Heartbroken, recalling the Emperor's compromise

Qi Dou frowned upon hearing this, his eyes filled with sadness as he asked, "Why?"

"What?" Li Xingyi didn't understand.

Qi Dou continued, "Why let others into the palace? Wouldn't it be better if it were just the two of us?"

These words stunned Li Xingyi. After she came to her senses, she looked at Qi Dou and felt inexplicably guilty and reluctant. She dared not look at him anymore and could only look to the side.

Qi Dou chuckled self-deprecatingly upon seeing this.

Yes, Li Xingyi was like this before, and he hasn't changed. Didn't I already know that?

But I still hope she will care about me a little, even if it's just a little.

Upon hearing the laughter, Li Xingyi immediately looked at Qi Dou. Seeing him like this, he felt a pang of heartache and blurted out, "...I'm sorry."

The two of them were stunned at the same time. Li Xingyi didn't understand why she said that, and Qi Dou didn't expect her to say that.

Li Xingyi had no choice but to change the subject, saying, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager is very concerned about the selection of concubines. I am just an empress."

Qi Dou knew what this meant. Shi Hui was eager to bring her own family members into the palace and to take control of the harem. Li Xingyi, as the empress, was only a daughter-in-law and had no reason to refuse.

However, even if Qi Dou wanted to postpone it, he could have done so for a while. Li Xingyi was also very enthusiastic about the talent show, which made him particularly sad.

Qi Dou looked at Li Xingyi and felt saddened by her calm demeanor.

Are you really that eager to push me onto someone else? Xingyi.

Thinking of this, he looked at Li Xingyi with a sad expression.

Li Xingyi was stunned for a moment when he saw this. Suddenly, a figure flashed in his mind, the figure of a little boy. He couldn't see the face clearly. In the image, the boy was grabbing him. He couldn't hear what the boy was saying. Tears were falling. He looked like he was very distressed. His heart ached for no reason. Then the image disappeared.

Li Xingyi was stunned. She instinctively reached out to grab him, but only saw Qi Dou in front of her. She immediately withdrew her hand, puzzled.

Who? Who was that? Why don't I remember anything about them?

Qi Dou regained his composure and looked at Li Xingyi, finally giving in.

...Never mind, let's take it slow.

He said, "Xingyi, do whatever you want with the talent show."

Upon hearing this, Li Xingyi came to his senses, not understanding Qi Dou's sudden change of heart.

Why did you suddenly agree?

She began, "Your Majesty..."

Before Li Xingyi could finish speaking, Qi Dou laughed and said, "Xingyi wants to hold a talent show. Does Xingyi know what I want?"

Seeing this, Li Xingyi had no choice but to know, and she calmly said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Upon hearing this, Qi Dou pulled down the gauze curtain, and from inside came the familiar soft moans. The bed frame creaked and groaned, and the people outside blushed with embarrassment.

This time, however, it seemed even more intense than last night, because the commotion inside didn't subside until dusk.

Fortunately, Eunuch Zhao was very capable and kept the matter a secret to prevent the Empress Dowager and the people of the world from finding out, otherwise it would have been another war.

Afterwards, Qi Dou looked at Li Xingyi's sleeping face and saw the results of his battle on Li Xingyi's body. He knew that he had gone a bit too far this time.

Qi Dou gently took a strand of Li Xingyi's hair and tied it together with his own.

We've been married since childhood, and our love is unwavering. When will we truly be a loving couple?

Then he suddenly remembered something and whispered, "I'm sorry, Xingyi, I shouldn't have said that when we left."

Immediately afterwards, inside the Cining Palace, Shi Hui was playing chess with Shunhua to pass the time when a eunuch suddenly announced, "The Emperor has arrived!"

Shunhua immediately stood up and bowed to Qi Dou, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty."

Shi Hui did not look at him, but simply said, "Your Majesty, you have come to visit me, have you? Please sit down."

Qi Dou did not sit down as instructed, but instead said directly to Shi Hui, "I will not sit. I am only here to say a few words to you, and I will leave in a little while."

Qi Dou did not use "your subject" this time, but "I, the Emperor," clearly indicating that he had come to interrogate him.

After hearing this, Shi Hui paused, holding a chess piece in her hand, then glanced at Qi Dou and said, "Emperor, you may say whatever you wish."

Upon hearing this, Qi Dou spoke slowly and calmly, "Then I will get straight to the point. The Empress Dowager did not discuss Shi Yan's entry into the palace with me, but went directly to discuss it with the Empress."

"This truly... displeases me. My mother has not inquired about the selection of concubines. I hope my mother can give me an explanation."

Although the tone was calm, every word and sentence clearly blamed Shi Hui.

After hearing this, Shi Hui took a sip of tea indifferently and said, "Your Majesty, you wanted to marry someone from the Li family, and the Empress has already done so. It's time to put Yan'er's matter on the agenda. I'm just a little ahead of schedule. Or did the Empress go to complain to Your Majesty?"

Before Qi Dou could speak, she added, "The Empress is really something, so intolerant of others entering the palace to serve the Emperor. It seems she is truly narrow-minded."

Qi Dou was already on Li Xingyi's side, and Shi Hui hadn't even told him about Shi Yan's matter. Hearing her make such a fuss about Li Xingyi made him even angrier.

His eyes sharpened, and he clenched his fists in his sleeves as he said, “Mother, now that the Empress has married me, she is my wife, the Empress who will rule the world, and the one who will accompany me for the rest of my life. Your words are truly inappropriate. If someone with ulterior motives hears them, they may ruin your reputation.”

Although Shi Hui was displeased upon hearing this, she could only endure it. If she had a big argument with the Emperor and angered him, it would be hard to say whether Shi Yan would be able to enter the palace.

She suppressed her anger and said, "I was wrong, but you are the emperor after all. You must have a harem. Even if I didn't say it, how could the civil and military officials and the people agree? What if they say that the empress is a wicked concubine who has brought disaster to the country and bewitched the emperor? I am only doing this for the empress's own good. Besides, it is not a bad thing for you to have many children as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Qi Dou slowly loosened his clenched fist. Currently, the Shi family still maintains close ties with the court officials, and Qi Dou has only recently ascended the throne, so his foundation is not yet stable.

If Qi Dou were to fall out with Shi Hui over the selection of concubines, both of them would inevitably be criticized. As the emperor, Qi Dou would at most face remonstrances from his ministers, while Li Xingyi would likely have to relinquish her position as empress. With this in mind, Qi Dou decided to take a step back and let things be.

He reminded her, "In that case, I hope that Your Majesty can support the Empress and prevent people from making unfounded accusations against her and slandering her reputation."

Shi Hui naturally understood the implication, but she did not expose it. She simply said, "Of course, I will consider the Empress's feelings and support her in managing the inner palace."

Qi Dou glanced at her, turned and left, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Mother. As for Shi Yan's matter, the Empress has already made arrangements, so you can rest assured. I will take my leave now."

Not long after Qi Dou left, Shi Hui immediately picked up the teacup on the table and smashed it on the ground, angrily saying, "This Li Xingyi has had no good luck since she entered the palace. The emperor really dotes on her. In my opinion, she has probably already been bewitched by him!"

"She's just a bit pretty. She dared to provoke the emperor to treat me like this as soon as she entered the palace because of her looks. Humph! I hope she doesn't get killed by those new concubines."

Shunhua hurriedly brought over a folding fan to fan her, saying, "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. Once Miss Shiyan enters the palace, we'll have her hurry up and give His Majesty a prince. Once her position is secure, we won't have to worry about the Empress causing any more trouble. Besides, Miss Shiyan is so good that His Majesty will probably fall in love with her at first sight. Then there won't be any more trouble with the Empress."

Shi Hui felt much relieved after hearing this and said, "Yes, Yan'er was handpicked by me, so she is naturally much better than Li Xingyi. I hope Yan'er can live up to expectations! The Li family members are all the same, they are all vixens. I will definitely make the Shi family regain its former glory! And I will definitely make the Li family pay the price they paid back then!"

Empress Dowager Shi's name was Shi Hui. She was the daughter of the former prime minister Shi Fa. However, Shi Fa was deposed during the reign of the late emperor for having an affair with a concubine. Subsequently, an order was issued that no one in his family could hold office and he was exiled to the frontier. After that, the Shi family declined.

Later, six months later, the concubine's maidservant approached the late Emperor Qi Lie, pleading with him and presenting him with pulse records that could prove her mistress's innocence. Only then did she discover that Consort Li was already three months pregnant. For the sake of her child's safety, Consort Li had silently concealed this news, intending to tell the late Emperor after the pregnancy had stabilized in three months. Who knew...

That day was a banquet. Consort Li dressed up happily and went to the banquet, wanting to tell Qi Lie the news that she was pregnant, and looking forward to Qi Lie's reaction when he found out.

She saw Shi Fa lying on the ground on the road, so she went over to check what had happened and reached out her hand.

Shi Fa vaguely saw Li Guiren's face, reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her close to him.

Just as Consort Li was about to break free, Qi Lie's angry voice came from behind her: "How dare you! Consort Li, how dare you have a secret rendezvous with one of my ministers in my palace!"

Consort Li immediately broke free and stood up. She was about to explain, but was surprised to find that she couldn't make a sound for some reason. Her mind was in turmoil, and she wanted to cry but couldn't. She could only beg the Emperor to believe her. She knelt on the ground and pulled on the Emperor's clothes, humbly pleading in her heart.

Your Majesty, it's not like that! It's not like that! Please believe me!

But Qi Lie just looked at her and shook off her hand. Li Guiren was stunned. She knew he didn't believe her. She kowtowed while crying and pleading in her heart.

Your Majesty, I beg you, please believe me! Please believe me!

Unfortunately, everyone who attended the banquet was there, and even though she kowtowed until her head bled, no one believed her. She was imprisoned and executed the next day.

Consort Li leaned against the prison wall, feeling utterly dejected. She carefully recalled everything that had happened during this time, but just then, she seemed to remember something and burst into maniacal laughter.

He kept saying, "Hahahaha, I see, I see... Your Majesty, how cruel you are!"

Unfortunately, no one could hear her, because her words were completely silent.