The wicked imperial concubine is courting death again; the comments section teaches her how to win w

Qi Yitang was already very familiar with entering the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Seeing that Xie Ling was still annotating the documents, she put down the food box and rushed over to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Yanzhi, I know a huge secret about Qin Lianyue. Can you guess what it is?"

Although Qi Yitang frequently entered and exited the Hall of Mental Cultivation, she never casually read those reports.

Firstly, she feared that the Empress Dowager and court officials would find out that she was interfering in state affairs; secondly, the reports were obscure and difficult to understand, and she had no interest in them at all.

Xie Ling never shied away from discussing national affairs in front of her, but today he quietly flipped the top one over, then pulled her into his arms and adjusted to a comfortable position.

"What is it? I can't guess."

Qi Yitang knew he couldn't guess, since not everyone can see the comments on the screen.

She said, "Then take a deep breath first, don't faint from fright."

Xie Ling chuckled, "Such a big secret, even I would faint from fright?"

Qi Yitang glanced around, then whispered in his ear, "Last night, Qin Lianyue... and then... guess who her lover was?"

"—It's Xie Jingyu! How about that, surprised or scared?"

Xie Ling listened calmly, then asked, "And then?"

“…………”

This reaction was completely unexpected by Qi Yitang. "What do you mean 'then'? What else?!"

Compared to Xie Ling's composure, Qi Yitang felt that Xie Ling was the one who was cuckolded. "You're the emperor, she's your concubine, and now she's doing *that* with your brother... and all you say is 'So what?'"

"Yanzhi, you're completely cuckolded, can't you see it yourself?!"

Xie Ling smiled slightly, her eyes widening as she watched Qi Yitang's animated gestures.

"Tangtang, you are the only one who can decide whether I'm being cuckolded or not."

"They were all forced into the palace by the Empress Dowager; they may not have come of their own volition. I only have one heart, and I can't possibly divide it among so many others. Sooner or later, I will have to dismiss the harem. If Consort Li likes Prince Gong, I will arrange a marriage between them in the future."

Qi Yitang slowly opened his mouth wide and said, "A marriage is bestowed upon Consort Li?"

Although Xie Ling did not truly favor Consort Li, once she entered the palace, she became the emperor's woman.

Throughout history, there have been many concubines in the palace who never even saw the emperor in their entire lives.

Even so, they all had to remain faithful to the emperor. A few lonely and daring women would choose to have affairs with guards. If they weren't discovered, that was fine, but if they were, they would face certain death.

Now, Xie Ling is going to give his nominal wife to his brother, isn't that right?

Regardless of whether Consort Li was willing or not, and what the ministers thought, her father and the Empress Dowager would definitely be the first to jump out and oppose it.

"For me, others are irrelevant, but not you."

Xie Ling's tone was cold and stern, "Tangtang, if it had been you last night, I'm afraid I would have gone mad."

Qi Yitang was taken aback.

"I will grant you anything. You said yourself that you like me, so you must continue to like me and never change your mind."

Xie Ling loved pinching her cheeks. "Besides that, I can take responsibility for anything else."

He actually...

A strange yet unsettling feeling spread through Qi Yitang's chest, and she believed that Xie Ling was telling the truth.

In the original novel, she tried to poison Xie Ling, but although she failed, it still caused a great uproar in the previous dynasty.

The court officials jointly submitted a memorial denouncing her as a wicked concubine who had committed regicide and should be executed immediately.

However, Xie Ling only banished her to the cold palace, while Lian Yunzhu and Yun Ying allowed her to stay by their side to serve them.

The Cold Palace was just called the Cold Palace; no outsiders ever set foot there. It wasn't actually as cold as an ice cellar. On the contrary, Xie Ling had it renovated in private, and the food and drink were basically the same.

During that time, the two of them were constantly at odds, venting their dissatisfaction with each other.

Qi Yitang hated him for imprisoning her in this small space, making her his caged bird.

Xie Ling resented that she was completely blind to Xie Jingyu, no matter how much he did.

Little did he know that Xie Ling would bear all the blame from the world.

When Xie Ling likes someone, she will truly give her all.

When Qi Yitang was a child, she went to the temple to burn incense and saw other girls praying for marriage, so she followed suit.

She said she wanted the Bodhisattva to grant her a husband who was rich, powerful, handsome, devoted, and who saw her as his everything.

Now we've finally gotten what we asked for.

In truth, she should offer incense oil to the Bodhisattva to fulfill her vow.

Ultimately, we have to thank the comments section, and her earlier move of replacing the poison with an aphrodisiac was a stroke of genius.

Qi Yitang leaned in and kissed Xie Ling's chin, then snuggled into his arms.

"I like you so much..."

Xie Ling could never resist the soft, sweet tone in which the words ended with a hint of coquetry.

He liked all of Qi Yitang's traits—the temperamental, the capricious, the adorable, and the one currently acting coquettishly towards him.

Tangtang's eyes were round and bright, filled with shyness. Her lips were full and beautifully shaped, and even the few freckles on her cheeks were exactly what Xie Ling found aesthetically pleasing.

Instead of arousing his mortal appetite, Xie Ling was aroused by a certain desire.

Just as he was about to kiss him, Qi Yitang suddenly frowned and blocked his lips with her hand. "No... Qin Lianyue is convinced that she was with you last night. What if she gets pregnant with Xie Jingyu's child and pins it on you?"

Becoming a father unexpectedly?

A dark glint flashed in Xie Ling's eyes. "Isn't that even better?"

What's so good about it?

Before Qi Yitang could ask any further questions, Xie Ling silenced her with a kiss, saying, "She's not important, Tangtang. Think more about me."

Qi Yitang only realized what was happening when her skirt was lifted up and pressed onto the imperial desk.

No, she came to deliver food, so why is she acting like a vengeful person again?

……

In the following days, Consort Li was very high-profile, and almost the entire palace knew that she had been favored by the Emperor.

Xie Ling didn't bother to clarify, and Qi Yitang naturally didn't bother to expose her either.

But whenever she saw Consort Li deliberately lingering in front of her, touching her belly as if she were pregnant, she could only manage to keep a forced smile.

Last summer was unusually hot and humid, but this year, in the hottest month of July, it rained several times.

Qi Yitang had been cooped up in her palace for many days, and as soon as the rain stopped, she couldn't wait to go to the Imperial Garden.

There was a swing that Xie Ling had ordered people to make.

The sun wasn't too strong after the rain, and the breeze was gentle. Qi Yitang sat on it and swung it a couple of times, only to find that it wouldn't swing properly.

"Yunzhu, help me push it higher."

Yunzhu said with a smile, "Your Highness, I recently dyed my nails with balsam flowers. If I roll my nails while riding the swing, that will cost extra."

His greedy face was practically oozing out. Qi Yitang snorted, "If you say another word, you can forget about your monthly allowance."

"No, Your Highness, you are so understanding and righteous, how can you hold a grudge against a servant like me?"

"So what?"

The master and servant bickered, the swing swayed gently, and their laughter carried far.

All of this was observed by the man not far away.

A moment later, he took a step and walked straight behind Qi Yitang.

Upon seeing who it was, Yunzhu's eyes widened in surprise—Prince Gong? What's he doing here?

She instinctively reached out to bow and remind her mistress, but Xie Jingyu raised his hand to stop her and took over the task of pushing the swing without saying a word, telling her to step back.

Yunzhu's pupils contracted, and she instinctively tried to snatch the swing rope back, but Xie Jingyu held on tightly, his attitude firm.

How could a mere servant girl possibly stand up to the prince?

He had no choice but to step aside, but he was so anxious that his face was contorted with panic. What if His Majesty saw him?

Fortunately, as soon as Xie Jingyu started, Qi Yitang realized that the force was wrong.

However, she didn't turn around. "Weren't you in the Imperial Study reviewing memorials? You finished so quickly?"