As he was awakened early and didn’t get enough sleep, the 18-year-old emperor sat in the court with a gloomy expression.

The Regent stepped forward from the right side and asked, “Are there any reports today?”

The young man raised his eyelids slightly and corrected, “There is a report from the Huainan region.”

Duan Jing’an’s expression visibly darkened, repeating, “A report from the Huainan region?”

The ministers looked at each other. An elderly court official was about to hesitate and take a step forward, but another interrupted him.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, in the Huainan region, everything is running smoothly after Lord Chen’s inspection. The local officials were in chaos, but fortunately, Lord Chen personally went there to supervise. It ensured the people had a good winter. It is said that Lord Chen hurried back, and several horses died midway. Rumors have spread throughout the capital, saying that when Lord Chen returned to the capital, the people of Huainan welcomed him along the way.”

Boasting to the max.

Duan Changchuan pretended to be puzzled and raised his eyebrows, “Oh? Such a great achievement, how come I haven’t received any commendation note? The people in Huainan are very supportive, but I haven’t heard anything about it in the palace.”

“Your Majesty, perhaps… perhaps Lord Chen might want to surprise Your Majesty…”

The young emperor remained unchanged, saying lightly, “Such big news was concealed, and indeed, I am very surprised.”

With that, the sweat of the ministers below poured down immediately.

They quickly prostrated themselves, trembling as they begged for forgiveness, “This official… this official plead for Your Majesty’s forgiveness…”

For a moment, silence filled the court of a hundred or so people silent. The atmosphere became oppressively tense and the breathing of everyone started to feel constrained.

And the young man sitting at the top, with a straight back and tightly pursed lips, showed no movement.

The pressure became heavier and heavier.

After surveying the surroundings for a long time, the Regent finally hesitated and stood up, kneeling with one knee on the ground, saying, “Reporting to Your Majesty, Lord Chen’s report had just arrived this morning. I intended to present it to you, but due to negligence by the attendants, the report was not brought to the court. Your Majesty… please forgive this official.”

As he knelt down, all the officials in the hall knelt down as well, “These officials beg for Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”

The young emperor, with a slight smile, quickly changed his expression, saying, “I just said it casually; there’s no need for you to be so nervous.”

He then turned to Chang Le beside him, “Announce my decree, Lord Chen has merits in disaster relief. I am pleased and specially order General Rongwu to go and welcome him.”

After the decree was announced, he pretended to ask Duan Jing’an, “Imperial Uncle, what are your thoughts on this matter?”

The other bit his silver teeth, “Very good.”

“Any other reports from you ministers? If not, you may leave the court.”

With a major event settled, Duan Changchuan walking step felt so much easier.

He made an appointment with Yun Xie to have tea by the lake. When he arrived at the pavilion, the young man in black had already brewed the tea and was sipping it.

The young emperor gathered his robes and walked over, smiling as he sat down, “Guess what happened today? Imperial Uncle actually kneeled in front of me in front of all the officials. Quite a rare sight.”

Yun Xie chuckled, pouring tea into the cup in front of him, “Can it not be rare? There’s a noble who made him bow his head for half an hour at the banquet. After the banquet, he summoned the imperial physician to his mansion for a medical examination. It’s said that due to his old age, his neck couldn’t handle it anymore. Recently, he doesn’t let himself bow anymore.”

Duan Changchuan took the cup, and his fox-like eyes curved, “If I had known that would work, I would have used it earlier.”

Yun Xie said, “That’s why they say the Empress is a ruthless character. Hey, I heard it was a decree from the Empress herself that kept Duan Jing’an kneeling all the time. In my opinion, if you want to tear her mask, just do it. You’re the ruler, why let yourself live in such frustration?”

The young man lazily leaned back, looking towards the southern archery field, “Why rush it? It’s not the right time yet. Impatience may disrupt the big plan.”

Yun Xie helplessly said, “Alright, the world is at your disposal. Anyway, it’s a good thing that a new figure who doesn’t play by the rules appeared in the palace, stirring things up. These past few days, whenever I think about it, it’s quite amusing that this troublemaker was personally brought by Duan Jing’an and the old man Bai.”

“Oh, right, the old man Bai got drunk the other day, and he vomited before he got home. He continued vomiting stomach acid in the later part of the night, keeping it up until dawn. Haha, it was satisfying.”

Yun Xie finished his long talk, but there was no response from the other side. Only then did he realize that Duan Changchuan had been looking over there all this time, paying him no attention.

As Yun Xie’s gaze followed, he saw a woman in red on the almost empty archery field, holding a whip while riding her horse.

The rhythmic sound of hooves, one after another.

With a majestic air, carrying an unruly arrogance.

“Is that… our empress?” Yun Xie hesitated to ask.

Duan Changchuan gave him a glance with a lifted eyebrow, “Our?”

Hastily correcting himself, “Yours, your empress.”

The young man slowly withdrew his gaze, “I’m not sure about one thing lately. I’d like to hear your opinion.”

Yun Xie said, “Oh? Tell me about it.”

Duan Changchuan gestured to him, then lowered his voice, “Is it possible that there is a fragrance that only affects specific people? Or, specific targets.”

Yun Xie listened attentively and thought for a moment, “If it’s specific to individuals, it’s possible. Some fragrances affect only women, some affect only men, some for children, and some for pregnant women. Fragrances have many uses. I know a fragrance master. Why, has someone used a fragrance against you?”

The young man frowned, “Ever since the empress entered the palace, I often smelled a fragrance on her. It was particularly strong this morning; the whole bedroom was filled with it. But I asked Chang Le and Yi Man, they didn’t smell anything.”

Having spoken, the person across from him fell into contemplation.

“If it’s specific, it’s indeed possible. For example, Chang Le and Yi Man are eunuchs, and if this fragrance only affects men, they would naturally be unaffected. But people’s noses are the same. If only you can smell it, it doesn’t make sense.”

Duan Changchuan murmured in agreement, “I also find it doesn’t make sense.”

“How about… you feign illness and summoned the imperial physician? I’ll have the fragrance master disguised as a medicine boy and accompany Imperial Physician Fang to investigate together We are not knowledgeable about fragrance making or medicine, just speculating here won’t do. The world is full of wonders, what if there is something to it?”

Duan Changchuan turned his head and looked back at the archery field.

Bai Su had just dismounted, glanced towards their direction from a distance, startled for a while before offering a shallow greeting from afar. Her movements were neither fast nor slow, carrying a kind of domineering aura.

Duan Changchuan suddenly remembered the dream from this morning. That low laughter when he was being held in mid-air seemed to echo in his ears again. He quickly averted his gaze in a fluster.

Seeing him silent, Yun Xie thought he disagreed and said, “Or you can describe the characteristics of this fragrance, its effects on you. I can go and ask.”

The young emperor’s eyelashes trembled, and this time, even his ears turned red, “Uh… it’s a floral scent and smells like peonies. When I smell it… my heart beats very fast…”

Yun Xie said, “Hear beats faster? Hmm, that sounds like an aphrodisiac. Do you also feel a surge of vitality?”

Duan Changchuan, “…”

He immediately picked up the plum blossoms from the vase and threw them towards Yun Xie.

Well, if you ignored the pink blush on his cheeks and ears, he looked expressionless.

Yun Xie hurriedly opened his fan to dodge, “Hey, hey! Plum blossoms are blooming very hard too, don’t throw things around so easily. I’m just making a casual suggestion, don’t hide your sickness and avoid treatment^[1]讳疾忌医 (idiom) – hiding a sickness for fear of treatment; concealing a fault to avoid criticism; to keep one’s shortcomings secret; to refuse to listen to advice..”

Duan Changchuan said, “You’re just here to watch the show.”

“Alright, let’s get serious. Peony scent, right? Smelling it causes a fast heartbeat, anything else?”

“Uh… a surge of vitality.”

Yun Xie resisted a smile, “Anything else?”

The young emperor, with red ears, glared, “Aphrodisiac, it is an aphrodisiac! And it’s very mild, nothing else!” The young emperor make a threatening gestures ^[2]张牙舞爪 (idiom) – To bare fangs and brandish claws.

The two of them bantered for a while and then calmly sipped their tea.

The bright fire flickered in the fireplace, making people feel warm.

Yun Xie suddenly spoke, “Actually… it’s not surprising for the empress, a daughter without any powerful background, to climb onto the dragon bed or conceive a dragon heir.”

Duan Changchuan’s movements paused.

Yun Xie continued, “Did you read the letter I gave you last time?”

The young man nodded, “I’ve read it.”

“In the manor, a place where people devour each other, Bai Su is definitely not an innocent white lotus. After entering the palace, where people devour each other even more, her identity is so awkward. If she wants to survive, she can only obtain the dragon’s favor and bear a dragon heir.”

“But…” Duan Changchuan softly retorted.

Yun Xie interrupted him, “There’s no but. Someone who wants to live well will go to any lengths. Your Majesty should have known this, look at the essence of everything, don’t be deceived by appearances. This is what Confucius taught you, isn’t it?”

Duan Changchuan lowered his gaze, not responding. His rationality told him that Yun Xie was right.

But there was another voice, a small voice telling him: she won’t.

She won’t…

Because she never wanted to live in the first place, right?

After spending some time with Yun Xie by the lake, Duan Changchuan returned to the palace. Chang Le brought a clean casual robe for him. He changed slowly, lost in thought.

“If you don’t believe it, it’s easy to test her. Just summon her to the dragon bed, and see how she reacts. If she truly can’t forget her lover, she’ll naturally resist.”

“If she goes along with it… just grant her a bowl of contraception soup. You are the emperor, she is your legal wife, it’s only natural for husband and wife to share a bed.”

“Your Majesty, you are the emperor, live more freely. You need to be ruthless to rule this vast empire.”

The words Yun Xie spoke to him echoed in his mind. He didn’t even notice Yi Man’s announcement from outside…

Nor did he hear the footsteps of a woman outside the bedroom.

It wasn’t until the creaking sound of the door opening, along with the clinking of metal on her wrist and knee guards, reached his ears that he saw a figure in a dark red horse-riding suit entering through the door.

He asked, “You… When did you come back?”

“Uh… sorry…”

They both spoke simultaneously.

At first, Duan Changchuan was a little confused. When he saw Bai Su immediately turning around, he realized, he had just taken off the heavy court robes, and now he was only wearing lightweight underclothes.

The ties at the neckline of the underclothes had been inadvertently pulled off by himself, revealing a large expanse of chest.

In his mind, two voices started arguing.

One said, “Quick, test her, take advantage of the moment!”

The other said, “Stop! No, you can’t! If she rejects you, you’ll lose face!”

The young emperor looked at the person who had turned her back to him and silently put on his clothes.

“Forget it, I still think… face is more important.”