Extra 1 Hot Spring Palace
Late autumn of the following year.
When the news of Emperor Xuanyuan's death in Yaoquan Palace reached Kyoto, the Crown Princess was already three months pregnant. The Crown Prince announced the good news in Mingde Hall. All the civil and military officials were surprised and delighted, and they all presented congratulations.
If Emperor Xuanyuan hadn't passed away, the Crown Prince, in such a good mood, would have surely held a banquet to celebrate. When the news reached Yongning Palace, Empress Shen remained calm and determined the funeral regulations with the Ministry of Rites.
After two years of the Crown Prince's regency, the coronation ceremony was held as planned, following Emperor Xuanyuan's funeral. Aside from the couple's move from the Eastern Palace to the Purple Palace, everything else remained the same.
There is one thing, Song Lingyi has become more spoiled and picky since she became pregnant, and this temper is only directed at Xiao Mingyi.
In order to please the Queen, Xiao Mingyi finished his official duties overnight and then took the Queen to the palace for a tour.
The scenery of the palace is pleasant, and you can go hunting and enjoy the maple leaves in autumn, but the sightseeing is just a pretext. Ever since Song Lingyi became pregnant, there has been no other intimate behavior between them except kissing and hugging. Now that the fetus is finally stable, Xiao Mingyi has to lock her up by his side and play some tricks on her.
The ceremonial guard leaving the palace was huge, stretching for two miles, and leaving the city through Donghua Gate.
By the afternoon, the autumn scenery is brilliant.
Song Lingyi was wearing a long purple dress, leaning lazily on the soft couch in the carriage. She glanced at the man who was concentrating on reviewing the memorials with a half-peeled orange in his hand, and kicked him with a force that was neither light nor heavy, but enough to distract the man's attention.
Xiao Mingyi shuddered, peeled the orange in a few seconds, and passed a slice to her lips, "I was negligent, don't be angry."
Probably because of the pregnancy, her originally thin figure became plumper, and Song Lingyi's face had more and more flesh, adding a bit of beauty of peace and prosperity.
After saying that, Song Lingyi gave him a sidelong glance, her expression charming and innocent. Xiao Mingyi's throat rolled, "Is this orange sweet?"
"You still have so much left in your hand, just try it if you want." It was incomprehensible.
"Then I must try it."
His gaze dimmed, and Xiao Mingyi leaned over to kiss her lips, actively hooking her tongue and rolling the fruit between her lips and teeth.
After a long time, Song Lingyi leaned against the soft pillow, her face flushed, her lips slightly open as she gasped.
"Mmm... very sweet."
The man's low laugh rang in her ears, and she felt embarrassed and annoyed. She hit the man on the shoulder and said, "You are still outside. You have no manners."
"Didn't you ask me to try it?" Xiao Mingyi pulled her into his arms, his tone casual, then he raised an eyebrow and teased, "The Queen is getting more and more arrogant."
The hot spring palace is located on the mountainside. In the bleak autumn, leaves are falling everywhere. As far as the eye can see, you can see red maple leaves all over the mountain.
It was already dusk when the ceremonial procession arrived at the palace. The emperor and empress stayed in the main courtyard. The hot spring pool inside was square and built with jade. The spring water was of moderate temperature, and there was mist lingering around. There was a faint smell of sulfur in the air.
Because of the hot springs, the temperature in the courtyard was higher than outside. After dinner, Xiao Mingyi dismissed all the palace servants and personally helped Song Lingyi change into a light golden gauze long dress. During this time, he stole a lot of jade and fragrance from her.
The hot spring pool is covered by gauze curtains and carved partitions, and there is a bamboo couch by the pool for people to rest.
Since she couldn't take a hot spring bath during pregnancy, Song Lingyi could only sit by the pool, dipping her snow-white feet into the warm water, making a slight splashing sound.
Not long after, there was some movement in the room behind her. She turned around and saw Xiao Mingyi wearing only a thin black shirt, with his solid abdominal muscles faintly visible. Her little face flushed instantly and she looked away as if fleeing in panic.
The sound of water falling into the water is particularly abrupt in the quiet environment.
Song Lingyi turned her head to look again. The mist covered the man's wet black eyebrows and eyelashes. Water droplets kept dripping down. He took off his thin shirt, closed his eyes, and sat lazily against the pool wall, with most of his body immersed in the mist.
“…” She looked like a beauties who brought disaster to the country.
Swish——
Snow-capped feet splashed water all over the man's face.
Xiao Mingyi wiped the water droplets from his cheeks, slowly raised his eyelids and looked at Song Lingyi, a faint smile on his lips: "What are you angry about again? Normally, I teased you, and you found it annoying. Now that I'm not teasing you, you're dissatisfied again."
Song Lingyi was embarrassed by his words, but then she thought again, it was obvious that this man was deliberately teasing her, and snorted coldly: "Are you saying that I'm being unreasonable?"
"How dare I?" Xiao Mingyi raised his eyebrows slightly, stood up and moved closer to her. Fortunately, the rising mist covered most of his body.
Song Lingyi shyly averted her gaze, but the man firmly grasped her chin. He stood in the pool, taller than she was sitting. He lifted his arms and embraced the empress, whose mood was unstable after her pregnancy. He pressed his lips against her ear and whispered, "I remember everything you said before we got married."
That's about right.
Song Lingyi was shocked to find her clothes were soaked by her hot body temperature. She raised her hand and pushed the shameless man who was clinging to her, "My clothes are all wet... You knew I couldn't take a hot spring bath, but you still got my clothes wet..."
"If it gets wet, change it later."
Hearing this matter-of-fact tone, she became angry and glared at him again, "Just now you said you wouldn't bother me, but I need to change my clothes, don't follow me."
The force of the push was not strong, but Xiao Mingyi, contrary to his usual behavior, stepped back tactfully.
The night was dark, dark clouds obscured the moon, and candlelight flickered dimly by the pool.
Song Lingyi walked into the house on the bluestone slabs. The sound of running water behind her suddenly became louder, as if there were splashes of water. She was curious and looked back.
The pool was shrouded in mist and there was no one inside.
Song Lingyi's heart tightened, and she called out softly, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty... Your Majesty?"
It was quiet and no one responded.
This hot spring pool gets deeper towards the outside. If you accidentally fall in, you might drown... As soon as this idea came to mind, it was rejected by Song Lingyi. Xiao Mingyi is a good swimmer. He will feel dizzy if he soaks in hot water for too long, but he has only been in the water for a short while and will not fall into a coma due to lack of oxygen.
"Your Majesty!" she called out.
Still no response.
Song Lingyi felt increasingly uneasy, so she walked a few steps along the edge of the pool. However, the surface of the water was covered with thick fog, and she couldn't see clearly what was going on inside.
The candlelight flickered, and a tall and strong figure vaguely appeared in the center of the pool. Her eyelids jumped, and she stepped into the water and walked towards the center of the hot spring pool. The water gradually submerged her thighs.
She called out several times, but there was no response from the pool. The rising mist obscured her crimson eyes.
The water in the hot spring pool suddenly rippled. Song Lingyi stopped and before she could see what was happening, she heard a "splash" of water. A figure as tall as a mountain emerged from the water, and the splashing water soaked her clothes.
"Ah——" I felt a burst of fear.
Xiao Mingyi casually pushed his wet black hair back, revealing his smooth and full forehead. His deep phoenix eyes were always staring at the plump and graceful figure in front of him. The candlelight danced in his pupils, blazing and bright, like a wild beast lurking in the dark hunting, ready to go, faintly excited.
He stretched out his long arms and hugged the person around the waist.
Song Lingyi calmed down a bit, and with red eyes, she pinched the man's waist and abdomen, "Xiao Wuhui, you're so annoying!"
The air was thick with fog.
The already thin dress, soaked through, completely highlighted the woman's graceful figure. His tall, naked body tightly embraced her drenched flesh, and he lowered his head to gently nibble on her earlobe.
"I've been absent for over three months. Ali has to compensate me well."
As for how to compensate, the two of them had a tacit understanding.
"But I can't take a hot spring bath..."
There was a suppressed low cry, and the water in the pool kept splashing.
Song Lingyi subconsciously wrapped her arms around the man's neck and turned her head away, not daring to look into those dark phoenix eyes.
Xiao Mingyi carried her out of the hot spring pool and laid her on the wooden couch, the gauze curtains shimmering around her. He supported himself with one hand by her side, half-kneeling on the couch. His upper body, muscular tones flowing smoothly, enveloped by the candlelight, concealed a power waiting to be unleashed.
Song Lingyi clearly felt the aggressiveness coming from him and subconsciously wanted to dodge, but he held her down.
"If you don't think it's inconvenient in the water, why are you hiding?" He lowered his head, his black hair hanging down, his waist and abdomen connected to her hips, as if they were really closely integrated together.
"I……"
The man immediately inserted his fingers into her mouth and stirred it, "...No."
After mumbling two words, Xiao Mingyi pressed his body down, but deliberately left a gap to avoid pressing her stomach. His other hand grasped the back of her neck, kissed her lips, held them in his mouth and sucked them gently, breathing slowly as he kissed, "You won't let me touch you?"
His voice was filled with extreme suppressed patience, "Then Ah Li, please say something nice to me."
Song Lingyi felt dizzy, probably from lack of oxygen, and couldn't utter a word. A low laugh echoed in her ears, and Xiao Mingyi hugged her tightly, his voice hoarse, "If you don't want to talk, don't blame me."
The hot breath hit Song Lingyi's neck, making her heart tremble for no reason.
The evening breeze was cool, and the main courtyard was filled with sobs and gasps until the moon was mid-rise.
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