Xiao Huaihe was handsome and elegant. He stood up with elegant manners and extraordinary bearing, attracting the attention of people around him.
After bowing to the emperor, he said respectfully, "Your Majesty, Xiao Huaihe, wishes you a long and healthy life, and a prosperous and peaceful Dongli Kingdom. Taking advantage of this Mid-Autumn Festival, I would like to ask the emperor for a reward."
"Well, what kind of reward do you want?" Emperor Xiao Ping's eyes darkened, no longer as calm as before.
He didn't realize it before, but now that he knows about Xiao Huaihe's family affairs, he always feels a little displeased when looking at him.
Su Wanti lowered her head and covered the corners of her mouth with a silk handkerchief to hide the sneer on her face.
It was the same in his previous life. Xiao Huaihe was afraid of wronging Su Ruohua, so he directly asked the emperor for a title at the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet. The emperor was a kind-hearted man, and as long as the request made by his minister was not excessive, he would agree.
Therefore, after the palace banquet, Su Ruohua was conferred the title of sixth-rank Anren, and surpassed the original owner in the Marquis' Mansion.
Xiao Huaihe understood the emperor's temperament, so he dared to make a request at the palace banquet. He was very confident and continued, "My concubine Su Ruohua is the second daughter of the Earl of Yongning. I want to ask the emperor for a reward for her."
In the previous life, the emperor did not ask much. He did not care about these family matters and the disputes in the harem, and he was too lazy to understand the whole story. He just asked Su Wanti's opinion and directly conferred the title of Sixth-Rank Anren on Su Ruohua.
This life——
Emperor Xiao Ping's expression remained unchanged, but a chilling coldness permeated his eyes.
It’s different from before——
His eyes fell heavily on Su Wanti, and he opened his thin lips slightly, "Lord Xiao, does your wife have any objection to this matter?"
Xiao Huaihe turned around and glared at Su Wanti.
Su Wanti stood up and kowtowed to the emperor with full etiquette. Then she bowed her head and said, "As long as my husband and my concubine are happy, I have no objection."
Her posture was elegant and her voice was melodious, but Emperor Xiao Ping still felt that she was pretending to be strong and suppressing her sadness.
Just a few days ago, she said shyly, "I want to have a loving husband and wife, and be together for the rest of our lives."
And now, she saw her husband and her half-sister acting like a married couple, deeply in love with each other. How sad she must be!
Emperor Xiao Ping felt even more distressed for her.
He became angry when he looked at Xiao Huaihe and didn't want to agree. However, suddenly, a crazy idea came into his mind -
"My dear Xiao Aiqing, you are a man of deep affection. I will grant your request and confer upon your concubine the rank of Sixth Rank Anren."
Xiao Huaihe and Su Ruohua were overjoyed and quickly knelt down to thank the emperor for his grace.
The emperor waved his hand and asked the two men to leave.
He looked at the lost woman over there, his eyes deep and revealing a sharp light.
The light fell directly on Su Wanti. She looked up and met Emperor Xiao Ping's gaze.
"Hmm..." Su Wanti saw the emperor's appearance clearly, her eyes widened, and she was surprised.
She was afraid that she would scream, so she quickly covered her mouth with a handkerchief and lowered her eyes.
Emperor Xiao Ping could only see her red little face and the red tips of her ears.
He recalled the day he applied the medicine to her. When she woke up, she was extremely shy, her face flushed to her toes, her porcelain-white skin showing a tender pink color, as beautiful as clouds.
Thinking of this, his eyes darkened a little, and he felt a little depressed, so he drank a few more glasses of wine, and felt a heat rising up his body.
"Xiao Dezi, accompany me for a walk outside." His voice was not as clear as usual.
Behind the palace where the banquet was held was a pool and pavilions.
The cold moon in the sky shines brightly, the palace lanterns on the ground flicker, and the shadows are hazy, as if it is a fairyland.
Emperor Xiao Ping had always been used to a quiet life and didn't like having anyone serving him. He trusted Xiao Dezi the most, so he let Xiao Dezi follow him, and the two of them walked slowly on the corridor.
There are lotus ponds on both sides of the corridor. The lotus flowers have long since withered, leaving only some lotus leaves and lotus stems, standing dry and yellow.
The cool breeze on the lotus pond made Emperor Xiao Ping more sober and relieved some of the stuffiness in his heart.
"Hmph! Calling you Young Madam is just being polite. Don't really think of yourself as Young Madam!"
A rude voice rang out from the pavilion ahead. Emperor Xiao Ping frowned and stopped.
The voice said bluntly, "Although my mistress is a concubine, she is favored by the young marquis. Now, she has been conferred the rank of Sixth Rank Anren by the emperor. She is the true young lady of the marquis's mansion."
"Our master said that since she has received the Emperor's award, the young lady must give her a generous gift to avoid being impolite. Our master doesn't want anything else, just the pearl, gem, and red coral headpieces from your dowry!"
A sweet voice sounded softly, "But, those are the dowry my mother gave me—"
"Humph! You have to give it to me even if you don't want to! Think carefully. If you don't give it to me, our master will tell the young marquis and let him teach you a lesson!"
After the man finished speaking, he snorted coldly and left. Only a frail figure was left in the pavilion. She had her head lowered, her shoulders trembling slightly, as if she was covering her face and crying.
After listening to the conversation, Emperor Xiao Ping guessed that the person in the pavilion was her.
Hearing the crying that was being suppressed with great effort, he felt anxious and a little hurt. He walked quickly into the pavilion and stood in front of the slightly trembling woman.
"Is it you?" He opened his thin lips slightly, and there was indescribable tenderness in his voice.
The woman looked up, her almond-shaped eyes were misty, full of sadness and confusion, her nose was red from crying, and there was a faint trace of blood on her cherry lips.
Seeing the woman so sad, Emperor Xiao Ping felt a little regretful for a moment.
At this moment, he thought, maybe he could force Xiao Huaihe to send away the concubine, so that Xiao Huaihe would have only her as his wife. Would she be happier this way?
"Your Majesty—" The woman's voice was soft and seductive with a hint of tears in it.
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