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

Song Shuangning lifted her skirt and sat on the imperial carriage.

Xiao Yan's brows seemed to be covered with a thin layer of frost, and he was resting with his eyes closed. When he saw her come up, he slowly opened his eyes.

"Has the Empress Dowager given you any difficulties?"

Song Shuangning shook her head, "It wasn't difficult, I just had to copy Buddhist scriptures a few times."

Xiao Yan glanced down at her rubbing her knees, then looked up again with a calm, unwavering gaze.

"to be honest."

Song Shuangning said aggrievedly, "The Empress Dowager made me kneel and copy Buddhist scriptures, and my knees are a little sore..."

Without a word, Xiao Yan lifted her legs and placed them on his lap, his fingertips casually lifting the hem of her skirt.

Song Shuangning's cheeks flushed, and she quickly pressed his hand down, "Your Majesty, we're still outside."

Xiao Yan raised his eyes and glanced at her indifferently, without any emotion, only uttering three words: "Let me take a look."

Song Shuangning didn't stop him. Xiao Yan lifted her skirt, revealing the bruises on her knees, which made Xiao Yan's eyes darken slightly.

It was a dark, almost blackish-green color with faint reddish edges, standing out starkly against fair skin.

"Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't actually hurt, it's just a bit shocking to look at." Song Shuangning gently held Xiao Yan's hand and said in a relaxed manner, "Your Majesty, don't worry."

After a moment of silence, Xiao Yan said to Li Fuquan, "Go back to Zichen Palace and fetch the plaster for removing blood stasis."

Li Fuquan responded.

The imperial carriage headed towards Yaohua Palace.

Song Shuangning glanced at Xiao Yan cautiously, only to meet his gaze.

Xiao Yan chuckled softly. "What? You have something to say?"

Song Shuangning shifted her body, getting closer to Xiao Yan, and blinked her clear almond-shaped eyes.

"I suddenly remembered a storybook I read yesterday. Would you like to tell it to Your Majesty?"

"Um."

"Cats meow, dogs bark, ducks quack, but does Your Majesty know what a chicken can do?"

Xiao Yan was about to say how boring.

Song Shuangning spoke first, "Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared."

Xiao Yan remained calm, while Song Shuangning laughed to herself for a long time until she was tired of laughing before looking at Xiao Yan.

She never tired of this joke, laughing every time she heard it.

Why didn't Xiao Yan react at all? Did he not find it funny?

Xiao Yan raised his hand to his forehead, his tone languid: "Song Shuangning."

"Are you trying to amuse me?"

Song Shuangning did not answer, but instead told another joke.

One day, the mushroom was walking down the road when it tripped over an orange coming from the opposite direction.

"The mushroom stood up and said to the orange, 'Are you blind? Go to hell!'"

"Later, the orange really died, and people found its last words on the table: 'The fungus wants the orange to die, so the orange has no choice but to die.'"

The joke, which was so lame it was almost nonsensical, ironically tickled Xiao Yan's funny bone, and the aloofness between his brows lessened slightly.

"Where did Ningning find all these interesting and quirky stories?"

Song Shuangning leaned in and kissed Xiao Yan's chin. "His Majesty smiled."

"Your Majesty, Ningning has only one wish: that you may be free from worries and troubles."

When she looks at people, her eyes are always bright and full of pure sincerity, without a trace of falsehood. It stirs something inexplicably in one's heart.

Xiao Yan lifted her chin and kissed her.

He rushed in, and unlike before, today's kiss was fierce, carrying a hint of venting his anger. Song Shuangning grabbed his collar and tilted her head back as much as possible to meet his kiss.

The imperial carriage landed steadily in front of the Cangdong Pavilion of Yaohua Palace. Xiao Yan carried Song Shuangning down, whose lips were swollen and red, as if she had been bullied.

Xiao Yan applied the medicine to her with gentle and meticulous movements.

"Ningning."

"I will not be coming for the next few days."

Song Shuangning guessed the reason and obediently hummed in agreement, "This concubine understands."

Xiao Yan pinched her cheek, thinking: She's always been so well-behaved and sensible. But the more well-behaved and sensible a person is, the more grievances they suffer.

"If you need anything, you can send someone to the Hall of Diligent Governance to find me. Don't be reckless."

Song Shuangning nodded.

"Alright," Xiao Yan placed his long, fair legs on the couch. "I have matters to attend to before the Emperor, so I will not stay any longer."

"This concubine respectfully sees Your Majesty off."

Xiao Yan pressed her shoulder, "Your legs are uncomfortable, you don't need to get up to see me off."

Song Shuangning's eyes followed Xiao Yan's figure until he left.

A sense of loss followed, and Song Shuangning realized it and slapped her face.

Song Shuangning! Wake up!

Don't be discouraged! A wise person doesn't fall in love, and the God of Wealth doesn't help a resentful woman.

Men only slow down the speed at which they "draw their swords".

Now, Xiao Yan only cares about her to a certain extent, so how can she still expect Xiao Yan to contradict the Empress Dowager?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Tonight, the Emperor selected a concubine's green-headed nameplate.

Lady Zhang was so excited that she prepared to serve the emperor while it was still light.

Just as the palace maid Wenxin was about to apply makeup to her, Consort Zhang suddenly remembered something and said, "I'll do it myself."

Instead of drawing her usual flat eyebrows, she imitated Song Shuangning and carefully outlined the arch of willow-leaf eyebrows. Half an hour later, she finished her makeup and looked in the bronze mirror. The person in the mirror had eyebrows like willow leaves and a delicate figure. She almost didn't recognize herself.

Noticing Wenxin's hesitant gaze, Zhang Cairen looked at her through the bronze mirror and asked, "What? Am I not pretty?"

Wenxin immediately lowered her head, "Of course you are beautiful, my lady."

"Bring me that... royal blue dress."

Wenxin softly replied, "Yes."

One hour later.

The imperial carriage came to a stop, and Xiao Yan stepped down. Upon seeing the woman in the courtyard, he subconsciously narrowed his eyes.

Although he couldn't remember what Zhang Cairen originally looked like, he was certain that she was deliberately imitating her in terms of makeup and dress.

"This concubine greets Your Majesty," she said in a high-pitched voice.

She even tried to imitate Ningning's tone of voice, but she ended up looking like a dog trying to imitate a tiger. She didn't learn a thing about Ningning. Her high-pitched and distorted voice was extremely uncomfortable to listen to.

Get up.

Upon entering the hall, Xiao Yan looked at the person before him and asked, "What is your name?"

Lady Zhang said, "This concubine is surnamed Zhang, and my name is Wanxuan."

"My father and Consort Yuan's father were old friends, and I was once a good friend of Consort Yuan," she added.

Xiao Yan's brows remained neither raised nor lowered, his eyes clear yet undisturbed, as if he had already seen through everything.

"Since you are on good terms with Consort Yuan, you must have heard the story of 'Dong Shi imitating Xi Shi.' In the end, you even lost your original self."

Consort Zhang's face paled instantly, and she hurriedly defended herself, "This concubine did not imitate Consort Yuan."

Xiao Yan seemed not to hear her and casually picked up a book and threw it in front of her.

"Your voice is acceptable; why don't you read to me?"

Zhang Cairen squatted down, picked up the book, and with trembling fingertips, turned to the first page and began to read.

She read for half an hour straight. The emperor didn't tell her to stop, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and keep reading. Eventually, her mouth became dry and her voice, which she had been trying to suppress, couldn't hold up anymore and became hoarse and strained.

Xiao Yan: "Alright."

"I don't have the habit of sharing a bed with others, so you can sleep there," Xiao Yan said, pointing to the soft couch.

Zhang Cairen's eyes welled up with tears, as if she had been wronged and humiliated.

The emperor finally chose her, but he didn't summon her to his bedchamber.