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

Xiao Yan's eyes were firm: "Ningning, the Empress's position is yours if you wish."

Zheng Shuangning remained silent.

"..."

She was at her wit's end.

She didn't know how long he held her before Xiao Yan finally let go of her, and Zheng Shuangning breathed a sigh of relief.

Xiao Yan gently removed the jewels from her hair.

He was patient and meticulous, afraid of hurting her.

Looking at that face so close to hers, Zheng Shuangning felt utterly helpless. Her red lips parted slightly, "I don't want to go to the palace. What can you do to me?"

Xiao Yan paused, looked down into her eyes, and said, "Ningning will agree."

Zheng Shuangning was puzzled, but the next moment she heard him say, "Ningning won't just stand by and watch hundreds of lives from the Zheng and Lou families disappear overnight, right?"

Zheng Shuangning looked up in disbelief, glaring at him hatefully.

How could he say such cruel things in such a nonchalant tone?

This involves hundreds of lives.

tyrant!

Cruel and ruthless!

Xiao Yan casually tossed the hairpin aside, looked down at her intently, and chuckled softly, "Rumoring me in your heart?"

Ningning's eyes widened, and her lips curled up slightly.

So cute!

Zheng Shuangning did not answer him; she did not want to talk to this tyrant.

Xiao Yan gently patted her head, "Are you feeling better? The wedding is so complicated, and you have to wear such heavy jewelry all day."

"Don't worry, we'll keep our wedding simple from now on. We won't want you to have to go through all that trouble."

Who wants to marry him? Shameless lecher.

Zheng Shuangning struggled to escape his embrace, her clear eyes filled with a hint of anger.

Xiao Yan easily regained control of her slender wrist.

His voice was cold and slightly hoarse as he solemnly declared, "Very well. No simplicity, I will grant you the grandest wedding in the world."

"..."

Zheng Shuangning was furious and turned her head away from him.

Xiao Yan pulled her wrist as they left the bridal chamber.

Zheng Shuangning then noticed that the courtyard was full of guards, and her little maid Tingyu was being held down by a guard and kneeling on the ground, her face covered in tears. When she saw Zheng Shuangning, she called out to her in a wronged tone, "Miss."

She shook off Xiao Yan's hand, ran to Ting Yu's side, and shouted at the guards, "Get out of the way!"

The guard looked troubled, and Li Fuquan quickly waved his hand and said, "Let go, let go."

The guard released his grip, and Zheng Shuangning helped Tingyu up, looking her over from head to toe. "Are you alright?"

"I'm alright. Miss, are you alright?"

Zheng Shuangning shook her head.

Tingyu clung to Zheng Shuangning's arm in fear, looking at them warily.

"Girl, who are they?"

Before Zheng Shuangning could answer, Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow at her, "Ningning, are you taking this little maid with you to the palace?"

"Ningning?" Tingyu exclaimed in surprise, "Entering the palace?"

Her legs went weak instantly. "Miss, are they from the palace? Then..."

She looked in Xiao Yan's direction. "Was that thief the Emperor?"

Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for everyone in the courtyard to hear.

Li Fuquan coughed. "How dare you call the Emperor a thief!"

Tingyu was so startled that she stumbled.

Xiao Yan: "Ningning, can we go now?"

Zheng Shuangning knew there was no turning back, so she lowered her eyes and said, "Entering the palace is fine—"

"But I want to bring Tingyu into the palace, and I need the Emperor's guarantee that no one from the Zheng or Lou families will be harmed."

Anyone...

This is in the Loudu area.

Xiao Yan sneered inwardly.

He slowly approached her, and then, in front of everyone, he picked her up horizontally and carried her in his arms, ignoring Zheng Shuangning's struggles and slaps.

He said softly, "Then Ningning should be good too."

──——

The sky was dark, dotted with starlight. Night enveloped the earth, and all was silent.

Red silk ribbons were still hanging all over the mansion, creating a sea of ​​red. What should have been a joyous wedding night was now unusually desolate.

Lou Du was knocked unconscious while trying to stop someone. When he woke up, he was in an empty room. Before he could even put on his shoes, he ran to the main hall.

The main hall was brightly lit.

Lou Du knelt on the ground. "Father, who kidnapped Aqi? Have you found out who those people are? Have you reported it to the authorities?"

The father rubbed his temples, closed his eyes to rest, and remained silent.

"Mother?"

Lou's mother avoided eye contact.

Lou Du cried out in despair, "Father, Mother, please say something!"

"A-Ning is in danger, I have to go save her, I have to save her...!" With that, Lou Du ran outside.

"stop."

The father, holding his head, said, "You two were destined to be together but not to stay together, son. Forget about her."

Lou Du was puzzled. When had his father become so cold-hearted? He roared, "Father! Aning has been kidnapped by thugs, and her life is hanging in the balance. How can you say such things? Did the thugs threaten you, so you dare not report it to the authorities? If you won't go, I will. Father, rest assured, your son will never implicate the Lou family."

"Du'er," Lou's mother said, her eyes red and her voice trembling, "there's no need to report it to the authorities. The government won't care."

They still couldn't bear to tell the truth.

Lou Du and Zheng Shuangning were childhood sweethearts and had a very close relationship.

"If you're afraid of those thieves and don't report it to the authorities, what will happen to Aning? I must rescue Aning!" Lou Du asked excitedly.

Tears streamed down his face, each drop soaking his bright red wedding robes.

Lou's mother choked back tears as she stepped forward and hugged Lou Du. "Du'er, Shuang Ning will be alright. Listen to your mother, forget about Shuang Ning. You two are destined to be apart in this life."

Lou's father slowly stood up, sighed deeply, and said in a cold and helpless tone, "To tell you the truth, it was the current emperor who took Shuang Ning away. Now that you know, what can you do? There's nothing you can do."

"His Majesty has promoted you and me, father and son, to higher official ranks. Shuangning... can also enter the palace and become a concubine that all women in the world envy. You two are ultimately destined to be apart. Forget about her. Your father will find you a good match in the future."

From a district chief to the vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, a promotion that others might not achieve even after more than ten years of hard work, Lou Du was fortunate enough to achieve it in one day.

Lou's father secretly thought that perhaps this was the best outcome. Du'er had turned misfortune into blessing. With this imperial favor, the emperor would naturally take better care of him in the future.

"Ha. A promotion?"

Lou Du scoffed, "I don't care at all."

"No one asked Ah Ning if she wanted to, and no one... asked me if I wanted to. Why is the world so unfair..."

He knelt on the ground, pounding his fists heavily against it. As the force weakened, tears streamed down his face, hitting the floor with a dull thud before dissipating.

Lou's father lowered his eyes and sighed, "The world is inherently unfair, whether you like it or not, you have to accept it. I will inform everyone that Shuang Ning has returned to her maternal family's ancestral home, and the elders of the clan will make other arrangements for her. From now on, Shuang Ning and you will have no connection whatsoever."

Lou Yan, the younger sister of the Lou family, couldn't help but interject, "Who knows when Zheng Shuangning seduced the Emperor? Since she's seduced the Emperor, why did she marry her brother? Now that things have turned out so ugly, she hasn't lost anything; she's even become a concubine."

Lou Du's chest heaved violently as he almost hysterically roared at her:

"You're talking nonsense, Aning isn't that kind of person."

Lou Yan retorted without backing down, "Am I wrong? If Zheng Shuangning hadn't already known the Emperor, why would he have come to snatch her away on your wedding night, and insisted on having her?"

Lou Du's throat tightened with malice.

Lou's father's eyelids twitched, and he said to Lou Yan, "Shut up, you wretched child."

Neither of them is easy to deal with.

"Guards. Take the young master back to his room. He is not to leave the room without my permission."

Lou Du was carried away like a walking corpse.

Lou's mother said worriedly, "Shuangning and Du'er are childhood sweethearts, sir. I'm worried that Du'er might not be able to get over it for a while."

"He'll come to his senses," the father sighed.

To truly love someone is to wish them well and respect them, not to force or take them away from them.

Du'er is fond of Zheng Shuangning and will surely understand.