Chapter 187:

Listening to the Rain Pavilion.

The current young mistress residing in Listening to the Rain Pavilion is none other than Noble Consort Li Yanran, Noble Consort Li.

When she first entered the palace, she was assigned here, and Li Yanran thought it was due to Emperor Jing’s favor. However, she later realized that wasn’t the case at all. Even now, after such a long time, Emperor Jing had only favored her twice when she first entered the palace.

Since then, there had been no further attention, which frustrated Li Yanran greatly. Yet despite this, she remained extremely patient inwardly, unwilling to show any discontent or express her feelings outwardly.

She was clear-sighted; in this palace, anyone who acted impulsively inevitably faced consequences. If she wanted to last until the end, she would need sufficient patience.

Thus, she always wore an innocent smile, greeting others warmly.

She certainly would not give anyone the chance to harm her.

But the Empress’s exclusive favor from Jiao Fang always annoyed her.

If left unchecked, it would always be a significant obstacle.

Li Yanran would have no hope of advancing in rank. Initially, she had planned to use Fang Ci to eliminate Noble Consort Shen, but Fang Ci turned out to be foolish, failing to eliminate her target and instead watching Shen gradually ascend to the position of Empress.

Originally, she had thought that flattering the Empress would suffice, but she soon noticed the Empress was not particularly warm towards her.

Moreover, the Empress was quite domineering, never showing even a hint of magnanimity, and certainly not sharing the Emperor’s favor equally.

Therefore, Li Yanran realized that relying on the Empress was no longer viable.

Unlike Zhang Lan, who was content to remain a mere wallflower after entering the palace, Li Yanran had her own ambitions.

Since the Empress could not be relied upon, removing her was the most appropriate course of action, a point she understood clearly.

But how exactly should she proceed to ensure complete success?

Li Yanran fell into deep thought.

***

While Li Yanran plotted against Shen Layue, Shen was currently attending to the Emperor as he bathed.

The two were playful and joyous together.

Both were in the hot spring, and Layue used a cloth to gently wipe the Emperor’s back. Though her touch was light, it had its own unique charm.

“Your Majesty, sit still and don’t move around,” Layue playfully complained as the Emperor kept fidgeting.

Upon hearing Layue’s words, the Emperor did not become annoyed but obediently leaned against the edge of the pool.

Layue nodded in satisfaction and continued wiping. Soon after, she announced that she was done.

However, as soon as she spoke, the Emperor mischievously pulled her into his arms.

His hands roamed over her soft and smooth body, his Adam’s apple bobbing as his mouth grew dry.

He pressed her against the poolside and leaned over her.

His hands grew bolder, one hand gripping her slender waist while the other cupped the fullness of her chest. His calloused fingers kneaded and caressed, causing Layue to whimper and beg for mercy.

The Emperor particularly enjoyed seeing her like this, like a delicate flower after the rain.

Indeed, it made him want to tease her endlessly.

Layue had no idea what the Emperor was thinking, only pleading with him to show some mercy.

The man’s strong lower body thrust forward forcefully, and with the water’s resistance, Layue felt herself being overwhelmed.

She hurriedly tried to climb out of the pool, but she couldn’t escape as he held her waist firmly, leaving her to sway with his movements.

The water rippled, and the two continued their passionate play for quite some time.

Inside, the sound of “slap-slap” echoed.

Laixi stood outside the bathroom, eyes forward, thinking to himself that the Empress indeed was beloved.

When had the Emperor ever been so unrestrained?

They didn’t know how long they had been at it, but Layue eventually fainted from exhaustion. When she awoke again, she found herself already placed in bed by the Emperor, the two of them cuddling closely.

“Your Majesty always likes to act recklessly. I’m going to be worn out completely by you,” she said, her eyes sparkling, her expression charming.

Her lips, swollen from kissing, were slightly pouted.

The Emperor lovingly stroked her head.

“I only cherish you, so naturally, I might be a bit intense. You don’t understand me at all, do you! I really feel wronged. I’ve remained chaste for you, yet I don’t receive any praise from you,” the Emperor said dramatically, appearing genuinely hurt.

Seeing him like this, Layue couldn’t help but giggle.

“Your Majesty is acting like a child now!”

The Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly and teasingly pressed his lower body against her.

“You’re the one who likes to talk nonsense. If I were a child, how could I have such a large… You don’t like me teasing you like this? I’ve always said you’re a little liar, and you wouldn’t admit it before. Just now, who was it that had her little hand in her mouth, whimpering and tempting me?”

Upon hearing this, Layue’s face turned bright red.

“Your Majesty, you, you, you really…” She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.

The Emperor didn’t press her further and simply smiled.

“How am I?”

Layue hesitated, then, in a playful mood, bit his chin gently.

Unexpectedly, this only excited the Emperor further.

Layue playfully slapped his back, her expression charming and teasing.

“Alright, alright. Your Majesty, you should take care of your health. Don’t indulge too much.”

Perhaps they had been together for too long, and the Emperor had always favored Layue, so she had gradually become more at ease, speaking and acting much more freely than before.

Seeing her expression of self-satisfaction, the Emperor merely smiled gently, not arguing with her.

Layue became even more delighted for a moment.

Of course, the Emperor had also noticed Layue’s changes, and he was happiest to see her like this.

He thought clearly that sometimes, it wasn’t a lack of love, but rather a fear of loving.

Layue was probably the same.

After all, there were many women around him, and it was only natural for Layue to worry about getting hurt.

“Yue’er, let’s be together forever, okay?”

“Okay!” Layue smiled brightly. These days had been very pleasant for her. Although there were some minor issues, she had handled them with ease.

“Then, shall we have another child?” the Emperor asked.

“Okay… Ah! Your Majesty, did you say what I think you did?” Layue looked at the Emperor in surprise.

He looked at her with a gentle expression.

“I said, let’s have another child. We will have many, many children, right?”

Layue hesitated briefly before nodding, but then she complained, “But I haven’t done anything to prevent it. These past days, I haven’t even gotten pregnant.”

They hadn’t taken any contraceptive measures, yet she hadn’t conceived. Was it really so easy to get pregnant?

Layue was troubled.

The Emperor chuckled and lay on his back, spreading his arms and legs.

“You haven’t before, but that doesn’t mean you won’t in the future.”

Layue looked at the Emperor in shock, suddenly understanding.

It must have been the Emperor’s doing, but how exactly had he done it? And why?

She truly didn’t understand.

The Emperor turned his head to look at her and explained, “Before, you gave birth several times. Although the deliveries went smoothly, they still seemed dangerous. I was worried, so I secretly took some measures with the food sent to your Qing’an Palace. I originally planned to tell you directly, but you, this little girl, have a heavy heart and might imagine all sorts of things, so I decided not to tell you the truth.”

Upon hearing this, Layue was stunned.

She had originally thought that she had a constitution that made it difficult to conceive, but it turned out to be the Emperor’s doing.

She had thought she had taken perfect care of her palace, leaving no loopholes for anyone to exploit, but it turned out that if the Emperor wanted something done, anything was possible.

“Do you blame me?”

Layue shook her head. “Of course not. Your Majesty is only concerned for my health, and I know that. I was just thinking that I had thought I had my palace well protected, but it turns out it was all a joke.”

Layue said this without any displeasure, simply stating a fact.

The Emperor naturally knew that Layue was not a petty person.

“What joke? I would never harm you. As for others, I won’t give them that opportunity either. You can rest assured. Now that we’re preparing to have another child, you must take good care of your body.”

Layue nodded.

Seeing Layue’s obedient expression, the Emperor was even happier.

“Take care of yourself these days. If there’s anything that needs to be done, leave it to the others. In a few days, Madam Gui will return. I’ll have her come and help you.”

This had already been arranged by the Empress Dowager previously, and the Emperor had agreed with the idea.

However, Madam Gui had requested to go to the temple where the Empress Dowager used to visit, to fast and pray for three months on her behalf, and the Emperor naturally agreed to this as well.

With the three months nearly up, Madam Gui’s return was imminent.

With Madam Gui’s help, the Emperor felt that Layue would be much more at ease.

Although he hoped Layue would manage the palace affairs, the Emperor did not wish for her to become overly exhausted.

Now that the Empress Dowager was gone, Layue had to make all the decisions herself.

There was naturally much to manage.

Layue lay on the Emperor’s chest, drawing circles on it.

“When Madam Gui comes back and helps me, I’ll definitely be much more relaxed. Before, whenever I had something I didn’t understand and went to Huici Palace for advice, the Empress Dowager would always have Madam Gui explain it to me.”

The Emperor stroked Layue’s hair.

“Madam Gui really likes you too.”

Layue smiled proudly.

“With how obedient I am, of course everyone likes me. Your Majesty likes me the most, right?”

Layue’s charming expression stirred the Emperor’s heart, and he gently bit her neck.

“I like you, like you very much, like you so much that I wish I could devour you whole, like you so much that if anyone dares to bully you, I’d want to kill their entire family.”

These words were highly inappropriate, yet for some reason, Layue couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy.

“Then Your Majesty must cherish me well.”

The Emperor laughed.

He flipped her over onto her back and kissed her fiercely. “Don’t I cherish you enough already? Now, who doesn’t know that Empress Shen enjoys exclusive favor in Jiaofang? No one else can even come within a meter of me.”

Layue giggled in response.

“That may be true, but others think I’m just jealous.”

The Emperor raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise as he asked, “Huh? Aren’t you naturally a jealous person? Why are you afraid of others knowing now?”

Upon hearing this, Layue angrily punched him with her little fist. This rascal was truly unkind.

Before long, the two were rolling together once again…