A very bizarre scene was now taking place in the palace.
Xiao Yanchen would occasionally stand in for the Emperor at court and handle state affairs, while the real Emperor, dressed in official robes and leading constables, was out catching criminals all over the streets.
Ji Zhaoxi stood on the second floor of the tavern, her gaze locked onto a man wearing a bamboo hat downstairs.
"His pace is extremely fast, and his right hand is hidden in his sleeve. He's looking for a contact," Ji Zhaoxi said with some excitement.
The constable looked at Ji Zhaoxi, hesitating to speak. He was truly afraid the Emperor might get hurt; this was no small matter.
"Your Majesty, how about..."
Ji Zhaoxi ignored him, directly vaulted over the second-floor railing, and instantly disappeared into the crowd.
The criminal was very alert and suddenly drew his knife. The surrounding commoners were startled and scattered screaming.
The constable hurriedly followed. Ji Zhaoxi kicked off a nearby goods rack, and an iron chain instantly wrapped around the criminal's wrist. The constable took the opportunity to pin the criminal down, a look of relief washing over his face.
Thank goodness.
Having caught another one today, Ji Zhaoxi kindly escorted the criminal to prison.
The afterglow of the setting sun enveloped the entire sky. Ji Zhaoxi hurried back to the palace. If she returned late, Xiao Yanchen would start making those sour, jealous remarks again.
Sure enough, when she arrived at the palace gates, Xiao Yanchen was half-leaning against the wall, looking at her panting figure with a resentful gaze.
Ji Zhaoxi guiltily avoided his eyes. Xiao Yanchen crouched down in front of her, and she naturally leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Xiao Yanchen supported her steadily and hoisted her up a bit.
Exhausted, Ji Zhaoxi rested her head on his shoulder: "Did you take good care of my empire today?"
Xiao Yanchen chuckled softly, "Answering Your Majesty, Xiao Chenzi has taken good care of Your Majesty's empire, but he just lacked Your Majesty's company."
Ji Zhaoxi let out an oh and smiled, "Then I will accompany you tomorrow."
Xiao Yanchen didn't speak, just hoisted her up again.
The weather was gradually turning cold. In the summer, Ji Zhaoxi didn't like Xiao Yanchen getting close to her, always feeling it was too stuffy.
Xiao Yanchen was very satisfied with the change in temperature, because as soon as it got cold, Ji Zhaoxi would take the initiative to get close to him. Sometimes he really wished this kind of weather would last longer.
Late into the night, the wind grew more urgent, constantly trying to drill through the windows. The underfloor heating in the palace was very warm, but she still felt it wasn't enough.
Xiao Yanchen was leaning against the bed reading a secret report. The next second, Ji Zhaoxi scrambled up using her hands and feet, pressing tightly against his chest.
Xiao Yanchen put down the secret report, gently cupped the back of her head, ran his fingertips through her hair, and kissed her lips directly.
Ji Zhaoxi felt it in her half-asleep state, but she was already used to Xiao Yanchen's intimacy and subconsciously responded to him.
Xiao Yanchen gently bit her lower lip, softly caressing it, his hand lightly stroking the contour of her ear. Their breathing grew heavier and heavier, until he felt she was about to run out of breath, and only then did he let her go.
Xiao Yanchen rested his forehead against Ji Zhaoxi's, looking at her face flushed from the kiss, his heart melting completely.
He held her tightly in his arms, kissed her forehead, and said softly, "Go to sleep, Xixi."
Ji Zhaoxi found a comfortable position and fell fast asleep.
Seventeen hadn't slept on the roof beams for many years. Truth be told, he actually preferred living on the beams.
But after that time on Xiao Yanchen's birthday when Xiao Yanchen told him to go back and rest, he could no longer sleep on the roof beams of Ruhui Palace. He could only sleep on a bed in the adjacent courtyard.
He was actually quite disappointed. Those two roof beams had carried his youth, and he had lost his youth...
The old Emperor died.
When the news reached Ruhui Palace, the sky was just getting light.
The eunuch knelt at the door, his voice trembling: "The Supreme Emperor has passed away."
In truth, the old Emperor should have breathed his last a few years ago, but Xiao Yanchen had kept him alive with medicine. The old Emperor was paralyzed in bed, unable to speak or move his hands. Every day, someone would report everything happening in the palace to him. He could only keep his cloudy eyes open and listen in agony.
At first, the eunuchs in the hall were somewhat dutiful in caring for him, but later on, when they realized that Ji Zhaoxi and Xiao Yanchen never came at all, they gradually became negligent.
The old Emperor had many bedsores on his body, and no one ever helped treat them.
He would occasionally look at the eunuch beside him. The eunuch knew what he meant and asked loudly, "Do you want to see the Emperor?"
The old Emperor nodded with difficulty. He knew how cruel a person Xiao Yanchen was, so he wanted to see Ji Zhaoxi; perhaps she could help him.
The eunuch gave a sarcastic smile: "You had better stop having wild thoughts. In your current state, if you happen to scare the Emperor, that person will definitely come to take his anger out on you."
Tears rolled down the old Emperor's face. He stared blankly at the ceiling, not understanding why he had been reduced to this state.
His path to the throne had been very smooth, and he never imagined his twilight years would be like this.
If he had treated Xiao Yanchen better back then, would the current situation have been different...
When the old Emperor died, he was curled up into a ball, his body as thin as a sheet of paper.
Xiao Yanchen did not go to see him, only having someone bury him hastily.
The court ministers naturally knew about this, and their impression of Xiao Yanchen's ruthlessness deepened even further.
Overnight, the red walls were entirely covered in white snow. The air carried a hint of chilling crispness. The branches of the red plum blossoms were bent under the weight of the snow, snapping with a crack that startled the tits foraging for food in the snow.
Ji Zhaoxi was wearing a fox fur cloak. The fur collar around her neck made her complexion look even rosier. Holding a snowball with bright eyes, she threw it straight at Xiao Yanchen opposite her.
Xiao Yanchen looked at her with a smile, letting her hit him, just like when they were young, when he would also let her hit him during martial arts practice.
He simply liked her touching him.
After throwing for a while, Ji Zhaoxi felt it was boring. She ran up to him and said angrily, "You won't even fight back."
Xiao Yanchen looked at Ji Zhaoxi's eyes, which clearly harbored a mischievous idea, and tentatively pressed something cold against her face.
Sure enough, the next second Ji Zhaoxi started fake crying: "Xiao Yanchen, how can you be so mean? You froze my face stiff. I am angry."
Xiao Yanchen laughed softly, pulled her into an embrace, and nuzzled against her: "Bad Xixi."
But he really liked it so much.
When he was young, he often felt that life was very empty. He had nothing he liked and no one he liked. He felt he might end up like the consorts in the cold palace; when he could no longer hold on, he would jump into a well and end it all.
But Ji Zhaoxi appeared. Every day he spent with her, he felt happy. He no longer felt that life was dull. He wanted to live a good life with her forever, and he wanted to make her happy every day.
And precisely because of his Xixi, he felt that heaven actually favored him a lot.
There are many people in pain, but not everyone has such luck.
The head of the snowman on the ground had fallen off. Xiao Yanchen earnestly picked up the snowman's head and placed it back onto its body.
Actually, he didn't even know what a snowman was, but Xixi would build one every year, so he figured this snowman must be something relatively important to her.
"Xiao Yanchen!" A crisp voice suddenly rang out.
Xiao Yanchen reflexively looked up. Ji Zhaoxi's eyes were sparkling as she leaned in close to him and suddenly planted a kiss on his lips.
Before Xiao Yanchen could even react, she turned right around and ran off the very next second.
Watching her completely flushed ears and recalling the kiss from just a moment ago, he could not hold back a laugh, his eyes brimming with a clear, gentle warmth.
