After her luck was taken away, she fell in love with the woman who traveled through time.

After she left, Cui Ling seemed a little absent-minded. As soon as the banquet was over, he also left under the cover of night.

A quarter of an hour later, he appeared in Liang Tan's bedroom.

"Did you do that just now?" Liang Tan raised his eyebrows.

"Yes." Cui Ling did not deny it.

Liang Tan laughed: "If you can stop this one, there is still the next one. I don't care about these, why do you have to meddle in other people's business?"

"I shouldn't have been nosy, but they shouldn't have targeted the Empress." Cui Ling couldn't help but frown when he thought of the Minister of Rites and his family. "I don't want the Empress to return to the Chenshi Palace and be so tense all day long."

"You are very thoughtful," Liang Tan said, placing a box in his hand, "a gift."

Cui Ling opened it with a smile, revealing a jade pendant inside.

"This jade is of good quality, I think you will like it." Liang Tan smiled in the candlelight, "Your birthday is really not at the right time. Even if it was postponed or advanced by one day, we could still celebrate it for you properly, but it had to be on the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Cui Ling glanced at her and took out the jade pendant to play with it: "Your Majesty is thinking about me, any birthday will do."

Liang Tan looked at his handsome face and suddenly felt a little emotional: "Unknowingly, you are already eighteen years old. Time flies."

"Your Majesty and I have known each other for five years," Cui Ling said with a smile, and then hung the jade pendant on his waist. "How is it?"

"It's worn crookedly." Liang Tan was helpless and reached out to smooth the jade pendant for him.

Cui Ling lowered his head and looked at her concentrating on arranging the jade pendant for him, and his Adam's apple couldn't help but move.

After a long while, Liang Tan saw that everything was ready, and then he breathed a sigh of relief and stepped back: "This is much better."

Cui Ling smiled and said, "I also have a gift for your Majesty."

"Why do you have to give me something every year on your birthday?" Liang Tan complained, but there was a smile in his eyes.

Cui Ling handed the thing to her.

It is a silk flower, made very delicately.

Liang Tan recognized it at a glance: "Did you do it?"

"Does Your Majesty like it?" Cui Ling did not answer her question.

Liang Tan raised his lips: "Compared with your gift, the jade pendant I gave you seems not thoughtful enough."

"I like it very much." Cui Ling answered seriously.

Liang Tan was so happy that he simply handed the silk flower to him and said, "Put it on me."

"Yes." Cui Ling took the silk flower and carefully put it on her bun. His fingers accidentally brushed across her temples, leaving a strange touch.

After putting it on, Liang Tan went to admire it in front of the bronze mirror for a while. The more she looked at it, the more she liked it. Cui Ling felt indescribably satisfied when he saw that she was satisfied.

He stayed in Chenshi Palace for an hour before leaving. Taking advantage of the cover of night, he avoided the patrolling guards and returned to his residence along the path.

After lighting the lamp, he sat at the table for a long time. He accidentally glanced at the bronze mirror and found that his lips were still smiling in the mirror. He paused, laughed, raised his hand and sniffed his fingertips, and found that there was still a little fragrance of osmanthus hair oil.

A good night's sleep.

The emperor was not in good health, and he drank and got angry on the Mid-Autumn Festival, and he fell ill the next day. Cui Ling had some free time, so she took some silk from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and prepared to make two more silk flowers for Liang Tan to wear.

When I was working seriously, someone suddenly came to see me outside the door.

It was Li Cairen who had just entered the palace.

Cui Ling was silent for a moment, locked the silk cloth in the cabinet and then invited someone in.

"I wonder what brings you here, Ms. Li?" he asked calmly.

Five years of influence had transformed the helpless child into a manager who never showed his emotions.

Li Cairen knelt down and said, "I have come to seek refuge with the chief steward."

"Oh?" Cui Ling raised his eyes.

Li Cairen looked at him carefully, her heart was moved for a moment, and then she felt sorry that he was a eunuch and had such a good appearance in vain: "I have been in the palace for more than a month, but I have not seen the emperor yet. I want to ask the steward to help me. If I can become successful in the future, I will definitely not forget the steward."

Cui Ling took a sip of tea and said, "There are people in the palace who have not seen the emperor for three years. Why should Concubine Li be so anxious?"

"But I'm not young anymore!" Li Cairen blurted out, and then thought of something with a firm look in her eyes, "General Manager, don't you think Concubine Chen is an eyesore?"

Cui Ling paused.

Li Cairen's eyes lit up: "I am willing to be the chief steward's knife. If I am favored in the future, I will definitely help you avenge the humiliation I suffered that year." After listening to what Concubine Zhou said, she came out to inquire. Although it was said that the two of them were no longer at odds, she did not believe that Cui Ling could easily forget the humiliation he suffered that year. It must be because Concubine Chen was now in the limelight, and he pretended not to care in order to avoid the limelight.

"Who told you this?" Cui Ling's tone was flat.

"It was Noble Lady Zhou in the cold palace who said that." Li Cairen said hurriedly.

Cui Ling's eyes flashed with sarcasm: "Got it."

"So what you mean is..." Li Cairen's face showed a hint of expectation

"Does anyone else know that you came here today?" Cui Ling interrupted her.

When Li Cairen heard that he was about to give in, she quickly replied, "I was cautious and didn't even tell my personal maid."

"Well done." Cui Ling praised.

When Li Cairen heard his praise, she couldn't help blushing again, and she left after a silent response. After a long time, she realized that Cui Ling didn't say yes or no... Maybe he agreed. Li Cairen was not sure, but she didn't have the courage to ask again, so she could only go back and wait for news.

Three days later, Concubine Zhou in the cold palace suddenly went mad. She killed Concubine Li who came to visit her and tried to run away. The guards beat her to death on the spot.

The two unfavored concubines died like ants. After a brief discussion in the palace for two days, no one remembered them. When the emperor heard about it, he felt it was unlucky and ordered people to deal with it as soon as possible. He did not take the two seriously at all. Only Liang Tan felt sad whenever he thought of it, and he had not forgotten their deaths for a long time.

"A good person just died like that." She couldn't help but sigh.

Cui Ling handed over a piece of cake and said, "Why bother to feel sad for these unimportant people?"

"It's not that I'm heartbroken, I just feel that life is impermanent," Liang Tan sighed and looked at the cake in his hand, "so I have to cherish the present."

Cui Ling responded and added: "You should also cherish the person in front of you."

Liang Tan didn't hear clearly, and when he asked him what he said, he just smiled.

-

"These are the ones I like the most. My beloved concubine, please remember to keep them when you get there." The emperor glanced at Cui Ling, and Cui Ling presented the portrait to Liang Tan.

The queen was still reflecting on her mistakes behind closed doors, so the matter of selecting a concubine naturally fell on Liang Tan's shoulders.

Liang Tan casually flipped through a few of them, nodded with a smile and said, "I remember them."

"My beloved concubine is virtuous and gentle. I am completely relieved about her." The emperor praised her for a few words and then became absent-minded.

Liang Tan knew that he was going to the young maid he had just favored, so she asked to leave. The emperor saw that she was tactful, and felt guilty again. After she left, he turned around and said to Cui Ling: "The imperial concubine is good in every way, but she is old, and I really can't bring myself to ask for her, otherwise I would have made her the most favored one in the harem."

"As long as the emperor is willing, he can make her the most favored one in the harem even if he does not favor her." Cui Ling answered with his eyes lowered.

The emperor nodded thoughtfully: "You are right."

So early the next morning, the reward of flowing water once again entered the Chenshi Palace.

Liang Tan looked at the things in the yard and couldn't help but sigh: "There are so many, the warehouse can't hold them all."

Cui Ling, who came to deliver the reward, raised his lips when he heard this: "Chenshi Palace is indeed a little small."

"It's already the second largest palace in the harem," Liang Tan laughed. "If it were any bigger, it would be the Queen's Fengxi Palace."

Cui Ling's eyes moved slightly.

Liang Tan asked someone to bring a plate of cakes over: "This is something I have recently researched. Would you like to try it and see how it tastes?"

Cui Ling picked up a piece and said it was delicious before he put it in his mouth, which made Liang Tan laugh again. After Liang Tan was happy, he took a simple bite.

"It's really good." he commented.

Liang Tan smiled and said, "I think it's good too." Life in the harem was too boring, and she could only study food to pass the time.

Cui Ling chatted with her for a few more minutes before turning around and leaving.

Three days later, the queen suddenly had a hysterical attack and ran out of Fengxi Palace barefoot, yelling and cursing as she ran. She was mad for most of the day before she recovered. The emperor was furious when he heard the news and immediately wanted to depose the queen.

Unfortunately, deposing the queen is not as easy as dealing with the concubines in the palace. The opposition from the conservatives of the previous dynasty alone is enough to make him give up this idea.

But anyone with a discerning eye could see that even if the emperor gave up, it was only temporary, and he became even more angry because of the opposition from his court officials.

"I am the emperor, the supreme ruler. How can a crazy woman like her take my place as queen?"

After the emperor left the court, he smashed and banged things in the imperial study, "Even if a person is crazy, they can't depose him. Do they take me, the emperor, seriously?!"

"emperor……"

“Shut up!” The emperor threw the teacup in his hand away. Cui Ling lowered his eyes and did not dodge. The teacup instantly broke into pieces on his forehead. Several scars also appeared on his smooth forehead, and blood flowed down.

The emperor calmed down a lot.

"Your Majesty, please calm down and don't hurt yourself because of this." Cui Ling did not treat the wound, but comforted him instead.

The emperor pursed his lips and sneered: "They are all pillars of the court, but they are not as considerate as a eunuch like you."

Cui Ling showed no reaction to the contempt in his words: "Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."

"What do you think? Should I depose the queen?" Cui Ling was smart and had been in charge of memorials. In the past two years, the emperor had asked him a lot about court affairs.

Normally, when he asked, Cui Ling would answer directly, but today he suddenly knelt down and said, "I dare not answer."

"Why not?" The emperor said impatiently, "Do you think I should let this crazy woman be my queen?"

Cui Ling leaned forward and said, "The Queen is the mother of a country and needs to be the model for the world. Now that the Queen is insane, if she holds the Phoenix Seal again, I'm afraid she will be laughed at by the world."

"I gave her Phoenix Seal to the Imperial Concubine two years ago," the Emperor paused for a moment, gritted his teeth and secretly hated her, "If the Imperial Concubine were to become the Queen, she would definitely not be as incompetent as her."

Cui Ling said nothing.

The emperor took a deep breath and said, "It's a pity that the matter of deposing the queen involves too many things. I find it troublesome. If it really doesn't work, let her continue..."

Before he could finish his words, a young eunuch rushed in and knelt down upon seeing the emperor. "Your Majesty, something bad has happened. The yellow-feathered parrot in the imperial garden got caught in the rain last night and is no longer alive today!"

The emperor frowned immediately. Before he could say anything, Cui Ling scolded him, "How dare you! Don't you know where you are? How dare you bother the emperor with such a trivial matter! If the parrot dies, you can just get another one. Why mobilize so many troops?"

The young eunuch was so frightened that he trembled.

The emperor also wanted to lose his temper, but after hearing Cui Ling's words, he suddenly had an idea.

While he was distracted, Cui Ling drove the young eunuch out, and when he turned around, he saw him smiling.

"Your Majesty, why are you so happy?" Cui Ling asked calmly.

The emperor looked at him smugly and said, "Of course it's the Queen's business. Didn't you get any inspiration from what you just said?"

Cui Ling looked puzzled.

"I thought you were so smart, but it seems you are just like this," the emperor sneered arrogantly, and then explained to him in a good mood, "It is not easy to depose the queen, but it is very easy to kill her. The queen is now crazy and it is possible that she is terminally ill. If she dies, wouldn't it be possible to not depose the queen and get a new one?"

Cui Ling heard this and bowed his head to him with his eyes downcast: "Your Majesty, you are wise."

That afternoon, the queen jumped into a well due to a madness attack and died.

Liang Tan was applying medicine to Cui Ling when he heard the news. He frowned immediately: "The emperor was stopped from deposing the queen, and the queen died right after. Who would believe that this was an accident?"

"The Queen's death is a foregone conclusion, and he is the Emperor. What can he do if he doesn't believe it?" Cui Ling asked back.

Liang Tan sighed and said, "That's true. The emperor has been acting less and less lawfully lately. This move will cut off the source of the problem and shut up those who oppose him."

"The Queen is insane and should no longer be the mother of a country." Cui Ling said with a flat tone.

Liang Tan shrugged: "It's only been a short time, and there are already two crazy people. The palace is really not peaceful recently."

After she finished bandaging his forehead, she glanced at the white cloth and laughed, "How come it makes him look even more handsome?"

A faint blush appeared on Cui Ling's cold face: "The Queen always makes fun of me, saying that I am not good-looking with my greasy hair and powdered face." In this dynasty, men considered growing a beard to be beautiful, but he could not grow even a beard. He really did not think he was good-looking.

Hearing him belittling himself, Liang Tan wanted to knock him on the head, but when he raised his hand, he remembered that he had a head injury, so he had to give up: "Before you say this, you really should listen to what the palace says."

"What did you say?" Cui Ling was curious.

Liang Tan glanced at him and said, "It is said that Manager Cui is as handsome as Pan An, and is one of the rare handsome men in the world."

"Really?" Cui Ling smiled. "What about the queen? Do you think so too?"

"Of course not." Liang Tan rejected.

The smile on Cui Ling's face froze for a moment.

Liang Tan then smiled: "In my opinion, Cui Ling is the most handsome man in the world, the only one."

Cui Ling repeated the word "only" in his heart and lowered his eyes to hide his emotions: "In my heart, Your Majesty is also the most beautiful woman in the world, the only one."

"Come on, I'm not a child anymore, stop teasing me." Liang Tan smiled, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes appeared, but his charm did not diminish at all.

Cui Ling smiled and lowered his eyes: "Everything I said is true."