Su Qingning only felt the world spinning, and then she fell onto the thick bed along with the person behind her.
"Xiao Huaishuo! Are you crazy? Why don't you just come back? Why are you doing this?!"
"Do you know that I almost had the whole village surround and suppress you?"
She said how come she was so familiar with me just now. She could even guess where she would teleport to in the next second and then avoid it in advance!
After all this time, you come back early!
The one behind him seemed very satisfied. He ignored Su Qingning's reproach and hugged her tightly and rolled around on the bed for several rounds before taking a deep breath and saying:
"Hey! Finally, I can hug you."
"On the night when the King of Southern Xinjiang surrendered, I left a letter to my eldest and second brothers and rode back that night."
"Ningning, you don't know, I galloped all the way and many horses fell down due to exhaustion. I passed many mountains and lakes, passed through hurricanes and sandstorms, encountered several assassinations by the remnants of the court, and also encountered many attacks by wild beasts..."
"But I can't stop. Because I really miss you."
His voice was a little choked and hoarse, and every word seemed to carry lingering affection that seemed to drown him and almost suffocate him.
No wonder Su Qingning smelled some lingering dust on him just now. It seemed that he had rushed back without even changing his clothes.
Su Qingning's eyes were also slightly moist. She turned around and hugged Xiao Huaishuo's thinner waist.
"Just come back. From now on, we can be inseparable forever."
"Well, we will never be separated again."
Xiao Huaishuo held Su Qingning closer to his arms and asked in a very cautious tone:
"Ningning, can we kiss again?"
"Ah? Didn't we get married a long time ago?"
Su Qingning raised her head with some doubt and looked at Xiao Huaishuo in confusion.
Xiao Huaishuo took out his handkerchief and gently wiped away the tiny tears on her eyelashes, and said in an unnatural voice:
"Ahem... yes... I did marry her. But at that time, I was forced by the old emperor to marry the daughter of the prime minister, and I just casually dealt with the ceremony and betrothal gifts."
"Besides, we haven't even had our wedding night yet and we've already been sentenced to have our property confiscated. This doesn't count."
This is why they have been sleeping in the same bed for a long time, but have not yet become husband and wife.
In Xiao Huaishuo's eyes, his Ningning deserved the best in the world. Naturally, he didn't want to offend Jia Ning by marrying her without even a formal wedding.
Xiao Huaishuo's eyes trembled slightly, and after hesitating for a moment, he asked cautiously:
"So... Ningning, are you willing to marry me and stay with me forever?"
Su Qingning rested her chin on him, pretending to think:
"I see... I admit that I love you. But look, your family's situation is not good..."
"Your father certainly doesn't want to be the emperor. Although your two brothers are smart, they are both generous and unscrupulous, and it is difficult for them to take on such a great responsibility. I'm afraid that the country will fall into your hands in the future."
"Which emperor since ancient times didn't have a hundred or eighty concubines? I don't want to compete with a bunch of women for a man."
Her serious look instantly amused Xiao Huaishuo, who couldn't help but chuckle.
"Well, our Ningning is right. Having four concubines is a bad habit. I will announce to the world tomorrow that I will only marry Ningning in this life, and my descendants in the Xiao family are not allowed to take concubines in the future."
"Oh! Aren't you afraid of the collective protest of the court officials?"
Su Qingning had watched many palace fighting dramas before she traveled through time. The reason why the emperor married so many concubines was not necessarily just for pleasure, but more to balance the various forces in the court.
As a result, she heard someone say idly:
"Protest? What's the point? They can't beat me."
Su Qingning: …
Before she could say anything else, someone changed his tone and said seriously:
"Relying on the harem to balance government affairs is just a temporary solution. In my mind, a true benevolent monarch should be good at understanding the people's feelings and help them solve real problems, not just rely on playing power games to consolidate his position."
"So, I, Ningning, am enough."
Su Qingning had to admit that this person's vision had surpassed that of most emperors. But he still didn't let go and snorted in a pretentious and arrogant manner.
"What about Princess Beili? Don't tell me you haven't seen this!"
"Princess Beili?"
Xiao Huaishuo seemed to be unable to remember what kind of creature it was.
Then he came to his senses, helplessly hugged Su Qingning into his arms again, and patted her back soothingly.
"Are you talking about Dou Linglang? She is the elder sister of the Emperor of Beili, and she is only 14 years old. She does look like a simple and lively girl. Not long ago, she seemed to run to our barracks every day."
"I heard from my eldest brother that she and my fourth brother are very close. You know, the sons of my Xiao family have always been learning knowledge on the battlefield. During this period, my fourth brother has been following my second brother in the charge and the battle. It is normal for them to spend more time with people of the same age who they can talk to."
Su Qingning: …
As far as she knows, seeing each other every day is beyond the scope of "being together more often", right?!
She secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but her face still looked unreasonable.
"Really? You didn't lie to me? You really didn't look at Princess Beili for a second?"
"Of course, she's not as pretty as you, why should I look at her?!"
Xiao Huaishuo seemed a little anxious, and quickly helped Su Qingning sit up so that they could look at each other.
"I, Xiao Huaishuo, swear to heaven that I will only have Ningning as my wife and love only Ningning in this life."
"If I break my oath, you...you can just throw all my jade pendants, personal seals and seals into the stinking gutter, and then run away with all my money and military supplies."
"Punish me... punish me..."
He seemed to be thinking about what would be the cruelest punishment for him. Finally, his eyes turned red and he once again held Su Qingning in his arms. He said tremblingly:
"If you break your oath, I will be punished and I will never see you again..."
He buried his head on Su Qingning's collarbone. The wetness from the gauze on his shoulders seemed to spread to Su Qingning's heart, making her heart soften.
"Okay! I believe you don't want to?"
"Then... Ningning, are you willing to marry me?"
"Yes, I do."
It was just two simple words, but they made both of them feel as if the dark clouds had dissipated and the sun was shining.
"You haven't opened the last gift yet? Open it now."
Only then did Xiao Huaishuo show an innocent smile that only belongs to young men, and handed the wooden box that had rolled onto the bed to Su Qingning.
Su Qingning carefully uncovered the layers of gorgeous brocade and used the key Xiao Huaishuo gave her to unlock the box.
“Bah—”
The treasure suddenly appeared, emitting golden light. The surroundings seemed to become brighter.
Inside the box was a large ruby phoenix hairpin with gold thread.
The phoenix's tail feathers are flowing and graceful, its wings are spread and its lines are smooth, as if it is flying freely in the sky.
The ruby as big as an eyeball inlaid in the middle highlights the inestimable value of this hairpin and the noble status of its owner.
Even though Su Qingning had seen all kinds of phoenix hairpins when she emptied the palace, she had to admit that this was the most beautiful one she had ever seen.
Her eyes were slightly moist as she stared at this masterpiece of art, losing her mind for a moment.
"Do you like it? If not, let me do it again."
Xiao Huaishuo pinched her face in a funny way.
Su Qingning raised his head and answered the question irrelevantly:
"So, you knew it a long time ago?"
"Well, I knew long ago that this kingdom would be mine. I knew long ago that there would be a day when the Phoenix Hairpin would be useful to me."
Xiao Huaishuo gently brushed the hair that was scattered on her cheeks behind her ears, his tone was unprecedentedly gentle.
"I often hear people say, 'A virtuous wife helps me achieve my ambitions, and I will give her ten thousand taels of gold in return.' But our Ningning deserves the best in the world. How can ten thousand taels of gold be enough?"
"So, I say, a virtuous wife will help me achieve my ambitions, and I will marry you with my kingdom."
"For the rest of my life, I will bear all the ups and downs in the court and the sufferings of the world. My Ningning only needs to enjoy this most noble life happily and carefreely. Okay?"
Su Qingning's eyebrows curved, and she felt that the two generations combined had never been so happy. She raised her head and gently kissed Xiao Huaishuo's cheek, and said seriously:
"good!"
(End of full text)