The empress is both charming and seductive, rising through the ranks of palace intrigue.

Xiao Yu didn't hear Ning Shuyan's reply. He turned to look at her, a single tear glistening in the corner of her eye, making her look pitiful. Before it could fall, Ning Shuyan raised her hand and wiped it away.

Seeing the belt lying on the ground, Ning Shuyan forced herself to get up, intending to pick it up. Xiao Yu then picked her up and carried her straight to the inner hall.

Ning Shuyan didn't struggle, leaning against him. She sobbed softly, saying, "It really hurts..."

After Xiao Yu placed her on the bed, he was about to lift her skirt when Ning Shuyan refused, saying, "Your Majesty..."

Xiao Yu's gaze and expression had softened considerably. He simply said, "Let me see."

Ning Shuyan stopped talking. What part of her hadn't he seen? She wasn't in the mood to be shy at this moment.

Xiao Yu noticed that there were two or three red and swollen spots on her fair skin. It was clearly very painful, so he couldn't blame her for being dramatic.

Xiao Yu's eyes held a hint of guilt: "I really didn't know, but did it hurt a lot?"

Ning Shuyan nodded: "Yeah... it hurts more when I get hit."

With the injury in such a place, and not being able to summon the imperial physician, Xiao Yu could only have the palace servants bring out medicine for bruises and sprains.

Ziying came in completely bewildered. When told to find the medicine, she did. When Xiao Yu told her to leave, she looked at Ning Shuyan lying on the bed and asked worriedly, "Master, are you alright...?"

Ning Shuyan forced a smile: "I'm fine, you can go now."

Xiao Yu opened the ointment and gently applied it to her red and swollen area. At this moment, he naturally had no mind to think about those things anymore.

Ning Shuyan remained silent, letting him apply the medicine to her.

"Your palace maid is quite concerned about you," Xiao Yu said.

"She entered the manor before she was ten years old. Although she and I were mistress and servant, we were like sisters," Ning Shuyan said calmly, lying on her pillow.

Xiao Yu paused for a moment, then, after applying the medicine, said with some heartache, "I won't be going to pay my respects for the next few days. I'll send someone to inform the Empress."

As the king, he personally applied the medicine, his tone filled with guilt and heartache, so Ning Shuyan naturally couldn't continue to press the matter. Therefore, she said gently, "Your Majesty, I understand."

The familiar scent of medicine wafted into Ning Shuyan's nostrils, and an incident from shortly after she arrived at the city flashed through her mind. Her gaze softened, and she said gently, "Once, my sister and I had a disagreement. I bumped my arm on the artificial hill and it bled. When my aunt saw this, she was both heartbroken and helpless, powerless to stand up for me. I still remember the tears streaming down her face as my aunt applied the medicine to my wound."

From that moment on, she resolved to protect her aunt. To protect her mother, who was as gentle as water.

As she finished speaking, her eyes welled up with tears, and her expression was filled with deep sorrow. "Although my aunt was gentle, she loved me very much. She gave me all her strength and love. She always spoke to me so gently, and even when I was ignorant and willful, she never scolded me."

My aunt always said: If Father treats you badly, then I will treat you even better.

Xiao Yu stroked her back and said softly, "If you want to see your aunt, I will have the Imperial Household Department arrange it tomorrow."

Ning Shuyan shook her head: "I just smelled the medicine and it reminded me of my aunt. I couldn't help but say a few words out of emotion."

Xiao Yu lay on the bed, stroking her head, his eyes gentle and warm: "Even though your concubine isn't by your side, you still have me, don't you?"

Ning Shuyan looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears: "Will Your Majesty love me as much as my concubine did?"

Xiao Yu was slightly taken aback, and after a while, he gently rubbed her cheek: "If we were commoners, I would still be your husband and your support."

Ning Shuyan smiled faintly, nestled against his chest, and closed her eyes.

She had never expected the emperor's love, so her question just now was merely a test. Naturally, she didn't expect him to answer yes. If he did, it would only make her think he was hypocritical.

If you expect romantic love between a man and a woman to surpass maternal love, you are sorely mistaken. Besides, he is the emperor; in his heart, the world comes first, and the harem is second, yet it contains countless women. She herself is merely one of them; in terms of her place in his heart, she is probably insignificant, or even nonexistent.

The next day, Ning Shuyan woke up very late, and Ziying quickly went up to her and asked, "Miss, are you feeling alright anywhere?"

Ning Shuyan smiled gently and said, "It's nothing, I just accidentally bumped my butt last night."

"How did you manage to bump your buttocks?"

Ning Shuyan moved her lips, but was momentarily speechless. Qiu Le came over and said, "Alright, even the mistress can be careless sometimes. Go get the medicine and I'll apply some more for the mistress."

Ziying quickly said "oh" and got up to get the medicine.

Qiu Le smiled and said, "Before His Majesty left, he specifically instructed us not to disturb you. He also told you to rest well and not to get out of bed unless necessary."

Ning Shuyan chuckled inwardly. He naturally felt somewhat guilty about the mistake he made.

Just as Ziying brought the medicine over, someone announced that Eunuch Yang had arrived.

Qiu Le hurriedly went out and returned a moment later with several medicine bottles in her hand. She quickly said, "His Majesty sent some medicine over; this is just what I need to give my mistress."

There is no doubt that medicine bestowed by the Emperor is better than medicine in one's own palace.

When Qiu Le saw Ning Shuyan's bruised buttocks, she was both surprised and distressed. Her once fair skin was now covered in two or three swollen and bruised spots, one of which had even turned black.

"Master, how did your injury get so serious? Did you break any bones?"

Ning Shuyan moved her hips: "I don't think so, I can still move. It's just the spot that hurts."

Qiu Le carefully applied the medicine, as if afraid of hurting Ning Shuyan. "Eunuch Yang said one of these bottles of medicine is for pain relief, and the other is to reduce swelling and bruising."

The ointment felt cool after application, and I don't know if it was just psychological or what, but it made me feel much more comfortable.

Inside the Yihe Palace.

Consort Zhuang leaned lazily against the soft couch, propping her forehead up with her hand and casually eating a pomegranate: "Have you found out? What's wrong with that person at Lan Yue Pavilion?"

During her audience with the Emperor, Consort Zhuang heard that he had asked for leave for Ning Shuyan, saying she hadn't been feeling well and couldn't come. However, the Emperor had spent the night at Lan Yue Pavilion the previous night. This made Consort Zhuang wonder if Ning Shuyan was pregnant, given how many times she had been favored by the Emperor.

Yulan smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, you are overthinking it. I heard it was an injury, a sprain in the hip. His Majesty even sent someone to deliver ointment, and just now the Imperial Carriage went over there again."

Consort Zhuang straightened up and sat upright, asking, "The buttocks? Why is it injured there?"

Yulan slowly composed herself, "This...this servant doesn't know. The people of Lanyue Pavilion are always tight-lipped, so they probably won't find out anything. Maybe she tripped and fell right there."

Consort Zhuang pondered for a moment, her face darkening slightly: "The Emperor is quite fond of Consort Ning, I wonder what kind of seductive tricks that vixen used. It seems we need to find an opportunity to send someone to Lan Yue Pavilion."

Having been a favored concubine for many years, she naturally could not tolerate the existence of someone who could rival her in popularity.