Having many handsome men means no worries; pampering them all keeps me in good spirits.

He instantly realized that his husband was channeling all his longing and guilt towards Ning Ruyu onto her younger brother…

Ning Ruyu's funeral was conducted with the rites due to a noble consort. Although the court officials submitted memorials opposing the funeral, Jiang Qingyan returned them all without alteration.

In the royal cemetery, Jiang Qingyan, dressed in a white dragon robe, stood aside and watched as Ning Ruyu's coffin was laid to rest.

Ning Rufeng leaned on Jiang Qingyan's shoulder, already sobbing uncontrollably.

Because of Ning Ruyu's special status at this time, Jiang Qingyan did not allow anyone else to come along, only bringing Ning Rufeng to see her off on her final journey.

After the yellow earth completely buried the coffin, the guards slowly erected the stone tablet inscribed with "Tomb of Consort Ning Ruyu" on it.

Jiang Qingyan gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and instructed the guards, "Take this stone tablet down and bring a blank stone tablet and a hammer."

The guards looked at each other, puzzled but not daring to ask any questions. They simply pulled out the newly erected stone tablet and replaced it with a new blank one.

Jiang Qingyan took the hammer from a guard, slowly squatted down, and forcefully carved words on the blank stone tablet.

Before we knew it, the sun had set, and a gentle breeze swept by, causing the last glimmer of golden light on the stone tablet to completely dissipate.

Jiang Qingyan looked at the words on the stone tablet and smiled slightly with satisfaction.

The inscription above reads "Tomb of my beloved wife, Ning Ruyu."

Unlike other tombstones, the words on this one were stained red with Jiang Qingyan's blood...

She didn't know when it started, but her fair and delicate hands were already bleeding profusely from the impact of the hammer...

Perhaps her heart was in so much pain that the pain in her hands was utterly insignificant to her…

Ning Rufeng tried to dissuade her several times to no avail, so he could only kneel down beside Jiang Qingyan, silently keeping her company with tears in his eyes.

Jiang Qingyan took out a handkerchief from her sleeve, carefully wiped her hands clean, and gently stroked Ning Ruyu's tombstone, murmuring, "Yu'er, don't worry, your husband will live a good life from now on... And Rufeng, your husband will take good care of him for you... Rest in peace and be reborn in the next life... If we are destined to meet again in some future life, I will definitely marry you in a grand and magnificent wedding, love you, cherish you, and protect you, and never let you suffer any more grievances..."

Ning Rufeng choked up as he said, "Sister, I will take good care of myself, and I will also take good care of your husband and love him well... Don't worry... If there really is an afterlife, I still want to be your brother..."

Jiang Qingyan gently kissed the stone tablet, took a deep breath to calm herself down, and slowly stood up.

The autumn wind was particularly bleak at dusk. Ning Rufeng caught a chill in the air and quickly stood up. He took off his cloak and draped it over Jiang Qingyan, then gently wrapped his arms around her waist.

Jiang Qingyan leaned against Ning Rufeng's thin chest and whispered, "Let's go back."

Upon returning to Chaoyang Palace, the two felt a wave of heat wash over them. The room was filled with men, all staring intently at them.

Jiang Qingyan twitched the corners of her mouth and joked, "Sure enough, the more people there are, the warmer the room becomes. Your yang energy is so strong that we don't need to light a stove."

Seeing that she could still joke, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that she must be in a better mood.

Thinking that her husband had not eaten or drunk anything all day, Liang Cheng hurriedly rushed to the small kitchen and ordered the palace maids and eunuchs to start serving the meal.

After Jiang Qingyan sat down at the table, everyone else found seats and sat down, leaving Yuan Lie standing alone in the corner, at a loss.

Jiang Qingyan looked up at him. "Yuan Lie, why don't you come and sit down? Aren't you hungry?"

Yuan Lie shook his head arrogantly, "Not hungry."

No sooner had he finished speaking than his stomach started growling loudly.

Yuan Lie awkwardly clutched his stomach and turned his head to the side.

He's been standing with all the men in the house since morning, waiting for his husband, and hasn't had a drop of water since…

He was in an unfamiliar place and didn't even know where the imperial kitchen was. When it was mealtime, no one served him food. How could he not be hungry?

He, Yuan Lie, was the emperor of the mighty Yuan Kingdom. When had he ever been starved like this?

But if she told her husband that her legs and feet were numb from standing all day, which was why she couldn't walk to the table, wouldn't she be laughed at by all the men in the room?

Jiang Qingyan raised an eyebrow, finding it somewhat amusing. "Huh? Who was talking just now? Did Yuan Lie's stomach come to life? I heard it say it was hungry."

Everyone smiled faintly upon hearing this, their husbands had returned to their former cheerful selves, how wonderful…

Seeing Yuan Lie's ears turn red with embarrassment, Jiang Qingyan slowly stood up and walked to Yuan Lie's side. She picked him up and carried him straight to the table, where she gently placed him on a chair.

Yuan Lie was completely stunned by her actions, and for a moment he couldn't tell who was the man and who was the woman...

Calling a woman "husband" is already outrageous enough, but now he's being carried in a princess carry by this woman...

Everyone at the table was equally stunned. How could her husband's strength have suddenly become so great?

Jiang Qingyan said earnestly to everyone, "From now on, I will work hard to improve my physical fitness and diligently learn martial arts! That way, I can better protect you all and not hold you back!"

Actually, she had been carving stone tablets all day, and her arms had long since lost all feeling. That's when she thought of trying to lift Yuan Lie up, and unexpectedly, she actually succeeded...

As Yuan Lie glanced at the expressions of the others at the table, he sensed something was wrong and quickly looked down at Jiang Qingyan's hand...

Those slender, delicate hands were now red and swollen, with several glaring scars on them…

Yuan Lie grabbed Jiang Qingyan's hand and asked with concern, "What happened to your hand? Why is it like this?"

Jiang Qingyan quickly pulled her hand back, hiding it behind her back, feigning indifference. "It's nothing... don't worry, I've already applied the medicine, it'll be fine tomorrow..."

Seeing that Jiang Qingyan was unwilling to tell the truth, everyone turned their attention to Ning Rufeng.

Ning Rufeng bit her lower lip and murmured, "My husband's hand... was injured while carving my sister's tombstone..."

Upon hearing this, Yi Luo, who was sitting next to Ning Rufeng, grabbed him and said angrily, "Why do you want your husband to carve a tombstone for your sister? Your sister was killed by your rebellious father. Your husband doesn't owe your sister anything!"

Jiang Qingyan rushed over and pried Yi Luo's hand away, explaining, "It wasn't Ru Feng who asked me to carve it. I wasn't satisfied with the previous tombstone, so I had it recarved. Don't scare him..."

Yi Luo, panting heavily, gently took Jiang Qingyan's hand, blew on it to warm it, and looked at her with heartache. "Why do you always torment yourself, husband? Don't you ever think that when you get hurt like this, you're tormenting us too..."