Guan Zhiyue and her group were having a great time in the Cold Palace, while Li Qiji was extremely anxious and restless while accompanying Yuan Ningsu!

This Crown Prince of Ningjian Kingdom, he can drink way too much! I'm about to explode, and this guy can still drink. It's simply unbearable!

"Come on, brother, drink up! This is nothing!" Yuan Ningsu picked up the wine glass on the table, tilted his head back and drank it down, then raised an eyebrow at Li Qiji.

Li Qiji just wanted to roll his eyes. "Your Highness, let's call it a day. I really can't hold my liquor!"

Yuan Ningsu wasn't about to let Li Qiji off the hook, and said directly, "Brother, this won't do. I rarely come here, won't you even have a proper drink with me?"

"No, no, hurry, hurry, keep going, keep going!"

So Li Qiji was dragged along and drank about three jars of liquor before the two of them stumbled away. Yuan Ningsu was then led out of the palace by his guards.

While in the palace, Yuan Ningsu pretended to be completely drunk. As soon as he stepped out of the palace gate, he looked around and, seeing that no one was following him, immediately acted as if nothing had happened.

"Your Highness, you're not drunk!"

"And what do you think?" Yuan Ningsu rolled her eyes at Su Xuan and Su Ming, then said, "Get ready, we'll sneak into the Cold Palace later tonight."

"I want to see just how capable this person is, to be able to produce so much high-yield grain."

"Are the burlap sacks I asked you to prepare ready?"

Su Xuan quickly replied, "It's all ready, right behind the carriage. Your Highness, what do we need to do?"

Yuan Ningsu thought for a moment, then beckoned to the two of them. The three of them huddled together and whispered something to each other.

After the last three people got off the carriage, they left in three different directions.

After vomiting violently, Li Qiji from Chengqian Palace pretended to be fine and called Hua Quan to walk towards Guan Zhiyue's cold palace.

"Your Majesty, shall we stay in the Cold Palace tonight?" Hua Quan asked.

This is the first time the Emperor has stayed overnight in the Cold Palace since he was released from prison. I wonder how long it will take for the Emperor and Empress to consummate their marriage!

Hua Quan was worried sick, but Hua Quan himself remained indifferent.

But who knew that Li Qiji was actually in a complete panic? He was extremely anxious!

But the person in question doesn't want to, so how could he force her? Otherwise, he'd just beat and kick himself!

Sigh~

Li Qiji couldn't help but sigh.

Hua Quan also sighed, "Alas~"

"Hua Quan, why are you sighing!"

"Your Majesty, this servant is truly lamenting for you. You and the Empress have been married for almost a year, and you still haven't..."

"Even I, your servant, am getting anxious watching this!"

"Besides, the Empress is the only woman you've ever taken a liking to. And you haven't even... you know... with her yet..."

Upon hearing Hua Quan's words, Li Qiji sighed deeply again, then mentally encouraged himself.

"Tonight, I will definitely take the Empress!"

Keep it up!!!

So Li Qiji, along with Hua Quan and Ji Wu, marched proudly toward Guan Zhiyue's cold palace.

When the three arrived at the Cold Palace, they saw Guan Zhiyue and the others eating green, sticky things in the courtyard, which were even emitting a cold aura!

In this sweltering season, the Empress and her entourage are enjoying themselves so much, they're practically enjoying themselves even more than the Emperor himself!

"Empress, what are you eating? Is there any for me?" Li Qiji looked at the cold food and licked his lips. He was already drenched in sweat from the journey.

Guan Zhiyue sat up from the rattan chair, looked at the person who came and gestured for Shiliu to go to the ice basin next to her, take out three mung bean popsicles and hand them to the three of them.

What is this?

"Your Majesty, this was invented by the Empress. Eating one of these 'mung bean popsicles' is like being in heaven; it drives away all the heat in your body," Shi Liu explained.

Hua Quan reached out and took it, then tremblingly stuck out his tongue and licked it. As a result, his tongue stuck to the lick.

Guan Zhiyue rolled her eyes and said, "Eat it without worry, there's no need to test for poison, it's not poisonous."

Hua Quan was so embarrassed he could carve a castle out of it. He couldn't swallow it, nor could he spit it out; it was stuck to his tongue and lips, and he dared not press it too hard.

Guan Zhiyue, seeing Hua Quan's comical appearance, covered her mouth and coughed lightly before instructing, "Bilian, bring Eunuch Hua a cup of hot water."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Seeing that Hua Quan was stuck, Li Qiji hesitated to bite, fearing that his tongue would also get stuck, which would ruin his image as emperor.

Guan Zhiyue glanced at Li Qiji and saw him staring blankly at the mung bean popsicle. She kindly reminded him, "You can eat it now. If you don't eat it now, it will melt. Don't worry, it won't stick."

"That was because Grandpa Hua ate it too hastily. The popsicle was very cold when it was first taken out, and there was a lot of saliva on the tongue. If you immediately touch the popsicle with your tongue, it will cause a heat transfer effect."

The heat from the saliva on the tongue is quickly dissipated, cooling the saliva and causing the surface of the tongue that touches the popsicle to freeze instantly, thus causing the tongue to stick.

"So, you've been staring at it for quite a while now, and the ice on the popsicle has started to melt. It's okay for you to eat it now."

Guan Zhiyue rattled off a whole story to Li Qiji, who nodded like a curious child to indicate that he understood.

Guan Zhiyue glanced at Li Qiji, said nothing more, picked up the popsicle next to her, and continued to lie on the wicker chair.

The two sat silently in the courtyard, looking up at the sky, which was only about four square meters in size, without uttering a single word.

After a long while, Guan Zhiyue stood up from the rattan chair and said, "Your Majesty, please return. I need to wash up and go to bed."

Li Qiji still couldn't bring himself to say he would stay the night, and he left again, dejectedly, with Hua Quan and Ji Wu.

They came in full force, and left looking utterly dejected—that's probably the best way to describe unrequited love!

Guan Zhiyue lay in bed and drifted off to sleep.

Yuan Ningsu and the other two had been lingering near the Cold Palace for a long time. Finally, when they saw that the Cold Palace had turned off its lights, they quietly sneaked into the courtyard.

"Your Highness, look at the ice!" Su Ming said excitedly, pointing to the ice in the basin beside him.

Yuan Ningsu gave Su Ming a look that said, "Are you stupid? Haven't you ever seen ice before?"

"No, it's this bright green ice cube!"

The three of them went closer and saw that the ice basin was piled high with mung bean popsicles, currently emitting a cool, refreshing steam.

"Your Highness, what kind of ice is this? We've never seen it before!"

Yuan Ningsu said, "Why worry about so much? Hurry up and find some grain seeds for me. If you can't find any, don't bother going back. Stop dawdling, and it'll be dawn by the time you finish."

So the three of them rummaged around in the kitchen of the Cold Palace for a while longer and found two potatoes, but they still couldn't find where the rice seeds were.

"Alright, let's get out of here. We'll come back tomorrow night." Yuan Ningsu was also furious. How could there not be one!

This can't be happening! Where did all that grain go? We have to find it!