Traveling through the busy farmland of a peasant girl

Nangong Qi had been waiting in Jingya Palace for quite a while, but there was no sign of Shen Li, not even the eunuch who came to deliver the message.

These days, he was bored and could only flip through the booklet in his hand over and over again. The pages were almost frayed from being flipped by him.

The longer he waited, the more aggrieved and dissatisfied he felt. Finally, in a fit of rage, he decided to secretly send someone to find out the whereabouts of the empress.

"You, keep an eye on it and see what the empress has been busy with these days and whose palace she has visited." Nangong Qi ordered a young eunuch beside him in a bad mood, his tone full of unquestionable toughness.

Upon hearing this, the young eunuch was so frightened that he fell to his knees with a plop. His face turned pale and he begged for mercy in a tearful voice, "My lady, this is forbidden! How dare I spy on the emperor's whereabouts? This is a capital offense. Please forgive me!"

Nangong Qi felt even more suffocated when he saw how scared he was. He kicked the stool next to him and stood up with a scowl on his face: "You useless thing, you can't even do this!"

After being rejected by the young eunuch, Nangong Qi was filled with anger and had nowhere to vent. He paced back and forth in the palace, getting angrier and angrier. Suddenly, he had an idea and thought of going to other eunuchs to test the waters and maybe learn something.

He first went to the True Lord Luo Lingchen and stayed in Luo Lingchen's palace for a day. The two chatted about random things.

Luo Lingchen was as usual, with elegant manners and eloquent conversation, but Nangong Qi had no intention of listening to him talk about those elegant things. His eyes were rolling around, and from time to time he would ask about Shen Li in a roundabout way.

But Luo Lingchen either avoided the question or just smiled and shook his head, not revealing any useful information.

After leaving Luo Lingchen, Nangong Qi went straight to his concubine Su Ran.

Su Ran was still as gentle and polite as ever, and treated him courteously. But when Nangong Qi asked about Shen Li, Su Ran just sighed and said that he had not seen the empress for many days and only knew that she was busy with government affairs all day.

Finally, Nangong Qi came to the residence of Concubine Chu Fengmian. Chu Fengmian was frank and said that Shen Li had locked herself in the imperial study all day long for the reform and was busy all the time, so she had no time to go to the harem.

After this trip, Nangong Qi finally figured it out. It turned out that Shen Li was not ignoring him on purpose, but was really too busy with government affairs.

But even so, he still felt a little uncomfortable. After all, he had been waiting for so long, and this grievance would not disappear in an instant.

Shen Li stood in the imperial study, his brows slightly furrowed, his eyes moving back and forth between the reform documents in his hand and the candlelight, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

She knew in her heart that Su Ran and Nangong Qi were both waiting for her, but they had very different personalities, so she had to think carefully about who to compensate first and how to compensate.

After thinking for a long time and hesitating again and again, she finally decided to turn over Nangong Qi's sign first.

Su Ran has always been gentle, humble and polite. Even though he is occasionally stubborn, he acts very restrained and has never done anything extreme.

But Nangong Qi was different. Thinking back to the days in Xiqi, he seemed a little crazy if he didn't achieve his wish. He was stubborn and obstinate. It would be better to coax him first.

After making up her mind, Shen Li didn't delay for a moment. Her feet moved like the wind, even using light skills, and she moved like a swallow between the palace walls and buildings. Soon, she arrived at Jingya Palace.

When the young eunuch at the door saw the empress coming in person, he was about to kneel down to salute and announce loudly, but Shen Li was quick to wave her hand and signal him to be silent.

The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, revealing a mysterious smile, and she tiptoed towards the hall. She was full of curiosity, and she especially wanted to see what kind of expression Nangong Qi would have when he saw her at this defenseless moment, would it be surprise, grievance, or something else.

Shen Li stepped into the hall very carefully, fearing that any noise would disturb the tranquility.

Looking up, I saw Nangong Qi sitting on a low stool by the window, leaning forward slightly, holding a delicate petal in his hand, muttering to himself: "A'li will come today... A'li will not come today..." He looked like a child making a pious wish, with a bit of frankness and cuteness.

Seeing this scene, Shen Li felt warm in her heart and couldn't help laughing out loud. Her voice was crisp and playful: "Ali will come today!"

This sudden sound instantly broke the silence in the room. Nangong Qi's movements suddenly froze as if he had been cast under a spell. Then, he raised his head as quickly as possible and looked straight at Shen Li. A trace of disbelief flashed in his eyes, and then they were filled with surprise and excitement.

The next second, he rushed towards Shen Li happily like a happy little deer, grabbed Shen Li with both hands, and held her up steadily, shouting loudly: "Ali is here! Ali is finally here!" As he shouted, he held Shen Li and turned around several times in the spot. His steps were as light as if he was walking on clouds, and a happy smile was on his face.

After a few laps, Nangong Qi slowly stopped and carefully put Shen Li down. At this moment, a faint red mist appeared in his eyes, as if soaked in grievances and longing.

He lowered his head slightly and muttered softly: "Ali, my heart has grown cold waiting for you!" As he spoke, he grabbed Shen Li's hand and put it on his heart without saying anything. He looked at Shen Li eagerly and said coquettishly: "Touch it, is it very cold? You are responsible for warming it up!"

There was a gentle smile on Shen Li's lips, and her eyes were curved, as if hiding the stars in the sky.

She deliberately pretended to be serious, slowly put her hand into Nangong Qi's robe, gently stroked his chest with her fingertips, and whispered softly: "Okay, I will definitely warm you up..."

As soon as these words came out, Nangong Qi felt a buzzing sound in his head, all his thoughts were instantly messed up, and his heart began to beat wildly uncontrollably.

His cheeks instantly became hot, as red as a ripe tomato, and even the tips of his ears were faintly pink. He could no longer suppress his inner excitement. He bent his arms and steadily picked up Shen Li. With a somewhat flustered step, he carefully placed her on the soft bed.

He leaned down slightly, supported his hands on Shen Li's sides, and his voice trembled with nervousness: "Ah, A Li, can I kiss you this time?" As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on Shen Li's eyes, full of expectation and nervousness, like a child waiting for an adult's consent.

When Shen Li saw him like this, the memory of his reckless and crazy sneak kiss in Xiqi suddenly emerged in her mind.

He failed to succeed that time, and the disappointment and regret on his face are still vivid in his mind. Thinking of this, Shen Li did not speak, but raised the corners of her mouth slightly, took the initiative to move closer, and gently kissed Nangong Qi's lips.

This kiss, like the first ray of warm sunshine in spring, instantly ignited all of Nangong Qi's passion. He was startled at first, but then he reacted and eagerly responded to Shen Li's kiss. His arms unconsciously tightened, holding her tightly in his arms, as if he wanted to integrate her into his own bones and blood.

Nangong Qi was completely immersed in the sweetness of hugging Shen Li. He was overwhelmed by the surging love and his movements were a little flustered.

His lips were pressed tightly against Shen Li's, their warm breath blended between them, and his hands unconsciously caressed Shen Li's back gently.

Just as the atmosphere was getting more heated, Shen Li suddenly took out the familiar "little umbrella" as if by magic.

When Nangong Qi saw this thing, his movements suddenly stopped. His originally intoxicated eyes instantly sobered up a little, and his eyes were full of confusion. He let go of Shen Li slightly and asked in a confused manner: "A Li, what is this?" While speaking, he reached out and gently touched the "little umbrella", as if he wanted to figure out what it was by touch.

Shen Li looked at his innocent look, feeling both amused and distressed. She reached out and gently stroked his cheek, patiently explaining, "Aqi, this is a contraceptive."

After a pause, she continued, "Listen to me, I'm not trying to spoil your fun. The situation in the court is complicated right now, with all parties secretly watching. Luo Lingchen is the legitimate ruler, and according to the rules and the current situation, I have to give birth to his child first to stabilize the situation. Do you understand?"

After hearing what Shen Li said, Nangong Qi still felt a little uncomfortable, but he also knew that as the empress, Shen Li had many things beyond her control.

He bit his lip, his eyes reddened slightly, and after hesitating for a long time, he whispered, "Then...then you promise me that you must give birth to our child as the second one, okay?" As he spoke, he stared at Shen Li without blinking, his eyes full of expectation and anxiety.

Shen Li looked at him like this, her heart softened, and she smiled and nodded in response: "Okay! I promise you, the second one will be our child."

Hearing this, a smile appeared on Nangong Qi's face again. He hugged Shen Li tightly again and kissed her on the forehead, as if declaring his sovereignty.