Chapter 23 Did You Cry?

When Jiang Yingli first received the emperor's favor in the second year after entering the palace, it was not a very pleasant experience.

Because Xiao Chenglan was no longer as calm and peaceful as usual that night, he became stiff and cold. Jiang Yingli could even see that Xiao Chenglan wanted to stop halfway through.

At that time, Jiang Yingli thought that he didn't like her and that made him lose interest, so she couldn't help crying.

It was only after seeing her tears that Xiao Chenglan finally consummated his marriage with her.

Later, Jiang Yingli learned that Xiao Chenglan extremely hated matters between men and women because of his childhood experiences.

When he was seven years old, his mother lay bedridden, her last breath, barely uttering the call for the late emperor. Xiao Chenglan, dressed in thin clothes, desperately ran through the icy and snowy palace corridors, just to beg the late emperor to see his mother.

He was waiting for orders, kneeling in the luxurious and warm palace, when he heard an unbearable sound.

He was still young at that time, and he had to go closer and see clearly before he knew what the sound was.

The moment the curtain was opened, the entangled bodies, like two lumps of dead meat stacked together, surged and trembled, rushing into the eyes of the young Xiao Chenglan.

He understood.

His mother lay on the sickbed, getting colder and colder, while his father was entangled with another woman in a state of oblivion.

He understood, and felt like vomiting.

In the past three years, Xiao Chenglan had done all kinds of intimate things with her, and she thought that Xiao Chenglan's heart disease had long been healed.

Jiang Yingli hugged Xiao Chenglan, "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. As long as Your Majesty doesn't want to, no one can force Your Majesty!"

Xiao Chenglan laughed: "Silly, who dares to force me? I say this because I'm afraid you'll be sad."

Jiang Yingli was stunned again.

It turned out that he was comforting her.

On the one hand, Jiang Yingli was very happy, but on the other hand, she felt an inappropriate sense of loss in her heart.

Just now, she even felt a little secretly happy. She thought, if His Majesty's heart disease had not been cured, he would not touch other women. He would only belong to her...

She clearly felt sorry for what he went through in his childhood, so why did she twist her feelings into such a bad one?

Jiang Yingli is very afraid of herself like this.

She knew very well that as an emperor, it was inevitable for him to favor his concubines. How could His Majesty treat three thousand beauties as mere decorations?

In this deep palace, what's the difference between being too possessive of the emperor and courting one's own destruction?

She was already very happy that he was willing to comfort her.

Regardless of whether he would favor someone else in the future, she would always engrave the look on his face when he said that sentence in her heart and treasure it.

That's good.

"Your Majesty." Jiang Yingli leaned on Xiao Chenglan's shoulder and called him softly.

"Yeah." Xiao Chenglan smiled and hugged her back, gently patting her thin shoulders.

Noticing that Jiang Yingli was hugging him tighter and the scent of attachment was growing stronger, Xiao Chenglan's smile deepened and he lowered his head to kiss her temple.

He rubbed the corners of her eyes with his fingertips.

"Did you cry last night?"

Jiang Yingli listened to these gentle words, and the grievance that she had tried hard to suppress surged up in her heart.

She didn't dare to open her mouth, for fear that she would cry if she opened her mouth, so she just nodded.

Xiao Chenglan looked at her pouting lips and aggrieved little face. Although he felt distressed, a secret sense of comfort rose in his heart.

He lowered his head and kissed her, not deeply, just gently rubbing. This action of not wanting to kiss or not made Jiang Yingli tremble.

Xiao Chenglan half-closed his eyes, taking in Jiang Yingli's dazed expression because of him, and the joy in his heart was infinitely magnified.

When Jiang Yingli's eyelashes were trembling and tears were about to fall, Xiao Chenglan finally smiled and kissed her deeply.

After the kiss, Xiao Chenglan hugged Jiang Yingli, who was a little exhausted, and then stood up and walked out with her in his arms.

Jiang Yingli was still a little breathless, and said in a delicate voice: "Your Majesty, where are you going?"

Xiao Chenglan said softly, "I said I would accompany you, so of course we have to go back to Zhaohua Palace."

Jiang Yingli felt sweetness in her heart, and her cheeks, which were still flushed, were filled with an unconcealable smile.

She nestled in Xiao Chenglan's arms, her eyes sparkling. She tilted her head slightly and took the initiative to kiss the side of his face.

Xiao Chenglan looked at her, with a beautiful curve at the corner of his lips.

After leaving the side hall, Xiao Chenglan did not put Jiang Yingli down.

There were many palace maids and eunuchs coming and going outside, and Jiang Yingli felt a little embarrassed. She pressed her palm against Xiao Chenglan's chest.

"Your Majesty...please let me down."

Xiao Chenglan ignored her strength that was like a cat's scratch, looked ahead, and walked forward steadily while holding her.

"You have to get used to it. There are more people coming and going in Changqing Palace alone than in the entire Suwang Mansion."

Jiang Yingli nodded, her cheek half buried in his arms, and said softly, "Okay."

Xiao Chenglan looked at her and couldn't help but comfort her, "It will be fine once we get to the front."

Jiang Yingli didn't know that Concubine Liang was being punished by kneeling at the entrance of the main hall of Baohua Palace. From her perspective, she could only see Xiao Chenglan's broad shoulders and a bit of sky on the left.

So, when Lady Liang looked at her in Xiao Chenglan's arms in astonishment, she was unaware of anything.

Concubine Liang never imagined that Xiao Chenglan, as an emperor, would openly walk around holding a concubine.

Although she saw the situation clearly, she disdained the favor of the new emperor whose foundation was unstable.

But when she saw this scene, a surge of jealous anger still spread in her heart.

Why.

The person in his arms was Jiang Yingli, what right did she have?!

Not only did she not have to kneel as punishment, she also had His Majesty's mercy.

Could it be that she was pretending to be pitiful to gain sympathy from His Majesty? I really can't believe that she, who looks obedient, actually has such seductive thoughts.

She underestimated her.

But since His Majesty agrees with this, she can too.

Lady Liang's knees were already sore from kneeling. She gritted her teeth and pounced on Xiao Chenglan before he could completely pass her, grabbing the hem of his dragon robe.

She squeezed out tears and fell to the ground pitifully: "Your Majesty, my knees hurt so much..."

Fu Wanquan, who was following behind, closed his eyes as if he had seen some huge idiot.

You really have no tact at all. Your Majesty is holding someone in his arms.

When Jiang Yingli heard Lady Liang's voice, she moved, but Xiao Chenglan held her tightly, preventing her from turning around to look.

Xiao Chenglan lowered his eyelids and looked down at Lady Liang condescendingly, his eyes calm and cold.

Jiang Yingli was punished to kneel today because of this beautiful lady Liang.

He didn't punish her, but she came to him on her own initiative.

"How many times are you going to block my way?" Xiao Chenglan's disgusted tone startled Lady Liang.

Her face began to burn with the feeling of shame.

She was actually no match for a mere Concubine Jia.

At Xiao Chenglan's glance, Fu Wanquan hurried forward, bent over and pulled the hem of the dragon robe out of Lady Liang's hands.

Liang Meiren was caught off guard and fell to the ground. Before the anger of her failed attempt at playing the victim could well up in her eyes, she heard the emperor turn around and leave and say coldly:

"Lady Liang has repeatedly offended the emperor. She will be punished by kneeling and receiving ten strokes of the cane."

Lady Liang was stunned for a moment and stood there in a daze.