Jiang Tian slowly walked to his side, looked at him, and said, "Your Majesty, I am here."
Xuanyuan Ye felt as if he were a drowning person who had finally gained air, and his whole body was finally freed from a tense state.
He reached out and grasped Jiang Tian's hand.
"I will consider what you have said. You... smile at me."
He pulled Jiang Tian to the bedside, and the two faced each other.
Since returning, Xuanyuan Ye has never seen her show a smile.
Jiang Tian sighed and slowly squatted down by the bedside, stroking his brow with her hand: "Your Majesty, please don't worry too much. You need to take good care of your health. Zhao Kingdom needs you, and the people need you."
Xuanyuan Ye looked at her and thought to himself, "You don't need me."
“You…smile at me.” Xuan Yuan Ye repeated.
Jiang Tian's aloofness gives him the illusion that he can never truly grasp her.
Then he saw Jiang Tian smile.
Her smile seemed to melt away ice and snow, and Xuan Yuan Ye's heart immediately settled.
She was still willing to smile for him, even if it was fake.
At least she still cares about him.
"Your Majesty, please rest well. Don't worry, I won't leave."
Xuanyuan Ye was relieved that he hadn't contracted a contagious disease. He gazed at her and said, "Come up here and sleep with me for a while."
The other palace servants had already left, leaving only the two of them in the room.
Jiang Tian didn't pretend to be coy; she quickly lay down next to Xuan Yuan Ye.
The warm, soft person in my arms seemed to soothe the pain from the reopened wound.
Xuanyuan Ye spoke in a voice that was only used by two people: "Are you pitying me now?"
She was willing to come back, willing to coax him, willing to fake her death, and even willing to smile at him.
“It is I who must repay your kindness. The Emperor has treated me well. If it weren’t for you, I would be nothing but a skeleton now. You don’t need to worry. Since I am willing to stay by your side, I will not leave unless I have no other choice.”
Xuanyuan Ye did not ask her what exactly she meant by "having no other choice".
He didn't want to ask whether she was happy or not at that moment.
With her by his side, he felt at ease, and drowsiness quickly overwhelmed him...
After Jiang Tian returned, Xuan Yuan Ye's wounds were completely healed in just half a month.
Even Liu Wensheng was amazed by his recovery speed. As expected of a former military general, his body must be made of steel.
Once Xuanyuan Ye's injuries have healed, he will naturally have to return to the capital.
The assassination attempt at the palace is still under investigation, and there may be other dangers ahead.
After several more days of travel, they finally returned to the palace.
Jiang Tian wanted to return to her cold palace, but Xuan Yuan Ye had Chen Shu arrange for her to become a head palace maid.
Let her live with him.
Jiang Tian disagreed: "Since Your Majesty knows that the assassins last time came for me, I will remain their target until they succeed. If they can't find me, they might start plotting something. I am most suitable to stay in the Cold Palace. You can send more people to surround me there."
She was right, but Xuanyuan Ye didn't want to be separated from her for even a moment.
No matter how safe the Cold Palace was arranged, it was not as safe as being by his side.
Through Jiang Tian's eyes, Xuan Yuan Ye saw her determination.
He eventually agreed to her request.
After returning to the Cold Palace, Jiang Tian's capable assistant was still An Yi.
The fruits and vegetables she planted have reached maturity.
Seeing how much the emperor valued this woman, Eunuch Chen naturally paid close attention to her, and Jiang Tian's fruits and vegetables were well taken care of during this period.
The guards surrounded the Cold Palace, and Jiang Tian called out An Yi.
"The fruits are ripe, and you did a lot of work on them, so I have to treat you to some."
Since An Yi took Jiang Tian on their last escape, the two have developed a tacit understanding.
An Yi did not refuse again and sat down opposite Jiang Tian.
"If you are unhappy here, young lady, you may ask His Majesty to build you a courtyard to live in outside the palace."
It sounds difficult, but with so many people under Xuanyuan Ye's command, she can always find a safe haven for herself.
"No need. If your heart is in a cage, you will not be free anywhere. If your heart is free, what difference does it make where you are?"
Jiang Tian spoke with such nonchalance.
There were words in my heart that I knew I couldn't say, but I couldn't help it. I remained silent for a long time, but I still held back.
That very night, Xuan Yuan Ye came to see her, with Qin Shao Qing following behind him.
Qin Shaoqing has lost weight due to exhaustion during this period.
The assassin case was still unresolved when a case of favoritism and corruption in the imperial examinations began.
Xuanyuan Ye always preferred to act decisively. After returning to the capital, he sent someone to investigate briefly before informing Qin Shaoqing of all the information and urging him to take decisive action.
It must be said that some things are hidden, seemingly insignificant, but once dug up, they are extremely dirty.
Qin Shaoqing and Liu Hanyan naturally knew each other when they were children, but after living in the capital for only a few years, he followed his father on his campaigns in the north and south, and spent a long time in the south. He had only been back in the capital for a short time and had not seen the grown-up Liu Hanyan for a long time.
The next time he saw her was when she had changed back into women's clothing—something Qin Shaoqing never dared to dream of.
It's too much of a coincidence that such a big case was uncovered because of this woman.
The case had only been under investigation for a short time, and he hadn't even had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief when Xuanyuan Ye came to ask him how things were going with the officials and wealthy families he had found for Jiang Tian.
Qin Shaoqing was extremely busy.
Finding someone is easy. Find a pretext to settle Jiang Tian in that family for a while, change her identity, and then send her to the palace. As long as you find a trustworthy family, it's not too difficult.
The difficulty lies in the fact that Xuanyuan Ye doesn't want to give Jiang Tian a low rank.
He didn't want Jiang Tian to be bullied.
Since the Emperor has spoken, we must look for something of higher caliber.
For those living in higher-class households, with more people around and more eyes watching, it becomes more difficult to deceive everyone.
In order to find a suitable family, Qin Shaoqing practically pulled out all his hair.
After finally finding a few places, he didn't even have time to drink a sip of tea before Xuanyuan Ye summoned him to the palace so she could choose for herself.
This was Qin Shaoqing's first time visiting the Cold Palace where Jiang Tian lived. Despite being called the Cold Palace, it was not cold at all; instead, it was filled with antiquity and charm.
After briefly explaining his purpose, Qin Shaoqing let Jiang Tian make the choice.
He selected three families in total. One family was a noble family whose title was no more than a prince's. Another family was a family of a lowly fourth-rank official who was about to take office. The last family was a family of a great Confucian scholar who lived far away in Jiangnan.
These three households were all simple families, and it was easy to keep quiet. In order to find these suitable households, Qin Shaoqing worked late into the night for several days.
Xuan Yuan Ye looked at Jiang Tian: "Which one do you want to choose?"
If these families were to truly compete, they would be roughly equal; all that matters is getting her a concubine rank.
Xuanyuan Ye had someone he liked, but he had to listen to Jiang Tian's opinion.
Jiang Tian did not make a choice immediately, but instead asked Xuan Yuan Ye, "Your Majesty, has the choice of Empress been finalized?"
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