In Kunning Palace.

When the queen learned that the emperor would come to have dinner, a look of joy appeared on her face, completely changing her usual unfriendly attitude.

"Quick, Ah Tao, light the incense and have someone prepare water. I need to take a bath."

"A Xiang, ask the kitchen to prepare a few more dishes that the emperor likes." Because she is the queen, her Kunning Palace can have a small kitchen.

That was a treatment that no other concubine had.

"Yes, my lady."

Upon learning that the emperor was coming, the personal maids A Tao and A Xiang breathed a sigh of relief.

The emperor has not set foot in the harem for the past three months, and the queen's temper has become worse and worse. She often takes out her anger on the servants.

This caused panic among the people in the palace. They dared not even breathe, fearing that they would do something wrong and anger the empress, and lose their lives.

In just three months, several palace maids and eunuchs were beaten to death in Kunning Palace.

Especially when they learned that the emperor had gone to great lengths to find a woman, the atmosphere in the palace became even more terrifying.

Everyone was very careful when doing their work.

Anyone who can avoid hanging around in front of the Queen will not show up.

The emperor stopped at the gate of Kunning Palace, looked up at the plaque, and suddenly felt that the plaque was a bit dazzling.

The thought of going in and facing the Queen made him even more annoyed. He hesitated and wanted to get back into the sedan chair and leave.

Youfu stepped forward in fear and said, "Your Majesty, you promised the Queen Mother today. If you don't go in, I'm afraid the Queen Mother will come to persuade you again tomorrow."

"Since we are here, Your Majesty might as well bear with it and have a simple meal." Eunuch Youfu had beads of sweat on his forehead and was secretly groaning in his heart.

This job is becoming more and more difficult now, with the emperor on one side and the empress dowager on the other.

well……

The emperor stared at Youfu's head and said coldly: "You are getting bolder and bolder."

The emperor hummed, finally took his words to heart, and walked into Kunning Palace.

The emperor's brows furrowed when he smelled the pungent rose scent filling the room.

Could it be that the queen wants to suffocate him to death?

His steps strayed.

Youfu quickly bent down and once again blocked the emperor's feet as he tried to leave.

For the first time, the emperor felt that Youfu's head was a bit annoying.

How about just chopping it off?

The empress was wearing a light gauze dress with her bodice pulled low. She walked slowly over and put her arms around the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, today I have made your favorite drunken chicken. Please stay and have a meal."

The emperor lowered his brows, but finally sat down.

Youfu breathed a sigh of relief and then retreated to the door.

"Your Majesty, this is a new dish developed by the chef. It is very delicious. Please try it."

At the dinner table, the queen kept sitting closer and closer to the emperor under the pretext of serving him food, and even snuggled in his arms.

The emperor put down his chopsticks unhappily and stood up to wipe his mouth.

The Queen stood up in a panic and tried to pull the Emperor's hand: "Your Majesty, you haven't finished your meal yet? Is the chef's cooking not good?"

There was a humble look in his eyes, and the pleading was obvious.

"I still have some memorials to review. I'll come and have dinner with the Queen next time." After saying that, he strode away.

The queen fell to the ground with a look of disappointment on her face, tears streaming down her face.

Ah Tao and Ah Xiang came out as soon as they saw the emperor, and they felt something was wrong.

Sure enough, not long after the emperor left, the queen's sharp and piercing voice was heard.

"Come here, beat the cook who cooked today to death!"

The eunuch outside the door responded nervously and left quickly.

A Tao and A Xiang walked in with a fearless attitude.

He helped the Queen to her feet. "Your Majesty, the Emperor may have something urgent to attend to. Tonight, if you personally make your signature snacks and visit the Emperor, he will surely be very happy."

The queen became excited after hearing this and ordered people to pick pear blossoms.

The emperor worked so hard reviewing memorials, and as his queen, she should understand.

Late at night, inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity.

The emperor carefully sketched the woman's appearance with his brush, stroke by stroke.

These days, he paints one or two paintings every day, and takes them out to look at them carefully every night when everyone is asleep.

Putting down the paintbrush, the emperor picked up the drawing paper with great solemnity and blew the ink dry carefully.

He became increasingly dissatisfied with seeing her only on paper. There were more and more paintings in the box, but his heart felt increasingly empty.

There was a noise outside, and Eunuch Youfu went to check.

Looking at the Queen Mother carrying the midnight snack, Youfu sighed in his heart.

The emperor has been very pure and has few desires lately, and now the queen's constant jumping around will only make the emperor even more unhappy.

The emperor was unwilling to even enter the harem for meals, let alone a midnight snack.

Moreover, the emperor was thinking about that beauty at this time, so if he went in to disturb him, Eunuch Youfu would still know what to do.

He wanted to send the queen away on the pretext that the emperor was busy.

"Please inform the eunuch that I am worried that the emperor will be tired from reading the memorials, so I will leave after leaving some snacks."

Eunuch Youfu knew the Queen's temper very well. He sighed slightly in his heart and went in to report.

The queen followed the eunuch in directly.

Upon hearing the sound, the emperor opened the small box and put away the painting. He did not want the queen to see the woman in the painting.

The empress didn't notice the emperor's impatience and stepped forward flatteringly, "Your Majesty, I made your favorite pear blossom cake myself. It's fresh from the oven."

Picking up a piece of cake, the queen would feed it to the emperor herself.

The emperor did not open his mouth, but took it with his hand: "Thank you for your hard work. You don't have to be so troublesome in the future. Just let the chef do it."

The Queen's smile froze, and she walked behind the Emperor: "I have recently learned some massage techniques, which can help Your Majesty relieve stress and help you fall asleep."

Then the queen's slender hand touched the emperor's temple.

"No need. If you have nothing else to do, Queen, please leave. I still need to continue my work."

The Queen immediately revealed a look of grievance: "Your Majesty, did I do something wrong? You haven't been visiting me recently, and you've been thinking about driving me away all the time."

The emperor rubbed his brows, thinking of the queen's brother who sacrificed his life to block the sword for him, but he still did not speak and continued to drive the queen away.

Seeing the emperor's moved expression, the queen took the opportunity to speak: "Your Majesty, please let me stay here with you. I won't say anything more to disturb you."

"It's late now, you should go back to sleep. I'm afraid I'll be busy until dawn."

The refusal was obvious, but the queen was not sensible.

"I'll read a book here for a while. I'll fall asleep when I'm tired. Please don't chase me away tonight, otherwise, tomorrow those sisters will laugh at me."

Since the queen said so, the emperor just let her do as she pleased.

About an hour later, the queen took off her palace clothes and got on the emperor's dragon bed wearing only her underwear.

Thinking that the emperor would have to go to bed later, the queen posed in a seductive manner on the bed.

Her hand gently stroked the pillow where the emperor had rested his head, and she smelled the emperor's scent, her face filled with intoxication.

Suddenly, she saw something under the pillow and pulled it out.

But he found that it was actually a portrait of a woman.

Thinking of the rumors outside, the queen immediately realized that this was the country girl the emperor was looking for.