When Ji Lingxue and Xiao Yichen flew back to the imperial study, they were faced with old ministers kneeling outside the palace, as well as the guards and eunuchs on duty.
The guards and eunuchs had a fearless look on their faces. It was incompetence of them that Xiao Yimo disappeared right under their noses, and they did not dare to plead for him.
When the old ministers heard that Xiao Yimo had run away, they rushed into the palace to discuss countermeasures. After discussing it over and over again, they could not come to a conclusion. In the end, they attributed all the consequences to Ji Lingxue. Since she entered the palace, one accident after another had happened to her. She was an ominous person, and the emperor wanted to make her the queen, which was absolutely unacceptable. It was said that beautiful women were a disaster for the country and would not only harm the country's fortune.
Ji Lingxue sat behind the bookcase in the imperial study, listening to the old ministers' well-intentioned advice one by one. She scratched her ears and shook her head. If she continued to talk, would she become a witch who brought disaster to the country
Ji Lingxue tilted her head. Xiao Yichen was sitting on a chair, turning memorials in his hands. She didn't know whether he had taken the old ministers' words into account.
Ji Lingxue: Xiao Yichen asked me to hide behind the bookcase just to listen to these things, so that I would know how difficult it is for him to be the emperor
A quarter of an hour later, the old ministers were so dry-mouthed that their voices gradually became lower. Everyone looked up at Xiao Yichen who was sitting behind the desk. They had entered the palace late at night and said so much, but why didn't the emperor express his opinion
Xiao Yichen said: "Now that you have finished speaking, shouldn't you listen to me now?"
The ministers looked at each other.
Xiao Yichen said, "When I ascended the throne, many old ministers advised me not to bear the charge of disloyalty and to give Xiao Yimo a way out. Although he did not do anything good during his reign, he did not do anything wrong. I was the one who protected the vast country. You believed in me and were willing to serve me. Now that Xiao Yimo has been kidnapped, you have begun to blame me for my incompetence, and finally turned it into the Queen's fault. Should I say that you are slandering me?"
All the ministers knelt on the ground and said in unison: "We are terrified!"
Xiao Yichen said, "If any of you feel that I am incompetent, you can resign or follow Xiao Yimo. I will never stop you. If I hear one of your slanderous words against the Queen, don't blame me for being ruthless." He waved his sleeves, "All of you go down!"
The ministers looked at each other in confusion. What did the emperor mean? Xiao Yimo ran away and disappeared, so why wasn't he worried at all
When Xiao Yichen was the only one left in the imperial study, Ji Lingxue came out from behind the bookcase and asked, "What tricks are you playing?"
Xiao Yichen curved his eyes and smiled, "Guess?"
Ji Lingxue pinched her chin, turned her head to glance at the guards and eunuchs who were still kneeling on the bluestone floor at the entrance of the imperial study, then turned to look at Xiao Yichen, trying to confirm her guess from the other's eyes, but unfortunately Xiao Yichen was very calm, and she couldn't make out anything after looking for a long time.
Ji Lingxue rolled her eyes, "Today I asked you for the token to leave the palace, but you left the palace so quickly. Are you planning something? The last time I released Xiao Yimo, you must have been more cautious and hid him in a more secluded place. Are you trying to find Xiao Yimo's followers?"
Xiao Yichen nodded, "Xue'er is smart!"
Ji Lingxue put her hands behind her back and turned Xiao Yichen around, "So, Xiao Yimo was not kidnapped, it was just a smokescreen you threw to see how these old ministers would react?" If Xiao Yimo was really rescued, Xiao Yichen wouldn't be so calm as to listen to the old ministers' chatter.
Xiao Yichen nodded, "I have just ascended the throne, and most of the people in this court are Xiao Yimo's people. Although some of them have surrendered to me, there is no guarantee that they will not rebel. Therefore, I will find an excuse to test them a little, and I will also organize the court at the same time."
Ji Lingxue applauded, "This is a brilliant move. I didn't expect you to be so capable as an emperor."
Xiao Yichen held Ji Lingxue's hand and continued to ask: "Since you have guessed it, why don't you guess again, where did I hide Xiao Yimo?"
Ji Lingxue shook her head, "How can I guess this?"
Xiao Yichen was not afraid of eavesdropping and discussed such a confidential matter with her so openly.
Xiao Yichen put his arm around Ji Lingxue's waist and kissed her earlobe, "Can you really not guess or do you dare not guess?"
Ji Lingxue's ears felt hot, and she leaned forward to keep a distance from Xiao Yichen, "It's getting late..." She was going to look for Zhou Gong, Xiao Yichen, don't try to set a trap for me, I won't fall for it!
Xiao Yichen picked up Ji Lingxue and said, "Can the Queen sleep with you tonight?"
Ji Lingxue curled her lips, "Am I almost being called a witch by those old officials?"
Xiao Yichen said: "I have already issued an imperial edict to announce it to the world. This matter is a foregone conclusion and they cannot change it. I still owe you a ceremony to crown you as queen!"
Ji Lingxue's mind moved, and she put her arms around Xiao Yichen's neck and asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, when will the ceremony for my coronation be held?"
Xiao Yichen smiled and said, "So Xue'er is so anxious too. The Queen's formal dress is still being made. It will take at least a month at the earliest."
Ji Lingxue opened her mouth wide with a surprised expression, "Why did you tell me this only now?"
Xiao Yichen said: "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten it!"
Ji Lingxue was a little touched at first, but her feeling disappeared instantly after Xiao Yichen said this. Did he care about her affairs? She couldn't hold the slightest touch of emotion towards Xiao Yichen.
I heard Xiao Yichen's chuckle, "Are you angry?"
Ji Lingxue shook her head. "No, I'm just a little sleepy." Then she yawned.
Xiao Yichen's lips curled up into a smile: "Can I think that Xue'er, in fact, you care about me very much, but you are too shy to say it out loud?"
Ji Lingxue: "How did you guess that I'm thin-skinned?"
Xiao Yichen chuckled, "I think this is not the point of what I said?"
Ji Lingxue: "What's the point?"
Xiao Yichen came close to Ji Lingxue and blew air in her ears. He looked at Ji Lingxue's ears with satisfaction, which turned red as if on fire. Then he said, "The most important thing is that you care about me."
Xiao Yichen's voice became softer and slower, and Ji Lingxue's ears felt soft and numb, as if her whole body was electrified. Her lips brushed across Xiao Yichen's cheek and landed on his lips.
The two of them froze at the same time. Xiao Yichen held Ji Lingxue's head with one hand and deepened the kiss. He turned over and pressed Ji Lingxue under him. With a sweep of his long sleeves, the memorials on the table fell to the ground. Ji Lingxue clung to Xiao Yichen's shoulders with some difficulty breathing, "This is the imperial study. Is the emperor trying to prove his reputation as a dissolute man?"
Xiao Yichen let go of Ji Lingxue and pinched her pretty red cheeks. "I only have the Queen in my harem. If anyone dares to criticize me, I will make him uneasy in my harem."
Ji Lingxue chuckled, this sentence was quite cruel.
There was a thunderstorm in the summer afternoon, and a half rainbow hung in the sky.
In the imperial palace, Ruge was sitting in the pavilion of the imperial garden admiring the colorful flowers in the garden, while Ji Lingxue pinched a piece of crispy cake and stuffed it into her mouth.
Ruge looked at Ji Lingxue, whose face was round, and said, "You have gained some weight these days, and your complexion is much better than before. Seeing that you have a good relationship with Xiao Yichen, I feel relieved."
Ji Lingxue touched her face subconsciously. After hearing what Ruge said, she felt like she had instantly become fat. These days, Xiao Yichen specially brought her a lot of soups and water to coax her to drink, saying that her body was too weak and needed to be well nourished.
Ji Lingxue asked, "It's rare for you to come to the palace to see me, is it just to say that I'm fat and make me unhappy?"
Ruge smiled and shook her head, "Of course not. I haven't seen you for a long time, so I came to see you. I heard that being the queen is really hard for you. You encountered a big problem as soon as you returned to the palace."
Ji Lingxue nodded and spread her hands helplessly, "I don't look for trouble, but trouble always comes to me. You know, I had no intention of returning to the palace, but I didn't expect that on the night we agreed to visit Prince Chen's mansion together, I was kidnapped. I woke up in the small firewood room of the imperial kitchen, and was whipped by the housekeeper..."
Ruge's mouth twitched. It was the first time he talked about Ji Lingxue returning to the palace. He didn't expect to encounter so many troubles.
Ruge said, "I have been investigating this matter, but I have not been able to find out who kidnapped you. Could it be Xiao Yichen?" He wanted to trap Ji Lingxue, but he would not lower his attitude, so he sent someone to tie Ji Lingxue up and bring her into the palace...
Ji Lingxue shook her head. "I asked him, and he said that he also realized that the person cooking might be me after eating breakfast. Unfortunately, he came to the imperial kitchen to look for me but couldn't find me. Later, I was chased by the housekeeper and met Xiao Yimo."
Ruge covered her mouth and chuckled, "Haha, it's true that all kinds of bad luck can happen to you."
Ji Lingxue sighed, "Don't laugh at me. How are you and Princess Linglong doing? Are you getting along well?"
The smile on Ruge's lips gradually faded. When he mentioned Ruyi, he had a headache, and his hair turned white due to the pain.
Seeing Ruge looking like she had eaten bitter melon, Ji Lingxue felt inexplicably in a good mood.
Picking up a piece of crispy cake and putting it in his mouth, Ji Lingxue asked, "Would you like to share some of your stories with Princess Linglong?"
"Master, Princess Linglong wants to see you!" Mo Xiang came forward to report.
Ji Lingxue looked at Ruge and smiled meaningfully, "Please ask her to come over!"
Ji Lingxue said: "You came to see me first, and Princess Linglong came right after. Are you two getting along better?"
Ruge picked up a cup of tea and said, "No." If he had known that Ruyi was going to the palace, he would not have come today.
Linglong walked up to Ji Lingxue in small steps, greeted her, and then sat down next to Ruge. "Queen, this is Ruyi's gift, please accept it!" As she said that, she took out an exquisite box from her sleeve and handed it to Ji Lingxue.
Ruge seemed to think of something and said, "I almost forgot." A white jade box appeared in Ruge's heart. "I will be returning to Dayan in a few days. Before leaving, I went shopping and found that this jewelry is especially suitable for you. There are many skilled craftsmen in the palace. I wonder if you would like such a little thing."
Ji Lingxue took the jade box and opened it. Inside lay a pair of jade bells, hollow carved, which were quite unique.
Ruyi said, "It's really beautiful, what a delicate bell. Ruge, where did you find it? Do you have any more? I want one too."
(End of this chapter)