At Wei Li's request, Zhao Xiheng made another effort.

"Still can't untie it?" Wei Li's face grew redder and redder, but he didn't move away from her. Instead, he moved closer and closer and asked.

Zhao Xiheng's forehead broke out in a fine sweat of impatience. Damn it, what a piece of junk!

Wei Li moved closer to her, lowering his head slightly, "If you..."

"Sizzle..."

Wei Li's words "try" stuck in his throat; he couldn't decide whether to spit them out or not, and his face turned pale with frustration.

Zhao Xiheng licked her dry lips, pressed the torn piece of cloth against Wei Li's chest, gently covered it, patted it off before taking two steps back, and the piece of cloth that had been torn off floated onto the kang (a heated brick bed), showing her no respect whatsoever.

Oh no, I think I used too much force just now. Will Wei Li find out that she's not actually weak at all...?

Zhao Xiheng felt that she should look for some remedial measures.

Wei Li grabbed her wrist and turned her hand over, saying, "Are you crazy? You're using so much force, it'll hurt you to death."

Zhao Xiheng didn't feel any pain; she just felt that the fabric of the clothes was like a piece of rag that had been stored away for several years, and she tore it open with a little force. Of course, she knew it wasn't that the shopkeeper had cut corners or used inferior materials; on the contrary, it was quite sturdy. It was just that she had a lot of strength; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to pin Zhao Mingxin down on the carriage, unable to resist.

Although she didn't feel any pain, the prolonged friction still made her palms red. Wei Li touched them and scolded her, "You're so reckless, using so much force."

Zhao Xiheng thought for a moment, then shed a few tears and said in a sweet, coquettish voice, "My lord, it hurts so much."

Wei Li lowered his head and blew on it, then continued to curse, "What kind of junk is this? Where did you order these clothes? They're so fragile!"

He never imagined that Zhao Xiheng was too strong; he just thought that the thing must be flimsy.

"Don't get your clothes made here again, what a piece of junk!"

Zhao Xiheng nodded guiltily.

If Wei Li knew she was incredibly strong, he could probably pat her on the shoulder, point to Changbai Mountain, and say, "Go! Go up the mountain and hunt a tiger for me!"

It's nothing like now, when she was weak and unable to take care of herself, everyone was very careful with her.

Well, it's a bit of a waste that he can't wear this red outfit; he actually looks quite good in it.

Zhao Xiheng straightened his hair and said, "Why don't you take it off and try something else?"

She took this tattered garment to make a new one for Gou Dan'er.

Wei Li readily agreed and changed into the white one.

With Zhao Xiheng's help, she put it on quickly this time.

Wearing white is selective in terms of who can wear it.

Everyone says that only those with an ethereal气质 (qi zhi, a kind of refined elegance or aura) can truly bring out the elegance of white robes. Zhao Xiheng thinks this is utter nonsense. Clearly, all clothes are selective in who they are made of, and only those who are good-looking will wear white. It's just that white robes make an ugly person look even uglier, and a handsome person look even more handsome.

When Wei Li put it on, it wasn't that it looked bad, but it was a bit strange and seemed out of place.

Zhao Xiheng looked at him awkwardly and reached out to rub his face. "Don't be so fierce, be gentler." What a nice young man, why does he look so thuggish and roguish?

Wei Li listened to her and relaxed his facial muscles.

Hmm, it's a little better.

With a rustling sound, Wei Li raised an eyebrow and looked over warily; it was Gou Dan'er who had squeezed in.

Zhao Xiheng's shoulders slumped. Good heavens, all her efforts were in vain. Wei Li, dressed in white, looked like a newly reformed bandit.

She retracted her statement that "wearing white clothes depends on one's temperament" was utter nonsense. The old saying passed down from her ancestors was indeed true.

Zhao Xiheng pinched his shoulder and frowned, "Isn't it a bit cramped here?"

He seemed a little flustered when he turned around just now.

It seems she only asked someone to increase the length, not the width.

"It's...it's alright." Wei Li touched his sleeve. "I feel it's just right."

It was a little cramped, perhaps because he had gained weight recently, but he certainly wouldn't want to say that to Zhao Xiheng.

In reality, he had been traveling around for days, so he wouldn't have gained weight. He just had a botched surgery, which made his frame more robust.

Zhao Xiheng narrowed her eyes. Who doesn't grow taller and stronger? Even the corn stalks in the field have to grow thicker and stronger. If they only grow taller and remain the same thickness as before, they'll just become withered grass swaying in the wind.

"Then try on the purple one."

There's no need to try on black; he wears black every day and it looks quite good on him.

"Doesn't white look good?" Wei Li gestured to her with his eyes.

Zhao Xiheng felt that if she dared to say anything unpleasant, he would get angry.

"It's good, it's good, but it's not as good as the red and black ones from before." Zhao Xiheng nodded slightly, trying to be perfunctory.

A real man shouldn't be so petty; I don't know where he learned it from.

Wei Li didn't actually want Zhao Xiheng to say he wasn't good-looking. After all, his face and figure were the only things he could be proud of. If his clothes were ugly, he couldn't imagine how Zhao Xiheng would find anything good about him.

He tried on all four outfits, and only the red and black ones stood out a little. The purple and white ones looked out of place. However, the red one was torn.

I made four sets of clothes in total, but I only kept this one that I could wear.

Emperor Shunhe spent the New Year paralyzed in bed, his eyes and mouth crooked.

Seeing that his health was failing, those who should and shouldn't have had their own schemes started plotting.

The Zhao imperial family had few offspring; Zhao Mingxin was their only daughter, and they had only a handful of sons. As a result, they cared for each of them very much, which fostered some inappropriate thoughts in some of them.

Crown Prince Zhao Mingjin was the eldest son of the legitimate wife, but not the eldest son. He had six older brothers, five of whom died young, leaving only the fifth brother, Zhao Mingchen.

According to the rules of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the eldest son born to the Empress, regardless of his order of birth, is always referred to as the eldest legitimate son.

Of the six, only one survived. Before Zhao Mingjin was born, Zhao Mingchen was the only child in a vast field, receiving special favor and even having a nickname, Fufu, which shows how much he was pampered.

Pampering is a habit, and even after Zhao Mingjin was born, Emperor Shunhe couldn't break that habit anytime soon.

Although Zhao Mingjin was made crown prince, Zhao Mingchen was not willing to accept it. They were both the emperor's favorite sons, so why should he have to step down to the rank of Prince Xian?

As soon as Emperor Shunhe fell from power, both sides started to make trouble.

Zhao Mingchen rushed back from his fiefdom overnight, gathered powerful officials, and posed a considerable threat to Zhao Mingjin.

"Mother, where is Father's imperial seal?" Crown Prince Zhao Mingjin had been so frustrated lately that he could hardly contain himself and went to the palace that very night to pay his respects to the Empress.

He half-squatted in front of the Empress's bed, his gaze fixed on the Empress.

The emperor suffered a stroke, causing turmoil in the court and among the people. His illegitimate son was ambitious, and the empress aged nearly ten years in less than half a month.

Hearing her son say this so suddenly, she trembled, forgetting to move, her lips quivering, "My son, you, you're going to..."

Demanding the imperial seal is tantamount to usurping the throne! Between her husband and her son, how is she supposed to choose?

The Crown Prince grasped the Empress's hand and cried out emotionally, "Mother, Mother, must my life be given up in vain? If I cannot ascend to that throne, how can you and I save our lives, and how can my little sister return from Goguryeo?"

“Mother, you love your son and sister the most. Can you really bear to see such a scene?” He reasoned with her, appealing to her emotions.

The Empress held her son's hand, shedding a few tears, and finally, as if she had made up her mind, said, "Your father has placed the imperial seal in his bedroom. I can only help you cover it up. Whether you can get it or not depends on your own fate."

The Crown Prince took out a scroll of imperial edict from his bosom and placed it in the Empress's arms, saying with tears in his eyes, "Mother, please help your son one more time and put it under Father's bed."

The mother and son looked at each other with tears in their eyes. In the end, the mother could not persuade her son and agreed.

The prince wiped away his tears, his eyes calm and still beneath his slightly lowered lashes, as if he were not the one who had just witnessed the loving mother and filial son.

The Empress, carrying a forged imperial edict, arrived at the Emperor's palace and came face to face with Lady Yan, Zhao Mingchen's birth mother, who had come to visit. The two women exchanged glances, neither willing to give in.

The confidence of the two women did not come from Emperor Shunhe lying in bed, but from their own sons.

"Your Majesty, I take my leave." Madam Yan smiled slightly, gave a slight bow, and said without any fear.

"I heard that Fufu came to the capital without his principal wife, only with a concubine. This is improper. After all, a concubine is still a concubine, and even imperial concubines are not fit for public service. The Emperor does not want a lowly concubine to serve him." The Empress retorted arrogantly, not to be outdone.

Madam Yan bid farewell to the Empress with a bright smile, but her face turned cold as she turned away.

The victor is the empress dowager, the loser is the condemned woman; it's still uncertain who will win and who will lose.

Zhao Mingxin was initially sent to Goguryeo to marry the elderly Goguryeo king as his second wife. In fact, she was extremely unwilling. She put on airs and acted awkwardly, which gave the old king a bit of the charm and interest that only young people have.

The princesses of the Zhao family were all born beautiful. Zhao Mingxin was the kind of girl who was spoiled and needed to be coaxed. The King of Goguryeo was quite patient with her.

The matter of Wei Li plundering Lelang County did not implicate Zhao Mingxin. On the contrary, after she cried out a couple of times, the King of Goguryeo felt even more sorry for his little queen who was far from home. So he specially built a small town for her in the palace, in the style of Jinyang, to help her alleviate her homesickness.

Just then, the Crown Prince of the Great Zhou secretly sent a letter to Zhao Mingxin, telling her to calm down. He said that he needed the help of the King of Goguryeo to inherit the throne, and that she should flatter him. After the matter was settled, he would destroy Goguryeo to avenge her and let her go home in glory to keep male concubines.

Only then did Zhao Mingxin reluctantly begin to be affectionate with the old man.

The older man and younger woman were deeply in love, and the Goguryeo king even declared in a drunken stupor that if Zhao Mingxin gave birth to a son, he would depose the crown prince and make her son the crown prince instead.

Drinking alcohol should not be done lightly, as excessive drinking can easily lead to incoherent speech. And incoherent speech should not be spoken carelessly, as excessive speech can easily lead to trouble.

When these words reached the ears of the current crown prince, he was overcome with grief and felt utterly heartbroken.

The grief was not only felt by the Crown Prince, but also by some of the old ministers. They had witnessed the Crown Prince being blinded by lust, and now, for the sake of a little child whose whereabouts were unknown, he had uttered such lewd words. This not only broke the Crown Prince's heart, but also theirs.

Wei Li felt as if the world had suddenly changed just because he bought a box of lip balm.