Yun Chaoxi ordered the burning of the peony-patterned clothes. Chu Xiao, who was always watching her, soon found out and couldn't even attend to political affairs. He rushed to Zhaoyang Palace.
Chu Xiao had expected to meet a deeply aggrieved imperial concubine, but to his surprise, Yun Chaoxi was all smiles and in a rather good mood.
"Shouldn't His Majesty be in the Imperial Study at this time?" Yun Chaoxi asked in surprise when she saw the visitor.
Chu Xiao walked to the soft couch and sat down. He stretched out his long arm and pulled Yun Chaoxi, who was standing, to sit next to him. He half-embraced her and said thoughtfully, "I heard that you ordered someone to burn a dress embroidered with peonies today?"
Yun Chaoxi nodded, her beautiful eyes glancing at the emperor's pained expression, and said with a light laugh, "The peony is the most beautiful flower in the world, the queen of all flowers. Historically, only the empress could wear it. For me to wear it would be an overstepping of bounds. Doesn't Your Majesty know this?"
"Who said it's overstepping the bounds? It's just a peony embroidered dress. Xi'er can wear it if she wants. Anyway, you'll be my empress sooner or later."
"How about I issue the decree of investiture tomorrow?"
He had originally planned to formally appoint Yun Chaoxi as Empress, and had people prepare the grand ceremony. There were many things to prepare; the phoenix robe alone would take one or two months to make. The ceremony was complicated, and there was a lot to learn before and after it. He thought he would wait until Chaoxi gave birth and recovered before issuing the decree to formally appoint her.
But now, thinking about how Xi'er, as a Noble Consort, has to be discreet even when it comes to clothing, Chu Xiao feels that it would be better to give her the title of Empress immediately!
Unexpectedly, Yun Chaoxi shook her head in disapproval, "Your Majesty's exceptional promotion of me from Jieyu to Guifei has already caused dissatisfaction among many. If Your Majesty is willing to pass the Empress's position to me, it would be best to wait until I give birth to my child. This way, there will be far fewer voices of discontent in the court, and Your Majesty will not have to bear such immense pressure. I do not want to put Your Majesty in a difficult position."
"Besides, Your Majesty only has me in your harem. Whether I become Empress or not is of no concern to me. As long as I can stay by Your Majesty's side, I will be content."
Yun Chaoxi leaned against Chu Xiao's chest, gently fiddling with the golden dragon embroidered on Chu Xiao's black dragon robe, while softly persuading him.
Chu Xiao's heart softened, and he couldn't help but gently kiss the top of her head. Such a wonderful Xi'er, only thinking of him. At this moment, Chu Xiao wished he could offer her everything. "As long as Xi'er doesn't feel wronged, I will listen to you. With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for?"
The two nestled together quietly.
Chu Xiao touched Yun Chaoxi's lower abdomen with his large, calloused hands. Her flat belly was not yet showing, and Yun Chaoxi did not have any symptoms of morning sickness, so much so that she often forgot that she was pregnant. However, Chu Xiao would not forget. He was careful not to press on her while sleeping, and he would carefully touch her belly every day, claiming that he wanted to feel the presence of the child.
Yun Chaoxi, “…” She herself couldn’t feel it, so what could he feel?
Right now, Chu Xiao was happily touching her belly again, quite satisfied, "It seems to be a little bigger than yesterday."
Yun Chaoxi said, "...This is because I ate too much this morning and I'm so full."
"Really? I thought the child had just grown up."
Yun Chaoxi could no longer sense the wisdom that an emperor should have from Chu Xiao.
Thinking of this, Yun Chaoxi recalled the conversation she overheard between the system and Lin Zhirou today. If she was considered a person with great fortune, then wouldn't this gentle-looking emperor be the person with the greatest fortune in the Great Chu?
If Chu Xiao's luck is taken away, not only her, but the entire Great Chu will be in grave danger.
Therefore, Yun Chaoxi solemnly reminded the man who was focused on feeling the child, "Your Majesty, if anyone deliberately approaches you recently, you must be careful and never trust her! Especially women!"
Chu Xiao chuckled. "What? Are you worried that I'll be seduced by another woman while you're pregnant?"
He clearly took Yun Chaoxi's reminder as jealousy, and was quite pleased with it. He solemnly assured her, "The only people around me who serve tea and water are palace maids; the rest are eunuchs. No one can get close to me. If anyone dares to climb into my bed, I will throw her out and replace the bed with a new one."
"Is Xi'er satisfied?"
Yun Chaoxi gave him a reproachful look, "I'm not jealous, I'm serious. But since Your Majesty has promised, don't just talk the talk but walk the walk."
Chu Xiao kissed her soft, smooth cheek, leaving a red mark on her face immediately. "I love the way you get jealous but stubbornly refuse to admit it."
"Xi'er is so shy. I kissed her and she left a mark. No wonder she's jealous but won't admit it." The culprit not only didn't feel guilty, but was also smug.
Yun Chaoxi, "..."
She comforted herself, thankfully Chu Xiao was handsome and not someone she could dislike, otherwise, just the way he had sucked on her earlier would have made Yun Chaoxi so angry that she couldn't face anyone!
...
In the palace maids' quarters of the Imperial Wardrobe.
Lin Zhirou returned to her room alone. The system's tools had created a new identity for her in the Imperial Wardrobe, and she had been using this identity to move around the palace for the time being. The nanny in the Imperial Wardrobe saw that her face was covered in injuries and didn't want to see her looking so gloomy, so she let her go back to her room to rest. At this moment, she was the only one in the room that was meant for four people.
"Yun Chaoxi hates me now, how can I get close to her!" Lin Zhirou asked irritably.
The system analyzed for her using a program, "You have two choices next. First, continue to steal Yun Chaoxi's luck points. Because you said the wrong thing, Yun Chaoxi dislikes you. As long as you change her attitude towards you, you can get close to her. As long as she willingly rewards you, your luck can be transferred from her to you."
"Secondly, seizing Emperor Chu Xiao's fortune is a slightly more difficult choice."
Lin Zhirou thought it was all nonsense; didn't she already know all that? She just wanted it to provide concrete solutions!
"You're so stupid! All you do is threaten me. Can't you come up with any useful solutions? Like, get my face back to normal first! It hurts so much!"
The system replied in a formal manner, "Recovery Potion, 1 Luck Point. Please confirm purchase?"
Lin Zhirou certainly didn't dare to buy anything; she only had 7 points of luck left, so she had to save them!
"I'm not buying it."
The system said, "You are on your own. If the mission fails, you will be eliminated and disappear from this world."
Eliminate her, eliminate her! Threaten her with elimination at the slightest disagreement!
Left with no other choice, Lin Zhirou began to devise her own plan. She considered taking advantage of Yun Chaoxi's pregnancy to get close to the emperor, become his new favorite, and gradually replace Yun Chaoxi's position and gain her favor.
But when he thought of what the system said, that Chu Yansheng was supposed to be the future emperor, then it must be the current emperor's death that would be Chu Yansheng's turn.
So subconsciously, she felt that the emperor was an old man in his fifties or sixties, and that Yun Chaoxi, being so easygoing, was willing to enter the palace to serve an old emperor. She was a person with a system, and didn't want to force herself to be with someone who was practically on their deathbed. She immediately ruled out this option.
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