Saving the foolish general, she accidentally becomes his favorite.

The east was just beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn, just as the sun was about to rise.

The Empress's palace, the Ni Chang Palace, was bustling with preparations since dawn. Every maid was in a hurry, afraid of making a mistake.

The Empress also dressed up specially today, wearing her most formal attire, her hair adorned with numerous elaborate and intricate hairpins.

Today's empress faintly retains the charm of the most beautiful woman in the past. Back then, she was talented, beautiful, and skilled in martial arts. It was no exaggeration to say that she was the most beautiful woman in the capital. However, after entering the palace as empress, she became much more composed and no longer had the bright and sunny demeanor she once had.

Now dressed in fine clothes, she complained that she wasn't as pretty as she used to be. With a troubled expression, she forced herself to remain calm and asked Zhu Qing, "Am I pretty?"

Zhu Qing exclaimed wildly, "Beautiful! Beautiful! Your Majesty looks absolutely stunning today! Like a celestial being descended to earth. So beautiful!"

Zhu Qing was the Empress's close attendant. The Empress usually dressed in a serious and luxurious manner, lacking any human touch. A while ago, she caught a cold after falling into the water and spent more than half a month in a state of near death. She was unable to even serve the Emperor when he came to bed. She lay in bed every day with a bare face, looking quite miserable!

But today, she was like a beautiful flower blooming in spring, displaying all her charm. Zhu Qing wished she could tell all the concubines in the palace that the Empress was the most beautiful woman, and that they were all just ordinary beauties.

The empress felt something was missing after hearing this. She walked to the bronze mirror and turned around to look at herself again and again, afraid of making the slightest mistake.

Emperor Xuanyuan Ming arrived at the Ni Chang Palace at this time. Before seeing her, his voice was heard: "The Empress was not feeling well last night, and I was very worried. I wonder if she is feeling better today?"

Hearing his voice approaching, the Empress turned around to curtsy, but Xuan Yuanming quickly and tenderly helped her up, saying, "Siyue, why be so polite?"

When she looked up, Xuan Yuanming was also captivated by Si Yue's gorgeous attire.

To welcome the envoys from various countries, Siyue deliberately painted her pink face with bright red lips, and even carefully drew the most popular patterns on her forehead. The pearl flowers in her hair were intricate but just the right amount, showcasing her beauty to the fullest extent.

Xuanyuan Ming had to turn to other concubines recently because the Empress was ill, but he still had Siyue on his mind. He just couldn't bear to let her catch a cold and suffer. Today, when he saw her, she was as beautiful as a flower, and he couldn't help but swallow. He moved closer to Siyue, gently inhaled her fragrance, and then couldn't help but exclaim, "The Empress is so beautiful today, I am delighted!"

The emperor still wished to get closer, but it was indeed inconvenient today, so he suppressed his thoughts and waited for another day.

The palace gates were wide open, and the long-awaited birthday celebrations had begun. From early morning, envoys from various countries began to enter the palace to offer their congratulations. A deluge of rare treasures, ancient books, paintings, and authentic manuscripts poured into the palace roads along with carriages. The aisles were packed with carriages, camels, and donkey carts—every means of transportation that could be used to carry goods was present today.

The envoys entered through different palace gates and eventually arrived at the banquet square that had been set up. Originally, this was an open space used only by ministers for the morning court session. Now, it had been transformed into a banquet hall and a martial arts arena, with many weapons neatly arranged on the side.

This is quite a spectacle today!

The words are divided into two parts.

With everything in place, Ye Li finally brought Mo Chen into the palace. On the surface, she stood half a step behind Mo Chen. After days of special training, Mo Chen could now handle basic etiquette as usual. He walked in front with an imposing expression, and the aura he exuded was very convincing.

Only Ye Li knew that this guy was just an empty shell at the moment, a little puppy who could only act cute and affectionate with puppy eyes in private, and whose self-awareness was only that of a seven-year-old brother...

In order to conduct special training in the past few days, Ye Li coaxed and tricked Mo Chen into learning etiquette every day and memorizing dialogue templates for talking to people. She even used the spirit of memorizing answers for postgraduate entrance exams, forcing Mo Chen to memorize the standard answers to some questions that might be asked.

This standard answer was proofread word by word by her, Si Yi, Zi Mo, and others, all for the purpose of deceiving everyone at the birthday banquet.

Mo Chen was cooperative at first, but he couldn't keep up later. He would carry her for a while and then hug her. After carrying her for a few parts, she would have to eat some snacks. After eating, she would have to hug him again. Ye Li was forced to become a human pillow. She would automatically step forward as soon as he opened his arms.

Heaven is about to bestow a great responsibility upon this person. Let's give him a hug. To survive, we'll fight for it!

Today, the two of them wore matching moon-white couple outfits, with red auspicious cloud embroidery adorning their collars, cuffs, and hems. Ye Li's hairpins were also very understated; she simply used a few white jade hairpins to hold her hair in place, and her earrings were just a few small pearls. This was both understated and wouldn't spoil the mood by being too plain, after all, it was the Emperor Emeritus's birthday banquet, and they couldn't steal the spotlight too much.

She thought that this way she could hide in the corner and spend the day quietly and discreetly, just a background figure.

Little did she know that her pure and refined image would cause a great stir in the palace.

No wonder, because everyone today was adorned with colorful jewelry, a dazzling display of gold and silver. And amidst this overwhelming splendor, two people with a fresh, understated style stood out like cranes among chickens!

"Look, look who he is! That person is so handsome! Judging from his figure, could he be General Mo Chen?"

"Yes, yes, it's General Mo Chen! He's so handsome!"

Once the young ladies of the various families learned that it was Mo Chen, the commotion grew louder and louder, with hushed whispers rising and falling.

"I never knew General Mo Chen was so handsome and refined. His attire truly makes him exude an air of nobility and extraordinary heroism!"

Mo Chen was a military general, and his murderous aura was impossible to hide, often making people shiver when they saw him.

Few noble ladies in the palace had ever seen him before. At this moment, he was dressed in a moon-white robe, adorned with red embroidery and gold thread trimming the edges. He was elegant and refined, yet exuded a kingly aura. No wonder the noble ladies, who were used to seeing scholarly types, were captivated by his masculine charm.

"Who's next to him? Why are they wearing the same style of clothes? Could it be his wife?"

"If it's General Mo Chen, then isn't the mute guy next to him the one who got the better deal?"

Unlike their admiration for Mo Chen, the noble ladies couldn't hide their disdain when talking about Ye Li. Putting aside her family background and talent, Ye Li herself, being a mute, was not worthy of any official man in Tian Shu, let alone the renowned Protector General.

"Look at her, she's as skinny as a monkey, and she's dressed so shabbily..."

"I heard he's just a street performer. What skills could he possibly have? He just climbed the social ladder through underhanded means, dreaming of becoming a phoenix. Doesn't he realize he's mute...?"

Whispers continued to circulate, and even Ye Li, with her good temper, was provoked into frowning.

Mo Chen kept a close eye on his wife out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that she seemed unhappy, he quickly tried to coax his beloved wife:

"My dear wife, you look so beautiful today, I love it so much." After saying that, he took Ye Li's hand, squeezed it tightly, and secretly drew a circle in her palm.

Although Ye Li could not speak, she immediately stopped Mo Chen upon seeing his reaction:

No, it's all about momentum! Momentum!

This was a secret code they had agreed upon. At the birthday banquet, Mo Chen had to maintain a proper attitude and not act childish. Once Ye Li mouthed the word "aura," Mo Chen had to act cool, arrogant, and domineering to let others know that he was not someone to be trifled with.

At that moment, she saw Mo Chen childishly drawing circles in her palm again, and fearing that she would be exposed, she quickly reminded him.

Mo Chen received the signal, made a "received" gesture with his hand, and then continued walking forward expressionlessly.

Ye Li resumed her cold expression and continued walking, seemingly oblivious to the whispers along the way.

Admittedly, she intended to keep a low profile today, but she was very satisfied with the clothes she designed and dressed herself. The original owner's body was only small in frame, but it had everything it should have and was slender in all the right places. Today, the moon-white clothes outlined her entire "S" curve, a graceful figure that Ye Li, during her previous life as a fat otaku, could never have had.

Rather than saying that the Tian Shu Kingdom admires fat women, it's more accurate to say that a few ounces of breasts are worth a fortune. Constantly gaining weight is simply to cater to the preferences of noble men. However, excessive meat intake and insufficient exercise also lead to an overly plump waist and an unnaturally round figure.

Many of the envoys from neighboring countries who attended the event had heard that the noblewomen of Tian Shu Kingdom were considered beautiful for their plumpness and had the best figures among all the countries. As the envoys arrived one after another, they were dazzled by the noblewomen adorned with flowers. The sight of the flowers was overwhelming, and most of them marveled at the wealth and extravagance of Tian Shu Kingdom.

However, there are a few countries where animal husbandry is the main industry and people are skilled in horseback riding and archery, so they do not pursue simply getting fat.

Instead, amidst the colorful array of people, Mo Chen and Ye Li, dressed in moon-white suits, one with an imposing air and the other with a calm and serene demeanor, attracted the attention of many envoys.

"Who are those two? Young masters from prominent families in Tian Shu?"

"No, that's Mo Chen!" someone recognized him and immediately corrected.

"You mean that's the living Yama? I never expected that..."

Most of the envoys had heard of General Mo Chen's formidable reputation, especially his nickname "Living Yama." His most celebrated feat in that battle where he defeated a superior enemy force was his fearless breakthrough, his ruthless killing prowess earning him the title "Living Yama" from the enemy army…

Intermittent bursts of suspicion, astonishment, disdain, and ridicule came from the crowd, but Ye Li had no time to dwell on them, because she had a very important task to complete today! Seeing that the time was almost right, she looked up at Mo Chen and asked him if he was ready.

Mo Chen held her hand, the warmth spreading to her palm. He remembered to maintain his cool image, but still smiled gently: "I'll make sure my wife is happy and satisfied today, and then we'll go back and hug each other."

Ye Li had no interest in these sweet words. She suppressed her nervousness and, led by Mo Chen, the two of them stepped forward and respectfully walked to the front of the hall.

Compared to Lu Wanning's plan to hide if she couldn't win, they discussed it and felt it was still risky, so today...

We must seize the initiative and be the first to offer birthday wishes!