"Your Majesty, shall we go in?" Hua Quan's voice pulled Li Qiji, who was still in a daze, back to reality.

Li Qiji snapped out of his daze, looked at the gate of the Cold Palace, took a deep breath, and walked into the Cold Palace.

The Cold Palace.

Guan Zhiyue was sitting cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed). Now that the weather was warm, Guan Zhiyue had moved back to her carved bed to sleep. However, Bilian had turned the room with the kang into a place where Guan Zhiyue played during the day.

A modern-style single sofa was placed in the middle of the kang (heated brick bed), with small square tables and openwork bookshelves on the left and right sides, so that the empress could sit there to read or enjoy tea.

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Guan Zhiyue was sitting cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), meditating, when she heard Bilian whispering something at the door: the Emperor had arrived and she should come out to greet him.

At that moment, Guan Zhiyue quickly opened her eyes and climbed off the kang (a heated brick bed). Because she had been sitting cross-legged for a long time, her legs were numb. She was also in a hurry when she got off the kang. As soon as she opened the door, she rushed towards the person who came in.

Li Qiji looked at the person rushing towards him, and after recognizing who it was, he reached out and caught Guan Zhiyue, preventing her from having a close encounter with the ground.

After steadying Guan Zhiyue, Li Qiji looked down at her and said, "It seems the Empress is quite fond of me."

"cut!"

"How dare you, Your Majesty the Empress! How can you be so disrespectful to the Emperor!" Hua Quan shouted from the side.

Guan Zhiyue was startled by the voice, shrank her neck, cautiously looked up at Li Qiji, and then said in a soft voice, "Your Majesty has arrived. Your Majesty, I respectfully welcome you."

When the Emperor saw Guan Zhiyue's awkward and timid appearance, he rolled his eyes. He still wanted to see Guan Zhiyue's fierce and assertive side, not her playing the innocent little rabbit here.

"Alright, Your Majesty, let's go. I have something to tell you. Let's go inside first." Li Qiji pushed past Guan Zhiyue and strode into the house.

Looking at the neatly arranged kang (heated brick bed), he secretly pursed his lips. It seemed that the Empress was living a very carefree life in the Cold Palace. The kang had been made so that one could sit or lie down on it. She was even more comfortable than he, the Emperor.

Guan Zhiyue rolled her eyes at Li Qiji as he walked into the house and looked around.

"Your Majesty is so busy with state affairs, I don't know how you found the time to come to my cold palace." Guan Zhiyue walked to the round table next to her and poured herself a cup of tea.

Li Qiji wandered around the room, noticing how it had changed so drastically. He then walked over to Guan Zhiyue's other side and sat down, pouring himself a glass of water.

"Your Majesty, is she complaining that I've been so preoccupied with affairs of the front hall that I haven't come to visit you?"

Guan Zhiyue rolled her eyes at him. What's wrong with her? Is that what she meant?

"What? Could it be that I was right?" Li Qiji looked at Guan Zhiyue's big eye roll. Guan Zhiyue, who had lost weight, was especially cute at the moment, and she was the kind of person who made people want to hold her in their arms and caress her gently.

"Your Majesty, you've been acting like you've eaten popping candy today, your words come in bursts," Guan Zhiyue said to Li Qiji.

At this moment, Li Qiji's mind was filled with three words: "Popping Candy." What the heck is that? And what's with the intermittent way of speaking?

"Your Majesty, what do you mean by that?" Asking questions when you don't understand is a basic principle for an emperor, so Li Qiji immediately asked.

Guan Zhiyue looked at Li Qiji, whose handsome yet bewildered expression was simply too attractive to her. This guy was practically etched into her heart. How could someone be so good-looking? His sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, high nose, thin lips, and perfect, resolute jawline were all clearly defined.

At this moment, Guan Zhiyue looked at the man in front of her, who was wearing a yellow dragon robe that perfectly showed off his figure. He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and the jade belt tightly hugged his waist. He looked particularly reassuring. Wearing that dragon robe, he looked like a king who looked down on the world, and all of them had to bow down to his dragon might.

Li Qiji didn't get a reply. He turned his head to look at Guan Zhiyue and saw that she was looking at him with an infatuated gaze.

"Cough~~"

"Empress, your mouth is watering. Are you that greedy for me?" Li Qiji stood up after some time and walked step by step toward Guan Zhiyue.

Guan Zhiyue snapped back to reality, then, seeing Li Qiji strolling leisurely toward her, she jumped up from the round stool by the table and backed away.

"Damn it, you...you...don't come any closer! Let me tell you, I'm trained, or I'll beat you so badly your own parents won't recognize you!" Guan Zhiyue said as she backed away.

Li Qiji looked at the woman in front of him with a half-smile. She was so frightened that she seemed to be about to ascend to heaven. She was so nervous and trembling that she was even imitating others to scare people. He suddenly felt like teasing her.

"Empress, are you afraid of me? Why would you be afraid of me? Could it be that you have done something to wrong me?"

Guan Zhiyue saw Li Qiji undressing and walking towards her, and immediately shouted, "Bilian, help! Someone is trying to force himself on me!"

Bilian and Huaquan exchanged a glance, and then Huaquan led the servants away. It was simply an affront to their ears; was this something they should be listening to? As proper servants, they were not to meddle in their masters' affairs, especially those of the Emperor and Empress.

Li Qiji stared at the woman who had retreated to sit on the kang (a heated brick bed). Her eyes were wide open, as if they could speak, and she was staring intently at him with her arms crossed.

"Don't come any closer, let's talk this out properly, seriously." Guan Zhiyue swallowed hard as she looked at Li Qiji, who had already untied his jade belt.

Li Qiji picked up the jade belt high in his hand, then let it slip from his slender fingers to the ground, and said with a sly smile, "It seems that the Empress and I cannot speak seriously."

Guan Zhiyue retreated towards the corner of the kang (a heated brick bed), until she finally stood against the openwork bookshelf behind her, with nowhere to go. She was unsure what the person in front of her wanted to do.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty...Let's talk things out slowly. We're not familiar enough to be this open with each other yet. You should be more respectful."

Li Qiji would have been fine if he hadn't heard these words. But as soon as he did, he narrowed his beautiful eyes, stood in front of the kang (a heated brick bed), and looked down at Guan Zhiyue, who was huddled in the corner. He exuded a dangerous aura, which made Guan Zhiyue afraid to even breathe.

"The Empress and I are husband and wife since childhood. It is only right and proper for us to consummate our marriage. Why is it that we need to get to know each other before we can perform this great ceremony with the Empress?"

"Furthermore, has the Empress forgotten that I haven't yet consummated our marriage? I'm in a good mood today, so I'll make up for that wedding night." Li Qiji finished speaking coldly and pounced on Guan Zhiyue.

Originally, Li Qiji wanted to tease her a little, but Guan Zhiyue said so many things. Was she complaining about him or hating him? He suddenly felt very uncomfortable, as if something was scratching at his heart.

Earlier today, the ministers had already been upset by her in court. Thinking about what they had said, he had come to comfort her. But when he arrived here, he heard such words. She was usually a calm person, but now he didn't want to be calm anymore.

He cornered Guan Zhiyue, looking at her fair and slender neck, and then at her collarbone, where the mark seemed to have disappeared. In an instant, he transformed into a dragon and bit down hard in the same spot again.

Guan Zhiyue instantly burst into tears from the pain. She kicked and punched the scoundrel in front of her, yelling, "Your Majesty, are you a dog? You bite the moment you see me..."

At this moment, Li Qiji had no reason left. He just wanted to make this woman remember him. He was his empress. He and she were bound together, and there was no way to break free, escape, or avoid it.