The Eldest Daughter Reborn: She Provoked the Obsessive Crown Prince and Couldn't Escape

"His Majesty has already issued an imperial edict to reinstate the Prince of Yan as Crown Prince, so he should be buried as Crown Prince!"

"When His Majesty issued the decree, it was merely an announcement to the world that the Prince of Yan would be reinstated as Crown Prince; it was not a formal investiture..."

"Yes... how can one be considered a 'crown prince' without having undergone the investiture ceremony or entered the Eastern Palace?"

"Emperor Wu of Han issued an edict to depose Empress Wei Zifu and even handed over the empress's seal and ribbon; however, because she committed suicide before receiving the edict, she was ultimately buried as an 'empress'!"

"Now that the Prince of Yan has passed away before the investiture ceremony, he can only be buried as a Prince of Yan!"

"Hmph, anyone can quote classics. Empress Dowager Feng Yuan was deposed by Emperor Ai and reduced to a commoner. She also committed suicide before the edict was issued. Although she was not deposed as a commoner as ordered, she was buried as 'Empress Dowager of the Princes' rather than 'Empress Dowager of the Late Emperor'!"

“The Prince of Yan has suffered many hardships since childhood. We understand Your Majesty’s love for your son. If Your Majesty feels sorry for him, you may bestow honors upon his wife and children or grant him some posthumous honors.”

"But it is really not appropriate for the Prince of Yan to be buried as a crown prince!"

"The King of Yan has rendered no service to the state and is truly unsuitable..."

Yuan Li frowned and said, "I understand the intentions of all my ministers. Let's set this matter aside for now and consider it further another day!"

While the ministers were arguing in the court, Fu Luan was painting her hair ornaments in front of the mirror.

Although the floral appliqués previously bestowed by Yuan Li were convenient to wear, they were ultimately made of gold leaf and pearls, and were far less beautiful than the original vermilion lotus flower appliqués.

She tried to draw the outline of a lotus flower between her eyebrows, but she couldn't get it right, and her hands even started to tremble.

"Smash!" Fu Luan threw the pen hard onto the ground.

The mark that lingered on her face for over half a year, one that she couldn't erase, has now become blurred in her memory, just like the person who appeared and disappeared with Hua Dian...

"Why is Ah Luan angry? In my heart, Ah Luan has never been the kind of person who takes her anger out on inanimate objects..." The newcomer picked up the broken pen and blew off the dust.

"Ah, I've done something stupid again... The ground of Changqiu Palace is dust-free all day long, how could there be dust?"

Fu Luan stared blankly at the person's reflection in the mirror, "Xiao Jiu, you..."

Yuan Jiu stood beside her and said shyly, "I was worried about you, so I came to check on you..."

Fu Luan smiled and said, "You're going to have your funeral, and you come to see me? We agreed at my house last time that if you see me again, you should call me 'Empress Dowager'..."

"I won't call you that. It makes Ah Luan sound old. I suppose Ah Luan doesn't want to hear me call you 'Empress' either, right?"

"Ah Luan, close your eyes, I'll draw it for you. Ah Luan's lotus flower, I even remember the patterns on the petals..."

“I’ve been thinking for a long time that after we get married, I will paint floral decorations for A-Luan every day…” Yuan Jiu said without waiting for a reply, and turned Fu Luan’s face to paint the decorations for her stroke by stroke.

Fu Luan hesitated for a moment, then obediently closed her eyes, feeling the water-stained rouge spreading between her brows...

"You can open your eyes now..."

Fu Luan slowly opened her eyes, and the crimson lotus flower between her brows was indeed as brilliant and beautiful as before!

The person who helped her paint the floral designs disappeared again; in their place came the fragrance of Sumana flowers…

"A-Luan, A-Luan?" Yuan Li gently shook her shoulder, and Fu Luan then stood up to bow, but Yuan Li pressed her down.

“I said before at the Marquis of Chang’an’s residence that A-Luan did not need to bow to me. At that time you were still… Now that you are the Empress, those words naturally carry even more weight!” Yuan Li said with a smile.

He stared at the floral pattern his wife had just painted, somewhat stunned. "This lotus flower pattern..."

Fu Luan replied softly, "Does Your Majesty think it's the same as before...?"

The Emperor simply smiled and said, "The painted ones look better than the pasted ones... There has been quite a bit of discussion in the court these past few days about Xiao Jiu's burial, I'm sure you've heard about it."

"I... want to hear your opinion. But don't spout any pretentious nonsense about 'the empress dowager not interfering in politics.' Ah Luan is my wife, not one of the 'empress dowagers'..."

Fu Luan pondered, "Let's... let him be buried as the Prince of Yan! After all... he said he didn't want to be the Crown Prince. But, let's change his name back!"

She clutched the hem of her clothes, managing to hold back her tears and prevent them from overflowing.

Yuan Li still smiled and said, "The ministers only care about bringing up imperial edicts and historical allusions, but only A-Luan has considered Xiao Jiu's feelings."

"But why do you want me to change Xiao Jiu's name back?"

Fu Luan murmured, "I heard that the name 'Yuan Ge' was not chosen by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, but was personally given to him by his mother, Consort Su."

“'Ge' is something that can cure hangovers… Consort Su, who was skilled in brewing wine and gained the emperor’s favor through brewing, named her son with this character; it seems that she felt that besides wine, this child was the only thing that could bring her happiness in the palace!”

"The name 'Yuan Jiu' was given to him after Empress Zhaoshen adopted him. 'Yuan Shi Xiao Jiu, the ninth child, loved brewing wine,' it seems to be using 'Jiu' to represent 'wine' in memory of Consort Su, but in reality..."

Fu Luan paused, then sighed, "This word has absolutely nothing to do with 'wine.' Empress Zhaoshen was merely..."

“It’s just a way of secretly mocking him…” Yuan Li stroked his wife’s face and said what she wanted to say.

"You knew all this, didn't you?" Fu Luan asked in surprise.

"Jiu" refers to spring water flowing from the side. Empress Zhaoshen's two sons both died young, so she adopted the only prince whose birth mother had passed away and renamed him "Jiu" to mock him for not being of the rightful lineage!

"Yes...the young couple did not grow old together; outsiders saw their deep affection for each other, but were heartbroken by the early death of Empress Zhaoshen."

"Only I know how 'virtuous' this first wife is!" Yuan Li sneered.

Fu Luan was right; Empress Zhaoshen was probably not the "virtuous empress" that was popularly believed.

Fu Luan smiled wryly, "But you still kept her hair knot, and on the first and fifteenth of every month, um..."

As they spoke, Yuan Li lifted Fu Luan onto his lap and sat her down in front of the dressing table; Fu Luan felt a chill run through her heart—

Yuan Li had already torn open her clothes, and her skin, covered with marks of lovemaking, showed the favor she had received during this time.

A pair of large hands kneaded and shaped the girl's ample breasts into various forms... all of this was reflected in the mirror...

"Your Majesty, it's daytime now..." Fu Luan blushed and turned her head away, unwilling to look at her alluring reflection in the mirror.

“What’s wrong with it being daytime? Do husbands and wives need to choose a time for their lovemaking? Whoever A-Luan likes, whoever she’s thinking about, just treat me as that man…” Yuan Li licked his wife’s earlobe, his hands never stopping.

"Um, I didn't..." Fu Luan's body rose and fell with the man's movements, and she could only gasp for breath as she tried to explain.

"Still denying it... Ah Luan, a wife's passionate expression can't fool her husband..." As if to punish his wife, Yuan Li's actions became even more ferocious...