Inside the emperor's bedroom.
In the dimly lit hall, Chu Changning, dressed in a white silk robe, rose from the small couch.
She listened intently to the sounds outside, then glanced at the night view outside the window.
It's so late, he probably won't be coming back.
Thinking this, she quietly unlocked the mechanism on her foot, put on her clothes, and slipped out the window.
Next to the palace was a warm pavilion with walls coated with pepper, which was warm in winter and cool in summer.
Chu Changning knew that there were hidden guards around the palace, so he only dared to sneak into the warm pavilion, where he was very close and would not be discovered.
As soon as I climbed through the window, I saw my beloved son lying on the bed, his little body chubby and rolling around, his mouth open as he slept soundly.
She closed the window and tiptoed over.
There were wet nurses and nannies guarding the door, so she didn't dare to make too much noise. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her son's well-behaved little face by the moonlight.
As if sensing something, Ayu suddenly opened her big, dark eyes. When she saw it was her, she neither cried nor made a sound. After a moment of stunned silence, she stretched out her little hands and got up.
Chu Changning was overjoyed and stopped covering his mouth, immediately opening her arms to hug her son.
“Ayu.”
Ayu stared intently at her face, her chubby little hands reaching out to touch it. After looking at it carefully for a while, she bent down and planted a series of kisses on her face.
Chu Changning's heart melted completely, and she let him nuzzle her, responding by kissing his chubby little face.
Ayu tried to speak, but when she saw that Ayu had shushed her, she quickly covered her mouth with her little hand.
But the baby was too young, so the wet nurses and nannies outside didn't dare to sleep at all; they could only doze off, opening their eyes at the slightest sound or disturbance.
"Your Highness?"
Chu Changning saw the shadow outside the door, quickly put his son down, and gestured for him to close his eyes.
Ayu obediently closed her eyes following her hand and remained motionless.
Seeing his cleverness, Chu Changning wanted to laugh. The moment the door was pushed open, she quickly hid behind a screen not far away.
The old woman came in to check. It was pitch black all around. She walked to the bedside and saw that the little prince was sleeping peacefully. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Strange, was she having a fit of hysteria just now?"
The old woman murmured something, tucked the blanket around the young prince, and turned to leave.
As soon as everyone left, Chu Changning slipped out and looked at her son on the bed, his little body gesturing towards her, and felt a pang of sadness.
She glanced at the sky outside, then picked up her son and went to bed.
But Ayu was very clingy and wasn't sleepy anymore. She snuggled in her arms and wouldn't let her leave, her little hands tightly gripping her neck, her round eyes staring at her.
Chu Changning gently patted his back to lull him to sleep.
Later, after an unknown amount of time, Ayu was so tired that she couldn't stay awake any longer, so she stopped looking at her and closed her eyes to fall asleep.
Chu Changning hadn't slept. Seeing that it was almost dawn outside, he quietly moved Ayu's small body aside and got out of bed.
As she left, she glanced at her sleeping son, bent down and gently kissed him before reluctantly departing.
Inside the Council Hall.
Yan Beimo hadn't slept all night. He leaned wearily against the small couch, glanced at Wang San who had barged in drunk in the middle of the night, and kicked him.
Wang Hezhan was completely unaware, lying casually on the side. The small couch couldn't accommodate two grown men, so his legs were draped over the stool outside. He was kicked and rolled over, almost falling off.
He opened his eyes and woke up.
Yan Beimo saw that he was awake and said in a low voice, "Go back right now, you reek of alcohol."
Wang Hezhan arrived just before dawn. He was a heavy drinker, and seeing the strong liquor from the Western Regions on the table, he couldn't resist and drank quite a bit, getting completely drunk.
He rubbed his forehead and leaned back against the soft pillow.
"What's the rush?"
Yan Beimo ignored him and went to bathe in the bathhouse at the back.
When he finished washing up and came out, two more uninvited guests arrived.
Xie San and Cui Si.
The two men sat down at the table without any hesitation and picked up his private stash of fine wine to drink.
Before Yan Beimo could even open his mouth to shoo them away, Xie Xuan was already grinning from ear to ear.
"Do you know where the Fiery Lotus and Ice Bloom you want are?"
"where?"
Xie Xuan snorted at his expression and laughed, "This Ice Lotus grows on the summit of Beidu, but your good brother-in-law has plundered it all. I don't know what he's using it for. My men have searched all over Beidu, and only the Beidu Imperial Court has it."
At this moment, Cui Linyuan chimed in, "If you want Shen Yan, he should be able to give it to you."
"But this Fiery Lotus grows under the snow-capped mountains of the Western Regions and the Northern Desert, bearing fruit only once every ten years. It was taken away by the people of the Western Regions Royal Court eight years ago, and we have to wait another two years."
"If we ask the Western Regions for it, given Helian Ye's temperament, he will definitely skin the Great Qi alive before he will stop."
Upon hearing this, Yan Beimo sat on the dragon throne, squinting his eyes without saying a word.
"Wow, our Emperor loves beauty more than the throne; he might even be happy to hand over the Great Qi to someone else!"
Cui Linyuan, dressed in a green robe, quietly poured tea, his demeanor elegant and refined, like a beautiful woman.
He glanced at the cheeky Xie San, then smiled and asked Wang Hezhan, who was lying on the small couch.
"Wang San, your sister's wedding with Xie Er is coming soon, isn't it? When is it? I'd like to prepare gifts."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Xuan's smile froze slightly, and he casually picked up the wine cup and took a sip.
Wang Hezhan himself was already entangled in numerous matters and couldn't sort them out, so he didn't care about so many other things.
He rubbed his forehead and stood up.
"It'll be soon."
He walked to the round table, picked up a teacup, took a sip, patted Xie San's arm, and laughed, "Your second brother, my sister, you'd better prepare a big gift."
"I heard you got a gyrfalcon, why don't you just give it to Awan?"
Xie San scoffed, "One's a sickly man, the other's a cripple, what's there to congratulate?"
Having said that, he tilted his head back and took another swig of wine, then called out to Yan Beimo, who was about to leave, "Where in the Western Regions is this strong liquor from? Give me a few jars, hey, don't go! Tell me where you got it—"
Before he could finish speaking, Wang San kicked him hard.
"What do you mean by 'sickly'? Your second brother has taken advantage of you a lot."
The sounds behind them gradually faded into the distance.
After leaving the council hall, Yan Beimo went to court. After court, he went straight to his bedchamber.
Just as Chu Changning finished her meal, the sun was high in the sky when she saw him stride in against the light.
She lowered her eyes and remained silent.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Yan Beimo waved for everyone to leave, then slowly walked towards her and sat down.
He glanced at the gold chain on her ankle and said calmly.
"Untie it."
Chu Changning paused, holding the teacup in his hand. "---"
She licked her lips and looked at him.
Yan Beimo met her gaze and smiled gently, "What, do you want me to help you?"
Chu Changning leaned forward, turned the mechanism a few times to open it, kicked the gold chain away, and silently ate with his head down.
The air was completely silent.
Yan Beimo glanced at her, got up and walked over, gently hugging her from behind.
Don't be angry.
Chu Changning was slightly taken aback as he was held so gently by him.
They've taken the bait.
Her expression was indifferent, and she glanced sideways.
"What is Your Majesty doing?"
The two were face to face, very close together.
Yan Beimo glanced sideways, his lips brushing against her ear, his voice low.
"To coax you."
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