Netizens uploaded the second volume of Shan You Mu Xy Mu You Zhi Yi Er San Liang Ren (400 votes added)

  Zhang Yan smiled, taking advantage of his momentum to stand up, pulling on his sleeve, saying, "Hm, it's getting late. What does Your Majesty want to eat tonight? I'll get Xun Niang to make it." She rubbed against him habitually a couple of times, like a contented little cat basking in the warm sunshine.

  Liu Ying looked at her bright and radiant smile, and suddenly felt a little unbearable. He reluctantly refused, "No... I promised someone else earlier." Seeing the hurt look on her face after being stunned for a moment, he couldn't help but comfort her, "In a few days, I'll come to accompany you again, okay?"

  This time, her injury was real.

  Perhaps, Liu Ying was constrained by the complex relationship between the two and her nominal status as a concubine, so she did not often stay overnight in the Pepper Chamber, but every time she came to see him, she would definitely accompany him for dinner.

  She loved Liu Ying, but at this time, she couldn't bring herself to humble her pride and ask him to stay. So she silently watched him leave the hall.

  Liu Ying had feelings for her. She always knew and dared to affirm it. Perhaps that feeling hovered between familial affection and romantic love, unable to be defined, but due to the depth of their shared history and the indelible guilt, it was deeper than his feelings for the imperial concubines.

  What reason would he have to hurt her?

  If

  It was any other emperor in history, she would have thought, because these days she was almost eager to show off her talents, subtly hurting his confidence and making him instinctively feel threatened. But because he was Liu Ying. So she instinctively passed up this option. Without hesitation or delay.

  So it's because her feelings for him can't be hidden anymore and are too obvious. He noticed, so she chose to distance herself?

  Zhang Yan's heart skipped a beat, her complexion changed several times, and she finally sat down listlessly.

  She knew their road to love was bumpy, so she could only take it slow. Staying by his side, using a gentle and subtle approach, quietly seeping into his life, hiding, fermenting. Until one day, when this feeling accumulated to a certain degree, every corner around him would have her lingering shadow, every breath would be filled with thoughts of her. Finally bursting out in an unstoppable love that he couldn't refuse.

  Zhang Yan, are you satisfied with the days spent by his side, or have you become too happy and intimate with each other, losing your head and becoming arrogant?

  The second day woke up, Tong Hua was startled, "Your Majesty, you didn't sleep well last night?"

  She saw the dark circles under her eyes in the copper mirror, smiled bitterly for a while, and ordered, "Apply more powder. We will go to Changle Palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager later. Don't let her see that you're not well."

  "Shen Nu Shi," she turned around and called Shen Dongshou, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked, "After Your Majesty left the Pepper Chamber last night, which concubine did you go to?"

  This is the first time Zhang Yan has inquired about the Emperor's whereabouts in the harem since entering the palace.

  Dong Shou's eyes gleamed with a strange light as he blinked. He said in a respectful tone, "Your Majesty stayed at Zhao Liangren's place last night." Zhao Liangren again?

  Zhang Yan recalled that on the second day after entering the Zhong Palace, the concubines and imperial consorts of the harem came to pay their respects to her as the Empress. After seeing Zhao Feiyan, she was stunningly beautiful with a charming smile.

  After that, she put her heart on the emperor's uncle, and the rest were all thinking about how to help him govern the great Han River. The effort spent in the harem was really not much.

  She once said. Don't be jealous of the woman he has now. But reason is always just cold reason. She can never control her own heart.

  There isn't a woman who can help but feel jealous of the woman her loved one is with, especially when he leaves her and runs into another's arms.

  "Zhao Liang." Zhang Yan raised an eyebrow as she mentioned her name, instructing Tuo Mei, "Bring the mutton soup and plum blossom cake that Cen Niang made this morning. Also, take a pair of Ruyi porcelain hairpins from the warehouse and have someone deliver them to Zhao Liang in the Qingliang Hall."

  "Your Ladyship," said the plum blossom with a frown, "you'd better not give her any more favors. Why must you still reward her?"

  "Don't talk nonsense." Zhang Yan smiled and said, "Zhao didn't commit any crime, how can I punish her?"

  "Do it as I mean." She said gently but firmly after applying her lip balm.

  She herself was not very old, but her tone was quite big. Once she spoke to herself in this tone, it meant that she had no room for opposition left. Tong Yan sighed and retreated to prepare.

  "Hey, are you really angry?" Queen Zhang Yan turned her head and asked with a smile as the imperial sedan chair passed over the corridor between the two palaces, seeing Xun'er's sulky face.

  "It's not what you said," her expression was bright, with a smile on her face, as if there were no worries in her heart. "Even if it's not this one, there will be that one. Your Majesty can't always stay in the Pepper Chamber, can he? Why must it be like this?"

  "But, Your Majesty, from childhood to adulthood, when have you ever suffered even a little bit of grievance?" Zhen'er said, holding back tears. "After marrying into this palace, it's only been two or three months, and yet I've already suffered two or three times. Your Majesty is busy day and night making plans for the emperor, and yet the emperor still wants to give you grievances..."

  She burst out laughing, her eyebrows curved, "Didn't you say that His Majesty is a good person?" She had been saying this since he was the crown prince.

  "Your Majesty is a good person," Mulan thought for a moment and said, "but he's not good enough to Mother."

  "Shǎ suī miǎo." Zhang Yan finally sighed, looking at her with a pitiful gaze. "Don't worry, no one can make me suffer unjustly. If I owe someone something, I will pay them back. But similarly, if someone owes me something, I will definitely get it back from them."

  She dismounted her sedan chair in front of Changxin Hall and suddenly fell silent.

  In the distance, a woman was kneeling under the Longxin Hall. It had been a long time since they last saw each other, but she was not unfamiliar.

  Lui.

  That distant name is linked to her childhood memories in Chang Le Palace.

  She always wore green clothes and yellow skirt, smiling sweetly like the flowers in full bloom at the beginning of spring. Then one day, she suddenly disappeared from everyone's sight.

  Many years later, she reappeared in this place, wearing a dusty grayish-brown outfit, kneeling in front of the temple with her head down, just like when Zhang Yan first arrived in this time and space. Kneeling in front of the Longle Temple, she was out of place and isolated with no one to rely on.

  "How did Lü Niangzi end up here?" she asked unconsciously.

  A middle-aged man came out of the Longevity Temple and saw Zhang Yan and others, hurriedly bowed and said: "I am Shen Shi, attending to Empress Dowager."

  "Your Honor, please rise."

  After Empress Lü became empress dowager, Shen Yiqi was promoted to be the director of the household of the Longle Palace, continuing to be in charge of the daily supplies for Empress Dowager Lü. Zhang Yan knew that this middle-aged man who appeared somewhat ordinary had shared hardships with Empress Dowager Lü when she was young and was one of the people most trusted by her, so he did not dare to be slow and immediately called him over.

  "Today, the Empress Dowager went to pay respects at the Gaomiao Temple," Shenshi said with a smile. "Madam Lü intercepted the Empress Dowager's carriage on her way back. Madam Lü was young and impulsive, and had also made the Empress Dowager angry before. She was forced to kneel in front of the palace to apologize, and only got up after she knew her mistake."

  "Yes," Zhang Yan nodded and said, "Thank you, Lord Shen."

  As he stepped into the hall, he passed by Luyi's side. Luyi raised his head and their eyes met. The bright and lively girl's eyes had a faint layer of gray, with a hint of indifference.

  Then. Each went their separate ways.

  Zhang Yan entered the palace again.

  "Ah, Ah Yan has arrived." Empress Lü saw her and smiled with pleasure, taking her hand and sitting down. She asked, "How have you been getting along with the Emperor lately?"

  "Empress Dowager," Zhang Yan said helplessly, "I know you care about Ah Yan, but do you have to ask this every time we meet?"

  Her feelings for Liu Ying were strange. Not to mention whether Liu Ying was clear about it, but she herself wasn't sure if she was his niece or wife. Even if she was absolutely certain that she loved him, her feelings didn't seem to have extended to physical contact. For her, as long as they could meet every day, share meals together, and exchange smiles, she felt content. Occasionally holding hands, exchanging gazes, were also happiness worth cherishing. If he really wanted to be intimate with her at this time, she estimated that she would probably refuse.

  No one else is listening. You're too young and will get nervous on stage.

  Lü Hou chuckled and said, "Alright, little Ah Yan is shy. I won't ask then."

  "Let's talk about serious matters. In a few days, it will be the day of Your Majesty's coronation, Ah Yan you as the Empress of the Central Palace, can't delay the things that should be done."

  "A Yan knows." She said obediently, "If she doesn't understand, she will naturally ask Kuang Zhai Si Ling for guidance."

  "Hmm." Lü Hou nodded in satisfaction.

  "Empress Dowager," Zhang Yan hesitated for a moment before asking, "Just now I saw Xiaowu Niang outside, what's going on with her? She seems to have angered you and is being punished to kneel continuously."

  "Don't mention her." Lü Hou's expression turned cold, "In the past, I also advised her, but she insisted on marrying that minor official. Now it's too late for regrets. Escaping at the last minute may not be good, but it's a common occurrence. But if she wants to come back again after this, does she think Ahri's Longle Palace is some kind of playground?"

  "And you," she glared at Zhang Yan with a scowl, "didn't I tell you to be tougher? Why are you still so soft and weak? As the Empress of the Imperial Palace, you're letting people bully you left and right. It's really not like you."

  If it were in the past, Lü Zhi would have personally taken care of her granddaughter's rival. However, after Empress Qi's death, her son, who was now emperor, unexpectedly became tough and reorganized the Weiyang Palace, making it impossible for Lü Zhi to send someone to assassinate Zhao Wang like she did in the past.

  It seems that the Emperor and Empress Dowager have formed some sort of truce. Liu Ying cannot cross over the Empress Dowager to dominate Chang Le Palace, while her power also cannot extend into Weiyang Palace again.

  Although she was annoyed at this result, upon introspection, she found herself surprisingly pleased.

  "If you listen to me," she said coldly, "go back and give that Zhao Liang a cup of poisonous wine. Now that people are dead, how can Your Majesty still tolerate this empress?"

  "Empress," Zhang Yan helplessly looked up at the sky, "What would I want with Zhao Liang's life? What I desire is Your Majesty's heart."

  Lü Zhi was taken aback.

  She seemed to have heard such words from her daughter Manhua many years ago.

  "It's easy to take her life, but afterwards, I will have lost the emperor's heart. The emperor is kind and compassionate, Empress Dowager, you know that if I relied on my identity as empress to bully Zhao E, even though the emperor wouldn't say anything to me, he would still push him towards Zhao E."

  Completed.

  Tears streaming down, updating is really not an easy task.

  Above, more than 400 votes were added.

  I'm so frustrated to death.

  Go to sleep.