She knew exactly where to hit where it hurt the most!<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Besides, how could Your Majesty look like someone in their thirties? You clearly appear to be the same age as your humble servant. The young man in my dreams was exactly like Your Majesty."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
To cover up her earlier lie about holding backughter, she could only embrace the Emperor and say: "Your Majesty, you are wonderful, far better than you think. The most correct decision your servant has made in this life was not refusing when father sent me into the pce. I truly don''t know if I would be as happy as I am now had I married someone else outside the pce. But I can say with certainty that being able to stay by Your Majesty''s side, being cherished and loved by you, is a blessing from my previous life."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
A skilled psychological counselor, when attempting to influence someone, doesn''t merely belittle them and attack their confidence. They also need to guide them when they''re feeling inferior, making them feel that even if no one else in the world likes them, you are the one who loves them the most.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Moreover, she wasn''t lying about the blessing from her previous life.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
In her previous life, she died saving someone - an act of great virtue. The luxury and wealth she enjoyed in this life were well-deserved.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The Emperor was indeed moved by her words and embraced Jiang Xinyue tightly: "Yue''er, your sincere devotion to me brings me greatfort. I promise... nothing like this will ever happen again."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
You made vowsst time too, saying you''d rather die, yet here you are, living just fine.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Xinyue didn''t believe him at all.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
But this didn''t stop her from putting on a deeply touched expression, burying her face in the Emperor''s chest: "Your Majesty, I don''t want to quarrel with you. Can''t we just be good to each other? While you were suffering, I wasn''t having an easy time either."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
No!<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
She was actually living extremelyfortably, eating and sleeping well, with money and leisure, being served by servants as if she were an immortal.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The Emperor heaved a long sigh: "Sometimes I really wish..."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
He didn''t finish what he wanted to say, but Jiang Xinyue could guess. In such an emotional moment, the Emperor probably wanted to say "sometimes I really wish I wasn''t the Emperor."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
He probably wished he could take her and their children to live in seclusion in the mountains, being an enviably loving couple, working at sunrise and resting at sunset.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
What was so good about being Emperor?<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Unable to have normal human emotions and feelings, unable to have personal likes and dislikes, having to put themon people first in everything, maintaining bnce in the court, stabilizing the pce, waking up earlier than roosters, sleepingter than dogs, working harder than oxen, and being criticized by officials and resented bymoners at the slightest mistake.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
People say Emperors can do whatever they want, but that only applies to those who choose to be tyrannical rulers who destroy their kingdom. True good emperors have never been free to do as they please.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
However, the Xuanwu Emperor was grateful that by his side appeared an understanding flower who could help him feel some warmth in this cold pce.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
At the Treasure Joy Quarter—<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Concubine Cheng put down the tuned guqin, and Cun Xin deliberately shook her head at the door. She frowned and muttered, "This isn''t right!"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Cun Xin returned inside: "Mydy, what should we do?"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Outside, the sun was still zing, and cicada sounds came from the small woods behind the Treasure Joy Quarter. Concubine Cheng looked at the dazzling sunlight, her eyes full of calcting light: "Let''s return to the Moon-Embracing Pavilion."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Concubine Ye is just Noble Lady Liu''s dog. Without Noble Lady Liu''s orders, how would she dare to monitor my movements?<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The fact that her zither ying could no longer attract butterflies must not be revealed. If Noble Lady Liu wants to humiliate her, she must strike first.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Ouch, it hurts, it hurts..."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Noble Lady Liu, who had been targeted by the "thief," was now lying on her bed while a female doctor lifted her clothes to examine her back and... buttocks.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Noble Lady Liu''s back to tailbone is fractured. She shouldn''t get out of bed for three months, or the bones won''t heal properly, risking paralysis in the future."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"What?"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Noble Lady Liu punched the bed: "That wretch! It must have been Cheng Nianhe who put oil on my shoes. She wants revenge because His Majesty scolded her because of me."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Yan''er also gritted her teeth: "It must be that Concubine Ye was discovered by Concubine Cheng while gathering information. Why else would she specifically go to the Treasure Joy Quarter, which requires passing through that cobblestone path? She clearly calcted that you would go there and applied oil to your shoes in advance."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The more Noble Lady Liu thought about it, the more she believed Yan''er was right. She tried to get up, but the pain in her tailbone made her face turn pale, intensifying her hatred for Concubine Cheng.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Xinyan finally "escaped" from the overly enthusiastic Noble Lady Jiang and returned to the Changchun Pavilion, only to find that the meal had already been served.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
She btedly realized that when Noble Lady Jiang invited her to stay for dinner earlier, was it to prevent her from disturbing her sister and brother-inw''s private time?<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Sister, why are you standing at the door? Come in!"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Xinyan, who was about to sneak away and ept Noble Lady Jiang''s invitation instead, was called by Jiang Xinyue: "I specially asked the imperial kitchen to prepare your favorite dishes,e quickly."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Xinyan had no choice but to reluctantly approach and pay her respects to the Emperor.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The Xuanwu Emperor waved his hand: "Wang Dequan, go fetch a bowl of frozen lychees to help the Third Miss cool down."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Previously, lychees were only supplied to the pce for one season each year. The Emperor wasn''t particrly fond of culinary pleasures, and even if some concubines liked lychees, he wouldn''t have soldiers rush fresh lychees from thousands of miles away on horseback.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0Aliali: 673aa0aed72ede9349903ddf
He wouldn''t do such things that exhausted great manpower and resources and could potentially kill soldiers for anyone. Each year, the limited amount of lychees would be distributed among the favored concubines, each receiving a small basket.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The unfavored ones needn''t even think about it - they wouldn''t even get to see the lychee shells.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
But startingst year, because the Imperial Noble Consort also loved this fruit, the Emperor gathered the eunuchs from the Internal Affairs Department to find a solution that would allow the Imperial Noble Consort to eat lychees anytime without burdening the people or causing loss of life.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
In the end, it was the Imperial Noble Consort herself who provided two solutions: one was to make lychee preserves, simr to what almost every household in the Jiaodong region made; the second was to freeze the lychees with ice blocks, recing the ice at each official post station, and allowing tired soldiers to pass the delivery task to the next soldier so they could rest.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
They wouldn''t need to fear punishment for failing toplete the task.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Now the pce had lychee preserves, and this year the Imperial Noble Consort decided that such transport of frozen lychees would be too extravagant, so she only requested preserves.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The preserves could be stored for a long time and didn''t require so much manpower to transport. When themon people learned of this, they praised the Imperial Noble Consort for her consideration!<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
However, Jiang Xinyue knew that her good reputation was spread by the Emperor and the Jiang family.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The frozen lychees that Jiang Xinyan was eating were made from lychee preserves mixed with osmanthus and dairy, served with ice. Having a bowl in summer was refreshingly pleasant.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
It must be because of his love for her sister that His Majesty treated her so well.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0