You take on two husbands, I'll turn around and marry the tyrant and rule the world.

Chu Nianci put on her coat and went to the outer room, where Tuanyuan was waiting with a tray in her hands.

A set of kingfisher feather and diamond-encrusted headdresses sat quietly on the tray.

The kingfisher feathers are made from the softest live feathers from the neck of each kingfisher. Only a few feathers from each bird are collected, and it takes hundreds of birds to make a pair.

The colors of the feathers shimmer in the light, sometimes as bright as if they had been tempered, sometimes as rosy clouds flowing among the pines. What is even more precious is that it is made using the nearly lost art of applying kingfisher feathers. It takes more than a dozen craftsmen a whole year to complete.

Light and shadow danced among the hairpins, creating ripples like those on a lake, while the inlaid diamonds sparkled brilliantly, making the entire headdress breathtakingly beautiful.

Because His Majesty said this was too extravagant, he had long since banned the collection of feathers, so there is only one set in the entire Great Xia.

Besides the headdress, there were also twenty rare green plum seedlings piled up in the courtyard. There was nowhere to transplant them for the time being, so they were all temporarily left there.

Chu Nianci hurriedly knelt down to express his gratitude.

A perfectly balanced look of surprise and emotion spread across her face, but a touch of melancholy lingered in her heart… These things were nothing more than a drop in the ocean for the emperor, yet they had earned her immense gratitude.

But it would be naive to think that these rewards would win her heart.

If she wants to go far in the palace, she must first guard her own heart.

Li De'an stepped forward with a smile: "Congratulations, Consort Hui!"

He was also carrying a tray, and lowered his voice mysteriously: "His Majesty is thinking of you, and besides these, he specially ordered this old servant to bring this over."

"Your Majesty has gone to great lengths," Chu Nianci said, taking the tray.

"This servant has never seen His Majesty show such concern for any other concubine before..."

Seeing the old eunuch's mysterious and precious manner, Chu Nianci couldn't help but become curious. She quickly opened the mother-of-pearl box, inside which lay a sachet with a love knot.

It was the very one she had given him back then.

The concentric knots at the bottom were woven crookedly, unlike anything made in an embroidery workshop.

A slight tremor ran through her, and she asked softly, "Could this be...?"

"It was woven by His Majesty himself," Li De'an whispered, "He spent several nights weaving it."

Chu Nianci almost couldn't hide her surprise.

She could hardly imagine such a dignified and unyielding person sitting under the lamp weaving love knots... If she imagined him as an embroiderer, the image would be more fitting.

"This is the only one of its kind in the palace; even the Empress and Consort Shu don't have one," Li De'an said with a smile. "His Majesty also instructed that you return the favor with a gift."

"A return gift?" Chu Nianci frowned slightly.

The young emperor is about to put on a passionate and tender love scene with her.

Then just cooperate.

The late emperor once loved the late empress deeply and even wrote the poem "May we be birds flying wing to wing in heaven." However, in order to stabilize the court, he married several women from noble families as concubines, who bore him several princes.

Emperors always prefer women who love them wholeheartedly.

But if someone is foolish enough to give away their true feelings, they will likely be hurt even more.

The day she entered the palace, she swore that she would never be moved by love.

But right now, what should we say to express our joy and gratitude without going overboard?

She turned her gaze, walked to the window, took out an old silk handkerchief, and solemnly wrote: "My heart is as firm as a rock, your heart is as flowing as water. If you want me to know you, it will only be if you are my heart and I am your heart."

Finished writing.

She pierced her fingertip with a hairpin and pressed a bright red fingerprint onto the corner of the handkerchief.

Li De'an, who was watching from the side, was also somewhat moved. He composed himself before saying, "This old servant will certainly convey Your Majesty's wishes."

He secretly resolved to be more respectful to Consort Hui from now on.

Chu Nianci gave Li De'an a generous reward after the reunion.

After he left, Tuanyuan rushed over to bandage her wound, her voice filled with both joy and heartache: "His Majesty treats you so well, but why did you have to hurt yourself? You are the only one in the entire palace with a love knot personally woven by His Majesty... Just now, Eunuch Li reminded you to prepare to serve him tonight!"

Tuanyuan and Manbao were overjoyed, genuinely happy for their master.

Chu Nianci's face still showed surprise, but her eyes were fixed on the kingfisher feather phoenix crown on the table.

No wonder there are so many women in the harem who, knowing that scheming against others might lead to their own destruction, still rush to their deaths like moths to a flame, desperately trying to crush others. With such an immortal emperor, every casual glance reveals priceless treasures; who wouldn't be tempted?

But who can truly fathom the mind of an emperor?

To love the emperor is tantamount to courting death.

However... compared to the dire situation she faced after marrying into the Lin family in her previous life, where she could only struggle to make ends meet with her dowry, the emperor was indeed much more generous and kinder to her.

She composed herself and instructed with a smile, "It's not wise to make a fuss right now. I'll give each of you a month's wages for now. As long as you remain loyal, I will never mistreat you in the future."

Tuanyuan and Manbao quickly expressed their gratitude.

They clearly saw His Majesty's favor towards the young lady, and now that the investiture ceremony was about to take place, they, as veterans, would naturally follow closely as more people were added to the palace.

Chu Nianci took the sachet, tucked it into her waistband, glanced at the jewelry, and instructed, "Register it and put it in the storeroom."

Tuanyuan hesitated for a moment: "My lady, the investiture ceremony is in a few days. It would be so prestigious to go out wearing the headdress..."

"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future." Chu Nianci's gaze swept over the shimmering light.

What Duanmu Qingyu likes now is his own quick wit and intelligence.

As for appearance and attire, those are secondary.

Since he doesn't care, why should I bother trying to change things?

After dinner, Li De'an sent someone over again, instructing her to prepare quietly.

Chu Nianci politely saw the visitor off before slowly sitting down with his teacup in hand, pondering the matter in his mind.

Prepare quietly.

The young emperor seems to not want others to know.

That's good, so that the concubines in the whole palace won't stare at me like I'm a black-eyed chicken.

But how can I give the Emperor a surprise tonight?

Duanmu Qingyu possessed a youthful and beautiful appearance, as serene as a deep pool and as majestic as a mountain.

She's a bit of a germaphobe, a two-faced person, and not easily fooled.

However, he probably hasn't experienced anything with men or women yet.

Fortunately, I had already caught his pulse.

He wasn't violent by nature; as long as you didn't cross him, he wouldn't get angry over trivial matters.

With this in mind, Chu Nianci became bolder.

She decided to take an unconventional approach and break with the norm.

She had hot water prepared in the warm pavilion, and was served by palace servants to bathe and change. After changing into a light gauze dress, she sat quietly by the incense burner and waited.

While other concubines would be incredibly nervous on their first time serving the emperor, Chu Nianci remained remarkably calm.

After all, Duanmu Qingyu was completely clueless in this area, while she had a wealth of experience.

She didn't look like a concubine preparing to serve the emperor, but rather like a noblewoman waiting for her male favorite to arrive.

She leaned against the incense burner, thinking of the peerless and handsome Emperor, her mind wandering.

In her past life, she had been a first-rank imperial consort and had considered having several male lovers. In any case, her relationship with Lin Jingrui had run out, and he brought in concubines one after another, so why couldn't she?

Later, she saw many noble ladies keeping male lovers in secret. It wasn't that she hadn't considered it, but before she could find a handsome and suitable male lover, she was given a bowl of safflower by Xie and died.

Besides, no matter how handsome those male concubines were, they couldn't compare to Duanmu Qingyu's unparalleled beauty, and he was also impeccably clean...

Thinking of this, Chu Nianci smiled softly.

My darling, Your Majesty, I will certainly serve you well tonight...