Chapter 81 From then on, the king no longer held court early

Jiang Zhen looked at Zhang Dezi, who had a smile on his face, and went in to report. When he came out, his face was serious and his tone was heavy. Doubts and uneasiness suddenly arose in her heart. She frowned slightly, took the food box from Guizhi's hand, told her to wait outside the hall, and then reached out to push open the door and walked in.

The main hall was dark, silent and vast, with a large triangular cauldron standing in the center. Faint candlelight shone through the door curtain of a side hall not far away, casting a faint light on the cauldron and the floor covered with flat gold bricks, bringing out a sense of warmth inexplicably in the lonely night.

Jiang Zhen approached quietly, and with a bare hand she lifted the curtain slightly. The familiar smell of ambergris wafted towards her. She looked up and saw a small purple incense burner on the soft table emitting wisps of smoke, which gradually filled the entire side hall like mist. The emperor was sitting in front of his desk with his head bowed. The table was covered with various memorials and books, which showed how busy his government affairs were.

After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Zhen slowly stepped into the hall, placed the food box on the soft table, and then walked to the desk, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. May your Majesty be well and at peace."

He hadn't seen her for a few days, nor had he heard her voice. When he suddenly heard her voice, Xie Fei was in a trance for a moment.

In just a moment, he came back to his senses. His peach blossom eyes were still looking at the memorial. He said "yes" without raising his head, and said "stand up". After a moment, he asked calmly, "Why is the queen here?"

Seeing that there was no joy on his face and his tone was neither salty nor bland, Jiang Zhen felt uncomfortable and increasingly suspected that the imperial physician had misdiagnosed the emperor's illness.

As she thought this, she smiled brightly and replied in a gentle voice, "The weather has been getting hotter recently. It just so happened that the kitchen picked some fresh lotus seeds today, so I ordered someone to make the emperor's favorite lotus seed soup. It's refreshing and can also soothe the mind and relieve internal heat."

"Thank you for your concern, Queen." Xie Fei was delighted when he heard this. The corners of his mouth lifted involuntarily, and then he immediately returned to normal. He coughed lightly and said calmly, "Leave it there and I will use it later. If there is nothing else, Queen, go back and rest."

Jiang Zhen was anxious, thinking to herself how could this be possible? The Queen Mother had given her an order, saying that since this matter was caused by her, she should solve it, and also asked her to admit her fault to the Emperor and make peace with him...

Besides, she actually... missed him a little. It was fine when she didn't see him, but as soon as she saw him, the longing in her heart began to surge like a raging sea. Suddenly, she remembered the feeling of sleeping in his warm chest.

In the past few nights since he left, she has not slept well. Whenever she lies on the bed, she feels uncomfortable all over and her heart is inexplicably empty. She can't help wondering what he is doing and whether he will summon the concubines to sleep with him tonight. Sometimes she even regrets letting him have equal treatment... She didn't fall asleep until almost dawn.

Later, she began to look forward to him coming to Kunning Palace to see her, and even when other concubines talked about him, she couldn't help but prick up her ears to eavesdrop on him.

There are many reasons for this, but with her intelligence, she knows that she is deeply trapped. She wants to control herself from thinking about him and caring about him. She wants to go back to her rational and calm self, but there is no way. Her heart no longer belongs to her without her realizing it.

She could pretend not to care, so that no one could see what she was thinking, but she could deceive others but not herself...

Jiang Zhen was lost in thought, and just stood there in a daze. Xie Fei hadn't heard any movement for a long time, so he couldn't help but look up. Seeing her frowning and daydreaming, he chuckled, then leaned lazily back on the chair and asked lazily, "What's the matter, Queen, is there anything else?"

"Ah?" Jiang Zhen responded blankly. Her bright eyes turned and she said softly, "Your Majesty, this lotus seed soup will not taste good if it gets cold. Since you are busy with government affairs, I will feed you myself."

After saying that, she walked gracefully to the soft couch, opened the lid, carefully brought out a white jade porcelain bowl, then took a small spoon from the side and walked over. After standing beside him, she held the spoon and scooped up a spoonful of lotus seed soup. The lotus seeds had a pleasant fragrance, with a hint of milk and almond flavor, and were very crystal clear.

The lotus seed soup was still emitting a thin layer of smoke. Jiang Zhen leaned in and blew gently before passing it to his mouth. She looked at him expectantly with a pair of phoenix eyes, pursed her lips and smiled, "Your Majesty, would you like to try it?"

Xie Fei lowered his eyes and looked at the bare hands in front of him, a smile flashed across his eyes quickly, and when he raised his eyes again, the expression on his face had returned to normal. He stared straight at Jiang Zhen's face without saying a word.

Seeing that he ignored her, Jiang Zhen felt embarrassed. After hesitating for a moment, she gritted her teeth and said tenderly, "Your Majesty, my hands are sore from lifting them."

Xie Fei sighed slightly, but finally softened his heart and opened his mouth to take the spoonful of lotus seed soup.

Jiang Zhen was delighted, her brows relaxed, and she continued to feed him spoonful by spoonful with a smile.

Soon, the bowl was empty. While cleaning up the food box, Jiang Zhen asked tentatively, "Your Majesty, have you not finished your government affairs for today?"

"It will probably take another quarter of an hour." Xie Fei glanced at the memorial on the table and replied.

"Oh." Jiang Zhen responded absentmindedly, and walked to Xie Fei's side, with his hands unconsciously clasping the table.

Xie Fei put down the pen in his hand, propped up his chin and tilted his head to look at her lovely tangled appearance, smiled silently, and asked casually after a long while: "Why, Queen, do you have something to say to me?"

Jiang Zhen raised her eyes to look at Xie Fei, and swallowed nervously. Two blushes appeared on her face, and she whispered in a trembling voice: "Where will the emperor stay tonight?"

Xie Fei narrowed his peach blossom eyes, raised his eyebrows at her, and smiled, "Inner room of the Imperial Study."

Jiang Zhen's clear eyes dimmed instantly. She pursed her lips in disappointment, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Is the emperor still angry with me?"

"That's right." Xie Fei nodded solemnly, "You asked me to leave, so I left. Now you want me to go back, do I have to go back? Who do you think I am? A pet that you can summon and dismiss at will? Do you think I can forgive you with this bowl of lotus seed soup? My queen, you think too highly of yourself."

"I..." Jiang Zhen's body trembled slightly, her eyes turned red involuntarily, tears blurred her vision, and tears dripped onto the ground. She bit her lip, trying hard not to cry out, and turned around to leave, suppressing the sadness in her heart.

Just after taking a few steps, she felt her wrist tightened, and then someone pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. Jiang Zhen's eyes widened in surprise, and she leaned blankly on his strong and hot chest, and the sound of his rapid heartbeat came to her ears.

Xie Fei held her soft waist with one hand and rubbed the back of her head with the other hand. At the same time, he buried his head in her neck and took a deep breath, rubbing it lovingly. The breath he exhaled sprayed directly over her ears. In a trance, she heard an almost begging voice ringing in her ears: "Don't go."

The voice was so low that it was almost inaudible, but it exploded in her heart like thunder.

While Jiang Zhen was stunned, Xie Fei sighed and said softly: "I still lost to you, can't you just comfort me?"

The tone of complaint and a bit of coquettishness really melted her heart. Jiang Zhen sniffed and pouted her lips and retorted: "Isn't it that I coaxed you? It's you who didn't appreciate it."

"How can you be so coaxing?" Xie Fei snorted in dissatisfaction, and gently bit her ear, "I am not satisfied."

"Then what do you want to do?" Jiang Zhen hissed, raised her hand to push his head, and asked with a blushing face.

Xie Fei raised his head and chuckled twice. He pinched her chin with his slightly calloused hands and lifted it up slightly. His peach blossom eyes were filled with a burning smile. He lowered his head and kissed her red lips, then leaned in to her ear and whispered, "I only want you."

After saying that, he picked her up by the waist and strode towards the inner room. Jiang Zhen had already closed her eyes in shame after he said that. Her red face was buried in his chest, and her hands were tenderly around his neck.

Xie Fei hugged Jiang Zhen and lay on the bed, his breath tightly entwined with hers, his warm big hands with thin calluses gently kneading her hot cheeks, his thin lips lingering on her red lips and earlobes, then gradually moving to other places to gently nibble.

A trace of pain came over her, along with a tingling sensation. Jiang Zhen groaned twice in dissatisfaction while dazed, and then someone blocked her mouth...

In the silent night, the candlelight cast a shadow on the swaying gauze curtain on the window. Zhang Dezi saw it with his sharp eyes. He was so happy that the emperor got what he wanted, and quickly closed the door of the palace.

…

Xie Fei was tossing and turning all night until almost dawn. He was half asleep when he suddenly heard Zhang Dezi's low voice coming from outside the door: "Your Majesty, it's time to get up. It's almost five o'clock."

Jiang Zhen had just fallen asleep. When she heard the sound, she frowned in dissatisfaction, raised her hand to rub her eyes, and then half woke up. She turned her head to look at the sky outside the window. It was already slightly bright. She was about to get up in a panic, and said in a slightly charming voice, "Why are you so late?"

Unexpectedly, Xie Fei pulled her into his arms, holding her weak waist tightly with both hands to prevent her from moving, and then he lowered his head and kissed her on the pink lips: "Sleep a little longer."

His usually lazy and low voice became a little hoarse and charming, with a sense of satisfaction, and his cold eyes were also stained with a hint of lust, which made people involuntarily indulge in it and unable to extricate themselves.

Zhang Dezi, who had been waiting outside the hall, had not heard any sound for a long time and immediately understood what the emperor meant. He glanced helplessly at the dim room, raised his whisk, waved his hand, and asked the eunuchs to go away first.

After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Zhen fell asleep again with her head resting on Xie Fei's arm. Xie Fei lowered his eyes and looked at her flushed face which still had the charm after lovemaking. He pursed his lips and kissed her little face, then he carefully got up and went to the cubicle.

Zhang Dezi, who was guarding outside the palace gate, heard Xie Fei calling him, and hurriedly ordered someone to bring in hot water and helped him wash and change clothes.

However, no matter how fast he hurried, when Xie Fei arrived at the Golden Palace, he was still nearly half an hour later than usual. It didn't take long for this matter to spread to the harem. The concubines were surprised and quickly ordered people to go out and find out the news.

This was the best sleep Jiang Zhen had had recently. When she woke up, she saw Xie Fei sitting on the edge of the bed. Although he was holding a memorial in his hand, his charming peach blossom eyes were staring at her intently.

Seeing her wake up, Xie Fei put the memorial in his hand aside, smiled and leaned over to hug her and the quilt in his arms: "Are you hungry? I asked someone to make lily and barley porridge."

After that, a eunuch brought in the porridge. Xie Fei took the porcelain bowl and fed her little by little.

His movements were gentle and delicate, and he considerately wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. Jiang Zhen couldn't eat anymore after eating half of the porridge. Xie Fei glanced at her with a smile and ate the rest of the porridge in three or two mouthfuls.

Jiang Zhen was startled and looked at him in disbelief. Then her eyes turned red and she couldn't help but stretch out her hands to hug Xie Fei's neck. She buried her little head in his shoulder and rubbed it twice. She couldn't help but think of him sighing in her ear last night and complaining softly that he had lost to her.

Over the past month, he has been really nice to me.

Jiang Zhen slowly recalled every detail of their previous time together, with a myriad of thoughts in her mind.

Xie Fei keenly sensed that she was in a low mood. He lowered his head, gently touched her head with his thin lips, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Zhen shook her head and looked up at him. After a moment, she slowly tilted her neck back and pecked his chin twice: "Thank you."

Thank you for treating me so well. I have no way to repay you. I only hope that your heart will be forever firm and I will be as solid as a rock.

Hold your hand and grow old together.

The author has something to say: ??Xie Fei: Come and comfort me, or I will be angry╭(╯^╰)╮

Jiang Zhen: Your Majesty, would you like to take some medicine? (/ω＼)

[…The dragon couch swayed gently like a small boat~]