Chapter 953 Husband and Wife
Jiang Fenghua sat in front of the dressing mirror wearing a light, pure white bathrobe. She combed her long black hair, and the face in the mirror was beautiful and flawless.
Just then, the door creaked open, and a tall figure slowly walked towards her. Through the mirror, she saw Xie Shang's angular face, handsome and dashing, but his brow was slightly furrowed, full of fatigue. He had also lost weight from being busy with state affairs.
Xie Shang stepped forward and hugged her from behind without saying a word. Jiang Fenghua wanted to say something, but Xie Shang's magnetic voice rang in her ear, "Don't move, I just want to hold you quietly."
Jiang Fenghua gently stroked his hand. His fingers were icy cold, and when she touched them, it felt as if his fingers had become thinner. She knew he had arrived long ago, but had gone to the side hall to be with the children before coming over.
Xie Shang was indeed very patient with children, and he also liked children very much.
She said softly, "Your Majesty has worked hard to deal with the disaster in Yuzhou. I would like to share your burden."
"I have already sent your elder brother and father with silver and officials from the Six Ministries out of the capital. They are carrying my decree to collect supplies in areas unaffected by the disaster. All prefectures and counties are to cooperate unconditionally with the court in disaster relief. This disaster relief is indeed very difficult, but we must overcome the difficulties. I have already allocated funds from the national treasury to spare no effort in treating the disaster victims."
Xie Shang slowly recounted the disaster situation, including landslides that occurred in various parts of Yuzhou, causing houses to collapse and rocks to fall from the mountains, killing many people.
He also had to be careful that the money and supplies were not used effectively. There would certainly be many officials who wanted to profit from them, so knowing how to use people well was also a big problem. He could tell what officials wanted to do just by their slightest hint. As the ruler of the Great Zhou, he sometimes had to pretend to be stupid, but he was not completely stupid. He could not allow them to embezzle his disaster relief funds, so he had to have a sharp weapon in his hand.
In the end, he handed over the focus and power to the Jiang family, which also put pressure on them.
"If anyone dares to profit from this or embezzle, I will exterminate their entire clan..." Xie Shang said, reciting each of his decrees. "With Jiang Jinyan around, I can sleep soundly. It is my blessing and the blessing of the people of Great Zhou to have your Jiang family around."
Jiang Fenghua listened quietly to his plans and his "trust" in the Jiang family. She smiled calmly and said, "With Your Majesty here, the Great Zhou will not be in chaos. I believe that the Great Zhou will be able to overcome this difficult time safely."
Xie Shang knew that Jiang Jinyan was the Minister of Revenue, and the economic lifeline of the Great Zhou was in his hands. If Jiang Jinyan wanted to embezzle, it would be an easy thing for him. He believed in the Jiang family's character before he would delegate power to them.
He also sent Jiang Huai along for this disaster relief effort. Jiang Huai's students are all over the world, and with him there, many things would be easier to handle.
Jiang Fenghua's move to appoint Jiang Jinyan as Minister of Revenue was the most important step in securing her position as Empress. Without giving power to the Jiang family, it was unrealistic for her to rely on her beauty to serve the emperor in the palace to maintain her position as Empress.
Xie Shang said all this to make Jiang Fenghua understand that his trust in the Jiang family meant his trust in her.
The couple both knew perfectly well that Jiang Fenghua and Xie Shang were now firmly bound together, since Jiang Zhiqin was currently training strong troops to guard the border for him.
He would rather use members of the Jiang family than hand over power to his useless brothers and nephews.
"Your Majesty didn't sleep a wink last night. Now that everything is arranged, go to bed and get some sleep!" Jiang Fenghua said gently.
Xie Shang's voice was gentle and full of infatuation: "I just came to the main hall after seeing a few children in the side hall. I can only fall asleep peacefully when I hold the Empress in my arms. Ruan Ruan will sleep with me."
The two snuggled together until they reached the bed, and Xie Shang, perhaps truly exhausted, fell into a deep sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Jiang Fenghua had taken a bath and changed into a new bathrobe to wait for him, but now she seemed to have no use for him.
Seeing Xie Shang sleeping soundly, she smiled gently, "Even if I hadn't let Yan'er lure you here, would you have stayed with Qin Yunyan?"
She deliberately dressed Xie Ziyan up like she did when she was a child, and Xie Shang must have noticed.
Xie Shang suddenly patted the back of her head and muttered, "No."
Jiang Fenghua was stunned. It was an unspoken understanding. Xie Shang seemed to be used to her low-class schemes, but they were effective nonetheless. She said softly, "Is His Majesty still awake?"
Xie Shang affectionately hugged her waist, closed his eyes, and kissed her cheek. "So sleepy."
She carefully examined Xie Shang's sleeping face, listened to his soft snoring, and whispered, "Your Majesty."
Xie Shang held her waist tightly and buried his head in her neck, remaining motionless.
She called out several times but received no response. She hadn't slept last night and had been busy all day, so tired that her eyelids were too heavy to keep open. She soon drifted off to sleep.
She thought that Xie Shang was fast asleep, so she would be fine.
In a short while, she felt as if she had just fallen asleep when Xie Shang silently removed her nightgown and gently kissed her lips. The dark, inky bedchamber was filled with an ambiguous atmosphere. She suddenly woke up, and Xie Shang did not give her a chance to react until she was almost suffocating from his kiss and couldn't help but call out to him, "Your Majesty."
He said, "We are husband and wife, and Ruan Ruan calls me husband."
Jiang Fenghua felt weak all over from his teasing and said, "Husband."
Xie Shang immediately perked up, a smile playing on his lips, and pinched Jiang Fenghua's slender waist, flipping her over...
An unusual sound came from the bedchamber, and the palace maid guarding the door blushed with embarrassment and quickly retreated to the side.
Just then, Gongsun Lan walked over from a distance. Upon seeing her, the palace maid quickly stopped her, saying, "Miss Gongsun, please wait."
"I have something to discuss with your Empress."
"Her Majesty is asleep," the palace maid said.
"Going to sleep so early? I have something very important to discuss with her. Go quickly and wake Her Majesty." Gongsun Lan walked straight ahead and then asked, "Empress Jiang, are you asleep?"
The palace maid quickly covered her mouth, "Miss Gongsun, please keep your voice down."
Gongsun Lan's hand, which was about to knock on the door, froze in mid-air. The room was pitch black. What was Xie Shang doing in the Empress's bedroom?
At that moment, she seemed to hear some unknown noise coming from inside, and she suddenly realized that something might have happened inside.
A palace maid whispered, "The Emperor is in the Empress's bedchamber!"
Gongsun Lan blushed and wanted to flee in panic. What had she just witnessed?!
Her heart skipped a beat, and a strange emotion welled up inside her. She knew Xie Shang didn't love Su Tingwan, but he must love the dignified and noble Jiang Fenghua very much!
Inside the bedchamber, Jiang Fenghua also heard Gongsun Lan's voice outside the door. Now she was as clear-headed as could be, and she said softly, "Gongsun Lan was arranged to stay in the side hall, so why is she here again?"
Xie Shang buried her head in his chest...
Jiang Fenghua could almost imagine what it would be like to see Gongsun Lan tomorrow. Gongsun Lan said he had never had feelings for Xie Shang. Was that true?
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