General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

The emperor walked through the crowd to the main seat and sat down, saying, "No need for formalities."

After rising, Shen Luo and Jiang Qiqi stepped forward and bowed separately: "Your Majesty, we, your humble servant Shen Luo and my wife Jiang Qiqi, pay our respects to you. We thank Your Majesty for bestowing this marriage upon us."

"Your Majesty, I, Jiang Qiqi, pay my respects and thank you for bestowing this marriage upon me."

"Rise, my dear subject." The Emperor was in a good mood today and asked Jiang Qiqi, "Are you Jiang Qianzhong's daughter?"

"Back to the emperor, exactly."

The Emperor carefully examined Jiang Qiqi for a few moments: "Hmm, there is a resemblance in her features. Jiang Qianzhong, that fellow, has such a beautiful daughter, how well he hid her, I had no idea."

Upon hearing this, the Empress's antennae immediately stood up. She knew all too well what the consequences would be for a woman whose appearance caught the Emperor's eye.

Even the wife of a subject.

The Empress stepped forward, partially blocking the Emperor's view.

"Your Majesty is indeed the Son of Heaven. The general has been alone for so many years, and Your Majesty's golden words have brought about such a wonderful marriage. Look at how harmonious they are, it is truly the envy of everyone."

It's almost as if he's saying that this marriage was personally bestowed by the Emperor, and that the other party is a powerful general with a large army, so no matter how much the Emperor likes the lady's appearance, he can't bring her into the harem.

However, it seems the Emperor was just saying it casually.

After the Empress finished speaking, he continued to ask Jiang Qiqi with a calm expression, "Your name is Qiqi? Why did Jiang Qianzhong give you such a name?"

He knew that Jiang Qianzhong had a concubine's daughter named Jiang Yunruan, but compared to that, the name Jiang Qiqi sounded more like that of a concubine's daughter.

Xiang'er had told Jiang Qiqi about her name.

"Your Majesty, my mother fell ill after becoming pregnant. Her health was poor throughout the pregnancy, which led to my premature birth. I was born on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, which my father considered an ominous day. So he gave me this name and had me live in the back room from a young age."

"Hmph, Jiang Qianzhong, that old stubborn man, listens to these common superstitions and doesn't even want his own daughter anymore. It's a shame he's supposed to be a high-ranking official of the second rank."

The Empress, who knew that the Emperor usually emphasized the balance of Yin and Yang in his meals: ...

The Emperor shook his head and sighed softly: "Your mother has been gone for more than ten years now."

Jiang Qiqi suppressed her doubts: "Yes, the Emperor knows about my mother?"

"I didn't know that originally. It's just that when your mother passed away, your father was so grief-stricken that he couldn't attend court for a period of time and took leave for two whole months. This was quite a story at the time. Everyone in the court said that Jiang Qianzhong and his wife were a loving and devoted couple, and even I had heard about it."

Jiang Qiqi had never heard of this before, and of course she had reservations about its veracity.

The emperor paid no attention to the people below who were lost in their own thoughts, and continued to reminisce.

"The other day I was talking to the Empress about how my Grand General is still unmarried. I originally planned to wait until the Fourth Princess comes of age next year to be betrothed to him. However, the Empress suggested that he find a minister's daughter. After all, it is indeed unseemly for me, the dignified General of Nanyue, to be over twenty years old and still unmarried. It is not appropriate to wait any longer. I think that makes sense."

"Later, during a court meeting, someone mentioned that Minister Jiang's daughter had reached marriageable age, and I casually agreed."

He pointed to the Empress and said to the two people below, "In that case, the Empress is the one you should thank."

"Your Majesty is always good at taking credit for me." The Empress smiled and leaned against the Emperor.

"Your Majesty has such discerning eyes, you must find a good marriage for our Feng'er in the future. Feng'er is not young anymore."

"Hahaha, that's for sure. Our Feng'er will marry the best woman in the world." The Emperor laughed and embraced the Empress.

But Shen Luo and Jiang Qiqi below could see clearly that the smile on his face was fake and official.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

It was already high in the sky when we came out of the palace.

Jiang Qiqi was full of questions.

What is the relationship between the Emperor and the Empress? Why is the Empress so affectionate towards her?

Why did the Emperor mention her mother? Was this marriage decree really just a casual order, as the Emperor claimed?

Shen Luo sat quietly in her wheelchair, her fingers unconsciously rubbing against the armrests.

He had initially thought that the emperor was simply afraid of him marrying into another powerful minister's family and had randomly assigned him to someone, but now it seemed that things were not so simple.

Having served as an official for many years, he knew the emperor all too well. Today, his unusual concern for a subject's wife and his inexplicable mention of Madam Jiang, who had died many years ago, must mean that the emperor needed something from either of them.

He glanced at Jiang Qiqi, who sat quietly beside him with a well-behaved, obedient look on her face—

His wife may not be as simple as she seems.

Jiang Qiqi inexplicably felt a gaze fall on her face. In this small space with only the two of them, it was obvious who it was.

The general has also noticed the various suspicious points today, and he must be starting to suspect that she may have another identity.

Unfortunately, she didn't. She was just a sunny and beautiful girl born in the spring breeze and raised under the red flag.

……

As the carriage drove further and further away, the two people inside remained silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

Behind it, the Forbidden City still stands solemnly and majestically, like a sleeping giant, silently accumulating the power to destroy everything.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Until they returned to the general's mansion.

After getting off the carriage, Shen Luo said to Twelve at the door, "Tomorrow you will accompany Madam back to the Shen residence."

He then turned to Jiang Qiqi, who had just gotten out of the car, and said, "I have to inspect the military camp tomorrow and won't have time to accompany you back to your parents' home. Let Twelve escort you back."

This is not an excuse by Shen Luo; tomorrow is indeed the day of the weekly patrol.

"No need, it's just a homecoming visit. Xiang'er and I will go back." Although she needed to retrieve her dowry, Jiang Qiqi had no intention of using General Shen Luo's influence.

Shen Luo frowned slightly. He was used to arranging everything and letting his subordinates carry it out, so he was a little unaccustomed to someone suddenly contradicting him.

But he quickly got used to it: "Alright then, I'll have the coachman take you."

"Okay, thank you."

In the study room.

"Nineteen, have those two maids been behaving suspiciously lately?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the maid named Lin'er is still recuperating in her room every day, and it seems her injuries are quite severe. The maid named Xiang'er is very busy every day, either cleaning or supervising the cooking for Madam. And..."

"What else?"

"And every morning when she gets up and every night before she goes to bed, she faces west and kowtows, saying something like, 'Madam, please bless Miss with a long and healthy life.'"

Shen Luo seemed to suddenly remember something: "Call Twelve over." He needed to confirm something.

The twelfth is coming soon.

Tell me everything you saw and heard at the Shen residence that day.

"Yes. That day, after I arrived at the Shen residence, I went to the back courtyard room first, but found that it wasn't Madam living there, but Jiang Yunruan. I overheard her talking with the current Madam Jiang; they were saying that Jiang Qiqi was a short-lived ghost, and that she and you..."

"Go on."

"Being with a disabled person like you is a perfect match."

……

Twelve got angry, turned around and caught two mice and put them down from the roof. He only left after hearing the screams coming from inside.

After circling around, he finally found the back room where Jiang Qiqi was. But as soon as he landed on the roof, he ran into the rude maid. He followed her out the door, and as she passed the pool, he used acupressure to throw her in…