She was hoping to find an opportunity today to spread the news of the emperor's impotence, but unexpectedly, Cao Rong offered herself up.

Moreover, Cao Rong is quite inexperienced; she couldn't even hide a bottle of ylang-ylang perfume properly, and Cao Rong spotted it immediately from the bottle she was holding.

After Liang Qiuli and her two children sat down on the left side of the emperor, she quietly beckoned to Zi Chen beside her.

"Have someone keep an eye on Cao Rong, the daughter of General Cao. If she does anything she shouldn't, then do her a favor."

Although Liang Qiuli's voice was low, Zichen, as her personal maid, naturally had exceptional hearing.

Although she didn't know what Cao Rong was going to do, she immediately nodded slightly, indicating that she understood her master's meaning.

"Let's have a party!"

After the emperor arrived, the banquet officially began.

Because it was the emperor's birthday banquet, both ministers and unfavored concubines in the harem came forward to toast the emperor.

Liang Qiuli was the only exception. She sat next to the emperor and gently advised him to drink less alcohol, as it was bad for his health.

"Your Majesty, if you can't drink anymore, I will drink for you."

He then reached for the wine cup beside the emperor.

Looking at Liang Qiuli's gentle appearance, and with the effects of the wine, the emperor grew even more fond of her.

"No need, I'm fine."

He reached out to stop Liang Qiuli's actions, then tried to sweep his gaze over the crowd to signal them to stop.

While the two were scrambling for the wine cup, they accidentally spilled the wine onto the emperor's dragon robe.

"Your Majesty, I didn't hold it properly. Let me wipe it for you. Then you should go and change your clothes before coming back, so you don't catch a cold."

Liang Qiuli felt that she had done everything she could, and whether she could succeed later depended on Cao Rong's support.

Sitting below, Cao Rong watched the two people on the platform interacting intimately, and a burning flame of jealousy raged in her heart.

Her face grew increasingly gloomy, and Madam Cao, who was beside her, quickly held her down. If she behaved improperly in front of the emperor, not only would she not be allowed into the inner palace, but it might even implicate General Cao.

Fortunately, after a short while, the emperor got up and walked towards the back hall. It seemed that his clothes were wet. A hint of joy flashed in Cao Rong's eyes. She knew that her chance had come.

Cao Rong didn't talk to Madam Cao, fearing she wouldn't agree, so she quietly slipped out on her own.

As soon as the emperor left, Liang Qiuli turned her gaze to Cao Rong, and sure enough, she left as well.

He hoped that Cao Rong would make it as big as possible.

……

The emperor had many servants, but no one expected that his dragon robe would get wet, and he couldn't change his clothes for a while.

"Your Majesty, please wait here for a moment. This servant has already sent someone to fetch it."

Little Li helped the emperor remove his dark red dragon robe, leaving him in his undergarments. However, since the weather wasn't cold, it didn't matter.

"How is she going to get in?"

Cao Rong secretly followed the emperor and saw that there were at least several people in his room.

"Young Master Li, Her Majesty may need your assistance."

When Zi Shuang had an urgent matter to attend to, Xiao Li, the leader of these people, called them away, which could be considered as fulfilling his master's request to do Cao Rong a favor.

"His Majesty?"

Little Li did not leave immediately, but looked at the Emperor.

The emperor didn't seem to mind, and nodded slightly, indicating that he could go. He even dismissed the eunuchs and maids who were serving him.

……

"We've used up all the medicine, but it's still not working!"

With Zishuang's help, Cao Rong easily brought Yilanxiang down to the room where the emperor was.

But no matter how long they waited, they couldn't find anything unusual about the emperor.

"Who?"

Cao Rong's heart leaped into her throat. She turned sharply to look at the source of the sound, and in the blink of an eye, the emperor had already pushed open the door and come out.

"His Majesty……"

Cao Rong panicked instantly, and the porcelain bottle in her hand almost slipped from her grasp. She quickly hid it behind her back.

The emperor frowned, seemingly not recognizing Cao Rong, and wondering whether she was a concubine in the harem or a family member of a minister.

Before the emperor could figure it out, fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his face began to flush. Cao Rong was overjoyed; she knew that the ylang-ylang fragrance was finally starting to work.

"What have you done to me?"

The emperor naturally noticed his own abnormality. He glared at Cao Rong with a cold expression, interrupting Cao Rong's smugness.

However, having already committed such a disrespectful act, Cao Rong now understood that she had no way out.

"Your Majesty, I am the daughter of General Cao. I have always admired your majesty and benevolence, so I wish to enter Your Majesty's harem."

Without caring that they were still outside, he pressed himself against the emperor.

Upon seeing this, the emperor immediately grabbed Cao Rong by the neck, preventing her from getting any closer.

To be honest, if he didn't have a hidden illness, Cao Rong wouldn't have needed to use such methods to enter the harem.

However, now that Cao Rong had given him that drug, apart from his body being hot, he had no reaction in that area at all, so naturally he couldn't let Cao Rong get any closer to him.

Although Cao Rong was being choked, she continued to struggle to get closer to the emperor, especially after seeing the beads of sweat constantly appearing on his forehead.

She felt her chance had come. The emperor was under the influence of ylang-ylang and must be suffering. With such a beautiful woman like her around, the emperor could still endure it now, but he probably wouldn't be able to hold back later.

The emperor was deeply stung by the look of desire and eagerness in Cao Rong's eyes as she gazed at his body.

He used to think that these women admired his body, which was a skill he could be proud of, but now he felt extremely heartbroken.

Thinking this, Cao Rong unconsciously increased the pressure on her hands. She felt as if her neck was being tightly clamped by iron clamps, making it increasingly difficult for her to breathe.

"His Majesty is waiting to change into his new dragon robe, and the Empress is right behind him. Hurry up and stop dawdling."

The sound of Xiao Li scolding the palace maid behind him reached the emperor's ears. For some reason, the emperor was worried that Liang Qiuli would misunderstand him and Cao Rong if she found out.

He felt a little flustered, so he quickly let go of her hand, then pulled Cao Rong into the house and closed the door.

After Cao Rong was released, she began to cough violently.

The lingering scent of ylang-ylang in the room made her feel hot and bothered. Her eyes, which had been filled with fear from being choked, became hazy and unfocused.

Upon seeing the emperor beside him, he swiftly and nimbly pounced upon him.

Before the emperor could react, he found himself entangled with Cao Rong again, and because she had her arms wrapped around his waist, he was unable to break free easily.

"Your Majesty, in what way am I inferior to Liang Qiuli? I admire you more than she does. I am also younger than her. Why can't you give me a second glance?"

Cao Rong's voice was choked with sobs, and her hands were tightly wrapped around the emperor's waist.

It even became restless due to the heat, its hands and feet wandering all over the emperor's body.

He even touched that spot directly with his hand!

Why is there no response?

Mother said...

Is she really that unattractive?

Cao Rong's first reaction was that it was her fault, but then she thought about how she had reacted so strongly after only taking a few puffs of ylang-ylang.

The emperor had been inhaling for so long, but apart from sweating on his forehead, he remained completely unresponsive, like a wooden statue. Suspicion immediately welled up in her heart.

Is the emperor impotent?

But...but didn't Liang Qiuli give birth to the eldest prince and the eldest princess?

Could it be that the emperor's condition only started to decline in the last two years?

In a short moment, Cao Rong's thoughts had already drifted to the ends of the earth. She even began to consider whether she should still enter the palace if the emperor was really incapacitated.

The emperor's heart died the instant he was touched. He had held onto a sliver of hope, just to see if he could...

But now this disappointment is as dark as an abyss, dragging him into hell.

He forcefully flung her away, and Cao Rong's hand hit the corner of the table.

"Your Majesty, your clothes have arrived. This servant will help you change."

Xiao Li spoke respectfully outside the door, but suddenly heard Cao Rong groaning in pain inside. His heart tightened, and he quickly pushed the door open and went in.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. This servant deserves to die. I have disturbed you..."

Xiao Li seemed to realize Cao Rong was inside. He paused for a moment after seeing her, then quickly apologized and tried to leave, closing the door behind him.

"Stop! Little Li, drag this woman away and beat her to death!"

Although the emperor did not know whether Cao Rong would guess that he was impotent, he did not want to leave any hidden dangers, so he preferred to kill the innocent rather than let the guilty go free.

Little Li seemed not to have reacted, and was stunned for a moment. Just as he was silent, Liang Qiuli's voice rang out not far away.

"Young Eunuch Li, what has happened to His Majesty?"

Liang Qiuli's concerned voice remained unchanged, but the emperor felt somewhat guilty, even though nothing had happened between him and Cao Rong, and Liang Qiuli knew that nothing could possibly happen.

But at this moment, he still felt as if he had done something wrong, and his heart was filled with unease.

Xiao Li frowned in thought, racking his brains to try and cover for the emperor, but Cao Rong spoke first.

"Your Majesty is unharmed. He was merely with me. Your Highness, please return."

Cao Rong felt that Liang Qiuli probably didn't know the emperor had this problem, and that she had to be the one to cover it up for the emperor so that she could survive.

Moreover, the emperor is still young and there are so many imperial physicians around, so there must be a way.

As long as she can conceive a child, her position will be much more secure.

Moreover, her father was a great general, far surpassing someone like Liang Qiuli, who came from a humble palace maid background.

As for Liang Qiuli, the prime minister's adoptive father, Cao Rong completely ignored her.

"Shut up!"

The emperor felt that after Cao Rong said that, he would be unable to explain himself no matter what he said.

But in his anxiety, the flush on his face became even more pronounced, as if a ball of fire with nowhere to go was piled up on his cheeks.

Liang Qiuli was helped over by Zishuang.

She didn't know whether the emperor was capable of that; she only came so that Lady Cao could bring her people along and let everyone know that the emperor was impotent.

The emperor could kill Cao Rong alone, but with so many ministers' wives and families still around, it was impossible for the emperor to kill them all.

If they were all killed, the impact would probably be greater than the emperor's impotence.

After all, the emperor already has two children, the eldest prince and the eldest princess. Even if his illness cannot be cured, the throne will still have a successor.

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