Liu Yunlie and Jiang Xuanchen were fighting in the suburbs of Beijing, while Li Huailian was drowning his sorrows with wine in Fengyuan.

  Lost military power, the situation is unstable, his position is precarious. Although Feng Yulan was still polite to him, this politeness was never like the flattery and respect he received from others before. He wanted to build a capital in Fengyuan, but Feng Yulan shut him down with just a few words, making him extremely depressed.

  The only thing that made him feel at ease was probably that Ning Guifei was still with him. With her by his side, Li Huailin felt very secure, even though Ning Guifei seemed to have been worried about something all along, but it didn't prevent her from being considerate of him in every way.

  However, these two days, Ning Guifei's body was not comfortable and she couldn't accompany him, so the Weiwei beside him took him to the Song Dance Workshop. Drinking wine while watching a group of girls twisting their waists and swinging their cloud sleeves.

  In a daze, Li Huailian felt as if he had returned to the imperial palace again. He raised his head and downed a mouthful of wine, spitting out edicts that no one in the world dared not obey.

  She squeezed into his arms, and Li Huailin took over, calling out softly: "Wanwei."

  The dancer was taken aback, then burst out laughing and covered her face with her sleeve. She handed the wine cup to his lips: "Yanwei serves young master a drink."

  With a big smile, Li Huairan drank the wine in her cup, pinched her chin, and kissed all the wine into her fragrant lips.

  The lanterns were dimly lit, and Ning Yuwei stood in the courtyard of the palace for a long time, but still didn't see anyone return.

  "Your Majesty, please go in and rest!" the palace maid said anxiously. "The imperial physician just said that you need to take care of your body, and it's late at night with heavy dew, how can you stay out for long?"

  The fleeting divine thought returned, Ning Yuwei coughed lightly twice and asked her: "Your Majesty knows that the palace has an illness?"

  The palace maid bit her lip and nodded: "The imperial physician has reported that Her Majesty is unwell and cannot accompany the emperor, so His Majesty has left."

  The pearls on her head trembled slightly, and the jade pendant also swayed gently. Ning Yuwei lowered her eyes, unable to help but think of when she had just arrived in Fengyue.

  At that time, Your Majesty also fell ill. After all, it was a pampered person who was not used to the long journey and the unfamiliar environment, and the high fever did not recede. She attended to him by his side, sleeping on a small stool beside his bed for five consecutive days, never leaving his side, so that he could see her every time he opened his eyes, sparing him from feeling at a loss in an unfamiliar place.

  However, when she was ill, he didn't even think of coming over to see her.

  It's also true that one is the queen and the other is the king. The queen serves the king, it's a matter of course. How can the king be expected to take care of the queen? The king is young and has learned how to govern the country from others, but he hasn't learned how to care for people.

  Or perhaps it was because he thought she didn't need to be pampered, after all, she was two years older than him, considerate and thoughtful, without the pitiful and lovable nature of other consorts, and had never been coquettish with him.

  It's all her own fault.

  Lying on the bed in the temple, Ning Guifei thought, let her take good care of her illness, and don't bother with him for now.

  She thought so, but after lying for a while, she heard the sound of the emperor returning to the palace outside. She still couldn't help but get up and go out to greet him.

  "Your Majesty."

  Li Huailian's drunken eyes were blurry, he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly, his chin rubbed against her shoulder, whispering: "I miss you so much."

  Her heart warmed up, Ning Wanwei felt that with just this one sentence, all the resentment in her heart disappeared without a trace, and the corners of her mouth also curled up.

  "Huh, why did you change your clothes?" He let her go. Li Huailian looked her up and down, smiling slyly: "The previous outfit was still better, willow waist, tinkling skirt fluttering."

  Wei Wei stood beside him, making eyes at him repeatedly, but Li Huailian was really drunk and couldn't understand what he meant. He pulled Ning Guifei and walked towards the main hall: "Come on, let's drink some more!"

  The place that had just warmed up was suddenly drenched with a basin of ice water, and Ning Yuwei stared blankly at the emperor in front of her, her eyes fixed on the rouge color on his lips and face, her pupils shrinking.

  "The princess" Weiwei looked at her suddenly pale face and hurriedly came up to explain, "Your Majesty just had two more cups."

  "Where did you go drinking?" Ning Wanwei asked softly.

  The Weiwei's face turned red with anger and he muttered: "Just nearby is a song house"

  "How dare you!" Ning Yuwei turned around and scolded, grabbing the Emperor who was walking forward, "Can you bring the emperor to that kind of place? What is your identity?"

  Wei Wei thought to himself, if it were in the past, he wouldn't have gone that far, but now the imperial palace is also gone, and the ceremonial guards are also gone, so what's wrong with just taking a stroll around the nearby Songfang?

  But looking at Ning Guifei's furious appearance, he didn't dare make a sound.

  Li Huailian pulled and pulled, wanting to leave, but couldn't move, and turned back with a scowl, looking at Ning Yuwei: "What's wrong with you? A girl should be gentle, come on, let's dance again."

  For the first time in her life, Ning Wanwei fiercely shook off the emperor's hand, with such great force that she herself stumbled and almost fell, but was caught by a palace maid, who covered her mouth and coughed violently.

  The night wind swept by, and Li Huailian shivered with a chill, suddenly becoming somewhat clearer-headed.

  Wei Wei knelt in the courtyard, leaning against the temple gate. Ning Guifei stood three steps away from him, her thin shoulders shaking uncontrollably as she coughed.

  "Beloved consort?" Realizing something was amiss, Li Huailian felt a slight panic and stepped forward, saying "I returned a bit late."

  Ning Wanwei trembled with her lips and couldn't speak, so she knelt down to salute him, then grabbed the palace maid's hand and returned to the side hall.

  "You" Li Huailian wanted to chase after her, but thinking about it again felt absurd. They were the emperor and empress, not an ordinary couple. With so many people around, how could he, as a dignified emperor, lower himself to beg for a concubine?

  He restrained his footsteps, Li Huailian turned his head and said lightly to Wei Wu: "Go down, it's nothing serious."

  "Yes." Wei Wei hastily retreated.

  Li Huailian rubbed his brow and ordered the eunuch: "Summon Ning Guifei for me."

  Is he an emperor, can she hide?

  The eunuch who had just arrived on the road said, "Compared to before, it's a bit more transparent. Upon hearing this, he paused for a moment and whispered, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Consort is still ill."

  "What's it to you?" Li Huailin sneered, his body still reeking of wine. "I summon her, and she must come."

  "Yes." He bowed and withdrew, the eunuch sighing inwardly. The emperor was indeed not very good at showing mercy to people.

  After half a stick of incense, Ning Wanwei knelt down in front of Li Huairan. He sat on the chair, looking at her sideways: "Throwing a tantrum?"

  She said in a low voice: "I dare not."

  Is this not daring? In the past, when speaking with him, it was so gentle, but now this hard and rigid tone, isn't it just a tantrum? Li Huailin raised his chin, with an angry expression, but didn't say another word, only using his peripheral vision to glance at her, waiting for her to yield.

  However, Ning Wanwei remained kneeling like this, her eyes turning white and her body swaying, but she didn't say another word.

  Li Huailian's intoxication was completely gone, and he pounded the table to suppress his anger, asking her: "Don't you also think that I'm in decline, so you don't even have the patience to speak softly to me?"

  Her knees had lost all sensation from kneeling, and Ning Yuwei stared blankly at the bluestone tiles on the ground. She felt that this voice was drifting over from a very distant place.

  Will she speak softly? If he had come to see her on his own initiative in the past few days, if there were no messy marks on him tonight, she would definitely have spoken, even if her body was still uncomfortable, and would have coaxed him carefully.

  But now she really had no strength left, even if he was angry, she could only lower her head: "I dare not."

  Again he didn't dare, everything was not daring. He saw that she was clearly very daring! Li Huailun was furious, slapping the table and standing up: "Kneel down and get out, don't block my view!"

  "Your Majesty." The eunuchs and palace maids beside her were startled, subconsciously wanting to plead for mercy.

  "Whoever gossips, goes out with her to kneel!"

  “”

  Perhaps she was too familiar with his temperament, Ning Yuwei didn't feel uncomfortable at all, and simply kowtowed to him before getting up with aching legs.

  "Your Highness." The palace maid's eyes reddened as she came to support her, but she shook her head to indicate that she was fine, only shifting more of her weight onto the maid, and whispered: "Hold steady."

  The palace maid nodded vigorously and supported her as she left the main hall.

  Li Huailian silently watched her back, his face gloomy and his whole body filled with murderous aura.

  The eunuchs beside him didn't dare to make a sound, looking at the time, thinking that if they just waited on the emperor to sleep, this day would be over. Who would have thought that just as he was about to speak, he heard the emperor ask: "Is she seriously ill?"

  She secretly took a deep breath, and the eunuch hastily reported back: "The imperial physician said that although there is no danger to her life, she has indeed suffered greatly. The empress had been coughing nonstop, but was forcing herself to endure it just now in front of you."

  His complexion slightly improved, Li Huairan whispered: "You are uncomfortable with your own body, and you are in a bad mood towards me."

  However, with this reason, he felt much more comfortable and said in a low voice: "Let her go back and rest, just say that I have shown mercy."

  "Yes."

  Ning Wanwei knelt in a daze, completely unaware of what had happened. She was sent back to the side hall by the palace maid. For the next few days, she had a high fever and was bedridden, unable to get out of bed. By the time she recovered, chaos had erupted outside.

  "It's said that Liu Doudou was defeated, and Ziyang Jun caught him off guard in the suburbs of the capital. He suffered five consecutive defeats, his supplies were cut off, his troops dispersed, and he fled with a small group of remaining soldiers." The palace maid whispered to her, "The Emperor has been very busy lately, so he hasn't come to see you."

  Even if you're not busy, there's no need to come see her, let alone when you are busy. Ning Yuwei nodded and got dressed up, thinking of going to pay respects to the emperor.

  However, Li Huailian was furious in the main hall, and everyone was at the door, with no one daring to enter.

  "Stolen and plundered troops, do you really think you can turn the tide? You've wasted my military emblem! The army's morale is unstable. What makes him think he can take on Jiang Xuanjin? Now look at him, defeated and humiliated!"

  With a loud crash, a vase smashed to the ground, followed by his furious roar: "Get out of my sight!"

  Several civil and military officials rushed out of the main hall again. Ning Yuwei took a look and retreated back to her own side hall.

  "Your Majesty, Liu Yunlie is heading towards Fengyin." The last one to remain was Bai Dezhong. He cupped his hands and said, "Although he has been defeated, he still commands an army of 600,000 men. For Your Majesty's safety, it would be best to retreat two more cities to the east."

  Li Huailian scowled and said, "As the emperor, why should I yield to my subjects? The city of Fengyue is enough to resist Liu Yunlie, and there are also the princes surrounding it to assist. If we retreat again, wouldn't that humiliate the imperial family's reputation?"

  Bai De pondered for a moment and said: "I only proposed this to guard against any eventuality. If Your Majesty does not think it is necessary, I will say no more."

  Having said that, he bowed and withdrew.

  The grand main hall was left with only him, Li Huailian sat silently, feeling extremely uncomfortable, and couldn't help but summon the inner attendant to ask: "Is the Empress's illness not yet better?"

  The maid replied: "I can already get out of bed."

  She can get out of bed now, why doesn't she come and see him? Li Huailian was a bit annoyed, but thinking that she had been so seriously ill, her mood must not be good, so he didn't bother to argue with her.

  He tidied up his dragon robe and called over a palace maid to re-do his hair bun. He pretended nothing was amiss and went on an excursion to the side hall.

  "I offer Your Majesty my humble greetings." Ning Yuwei curtsied.

  There was still some flesh on her previously, but now she's truly only left with a skeletal frame supporting the heavy palace dress. Li Huailin furrowed his brow: "Didn't the imperial kitchen provide you with nourishment?"

  "In response to Your Majesty's words, I have supplemented them, and the food is indeed delicious."

  "Why are you still so thin?"

  With her hands clasped together in front of her waist, Ning Yuwei said softly: "After a serious illness, it's inevitable to lose weight, thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."

  Who cares about her? Just casually asking. Li Huailian thought so in his heart, but still couldn't help but take a few more glances at her.

  Apart from the two parts that resemble Kai and Zhang Gongzhu, Ning Yuwei herself is also a delicate beauty, getting more and more pleasing to the eye. It's just that for some reason, she seems colder than before, not even sneaking glances at him anymore.

  Slightly displeased, Li Huailin lowered his eyes and reached out to take her hand.

  Ning Wanwei obediently let him pull her, her fingers soft, the scald had long since healed. Li Huairan only remembered when he looked at her hand that this person hadn't actively made soup for him in a very, very long time.

  It's been a long time since I last hummed a little tune for him.

  For some unknown reason, he felt a little panicked, and he clenched her hand tightly, causing her to let out a cry of pain.

  "Your Majesty?"

  Staring at her intensely, Li Huairan said: "The people in the palace used to say that you loved me deeply. But now, why doesn't anyone say it anymore?"

  Ning Wanwei was stunned, then smiled bitterly: "I've been ill for more than half a month."

  They rarely move in front of him, who would mention her to him for no reason?

  It's been half a month since he wanted to come to the side hall to see her many times, but the imperial physician wouldn't allow it, saying it would endanger the dragon body. He and she hadn't been so close for a long time.

  Pursing his lips, Li Huailian said: "I have been feeling unwell lately."

  If the old Ning Wanwei had heard these words, she would have anxiously asked him where it hurt or what he wanted to eat. So he was intentionally saying this, wanting to provoke her affection.

  However, the person in front of him didn't even lift his head and just said: "Please ask a doctor to take a look."

  Li Huailin was left feeling somewhat bewildered with his high expectations dashed.

  She also withdrew her hand and turned around to order the palace maid: "Summon the imperial physician."

  With her in the side hall, it's not as empty as the main hall, but also not as peaceful and down-to-earth as before. Li Huailin tightly pursed his lips, finally realizing that Ning Yuwei's coldness was because of him, not because of her illness.

  She seems to have lost hope in him.

  Why the disappointment? Li Huailian was unclear, he only felt absurdity, she is a concubine, a concubine has her own duties to fulfill, how can she be cold towards the emperor? With just one imperial decree, he could take her life!

  Although he thought so fiercely in his heart, Li Huailin still felt somewhat unwilling. He got up and chased after her for two steps before grabbing Ning Guifei's hand again.