A middle-aged emperor, childless, was blessed with a beautiful and pregnant concubine who entered th

The Empress Dowager thought for a moment and nodded.

With the emperor in power, he was naturally willing to show some leniency to Consort Chen.

……

After a two-hour journey, the grand procession finally arrived at the royal hunting grounds.

The so-called hunting grounds actually encompass the entire mountain range.

The area surrounding the city, stretching over 120 li, had already been cleared and placed under martial law by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Tengxiang Four Guards.

Upon reaching the camp gate, one sees colorful flags fluttering in the wind and tents like clouds.

Emperor Qianwu first entered the imperial tent in the Yellow Tent City and ascended the throne to receive the homage of the officials accompanying him and the ministers in charge of the hunting grounds.

Afterwards, Emperor Qianwu went into the tent to change into a lighter and more comfortable Yisa, which was dark blue in color and embroidered with gold and silver dragon patterns. He wore a leather waistband and a jeweled leather belt, and carried a bow and arrows.

The attendants presented the Emperor's Kaiyuan Bow and Eagle Feather Arrows, the bow was powerful and the arrowheads gleamed coldly.

Emperor Qianwu glanced at the "little eunuch" who had his head bowed, and said to Fuquan, "Take good care of the Empress."

Fuquan's eyelids twitched violently.

He glanced at Zhou Mingyi and hurriedly replied, "Yes."

When Emperor Qianwu left, Fuquan was terrified.

"Your Majesty, how did you manage to sneak in?"

"You're trying to kill me!"

Zhou Mingyi comforted him, "My matter has already been made public by His Majesty, and His Majesty will not pursue your crime. Eunuch Fuquan, you can rest assured."

Remembering His Majesty's favor towards the Empress, Fuquan breathed a sigh of relief.

However, Fuquan was startled again when he saw the "little eunuch" about to leave.

"Your Highness, where are you going?"

Zhou Mingyi said, "Since I have come, it is naturally to catch a glimpse of His Majesty's demeanor."

Fuquan: ...

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has ordered you to study the Diamond Sutra in the palace. Your presence at the hunting grounds is a blatant defiance of her decree. You mustn't wander off! Arrows and swords have no eyes in this hunting grounds!"

How could Zhou Mingyi possibly stay obediently in the tent?

It would be better to stay in the palace than to stay in Emperor Qianwu's tent forever.

"Your Majesty, why have you returned?"

Fu Quan was taken aback, and then saw the petite figure quickly slip out of the tent and disappear.

Fuquan was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat.

"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and follow them!"

"If anything were to happen to Her Majesty, it would be difficult to explain!"

The guards who remained behind exchanged a glance, and one of them immediately followed.

……

On the way, Zhou Mingyi felt as if someone was watching her, their gaze subtle yet persistent.

This is just Zhou Mingyi's feeling.

To everyone's surprise, the system said, "It's Shen Kuo."

Zhou Mingyi was genuinely surprised to hear this.

"Shen Kuo was Xie Jinghong's man. After being implicated by the Xue family, he went from being in the open to being in the shadows. If he has the opportunity to redeem himself in the future, he can return to the open."

Zhou Mingyi couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a smile.

This was an unexpected surprise.

Shen Kuo was originally someone she could use and win over.

Unfortunately, his death came suddenly; before she could do anything, he was thrown into prison…

At the time, Mingyi felt it was a pity.

Unexpectedly, he had this other identity.

What a pleasant surprise!

"Is Shen Kuo now following me his own will, or is it at the behest of Emperor Qianwu?"

The system honestly stated: "This system can only read the thoughts of the bound user under certain conditions; it cannot read the thoughts of others."

Zhou Mingyi: "..."

"Under what conditions can they read my thoughts?"

"With the host's permission."

Zhou Mingyi's face darkened. "You are not allowed to read my thoughts, not at any time."

system:……

Knowing that Shen Kuo was protecting her from the shadows, Zhou Mingyi became even bolder.

But she acted like a curious little eunuch, wandering around the hunting grounds, when suddenly a scalding hot hand gripped her tightly, with such force that it almost crushed her bones.

"You..." Crown Prince Xie Jing's voice was extremely low, filled with panting anger and a burning heat on the verge of losing control.

"How dare you come here! And dressed like that!"

Ever since he met her, she has dominated his dreams with an overbearing attitude.

She appeared in his dreams almost every night.

Those enchanting and sensual dreams tormented Xie Jing to the point of madness!

In her dream, she was not one of Emperor Qianwu's concubines, but rather an insignificant maidservant in the Eastern Palace.

I don't remember who sent the gift to the Crown Prince.

However, Xie Jing did not take it seriously, thinking it was just an obsession born from unrequited love.

The torment that had plagued him all night drove him completely insane the moment he saw her.

He practically dragged Zhou Mingyi into the nearest small tent where she could rest.

The tent was simply furnished, with only a low couch and a small table.

The light was dim, and the air was filled with the smell of leather and dust.

The curtain fell, shutting out the light and sound from the outside world.

Xie Jing slammed her against the hard wooden pillar supporting the tent, and with his other hand he grabbed her chin, forcing her to lift her face.

His eyes were bloodshot, a terrifying storm of obsession, pain, and anger swirling within them.

"Was it intentional?" His breath hit her face, his voice hoarse. "Dressed like a seductive enchantress, wandering around the hunting grounds..."

"You really want to see me go mad? To see me defy my father for you, to see me suffer eternal damnation for you?!"

Zhou Mingyi was imprisoned by him, but she showed no fear, and even a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"Your Highness means that the palace eunuchs dress like fairies?"

She blinked, her eyes showing no fear. "Your Highness, you're not joking with me, are you?"

Xie Jing was furious, his eyes turning blood red.

Zhou Mingyi raised her hand, her icy fingers covering the back of his hand that was pinching her chin. Instead of pushing him away, she gently stroked it.

It was as if he were soothing a raging beast, yet his actions carried a condescending pity.

"Your Highness," her voice was soft and slow, "you're the one who caught me. How can you blame me for seducing you?"

"Zhou Mingyi!" he growled her name, as if squeezing it out from between his teeth, filled with hatred and a deep-seated longing.

His gaze lingered greedily on her face, from her cool brows to her sarcastic lips, finally settling on her slightly open collar as she struggled, his breathing suddenly becoming heavy.

He wanted to lower his head and kiss her, just like in his dream, or even more forcefully to confirm her presence.

However, just as his lips were about to touch hers, Zhou Mingyi suddenly chuckled.

"Your Highness." She looked at his handsome face, so close to hers, twisted with desire and pain, but her eyes were like those of someone looking at an ignorant child.

"You look really bad."

"Like a dog... whose bone has been stolen."

These words were like a bucket of ice water.

Xie Jing trembled violently, his hand gripping her chin shook, and the storm in his eyes intensified, yet he strangely froze.

"What do you think you'll get by capturing me?" she continued calmly.

She even gently brushed aside a stray strand of hair from his forehead with her fingers. "I am His Majesty's Consort Zhen."

"If you touch a single finger of mine now, tomorrow—no, perhaps even tonight—will you still hold onto your position as crown prince?"

"I don't care!" he growled, but the bluff in his voice was so convincing that even he couldn't convince himself.

"You care." Zhou Mingyi said firmly, her gaze piercing his eyes like an ice pick. "You care more than anyone else."

"You've endured so much for so many years, wasn't it all for that position?"

"For me? Ha..." She let out a very soft sneer, "I am nothing but your unattainable obsession, the only thorn that has pierced your perfect life as crown prince."

"It will hurt if I pull it out, but it will hurt even more if I don't."

"But are you really brave enough to pull it out?"

Every word she uttered struck precisely at his sore spots and ambitions.

The madness on Xie Jing's face was gradually replaced by a deeper despair.

He stared intently at her, as if trying to etch her image into his soul and burn it away completely.

"Why... why did it have to be Father..." The pain in his voice was almost overflowing.

"Because he is the emperor," Zhou Mingyi replied simply and cruelly, "while you are merely the crown prince."

She finally pushed him away slightly, straightened her disheveled clothes, and moved calmly, as if the dangerous entanglement had never happened.

"Stop following me, and stop looking at me like that."

She looked at him, her tone dismissive, "Be a good prince."

"As for me, I am not a dream you should be pursuing."

Xie Jing closed his eyes in anguish. "Then why was it possible for him at Hanshan Temple?"

Zhou Mingyi blinked. "Who is Your Highness referring to?"

Xie Jing was filled with jealousy and hatred. If he hadn't been deceived by her that day, if...

He recalled the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival moon worship, when she calmly coaxed Princess Chaoyang to follow the so-called "ancient rites," forcing her to behave improperly.

But when everyone was staring at Princess Chaoyang, he blatantly turned his gaze entirely to her.

She always managed to easily make him lose his composure...

Just then, the tent flap was suddenly flung open!

The Crown Princess stood at the door with a furious expression, followed by panicked maids.

She heard that the Crown Prince had left his seat in a hurry, and then she caught sight of him dragging a "little eunuch" into the tent. Suspicious, she followed him.

The tent was dimly lit, but she immediately saw the Crown Prince pressing a slender figure against a pillar, their posture intimate, and her blood rushed to her head.

"Xie Jing! What...what are you doing?!" the Crown Princess demanded sharply, her gaze like a knife as she stared at Zhou Mingyi's retreating figure.

In a flash, Xie Jing yanked Zhou Mingyi behind him, shielding her with his body. His face instantly contorted with an impatient and somewhat embarrassed expression as he snapped at the Crown Princess, "What are you yelling about! Can't you see I'm disciplining an ignorant servant?"

His heart pounded like a drum, and a cold sweat broke out on his back. But he quickly came up with a clever idea and deliberately turned to the side, so that the Crown Princess could only vaguely see a corner of Zhou Mingyi's eunuch's clothes.

At the same time, he lowered his voice and said quickly in a tone that was a mixture of doting and annoyance, "It's Aoyagi!"

"She insisted on coming along disguised as a eunuch, saying she wanted to see the scene... I couldn't persuade her otherwise, and I had just brought her in to reprimand her when you barged in!"

"Qingliu?" The Crown Princess was taken aback, then her anger intensified.

Why is that bastard Aoyagi here?

She actually came up with this idea to follow us!

But what the Crown Princess feared most was that the Crown Prince actually agreed!

The Crown Prince actually went so far as to let this lowly maid disguise herself as a eunuch and infiltrate the hunting grounds!

The Crown Princess was filled with jealousy and wished she could tear this vile woman to pieces on the spot!

"Xie Jing! How dare you act so recklessly for a lowly servant girl! Have you no manners whatsoever?!"

The Crown Princess's jealousy instantly shifted, and she thought she had caught the Crown Prince truly "favoring his concubine over his wife." She was so angry that she trembled all over, and didn't bother to investigate the details of the "eunuch's" physique.

Taking advantage of the situation, Xie Jing stepped forward and, half-pushing and half-persuading, led the furious Crown Princess outside, his tone perfunctory in reassurance: "Alright, alright, it was my oversight."

"Let's talk about it when we get back. Don't make a scene here and let everyone know..." He turned his back to the tent and gave Zhou Mingyi a hurried and complicated look.

Zhou Mingyi stood in the shadows, listening to the Crown Princess's scolding and the Crown Prince's perfunctory explanations outside the tent, her face expressionless.

She slowly and deliberately smoothed out the last wrinkles on her sleeves, as if being treated as a substitute for a lowly concubine was a trivial matter.

Only when the sounds outside faded into the distance did she slowly walk to the curtain, not going out immediately, but standing quietly for a moment.

The faint smile on his lips reappeared, this time carrying a hint of cold understanding and a touch of playful mockery.

She clearly saw the Crown Prince's weakness, his fear, his desperate attempts to protect him, and his unfathomable, twisted desires.

She planted that thorn very firmly.

That was absolutely hilarious!