Chapter 123 Give Me Another Chance

After sweating, the emperor's high fever subsided.

Although it is still burning, it is much better than before.

Queen Mother Qin and Empress Cui gradually felt relieved, gave instructions on many things to pay attention to, and then left Chengming Palace.

Pei Tingyue stayed by the bed after feeding the medicine. After everything settled down, she quietly looked at the emperor's handsome eyes.

She sighed inwardly, is this what sincerity means?

It wasn't just the self-torture that made her soft-hearted, the most important thing was that he risked his life to pave the way for the child in her belly.

The auspicious fetus protects the emperor. This is a great title and will also make the child's future life easier.

Pei Tingyue leaned her head on the edge of the couch, pondering her next attitude towards the emperor.

Xie Chen slowly opened his eyes in a daze.

I have a headache.

He stared at the gilded tent for a few seconds before slowly regaining consciousness.

He tilted his head, and a beautiful figure appeared in his dark eyes.

The corners of his lips curled up slightly.

With her by my side, it seemed the plan was more than half successful.

"Cough cough...thirst..."

A slightly hoarse voice sounded from the bed, suddenly bringing Pei Tingyue back to his senses. Upon hearing his request, he quickly instructed Liang Yao,

"Butler Liang, the emperor wants some water."

Liang Yao originally wanted to play dead, but was urged to do so again.

He had no choice but to hurriedly bring tea.

Xie Chen lowered his raven-black eyelashes to hide his disappointment, took two sips, and then pushed the teacup away from his lips.

After taking a few breaths, he looked at the person beside the couch and slowly said, "You're here."

Pei Tingyue's voice trembled a little: "The emperor deliberately caught a cold, what exactly does he want to do?"

Xie Chen didn't answer but asked, "Has Tingyue calmed down a bit?"

"What does this mean?"

Xie Chen made his words clearer, "I've caught a cold and am in some pain. Will this make Tingyue feel better and more content?"

Pei Tingyue looked up in surprise.

Xie Chen looked at her reaction and made a move to stand up again, "Tingyue, are you still angry? If you are not, I can punish myself even more severely."

Pei Tingyue quickly held him down, tears in her eyes and her lips trembling: "Your Majesty is forcing me!"

"Don't cry. I'm not forcing you to forgive me. I'm just trying to calm you down." Xie Chen's voice was as light as smoke. "You said you hated me. I'm suffering and in pain. Are you happy?"

Pei Tingyue bit her lip and shed tears: "You are the emperor, why do you hurt yourself to make me happy? You clearly deceived me and used me, and now you are like this. I really don't understand the emperor."

Xie Chen raised his eyes: "Yes, I originally wanted to deceive you and use you."

Hearing this, Pei Tingyue's face turned slightly pale.

"But I didn't expect that I would fall into this trap." Xie Chen looked at her tenderly, "Tingyue is so good, how could I not be moved? Ever since returning from the Spring Hunt, every word I said to Tingyue was sincere, without any deception or trickery."

Hearing this sincere confession, Pei Tingyue was stunned for a moment, with emotion and struggle in her eyes. Finally, she turned her face away and said, "At this point, I can no longer tell which words of Your Majesty are true and which are false."

Xie Chen closed his eyes and smiled bitterly, "I know that once trust collapses, it will be difficult to rebuild it. But I am not afraid. No matter how difficult or how long it takes, I will rebuild it again."

Pei Tingyue lowered his head and said nothing.

Xie Chen said in an almost pleading tone, "When that time comes, Tingyue, can you give me another chance?"

Pei Tingyue remained silent.

The hall was silent, and time seemed to be stretched infinitely.

Xie Chen felt the torment for the first time.

Veins swayed on his cold white wrists, and the anticipation on his face slowly faded.

Just when Xie Chen thought she wouldn't answer, Pei Tingyue said in a trembling voice, "I agreed for the sake of my unborn child."

Xie Chen's eyes were filled with smiles, and a trace of joy exploded in his chest: "Okay."

Pei Tingyue said awkwardly: "If I am not satisfied, I will not give Your Majesty this chance."

Xie Chen agreed: "Well, I will satisfy you."

His eyes were so blazing that Pei Tingyue's face turned red. "Why are you staring at me?"

Xie Chen was afraid that the person would run away out of shyness, so he had to look away reluctantly.

"Tingyue, can you serve me while I'm sick?"

Pei Tingyue snorted, "Before the Empress Dowager and the Empress left, they told me to take care of you."

Xie Chen said gently, "This is not their order, but my inquiry. Is Tingyue willing?"

Pei Tingyue raised her eyes and looked at him: "Just now the emperor said that he wanted to satisfy me, but he didn't show anything. Instead, he asked me to serve him first."

Xie Chen quietly sat outward, closer to her, and said, "When I get better, I will give you the title of Zhaoyi."

Pei Tingyue asked, "What if I say I don't want to serve you?"

Xie Chen didn't hesitate: "I will also give you the title of Zhaoyi."

If she didn't want to, he would let her return to the palace.

She just did it secretly, mistakenly letting everyone in the harem think that she was still here to take care of the patient, and that she would be promoted naturally when the time came.

Pei Tingyue was satisfied. After a pause, she said, "Didn't the emperor say that he would give me the title of Zhaoyi after I gave birth to a child? Why is he giving me the title of Zhaoyi now?"

Xie Chen raised his hand and touched her little face with his fingertips. "It should have been given to you. Aren't you happy?"

Now in his mind, what does it matter if he is even a concubine, let alone a Zhaoyi?

It’s one thing for him to think about it, but it’s another thing for him to take other things into consideration.

Originally, she was favored and promoted too quickly, which made many people jealous, so he thought of waiting until she gave birth to the child safely before promoting her.

But he had said before that he would let her see his sincerity.

Could it be that he caught a cold, and that saying nice things without giving anything was his sincerity?

The usual rewards were gold, jade and other vulgar things, but after thinking about it, he still felt that the position was appropriate.

That's why he set up this game himself.

Only she could cure his illness. She could take care of him in Chengming Palace for a few days, and then have her mother issue an imperial decree to confer the title of Zhaoyi on her. This would keep a low profile.

After all, this promotion was not due to his favor, but the result of her hard work for several days. Even if the concubines in the harem had some complaints, they were not that dissatisfied.

Pei Tingyue shook her head: "I'm not unhappy, just a little worried. I haven't even given birth yet, but I'm already putting myself above Concubine Zhaorong, who gave birth to the eldest prince. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Xie Chen pursed his thin lips into a straight line.

He also considered this matter.

Such a promotion was indeed an insult to Lin Zhaorong.

Originally, he thought that it would be okay to give Lin Zhaorong the position of Liang Fei, but after he learned that it was Lin Zhaorong who caused Li Jieyu to have bleeding, he was soft-hearted for not demoting her. How could he promote her?

As for why he originally planned to give Lin Zhaorong the position of Liang Fei instead of De Fei, Xie Chen also had his own selfish motives.

The second-rank consorts were Xian, Liang, Shu, and De. Now that Shen had been demoted, only Xie Xian and Jiang Shu remained, leaving the Liang and De positions vacant. Logically, Lin Zhaorong could have been given the De position.

But Xie Chen planned to leave the position of Concubine De to Pei Tingyue.

Since he ascended the throne, this position has never been occupied by anyone else, so it is just right for her.