaoyu was confused; the Prime Minister didn't seem to want to make an enemy of her mistress.

Sure enough, Ling Xianru's words drew a glare from Wei Rong.

"Your Highness has come to see the cherries?" Ling Xianru took the initiative to lead the way. "I picked out the biggest and reddest one for Your Highness. Shall we go and take a look?"

The question was posed, yet it left no room for refusal.

Seeing him leave, Xuanfeng, who had been sulking just moments before, now flapped its wings, wanting to catch up with its master.

"He just called you a little beast, how can you be so spineless?"

The tall figure in front, who had been muttering to herself and the bird, paused and slowed down. When Wei Rong approached, she walked alongside her.

"After all, I raised it myself. Who will feed it worms if I don't take care of it?"

Wei Rong chuckled and pinched the phoenix's wing: "Little guy, tell me, who fed you the insects today?"

Qiaoyu: "..."

She followed behind, looking left and right, and the more she looked, the more something seemed wrong.

Before Wei Rong got married, she had seen a lot of the world with her, and they had done a lot of things in Yun Jing City.

I've also seen many ordinary people going out for leisure.

Among them are young couples walking down the street, leading their toddlers who are just learning to walk; this is how they behave when they have disagreements.

One sentence from the father, one sentence from the mother.

The three-year-old in the middle looked completely bewildered.

"I'm going crazy..."

Qiaoyu turned her back and slapped herself hard.

What is she thinking! The Prime Minister's beloved is currently in His Majesty's tent, and the Empress and the Prime Minister have always been at odds.

The crisp sound of the slap made Wei Rong turn around: "What's wrong, Qiaoyu?"

The Prime Minister also turned around, and his expression—why did it seem like he was annoyed at being disturbed?

Qiaoyu thought to herself, "I must have stayed up all night reading stories last night, and my mind is impaired today. Everything I see looks like a story."

She shook her head vigorously: "No, no, this servant—I'm swatting mosquitoes, there are so many mosquitoes in this forest."

As she finished speaking, she saw the Prime Minister give her a cryptic smile.

"..." Qiaoyu got goosebumps all over her body.

Fortunately, they had already approached the cherry tree, and Wei Rong's attention was drawn to it.

The small fruits on the branches grow in clusters, resembling blooming flowers from a distance.

Upon closer inspection, the orange-red fruits are quite adorable, and their aroma is enticing.

Ling Xianru wasn't lying; the fruit he brought to Wei Rong was larger and redder than the others, clearly juicy.

The little black phoenix was so hungry that Wei Rong didn't stop it from flapping its wings this time. It pecked open a bright red fruit and ate it with relish.

The pale yellow feathers were covered in red juice.

It was a simple scene, yet Wei Rong stared at it for a long time.

Ling Xianru glanced at her sideways, then after a moment raised her hand and plucked the ripest bunch of fruit from the top of her head, handing it to her: "Want to try some?"

The Prime Minister's hands were long and well-proportioned, with smooth and clean fingertips, and no calluses on his palms.

These cherries are nothing special; the fruits presented as tribute to the palace are all carefully selected from local areas and sent to the palace. Their appearance and taste are worlds apart from the wild cherries in front of me.

She wasn't someone with a strong appetite, nor did she like sour foods.

At that moment, as if possessed, he reached out and picked up a pearl from Ling Xianru's palm.

"Your Majesty—" Qiaoyu hurriedly tried to stop her, "Your food must be inspected by the Imperial Kitchen before you can eat it, these cherries—"

Before she could finish speaking, she was glanced at again by the Prime Minister.

That glance was utterly cold, like a sharp blade, sending a chill down Qiaoyu's spine.

The sun was only half-circle above the mountaintop, and the entire sky had turned orange. The lingering sunlight shone on Wei Rong's fingertips, and it was hard to tell whether her hands were more translucent or the fruit in her hands was more crystalline.

Wei Rong smiled faintly, her lips curving into a captivating arc: "If the Prime Minister intends to poison me here, I admire his audacity."

Qiaoyu dared not speak.

Wei Rong placed the cherry to her lips, took a gentle bite, and the pink juice moistened her lips.

Wei Rong's lips are pinkish. She never liked to wear lip rouge, but the cherry juice made them look like she had applied a layer of pink, glossy lip rouge.

But the next moment, those lips pursed up.

"..."

With Xiao Xuanfeng eating so happily and the tree bearing such good fruit, Wei Rong assumed the cherries must be more sweet than sour.

But—"Why is it so sour?"

She looked at Ling Xianru in disbelief, unable to swallow or spit out the fruit in her mouth, her brows furrowed in dismay.

Ling Xianru stared at her expression, her mischievous thoughts finally being satisfied.

He knew Wei Rong didn't like sour flavors. He had tasted these cherries before, and even the reddest ones were only about 40% sweet.

Wei Rong rarely showed her emotions; aside from being angry, he had never seen her do anything else.

So this is what it looks like when you're being teased: your brows furrow, your eyes slightly moist from the sting, and your full, cherry-red lips appear even more vibrant.

Her eyes glared at him as if she had a grudge against him.

Pitiful yet adorable.

That's really bad; they've completely enraged them.

Ling Xianru snapped her fingers and then reached out her hand to Wei Rong.

Then one could only see an excessively large hand, palm up, pressed against Wei Rong's lips.

The Prime Minister saw nothing wrong with it: "Spit it out."