At this moment, Jiang Xinyue had no doubt about the Xuanwu Emperor's sincerity.
She lifted her head from his embrace, her glistening eyes full of surprise and delight.
Then, suddenly, Jiang Xinyue burst into tears.
She pushed the emperor away, turning her back to him, and curled up into a ball as she wept.
The Xuanwu Emperor, feeling heartbroken, gently turned her back to face him. Seeing the little girl crying so hard she was hiccuping, tears streaming down her face, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"My love, what kind of reaction is this?"
He wiped away her tears with his hand, cradling her face as if it were a precious jewel. "Did I frighten you?"
Jiang Xinyue shook her head, sobbing: "I... I thought Your Majesty... Your Majesty loved Consort Shu and Concubine Li the most. I thought... I thought it was all one-sided on my part, that Your Majesty didn't care about me at all, waaah..."
It seemed as if she wanted to cry out all the grievances she had suffered during this time: "When I first entered the palace, Your Majesty even punished me by making me copy the palace rules. I was so upset I felt like I was dying, waaah... During the spring plowing, I saw Your Majesty secretly holding Consort Shu's hand. I saw it all, but I held back my tears, only to cry in secret when I returned. Your Majesty, is falling in love with someone supposed to be this painful and bitter? Waaah... Before Your Majesty came, I had already decided never to fall for Your Majesty again. I was afraid... I've really cried enough, waaah..."
When she said "I had already decided never to fall for Your Majesty again," the Xuanwu Emperor felt a sharp, throbbing pain in his chest.
He pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly without even the slightest gap between them: "It's my fault, it's all my fault. My dear Xinyue, please stop crying. Your tears are breaking my heart. I promise you, from now on, I will be good only to you, alright?"
"I don't want to be hidden away by Your Majesty. If Your Majesty likes me, I can't hide it for even a moment. I want Your Majesty's favor to be open and unashamed."
Perhaps in the past, the Xuanwu Emperor believed that if he truly loved someone, he shouldn't show too much favor, lest it provoke jealousy and harm from the other women in the harem.
That was how he had treated Consort Shu in the past, but their relationship had only grown more distant, and he found himself understanding her less and less.
He was willing to give Concubine Zhen his full favor, but he worried she lacked the ability to protect herself...
"Your Majesty, I can protect myself," Jiang Xinyue said, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. "Besides, Your Majesty's favor is also a form of protection for me! Doesn't Your Majesty have confidence in keeping me safe within the harem?"
The Xuanwu Emperor was powerful, and this power was reflected in his ability to balance the court and control the harem.
As long as he was willing, protecting a concubine in the harem was not a difficult task for him.
Jiang Xinyue wanted him to invest his heart and soul in her. Only by expending a great deal of energy and time on her would the Xuanwu Emperor never allow anyone to harm her, because failing to see a return on investment was something that would make him very unhappy.
If someone were to harm Jiang Xinyue despite his heavy protection, it would prove the incompetence of the mighty emperor.
In the end, the Xuanwu Emperor would always want to reap the fruits of his labor.
And that fruit would, of course, be a sweet romance with the young and beautiful Jiang Xinyue.
The Xuanwu Emperor nuzzled Jiang Xinyue's neck with the tip of his nose, his hot breath tickling her ear, sending shivers down her spine.
"My love, I'm truly grateful that I was able to see you again by the lotus pond that day."
As his wet, hot kisses fell upon her, Jiang Xinyue closed her eyes, her long lashes trembling slightly. "As am I, Your Majesty."
The one thing that comforted Jiang Xinyue was that the emperor hadn't fallen in love with her original self before she arrived in this world. Otherwise, she would have felt that the emperor only loved Jiang Xinyue's stunningly beautiful face and alluring body.
Successfully making an emperor fall in love with her was quite an accomplishment.
Who could blame her for taking advantage of this scoundrel?
It wasn't wrong for her to use him a little, was it?
It had been almost a full year now. She had gone to great lengths to please him, acting her part so well that she almost believed it herself. It was time to reel him in.
If she couldn't capture the heart of the Xuanwu Emperor, this great player, she would start to doubt whether her doctorate in psychology was even real.
As it turned out, all that studying had paid off.
A night of passion, the room filled with a heady fragrance...
As the swaying bed curtains gradually settled, the Xuanwu Emperor didn't call for water. "Xinyue, will you bear me a little prince?"
The woman clutching the bedding was the picture of allure, letting out a melodious sound from her throat. Feeling as if she were floating on clouds, she sighed, "Your Majesty hasn't agreed to my request yet... Will you... will you copy the 'Beloved Consort's Handbook'?"
She was certainly holding a grudge.
She had remembered the punishment of copying palace rules from a year ago and was now seeking her revenge.
The Xuanwu Emperor took it as her way of being coy with him. "Will you give me a little prince, hmm?"
Jiang Xinyue bit her lip, trying her best not to make a sound, answering his question with actions instead.
The veins on the Xuanwu Emperor's temples and neck bulged, clearly showing he had reached his limit of endurance.
"Your Majesty, will you copy the Beloved Consort's rules?"
The culprit, the woman, still wore a look of pure innocence, smiling at him and planting kiss after kiss on his body. "If you copy it, I'll let you off the hook."
Sweat had already broken out on his broad back. The Xuanwu Emperor closed his eyes briefly, his labored breathing nearly making Jiang Xinyue lose her resolve.
But when she thought of all the persecution and scheming she had endured since arriving in this world, all related to the dog emperor before her, she steeled her heart.
"I'll copy, I'll copy..."
The Xuanwu Emperor was nearly driven mad, the nerves in his brain taut. "Whatever you want me to copy, I'll copy it all. My dear Xinyue, please have mercy on me, won't you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Xinyue's body melted like a pool of spring water, allowing the emperor to have his way with her.
Afterwards, the Xuanwu Emperor wouldn't let Jiang Xinyue remove the pillow from under her waist. "I've consulted with Yan the Imperial Physician. This position greatly increases the chances of conception. You've been in the palace for almost a year now. If I want to confer the title of Consort upon you, you must have a child."
Conferring the title of Concubine without a child had already caused quite a stir in the six palaces. Now that he had recognized his true feelings, he naturally wanted to consider Jiang Xinyue's position more carefully.
He hoped she could be rightfully titled as a Consort.
Jiang Xinyue thought to herself, she had entered the palace last year at fifteen and a half, turning sixteen in October. This October, she would be turning seventeen.
It was now mid-April. If she conceived this year, she would give birth by January next year at the latest. After the new year, she would be eighteen, which was about the right age to have a child.
She snuggled against the Xuanwu Emperor's chest and said softly, "This humble consort also longs for a child with Your Majesty. Boy or girl, it matters not—as long as the child is ours."
The corners of the Xuanwu Emperor's lips curled into a smile. "The little princess would have to be as adorable as you to meet my approval."
Privately, he thought to himself that since Concubine Zhen was so beautiful, it would be most worthwhile to have several children inherit her exquisite features.
