Wei Yuanhua had never seen His Majesty like this before. This was the second time he had married. Lady Song was a femme fatale!

I'm still more alert when I'm brushing my teeth.

I ate breakfast early today so I wouldn't go hungry again.

Song Ying's official robes would take a few days to arrive. During these few days, the two ate, drank, and lived together. Nan Yu didn't tease him and just treated him as a bedmate.

The day before Song Ying set off.

Nan Yu was troubled. She had forgotten that she needed a bedmate to sleep with at night. But the emperor's word was law, and once he sent people out to provide disaster relief, there was no reason to take them back.

He was unusually careless when reviewing memorials, often holding the book in his hand and spending several minutes reading just a few lines. Song Ying was grinding ink beside him, taking in the young emperor's every move.

He didn't know that Nan Yu was just worried about sleeping at night.

Song Ying thought the other party was reluctant to part with it.

A strange feeling arose in my heart.

At this moment, a eunuch entered from outside the door, and Nan Yu recognized him.

Wei Yuanhua recognized him; it was Xi Dequan, the chief eunuch of Consort Zhen's palace, who had come on Consort Zhen's orders to invite the Emperor to Jingyang Palace for lunch.

Nan Yu then remembered that there were still a bunch of concubines in the harem.

Previously, Wei Yuanhua would bring people from the Imperial Household Department to choose a concubine for him every day. At first, he refused, but later, when Song Ying was there every day, he was exempted from this process.

Everyone in the harem knows that Consort Song has recently become the most favored concubine, enjoying immense popularity.

Despite the favor shown to him, there were no real rewards given.

In the harem, favor and rewards were actually quite intertwined. Whether the emperor's attitude towards Consort Song was good or bad remained unpredictable for them.

Nan Yu was quite satisfied with Song Ying; this bed partner was very well-behaved.

At first, talking to him was exhausting.

Gradually, he probably opened up and became less cautious. He went to court with the ministers and helped grind ink after court. Occasionally, when ministers came to discuss matters, he would at most avoid them for a while, but he would still come over in the evening.

If it weren't for hearing that Song Ying was about to be sent to the south for disaster relief...

The Empress Dowager even wants to have a heart-to-heart talk with the young emperor.

The emperor should not monopolize the emperor's favor.

Nan Yu didn't give anything in return, for no other reason than he simply forgot. Since the rumors hadn't reached his ears, he didn't pay any attention to them.

"I will be there in a moment."

With Song Ying gone, he needs to find a suitable new bed partner.

Girls are definitely out of the question. He doesn't like women. Even if it's just sleeping together, he'll feel like a pervert. So the safest option is to choose from his group of male concubines.

I'll go take a look this afternoon.

I wonder if washing my face would make me a stunning beauty?

The man standing by the desk grinding ink tightened his grip on the inkstone, his expression growing increasingly cold. Just by looking at him, one could sense his intense dissatisfaction, which even affected Nan Yu.

After Xi Dequan left, he asked, "What's wrong with you?" He glanced at the ink in the inkstone, which had been ground to an excessively thick consistency.

Song Ying put down the ink stick, a drop of ink splashing onto his hand without him noticing. He casually touched it, staining his fingers with ink, but he didn't seem to care. Instead, he stared at Nan Yu, feigning ignorance, and asked:

"Is Your Majesty going to have lunch with Consort Zhen?"

"Um."

Song Ying remained silent.

Nan Yu didn't understand what was wrong with him.

I guess I'll be leaving tomorrow, and I might be reluctant to leave?

She patted his arm reassuringly, then, seeing the ink-stained fingers, she took out a handkerchief, grasped Song Ying's hand, and carefully wiped it clean for him.

He comforted her, saying, "I will send someone to protect your safety. It's alright. If it can't be resolved in a month or so, and you want to come back, just write a letter, and I will send someone to exchange you for me."

Song Ying looked down and saw the ink stains on his hands. The young emperor helped him wipe away the wet ink. Although the remaining stains needed to be washed clean with water, it wouldn't dirty other places.

The young emperor moved carefully.

Song Ying felt something sprouting in her chest.

After wiping it clean, Nan Yu patted her bedmate's hand and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

Seeing that it was almost time, he said, "You can stay here for lunch today. I'll go sit in Consort Zhen's palace."

Nan Yu walked around the desk, and Song Ying suddenly grabbed his arm, took a deep breath and said, "It has been a long time since I have seen Consort Zhen. I also want to go. I will leave the palace tomorrow, and it will probably be a while before I can see her."

ah?

He went too.

All right.

Jingyang Palace.

Consort Zhen was initially pleased that the Emperor had come to her palace, but when she saw Song Ying accompanying him, she almost lost her composure.

Nan Yu felt a little embarrassed, so she explained:

"He will be leaving the palace tomorrow, so I will take him with me."

It would be better not to explain; explaining only makes it seem more like favoritism.

Consort Zhen smiled. Since His Majesty brought them personally, there was nothing she could say. Male favorites were all fertile men. Song Ying was handsome and tall, and quite pleasing to the eye.

Consort Zhen was only annoyed for a short while.

Male favorites were restricted in the harem and lived separately from the concubines. Otherwise, if men and women slept together, the emperor might be cuckolded.

The three sat down, with Consort Zhen on the left and Song Ying on the right.

Normally, the eunuchs would serve the food, but Consort Zhen hadn't seen His Majesty for a long time and missed him dearly, so she took the initiative to use her chopsticks to serve Nan Yu the food, speaking softly and gently:

"Your Majesty, please try these crystal shrimp balls. I find them quite delicious. I wonder if Your Majesty would like them?"

Just as Nan Yu was about to pick up his chopsticks to eat, Song Ying used his own chopsticks to pick up a piece of fish, forcing a smile onto his usually unsmiling face, and held it directly to the little emperor's lips, saying:

"Your Majesty, don't you love eating fish the most?"

Nan Yu stared at the chopsticks brought to her lips: "…………"

I glanced at Song Ying with a hint of unease. What was he doing?

The scene gave him an inexplicable feeling of being in a chaotic battlefield.

"Your Majesty, aren't you going to eat?"

The beauty, heartbroken, lowered her head and picked up her chopsticks. Nan Yu quickly opened her mouth and ate the piece of fish, chewing and swallowing it. Before she could react, Consort Zhen on her left smiled enviously.

"Your Majesty treats Lady Song very well."

ah?

No, I just don't want him to lose face.

I wouldn't want to embarrass the girl.

Nan Yu quickly picked up her chopsticks and ate the shrimp balls, then smiled at Consort Zhen: "They taste pretty good."

Song Ying picked up more food. Consort Zhen vaguely sensed Song Ying's targeting and was slightly displeased. She also picked up some food. Nan Yu said, "I'm eating, I'm eating, I'm eating."

Finally, Consort Zhen stopped first. Competing with a male favorite would seem petty, and His Majesty was furious. She needed to be more discerning.

Nan Yu really felt like throwing up.

There were some things he didn't like to eat at all, but Song Ying fed him like crazy. He should have known better than to come and suffer like this. Song Shijun was quite bold today.

I ate until I was very full, then rinsed my mouth with tea.

Consort Zhen ordered someone to brew another pot of fresh tea.

Nan Yu drank a cup to cleanse herself before leaving. When she got back, she felt embarrassed and suddenly remembered the matter of giving a reward. She then asked the Imperial Household Department to select a few good items to send over.

He yawned, preparing to continue reading the memorials, and had barely settled into his seat when a large hand grabbed his fingers.

Nan Yu paused for a moment, then looked up.

The young emperor, who had just finished eating, had a hint of weariness on his face, and his delicate eyebrows and eyes were full of confusion. Song Ying looked at him and suddenly wanted to kiss him.