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The Emperor, observing the Empress’s eager appearance, pretended to be serious, "Come closer."

The Empress frowned. It was just talking, why come closer? She wasn’t hard of hearing.

But she was anxious to know the answer, so she obediently spurred her horse to move closer.

The Emperor watched as the Empress stretched her neck out, then, with a smile, he leaned over and kissed her lips.

The Empress’s eyes widened, and the soft touch on her lips stunned her momentarily before she realized she’d been tricked by the cunning Emperor.

By the time she thought of pulling away, she found a strong arm wrapped around her waist, lifting her up.

Before she could react, she was already riding with the cunning Emperor, sitting in his embrace.

This scene was so familiar that it made her ears burn just thinking about it.

After the kiss, the Emperor looked at the Empress, whose face had turned red, and chuckled lowly, "Lingling is just the same as before."

The Empress’s face darkened. Wasn’t he clearly saying she was just as easy to deceive as before?

In the past, when she rode out with the cunning Emperor, they would stop to rest after becoming tired from riding for a long while.

The cunning Emperor told her there was dust on her face. As a girl who loved beauty, hearing a young boy say her face was dirty, of course, she wanted to wipe it clean.

She wiped diligently with a handkerchief for a while, but the cunning Emperor said it wasn’t clean and asked her to come closer so he could help her.

Back then, innocent as she was, she obediently brought her face closer to him.

And that young boy, just like now, not only kissed her but also lifted her onto his horse.

Back then, she was extremely shy but also particularly cherished this feeling, liking to stay by his side.

These intimate gestures were irresistible to a young girl during her first awakening of love.

She thought, it was at that time that she had been deceived by the cunning Emperor.

And then she obediently joined the East Palace.

The Empress retorted with feigned annoyance, "Your Majesty’s tricks for deceiving haven’t changed a bit."

The Emperor, looking at the Empress, marveled that even her annoyance was exactly the same as before.

"I just couldn’t help myself," he said, much like the uncontrollable emotions of a lovesick youth.

The Empress rolled her eyes. At his age, he still couldn’t help himself? Deceiving yet not admitting it, just as before—she was no longer the naive girl she once was, so easily fooled.

Seeing the Empress was still not pleased, the Emperor chuckled, "Though Lingling has a bad temper, she is quite easy to coax. A few words, and her smile will bloom."

The Empress: "..." Really shameless, even taking this as a point of pride?

"Why doesn’t Your Majesty just say straight up that I’m easy to deceive? It was because I was young and inexperienced. Now try deceiving me, and see if I still believe you?"

The Emperor replied, "Listen, anyone else would’ve been delighted, yet you are still questioning whether I am deceiving you."

The Empress arrogantly lifted her chin, "Your Majesty is indeed trying to deceive me, otherwise I wouldn’t have entered the palace."

The Emperor didn’t get angry but instead said, "I just love this temperament of yours. Besides you, who dares to lay a hand on me? Who dares to ignore me? All other women are completely subservient to me, only you are always angering me. Which time haven’t you infuriated me to death, only to turn around and expect me to coax you? "

Upon hearing this, the Empress paused for a moment, somewhat skeptical of the Emperor’s words.

She carefully considered and realized that every time she threw a tantrum, the Emperor would leave with a swoosh of his sleeves.

Then the next day or a couple days later, he would come to find her with food.

At first, she was indeed easy to mollify—just a few words would do.

As she aged, her tantrums became less frequent, and most of the time she kept everything bottled up inside.

The intervals between the cunning Emperor’s attempts to appease her became longer.

Just like this time, so long had passed and he still hadn’t managed to soothe her.

She came to a conclusion: the older a woman gets, the more she wants, and the harder she is to deceive, so the harder she is to soothe.

She was the Empress. The fact that she was magnanimous was already quite remarkable. Did they expect her to be the one to seek reconciliation?

Two words: No way!

The Emperor continued, "But I just prefer you this way. No matter how gentle or compliant the other women are, I don’t like them the same."

The Empress: "..." Did the cunning Emperor eat honey before he left today? Such sweet talk.

Too bad, she was no longer that naive woman who could be easily fooled.

"If Your Majesty believes what you say, why not express that sentiment when flipping the roster for the imperial concubine’s duty?"

The Emperor: "..."

The Emperor sighed helplessly. He had just ascended the throne, and his position was unstable; ministers were urging him to take concubines quickly to produce a Dragon Descendant.

He and the Empress had been married for a long time with no news of pregnancy, and later he found out it was because the Empress Dowager sabotaged them, not wanting the Empress to conceive.

It took a long struggle to convince the Empress Dowager, finally resulting in their first child, but even that child was harmed by Concubine Xu.

Nobody knew the pressure he faced from the former dynasty’s palace inner court, leaving him somewhat breathless.

Everyone thinks that becoming an emperor, wielding the power of life and death, means having fewer concerns; only those in high positions know that there are all too many things to worry about.

Therefore, after the Empress’s miscarriage, he decided to let his other concubines attend his bedchamber, as per the terms he had agreed upon with the Empress Dowager.

It was also because of the Empress’s miscarriage that he decided to favor Concubine Xu above all others in the harem, making everyone believe she was the most cherished.

Even the Empress Dowager thought Concubine Xu was his favorite, and gradually relaxed her control over the Empress.

He noticed the Empress’s dissatisfaction.

Seeing the Emperor silent for so long, the Empress gave up hope, "Your Majesty, let’s go back."

The Emperor snapped back to reality, thinking it was already noon and the Empress must be hungry; indeed, it was time to return.

"Hmm." The Emperor tightened the reins, ready to ride back. However, the Empress struggled to get down.

"Concubine will ride back by herself."

The Emperor held the Empress in his arms, preventing her from moving, "I haven’t ridden with you in a long time; let’s take this opportunity to return together."

After speaking, he spurred the horse into a wild gallop, not giving the Empress a chance to refuse.

The Empress was taken aback, worrying about the Emperor, who was still injured, "Your Majesty, slow down, what if your wound reopens?"

Not only did the Emperor not slow down, he whipped the horse faster, making it gallop even more swiftly.

"I am unharmed."

He rode like mad all the way, scaring the Empress out of her wits.

It was exhilarating, but she was genuinely terrified.

Upon returning to the tent, the Empress couldn’t wait to check on the Emperor’s wound.

The Emperor, clad in dark clothing, had his clothes unbuttoned by the Empress, only to find they were soaked through with blood.

The white bandages had turned red.

The Empress couldn’t help but scold, "Your Majesty is always so reckless, how many times has the wound split open now?"

The Emperor, seeing the Empress with tears in her eyes, soothed her, "Do not worry, my Empress. It will heal in a few days; we shall return to the palace tomorrow."

The Empress replied irritably, "Who is worried? Your injury is because of your concubine, and now it’s not healing. If something bad happens, it will be your concubine’s fault."

The Emperor quickly corrected himself, "Yes, yes, it is I who am anxious; the Empress is just concerned for me."

The Empress said no more and adeptly changed the bandage, sprinkling some healing powder on the wound.

Afterward, Qing Ying brought in hot water, and the Empress wiped down the Emperor’s body.

Looking at his robust physique, she remembered how she had been so smitten with him once.

Over forty and still so well-preserved; if you’re not a philanderer, then who is?

Once everything was ready, Qing Ying brought in the meal, which included roasted game that smelled particularly appetizing.

"There’s roasted game today, but since Your Majesty is injured, you can only eat bland foods; the roasted game is not for you. It’s all mine," the Empress said as she moved the game to her side of the table.

The Emperor, seeing only plain congee and light dishes in front of him, immediately lost his appetite.

Qing Ying spoke softly, "The roasted game was sent by the Crown Princess, knowing how much the Empress likes it."

The Empress was immensely touched, "The Crown Princess is so thoughtful, always remembering what I like."

The Emperor humphed. You’re so good to the Crown Princess, even more than to me.

The Empress savored the roasted game, which was delicious, even better than the food from the Crown Princess’s quarters.

Seeing how much the Empress was enjoying it, the Emperor wanted to try, "Empress, give me a piece to taste."

The Empress outright refused, "No, you’re too badly hurt, Your Majesty. How could you eat something so greasy? When will your wound heal?"

The Emperor sighed and lost the interest to eat after just a few bites.

After eating her fill and even overeating, the Empress contentedly had the dishes cleared away.

She was in a good mood after the hearty meal.

They would return to the palace tomorrow, so everyone was quite busy today.

The Emperor, being injured, wanted to rest after lunch.

The Empress had not slept well the night before and was also feeling drowsy. As soon as the Emperor lay down on the bed, she went to rest on the couch.

When the Emperor saw this, he got up and approached the couch, "Sleep with me."

The Empress had no desire to sleep with the dog Emperor, especially not after he had tricked her today.

"Let’s not. What if you are hurt again?"

Leaning over her slowly, the Emperor spoke deliberately, "If you rest with me, I will tell you a secret."

Yun Si: June 1st is spicy, happy Children’s Day to all the babies

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