That Imperial Concubine is both wicked and cunning! Your Majesty, wake up!

After sleeping for half an hour, Tingyu woke her up. "Your Highness, Aunt Qingdai from the Empress's side has arrived."

Song Shuangning immediately regained her senses and sat up, supporting her dizzy head.

Qingdai: "This servant greets Consort Song."

Song Shuangning looked at the expensive tonics laid out on the table, including ginseng, bird's nest, and donkey-hide gelatin...

"This servant is here on Her Majesty the Empress's orders to bring these tonics. In addition, Her Majesty the Empress has proposed to the Emperor that you be promoted to the rank of Consort. Her Majesty also instructed this servant to tell you that Her Majesty will always remember your kindness in saving the princess today, and that if you need anything in the future, you can simply send someone to Fengyi Palace to report to her."

beautiful?

The Empress was indeed extremely generous in her dealings with people.

She also benefited from this.

A faint smile played on Song Shuangning's lips, and her eyes sparkled with a gentle light.

"Please convey to Her Majesty the Empress that I am very grateful for Your Majesty's kindness. I will certainly live up to Your Majesty's love and expectations."

Qingdai smiled slightly. Song Meiren's words were not meant to flatter, but rather to subtly refuse the Empress.

"This servant will not disturb you any longer, Your Highness. This servant will take her leave."

"Qiuhe, see my aunt off for me."

Qiu He was lost in thought and did not hear Song Shuangning's words.

Song Shuangning frowned, emphasizing her words: "Qiuhe?"

Qiuhe snapped out of her daze: "My lady."

"Deliver this to Aunt Qingdai for me."

Qiu He slightly bent her knees: "Yes."

Only Song Shuangning and Tingyu remained in the bedchamber.

Lying on the bed, Song Shuangning lazily asked, "Any results on the matter I asked you to keep an eye on?"

Tingyu whispered, "This servant has been keeping an eye on things. There's a maid named Ying'er outside the palace who is well-behaved and hasn't had any private contact with anyone."

Song Shuangning raised an eyebrow: "Keep an eye on it."

As the sun dipped westward, the sky was tinged with a soft orange-pink hue, the gentle light elongating the shadows cast by the palace walls.

At the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM), in the Qin Zheng Hall.

Li Fuquan placed a steaming bowl of tea on the imperial desk and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the matter you asked me to investigate has yielded results."

Xiao Yan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and gestured for him to continue.

Li Fuquan said, "The eldest princess falling into the water was an accident, and Consort Song's appearance by the Weeping Willow Lake was also a coincidence. At that time, Consort Song and Lady Zhang were taking a walk together when they happened to run into Consort Rong..."

The emperor knew what happened next.

"Understood." Xiao Yan only uttered these three words.

The rising steam from the tea blurred the Emperor's features. Li Fuquan felt uneasy; the Emperor seemed unhappy... but he also seemed to favor Consort Song...

Li Fuquan mustered his courage and said, "Why don't you go and see Consort Song, Your Majesty?"

Xiao Yan put down his teacup and gave him a cold glance: "What are you going to do?"

Feeling rejected?

She didn't want to serve the emperor in bed, nor did she want his favor. All she wanted was a peaceful and tranquil life. To her, the emperor's favor was a hot potato, or perhaps a death warrant.

Oh.

He was just someone who was disliked in the past.

However, half an hour later, Xiao Yan still set off...

Why?

Xiao Yan said: She saved Wan'er, so it's only right that I go and see her. It's not about favoritism; it's about gratitude.

Yes, that's right.

When he arrived at the Summer Palace, he deliberately waived the formality and slowly approached, only to find that the Hidden Winter Pavilion was unusually quiet.

A palace maid rushed over to pay her respects: "This servant greets Your Majesty."

Xiao Yan raised his hand. "Where is Consort Song?"

"Your Majesty, Consort Song is still asleep..."

Xiao Yan went straight into the hall, where only a single candle was lit, its dim light illuminating the quietude of the space. A woman lay on the bed, her breathing even and deep, her face serene and peaceful in sleep.

Xiao Yan sat by the bed, his gaze fixed on the sleeping woman's face. A stray strand of hair on her face was quite an eyesore, so Xiao Yan raised his hand and gently brushed it away.

Her skin is very smooth.

Xiao Yan felt a pang of pity, placed his palm against her face, and gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips. In her sleep, she seemed to feel the warmth and unconsciously rubbed against his palm.

Xiao Yan immediately withdrew his hand.

He wouldn't force a woman who sees his affection as a hot potato; he doesn't have that kind of fetish.

But the next moment, he tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on the woman's serene face.

Song Shuangning couldn't keep up the act any longer, and her eyelashes trembled.

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty, what are you doing here?" Song Shuangning was stunned for a moment when she opened her eyes.

Xiao Yan coughed lightly: "You saved Wan'er, so it is only right that I come to see you."

She thought Song Shuangning was going to say something like "Your favor is a burden" again, but she didn't. Instead, a faint smile appeared on Song Shuangning's lips, and she said in a soft voice, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"It's getting late, I'll have dinner with you."

This is a declarative sentence, and Song Shuangning would naturally not refuse.

The imperial kitchen delivered dinner, which included braised venison, sweet and sour pork ribs, braised pork hock, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, angelica and black chicken paste, candied fruit, and more—a total of forty-eight dishes.

Song Shuangning's eyes lit up.

In modern times, even major gatherings have never featured forty-eight dishes.

After sitting down, Xiao Yan glanced at Song Shuangning standing to the side and said without thinking, "Sit down with me."

Song Shuangning was not shy and obediently sat down next to Xiao Yan after thanking him.

Each dish must be eaten by the emperor before one can take a bite, and only three bites are allowed per person.

Song Shuangning was also hungry, and stared longingly at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs, and Song Shuangning paused for a moment before also picking up a piece. Seeing her eat so leisurely and unpretentiously, Xiao Yan felt very comfortable. He rarely dined with his concubines because they were sometimes too affected.

Whatever Xiao Yan picked up, Song Shuangning would pick up the same thing. But this time, when Xiao Yan picked up a piece of carrot, Song Shuangning silently put down her silver chopsticks.

As Xiao Yan watched her eat the meat on her plate, he suddenly felt mischievous and deliberately picked up a piece of carrot and placed it on her jade plate.

Sure enough, I saw her brow furrow slightly.

The Emperor's gift of food had to be eaten. After thanking him, Song Shuangning reluctantly picked up a carrot and put it in her mouth, her little face scrunched up like a bitter gourd.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan chuckled: "Don't you like carrots?"

Song Shuangning replied softly, "I have never liked the taste of carrots since I was a child."

When the other concubines dined with him, how could they dare to show even the slightest pickiness about food?

Her authenticity surprised Xiao Yan, but also made him feel comfortable.

Xiao Yan suddenly coughed a few times, his voice was a little dry, as if he was a little feverish.

Song Shuangning didn't say much, but secretly kept it in mind.

After dinner, Xiao Yan left and ran into Consort Song outside.

Consort Song tugged at Xiao Yan's sleeve and said coquettishly, "Your Majesty hasn't come to see me in so long."

Xiao Yan said, "I have other matters to attend to before the Emperor, let's do it another day."

As soon as the Emperor left, Consort Song's face darkened instantly.

Despite having business to attend to at court, he still managed to find time to have dinner with Song Shuangning!