88 Jealousy

◎Good palm print, don't be angry◎

Fu Hua hesitated, feeling embarrassed to speak out loud. "Mei'er is still four or five months pregnant. She'll give birth next spring. I'd like to ask you to take care of her during her pregnancy. Is that possible?"

Rong Qianyu always couldn't understand how he could say these embarrassing and hard-to-say words so naturally. She had already given in, but he still kept pursuing her.

Why is he so selfish? Time and time again, he only considers his own interests and never cares about anyone other than himself. Only when the emperor and empress are of one mind can the former dynasty and the harem be stable. His behavior is disheartening.

It is understandable why Fu Tao was extremely disappointed in him. The brother she had always been proud of was always considerate to her. They grew up together, but one day she found that he seemed to have become the stranger she was most familiar with.

He became cold, selfish, sentimental and fickle. He no longer seemed the brother she was familiar with.

Rong Qianyu was naturally impatient when she heard him say that. She frowned and said, "Your Majesty, are you so confused? What if something goes wrong while I'm taking care of her? Besides, I've never been pregnant before, so I'm really incapable of taking care of a pregnant woman."

She made it very clear that she didn't want to be involved in anything related to Cui Rumei and she had to distance herself from her no matter what the reason.

Fu Hua deliberately went along with it, pretending not to understand, and played the role of a troubled monarch. He took her hand and hoped that she would agree, "Even if it's for the sake of the country, Queen, please agree."

Unfortunately, Rong Qianyu is not his virtuous queen.

Rong Qianyu smiled gently. She didn't want to have any direct conflict with Fu Hua. She could act occasionally to save face, but she would not let herself get bogged down in these things again.

She slowly withdrew her hand. "As the saying goes, there's a good place to live in a melon field, and the harem is finally at peace. I'm not as considerate as the imperial physicians. Your Majesty, please seek help from someone else. I've already promised Your Majesty to seek a position for Cui. Please don't make it too difficult for me. This way, the harem and the court can live in peace, and Your Majesty will be spared a lot of worry."

"you……"

When she talked about the former dynasty and the harem, Fu Hua was speechless. He felt so cold towards her that he withdrew his hand in disappointment.

There's probably no reason to ask her to take care of him anymore. "You're not in good health, so stop working so hard."

The matter came to an end. Rong Qianyu didn't want to argue with him on such trivial matters, so she changed the subject and talked about the Qianbei soldiers returning to the court.

"The soldiers of the former dynasty will be returning to the capital soon. This is a good news. Your Majesty must hold a grand ceremony to boost morale!"

Fu Hua nodded, "Of course."

Half a month later, the emperor and empress rushed to Shilitai together to welcome the soldiers back to the court. In order to show her sincerity, Rong Qianyu specifically asked to go out of the city to welcome them.

With flags flying, the two of them, dressed in grand formal attire, played the role of a deeply in love couple, with Xue Ji standing beside them with a look of disgust on his face.

The large army came in little by little, and the two men stepped forward to greet them. In an instant, a strong wind blew and the clouds surged.

The most conspicuous person in the crowd was a young general, who looked to be in his thirties, dressed in silver armor, with determination engraved in his brows, and holding a sharp long sword in his hand.

The gorgeous and exquisite armor wrapped around his solid muscles, and he was tall and strong. He had an innate noble temperament that made most people lower their heads and dare not look at him directly.

This was indeed the case with Peng Yuan. The young general was invincible, so An Shikai could rest assured and leave the subsequent matters to him.

He was born into a noble family. Unlike other rich children who liked to write poetry, he grew up on the border and was able to destroy the enemy's food supplies when he was a teenager. He was a man with great military talent and was unruly.

These two military officers, one steady and reserved, the other bold and unrestrained, Fu Kang had left Fu Hua with many loyal officials. Knowing and appointing the right people ensured the stability of the country, but he feared that his poor selection of officials might chill the hearts of these officials.

Peng Yuan was riding on his horse, watching the emperor and empress walking towards them. He dismounted, trotted to the two of them, strode forward and knelt down.

Then the soldiers behind him knelt down and saluted.

Fu Hua helped the man to his feet. Rong Qianyu took the sword beside him and treated him with great courtesy. "General Peng, you have worked hard on this journey. The soldiers have fought bravely for our Great Zhou. Today, the Empress and I have come to Shilitai to welcome you."

After being away for more than a year, he was able to return to his homeland alive and be valued so much by the king. Although he was a rough man who was used to the wind and sand at the border, he couldn't help but shed tears.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your trust. I have fulfilled my mission and am returning to the capital today. I will present the letter of surrender from Qianbei to Your Majesty." He took out a brocade box and handed the letter of surrender inside to Fu Hua.

"Your Majesty, this phoenix crown was specially crafted by King Qianbei as a token of his sincerity. I present it to you, Your Majesty, wishing our Great Zhou Dynasty eternal prosperity and a long life for His Majesty!"

Someone else presented a phoenix crown, which was extremely exquisite, the likes of which had never been seen in either the Great Zhou or the Rong Kingdom.

Fu Hua kindly helped him up, "General Peng, please stand up quickly. You and General An are my right-hand men. I will have to count on you to defend my territory in the future!"

Rong Qianyu ordered her servants to bring a glass of wine, and offered tea instead of wine to welcome him back to the court. "I am ill today, so I offer tea instead of wine to General Peng. I hope you take care of yourself. Your Majesty is young and has only recently ascended the throne, so your foundation is not stable. You must rely on all of us for many things."

Peng Yuan was so excited that his face turned red with tears. "Thank you so much, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

Seeing Rong Qianyu shivering a little, "It's cold here. If your Majesty is not feeling well, please return to the palace first."

"Then let's go back to the palace." In front of everyone, Fu Hua portrays himself as a good husband, obeying Rong Qianyu and taking care of her meticulously.

Seeing that she was shivering, he tied her cloak with his own hands, put his arm around her waist and helped her walk.

Rong Qianyu was always frightened by his showmanship, but she had no choice but to cooperate in such a grand occasion. Xue Ji stood behind them and watched the two of them walk away. He was jealous and angry all the way, and still had a stern face when he returned to the palace.

The lights were still on in the Imperial Household Department at night. He was very angry today and even took a bath, burned incense, and changed his clothes.

He just couldn't stand Fu Hua's hypocritical look. He stared at Rong Qianyu and became more and more angry. "Did he touch you with this hand?"

Seeing that he was angry, Rong Qianyu wanted to tease him and said coquettishly, "He touched it with both hands."

He sat in the corner, his expression serious, silent, panting with anger, his fists clenched. The heavy air seemed to freeze, making it hard to breathe. "Why did he touch me?!"

Rong Qianyu looked a little angry at his expression and asked, "Are you jealous?"

"No." He was so angry that his eyes became bright. His cold gaze fell on Rong Qianyu's slender waist. He couldn't let it go. He said in a deep voice: "Isn't today the fifteenth? How dare you come?"

Rong Qianyu frowned slightly, holding his face and complaining softly: "You are my husband, please don't be angry."

But today, he hugged her in front of all the civil and military officials. Xue Ji couldn't coax her no matter what he did. He moved Rong Qianyu's hand away and said, "His hand is on your waist. Why is he being so intimate?"

She gently took Xue Ji's hand and kissed it, trying to comfort him, but he pushed her away again.

Helplessly, she carefully leaned close to his ear again, her breath warm and gentle blowing against his ear, "Don't ignore me."

Xue Ji said nothing, gently closed his eyes, and tried hard not to talk to her.

Rong Qianyu felt a bitter feeling in her heart, and her voice was slightly hoarse with a slight tremor, "Compared to him, you are even less of a thing, okay? Didn't you write an inscription on me?"

Xue Ji immediately perked up when he heard this, "How can they be the same? Who the hell is he?!"

Scolding him wasn't enough; she only hated Rong Qianyu for being a blockhead. She pressed forward and said, "How about I write another one for you tomorrow?"

Rong Qianyu didn't say anything yet. Maybe because she moved too much, she frowned and cried out in pain.

"What's wrong?" Xue Ji asked.

Rong Qianyu's forehead was dotted with sweat, and her face turned pale. "My stomach hurts."

Xue Ji immediately sat up, changing his previous indifference, helped the man up and said, "You must have caught a cold in the suburbs today. I'll ask Qingyun to make it for you..." He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, "Forget it, I'll go myself!"

Before Rong Qianyu could react, he ran out wearing only a single layer of clothing.

The Imperial Household Department was fully equipped with everything, but when Rong Qianyu came to stay there was no one in the house. He went to the kitchen in the dark, lit the fire, took out a large piece of brown sugar, skillfully cut a few slices of ginger, and started cooking them together.

Xue Ji rarely cooks by herself. The last time she did so was to make sauce for Rong Qianyu, and this time she made brown sugar ginger tea for her. In this square, dark place, there was a fire that could be lit for her.

He gave all his patience and tenderness to Rong Qianyu.

"Drink it quickly." He brought a bowl of hot brown sugar ginger tea and handed it to her mouth.

She had no strength left, her voice hoarse, and her heart warmed as she looked at Jiang Cha, "Master Xue's cooking skills are pretty good."

Xue Ji was so disgusted that he choked her a few words, "It's better than you setting my kitchen on fire. The thing you made is almost like poison. I'm afraid you'll poison yourself to death."

As he spoke, he did not forget to feed her, blowing the hot tea in the spoon until it cooled down before feeding it to her.

Rong Qianyu had no strength left, so she raised her hand and tugged at his sleeve, "Xue Lang is so virtuous."

Xue Ji was unhappy about what she said, and after putting it down, he became angry and said, "Drink it yourself!"

Her voice was soft and her eyes were filled with tears. She was sincere and said, "I have a stomachache right now. I can't lift anything with my hands or shoulders. Please be magnanimous and don't bother with a little girl like me."

Xue Ji couldn't do anything to her, "Open your mouth."

The little fox's evil plan succeeded, and he was no longer so exhausted. He took the bowl and started drinking, "Xue Lang is the best, no one can compare to him!"

"There's really nothing I can do about you." Xue Ji said with a suppressed laugh.

"Go to sleep when you feel comfortable." He stood up and helped her lie down. He almost fainted when he lifted the quilt. The pool of blood on the bed scared both of them.

The ambiguous atmosphere was immediately broken. Rong Qianyu panicked and explained, "I'm sorry, I can wash it myself!" She lifted the quilt, picked up the sheets and was about to walk out, "No, no, no, I'll throw it away. I can wash the quilt too!"

He knew that Xue Ji was particularly concerned about these filth. He would shower and change clothes in disgust when Fu Hua touched her, not to mention that this pool of blood was printed on his newly changed bedding.

Xue Ji frowned, snatched the quilt and walked out of the room with a sullen face, saying coldly, "Change it to a new one, give me the dirty one!"

Rong Qianyu thought he was angry, so she exerted her strength and continued to follow him, trying to explain, "I can throw away the dirty things myself... I'll wash them myself, I won't mess this up!"

She was afraid that he would be angry.

Xue Ji didn't say anything more. He changed her bed and clothes and left. "You go to sleep first. I'm going out."

Rong Qianyu was extremely scared and no longer felt sleepy. She just felt that she was too careless and Xue Ji must be angry.

He cared about these things the most, but he hadn't noticed at all. He was already angry about Fu Hua's matter, and he had even soiled his mattress...

She wanted to explain, but he had already rushed out without giving her any chance to explain. She sat on the bed and cried sadly. It was all her fault for being so careless. Why did she sleep in his bed when she was clearly not feeling well? It would have been fine if she had just slept in it, but why didn't she pay attention to dirtying it?

She tiptoed and opened the door a crack, wanting to see what Xue Ji was doing, but the light was dim and she could only see a blurry figure.

He brought a basin of water and squatted down to wash the bedding and clothes that had just been soiled.

He was the person who hated blood the most, and yet he was such a meticulous person, and for her, he was washing her dirty clothes.

Rong Qianyu just felt that he shouldn't do these things. He had always been a kind and cheerful man, but he was doing this for her.

She didn't dare to answer, and her heart couldn't help feeling sad. She slowly closed the door and returned to bed.

She didn't want to sleep, but her stomach was upset and she was tired after a long day, so she fell into a deep sleep with worry.

After washing the clothes, Xue Ji opened the door and saw that Rong Qianyu had fallen asleep. He took out the softest cloth from the drawer and sewed a menstrual belt for Rong Qianyu.

He had no power or influence in the past, and his family was poor, so he did all the needlework himself.

He stayed up all night, using only an oil lamp to sew more than a dozen sanitary belts for her, enough to last for half a year.

Rong Qianyu woke up the next day and found that Xue Ji had not come back all night. The heart that had been at ease last night was weighed down again, for she was afraid that he would be angry again.

He must be angry and disgusted.

She put on a coat and ran out of the room, only to see Xue Ji sleeping in front of the table, on which lay a dozen sanitary belts he had sewn.

Rong Qianyu didn't know how to make it herself, so he made more than a dozen for her. The material looked like the best fabric in the palace.

For her, he would be willing to go to such an extent.

All the tossing and turning last night disappeared at this moment.

She looked down and noticed his hands, which were punctured in several places. Her throat rolled and she patted him with a choked voice, "Jiming?"

Xue Ji saw her come out and asked in panic, "Are you awake?"

Rong Qianyu's eyes were filled with tears. Seeing him like this, the tears finally burst out. She asked tentatively, "Are you still angry?"

He helplessly helped her wipe away her tears, looking clumsy like never before. "I've washed the sheets, and I've also sewed you a few sanitary belts. You can't be thrifty with these things. Just use them and throw them away. Don't be sympathetic. I'll sew more for you in the future."

She whimpered softly, a surge of warmth in her heart, a mixture of emotion and heartache. She pinched him hard and smiled a long-lost smile of relief, "Silly boy."