"Why not? Why canât it?!"
A familiar deep voice echoed.
Xia Ruqing and Zi Yue were both startled.
"Emperor?!"
They hurriedly got up to greet him.
Zhao Junyao waved his hand.
"No need for formalities!"
With that said, he directly pulled the barefooted Xia Ruqing back onto the bed.
Frowning.
"Itâs so cold, why did you get down again!"
Xia Ruqing was forcibly thrown onto the bed by him, touched her aching arm and complained.
"Emperor, canât you be a bit gentle?!"
"Alright, all of you, leave now!"
Zhao Junyao waved his hand.
Zi Yue and the others bowed and retreated.
Xia Ruqing tidied her clothes and helped Zhao Junyao change.
She smelled a strong scent of alcohol on him.
Then she ordered a bowl of sobering soup and had someone help him bathe.
After everything was taken care of, when they lay back on the bed.
It was already the Hai Hour.
Xia Ruqing was exhausted.
But Zhao Junyao, after drinking the sobering soup, was quite alert.
And so...
"Hey... Emperor, what are you doing?"
"Donât!"
"Ah... hmm..."
Piece by piece, clothes flew out from inside the curtain.
Soon, certain sounds that made oneâs face blush and heart race echoed in the room.
Zi Yue and the others stood outside, their faces flushed with embarrassment, not daring to listen further, and quickly left.
Li Shengan, however, breathed a sigh of relief on the side.
Thinking to himself:
The Emperor has been busy lately; itâs about time he relaxed.
If another child could be added to the family next year, it would also be a good thing!
Looking through the harem.
Only Noble Consort Xian has this kind of fortune.
Others, well, they have to endure slowly.
Life in the palace is like this; some gain favor, others lose it!
Who would have thought that a mere Lady back then.
Now, having given birth to three sons, she has become the most revered woman in the harem.
Hey! Thereâs really no room for discontent!
The palace was harmonious and peaceful.
However, the atmosphere at the posthouse outside the palace was another story.
The King of Western Xia couldnât get enough of looking at his daughter.
He insisted on having Ye Tang stay at the posthouse, and Ye Tang, unable to refuse, just agreed.
Meanwhile, Princess Hai Feng was in utter despair.
"Father, what should I do?!"
"I donât see this marriage happening!"
"My imperial uncle will surely marry the princess to the Emperor of Great Chu!"
"In the future, my imperial uncle will give everything good to that wretched woman!"
"Father, what should I do?!"
Originally, the Fifth Prince could have been a substitute.
But now even the substitute is in peril?
Sad, scared, and hopeless! Her mind was in chaos!
Prince Jinâs gaze was deep and unfathomable.
He lowered his head, thought for a while, and then comforted her.
"Itâs alright, Fengfeng, you and the Fifth Prince are mutually affectionate; Father will surely ensure your wish is fulfilled!"
Hai Feng wanted to retort.
She wanted to tell her father.
Actually, her true affection was for the Emperor of Great Chu; the Fifth Prince was just a stand-in.
But she dared not.
She feared that once she spoke, even the stand-in would be lost.
So, she could only nod tearfully.
"Thank you, Father!"
Prince Jin, looking weary, patted her shoulder and told her to go back to sleep.
Hai Feng saw her fatherâs frightening expression.
Didnât dare to stay any longer and obediently went back.
Actually, going back, she couldnât sleep.
She tossed and turned, unable to accept it.
Finally, she crawled into bed, cried hard for a while, and her emotions gradually calmed down.
"What does she have thatâs so good!"
"Why do everyone, both acquainted and unacquainted, praise her, and yet I...?"
Can never have my wish fulfilled?!
Living this long, she had no genuine friends around.
Those who surrounded her were either flattering or grinning foolishly.
Not a soul willing to share their heart with her!
Those few servants kept their heads down, not daring to speak.
But in their hearts, they silently criticized.
âYour Grace, you never took others as friends, did you?!â
âIndeed, with your domineering demeanor, even Prince Jin might be wary!â
âPlus, you have the habit of whipping people at the slightest whim!â
In this world, no one has ever heard of someone whipping their own friends.
Thatâs why no one is willing to confide in you, and thereâs a reason for that.
These reasons...
Of course, Hai Feng wouldnât know!
That night, after crying into her blanket for a while, she fell asleep.
In the following three days.
The King of Western Xia was busy reorganizing Hai Tangâs bedroom.
And negotiating with the Great Chu Dynasty regarding her identity.
A Fifth Rank General of the Great Chu Dynasty suddenly becoming a princess of the Western Xia Kingdom.
Even the most audacious scripts wouldnât dare to write such a plot.
So...
The procedures were quite complicated.
They had to remove the name from the Ministry of Revenue and from the Ministry of Personnel.
While calculating salary, they also prepared rewards.
In any case, finding oneâs relatives is a good thing.
After all, between sovereign and minister, congratulations are due, arenât they?!
Thus, the King of Western Xia was busy to the point of being unable to touch the ground.
Ye Tang was also very busy.
She had to handle various procedures.
And deal with friends from all sides.
Now not only the Great Chu Dynasty, but even the Western Xia Kingdom and the whole world, knew she was a princess of Western Xia Kingdom.
So, whether it was her former superiors or subordinates.
Or her colleagues from the Ministry of War, everyone came to congratulate her.
Only then did Ye Tang finally realize.
Her identity from now on, was to be transformed completely.
For over twenty years, she lived and was loyal to the Great Chu Dynasty.
Ultimately, it wasnât her true homeland.
She would ultimately return to a place, though her birthplace, is extremely unfamiliar to her.
When everything was completed.
The twentieth of August had already passed.
That afternoon.
The King of Western Xia came to Zhao Junyaoâs Imperial Study Room.
Just as he finished approving memorials.
He called someone to brew a pot of premium Dragon Well tea and set up some tea snacks, and the two chatted animatedly.
During the conversation.
Zhao Junyao brought up a problem that had been weighing on his mind.
"Thereâs been no progress on the poisoning incident!"
"Our Great Chu Dynasty has done its best, the perpetrator might not be amongst us!"
"So the next step is for your side to investigate this case!"
The King of Western Xia did not care much about the matter and waved it off.
"It can be done!"
Zhao Junyao sighed in relief, praising.
"As expected, King of Western Xia is forthright!"
The King of Western Xia smiled, not continuing the topic further.
He then brought up another issue.
"By the way, Fengfeng and your Great Chu Dynastyâs Fifth Prince seem to be quite something recently...!"
"To speak frankly, the Young Prince was thinking itâs time to arrange something for them!"
"After all, Fengfeng still has this nature of hers, sheâs the only Commandery Princess of our Western Chu!"
"We donât want the child to suffer grievances, and I suppose you feel the same!"
Zhao Junyao nodded.
"Alright!"
"Since the King of Western Xia has spoken, I canât refuse, so letâs do this!"
"Iâll draft the imperial decree tomorrow!"
"Since they are mutually affectionate, moving quickly is also a good thing!"
The King of Western Xia laughed.
"Thank you, Emperor of Great Chu!"
A Commandery Princess from a not-so-big, not-so-small kingdom.
Entering neither as a concubine but directly as the main wife, it is a fair match, not a dishonor.
Zhao Junyao smiled faintly.
"No need to thank me!"
Actually, he should thank the King of Western Xia.
If he hadnât taken care of those matters.
The Great Chu Dynasty would have borne the brunt of criticism!