Emperor Jingren was a man who was very strict with himself. Ever since he had a dream that was against moral principles that night, he had fallen into a state of subconscious self-blame. Since he was born, he told himself that he should be a wise ruler who could make the people live and work in peace and contentment and make the Great Xia Kingdom flourish and attract all overseas nations to pay tribute. He adhered to the principles of being a ruler and a human being. However, that absurd dream made him doubt himself.
It wasn't that he was bothered by the fact that he had a relationship with a man, but that he couldn't accept that he would be the kind of tyrant who coveted a capable minister. He had given a perfect explanation to this dream, but he couldn't convince himself.
In fact, Emperor Jingren never thought about that fragrant dream again, and he didn't think that dream was wonderful at all. He wouldn't mind it at all and it had nothing to do with Lin Boyuan. In fact, no matter who he dreamed about, as long as it was a minister of high rank, he would think it was a warning to himself, a warning to be a wise ruler.
From then on, no matter how busy he was every day, Emperor Jingren would read the words of saints or recite Buddhist scriptures, just to cultivate his body and mind. When cultivating one's body and mind, one must naturally stay away from women. It happened that when Chen Taiyi was checking his pulse, he said that he had hurt his blood and qi when he hit his head before. In order to cultivate, it would be best not to lose his essence and qi again, that is, abstinence. Chen Taiyi's suggestion hit the mark of Emperor Jingren. It happened that at this moment, he just wanted to be strict with himself and cultivate his body and mind. From then on, Emperor Jingren no longer went to those concubines who would seduce him to make mistakes, but exercised and slept with the queen who seemed very safe every day, and slept purely.
Perhaps it was because the empress was too dignified that Emperor Jingren always felt at ease around her. Although the empress was born big and strong, and looked ridiculous in a phoenix robe every day, he got used to it after seeing it for a long time. Moreover, as she spent more and more time with Emperor Jingren, the empress no longer had a calm and solemn face like before, and would often wear casual clothes in private.
The empress's casual clothes were mostly tight-fitting, either white or black, either heroic or cool and handsome. The only drawback was that they exposed the empress's body weakness. The empress, with only a slightly raised chest, was much worse than the women in the harem. But Emperor Jingren would be attracted to such an empress once, twice, or even many times. Every time he saw the empress in casual clothes, he always felt an indescribable sense of intimacy.
Fortunately, the Queen was a person who took the overall situation into consideration. She would not allow Emperor Jingren to do whatever he wanted just because of his occasional antics. She would always gently remind Emperor Jingren of his physical condition and encourage him to cultivate his mind and temper.
As summer turned to autumn, Emperor Jingren's skills improved a lot and he could hold his own against the Empress.
"The days are getting shorter and shorter," Emperor Jingren sighed as he looked at the sky that had just brightened in the early morning of autumn. "When the empress and I heard the cock-crow and danced together just now, the sky was already bright, but now it is just sunrise. In a few days, I am afraid it will still be pitch dark at this time."
The first thing they did when they woke up in the morning was jogging, from Kunning Palace where the empress lived to the newly built Chaocheng Palace. The distance between the two palaces was about 3,000 meters, just right for morning jogging. At first, Emperor Jingren had to run and walk to last this distance, but now he can chat with the empress leisurely while running.
"Does Jinyi do morning exercises every winter?" asked Emperor Jingren.
"I have been practicing martial arts with my father since I was five years old, and I have never missed a single day except for my wedding." The queen said calmly, as if what she said was nothing big.
"Even if the north is cold and snow falls in winter? I remember that the queen grew up in Luoyang, and the winter climate there is much warmer than that in the Forbidden City." Emperor Jingren said in surprise.
"It has never stopped." said the queen.
Emperor Jingren, who was feeling a little sleepy and didn't want to get up early, fell silent, and the thought of being lazy disappeared.
When they arrived at the martial arts arena of Chaocheng Palace, the ground was covered with fallen leaves. Emperor Jingren frowned slightly and asked, "Where is the eunuch in charge of the martial arts arena? Why is it so messy here?"
His voice was filled with a hint of anger, but the Queen gently held down his hand and said with a smile, "I told them not to pick up the fallen leaves for the time being. I haven't practiced swordplay for a long time, and I'm afraid I've forgotten my skills, so I want to practice today."
Emperor Jingren was just about to ask what the connection was between sword practice and sweeping fallen leaves when he saw the queen, dressed in a white tight-fitting outfit, leap up more than ten meters. She lightly tapped the ground with her toes, and a sword flew out from the weapon rack.
As soon as the sword was in her hand, the Queen's whole demeanor changed. Originally a steady and dignified Queen, she now turned into a sharp sword drawn from its sheath. The sharpness in her eyes and eyebrows actually made Emperor Jingren feel a little dazzling.
The Queen stood in the middle of the field, waving her sword. Emperor Jingren felt that her sword moves were unusually fast, but he could see every move of these exquisite sword moves clearly, as if the Queen had demonstrated them specifically for him. The Queen's sword was filled with a sharp sword aura. Every time she swung her sword, the fallen leaves on the ground would be blown. For a moment, the red maple leaves were always flying in the field, as if it was a rain of orange-red fallen leaves, reflecting the morning light that had just risen, which was surprisingly beautiful.
Emperor Jingren was surrounded by fallen leaves, stunned by the beautiful scenery, and looked at the queen dancing with a sword in a somewhat obsessed manner. The fallen leaves around the queen were like a whirlwind, spinning around the queen as the center, and were guided to the side by the queen's sword.
The queen practiced swordplay while dancing in the field. After she turned a circle, all the fallen leaves gathered together, and the field was so clean that not even a single leaf could be found. The most amazing thing was that the queen's sword energy was so sharp, but not a single leaf was cut by the sword. Every leaf was so complete and obediently gathered to one side.
After finishing a set of sword moves, the queen stood in the middle of the martial arts arena. The autumn wind blew her casually tied long hair, making her hair flying. She was so beautiful that Emperor Jingren was stunned for a moment.
The queen smiled slightly, waved her hand, and the sword in her hand returned to the weapon rack. Just as Emperor Jingren was about to applaud, he heard the queen say, "Did you see it clearly? Practice this set of Falling Leaf Sword Technique well, and cleaning the inner courtyard of the palace will not be so difficult in the future."
Emperor Jingren: “…”
He just wanted the queen to teach him this beautiful sword technique.
A dozen eunuchs and palace maids appeared from nowhere in the martial arts arena which was empty just now. They each took a sword from the weapon rack and ran out, not knowing where they went to practice sword fighting.
After practicing swordplay, the queen walked towards Emperor Jingren in a refreshed state and said, "I haven't practiced swordplay for a long time. I was worried that I might become rusty. It seems that I can still..."
She suddenly stopped and stared at the handsome face of Emperor Jingren.
Emperor Jingren was giving the empress an encouraging smile. Seeing her looking at him infatuatedly, he said, "Jin Yi's sword dance is like an autumn fairy descending to earth. It's intoxicating. It's really..."
The queen reached out her hand and gently touched Emperor Jingren's face.
Emperor Jingren felt warm in his heart. Three months had passed, and he had almost recovered. He had no memory of that absurd dream, and now the empress took the initiative to extend an olive branch... He remembered that Chaocheng Palace had a bedroom, which was taken care of every day, so that the empress could bathe, change clothes and rest here after exercising every day.
With a hint of anticipation, Emperor Jingren also raised his hand, wanting to hold down the Queen's big hand that was touching his face.
But as soon as his fingertips touched the queen's skin, the big hand withdrew without even touching his face, except that there was one more maple leaf than when it touched it.
Emperor Jingren: “…”
The Queen was unaware of Emperor Jingren's worries. She looked at the leaf and sighed, "It seems my skills are not as good as before. I still managed to drop a maple leaf."
There was a hint of dissatisfaction between her brows, and her affectionate eyes looked at the leaf.
Emperor Jingren felt that he hated the maple leaves that turned red in autumn and flew all over the palace.
"The Queen is an excellent fighter. I was watching her intently just now and I admire her very much." Emperor Jingren decided to draw the Queen's attention back and forced himself to repeat the words he had not said just now.
"Almost." said the queen dissatisfiedly.
"It's already quite good." Emperor Jingren took the opportunity to comfort the Queen.
The queen lowered her head, stared at Emperor Jingren and said, "I am here to protect Your Majesty. If Your Majesty falls into danger just because of this little mistake, even if only a hair is injured, Your Majesty, I practiced this martial art just to keep you safe and be a wise ruler who benefits the people."
"Jinyi has such a thoughtfulness, I am very touched. I will definitely let the imperial guards train well, and make sure to protect me and the queen, so that Jinyi will never have such worries." After comforting the queen, Emperor Jingren wanted to put his arm around the queen's shoulders, hold her in his arms, and gently stroke her long hair. However, the queen was too tall, so Emperor Jingren could only hug the queen's waist and lean his head on the queen's shoulder as a comfort.