The Emperor, with more men than women, made me his mistress.

In the palace

Yue Li and the Emperor were unaware of what was happening outside the palace, as well as the speculations of others.

Having already dressed up, Yue Li looked through the dim bronze mirror at the nine-tailed phoenix hairpin belonging to the Empress in her hair and was secretly amazed.

The phoenix hairpin is shaped like a phoenix, and the entire phoenix hairpin body is gold. The phoenix holds a string of pearls in its beak, and the string of pearls is decorated with a double happiness character carved from red coral. The hairpin body is also inlaid with gemstone pendants and flowers, and the flower stamens are inlaid with stamen stones. The whole hairpin looks exquisite and gorgeous.

Two days ago, Jin Chenyuan handed over the phoenix hairpin that belonged to Princess Chen. The princess's hairpin was a seven-tailed phoenix hairpin, which was already enough to make Yue Li gasp. But she did not expect that the empress's phoenix hairpin was much more valuable than the princess's hairpin.

Ugh!

This phoenix hairpin is beautiful and very valuable, but it's too heavy to wear on one's head. Moreover, judging from its size, it's even bigger than the Empress Dowager's. If she didn't have good self-control, her neck would probably be crooked.

"Do I still need to wear this today? Isn't it too much trouble?" Yue Li pointed to her head full of pearls and jade, then to the phoenix hairpin, and asked the Emperor behind her.

The Emperor grasped Yue Li's hand, his gaze falling on the phoenix hairpin she was pointing to. He smiled gently and said, "Every empress has had this phoenix hairpin, and this one was made when I was 18. It's just that it's never been used. Now it seems that this phoenix hairpin fits Li'er perfectly! How could it be troublesome?"

"And Li'er, don't find it troublesome. After all, once this phoenix hairpin is used this time, it will probably have to be put away in the future."

Upon hearing this, Yue Li, who had originally intended to refuse, immediately shut her mouth.

After all, what the Emperor said was true; she would definitely not attend any occasions as Empress in the future. Therefore, this nine-tailed phoenix hairpin would only be left to be shelved.

"Okay, let's go."

Now that we're all dressed up, shouldn't we move on to the next step?

While they were tidying up in the inner room of the Zichen Palace, the main hall of the Zichen Palace had already been decorated by Fuquan and his men into a scene of a wedding between a common couple.

Looking at the double happiness characters pasted on the exquisite carved wooden windows and the dragon pillars, as well as the table placed in front of the main hall, and the two memorial tablets that had been brought over to the table.

Yue Li: ……

Isn't this going a bit too far?

Before Yue Li could even ask a question, the Emperor explained in advance, "Since we are getting married this way, my grandmother and uncle will definitely not be attending. Originally, the Emperor and Empress were to go to the Imperial Temple to pay respects to their ancestors when they got married."

The Emperor glanced at Yue Li as he spoke.

Yue Li immediately imagined what the Emperor would say next: ...

Because their wedding was not a grand affair, they couldn't go to the Imperial Temple. So the Emperor took the memorial tablets of his father and mother directly to the Zichen Palace for them to use in their wedding ceremony.

Thinking about it, Yue Li shuddered.

To be honest, after several lifetimes of time travel, she's quite superstitious about ghosts and gods.

"Okay, so what's the next step?"

If the process is expedited, we can return the memorial tablets of the late emperor and empress dowager sooner, right?

The Emperor was unaware of Yue Li's thoughts; he assumed that Yue Li was urging him to hurry up and hold the ceremony with him.

So he winked at Fuquan, who was standing next to him, with a look of delight.

Upon receiving it, Fuquan immediately flicked off the dust and proclaimed, "I bow to Heaven and Earth."

The two responded and bowed to heaven and earth together.

Upon seeing this, Fuquan continued, "I bow to my parents for the second time."

The two bowed down before the memorial tablets of the late emperor and empress dowager.

"Husband and wife bow to each other."

Then, the two turned to face each other and bent down.

Upon seeing this, Fuquan's face lit up with a smile. "Send them to the bridal chamber."

Only Fuquan, Yue Li, and the Emperor attended the ceremony, along with two memorial tablets, so the Emperor was not allowed to entertain anyone.

So after Fuquan called for them to be led into the bridal chamber, the Emperor bent down and picked Yue Li up in his arms, his eyes full of smiles as he said, "Li'er, let's go into the bridal chamber."

"Hey! Slow down!" That hug almost hurt her neck because her head was covered in jewels.

However, the emperor, who was already too excited, did not understand Yue Li's meaning. He thought that Yue Li asked him to slow down because she was shy.

So he strode towards the inner hall, replying, "Li'er, I can't be slow. I don't know how long I've been waiting for this moment."

Yue Li: ……

She rolled her eyes in exasperation, no longer bothering to talk back, and instead raised her hand to support the jewels adorning her head, as well as the extremely heavy phoenix hairpin.

Upon seeing this, Fuquan immediately bowed and withdrew from the Zichen Hall. After exiting the Zichen Hall, he immediately instructed the two eunuchs who had been carrying the memorial tablets of the late emperor and empress dowager to take the two memorial tablets that were still in the Zichen Hall out and send them to the imperial temple for continued worship.

After the two eunuchs came out carrying the memorial tablet.

He then instructed his apprentice, Xiao Shuanzi, to inform the Empress Dowager of what had happened. After Xiao Shuanzi responded and hurried towards Shou Kang Palace, he immediately ordered the eunuchs guarding the gates of Zi Chen Palace to close them.

From now on, he will guard the main gate of Zichen Palace well. As long as the people inside don't come out, no one will be able to enter Zichen Palace.

In the inner palace

Upon entering the inner palace, they saw the emperor head straight for his dragon bed.

Yue Li immediately grabbed his collar to stop him, saying, "Hey, hey, don't rush, don't rush! Take these things off my head first."

With these things on your head, you'd probably get pricked like a sieve if you lay down.

At the same time, he silently complained to himself, "The Emperor is too eager for sex."

"What are you thinking about, Li'er? I was planning to have you sit on the edge of the bed and then help you take off these hairpins!" The Emperor teased, seeing Yue Li's somewhat anxious expression.

"Why didn't you say so earlier!" Startled, Yue Li glared at the Emperor with displeasure.

"Hahahahaha..."

Seeing Yue Li's increasingly varied expressions and the growing comfort they felt together, the Emperor couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Their meeting and union were not a happy one, and there were many obstacles in between. If it weren't for the emperor's insistence, even lowering his bottom line and abandoning his imperial dignity, and using all sorts of tricks and threatening her in secret, given Yue Li's initial indifference towards him, the two of them probably would never have reached this point.

At most, their interactions will be limited to her being his aunt, while he will marry another empress.

However, no outcome has ever made the Emperor as happy as today's result.

At the same time, watching Yue Li approach him step by step, gradually revealing her true self to him, and even throwing a little tantrum in front of him, how could the Emperor not be pleased?

The Emperor's eyes lit up with joy. He placed Yue Li, who was blushing slightly from his laughter, on the dragon bed, quickly removed the hairpins and ornaments from her head, and also quickly took off the red dress embroidered with phoenix patterns that he had personally dressed her in.