The beauty is delicate and soft, and he madly criticizes the powerful officials for taking her as th

Yu Tingwan has spent the last two days in Zichen Hall attending to illnesses.

The palace was deserted today, and the old emperor had been sleeping unconscious. Yu Tingwan suspected that Que Wen had added more medicine before leaving.

She was staying here, feeling very bored, when she suddenly heard the flattering voice of the palace guard on duty at the door, and thought that Pei Zhi was the only one in this battle.

When Yu Tingwan saw Pei Zhi come in, he left as usual.

"My Lady, what we discussed today is not confidential and there is no need to avoid it."

She paused and sat down aside. For some reason, she always felt that King Wei was a little strange today.

Jiao Yue also noticed it, but she did not dare to look directly at Pei Zhi, and could not see his face or eyes. She only knew that King Wei was farther away when he saluted, and his tone was more cautious.

But when he spoke, he was clearly getting closer and closer, getting too close to the empress, so close that it was a bit offensive.

Pei Zhi did not order anyone to wake the emperor up, but waited quietly.

With such a giant Buddha next to him, Yu Tingwan felt uncomfortable all over and subconsciously moved to the side.

After the emperor woke up, he ordered Yu Tingwan to sit on the edge of the couch, closer to him.

"I'm afraid it's inappropriate for me to discuss court affairs with your majesty. Your majesty only cares about beauty." Pei Zhi's voice was cold.

"Yes... yes." The emperor said reluctantly.

Yu Tingwan was still in the palace, but farther away from the two people. He vaguely heard that he seemed to be returning to Chang'an with Princess Zhao Qing of Qinghe who was close to Beihu.

During the first hundred years of the New Year, the status of princesses was revered. Some were serving as regents, some wanted to be crown princesses, and some were leading troops to retreat from the enemy. It was commonplace to be involved in political affairs and to keep faces.

Zhao Qing was the first princess to marry in the Zhou Dynasty. Emperor Min married Zhao Qing to the old Chanyu behind Princess Chengyang's back. Chengyang and Pei Xu were so angry that they deposed the emperor and re-established him.

Pei Zhi had always wanted to bring Zhao Qing back, which was his parents' last wish. Besides, he had always regarded marriage as a shame to the court.

Therefore, Pei Zhi looked solemn when he said this, but the emperor frequently lost his mind, which made him unhappy.

"Your Majesty." Pei Zhi's tone was inexplicably gloomy, "If you don't agree with what I just said, I don't mind following my mother's example."

"What?" The emperor came back to his senses, "I didn't hear clearly what King Wei just said."

"I asked your majesty to issue an edict to ask Beihu to return Princess Qinghe." Pei Zhi looked at the emperor's cloudy eyes and frowned, "I have already drafted the edict, and I'm just waiting for your majesty to stamp it with your seal."

Yu Tingwan raised his eyes, Pei Zhi's tone was impatient, and he obviously didn't want to stay with the emperor for a moment longer.

After receiving the decree, he casually bowed and said, "Your Majesty is always thinking about your beauty when you wake up. I think that having your concubine here is not conducive to your Majesty's recovery."

There was a lump in the emperor's throat and he didn't know what to say. He guessed that he had just distracted and offended King Wei.

"What King Wei said is that the imperial concubine should return to Yilan Palace, where there are other palace servants to serve her."

Yu Tingwan stood up and left. She had a graceful figure, and Pei Zhi, wearing a wide robe and long sleeves, followed her step by step, blocking the emperor's sight.

"I will escort your empress back to Yilan Palace." Pei Zhi smiled like a spring breeze, gentle and polite.

This was not the first time Yu Tingwan rode with him. When she got on the carriage, she realized that the carriage seemed a little narrower. She could even smell the faint scent of incense on Pei Zhi.

Pei Zhi sat still, his expression as usual, and took out a box, "Mother, the princess disturbed you last time, and I would like to use this to apologize."

Yu Tingwan looked at the hairpin in Pei Zhi's hand, remembering the embarrassing situation that day, and felt a steam coming to her cheeks.

"Your Highness is a foreign minister. It would be inappropriate for me to accept your hairpin."

"The empress also accepted the jewelry given by the prince earlier." Pei Zhi looked down at the lotus on the hairpin, feeling a little cold all over.

That time, the prince gave gifts to all the concubines in the harem in the name of filial piety, and Yu Tingwan couldn't refuse them.

"Your Highness, this is different..."

"What's different?" Pei Zhi leaned forward slightly and looked at Yu Tingwan's expression. He was clearly smiling, but she felt that the person in front of her was extremely unhappy.

She wished she could get out of the car now. She was worried and pursed her lips: "I'll just accept it. Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness."

Pei Zhi's eyebrows relaxed and he stopped talking.

The road the coachman took today was different from before, with some bumps. Yu Tingwan opened the curtain and took a look, frowning and saying, "I don't seem to have been here before."

"This is the previous palace road. It is a bit dilapidated, but it is a shortcut." Pei Zhi explained: "There are fewer people on this road. It is not convenient for you and me to ride together, so it is not convenient for others to see."

Yu Tingwan was persuaded by him and didn't ask any more questions. However, the palace road became bumpier as it went back. When it reached the vicinity of Yilan Palace, the carriage finally stopped.

"Your Majesty, your hairpin is crooked."

Yu Tingwan's bun was a little messy at the moment, her jade hairpin was about to fall off, and palace people were coming and going nearby. When she came out of King Wei's carriage like this, others might want to speculate on what happened in the carriage.

There was no bronze mirror here, so Pei Zhi said softly: "I'm sorry, please stay closer to me."

He raised his hand without straightening the jade hairpin, but instead took it off, inserted the lotus hairpin in his hand into Yu Tingwan's bun, and looked at it quietly for a moment.

"Okay." Pei Zhi said in a pleasant tone.

Yu Tingwan felt that the atmosphere was strange, which made her feel inexplicably flustered. When she heard this, she felt like she was being pardoned.

It wasn't until she returned to Yilan Hall and looked in the mirror that she realized that the jade hairpin had been left behind by Pei Zhina.

"Jiaoyue, do you feel that King Wei is a little strange today?"

"I think it seems a little bit." Jiao Yue was silent for a moment, hesitated to speak, and finally couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, I think Wei Wangxu has taken a fancy to you."

"How is that possible?" Yu Tingwan was stunned for a moment, holding the rouge box in his hand and throwing it to the ground, leaving a trace of bright red.

Pei Zhi has not been close to women for so many years. Moreover, King Wei has always treated the Zhou royal family well in terms of face in the past two years. He obviously cares about reputation.

If he takes a fancy to the imperial concubine, wouldn't it be just an excuse for others to talk about?

Yu Tingwan knew that she was beautiful. Any man in the world could like her, but Pei Zhi alone could not.

If what Jiaoyue said was true, it would be too... unbelievable.

"Your Majesty, I'm just speculating. After all, no one has ever seen King Wei like any woman." Jiao Yue's tone was hesitant.

Yu Tingwan's heartbeat was a little fast and she ordered: "From now on, it's better not to say such words again."

In the middle of the night, a letter was delivered to King Wei's desk. Pei Zhi opened it, took a look at it, smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly, and burned the letter.

Yilan Palace is now peaceful on the surface, no different from other palaces, but Pei Zhi has long sent Dragon Slayer Guards to wrap it up.

The maids who make tea in the inner hall, the maids who sweep in the outer hall, and even on the roof in the middle of the night, there are people who are always on guard against danger.

At first, Pei Zhi only ordered them to protect the safety of the imperial concubine, and there was no need to report anything unusual.

But in the past few days, those dragon-killing guards were ordered to report everything they saw and heard in Yilan Palace to the King of Wei in detail.

As long as Pei Zhi wants to, he can know exactly what Yu Tingwan does every day.