Nan Yu was still in low spirits.

Suddenly, Song Ying bent down and picked the person up horizontally. Deng Xin cried out and instinctively wrapped her arms around the man's neck. The eunuch beside her lowered his head and dared not utter a sound.

The young emperor Song Yingchao smiled slightly, had someone bring him an umbrella, and then lifted him up slightly to make it easier for him to hold the umbrella handle. The two went to the Cold Plum Garden, and it took about an incense stick to burn on the way.

The snow kept falling, showing no sign of letting up.

When they entered the plum garden, the snow was already thick, and the plum blossoms were blooming in the wind. Song Ying stepped on the soft snow and asked Wei Yuanhua to go out and wait. As soon as they entered the pavilion, a cold wind blew by, and the young emperor shivered.

The man lifted the little emperor's bottom and placed him on the stone table. After he was seated, the man reached his hand inside the emperor's clothes, his intentions obvious. Nan Yu was startled and grabbed Song Ying's wrists with both hands.

"what?"

Song Ying smiled, withdrew her hand, cupped the little emperor's face, and whispered, "I'll fuck you."

Nan Yu glared, about to jump down, but Song Ying blocked him, saying, "This is outside!"

Song Ying held the little emperor's two slender arms, then suddenly bent them behind his back, gripped them tightly, held Nan Yu in place, and lowered her head to lightly touch his soft lips.

"It's much more fun outside; His Majesty will like it."

"you……"

His lips were tightly sealed, and he couldn't utter a single word.

The pavilion amidst the cold plum blossoms, a night of utter debauchery.

As expected, the young emperor caught a cold, sneezing incessantly all day long. He even had a fever on the first day and was listless. The Empress Dowager was furious, and now no one could protect Song Ying.

Nan Yu drifted off to sleep in a daze.

The concubine arrived immediately to attend to the sick, and the empress also came.

Song Ying was forced to kneel as punishment in Cining Palace.

Two days later, he felt a little better. He rubbed his forehead, sat up, and called out without raising his head, "Song Ying, Song Ying!"

Wei Yuanhua trotted over, "Your Majesty."

The concubine also rushed over anxiously.

Nan Yu's head still ached, and she frowned, "Where did Song Ying go?"

Upon hearing that His Majesty had woken up, the concubine immediately questioned Song Ying, his heart filled with jealousy, though he concealed it well. More than anything, he felt a pang of bitterness; he knew His Majesty had no feelings for him, yet he was the ruler of a nation…

The concubine doesn't ask for much; even if His Majesty only bestows favors upon him once a month, he won't complain or blame him. However, in the harem, Song Ying enjoys exclusive favor, and no one else can get even a fraction closer to His Majesty.

Wei Yuanhua said cautiously, "Song Shijun disregarded His Majesty's health and was summoned to Cining Palace by the Empress Dowager, where he has been kneeling for two days."

Nan Yu frowned. "Will he be back tonight?"

Wei Yuanhua: "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has ordered that Consort Song must kneel for seven days and copy Buddhist scriptures ten times before he can return to the Hall of Longevity. No one is allowed to plead for him."

Nan Yu: "Go and call him back, and tell the Empress Dowager that I am fine and do not blame him."

Wei Yuanhua was in a dilemma. "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has ordered that you are not allowed to plead for him, otherwise the punishment for Lady Song will be doubled."

The Empress Dowager had long disliked Song Ying, and this was just the culmination of accumulated discontent that finally ignited the fuse. The Emperor could show favoritism, but the concubines had to offer advice and, if necessary, feign illness to politely decline the Emperor's favor.

Song Ying, on the other hand, was reminded by the Empress Dowager several times.

She still pestered the emperor.

The emperor's body is of utmost importance and cannot afford the slightest mishap. In the freezing cold, he still took people to the Plum Garden. What they did there is unknown, but it is a fact that they stayed there overnight, which caused the emperor to develop a fever and weaken his health.

These crimes are enough to warrant death.

If it weren't for the fear of turning against her son...

The Empress Dowager had already bestowed a white silk ribbon, allowing Song Ying to hang himself.

In the dead of winter, he was forced to kneel for seven days straight, and he wasn't allowed to get up at night. He was left to freeze like that. If he could endure it, he was lucky; if he couldn't, then that was his fate.

Nan Yu got out of bed, and a young eunuch knelt on the edge of the bed to put on the emperor's boots. When Wei Yuanhua saw this, he guessed that the emperor was probably going to see Song Shijun. He was about to say a few words of advice when the emperor raised his hand.

He had no choice but to shut up.

The concubine worriedly said, "Your Majesty, it's cold outside. Why don't you send someone to tell you that you're not fully recovered and shouldn't go out?"

The imperial physician, who had been waiting for two days, also chimed in.

They were all terrified.

"I'll go outside and cough..."

Unable to hold back her cough, everyone in the room was extremely nervous. The imperial physician came over to take her pulse. After waking up and struggling for more than ten minutes, Nan Yu drank her medicine, got into a palanquin, and went to Cining Palace.

Because I had a cold, I was wearing many layers of clothing and was holding a hand warmer in my hands the whole time.

When the Empress Dowager learned that the Emperor was coming, she claimed to be ill and refused to see him.

Tell the emperor to go back as soon as possible.

Nan Yu still went in. Her son was 18, and the Empress Dowager was not that old. She was born late and was only just over forty. She was well-maintained, and if it weren't for her dignified palace attire, one could hardly tell her exact age.

Not finding Song Ying in the front courtyard, Nan Yu went to find the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager was sitting on a soft couch, flipping through Buddhist scriptures. When she saw her son arrive, she slowly put the book down and asked, "Is the Emperor feeling any better?"

Nan Yu tried hard to suppress her cough before entering, and she is still holding it in now, to make sure she doesn't show her illness in front of the Empress Dowager, so as not to implicate Song Ying too much.

"Much better, Mother. I heard Song Ying is in Cining Palace, but I haven't seen her."

"Did the people serving the Emperor not heed my orders at all?" The Empress Dowager glanced at Wei Yuanhua, her tone indifferent yet containing a hint of danger.

Wei Yuanhua immediately knelt down and admitted his mistake.

Nan Yu: "It has nothing to do with him, Mother. This is not Song Ying's fault. It was I who insisted on going to Hanmei Courtyard. I saw that the plum blossoms were in full bloom and got carried away. I will definitely take care of my health next time. Please don't keep him here."

The Empress Dowager picked up the Buddhist scriptures again. Her head maid understood and dismissed the servants. Wei Yuanhua also wisely left.

After turning a page, the Empress Dowager continued reading the scriptures, showing no intention of paying attention to Nan Yu. Nan Yu became anxious and said, "Mother."

"Half a year of exclusive favor, yet Consort Song doesn't seem to care about the imperial offspring. I'm here, and those in the court and the harem who know the emperor say he's loyal and righteous, but those who don't, who isn't cursing him?"

"Mother..."

"I didn't want to interfere, but that concubine has no sense of propriety whatsoever! She keeps the emperor tied to her every day, so the harem has yet to produce a child!"

The mention of offspring ignited the Empress Dowager's anger, and her tone became increasingly harsh. After a moment, she put down the scriptures and said in a deep voice, "It is not impossible for the Emperor to have children, but he must first agree to three conditions of mine."

Nan Yu's eyes narrowed slightly: "Please speak."

The Empress Dowager said, "Today happens to be the fifteenth. According to ancestral rules, the Emperor should spend the night in the Empress's palace. From now on, at least fifteen days each month shall be set aside for him to visit his concubines, not his male favorites!"

The Empress Dowager emphasized the last sentence again, and then added, "I hope to hold the Emperor's grandson next year."

I can't agree to even one of them.

The mother and son remained locked in a stalemate for over an hour when Nan Yu suddenly began coughing violently. Upon seeing this, the Empress Dowager frowned and said, "The Emperor is unwell and should rest properly. It's getting late; he should go back and rest."

Nan Yu stood up: "Your subject takes his leave."

As soon as he stepped out of the main palace gate, he immediately ordered Wei Yuanhua to go find Song Ying.

The Empress Dowager's attendants were given orders, and Nan Yu was angry, so they could only kneel down trembling.

On one side is the Empress Dowager, and on the other is the Emperor.

We can't afford to offend either side.

Nan Yu searched for him personally.