Qingying looked bewildered, blinked, then blinked again, looking at his serious expression as he lowered his head, and tentatively asked, "You... don't blame me?"

"What's it to you?"

"I was being a little intimate with other men... uh, I was..."

"You still know?" His tone was clearly sour. "You're my wife, how could you do that with another man..."

The words of blame were on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't bring himself to say them.

He sighed after a moment, "Fine, I'll forgive you this time. Don't do it again next time, or I'm afraid I won't be able to resist killing him."

Qingying recalled her conversation with Wei Dongchen and couldn't help but smile. "Did you hear me say that I married you willingly?"

He pursed his lips and didn't say anything.

Qingying, however, had no intention of letting him off the hook. She suddenly leaned closer, tilted her head slightly, and looked into his eyes. "Your Majesty, you're actually quite happy inside, aren't you?"

"I am not happy."

"You are lying. You rarely refer to yourself as 'I, the Emperor' when you speak to me."

Wei Huaixu slightly raised his eyes, his gaze falling on her face, and then he raised his hand to hold her chin and pinch her cheek.

It has an excellent feel; it's soft, chewy, and elastic.

Qingying was forced to pout, her innocent big eyes blinking as she looked at him.

He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and said helplessly, "You're just taking advantage of how much I spoil you, and you act recklessly."

"Yes, I am spoiled and arrogant." She said it with great self-righteousness.

Wei Huaixu was at his wit's end, and with a feeling of suffocation rising in his heart, he looked at her face so close to his own and lowered his head to kiss her fiercely again.

Qingying paused for a moment, then simply closed her eyes.

This was the most intimate interaction they had had since she entered the palace. Before, although they shared a bed every day, he would at most kiss her forehead before going to sleep.

At first, she thought it was because her charm had faded, but when she heard that Liu Shushu had not consummated her marriage with the emperor since entering the palace, she felt much better.

He thought to himself: It seems the Emperor is no good.

She had only thought about it for a moment when she suddenly felt a stinging pain on her lips, which snapped her back to reality.

"Focus." Wei Huaixu turned his head and gently bit her earlobe.

Her ears were the most sensitive, and the warm, soft touch made her tremble involuntarily.

"So this is your weakness."

His low, muffled chuckle was close to her ear. Qingying was stunned for a moment, then turned her head to look at him, only to have her eyes covered by his outstretched hand in the next second.

"emperor?"

"My dear consort, don't worry, the show will be good soon."

"???" Just as she was looking puzzled, Wei Huaixu kissed her lips again.

After trying again and again, she simply gave up struggling.

A short while later, Liu Shushu arrived with a group of people outside the Yuqing Palace to request an audience.

"Mmm..." Qingying nudged the person in front of her, trying to remind him, but couldn't move him.

Wei Huaixu's hand had even slipped inside his clothes under the hem.

Qingying suddenly remembered that before entering the palace, Lady Wang had sent her a booklet, saying that it was a must-read classic before becoming a wife, and that she should study it carefully.

When she opened it and saw the lifelike paintings inside, she was so startled that she spat out her tea...

In a daze, Qingying vaguely regained consciousness. Wei Huaixu had already released her and tidied her disheveled clothes.

"What are you thinking about that makes your face turn so red? Hmm?" He smiled wickedly.

Qingying felt utterly ashamed and turned her back to him, crossing her arms in embarrassment and anger: "Mind your own business!"

At that moment, the person outside burst in.

Wei Huaixu instantly returned to his serious demeanor, took off his outer robe, and walked barefoot out of the inner room. His cold and stern face and silence exuded a strong sense of intimidation.

"My beloved ministers, Empress, what are you doing?"

Upon seeing this, everyone immediately knelt down.

"Your Majesty, please forgive us. We have been seeking an audience outside, but have received no response. Even Eunuch Yu said he did not know your whereabouts. We were afraid that Your Majesty might have encountered some misfortune, so we had no choice but to resort to this tactic. We did not intend to break into Your Majesty's palace." Liu Chengfeng knelt on the ground, his words resounding with conviction.

"Oh?" Wei Huaixu raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, "What brings you all here to see me?"

Liu Shushu said, "Your Majesty, I just led the officials to the Imperial Garden as you instructed, but we encountered people from my sister's palace there, and... and..."

"what else?"

"And... the Crown Prince Yu."

"Is that so?" Wei Huaixu's tone turned icy, his gaze sweeping over the crowd and landing on Wei Dongchen in the corner. "Where is the Imperial Concubine now?"

"Your Majesty...I don't know..."

"Don't know?" He sneered. "Ah Chen, tell me, where is my Imperial Concubine?"

Wei Dongchen replied without changing his expression, "I do not know."

Liu Shushu said, "The people in my sister's palace said she was in the wing room on the west side of the Imperial Garden, but we didn't see her when we went in."

"That's quite strange. Where are the people in her palace right now?"

"They are all kneeling outside the hall, awaiting the Emperor's judgment."

Wei Huaixu waved his hand and said, "Let them all go back to Baoyi Palace."

"What?" Liu Shushu was stunned for a moment.

"Also, tell them to prepare hot water for bathing."

Everyone was bewildered and surprised.

I had long heard that the Emperor doted on the Imperial Concubine, but I never imagined it would extend to this extent…

The way they looked at Wei Huaixu became much more complicated.

"What are you all standing there for, Empress?" He glanced at everyone. "You may all leave now. Today's palace banquet is over."

Everyone then realized that the emperor was so concerned with saving face that he was burying his pain deep inside.

While feeling pity, they bowed and took their leave with much more reverence than usual, mainly because they were afraid of incurring the emperor's wrath at this moment.

"etc……"

Just as they were about to leave, a sweet female voice called out to them.

Qingying emerged from the inner room, dressed in thin clothes, her long, silky hair cascading down her back. Her pretty face was still flushed, as delicate and beautiful as a newly painted peony.

"What brings you gentlemen to me?" she asked with a smile, her bright eyes gleaming.

Wei Huaixu frowned, walked to the side, and took an outer robe to wrap around her. "What if you catch a cold wearing so little?"

"How could you catch a cold in June?"

"You are frail."

Liu Shushu's face was like a palette of colors, turning red, then green, then white. Wei Dongchen, in the corner, buried his face in his hands.

The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment.

What is there left to be unclear about now?

The Imperial Concubine is right in front of them. It seems the Emperor secretly brought her to the Imperial Palace, but is pretending not to know and deliberately testing her.

Their gazes toward Liu Shushu gradually changed—it seemed that the Empress was not favored by the Emperor. Perhaps the Emperor insisted on making her Empress in order to appease the Liu family so that he could marry a Consort into the palace.

"Sister." Qingying looked at Liu Shushu, her eyes crinkling into a harmless smile, "I'll also trouble you to instruct the people in my palace to prepare some food for me."

Liu Shushu was practically grinding her teeth to powder, but she still had to smile and nod in agreement.