Wei Huaixu held a grand banquet in Chaoyang Palace. At this moment, he sat on the throne at the head of the table, wearing a bright red wedding robe and a golden crown, looking exactly like a groom.

The emperor, a ruler of a nation, did not even wear wedding attire on his wedding day with his empress, yet he was beaming and drinking merrily when welcoming his concubine. Moreover, the period of national mourning had just ended, and by all accounts, a new emperor should not be taking a concubine at this time.

However, those court officials who had objections did not dare to speak to him directly, because they had not yet figured out the new emperor's unpredictable temper and were afraid of getting into trouble. They could only shake their heads in private and say, "It's against the rules."

Liu Yu's situation today is rather awkward.

Both were his daughters, and although he favored Liu Shushu, he dared not show it openly. Besides, everyone could see who was more favored by the emperor, and even if he were a brute, he wouldn't be foolish enough to cause the emperor any trouble at this time.

He drank his wine in a sullen mood, and every now and then officials would come over to toast him and congratulate him, and he had to greet them with a forced smile.

Actually, he wasn't that unhappy. After all, they were his daughters, and it would only benefit him to see who was favored.

On the other side, Liu Chengfeng drank by himself, one cup after another. Earlier, someone had come over to congratulate him, but was scared away by his cold glare, and after that, no one dared to come and provoke him.

Since he entered the court as an official, everyone has known that he has a bad temper.

As night deepened and the wine was drunk several times, Wei Huaixu, his face flushed, staggered as he was helped down from the throne by a young eunuch.

A group of officials stood up to see him off.

Once outside Chaoyang Palace, he pushed aside the eunuch beside him, straightened up, and walked forward on his own, showing no signs of drunkenness whatsoever.

He boarded the imperial carriage and headed towards Baoyi Palace.

Qingying sat on the edge of the bed, leaning against the bedpost, dozing off, her head nodding.

She was woken up at the crack of dawn to dress up. The elaborate wedding dress and heavy phoenix crown made her body ache. She thought she could take off her burdens once she got to the palace, but she was told that she had to wait here for the emperor to come and sit until the dragon and phoenix candles burned out before she could rest.

When she looked at the huge red candle, which was thicker than her arm, she felt a sudden darkness before her eyes.

This thing will probably burn until dawn before it's completely burned out.

However, after sitting there for more than two hours without seeing Wei Huaixu, her eyes grew so sleepy that they were drooping, and she drifted off to sleep...

Wei Huaixu dismissed Yu Yue and Tong Xia, who were guarding the palace gate, and then gently pushed open the door and went inside.

Qingying heard the noise, and her confused mind gradually cleared. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, but she did not open them. She just smacked her lips, looking like she was sleeping soundly.

Wei Huaixu tiptoed to her, took the fan from her hand, and seeing that she was still not awake, he squatted down, cupped his face in his hands, and looked up at her carefully.

"I've finally married you," he murmured softly.

Qingying slowly opened her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering, and met Wei Huaixu's deep eyes, her gaze filled with a misty confusion. "Wei Huaixu?"

"It's me."

He didn't refer to himself as "朕" (the imperial "I"), which left Qingying momentarily confused about his current identity.

Oh right, he's already the emperor!

She immediately stood up as if to curtsy, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects..."

She had only bent her knees halfway when he interrupted her greeting by supporting her arms, saying, "Since it's just the two of us, there's no need for formalities."

"This... I'm afraid it's not appropriate."

"I am the emperor, what I say is suitable is suitable."

She pursed her lips and didn't say anything.

Wei Huaixu grasped her wrist, sat on the edge of the bed, and pulled her into his arms, whereupon she sat on his lap.

Qingying nervously gripped the fabric of her clothes, not daring to move an inch.

“Jiaojiao…” Wei Huaixu stared at her profile, his brows furrowing slightly. “Are you afraid of me?”

"No, it's not..."

"Why are you trembling?"

Qingying then realized that her body was stiffly nestled in his arms, and her whole body was trembling slightly uncontrollably.

She swallowed hard and stammered, "I'm just... a little nervous because it's my first time getting married..."

Wei Huaixu couldn't help but chuckle, a muffled laugh emanating from her chest, which was pressed against her arm. The sound made her feel as if something unknown had surged from her arm all the way to her forehead, and her ears felt slightly hot.

"My Jiaojiao is so adorable." He pinched Qingying's incredibly soft cheek, his smile full of affection. "I came in just now and saw you were dozing off. Why didn't you go to sleep first?"

Qingying didn't look at him; her gaze remained fixed on the phoenix feathers embroidered on the hem of her wedding dress. After a moment, she whispered, "The nanny said I need to sit by the red candles."

Wei Huaixu's gaze shifted to the half-burnt red candle standing on the table not far away, and he raised an eyebrow. "It won't be until at least the middle of the night before it burns out. Are you sure you can sit still?"

“Well… the old lady said that it would be considered unreserved for a woman not to sit by red candles on her wedding night.”

"Hmm..." He thought for a moment and said, "Then you should change out of your wedding dress and phoenix crown first, they look tiring."

Qingying had wanted to change it for a long time. She glanced down at it and nodded.

Wei Huaixu's hand reached for the frog clasp around her neck, startling her. She instinctively covered it, exclaiming, "Your Majesty!"

"Don't be nervous, I'm just helping you out. I'm afraid you can't change it all by yourself."

"I...I can call Yu Yue in..."

Wei Huaixu glanced at her sideways, then calmly withdrew his hand. "Fine, I'll call them in for you."

Qingying was surprised that he was so easy to talk to.

She was placed on the bed, while he got up and walked towards the door.

Soon, Yu Yue and Tong Xia were summoned in. She went behind the screen, and the two quickly helped her remove her clothes and jewelry, and put on a light red silk nightgown.

After they finished their business, they left respectfully without daring to say a word.

Qingying emerged from behind the screen and looked up to see that Wei Huaixu had already tidied up and was lying in bed.

She froze on the spot, hesitant to go forward.

Wei Huaixu lay on his side, his arm supporting his forehead. His long, black hair made his exposed skin appear even whiter. He looked languid, and his cold eyes held a rare hint of tenderness. He beckoned to her with his finger, "Jiaojiao, come here."

The scene was indescribably erotic, resembling male prostitutes soliciting customers in a brothel. Qingying couldn't help but swallow again.

She took small steps forward, sat down on the edge of the bed, and didn't move again, her gaze fixed on the red candle still burning not far away.

After a while, Wei Huaixu hugged her waist from behind, rested his chin on her shoulder, and breathed on her neck with warm breath, causing a slight itch.

She couldn't help but shrink back, "Your Majesty..."

"You continue sitting by the red candle, I'll do my own thing, we won't delay each other."

"???" Qingying turned her head, looking confused.

The man, however, remained calm and composed, saying, "I still have one red candle; enough for you to sit until dawn."

"..."

How could this person say such an inappropriate thing with such a serious expression?

However, for a fleeting moment, she was reminded of Wei Huaixu, who used to often act like a scoundrel towards her...