The emperor waited until dawn before he woke up. He stared at the ceiling of the tent for a while, and all the unbearable memories of last night came back to him. The emperor lying on the bed felt a little hot in the face. He always felt that it was a little unreal, as if he was dreaming.
He vaguely remembered that he seemed to have said a lot of things that were difficult to say in normal times... Those few words he remembered sporadically would make him blush. He lay on the bed for a long time, and the heat on his face did not dissipate. It was not until Cao Yu lifted the curtain and came in quietly that he sat up and told Cao Yu that he wanted to take a bath.
Cao Yu hurried out to ask people to prepare, and then asked people to prepare breakfast.
After giving the order, I came to my senses and felt strange about having to take a bath so early in the morning.
The emperor got up from his bed and found that everything he needed for bathing was already prepared.
The footsteps of the palace servants coming in and out were all drowned out by the thick carpet on the floor.
"How did I get back last night?" asked the emperor. He remembered that he was very sleepy and fell asleep on Li Wan's bed.
Cao Yu said: "The emperor was drunk and fell asleep at Miss Wan's place. I and Xiao Qianzi went to pick him up."
The emperor walked behind the screen and asked casually, "Where's Li Wan? Hasn't she woken up yet?"
Cao Yu couldn't help but secretly complain about the emperor being lazy all day long, but he didn't dare to show it on his face. He said, "Miss Wan got up early and took the horse outside early in the morning. She said she was going for a walk. She should be back by now."
The emperor said "oh", and after a while, he asked casually, "Has she come to see me?"
Cao Yu said, "I came here, but I saw that Your Majesty was still asleep, so I didn't disturb Your Majesty and left on my own."
The emperor felt slightly satisfied.
After taking a bath, the emperor felt refreshed.
All I heard was Xiao Qianzi's voice outside.
"Night girl."
Then came Li Wan's voice.
"Is the Emperor awake?"
Hearing his voice before seeing the person, Cao Yu suddenly discovered that Li Wan's voice was very different from that of others. It was not the sound quality, but the feeling in the voice. It was hard to describe, but it just felt very different.
Xiao Qianzi said, "The emperor is bathing inside, and eunuch Cao Yu is serving him."
Li Wan said, "Then I'll go back and have breakfast before coming back."
The emperor, who had been silently listening to the conversation outside, suddenly lowered his raised lips and said, "Li Wan, come in!"
Li Wan stood outside the tent and did not come in immediately. Instead, he asked, "Your Majesty, are you dressed?"
Cao Yu looked at the emperor.
The emperor's face flushed: "Come in when I tell you to."
The curtain was then lifted.
Li Wan, dressed in riding clothes, walked in with a smile on his face and bright eyes.
Cao Yu was putting riding clothes on the emperor.
The emperor looked at her with dissatisfaction: "You sneaked away to ride a horse by yourself?"
The palace servants retreated gracefully, leaving only Cao Yu.
Li Wan washed her hands in the basin held by the palace servant, and then said innocently, "How can you say I ran away secretly? I went there openly."
As she spoke, she walked over very naturally, took over Cao Yu's position, and adjusted the emperor's riding clothes.
The emperor looked down at her and said, "You went to bed later than I did last night, but you woke up earlier than me."
Li Wan pursed her lips and smiled: "Your Majesty, you drink strong liquor, and I drink fruit wine, so they are naturally different."
Seeing that there was nothing for Cao Yu to do, he decided not to stay under their eyes and tactfully withdrew.
The curtain was lowered.
The emperor's dignity disappeared completely, and he looked at Li Wan awkwardly: "I was drunk last night, wasn't it a shame?"
Li Wan looked up at him and blinked: "Your Majesty, don't you remember?"
The emperor remained calm and said confidently: "I was drunk, how could I remember."
Li Wan saw his red ears, pursed her lips and smiled: "Do you want me to repeat it again?"
The emperor immediately said, "No need! It is inevitable to lose composure after being drunk. Besides, I rarely get drunk. I forgot to control myself last night. I won't do that again in the future."
Li Wan burst out laughing.
The emperor glared at her: "Don't laugh at me."
Li Wan smiled and tilted her head: "But I thought the emperor was very cute last night."
The emperor blushed and felt uncomfortable: "What do you mean by cute? You actually use this word to describe me, which is used to describe kittens and puppies."
Li Wan said with a smile: "The emperor is much cuter than kittens and puppies."
The emperor was somewhat embarrassed and annoyed: "How outrageous!"
Cao Yu interrupted the two outside: "Your Majesty, breakfast is ready."
The emperor glared at Li Wan and said, "Send it in."
Li Wan ate too much barbecue last night and still felt a little greasy today, so it was a good opportunity to have some light porridge and some side dishes to relieve the greasy feeling.
The emperor was still teasing her: "How can you eat so much? You ate most of the whole deer leg last night."
Li Wan was a little embarrassed: "I have never eaten such delicious barbecue before. The fruit wine is refreshing and relieves the greasiness. I accidentally ate too much."
My stomach feels heavy today, as if I haven’t digested last night’s barbecue yet.
The two finished their breakfast.
The emperor was about to set out hunting.
Li Wan helped him equip himself with the short knife, and then said, "I won't go today."
The emperor frowned: "What's wrong?"
Li Wan said: "I will feel a little bit reluctant."
Speaking of this.
Li Wan suddenly thought of Li Huan, his expression suddenly changed slightly, and he glanced at the emperor.
The emperor noticed it. It was rare to see her look like this, so he couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Li Wan looked at the emperor, then said softly, "I met Li Huan when I went horseback riding today. She is my cousin and the legitimate daughter of the Queen Mother's brother."
The emperor was such a smart man that he recognized Li Wan's words as soon as he heard this. His expression changed slightly, and then his eyes turned cold. He looked at Li Wan quietly, waiting for her next words.
The emperor rarely faced her with such a cold expression in private.
Many times, the emperor faced her as "Yuan Di".
So much so that Li Wan even forgot that the person standing in front of him was the one who controlled the life and death of everyone in the world.
This includes her life and death.
And now, the person standing in front of him is the emperor.
The emperor's majesty and oppression were overwhelming.
If it were Cao Yu, he would have knelt down and apologized by now.
Li Wan naturally knew that she was standing on the edge of danger. She paused subconsciously, and the slender and graceful figure of Li Huan emerged in her mind.
In fact, she and Li Huan did not have a close friendship, but she remembered Li Huan's kindness towards her. When Li Wan was a child, she followed her mother to the huge and cold Li family. When everyone responded with condescending and contemptuous looks, it was Li Huan who took the initiative to hold her hand. She always remembered the gentle and kind smile on Li Huan's face when he called her Sister Wan.
Li Huan shouldn't have ruined this flower-like life because of the ambitions of some people in the family.
Li Wan couldn't bear to ignore it. She calmed herself down, stared into the emperor's cold eyes, and said softly, "I was just thinking, if it wasn't for the dream I had a few months ago, would my fate in this life have ended differently? Would I have been beheaded on the execution ground along with more than a hundred people in the Li family?"
Her tone was very calm, but her words were like a raging wave hitting the emperor directly.
The emperor's pupils suddenly shrank, his eyes were filled with horror, his heart felt an almost trembling pain, and his back felt cold.
He looked into Li Wan's eyes with lingering fear.
She stared at him without flinching, her eyes dark, bright and calm.
The emperor remembered the dream that Li Wan had told him.
The Li family plotted treason, and all of them were executed, including her.
If it wasn't for that dream that seemed to predict the future, she would not have surrendered to him. He would have always ignored her and would not have given her any chance to get close to him.
And when the final reckoning comes, she will be beheaded along with the Li family by his personal order.
When the emperor thought of this, his heart began to ache violently and his face turned pale.
Li Wan took the initiative to reach out and hold his hand, which he immediately held tightly.
She looked up at the emperor, with a trace of pity in her eyes: "Anyone in the Li family who participated in the rebellion is guilty of an unforgivable crime, but there are more than a hundred people in the Li family, how many of them are unaware of the situation, like me, my father, mother, brothers and sisters?"
Li Wan said: "Human lives are not worthless, but living lives. They can cry and laugh. Some may be evil and ambitious, and they deserve their punishment, but there are also people who live in harmony with the world and are kind to others. They have never done anything bad in their lives, like Li Huan, who always treats others with kindness. She is only sixteen years old and has not had time to grow up. She has not tasted the ups and downs of this world, but she was innocently implicated by the ambitions of some people and lost her life in vain."
She softened her voice, her eyes gentle and compassionate: "Wouldn't the emperor feel it was a pity?"
The emperor stared at her intently, the frost in his eyes gradually melted, and ripples of light slowly spread out.
He slowly lowered his head and rested his forehead against Li Wan's, staring at her with his phoenix eyes: "Ah Wan, you won. I do feel it's a pity."
He was indeed moved by Li Wan's words.
But more than that, he was shocked by Li Wan's initial words.
He almost personally ordered the killing of the love of his life.
Just thinking about it, he couldn't help but feel a little scared.
Even now, I still feel scared.
The emperor thought of the dream Li Wan had and suddenly felt uneasy. In that dream, he was the one who killed her family.
Not just in dreams.
After she entered the palace, he treated her very badly.
The emperor touched her face and said, "Ah Wan, if I had known that I would love you so much, I would not have treated you so badly when you first entered the palace."
Li Wan couldn't help but smile: "Fool."
The emperor pinched her face and said, "You are the fool."
It was obvious that the direct descendants of the Li family had no kindness towards her family and even sent her in as a sacrifice, but she took such a big risk to plead for those people just because Li Huan showed a little kindness towards her.
"You treat them like this, but I don't know if they will appreciate your kindness."
Li Wan smiled and said, "I haven't thought about asking anyone to appreciate it."
The two of them no longer dwelled on this issue.
The emperor said: "Since you don't want to go hunting, I will take you somewhere later."
Li Wan was a little curious: "Where?"
The emperor raised his eyebrows and said with a hint of pride: "You will know when you go there."
…
The two of them did not alarm anyone and went out with Ji Feng.
The emperor did not let Li Wan ride the horse by himself, but instead rode with him.
After leaving the tent area, the two men mounted their horses.
Li Wan sat behind the emperor and put her arms around his waist.
With the belt tied, the emperor's waist is comparable to a woman's, but the sense of strength he can feel when he puts his hand on it is completely different from the soft waist of a woman.
The emperor rode off into the jungle.
He felt that Li Wan was not holding him tight enough, but he did not say anything. He just kicked the horse's belly and scolded him softly.
The wind suddenly accelerated.
Li Wan was startled. She could only hug the emperor at first, but as she accelerated, she immediately pressed her whole body against him and hugged the emperor's waist tightly with both hands.
The emperor raised the corner of his mouth proudly.
Gale rushed into the jungle without slowing down, dodging obstacles along the way nimbly and agilely.
Li Wan felt like she was going to hit a tree several times. She screamed and her heart jumped into her throat, but Ji Feng always managed to avoid her. After a few times, Li Wan felt that she could not stand this stimulation anymore, so she simply hugged the emperor tightly, put her face on his back, closed her eyes, and only heard the whistling of the wind in her ears and the emperor's deep laughter.
Li Wan felt like a long time had passed.
Ji Feng had no intention of stopping, and Li Wan couldn't help but ask, "Where are we going?"
But the emperor still said that she would know when she arrived.
I don’t know how long it took.
Li Wancai felt that the speed of the wind was gradually slowing down.
Li Wan slowly opened her eyes, only to find a vast expanse in front of her. She turned her head and realized that the emperor had brought her out of the jungle. This place seemed to be at the other end of the jungle, and the grass on the ground was particularly lush and green. She suddenly heard the sound of water in the distance, turned her head and found that there was a river not far away.
The emperor rode over and took Li Wan along the direction of the river flow.
Li Wan looked around, but saw no one else but them.
Looking around, you can see vast expanses of green, which are refreshing and calming. The jungle surrounds this place in a semicircle.
"Where is this?" Li Wan asked.
The emperor said, "It's on the other side of the forest. Few people know about this place."
Li Wan thought so too. Even with such a fast speed, it still took Jifeng half a day to get there. Other horses would probably take even longer.
A gust of wind blew.
The sound of running water blends in with the rustling of leaves in the distant jungle.
Li Wan's messy hair was blown in front of her face by the wind, and she raised her hand to hold it.
"Do you want to go down and take a walk?" asked the emperor.
Li Wan nodded, then thought that the emperor couldn’t see it, so she said yes.
"Sit still." The emperor instructed, then dismounted and opened his arms to Li Wan on the horse.
Li Wan jumped from his horse into the emperor's arms and was hugged tightly by the emperor.
No one knew what the emperor was thinking. He just held Li Wan and turned around in a circle.
Li Wan was so frightened that she hugged his neck tightly, screaming and looking at the emperor in disbelief. She didn't know how many years had passed since she was last held and spun around like this.
The emperor held her and spun around a few times. He was amused by her wide-eyed expression and smiled as he leaned over to give her a big kiss on her lips.
"Is it fun?"
Li Wan felt a little amused and confused, realizing once again that the emperor was still a teenager under eighteen years old.
The emperor looked at her with great interest and asked, "Do you want to play again?"
The phoenix eyes sparkled.
Without waiting for Li Wan to refuse, he picked her up again and started spinning around.
Li Wan did feel a bit of happiness in the dizziness and couldn't help laughing.
Her scattered hair swayed in the wind and a smile bloomed on her face, bright and moving.
The moment her feet touched the ground, the emperor suddenly lowered his head and kissed her.
The back of Li Wan's neck was bent deeply backwards, and her fingers clung tightly to his arm.
"Awan, you are so beautiful."
The emperor kissed the tip of her nose, then helped her tidy up her hair, and said with a slightly blushing face.
Li Wan hugged his neck, tilted her head and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is so handsome."
The emperor blushed and said, "How can you praise a man for his good looks?"
As he said this, he pulled Li Wan's hand down, held it, and continued walking along the river.
Li Wan asked: "What about the horse?"
The emperor said without even turning his head: "Don't worry about it."
Li Wan looked back worriedly.
Ji Feng didn't even look at them, just focused on eating grass.
Li Wan finally felt relieved and followed the emperor slowly along the river.
After the two men passed a small slope, a huge chasm suddenly appeared in front of them.
The river rushes straight down, forming a waterfall. Standing on the edge and looking down, you can see a big river. The water is not too fast, flowing between the mountain walls on both sides.
It was as high as seven or eight stories. Li Wan felt his hands and feet go weak when he stood at the side and looked down. He subconsciously clenched the emperor's hand and quickly stepped back.
The emperor looked at her with amusement: "Afraid?"
Li Wan nodded. She was a little afraid of heights, and that look just now made her hands and feet go weak.
The emperor held her in his arms and teased her, "Why are you so scared? You have the guts of a rat."
Li Wan was usually too calm and composed, so he particularly liked to see her not so calm and composed, just like now, she was so scared that her face turned pale, and she subconsciously clenched his hand, and was held in his arms, looking very well behaved.
Seeing that she was truly frightened, the emperor led her away from the edge, about ten meters away, and pulled Li Wan backwards onto the grass.
The grass here is extremely lush. Not only is it not prickly at all, it even feels soft to the touch when you lie down on it.
The sky is blue, dotted with wisps of clouds.
The wind in the distance passed through the jungle, gently swept across the grass, and blew on the two of them with the fragrance of green grass and the moisture of the river.
Quiet, remote and comfortable.
The emperor raised his hands above his head and rested them on the back of his head, looking at the blue sky and white clouds above his head: "In the past, when I went hunting in autumn, I would ride a horse here alone. This is the first time I lie down like this."
Li Wan turned her head to look at him.
The emperor raised his lips slightly. "I am most relaxed when I am here. I don't have to think about anything or do anything. It's very comfortable. I still remember that one time I forgot the time. It was dark when I returned to the forest. People in and out of the palace were alarmed and all the soldiers and guards came to find me. I seemed to be only fourteen years old at that time. Cao Yu cried when he saw me."
As he spoke, he turned to look at Li Wan and saw that Li Wan was looking at him, her eyes were soft and bright, with a gentle luster.
His heart moved slightly and he held her hand tightly.
"Awan, I became the emperor when I was six years old. From childhood to adulthood, I have only had Cao Yu and Qin Lin by my side, but one of them is a slave and the other is a minister, bound by rules and regulations. In front of them, I am always the emperor. Sometimes I feel that I am always alone in this world... But now I feel that I am no longer alone, Awan."
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