At that moment, Murong Yao also happened to return to the Imperial Study.
Pushing the door open, he looked at Jiang Yuzhou sitting in the hall and revealed a weary expression. “Yuzhou, I’m tired.”
Seeing the emperor arrive, Qin Feng cupped his hands in salute and withdrew.
Jiang Yuzhou gave him a speechless look, then closed the memorial and walked over to his side.
“Didn’t I help Your Majesty?”
She moved closer as if asking for trouble, teasing him, “Where exactly are you tired? Could it be that you’re lacking in strength?”
Murong Yao turned his head to look at her with an exasperated expression. “Why don’t you try it yourself?”
Jiang Yuzhou shuddered in fright, waving her hands repeatedly. “Hey, hey, hey—stop, stop! That’s not my thing.”
“Besides, don’t you already have Xiao Changning?”
Jiang Yuzhou poured tea and handed it to him. “But speaking of which, eight or nine out of ten court officials are submitting impeachment memorials. You need to think of a solution.”
Hearing this, Murong Yao let out a long sigh and looked up at the glazed tiles of the Imperial Study.
Jiang Yuzhou continued, “Since Xiao Changning has already been taken into your harem, she can’t remain a princess anymore.”
“I’ve already decided. Tomorrow during court, I will confer upon Changning the title of Guifei.”
Murong Yao held the teacup, tapping its rim lightly. “If I ignore it, over time, it will naturally fade away.”
Jiang Yuzhou nodded, raising her eyebrows. “Regarding the campaign against Nanxiao, no one knows that I read and responded to the memorials on your behalf.”
“If anything goes wrong, you’ll bear the responsibility.”
Murong Yao nodded. As the emperor of Beiyuan, standing above all others, who would dare defy him?
“Did you respond to the impeachment memorials from the court as I instructed?”
Mentioning this, Jiang Yuzhou felt utterly speechless, and the anger that had been building up inside her finally erupted. “About this, I really need to have a good talk with you.”
“You ignoring it is one thing, but having me write ‘shut up’ in response… this, this, this…”
Jiang Yuzhou let out another long sigh, then helplessly lowered her head. Without even thinking, she knew the officials must have been furious enough to spit blood.
Looking at Murong Yao’s sunken eyes, she said, “Hold on for another month or so. If Xiao Changning becomes pregnant with an imperial prince, the court officials won’t keep harping on this matter.”
Murong Yao shook his head.
Confused, Jiang Yuzhou widened her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“After all these days, don’t tell me you still haven’t…?”
As she thought about it, Jiang Yuzhou felt a chill run down her spine, and fine beads of sweat broke out on her back. Suddenly, a terrifying thought occurred to her. “Or is it that you… can’t?”
Faced with her friend’s teasing, Murong Yao wasn’t angry. “Of course not. Every time I’ve been intimate with her, I’ve given her a bowl of contraceptive soup.”
“Contraceptive soup?”
Jiang Yuzhou asked, “Since you went through so much trouble to take her, why do this?”
Murong Yao remained silent, clearly unwilling to explain.
Jiang Yuzhou waved her hand. “Forget it, I won’t ask. I’ll go see her.”
“Yuzhou.”
Murong Yao called out, stopping Jiang Yuzhou just as she was about to open the door. “The consorts in the harem are cunning, full of open and hidden schemes. I’m afraid Changning won’t be able to handle it.”
“I can deal with things openly, but for the underhanded tricks, I hope you can help me protect her.”
“Don’t let anyone bully her.”
Jiang Yuzhou leaned against the doorframe, glancing back at Murong Yao with a nod before saying, “As the Empress, it is my duty to maintain harmony in the rear palace and care for the imperial consorts.”
Murong Yao pursed his lips into a faint smile, his dark eyes softening. “Thank you.”
“Hmm?” Jiang Yuzhou furrowed her brows slightly, studying the person before her as if observing some strange creature.
She adopted an exaggeratedly affected tone, saying, “Hasn’t Your Majesty always given direct orders? Today, you’re being so polite that I’m feeling a bit disoriented.”
“Well, isn’t this a matter of asking for a favor?”
Jiang Yuzhou let out a soft chuckle. “Rest assured.”
With that, she pushed the door open and stepped out. As she entered Weiyang Palace, a pungent, bitter scent of medicine immediately assaulted her senses.
Since childhood, she had disliked taking medicine—the acrid taste seemed to pierce straight through her skull. In her eyes, medicine wasn’t a cure for illness; its bitterness alone could be lethal.
Whenever she fell ill, she relied on her own robust resilience to pull through, avoiding medicine whenever possible.
Frowning, Jiang Yuzhou covered her nose and walked into Xiao Changning’s sleeping palace.
As soon as she entered, she saw the figure lying on the bed, their face deathly pale.
Jiang Yuzhou lifted the curtain and let out a sigh of admiration. “Truly exquisite.”
“Even more beautiful than the portrait Your Majesty treasures.”
She settled herself at the foot of the bed, unable to resist reaching out to stroke Xiao Changning’s long eyelashes.
While admiring the sight, she raised her voice slightly. “Those Anwei must be slacking off. How else could their painting skills show no improvement over five years?”
“They must have been lazy.”
“It seems their training needs to be intensified!”
On the roof, the Anwei sighed, rubbing his forehead. He had known all along that the Empress was not someone to be trifled with—she had barely arrived and was already pushing him to his limits.
Yet Murong Yao, the one who should have intervened, remained silent, allowing the Empress to do as she pleased!
Unable to bear it any longer, the Anwei descended like a ghost, determined to defend himself. “Your Majesty, the Empress.”
He straightened his posture. “This subordinate excels in stealth and possesses formidable martial skills.”
“No one in this world is perfect, and my painting skills truly are…”
Shaking his head with another sigh, he could only plead, “Your Majesty, please spare this subordinate.”
Jiang Yuzhou turned to look at his flustered expression. “Alright, alright. Lu Ran really did train a bunch of wooden blocks.”
“You may go.”
“Yes.”
“Wait,” Jiang Yuzhou called out to him. “What’s your name?”
The Anwei clasped his hands in salute. “Ying Qi.”
Jiang Yuzhou nodded, and the Anwei Ying Qi swiftly leaped back onto the roof.
Just as Jiang Yuzhou was lost in admiration of Xiao Changning’s beauty, the person on the bed suddenly stirred awake.
Xiao Changning’s eyes widened, beads of sweat forming on her forehead as a chill spread from her feet throughout her body.
She had dreamed again of Ali’s death—witnessing someone close to her die before her eyes, the gruesome scene…
“You’re awake?”
At first, Xiao Changning didn’t notice the person by her bedside. Her eyes were moist and guarded as she asked, “May I ask who you are?”
Jiang Yuzhou cleared her throat softly. “I am the Empress of Beiyuan.”
“Upon hearing that you were unwell, I came to visit.”
Xiao Changning attempted to rise. “Your Majesty, please forgive my offense.”
Jiang Yuzhou stopped her gently. “As you’ve just entered the palace, you likely lack attendants. I have specially selected a few palace maids for you.”
With a grand wave of her hand, four maids dressed in light green palace attire entered.
“From today onward, you shall serve in Weiyang Palace. Be diligent in your duties and protect your mistress well.”
The palace maids bowed in unison, “Yes.”
“You may all leave now.”
Xiao Changning looked at them and hurriedly said, “Empress, there is no need to trouble yourself, I…”
“Sister, there is no need to say more. This is what I ought to do.”