Consort Fang looked at Song Qi, opened her mouth as if to say something, but couldn't get the words out.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for clearing my name."

Song Qi glanced at her and said, "Your Majesty, let's go."

"Okay." Meng Yilan nodded and glanced at the two of them.

Consort Fang watched Song Qi's departing figure, her teeth itching with hatred.

"System, why didn't you announce the mission in advance?" Song Qi found it a bit strange.

"Host, you just need to wait for the event to trigger." After saying that, the system added, "Have fun."

Song Qi struggled to suppress the urge to roll his eyes.

When Song Qi arrived at Fengyi Palace, he saw the emperor's entourage standing at the entrance. He paused and looked at Meng Yilan, saying, "Since he's here, I won't go in."

“It’s just a meal together. The Emperor doesn’t usually come here. He’s here now because he probably heard you were coming.” Meng Yilan took Song Qi’s hand. “If you leave, he’ll blame me.”

Meng Yilan looked at Song Qi and smiled slightly.

Before Song Qi could speak, Eunuch Yang came out, his smile unchanged from before, as if it were already set in stone: "Your Majesty the Empress, Your Highness the Imperial Concubine, His Majesty is waiting for you two to dine inside."

The implication is quite obvious.

Song Qi nodded and went inside.

Zhao Zhi, dressed in casual clothes, was sitting on a soft couch reading a book when he heard the two people bowing. He looked up and his gaze fell on Song Qi, lingering for three seconds.

"Let's have a meal."

The meal was eaten in complete silence.

Finally, Zhao Zhixian spoke up: "I heard you went to the drill ground today."

"Your Majesty, the Consort has not been to the palace for a long time, so I took her around to look around," Meng Yilan said.

Zhao Zhi glanced at Meng Yilan, then finally focused on Song Qi: "You also taught Fourteen and Seventeen?"

"Hmm." Song Qi looked at Zhao Zhi. "He's such a grown man, yet in the Great Jin Dynasty where he started learning martial arts at the age of seven, he can't even draw a bow. It's really laughable. I've been in the military camp for so many years, so naturally I can't ignore it. It's become a habit."

“If you want to practice martial arts, Jingde Palace has a large space,” Zhao Zhi said. “Go there less often in the future.”

Song Qi smiled and said, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Your Majesty."

Zhao Zhi noticed that Song Qi seemed a bit hesitant. Although there was nothing strange about his tone, it still made people feel very uncomfortable.

Meng Yilan glanced at Zhao Zhi and then at Song Qi, then picked up a meatball and placed it in Zhao Zhi's bowl: "Your Majesty, try this meatball, it's delicious."

Zhao Zhi didn't touch his chopsticks, still looking at Song Qi: "Da Cheng is quite likely to arrive in the capital in half a month to discuss peace negotiations."

Song Qi didn't even blink: "Oh, the harem shouldn't interfere in politics. Why is Your Majesty discussing this with me?"

Zhao Zhi frowned: "Jie'er!"

Song Qi paused, and the meatball she had just picked up fell onto the table. She glanced at Zhao Zhi as if she had seen a ghost.

Oh, I remember now, Zhao Zhi and Shao Jie were childhood sweethearts. Back then, when she examined the relationship, it seemed to her that Zhao Zhi was using Shao Jie as a pawn. Why is she calling him so disgusting now?

Song Qi's gaze caused the atmosphere to become somewhat awkward again.

Meng Yilan's head throbbed even more, and she quickly thought of a new topic.

"Your Majesty, may I ask you for a box of Jade Snow Cream?" Meng Yilan asked.

Zhao Zhi frowned. The Jade Snow Cream was a tribute from a neighboring country, and there were only three small boxes in total. It was said to have miraculous effects on wounds and scars. He glanced at Meng Yilan but did not speak.

Meng Yilan glanced at Song Qi, smiled, and continued, "Today I accidentally touched the Imperial Concubine's hand..."

Meng Yilan didn't say much more after that, but everyone understood.

Zhao Zhi glanced at Song Qi's hand: "It was my oversight. I'll have Yang Dekai bring it to you later."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, and thank you, Your Majesty."

"No need, we're all family. You must apply it every day. Don't forget, the balsam flowers are blooming now. In a few days, we can dye our nails together. It will look so pretty."

"Alright." Song Qi nodded, glancing at her hands. Her fingers were long and slender, but the scars on the back and palms of her hands made them look somewhat ferocious. "Your Majesty, I've heard that there's a Beast Taming Academy in the palace. Would you mind accompanying me to see it this afternoon?"

Zhao Zhi frowned slightly, put down his chopsticks completely this time, and looked at Song Qi: "Jie'er, I have something to discuss with you."

"If it's a matter of the inner palace, Your Majesty can speak now. But if it's a matter of the court, the inner palace should not interfere in politics. Since I have already withdrawn from the court, I should no longer meddle. Your Majesty, please don't break the rules set by our ancestors." Song Qi said sincerely. The inner palace was already chaotic enough; she didn't want to get involved in the court as well.

Zhao Zhi stared at Song Qi for three seconds, then said through gritted teeth, "I have some matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."

After seeing Zhao Zhi off, Meng Yilan glanced at Song Qi with some disapproval: "General, I know you're angry, but you'll still have to live in the palace in the future."

"Yes, I know what I'm doing." I'm the female lead, he can't kill me.

Song Qi had a clear understanding of his privileges, and in a sense, it seemed that as long as it wasn't too excessive, he could do whatever he wanted.

For example, criticizing the male lead.

Despite his anger, Zhao Zhi immediately had Eunuch Yang deliver the items.

"Let me help you apply it," Meng Yilan said, volunteering her services.

Upon opening the lid, a pleasant fragrance wafted out, a very comforting aroma.

The ointment was white and somewhat transparent. Song Qi watched as Meng Yilan carefully applied a little to her hand and then gently rubbed it on the scar: "You have to do this when you get back. You have to be gentle. I heard that it only takes five or six days to make your skin as smooth as a newborn baby's. It's a pity that there's so little."

Meng Yilan sighed.

"Want some too?"

"No, you can put some on your face after you've finished applying it to your hands. My skin is already good, I don't need this." Meng Yilan shook her head decisively, although there was still some longing in her eyes.

After applying the ointment, Song Qi let her hands air dry for a while. It felt cool and comfortable, and not sticky at all. It was indeed a good product.

Meng Yilan yawned, propped her chin up, swayed slightly, and finally fell asleep in the same position as before.

Song Qi observed her for a while, and seeing that her head was about to fall off, he subconsciously reached out and caught it.

She thought he would wake up, but Meng Yilan rubbed against her palm and continued to sleep, even pressing Song Qi's hand down a little.

Song Qi was speechless. He walked over to Meng Yilan and picked her up.

The palace maid was somewhat surprised, but she didn't say anything.

After Song Qi placed Meng Yilan on the bed, he had the palace maids serve her. After watching her lie down, he returned to the soft couch and picked up the book that Zhao Zhi had been reading earlier, a travelogue.

She glanced at it and saw that Meng Yilan had made some annotations in certain places, and some of them were very girlish.

"I really want to go and see it."

"It's a pity we can't go out."

They were all written in the script of the Great Jin Dynasty, but some of the blacked-out parts always made her feel a little strange.

Song Qi glanced in Meng Yilan's direction, took a sip of water from his teacup, and continued turning a few pages.

Black dots would appear on the first few pages, but later on, if a word was misspelled, it would be crossed out directly, and no more black dots would appear.

She tapped on the table and put down the book.

I sat there for two hours, chin in hand.

When Meng Yilan woke up, her mind was a little foggy.

I can't remember what I sat on or why I inexplicably ended up back in bed.

He rubbed his head, straightened his clothes, and came out to see Song Qi sitting there.

Meng Yilan blushed: "I'm sorry, I usually take a nap, so I fall asleep when it's time."

“It’s alright, there’s nothing to do anyway, so it doesn’t matter which side I sit on.” Song Qi glanced at the book on the table. “Your annotations are very interesting.”

Meng Yilan opened her mouth, becoming even more embarrassed: "It's just something I wrote casually."

As she spoke, she immediately took the book and tossed it to the palace servant behind her: "Let's go, I'll take you to the Beast Taming Courtyard."

Song Qi nodded.

Along the way, we encountered several groups of people: some admiring the flowers, some chatting and laughing, all smiling on the surface but cursing in their hearts.

The Beast Taming Academy is located in a corner of the Imperial Palace.

As soon as he got close, Song Qi heard the roar of a tiger inside.

Several timid palace maids cried out, and Meng Yilan also trembled.

The two went inside, and immediately a whole bunch of people knelt down. The smell in the air wasn't very pleasant.

Meng Yilan slightly covered her nose and frowned.

The manager of the Beast Taming Academy, knowing that two people had arrived, immediately ran out to greet them.

Song Qi and Meng Yilan strolled around casually; there was quite a variety of items inside.

Finally, she stopped in front of the roaring tiger.

The tiger circled the cage, looking very alert.

"This was sent over a few days ago. It's not tamed yet and it's a bit dangerous. Your Highness, it would be best to keep your distance." Although the steward didn't think Song Qi would be in any trouble, he still gave her a reminder.

Song Qi glanced back and saw that everyone was keeping their distance, with only her standing at the front, followed by Meng Yilan, who was hiding half a step behind Song Qi.

It really is a book without any logic.

"Is this cage secure?" Meng Yilan asked.

"Of course." The steward smiled. "Your Highness can rest assured."

The tiger suddenly slammed into the cage and roared at the three people.

Meng Yilan let out a soft scream and took two steps back.

Song Qi's expression remained unchanged as he watched the tiger's paws pawing outwards, and he reached out and touched them.

Sensing Song Qi's provocation, the tiger roared even louder and rammed into the cage several times.

"Let's go, this tiger doesn't seem to be thinking straight." Song Qi turned to look at Meng Yilan.

"Would the ladies like to go see the peacocks?"

“Okay.” Meng Yilan nodded immediately.

Song Qi glanced at the tiger, then at the steward, and considered the possibility of keeping an animal as his own.

The peacock was much more docile, stomping its feet gracefully and occasionally flicking its tail. Each time it flicked its tail, people would take a deep breath.

But in the end, they were all disappointed.

“I’ve only ever seen a peacock display its tail feathers once,” Meng Yilan said.

"If you like it, why not take one home? You can see it every day and see it again," Song Qi suggested.

Meng Yilan shook her head: "Forget it, I'm still a little scared... It's better to just look at it from a distance."

Song Qi looked at the peacock and sighed softly: "System, this life is even more boring than senior year of high school. At least in senior year, I could do some practice problems and play games."

system:……