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

【The Emperor and Empress's Sweet Daily Life 1】

Part 1: A Child's Status Rises Due to His Mother's

—

When Xiao Hongheng was five years old, he went to the Imperial Academy to study with his older brothers.

He was a precocious child, mischievous yet extremely intelligent.

He knew from a young age that his mother was the most honored empress in the harem, and his father always doted on her. He not only stayed at Fengyi Palace almost every day, but also showed her all kinds of favoritism. He was no match for his mother in any way.

Relying on this unparalleled favor, Xiao Hongheng gradually became arrogant and acted with increasing recklessness.

The other young masters avoided him, except for Wen Yu'an, the youngest son of the Imperial Censor. The two were about the same age and both had lively personalities, so they quickly became friends.

They would often sneak into the backyard to steal bird eggs when the teacher wasn't looking, or steal dried flowers drying under the eaves, crush them, and scatter them on the shoulders of passing pageboys, causing everyone to chase after them; or they would secretly hide other people's inkstones and textbooks, watching him frantically search the table, the two of them covering their mouths and giggling...

But for some reason, the two of them had a fight while playing around that day.

Wen Yu'an was engrossed in playing with the small bamboo top when Xiao Hongheng came over to take a look. "Let me play with it."

Wen Yu'an shook his head: "My father made this for me, and I haven't had enough fun with it yet."

Xiao Hongheng tried to snatch it, but accidentally dropped the top and broke it.

Wen Yu'an glared at him: "Fourth Prince, you've gone too far!"

Apart from his father and mother, no one else dared to reprimand him like that. Xiao Hongheng was both angry and embarrassed. He pounced on Wen Yu'an and bit his forearm hard, drawing blood instantly.

Wen Yu'an cried out in pain, and the noise attracted the teacher.

Seeing this, the teacher quickly pulled Xiao Hongheng away, saying, "Fourth Prince, how can you hurt someone when you're classmates?"

Xiao Hongheng broke free from the teacher's hand, his neck stiff, and said, "I, the prince, can do whatever I want. It's none of your business. He deserves it."

The child's arrogance, mixed with anger, made him unwilling to back down in the slightest.

The scholar was so angry that his beard trembled, and he immediately sent someone to report the matter to the Emperor and Empress.

Song Shuangning ordered someone to bring Xiao Hongheng back to Fengyi Palace.

She stood in the hall, holding a ruler, demanding, "Why did you hurt someone? And why did you bite Young Master Wen?"

Xiao Hongheng stiffened his neck, puffed out his cheeks, and mumbled after a long pause, "Your subject wanted to play with Wen Yu'an's little spinning top, but he wouldn't give it to you, so the top accidentally broke."

Song Shuangning took a deep breath. "It's just a spinning top. You pushed him and even bit him until he bled. Have you completely forgotten everything I taught you?"

Xiao Hongheng raised his eyes, his expression a mix of childish stubbornness and arrogance: "But Mother, I am a prince, you are the Empress, and Father loves you the most. So what if I bit him? He was the one who refused to lend me his things to play with first; he deserved it!"

The veins on Song Shuangning's hand, which was holding the ruler, were faintly bulging.

She originally thought that Xiao Hongheng was just a child at heart, a little mischievous and serious, which were minor things that could be managed.

But when I heard him say such outrageous things, I realized that things had gone beyond being just being naughty.

He used the royal honor as a means to bully others, and regarded his mother's position and his father's favor as a means to act lawlessly.

"Xiao Hongheng!"

Xiao Hongheng trembled. His mother would only call him by his full name when she was extremely angry.

"Your mother originally thought you were just young, but you've used your princely status as a weapon to hurt others. Today you bit someone with a spinning top, so will you do whatever you want tomorrow just because you're a prince?"

It doesn't matter if a child is not particularly bright or even a little slow-witted, but they must have a righteous heart and upright character.

Song Shuangning hopes that her son will grow up to be a person of upright character and good conduct.

"Go apologize to Wen Yu'an tomorrow, or don't blame the Empress Dowager for being impolite."

Xiao Hongheng lowered his head, tears of stubbornness streaming down his face, but he still refused to admit his mistake.

After holding back for a long time, he suddenly said with tears in his eyes, "My mother doesn't love me at all. I don't want you to be my mother. You can be Wen Yu'an's mother instead."

"What did you say?"

Xiao Yan had already appeared there at some point, his face ashen.

He glanced at Xiao Hongheng, whose eyes were red from crying, and without saying a word, strode forward, took the ruler from Song Shuangning's hand, grabbed Xiao Hongheng's collar, and lifted him up.

"Ah! Father, let me go!" Xiao Hongheng was caught off guard and struggled.

Xiao Yan said, "Ningning, don't worry about this. I'll teach this rebellious son myself."

After saying this, he picked up his crying son and strode to the side hall, closing the door heavily behind him.

Side hall.

Xiao Hongheng was thrown to the ground by his father, the emperor.

His father had been strict with him since childhood, and Xiao Hongheng's stubbornness had long been overwhelmed by fear. Clutching the corner of his father's robe, he choked out, "Father, I know I was wrong. I will apologize to Wen Yu'an tomorrow."

Xiao Yan said in a deep voice, "Is your only mistake breaking the top and biting someone?"

Xiao Hongheng stammered, unable to utter a word.

Xiao Yan pressed further, "Are you admitting your mistake now because you fear my punishment, or do you truly realize your error?"

At this question, Xiao Hongheng's cheeks turned bright red.

Xiao Yan sighed, put his hands behind his back, and said, "Heng'er, do you think this throne and your status as a member of the royal family are something you can rely on to act recklessly? What is the royal family? The royal family is not a privilege that is above the rules. It is a model that all people admire and a foundation for stability."

"As a son of the royal family, you should be more considerate, reasonable, and law-abiding. Even the sons of ordinary families know the principle of 'Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you,' yet you, as a prince, do not understand the principle of 'benevolence and love for others.' As the old saying goes, 'Princes are subject to the same laws as commoners.' No matter how noble your status is, there is no reason for you to harm others without being punished."

Xiao Hongheng listened in a daze, tears silently streaming down his face.

"Father, I know I was wrong."

Xiao Yan stared at him, still stern: "You made another mistake. You shouldn't have said something like that about making your mother become Wen Yu'an's mother."

"You have no idea how much suffering your mother endured to give birth to you."

Xiao Hongheng looked up, his face still wet with tears, filled with confusion.

Xiao Yan's voice choked slightly, "That day, your mother had a difficult childbirth and almost lost her life. Every time I think back to that day, I am still filled with lingering fear."

Then, he said with great solemnity, "Xiao Hongheng, listen carefully to me."

"If it weren't for your mother's insistence that day, you wouldn't exist."

Xiao Hongheng could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down his face as he cried, "Waaah, Father, I know... I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have made Mother angry, and I shouldn't have said those things."

Xiao Yan gently patted his head, "Besides apologizing to Wen Yu'an, you also need to apologize to your mother and tell her that you know you were wrong and that you will never hurt her again."

Xiao Hongheng nodded emphatically.

Song Shuangning was intently examining the daily expense statements on the table.

She trusted Xiao Yan to teach the children.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the hall.

Before she could even look up, a small figure bumped into her arms.

"Mother..."

"Your subject was wrong, your subject knows he was wrong."

Xiao Hongheng cried so hard his whole body trembled, and he hugged Song Shuangning tightly, just like when he was a child.

"Your subject shouldn't have bitten Wen Yu'an, shouldn't have bullied others by taking advantage of his status, and most importantly, shouldn't have said those hurtful things to you, waaaaaah!"

Song Shuangning gently patted his back, "Alright, alright, it's good that you know you were wrong."

It took her a while to calm Xiao Hongheng down.

The next day, at the Imperial College.

Xiao Hongheng walked up to Wen Yu'an with small steps, his head bowed low. "I was wrong yesterday. I shouldn't have taken your spinning top, and I shouldn't have bitten you. Father and Mother scolded me severely. I'm sorry."

He handed a new spinning top to Wen Yu'an, saying, "This is my favorite spinning top. I'm giving it to you. Can you please stop being angry?"

Wen Yu'an reached out and took it.

This means they've made up.

That's pretty much how children's world is. One moment they're arguing and blushing, and the next they can make up with a kind word or a small gift.

They argued openly and honestly, and made up just as frankly, without any hidden agendas.

That night, just as Xiao Yan was about to spend some time with Song Shuangning, Xiao Hongheng, holding a pillow, knocked on the door and said, "Mother, I want to sleep with you."

Xiao Yan: "..."

*

Part Two: I'm Thirty Now, Take It Easy

—

It's said that once a man is over thirty, he's practically sixty.

Xiao Yan is exactly thirty this year.

Song Shuangning didn't believe in the saying that a man over thirty is already sixty.

Can,

Last night, just once.

Emmm...

This is completely inconsistent with Xiao Yan's previous strength.

This forced Song Shuangning to pay attention to Xiao Yan's health.

When he had free time, Xiao Yan would return to Fengyi Palace to have dinner with Song Shuangning.

When busy, he would dine alone in the Hall of Diligent Governance.

Recently, he noticed that the meals in both the Phoenix Palace and the Hall of Diligent Governance had been changed to various highly nourishing foods, such as ginseng and black chicken soup, deer antler stewed with venison, and wolfberry stewed with oxtail...

A different meal every day.

At first, he thought it was Ningning's way of showing concern for his hard work day and night, and that she had made this special arrangement.

But after three days of this happening, I began to feel that something was "not right".

He asked Li Fuquan for the reason, and Li Fuquan replied: "Your Majesty, this was all personally ordered by the Empress. The Empress is worried about your health every day."

Xiao Yan simply nodded indifferently after hearing this, not taking it to heart.

Until that evening, when a bowl of dragon whip soup was served.

His face darkened and flushed. "Withdraw."

Li Fuquan blurted out, "Your Majesty, this is a token of the Empress's affection; please have a few bites."

Because of this statement, he received ten lashes.

Li Fuquan lay on the bed, filled with remorse, regretting his loose tongue.

He also felt wronged, as he had been observing the Emperor's health day and night.

The Emperor is indeed not as good as before...

That's fierce!

He wasn't wrong, TvT

How could the Emperor conceal his illness and refuse medical treatment?

Sitting on the dragon throne, Xiao Yan felt uncomfortable all over. He tugged at his collar, his anger rising. He slammed his hand on the table and strode away from the Hall of Diligent Governance, heading straight for the Phoenix Palace.

Inside the Phoenix Palace, Song Shuangning and Tao Banxia were chatting about how men become weaker after the age of thirty.

Tingyu rushed in, flustered: "Your Majesty, the Emperor is here."

Song Shuangning quickly composed herself and picked up a miscellaneous book from the table to read.

After Xiao Yan entered, the palace servants and eunuchs responded and withdrew.

Xiao Yan sat down next to Song Shuangning, his gaze sweeping over the book she was holding upside down. "Ningning has actually learned to read books upside down now."

Song Shuangning's heart skipped a beat, and she quietly straightened the book.

"Why has His Majesty arrived at this hour? Has he finished reviewing all the memorials?"

Xiao Yan gave a forced smile.

Song Shuangning felt a chill run down her spine.

"I have something more important than the memorials to discuss with the Empress."

Well, they've even started calling her Empress.

Xiao Yan has come to "punish" Xiao Yan for the excessive tonic soup he's been drinking for days.

Song Shuangning cleared her throat.

She leaned closer to Xiao Yan, adopting the demeanor of a virtuous wife: "Your Majesty, I am only thinking of you. How can this be considered settling accounts? Your Majesty attends court and governs every day, rising early and retiring late. I see it all and it pains me deeply."

She pretended to wipe the corner of her eye.

"These soups and dishes are all carefully prepared, and Your Majesty cannot refuse them."

Xiao Yan gave a dry laugh.

"So that's what the Empress thinks."

Song Shuangning blinked.

"Ah Yan, no matter what you become, I will stay with you."

As she spoke, she gently rubbed against Xiao Yan's chest.

Xiao Yan was so angry he laughed.

No matter what he becomes? What kind of talk is that!

What has he become?!

Xiao Yan gritted his teeth: "Then, I must prove myself."

Song Shuangning looked up, to prove herself?

Is it really going to work?

What if... what if...

Meeting Song Shuangning's suspicious gaze, Xiao Yan felt a pain in his chest from anger. Without saying a word, he grabbed her waist and pressed her hard onto the soft couch.

With a forced smile, he unbuckled his belt and then bound her wrists.

Song Shuangning: Why do I feel so excited?

But she said, "The Emperor is thirty, take it easy..."

Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Ningning, you'd better not say anything."

"No matter how much you beg for mercy today, I will not soften my heart."

Song Shuangning's heart was pounding.

Meeting his dark, cold eyes, which held a dangerous edge, she actually felt a little regretful.

Xiao Yan seems to really not need any more treatment.

She awkwardly tried to save face, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Actually..."

She had barely begun to speak when he silenced her with a kiss.

Xiao Yan's fingertips pinched her waist, and his low, husky voice whispered in her ear, "I've said it before, it's best for the Empress to speak less at this time."

……

……

The sky was getting dark.

The hall fell silent.

Song Shuangning lay on Xiao Yan's chest, feeling his strong heartbeat.

Right now, I have only one thought:

She's courting death.

Xiao Yan lowered his eyes: "Do I need any more treatment?"

Song Shuangning quickly shook her head.

Xiao Yan raised his hand and gently tucked the stray hairs that had fallen across her cheek behind her ear, then bit her lower lip.

Why do you think... I need to replenish...?

Song Shuangning blushed and said, "Then it's not as good as the Emperor's actions the past few nights..."

Xiao Yan suddenly realized.

He pinched Song Shuangning's face and said irritably, "That's because I feel sorry for you and think you're tired."

I felt sorry for her, but she misunderstood me and thought I was incapable.

"It seems Ningning isn't afraid of getting tired."

"From now on, I will not need to feel sorry for Ningning."

Song Shuangning's eyes widened slightly.

"!"

"Waaaaah, Ah Yan, I really know I was wrong."

[Exasperated - Yan]

Ning, who is both bad at games and loves to play.