It was still early, just the hour of You, and although it was winter, the sun had already set and the lanterns under the corridor were bright and dazzling.
Jiang Changning came out of the toilet and didn't walk far before he saw the emperor standing in the corridor. His brows were slightly frowned, and he was really obsessed with lust.
There was only one way back to the main hall, so Jiang Changning had no choice but to walk towards the emperor.
"Miss Jiang." The emperor came forward to greet her.
Jiang Changning stopped walking and saluted, "I, the concubine Princess Jin, greet the emperor. Long live the emperor."
Jiang Changning's self-proclaimed title was problematic, and her three shouts of "Long live the emperor" were too formal.
Jiang Changning did this on purpose. Although she knew that such a warning was meaningless and that the emperor would never stop, there was nothing she could do except this.
"Miss Jiang and I are old acquaintances. We went to the capital on the same ship. Miss Jiang, there is no need to be so reserved in front of me." The emperor smiled, thinking he was approachable.
"At that time, I was young, and my father had passed away. I was in mourning on the boat every day. I was just an acquaintance of Your Majesty, and I would never dare to establish a relationship with Your Majesty. Moreover, I am a woman, and Your Majesty is a man. Since ancient times, men and women have not been allowed to touch each other. Moreover, Your Majesty is the king, how dare a minister's wife disrespect you?"
The emperor was very unhappy when he heard this. "Ningning, I promise you don't have to follow those conventional etiquettes in front of me. Treat me as your man. I will make you the concubine of the emperor, above the four concubines."
Jiang Changning took a step back and looked at the emperor with a cold gaze, "I have my own man. Your Majesty is the king. You should follow the customs and etiquette, and you cannot abolish the national etiquette."
"Are you rejecting me?" The emperor took two steps forward.
"Yes." Jiang Changning stepped back, but his tone was firm, "Your Majesty can ignore ethics, but I cannot."
Xiaochun took two steps forward and stopped in front of Jiang Changning, "Your Majesty, please respect yourself."
The emperor could still speak kindly to Jiang Changning, but he didn't have that much patience with Xiaochun, "Go away."
"Your Majesty, please get out of the way, otherwise don't blame me for being rude." Xiaochun clenched her fists and took a stance.
"Ningning, is this the personal maid that Prince Jin gave you?" asked the emperor.
"Yes." Jiang Changning was too lazy to explain.
"The King of Jin doesn't trust you and sent someone to monitor you."
"Your Majesty is wrong. The Prince of Jin asked her to come to me, not to monitor me, but to protect me. It is to prevent people with bad intentions from getting close to me." Jiang Changning said bluntly.
"Ningning, I love you." The emperor expressed his love affectionately.
Xiaochun took action and pushed the emperor away. Jiang Changning lifted her skirt and ran past him.
"He didn't chase us, did he?" Jiang Changning asked while running.
"No." Xiaochun replied.
Jiang Changning was a little bit unconvinced that he got rid of the emperor so easily. He looked back from time to time and accidentally bumped into someone who was coming towards him.
"Ningning, are you throwing yourself into my arms?" A familiar voice with a smile sounded.
Jiang Changning looked up and saw the smiling face of King Jin. "Eternal day."
"What's wrong?" King Jin asked with concern.
"The emperor just stopped me and wanted to take me into the harem and make me the concubine." Jiang Changning told the truth.
King Jin's face darkened, murderous intent emerged in his deep eyes. He stretched out his long arms and embraced Jiang Changning. "Don't even think about it. You are my wife."
"A wishful thinking toad." Jiang Changning said with disgust.
King Jin slowly released his hand, "Let's go into the palace."
"How long will it take to end?" Jiang Changning asked.
"Almost there, about a quarter of an hour left." Prince Jin said with a smile.
The couple had not taken a few steps when they saw a man running towards them.
The man rushed in front of the two and said, "Prince Jin, I have something to tell you."
Jiang Changning smelled a pungent smell of alcohol and frowned, "Princess Ningxia, this is inappropriate."
Prince Jin said with disgust: "Princess Ningxia, please respect yourself."
Jiang Changning sneered, "Princess Ningxia, you are really wishful thinking. I can tell you that even if I weren't there, Prince Jin would not marry you."
"I don't believe it, Lord Jin, I..."
"Helian Yuanzai, take your princess away. If you can't even manage a woman, why don't you embarrass yourself in the court?" Prince Jin said coldly.
King Ningxia walked out from the darkness, following Song Yirou.
Seeing Song Yirou running towards Prince Jin and saying those words, I felt that the color of the hat on his head changed.
"Come with me." King Ningxia grabbed Song Yirou's arm and was about to drag her away.
Song Yirou struggled and said, "I don't want to go with you, go away, I want to be with Prince Jin."
"Your Highness, it's so cold. Let's go in quickly." Jiang Changning pulled Prince Jin and walked past the couple into the palace.
Not long after the two returned to the palace, the emperor also came back, looking not very well.
He never expected Jiang Changning to be so resistant.
"Is the emperor feeling unwell?" the queen asked with concern.
"No." The emperor replied coldly.
"Your Majesty is in good health and in good spirits." The imperial concubine served him in bed last night until almost two o'clock in the morning. She only stopped after the eunuchs repeatedly urged her.
The imperial concubine felt that the queen was openly saying that the emperor was not feeling well, implying that she was pestering him and tiring him out.
"The weather is cold and His Majesty just came in from outside. As a wife, what's wrong with me caring about my husband?" The Queen glanced at the Imperial Concubine and pronounced the word "wife" particularly clearly.
No matter how powerful and favored the imperial concubine is, she is still just a concubine and naturally has to bow down to the empress.
"Hmph" the imperial concubine snorted coldly, picked up the wine glass and took a big gulp.
The emperor didn't care at all about the quarrel between the concubines. He kept looking at Jiang Changning.
Her eyebrows are like willow leaves, her lips are like cherry blossoms, and her every frown and smile is graceful and charming, giving people an indescribable sense of charm.
Such a beautiful woman should be part of the harem and should be the woman of the king of his country.
Just as Prince Jin said, a quarter of an hour later, the Queen Mother left first, followed by the Emperor, the Queen, the Imperial Concubine, the Concubine and the eldest prince.
The bigwigs in the palace had all left, so there was no need for others to sit for long, and they all got up and left the palace.
Qiao went forward to help the Jin Wang Concubine, but was pushed away by the Jin Wang Concubine. "I don't need you. You have your own ideas now. I don't dare to ask you to serve me."
Jiang Changning pursed his lips and smiled, then stepped forward and said, "Mother, your daughter-in-law will help you."
The Jin Wang Concubine handed her her hand and praised her, "Good child."
The family left the palace and returned to the palace.
On the way, King Jin found that Jiang Changning had been thinking about something. When they returned to the courtyard, Jiang Changning took off the heavy phoenix crown and the auspicious clothes. King Jin asked: "What were you thinking about all this time?"
"I'm thinking about whether I should tell you." Jiang Changning said.
"Ningning, I am your husband. You can't hide anything from me. Tell me quickly." Prince Jin pinched her slender waist and hugged her.
"I didn't want to hide it from you. I wanted to wait until after the New Year to tell you." Jiang Changning said with a smile.
"Don't wait until the New Year, tell me now." King Jin had not yet realized that Jiang Changning was going to tell him something that he had always ignored and dared not face.
Note: Prince Jin sneered: The Concubine Chen means nothing, my wife must be the Queen!
(End of this chapter)