Cining Palace.

"Yue'er, you've finally arrived! I heard about it earlier and came to let me see how things are going." Xin Peilin stopped Guan Zhiyue, who was about to greet her.

Guan Zhiyue held Empress Dowager Xin's hand, then sat down on the phoenix couch next to Xin Peilin, smiling as she said, "Mother, your daughter-in-law is fine. Your daughter-in-law wishes you a Happy New Year, all the best, and that all your wishes come true. May you grow younger than ever."

Empress Dowager Xin smiled and took Guan Zhiyue's hand. After sitting down, she looked at Guan Zhiyue's neck and collarbone. Because her collarbone had just been injured, the imperial physician advised against wearing thick clothes. Guan Zhiyue simply wore a dress that exposed her collarbone, since it was breathable anyway.

The Empress Dowager also noticed at a glance that there were indeed bite marks on that fair and translucent shoulder. Although medicine had been applied, the teeth marks that had penetrated deep into the flesh were still clearly visible.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you? Yue'er is already in poor health, and you're still tormenting her like this. You've gone too far!" Empress Dowager Xin looked angrily at Li Qiji, who was standing to the side.

Li Qiji: "..."

This is only the beginning, how did it get to Cining Palace? He originally just wanted to scare the girl, he didn't use much force, how could he have injured this woman like this? This is what puzzles her the most.

What Li Qiji didn't know was that Guan Zhiyue's skin was too fragile. Even the slightest bit of sharp material would sink in deeply, so he racked his brains but still couldn't figure out why.

Guan Zhiyue was secretly overjoyed to see Li Qiji being scolded like a quail. "Let you be arrogant, huh? Let the Empress Dowager teach you a lesson and show you what you're made of."

Guan Zhiyue's smug little look was seen as provocation by Li Qiji, which infuriated him. This damned woman must have done something, otherwise why would she bleed so much? Could a bitten skin bleed so much?

Empress Dowager Xin turned her head and saw that Guan Zhiyue not only had an injury on her collarbone, but also red marks on her neck. As someone who had been through similar experiences, how could she not know what that meant? She then took Guan Zhiyue's hand and said, "Yue'er, you've really had a hard time. Your health isn't good either. I'll have the imperial kitchen prepare some good food for you later. You worked hard last night."

Upon hearing this, Guan Zhiyue realized things had gone off-topic. What was going on? She quickly intervened, saying, "Mother, actually last night we..."

"I know, I've been through this before. You've worked hard. Just focus on getting better. The Emperor has finally shown interest in this matter, so you need to be more accommodating."

"Mother, what are you saying? Actually, we..."

"I know, I know, I won't say anymore, I won't say anymore. Granny Fan, go and see if my brother and his family have entered the palace yet." Empress Dowager Xin directly changed the subject and stopped discussing the matter, but in her heart she was thinking about how long it would be before she could hold her grandson.

After thinking about it again, I realized that I still couldn't let Yue'er get pregnant, especially since her health was poor. It seemed I should talk to the Emperor privately about it.

Guan Zhiyue was at her wit's end looking at the Empress Dowager, who was so convinced of her own authority. The dead man next to her was just chuckling to himself and didn't even try to help her out of the predicament.

When Empress Dowager Xin was speaking, Li Qiji had already received Guan Zhiyue's pleading look. He didn't care, on the contrary, he felt quite comfortable with his mother's words, and he felt very relieved.

After being threatened by a series of glares, Guan Zhiyue still saw that the scoundrel of a man wouldn't make a move, so she gave up. Anyway, the more she explained, the worse it would get, so she might as well just give up!

"Mother, are Uncle and Aunt coming to the palace today?" Guan Zhiyue had completely relaxed after giving up. Let's all just give up together, why care?

Empress Dowager Xin was delighted to hear Guan Zhiyue say this, and said with a smile, "Yes, your uncle, aunt, and your eldest cousin will come to the palace today to pay their respects to me for the New Year."

Guan Zhiyue smiled and said, "Oh, is that so? That's fine then. Daughter-in-law, why don't you go to the small kitchen to cook?"

"No need. Let's have hot pot today. I think this hot pot is really good. It warms you up completely after eating, and the food is still hot."

Guan Zhiyue said with a smile, "Then daughter-in-law, go and get some snacks. I was in such a hurry when I came that I forgot to bring them."

Empress Dowager Xin did not want Guan Zhiyue to leave, so she said with a smile, "No need, I have some snacks in my palace. Whatever Yue'er wants to eat, I will just tell someone to get it."

Guan Zhiyue really wanted to say, "You can't even get what I want to eat," but then she smiled and said, "Mother, I have some freshly made braised dishes in my palace that you've probably never tried before. I'll go get them for you now, so my uncles can have a taste when they come, right?"

"Alright, go back and get it. Be careful and come back quickly." Empress Dowager Xin thought of what she still needed to say to the Emperor in private, and decided to let Guan Zhiyue leave now.

——

"Your Majesty, you are not young anymore. Although Yue'er has already consummated her marriage with you, she is still young and her body is still small. You should not let her get pregnant for now. It is not too late to let her get pregnant when she is older and her body is better. There are other older concubines in the harem. Do you see any that you like? If you like any of them, you can summon them to serve you. It would be good if they could produce offspring for our Li family as soon as possible," Empress Dowager Xin said sternly.

Li Qiji said coldly, somewhat displeased, "Mother, I am busy with state affairs. We can talk about having offspring later. Right now, the border countries are eyeing us covetously. I don't have that much time to think about it."

Empress Dowager Xin: "..."

On her way back to the palace, Guan Zhiyue encountered three women, but why did these three women look at her with such unfriendly eyes?

"Your Majesty, we pay our respects! May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings and peace!" the three women said in unison.

Guan Zhiyue looked at the three women in front of her, politely told them to rise, and wished them a happy new year. However, when the three women saw Guan Zhiyue's exposed collarbone and the red mark on her fair and slender neck, their eyes widened.

"Some people, their words are like farts, just talking to themselves," Consort Zhuang said.

“Yes, that’s for sure. He said he wasn’t feeling well yesterday, but then he started contradicting himself last night,” Zhuang Xiurong chimed in.

Fu Xiuyi glanced at Guan Zhiyue and said sarcastically, "Yeah, she's still parading around like this, acting like nobody knows. Sisters, don't you think she's disgusting?"

"That's absolutely disgusting! Ugh! That's how pretentious a bitch is." Consort Zhuang glanced at Guan Zhiyue, then her words escalated to a whole new level.

Bilian was furious after hearing what these people said. Guan Zhiyue shook her head almost imperceptibly, then looked at the three women in front of her and said, "Consort Zhuang, Consort Zhuang, and Consort Fu, are you three just being sour grapes?"

"Your Majesty, what makes you say that? I didn't say anything about Your Majesty." Consort Zhuang said.

Guan Zhiyue glanced at her, then said with a smile, "Oh my, the Emperor was really crazy last night, extremely wild! His stamina and endurance were amazing. Aren't you incredibly envious? It's okay, you can be envious all you want, after all, these are things you can't understand."

Everyone present was stunned and speechless. Why did the Empress say such things? It was simply too inappropriate for children, too wicked, and too cunning.

Guan Zhiyue was very satisfied with the expressions on these people's faces and said happily, "Let's go, Bilian, don't keep the Empress Dowager waiting."

So Guan Zhiyue left with Bilian, while Consort Zhuang and the others had already wrung their handkerchiefs out of shape...