In the blink of an eye, half a year has passed and it's already December.
Xia Yixin has been in this world for almost two years now.
A few months ago, some of the seeds that Xia Yixin planted in the spring sprouted, while others withered. To Xia Yixin's shock, she even found dahlia seeds among them. This is a very beautiful but addictive plant that almost led to the destruction of China.
She quickly dug out some space.
Coffee beans were scarce, so she made stone-ground coffee for Qi Yu to try. Unfortunately, Qi Yu's big stomach couldn't handle it, so Xia Yixin happily ground all the beans herself. She would drink a cup occasionally, and a small bag would last her a long time.
She was also particularly interested in the Xisha Islands, the country that brought the coffee beans, and thought she would like to visit them sometime in the future.
Qi Yu has also grown rapidly in the past six months. Xia Yixin rarely sees him lose his composure anymore, and the young emperor is beginning to show the aura of a strategist.
In the past six months, Empress Dowager Xiaode changed her previous attitude and took the initiative to contact Xia Yixin.
Empress Dowager Xiaode was not a woman who was good at scheming. At first, she was wary of Xia Yixin, but gradually, she felt Xia Yixin's kindness and sincerity and gradually accepted her. Now she sincerely treats her as her daughter-in-law. Of course, she was unaware of her alliance with Qi Yu.
After learning that Xia Yixin was making medicinal cuisine, she also became interested and started learning, which made the head of the imperial kitchen very worried. He was afraid that since the masters in the palace no longer needed the imperial kitchen to cook, they must be doing something wrong!
However, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the medicinal diets prepared by Empress Dowager Xiaode were all for tonifying the kidneys, causing Qi Yu to have nosebleeds from time to time.
Later, Xia Yixin came out and said that "excessive nourishment is harmful to the body" before she stopped. Instead, she started giving her more nourishing supplements. If Xia Yixin hadn't insisted on exercising, this "mother's love" would definitely have made her gain weight again.
Although Qi Yu was very busy, he still made time to have lunch at Fengqi Palace every day. Empress Dowager Xiaode would sometimes be there as well. The three of them would eat together and chat like ordinary people, creating a much more harmonious atmosphere.
As a result, Xia Yixin's relationship with Empress Dowager Xiaode improved, and she learned some of Qi Yu's little secrets. For example, when he was six years old, he wet the bed at night and was so embarrassed that he went to the well to wash the blankets by himself in the middle of the night. She accidentally let it slip, which caused the proud boy to not come for three or four days. When he finally came, he didn't dare to look her in the eye, which made her hold back her laughter very hard.
Qi Yu's growth rate was also very fast. In addition to attending court, he also went to find a master to learn riding and archery, and frequently summoned ministers in court. He slept very little every day, but he was very energetic.
Xia Yixin didn't think much of it at first, until one day she was chatting with Empress Dowager Xiaode.
Before leaving, Empress Dowager Xiaode casually remarked, "These past few days, I've noticed Yu'er has been so busy but seems to be in good spirits, but something just doesn't feel right..."
Reminded by her, Xia Yixin realized that she had indeed overlooked this point; recently, Qi Yu seemed to have inexhaustible energy.
Sure enough, when she checked her pulse that night, she realized that she had been deceived by Qi Yu, and her brows furrowed even more tightly.
"Your pulse seems steady but it's intermittent. Qi Yu, tell me honestly what you ate."
Qi Yu knew he couldn't hide it anymore, so he took out the small porcelain bottle he had been carrying in his pocket for the past few days.
Xia Yixin knew immediately after smelling it that no one could tell he was in a bad state from his appearance before. It turned out to be a high-purity stimulant pill containing various harmful substances that could be addictive if taken in excess.
Xia Yixin glared at him with a stern face, "Where did you find these things?"
"The hidden compartment in Zhengyang Palace." Qi Yu looked like a child being seriously scolded by his teacher.
Xia Yixin was so angry she almost laughed. She slammed the porcelain bottle on the table. "Qi Yu, you've gone completely mad! Are you going to end up like the old emperor? Do you know this stuff is addictive?!"
The angrier she got, the more the boy opposite her laughed. Furious, she stood up and kicked him.
Qi Yu immediately stopped smiling and took her hand. "I'm sorry, Wan'er, I made you worry." He couldn't help but smile when he thought about how much she cared about him.
Xia Yixin struggled twice but couldn't break free.
Qi Yu said ingratiatingly, "I promise I won't eat those things anymore. How about I go to Mother tomorrow to apologize with a bundle of thorns on my back? Wan'er, please don't be angry."
Meeting his deep eyes, Xia Yixin belatedly realized how intimate their conversation had been, and awkwardly withdrew her hand.
She had long seen that Qi Yu was the kind of person who was single-minded in whatever he did, and she was afraid that he would eat some random things again. In addition to making medicinal meals, she also secretly prepared some conditioning pills for him and forced him to rest at certain times.
Seeing him calmly accept whatever she gave him without even flinching, she couldn't help but complain, "Aren't you afraid I'm giving you poison?"
He smiled slightly and grasped her hand before she could pull it back. "Even if it's poison, I'll take it if Wan'er gives it to me."
His gaze was intense.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she withdrew her hand as if she had been electrocuted. "Idiot."
Xia Yixin had a feeling that something was different.
She simply had the Empress Dowager research medicinal cuisine, and she processed those medicinal materials into pills in Fengqi Palace to replenish the inventory.
She also sent a copy to Xia Jingfeng, which resulted in both of them visibly improving their complexion day by day.
However, Xia Yixin outwardly claimed that they were "some simple pills to replenish qi and blood." After all, the bigger the tree, the more the wind would blow against it, and outsiders only knew that Xia Yixin had a talent for medicine and had made some progress.
Actually, she just didn't reveal many of her amazing skills.
In just six months, not only did Qi Yu look healthier and grow to 1.9 meters tall, but Xia Jingfeng also looked much younger and walked with a confident stride.
However, there are both good and bad aspects.
Some vague rumors have been circulating outside—that the young emperor has been bewitched by a vixen from the Northern Martial Kingdom!
Who is this enchantress?
Xia Yixin!
The people's first reaction was, "Are you kidding me? That fat pig?!"
Immediately, someone with a "you don't understand" look explained, "That's just an appearance. Let me tell you, she's a demoness. She can't transform into any kind of beauty she wants. Her previous appearance was just a deception! Not to mention, the emperor's harem only has her, right? What man doesn't have three wives and four concubines, let alone the emperor!"
These rumors spread like wildfire, even throughout the entire Han Dynasty.
There's even a claim that the young emperor is a Greedy Wolf Star, and that the demoness is a scourge to the country; the two of them will destroy the entire Han Dynasty.
In addition, with more than a dozen small battles approaching winter, the constant warfare has further fueled public anxiety.
After Xia Jingfeng finished speaking, he angrily smashed several vases, yelling, "Those damned pedants, they're trying to cause trouble again!"
In reality, it wasn't just those pedantic scholars who wanted to stir up trouble; rather, the Shen family had found one of the late emperor's children who had been living away in Wutai Mountain and were beginning to make moves.
This message was not something Shadow Seven and his team could find out; it was a system notification.
"Ding! The main storyline has begun. The Shen family has found the royal grandson who intends to rebel. Please speed up your preparations!"
Xia Yixin flipped through the original plot and thought, "Isn't this a bit too early? More than a year ahead?"
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