But he couldn't do anything to her, so he could only, only run out of the palace every day from now on.
Now he had also become shrewd; he delegated tasks, ensuring none of the Six Ministries or the Grand Secretariat were idle.
He had them process a portion of the memorials, leaving only a small, crucial part for him to handle, so he no longer had to work late into the night.
The remaining time was entirely spent scaling walls!
"Forget it, let's not talk about that anymore."
Talking about it would only make him angry.
Ning Yan got up and sat on the man's lap, hooking her arms around his neck.
"This is how it should be, right?"
With our relationship, we should live for the moment, enjoy each day as it comes; thinking about anything else is superfluous."
Yuan Jingchen thought to himself: You might not think about it, but I must.
There have been no newborns in the palace for the past few years.
He previously had a total of three princes and two princesses.
The Eldest Prince was frail; at nine years old, he didn't even dare to ride a horse.
He was like a porcelain doll, liable to break at any moment.
The Second Prince was seven; he had a high fever when he was little, and after the fever subsided, his reactions became a bit slow.
He wasn't stupid, but in the royal family, that was no different from being a fool.
The Third Prince was five; his birth mother, Ning Fei, was from an unremarkable family and was extremely cautious in the palace, raising a child as timid as a mouse.
Relying on these three, his Great Jin Dynasty would surely be doomed eventually.
In contrast, his son with Ning Yan, even at two or three years old, showed extraordinary potential.
The Grand Tutor praised the child endlessly every time he reported to him, saying there was no one like him in heaven or on earth.
It was certain he would inherit his throne in the future.
But this woman refused to enter the palace, so how could he make Xun'er the Crown Prince?
He couldn't possibly adopt him into the General Cheng's Residence, could he?
Worries!
In the following days, Ning Yan deliberately flaunted herself in front of Old Madam and Cheng Shaowu, and even told them gossip from outside.
For example, "The General Cheng's Romantic Affairs with his Concubine."
"General Cheng Being Cuckolded by his Concubine, Two or Three Incidents."
"General Cheng Was Given a Sterility Potion."
Some even said his current predicament was retribution.
Who told him to proclaim his promise of "one life, one love, one partner" when he proposed to the Zhen Guo Duke's Mansion's legitimate daughter, making it known throughout the city?
Each of these incidents enraged the mother and daughter greatly.
Finally, Old Madam was once again fainted from anger.
After the imperial physician used needles to revive her, Ning Yan told her about Cheng Xun's background.
"You see how lucky you are?"
A mere village woman, yet one day you can have the Emperor's son call you 'Grandmother.'
You should rest in peace under the nine springs."
"You, you, you... you hussy!"
She rests in peace?
What peace does she rest in? Her Cheng family is without an heir!
What kind of evil karma did her family accumulate, that all the women of her son ended up cuckolding him?
Thus, the recently awakened Old Madam was literally angered to death!
As soon as Old Madam died, and the mourning hall was barely set up, Cheng Shaowu, who had been paralyzed for several months, also kicked the bucket.
However, he didn't die from excessive grief, but rather choked to death on a piece of tofu while eating!
Hmm, or maybe he was scalded to death; in any case, he died from eating tofu.
So, before Old Madam's funeral was even over, Cheng Shaowu's coffin was also placed in the mourning hall.
As Old Madam's only grandson, Cheng Shaowu's only son couldn't make it back as he was traveling with his master.
Seven days later, the mother and son were buried together, and Ning Yan finally became a widow.
That night, Yuan Jingchen came again.
"Yanyan, give me another child."
While they were intimate, Yuan Jingchen quietly slipped a pillow under Ning Yan's bottom.
Neither of them was particularly old; Yuan Jingchen was 28, and Ning Yan was 21.
In modern times, this was a good age to have children, and of course, in ancient times, this age was also just right for having children.
Suddenly stopping, Ning Yan twisted his waist in displeasure.
"What are you going crazy about now?"
Yuan Jingchen said aggrievedly, "Xun'er said he only wants to inherit the Zhen Guo Duke's Mansion, not be the Crown Prince.
You give me another one, otherwise, if there's no one to inherit the throne, when will I be able to abdicate and elope with you?"
Ning Yan: You are the Emperor of Great Jin, listen to what you're saying, is it normal? What do you mean elope with her?
"Let those women in your palace give birth for you; are they all just decorations?"
If it weren't to anger the Cheng family to death, she wouldn't want to give birth to even one.
Trying to trick her into having another one? No way.
"You heartless woman, ever since you 'plucked' me, I haven't touched any other woman.
They truly are just decorations!"
Ning Yan glared at him.
"A man's words are a ghost's lies; who would believe you?"
"If you don't believe me, you can monitor me.
I don't mind taking you with me every day."
Thinking about being with Yanyan every day, the Emperor found it hard to suppress his smile.
"What beautiful dream are you having? I won't fall for your trick.
You, don't try so hard with me.
If you have the ability, go mess with your son.
He's almost five years old now, and with his intelligence, if you train him for another ten years, he can take over your position.
But if you have another one, you'll have to wait at least five more years, and they might not even have Xun'er's intelligence.
So, my dear Emperor, if you want to elope with me, deal with your son sooner."
Yuan Jingchen, having run outside the palace for the past few years, indeed felt that the palace was not as comfortable as outside, and he could also understand why she was unwilling to enter the palace.
She was her own master, doing whatever she wanted; why should she enter the wolf's den of the imperial harem and engage in constant scheming?
"Alright, then I'll go deal with Xun'er, but you also have to promise me one thing."
"You say it."
Yuan Jingchen took a deep breath from Ning Yan's fair, jade-like skin before saying, "Come to the palace to accompany me for a few days each month."
Ning Yan's eyes brightened.
"Alright."
Yuan Jingchen was delighted, and his efforts during their intimate moments became even more vigorous that night.
The next day, before dawn, Ning Yan was dressed in eunuch robes and carried out the door.
The carriage swayed and swayed, and she didn't wake up until they were already inside the palace.
Yuan Jingchen specifically had Qian Fu serve outside the hall, while he himself took Qian Fu's apprentice to court.
During the morning court, the officials clearly felt that the Emperor was particularly happy today.
He didn't say anything even when some ministers almost started fighting in the main hall, and he even had eunuchs serve tea to the arguing old officials.
Hmm, let them drink and then argue.
He hadn't felt it before, but it turns out watching old officials argue was quite interesting.
After the morning court, the Emperor went straight to his bedchamber.
"Little Ning" was sleeping soundly at this moment.
Looking at her peaceful sleeping face, Yuan Jingchen couldn't resist; he lifted the quilt and slipped in.
Being at the General Cheng's Residence, in the temple, and on his imperial bed, the feeling was completely different.
After all, this was entirely his territory, and the person on the bed was entirely his.
After their passion, he held her and slept for another half an hour in bed, then he embraced her for breakfast before starting to review memorials.
While reviewing, Ning Yan, the little eunuch grinding ink, sat on the man's lap.
Yuan Jingchen sighed for who knows how many times, wondering how there could be such a wonderful person as Yan'er in this world.
Just one encounter had made him feel as if he had been poisoned, completely out of control.
If he couldn't control it, then he would succumb!
And so, he succumbed again.
In the evening, Ning Yan was determined to leave the palace.
The agreed seven days a month in the palace, she couldn't even endure one day.
This man was too exhausting; if she really stayed for seven days, she feared she would be exhausted to death.
Yuan Jingchen coaxed and pleaded, signing countless unequal treaties, before Ning Yan reluctantly agreed to stay for two more days, leaving the palace as soon as the three days were up.
As a result, she was truly worn out during those three days!
After about half a year of such days, news came from the palace that the Emperor had newly enfeoffed a Ning Fei.
It was said that this Ning Fei had saved the Emperor's life earlier, and they even had a four-year-old child, who was the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince was personally taught by the Emperor, while this Ning Fei never left her own courtyard.
The other concubines had never seen her.
Some concubines even doubted whether this Ning Fei truly existed.
Ten years later, the Emperor abdicated in favor of the Fourth Prince, Yuan Zhao.
As the Empress had passed away years ago, Ning Fei became the Empress Dowager.
Another year later, the Emperor Emeritus completely let go and traveled to Jiangnan with the Empress Dowager.
Thanks for the 500 Qidian coins donated to me!