You Ran continued, "I will only request to attend court when there is something to discuss with the Emperor. That's all."
Upon hearing this, the ministers breathed a sigh of relief.
Wu Wang snorted, "Who do you think cares!"
Chu Heng nodded very seriously, "I feel the same way."
The courtiers: ...
Suddenly, I remembered a rumor I had heard before the Emperor and Empress's wedding: that the Empress was unwilling to enter the palace, and the Emperor almost abdicated in favor of his eight-year-old fourth prince...
Could it really be true?!
Everyone who had this rumor flashed through their minds shuddered.
Within half a day, an imperial edict jointly signed by the emperor and empress, along with five thousand catties of grain seeds from each prefecture, set off for each prefecture and county.
The next day was the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, and I put down my pen.
The 29th is a national holiday.
On the thirtieth, the palace held a New Year's Eve banquet.
This year's Lunar New Year's Eve banquet left the powerful and wealthy families gathered in the palace with mixed feelings.
The Imperial Advisor still disdained attending such occasions.
The officials now follow the lead of Duke Pingguo, Yun Yue.
The women surrounded Lady Su, the wife of the Duke of Pingguo.
Who could have imagined that one was a fallen general who had been exiled thousands of miles away, and the other was a divorced woman who had been chased by her husband's family for thousands of miles, that one day they would become the most popular figures in the court.
However, the story of the young emperor and the beautiful empress's years-long, torturous, and deeply affectionate love affair did not completely dispel the selfish desires of some powerful ministers who wanted to use the woman to climb the social ladder and gain access to the royal family.
Thus, the women at the banquet began another round of competition to outshine each other, hoping that the young and handsome emperor would spare a glance for them.
Unexpectedly, as soon as a beautiful young woman played a poignant prelude on her pipa, the young emperor's face turned cold. "On such a joyous day, why must you spoil my good mood?!"
The music stopped abruptly, and the woman was on the verge of tears.
The Queen waved her hand, signaling for the next person.
"This dance is too vulgar; how can you embarrass yourself here?!"
"With such a singing voice, how dare you come here and make a fool of yourself?!"
"This playing technique is really not good; it's a waste of such a fine instrument."
"You're wielding a sword? You might as well switch to a soft, tattered silk..."
Such sharp tongues were so biting that the young ladies who performed on stage could not help but cover their faces and weep, fleeing in panic.
With a sigh, You Ran took the young emperor's hand and said, "Well, if we stay here, I'm afraid they won't be able to enjoy themselves to the fullest. Today, the emperor and his ministers have had their fun. Let's go back to the palace and rest early."
The look of utter disdain on Chu Heng's handsome face vanished instantly, replaced by a radiant expression. "The Empress is absolutely right. Please do as you please."
"Respectfully seeing off His Majesty the Emperor, respectfully seeing off Her Majesty the Empress." The wives of powerful officials rose to their feet and bowed, all of them breathing a sigh of relief.
The ladies waiting in line to perform on stage were so upset that they burst into tears.
A clear voice rang out, “Father is right. On such a joyous day of bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new, why are you all so gloomy and crying? In my opinion, the sisters who shed tears today will never have to enter the palace again!”
A loud thud, like a sudden blow to the head.
The young ladies were so shocked that they forgot to wipe their tears.
Will I never be allowed to enter the palace again? How will I ever see the handsome emperor again?
Wanwan clapped her hands and cheered, "Brother is absolutely right! Father and Mother were scared away by their tears! You, you, you, you, and all of you, you're never allowed to enter the palace again! I'll remember what you all look like, hmph!"
Everyone: ...
As Chu Heng and You Ran approached the door, they exchanged a knowing smile upon hearing their children's sharp tongues.
The two paid no attention to the commotion over there and went straight back to Feng'an Palace.
The two walked back with the intention of digesting their food. By the time they reached the entrance of Feng'an Palace, she was covered in a light sweat, but when she held Chu Heng's hand, she could feel the coldness of his palm.
She wiped the fine sweat from her forehead and asked with a charming smile, "Ziyuan, you've sweated so much from walking around. Why don't you go soak in the pool?"
Chu Heng knew she was concerned about his health, so he readily agreed, "I'll listen to you."
The two had clothes and a sedan chair prepared and headed towards the hot spring palace.
The hot spring palace has two pools. Chu Heng always uses the eastern pool, but when You Ran comes over, she uses the western pool. The two have never bathed together.
When they arrived at the pond, a young eunuch came in to serve Chu Heng, but You Ran quietly entered from the east gate and waved for him to leave.
Chu Heng stood with his arms outstretched and his back to the door, waiting for the eunuch to come and undress him.
Two small hands reached out from behind and gently untied his waist belt.
Then remove the outer garment and loosen the ties of the inner garment...
However, instead of continuing to remove his inner garment as usual, that slippery little hand slipped inside.
Chu Heng suddenly opened his eyes, placed one hand on his abdomen, and forcefully grabbed the mischievous little hand.
"Oh dear!" You Ran exclaimed in surprise, as she was pulled in front of him.
Upon seeing her, Chu Heng immediately eased his grip, released her, and looked her up and down. "Are you alright? What brings you here?"
You Ran rolled her eyes at him. "Don't you even know what romance is?"
Chu Heng looked completely bewildered.
You Ran leaned closer to him, tugging at the corner of his undergarment, "Other men wish they could bathe with their wives every day..."
Chu Heng's eyes suddenly turned deep, letting her peel off his inner garment, but his tone carried a hint of danger, "Someone else's husband?"
You Ran's hand trembled slightly. "Ah, that's from a storybook..."
Shouldn't the focus be on "shared bathing"?
Although she didn't want to provoke him given his current physical condition, she still wanted to take the opportunity to see just how weak he really was.
Let's see if the medicine redeemed from that little notebook is effective.
While she was still pondering, everything went black before her eyes, and his handsome face lowered, sealing her lips with a kiss.
Another pair of large hands followed suit, untying her waist sash and removing her clothes piece by piece...
You Ran didn't know when she was thrown into the water; she only noticed that when he was pressed close to her, his body temperature was indeed a bit cold.
Then a comfortable warmth enveloped her, and him as well.
She took the opportunity to place her fingertips on his pulse, feeling the changes in his pulse as it rose and fell.
Just then, several dazzling fireworks burst open in the darkness outside the window.
The new year is coming soon.
...
In Dingzhou, a thousand miles away, there is a dilapidated little courtyard.
A man with a stubble beard and disheveled hair, looking like a beggar, lay on a pile of hay, staring at the sky.
A few days ago, some traveling merchants passing through this area were talking about the grand wedding of the emperor and empress in the capital. They heard that the dowry given by the Yun family was more than ten or twenty miles long.
The Su family, whose roots are in Dingzhou, also replenished their dowry a few days ago. The dowry was transported out of Dingzhou, filling more than a hundred carts. It was said that the Su family spared no expense in sending 360 loads of dowry to the capital, causing a sensation throughout Dingzhou.
This is truly unheard of.
What he was more concerned about was that the Empress was actually his rebellious daughter, who had thrown tantrums at the age of three and dared to set fire to his study at the age of four.
The dowry given by the Yun family was the family fortune earned by his former wife, a talented woman from a merchant family.
And there's his son, whom he was once very proud of, who is now the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, a third-rank official.
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