Reborn as a Sickly Child: The Emperor's Beloved

It is mid-August, and the Ghost Festival is just three days away. People in the capital and across the country are preparing the items needed for the Ghost Festival.

The streets and alleys of the capital are very lively. Various kinds of river lanterns have been put on sale, and every household is preparing food, river lanterns, incense and candles in advance.

Even the imperial palace was bustling with activity.

The ministers in the court will have a three-day holiday, spending two days in advance at home. On the day of the Ghost Festival, they will follow the emperor to offer sacrifices.

August is the month when crops mature. The State of Li has always had an "autumn tasting and ancestor worship ceremony". In the court, the emperor would hold ancestral temple worship activities with his ministers on the Zhongyuan Festival.

In the folk, people would cook food from the harvest into sacrifices on the first day before the Zhongyuan Festival, report the harvest to their ancestors, celebrate the harvest, and pray for their ancestors to bless them with a good harvest in the coming year.

During these three days, people will also enjoy the moon on the Ghost Festival. On the day of the Ghost Festival, civil and military officials will follow the emperor to the ancestral temple to offer sacrifices, and the people will hold a river lantern festival.

People make river lanterns in various shapes, such as lotus lanterns, boat lanterns, etc., and place them into rivers or lakes at night to let them drift. This is considered a way to illuminate the way home for the dead, pray for their deceased loved ones, and light their way home.

Cuichen Palace.

"Lanxiang, arrange all matters in the palace and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Arrange everything needed for this trip. No problems can occur."

Concubine Gao sat upright in the palace, while the palace maids beside her were busy preparing the items needed for the sacrifice outside the palace.

She went through the list carefully, checking each item to make sure nothing was missed.

Her eyes swept over the palace maids from time to time, and her stern eyes revealed her pursuit of details.

Concubine Gao arranged all matters in the palace.

Her majestic voice echoed in the palace, directing the arrangement and execution of various tasks. Every decision was carefully considered by her to ensure order and peace in the palace.

"Yes, madam,"

"Your Majesty, the Clothing Bureau has delivered the clothes needed for the sacrifice. Would Your Majesty like to take a look?" Lanxiang asked the busy imperial concubine.

This is what Your Majesty wears when she goes out of the palace to offer sacrifices with Your Majesty. Your Majesty has always attached great importance to it.

Concubine Gao nodded and said, "Let me take a look."

Lanxiang stood up and walked into the inner room, retrieved the exquisite and solemn imperial concubine's clothing, and presented it to the empress for inspection.

"When can I have a phoenix embroidered on my court dress?" Concubine Gao muttered to herself as she looked at the exquisite and solemn court dress. The concubine's dress was beautiful, but it lacked something.

"Your Majesty!" Lan Xiang called out softly, looking around. Afraid that others would hear her words, she quickly waved her hand to let everyone in the palace leave.

Concubine Gao sneered and didn't care.

"My father is the most powerful person in Liguo besides Your Majesty. If I don't take the throne, who will?"

"Your Majesty is the most powerful woman in the entire Li Kingdom, but there are many people in the palace, so you need to be careful with your words." Lanxiang said softly as she looked at her.

"Hmph, of course I am the most powerful woman in Li Kingdom. No matter how favored Shen Yanyan is, it is still me who can accompany His Majesty to the ancestral temple to offer sacrifices." Concubine Gao gnashed with hatred whenever she thought of Shen Yanyan.

Relying on His Majesty's favor, she pretended to be sick every day and didn't go to pay respects, but she actually stayed in the Yangxin Palace again. His Majesty had not entered the harem recently, but only went to Yaohua Palace, and everyone in the harem had long been dissatisfied.

But Shen Yanyan stayed in Yaohua Palace every day to recuperate. This vixen relied on her beauty to seduce His Majesty to stay overnight in Yaohua Palace every day.

After Xu Xiaolan died, Shen Yanyan came. Concubine Gao's eyes were full of murderous intent.

Her father sent a message to ask her to check Shen Yanyan. It seemed that the Shen family was destined to go against her Gao family. In that case, there was no need to keep this bitch Shen Yanyan.

After she is done with the sacrificial ceremonies, she will deal with this bitch.

"Arrange some people to go into Yaohua Palace and keep a close eye on Shen Yanyan, no matter how big or small. I want to see how she seduced Your Majesty. Investigate her thoroughly." Concubine Gao curled her lips in a sneer, her eyes as cold as a snake.

When Lanxiang saw the look in the Empress' eyes, she knew that Concubine Yan was in trouble.

"Yes, your majesty." Lanxiang replied.

Concubine Gao raised the corner of her mouth slightly, secretly calculating in her heart.

Even though Shen Yanyan did not leave the Yaohua Palace, she felt that the palace had become much more lively recently.

"Dongxue, is the Ghost Festival coming soon?" The Ghost Festival in Yangzhou is very lively, and she thought it should be the same in the capital.

"Yes, my lady. I heard from the palace maids that the capital is now very lively."

"There will be a lantern festival during the Ghost Festival, which is very lively." Dongxue listened to the discussions of the palace maids in the palace and was also very interested in the Ghost Festival.

"I heard that there are moon watching, lantern watching, river lantern watching, every household releases river lanterns, and you can watch plays, take a boat trip, and go shopping. It's very lively."

Shen Yanyan nodded, her eyes shining. It sounded much more lively than Yangzhou, so it must be fun as well.

It would be nice if I could leave the palace.

"Your Majesty, do you need to leave the palace to worship at the ancestral temple on the Ghost Festival? Do you want me to go with you?" Shen Yanyan was a little tempted. If she didn't go with him, she could sneak out of the palace to watch the lantern festival in the capital. He remembered that Xiao Jingzhan seemed to have said two days ago that he would leave the palace to worship.

"Originally, only the Empress could go with him, but now that His Majesty has no heir, only the Imperial Concubine can accompany His Majesty." Dongxue remembered seeing Lanxiang helping the Imperial Concubine with court clothes when she went to the Clothing Bureau the day before, and she felt a little angry at her smug look.

Shen Yanyan couldn't help but curl her lips when she heard this. If the concubines didn't have to go with her, then she had to go out of the palace to play. How could she be absent from such a lively event?

For half a month, every night when the night falls, Xiao Jingzhan will appear in Yaohua Palace. Shen Yanyan has also become accustomed to his arrival. She prepares sumptuous food in the palace early every day and waits for his arrival with joy.

The lights were bright in Yaohua Palace. Shen Yanyan was dressed in plain clothes, with a graceful figure and beautiful appearance.

She personally placed exquisite snacks and delicacies on the table, her eyes full of anticipation. The smoke from the incense burner curled up, filling the air with a faint fragrance, adding a mysterious atmosphere to the entire palace.

Time passed by, and finally, a familiar sound of footsteps was heard outside the door. Shen Yanyan immediately showed a happy smile on her face, and she went to greet him. Xiao Jingzhan walked into the hall, looking at everything in front of him, with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

She wasn't so happy when he came in the past. Seeing that the table was full of his favorite food, Xiao Jingzhan raised his eyebrows. If someone is too attentive to others for no reason, he is either a traitor or a thief.

Shen Yanyan sat next to him, diligently pouring him tea and serving him food.

"I've been waiting for you to have dinner together. Look, I made all of this myself, just for you." Shen Yanyan pointed at the delicacies on the table and looked at him expectantly with her watery eyes.

Xiao Jingzhan smiled helplessly, "What do you want?" Even if she didn't do these, he would agree to her request, no matter what it was.

But he also liked what she made for him.

"I heard that you are going to leave the palace in a few days to offer sacrifices at the ancestral temple." After hearing him say this, Shen Yanyan started asking directly.

Xiao Jingzhan nodded, that was the case.

"It seems that you won't be taking your concubines with you at that time, right? You will only take the imperial concubine." Shen Yanyan asked cautiously.

Xiao Jingzhan looked at her, thinking that she wanted to go. It was okay to take her with him, it was just one more person, and he could handle the clan members. "If you want to go, I'll ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to prepare and take you with me."

Shen Yanyan quickly waved her hands, "No, no, no, I don't want to go. What I mean is that you should take the imperial concubine to worship, can I go out of the palace to play for a while? I heard that the Zhongyuan lights in the capital are very beautiful, I want to go and see them."

Xiao Jingzhan frowned. She would rather go out and play than follow him to the sacrifice.

"Although your body has recovered, I am still worried. Let An Liu and An Qi follow you when the time comes." After just a moment, Xiao Jingzhan thought it through. Well, let her go if she wants to. She will be bored if she follows him to the ancestral temple.

Shen Yanyan saw him frowning and thought he disagreed, but when she heard him say yes, she jumped for joy.

Shen Yanyan ran to Xiao Jingzhan, bent down, hugged his face and kissed him. Xiao Jingzhan's hand, which was picking up food, became unstable and the food fell onto the plate.

"That's great, that's great." Shen Yanyan didn't realize that her action was anything special. She returned to her stool and started eating.

But Xia Zhu, Dong Xue and Li Defu who were standing by were terrified. How could the Queen kiss His Majesty openly in public? It was so outrageous and shameful.

Xiao Jingzhan glanced at Shen Yanyan and saw that she was eating happily, with her eyes fixed on the delicacies on the table. Feeling his ears getting hot, Xiao Jingzhan felt a little embarrassed. He really had never seen a woman like Shen Yanyan who disregarded the secular world.

If Shen Yanyan looked up at Xiao Jingzhan at this moment, she would notice his red ears.

When the three men saw that his majesty's ears were red, they quickly turned their backs to the two men. They were really tired of living because they dared to watch his majesty's fun.

Shen Yanyan didn't see what the others were doing. She was thinking about what she should buy at the Lantern Festival. The storybook was also a new one, and the maltose she bought last time didn't taste very good, but she loved the one at the alley. There was also some in the palace, but the taste was still a little worse.

Xiao Jingzhan calmed down his inner throbbing and picked up some food for Shen Yanyan.

Shen Yanyan looked up and saw Xiao Jingzhan with a gentle face and the three people with their backs to them.

What the hell, her kiss shocked these three ancient people so much that they didn’t dare to look back.

Seeing that Xiao Jingzhan's ears were still slightly red, he smiled secretly in his heart, thinking that the ancients were really old-fashioned. A kiss could scare them like this.

"Just let An Qi follow me. I'm fully recovered and I can protect myself. An Liu should stay with you. You'll be in danger if you leave the palace." Shen Yanyan felt that there was no need to let both secret guards follow her. Although he would have the army to protect him when he left the palace, he also had many enemies, so he had to be prepared for any eventuality.

Shen Yanyan handed Xiao Jingzhan another bottle of medicine, "This is what I brought from the Divine Doctor Valley. It can cure all kinds of poisons and save lives. Take it with you."

Xiao Jingzhan nodded, took the medicine bottle again, and looked at her with gentle and hot eyes. She was worried about him.