Spring arrives and the land smiles

In winter, what Qingyan disliked most was getting out of her warm bed early in the morning to attend court. So, as dawn approached, Qingyan still lingered in Yunxuan's arms and refused to get up.

"If you don't get up now, you'll miss the morning court session." Yunxuan kissed her forehead.

"Brother Yunxuan, I don't want to go to court." Qingyan clung to Yunxuan, her slender arms wrapped around his waist, rubbing against him playfully, her only inner garment rubbed open.

"No, don't move." Yunxuan hugged Qingyan and grabbed her mischievous little hands.

But how could this delicate and soft-spoken girl be obedient? Naturally, they clung to each other and became inseparable.

Yunxuan finally couldn't resist pressing her down beneath him. Looking at her lively, pretty, and delicate appearance, Yunxuan gritted his teeth and said, "If you don't want to go, then don't." Then he leaned down and pressed down on her.

When Qingyan woke up again, it was already early noon. Yunxuan, who was beside her, was nowhere to be found. She rubbed her eyes and remembered the knowing look in Yunxuan's eyes before she fell asleep. She thought that her husband was indeed worthy of being someone she had grown up with, and they still had a tacit understanding.

For the next ten days, Yunxuan stayed overnight in the Empress's palace. The Empress had missed two regular court sessions, while Yunxuan, together with the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and the Grand Secretary, finalized the newly appointed positions for the scholars from humble backgrounds, awaiting only the Empress's approval.

Of course, there was no shortage of opposition in the court, but the Empress had neglected the harem for more than a year, allowing Yunxuan to enjoy her favor for nearly half a month. As a result, the opposition in the court subsided considerably, and what remained was not a threat.

However, afterwards, Yunxuan became arrogant because of the emperor's favor and tried to guess the emperor's intentions, which led to him being confined to his quarters by the empress.

Both the pampering and the punishment are intertwined, with Yun Xuan standing at the forefront of the storm.

Therefore, when Ning Yuan and Lan Zhen returned to the palace, they heard that Yun Xuan was locked up in his own palace and could not leave without an imperial edict.

"Yan'er, what has Yunxuan done wrong? Why is he under house arrest?" Ning Yuan hadn't even had time to return to his own palace before coming to the Jingxin Hall to request an audience.

Lan Zhen hadn't seen Qing Yan for almost a month, so she came with Ning Yuan.

Qingyan put down her vermilion brush, saw Ning Yuan, and ran into his arms, completely ignoring Lan Zhen beside her.

"Yunxuan is fine, it's just for show." Qingyan then put her arm around Ningyuan's waist and told him all about her schemes with Yunxuan over the past few days.

"I see." Ning Yuan had barely finished speaking when Lan Zhen pulled Qing Yan away from his arms.

Qingyan lost her balance and bumped into Lan Zhen's arms, stepping on his foot in the process. Lan Zhen winced in pain, but Qingyan kept giggling.

"Little Yan'er, you're bullying me." Lan Zhen actually started to whine.

"Serves you right for pulling and tugging at me like that." Qingyan made a face at him.

Lan Zhen was furious and reached out to grab her. Qing Yan spun around and hid behind Ning Yuan. The two of them chased and played around Ning Yuan.

"I'm going to check on Yunxuan." Ning Yuan, unable to bear their pestering any longer, quickly made his escape.

As soon as Ning Yuan left, Lan Zhen took a few steps and grabbed Qing Yan, holding her tightly in his arms.

"Little Yan'er, where do you think you're going to run to?"

Qingyan grabbed his hand behind his back and, taking advantage of Lan Zhen's unpreparedness, exchanged two blows with him.

With limited space inside the Tranquil Heart Hall, Qingyan quickly found herself at a disadvantage.

Lan Zhen locked Qing Yan in his arms, and without further ado, he carried her on his shoulder and headed towards the inner chambers of the Jingxin Palace.

"Hey, hey, Your Highness, please take it easy." Eunuch Li Chun had just led the little eunuch in with tea when he saw Lan Zhen carrying Qing Yan towards the back palace, and he couldn't help but follow them worriedly.

The Empress and her husbands shared a bond forged through life and death, but no matter how strong their bond was, the Empress still had her pride after Prince Zhao's blatant offense. Fearing repercussions from the Empress later, Eunuch Li Chun ordered a young eunuch to clear the area ahead.

So, Lan Zhen didn't see anyone along the way, except for the person behind her.

"Lan Xiaozhen, put me down." Qingyan struggled fiercely.

Lan Zhen ignored her and only threw Qing Yan onto the bed after entering the inner chamber.

"Lan Xiaozhen, how dare you!" Qingyan rubbed her sore bottom.

"Little Yan'er, you haven't even attended court these past few days, and you still say I'm being presumptuous." Lan Zhen leaned in and trapped Qing Yan in his arms.

Seeing Lan Zhen's angry yet restrained expression, Qingyan smiled inwardly, lifting his chin: "Are you angry that I didn't attend court..." She then touched his face, leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Or are you angry that I spoiled Yun Xuan for ten days?"

"I'm angry with you—" Lan Zhen swallowed the words before she could finish, feeling that admitting to being jealous would be too embarrassing, so she changed the subject, "I'm angry that as an emperor, you neglect state affairs and even cause chaos among your ministers. Are you trying to become a tyrant?"

Lan Zhen's stubbornness only made Qing Yan's smile grow wider. She simply grabbed Lan Zhen's waist and turned him around to press him down: "Jealousy is jealousy. No matter how high-sounding you sound, you're still jealous."

“Yunxuan is not like you think, who would delay things. The more favored he is, the more efficiently he handles important matters. When I go to court again in three days, it will be a completely different scene.”

"Yunxuan is my right-hand man; I can't live without him!"

Qingyan giggled and pushed Lan Zhen onto the bed, then tidied herself up and got off the bed.

"He's my right-hand man, so what am I?" Lan Zhen jumped off the bed indignantly.

Looking at Lan Zhen's captivating face, Qing Yan couldn't help but reach out and pinch it: "He is a loyal minister, naturally a right-hand man, and you—" Qing Yan paused, her eyes darting around, "are a favored concubine, not on the same track."

Upon hearing this, Lan Zhen became smug: "I knew it. Apart from me, none of them could seduce my Xiao Yan'er."

This guy, he's using his looks to win favor and he's gotten arrogant about it.

For three consecutive days, Lan Zhen either stayed in Qing Yan's palace and refused to leave, or tried every means to trick Qing Yan into coming to his palace. Lan Zhen's name appeared in the official register for several days in a row.

Today was the morning court session. Qingyan was pushed onto the dragon throne while yawning at dawn. When she saw Ningyuan and Yunxuan standing in the hall in the civil and military ranks respectively, she felt a little better about her miserable life. But when she thought of Lan Zhen still sleeping in bed, she felt unbalanced again.

After Eunuch Li Chun's shrill voice began, the court inevitably erupted in another round of noise, but Qingyan had already handled this level of trouble with ease.

After letting them chatter on for a while, Qingyan got tired and waved to leave the court. But as soon as she stood up, she suddenly felt a tightness in her chest and her stomach churned. She vomited and then dry-heaved a few more times.

"His Majesty."

Every official below was worried, and Ning Yuan and Yun Xuan rushed forward to help Qing Yan out of the Qiantai Hall.

Qingyan was carried to the Jingxin Palace and laid on the bed in the inner chamber. Qi Shen rushed over to take Qingyan's pulse.

Feeling nauseous and sleepy, coupled with the fact that her husbands hadn't let her rest for a single day these past few days, Qingyan's first reaction was:

"Could she be pregnant?"