♂?，，

  The old lady saw that there was no one else around, and quickly composed herself to answer, "Old Madame said that before Princess Shu entered the palace, she had stayed in the Xiyu Pavilion for a while. Now that she is pregnant with the dragon heir, it's inevitable that they will summon Madame Xuan into the palace to reminisce about old times. She sent her servants over to give you a heads up."

  Ming Xuan's eyebrows slightly furrowed, Grandma was saying that the Empress would probably summon her to the palace in a few days. But she and the Empress only had a superficial relationship, even if there was something going on, the Empress should have gone to find Wu Jie to discuss it with her, they were sisters from the same father after all, why look for herself?

  Shu Fei became pregnant and gained the emperor's favor, thus forming a four-way balance of power with the empress, Guifei, and Huifei in the palace. Moreover, she had an advantage over them. The empress was not mentioned for the time being, but Guifei was her older sister from the same father. As a result, Huifei, who was also pregnant with the emperor's child, became Shu Fei's greatest obstacle.

  It is also the same for Huifei.

  Empress Pei had no children, so whoever gave birth to the emperor's first son would have a chance to compete for the throne in the future. Although Concubine Hui was the first to receive the good news, Ming Lian and the Emperor had long been secretly working together, using various clues to speculate that Concubine Hui and Concubine Shu became pregnant at almost the same time, so it's hard to say who would give birth first in the future.

  But no matter what the future holds, we must first give birth to the imperial child before anything else.

  Difficulty is also here.

  An open spear is easy to dodge, a hidden arrow is hard to defend against. The cruelty and ruthlessness of the inner palace's private struggles are unknown how many times more intense than the fierce winds of the back palace. The back palace turmoil, after all, there can only be one noble title, most of it is still for the sake of wealth and power, but the distinction between the superior and inferior within the imperial family is the entire Zhou dynasty's sky and earth.

  Ming Xuan's heart moved, wanting to ask a few more questions, but knowing that her grandmother wouldn't say too much in front of Guan Mama, she also gave up. She nodded and treated it as an ordinary family matter, letting it pass without mentioning it again, and chatted with Guan Mama for a while about some household matters. Only then did Yan Mama prepare the gifts herself and personally escort Guan Mama out.

  By evening, Pei Jingxuan had not returned, and Ming Xuan was bored alone, so he let Dan Hong take out the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, set up two candles on the table in front of the couch, and began to copy scriptures as before.

  It wasn't that she followed Old Lady Zhu to devoutly believe in Buddhism, but rather that the scriptures could calm her mind and make her thinking more agile than usual, so that she could distinguish the meaning of her grandmother's words, as well as how to respond if Empress Shu really summoned her into the palace.

  At this time, the door curtain moved slightly. A purple sandalwood-colored figure flashed in and said with a smile, "A Xuan, I'm back. What are you writing? Let me take a look?"

  He leaned over to her side, bowed his head and read a few sentences, the smile on his face grew deeper. "Is he copying scriptures?"

  Ming Xuan softly murmured, "Today, Grandfather said he would take me to meet the Minister of Revenue, but it's so late and he still hasn't returned. I'm guessing maybe he has some social engagements outside, feeling bored with nothing to do, I'll just copy some scriptures, and when they're thick enough, send someone to deliver them to the Hou Mansion for Grandmother."

  She paused for a moment and smiled, "Have you had dinner?"

  Pei Jingchen nodded, "I had dinner at Shengji, and my grandfather, who was the Minister of Revenue, pulled strings to get me into the military supplies warehouse. Although I was just a deputy officer who hadn't yet entered the mainstream, the high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Revenue were all very polite to me because of my grandfather's influence. In the evening, the Minister himself hosted a dinner and invited several high-ranking officials and colleagues to join us."

  He paused for a moment, "Second Uncle is gone too."

  It was about Gu Changming, who also worked in the Ministry of Revenue and was promoted to a fifth-grade official two months ago.

  Ming Xuan nodded, got up and walked forward to help him take off his outer shirt. "Can you eat your fill at social gatherings? I had someone simmer a soup in the small kitchen, after washing up first, I'll keep you company for some more. I've put water in the bathing room, hurry up, it's getting hotter and look at all that sweat."

  The weather in mid-July is sweltering, of course, but what's even more unbearable is the muggy humidity. Inside the house it's still bearable, after all this is a grand official residence and they can afford to use ice blocks during the day to cool down the air. But if you're outside walking around, before long you'll be drenched in sweat, with a sticky film covering your body, which is really miserable.

  Pei Jingchen smiled and asked, "Have you washed up?"

  Without waiting for an answer, he leaned in close to Ming Xuan's ear again and quickly kissed her earlobe. "Regardless of whether you've washed or not, come keep me company while I bathe, okay? The bathtub in the bathing room is big enough for both of us to sit in."

  More than a month after their marriage, the personality he gradually revealed in front of her was completely different from her previous impression. The man who was as mysterious and unfathomable as an enigma, the man who was as cold and detached as a celestial being, seemed to be getting farther and farther away. In front of her, he was real, straightforward, sincere, and also affectionate, playful, except for that stunningly handsome face which remained as if it were painted in a picture, most of the time, he was just a mischievous kid.

  But with such teasing, Ming Xuan had gone from being taken aback when she first heard it to being shy and nervous at the beginning, to now being able to remain unmoved. She helplessly glanced at him, "I've washed already, by myself."

  She pushed him into the bathroom, "Hurry up and go in, clean towels and underclothes are all placed on the spring bed next to the bathtub, if there's anything else just call me."

  Before long, the sound of water came from the bathroom, and Pei Jingxuan's voice became hoarse and lazy, "Ah Xuan, it's a bit boring to take a bath alone. Why don't you come in and keep me company?"

  Ming Xuan doesn't care.

  After a while, he whispered again, "Ah Xuan, I can't reach my back by myself, come and help me wipe it?"

  Ming Xuan still ignored him.

  A loud "thud" came from the clean room, Pei Jingxuan let out a cry of "Ah", her voice filled with petulance and grievance, "A Xuan, I fell, hurry up and come help me get up!"

  Ming Xuan was speechless, fortunately the maid in the house had already retreated tactfully when he came in, otherwise if someone saw him like this, no matter how handsome his face was, he would be ridiculed.

  She couldn't help but sigh and finally put down the pen in her hand.

  In the dimly lit room, Pei Jingxuan was half-kneeling on a wooden barrel, his eyes flashing with excitement and sweetness as he saw Ming Xuan enter. He wouldn't dare to make a sound, but made this noise on purpose to lure her in... now that she's here...

  He pulled her hand, stood up straight from the wooden bucket, accompanied by the sound of splashing water, and water splashed onto her body, wetting more than half of her newly changed undershirt. He said with a mischievous grin, "Since your clothes are wet, come in and wash again?"

  Without saying a word, his strong arms picked up Ming Xuan and quickly removed her shoes, then plunged her into the water along with her clothes. He even splashed water at her and got her hair wet.

  On a night without a hair dryer, it's not easy to dry such long wet hair. Ming Xuan suddenly thought of that moonlit night and felt that the slender and perfect body in front of her was somewhat familiar. Her face slightly sank, and she used force to turn Pei Jingzhen's body over, "Turn around."

  Pei Jingchen thought she was angry, and while following her lead to turn around, he couldn't help but turn his head back and say, "A Xuan, splash me too, come splash me!"

  Under the dim candlelight, the man with his upper body exposed stood tall and slender, his hairpin removed from his head, a few strands of his bun fell loose and clumped together due to water droplets, water drops still trickling down from his ears from their recent frolicking, his masculine beauty was captivating, yet this back figure was unmistakably the same as that day.

  Ming Xuan suddenly thought that Pei Jingchen spent more than half a year living in the Qingliang Temple, and the medicine hut on the back mountain was where she had seen him twice. Given his relationship with Master Yu Zhen, it made perfect sense for him to appear at the hot spring. Just look at his powerful muscles, if he didn't exercise regularly, it's unlikely he could have developed them.

  So, was the cliff his training ground?

  But wasn't it her who disturbed his diving training while he was taking a warm spring bath?

  Yes, he clearly said at the time that he would take responsibility, so did the Pei family really come to propose? She had always thought that the reason why this marriage could be made was largely due to the matchmaking of Dongping Taifei and Yu Zhen Shitai also had some promotion. He was likely to be like her, not having a say in this matter, so these days their emotions progressed rapidly, she often felt as if she were dreaming, feeling a bit unreal.

  If it's that person, then it must be him...

  Ming Xuan's face flashed a hint of red, and her heart was even more mixed with emotions. She lightly blew air on his back and asked in a low voice, "If one sees a woman's body, no matter who she is or what kind of person she is, will they take responsibility?"

  Pei Jingxun's hands were slightly trembling as he turned around and held her face, "I do want to take responsibility, but not everyone may be willing to give me that chance. Ah Xuan, I've always wondered, if an ordinary woman encountered such a situation, most would probably agree to let me take responsibility, so why did you have the audacity to run away as your first reaction?"

  At that time, he appeared on the cliff behind Qingliang Temple. Although it was suspicious, the moonlight was bright and it could be seen that his behavior and dress were not those of a mountain bandit. If it were an ordinary woman, she would have been frightened at that time and wouldn't have thought of escaping.

  She looked at him quietly, "That's because I didn't want to entrust my life to a stranger. I don't know who he is or what kind of person he is, so the only choice at that time was to leave, as if nothing had happened."

  She paused slightly, "Later married, although also because of nothing else, I had no choice but to do so, but because I saw a few faces, my heart guessed that it was not the same as the rumors. To be honest, precisely because of this, in my heart, more or less, I still had some expectations and hopes."

  Pei Jingchen pulled her into his arms, "I'm really glad I am."

  Ming Xuan raised her head, raised an eyebrow and asked, "Answer my previous question, what about Huaying, Yu Die or any other woman? No matter what the situation is, even if they are seen naked, do you have to marry them one by one?"

  （）

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