"Master, should we deal with those two people?" Ying Qi asked respectfully.
Xia Yixin gently shook her head. "No need. My father's people will definitely tell the Empress Dowager that we shouldn't interfere in this matter and let her decide."
The "he" in Xia Yixin's sentence does not refer to Xia Jingfeng, but to Qi Yu.
She felt that this was the first problem the young emperor would encounter, and she was curious to see how he would handle it.
In fact, the Empress Dowager's intentions were good, but she was too naive. Did Xia Jingfeng really have such an easy way of knowing the information in the palace that she would let him bring people in?
Xia Jingfeng was also testing the waters.
However, Xia Yixin didn't understand why Qi Yu would ask "And what about you?" It was out of genuine concern, and considering his reaction just now...
Could it be?
She shook her head, thinking that he must be overthinking it. Qi Yu was only seventeen, and besides, the two of them were both teacher and friend, so how could it be romantic love? At most, he probably felt embarrassed that such a "private matter" had been found out.
On the other side.
Cao De had been waiting outside. Seeing Qi Yu's unpleasant expression after leaving Fengqi Palace, he advised him before returning to the Imperial Study, "Your Majesty, Xia Jingfeng has spies everywhere in the palace. Do you think those two girls could get in so easily? This is probably a test. We cannot accept those two women. However, the Empress Dowager did not mean anything by it..."
Cao De's eyes revealed genuine concern.
When he was young, Cao De was the only person he trusted, and he regarded Cao De as a father figure.
"I know, you may leave." Qi Yu sighed. "Also, prepare two fine coffins for those two women."
He knew his mother wasn't that cunning, so she probably didn't realize he was being used as a shield.
Those two girls probably won't be able to leave the palace.
Cao De looked at the young emperor, who was lying on the shore reviewing memorials in the dim candlelight, and felt both heartache and distress. He did not know that Qi Yu and Xia Yixin had not consummated their marriage, and only knew about the alliance. Seeing Qi Yu like this, he naturally thought that he was probably not only upset about the Cining Palace incident, but also that he probably did not get the comfort he wanted from the Empress today.
However, he couldn't interfere in this matter, so he could only respectfully withdraw.
Meanwhile, Qi Yu hadn't yet seen his own heart clearly. He held the vermilion pen, but his consciousness had already drifted off to who-knows-where.
He thought about today's events, and perhaps the comfortable life he had enjoyed for the past year and a half had made him gradually forget that he was nothing more than a caged bird.
How much of what she said about herself was true and how much was false?
He felt a tightness in his chest as he recalled her answer earlier that day.
That wasn't the answer he wanted, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
He had a feeling of not being able to grasp it, and the image that kept replaying in his mind was a woman's clear almond eyes and the dimples at the corners of her lips.
He didn't know what was wrong with him, nor what he was hoping for or wanting. The answer was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.
That night, Qi Yu drank alcohol again after a year, and in a hazy, half-awake state, he had a dream...
The rooster crows at dawn.
His biological clock jolted Qi Yu awake. He lay on the shore, surrounded by wine jars and scattered memorials. He had a splitting headache and a sore back.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, and after standing up, he suddenly felt something, and his handsome face instantly turned red.
"Your Majesty, it's time for the morning court session." Cao De's even more respectful and humble voice rang out from outside the door.
Inside the door, Qi Yu was blushing. Seeing the remaining half-jar of wine on the table, he simply poured it all over himself, covering the secret on his pants with the wine.
Qi Yu had always been engrossed in his studies and didn't have much interest in such matters, especially given the negative example of the late emperor's absurdity. So, despite being in good health, this special situation came too late.
This, however, allowed Qi Yu to peel away the fog that shrouded his heart and understand why he had been so depressed last night—it was because of her.
Having seen his own heart clearly, Qi Yu calmed down.
After changing his clothes and attending the morning court, he went to Cixi Palace and refused to see his two cousins, citing the unstable situation and the need not easily turn against Prime Minister Xia. Later, as expected, when Empress Dowager Xiaode was about to send the two away, she found that they had been strangled to death, and even the cousin who had previously encouraged her had disappeared.
When Empress Dowager Xiaode found out, her face turned pale, and she couldn't even hold her teacup.
Qi Yu, on the other hand, remained very calm.
After a long time, Empress Dowager Xiaode finally understood something from her son's composure. She sighed and from then on, whenever anyone urged her to let Qi Yu take concubines or other women, Empress Dowager Xiaode would refuse them all by saying that she should observe three years of mourning.
The two cousins were carried out of the palace and given a grand funeral. A large sum of money was given to the two branches of the Lin family for their funeral expenses. That same night, Lin Sikong secretly entered the palace.
Empress Dowager Xiaode, of the Lin family, and the current head of the Lin family, Lin Shu, who has been restored to the position of Minister of Works, also paid a special audience.
He only realized his absurdity after learning of the two young ladies' mysterious deaths, and he specially carried thorns on his back to apologize.
After chatting with Qi Yu all night, he left with satisfaction. Upon returning home, he exclaimed to his first wife, "His Majesty will surely become a wise and virtuous emperor. I, Lin Shu, will certainly devote myself to His Majesty until my dying breath!"
Xia Jingfeng also received news of the unusual events in the court and the inner palace, as well as the Empress Dowager's thoughts.
Just as Xia Yixin and Qi Yu had guessed, Xia Jingfeng did indeed want to use this opportunity to test Qi Yu, and he was quite satisfied with the result.
But he also knew that as long as Xia Yixin didn't give birth to a dragon heir, they wouldn't stop their antics.
As a father, he certainly couldn't bring himself to talk to Xia Yixin alone, but he could put pressure on his son-in-law, Qi Yu.
While ostensibly drinking, Xia Jingfeng actually went on to talk a lot about Xia Yixin's childhood, such as how cute she was and how much he liked her, and how he would cut anyone who dared to do anything to his precious daughter. He also mentioned how cruel the criminal laws were in Beiwu.
The main point is that you have to be good to my daughter. She's lonely all by herself in the harem, so you have to spend more time with her, otherwise... humph humph humph.
What he's really saying, whether it's openly or indirectly, is, "You two can't just sleep for two days at the beginning or middle of the month, you have to keep rolling around in bed, I'm waiting to hold my grandson!"
After Qi Yu went to the Prime Minister's residence for a drink, he returned with his face alternating between red and white, which was quite unusual for Qi Yu, who had recently learned to control his emotions.
For several days in a row, I was restless.
Finally, the full moon arrived, the day for the two to share a room.
Qi Yu arrived at Phoenix Perch Palace with an awkward expression.
From dinner to their respective reading and busy work, until late at night, he couldn't utter a single word. He had thought about it for days, but still didn't know how to start. If he hadn't realized his own feelings before, it would have been fine, but now...
Just looking at her made his heart race and his ears turn red.
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