thebusnovel Chapter 108: All four seasons of the year are good times to sleep.
Chapter 108: All four seasons of the year are good times to sleep.
Li Yuanke froze, looking down at her. He met her charming peach blossom eyes. She had walked back, her face flushed, like rosy clouds reflected in a clear pond, extremely beautiful.
But how come this mouth of hers can say anything?
She wouldn't have been able to get the answer from any other woman.
Of course, there wouldn't be a woman from a high-ranking family in the world who would kick her husband's... thing.
Li Yuanke wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered, "What do you think?"
Their breaths mingled.
Shen Shixi then wrapped her arms around his neck and snorted softly, "How would I know? It wasn't me."
She wriggled a couple of times and pouted, "Tell me quickly, are you alright or not? You won't see the imperial physician, so I'll have Jiang Lingyou come and see you. I've known him since outside the palace, and he's a gentleman who definitely won't tell anyone."
"I won't look, it's alright." Li Yuanke couldn't bear to worry her any longer. "Let's see if you dare to be so reckless again."
Shen Shixi said, "I really didn't mean to. You said I needed to use it too, how could I bear to break it..."
"Shut up!" Li Yuanke said. "Listen to what you're saying! Is this something a woman should say? Even men don't dare to say things like that!"
"Tch!" Shen Shixi said, "What's there to be afraid of saying? What's wrong with me talking to my own man? You're the only one who cares about face. Li Yuanke, you have a pretty face, go ahead and have it, I don't care about face."
The noodles were served. Shen Shixi took a bite, then, seeing him sitting beside her, asked, "Do you want some?"
Li Yuanke stared wide-eyed as he watched, and Shen Shixi fed him a bite with her chopsticks while making an "ah" sound. He looked up at Shen Shixi, who was happily eating with her head down.
After a while, I fed him another bite.
Li Fude found it hard to understand this kind of thing. He thought to himself, "Don't the masters find it troublesome to take turns eating with each other?"
Normally, if any concubine gets hurt by him, his clothes have to be changed and washed. Last time, the Empress massaged his shoulder, and as soon as she left, he changed out of his dragon robe and told her to wash it properly.
The two of them finished the bowl of noodles together. Shen Shixi ate most of it, rubbed her stomach, and said, "Sigh, I'm stuffed. If I keep eating like this, I'll gain weight."
Li Yuanke pulled her over and sat her on his lap. "Look at what you've written!"
Shen Shixi then realized that what he was reading was her own "Journey to the West." Of course, "Journey to the West" was definitely not Shen Shixi's; it was written by Wu Cheng'en of the Ming Dynasty. She was simply retelling it from her memory.
"What's wrong?" Shen Shixi asked.
"Are you planning to write about how this monkey became king to warn me?" Li Yuanke asked.
Shen Shixi writes very slowly, and recently he has been compiling a math book for preschoolers, so he has even less time to write. Bai Ping and the others are also urging him to update.
She wanted to tell all the stories in her mind, but unfortunately, she had to write each word one by one.
"You're overthinking it. How could I possibly write such a shallow story? And you're asking me to warn you? What's wrong with you as emperor that I'm supposed to warn you about? Besides, even if you were a tyrant, it's not my place to warn you. What are the censors for?"
Li Yuanke couldn't have imagined what would happen next.
But he was also very curious about what Shen Shixi was thinking about all the time, since her brain circuits were different from those of normal people.
"So what are you planning to write next?"
Upon hearing this question, all the readers in the hall gathered around, because they wanted to know the answer too.
Before Shen Shixi could even notice, he casually remarked, "The Monkey King led his monkey followers in a happy life. In spring, they ate flowers to survive; in summer, they ate fruits to live on; in autumn, they harvested taro and chestnuts to prolong the season; and in winter, they searched for yellow millet to mark the passing of the year. Many days passed like this until one day, in his quiet contemplation, he suddenly became worried..."
Seeing that Li Yuanke was listening with great interest, Shen Shixi kept him in suspense.
Li Yuanke smiled and said, "What are you worried about? Go on."
Shen Shixi laughed, "As you know, monkeys have endless desires. He was originally a stone monkey with some abilities. After becoming the Monkey King, he started to want immortality, just like human emperors..."
Seeing her constantly finding ways to insult him, Li Yuanke couldn't help but laugh in anger. He slapped her on the roundest spot on her back, lifted her up, and walked towards the inner palace, saying, "Help me rest for a while."
Neither of them slept well last night after what happened.
He slept until about 2 PM when Li Fude called from outside the door, "Your Majesty, the Right Guard General has sent an urgent message over 800 li."
"knew!"
Li Yuange woke Shen Shixi up, "Get up, you won't be able to sleep at night if you sleep too much."
Shen Shixi closed her eyes and said, "Spring fatigue, autumn drowsiness, summer naps, and winter hibernation—all four seasons are good for sleeping. Waaah, you go do your work, I'm going to sleep a little longer."
She turned over and went to sleep facing away.
Li Yuanke pinched her, which annoyed Shen Shixi. Just as she was about to lift her leg, Li Yuanke grabbed her ankle. "Still want to kick?"
"Li Yuanke, why don't you make some armor to protect yourself down there, so you don't accidentally damage it?" she said irritably.
Li Yuanke sat down and reached his hand up her trouser leg, gently kneading it. Her skin was like satin and jade, cool and smooth. As his fingertips glided across her skin, they created ripples.
Shen Shixi shrank her legs. "Aren't you going to handle government affairs? You won't be able to leave soon."
Li Yuanke then withdrew his hand, "Wait for me to come over tonight, I will dine here with you."
"Oh, respectfully seeing off Your Majesty."
She pulled the blanket over her head, but still couldn't fall asleep.
[That bastard Li Yuanke, he can't sleep himself, so he's making sure I can't sleep either. He's so wicked. The Right Guard General's urgent message—could Lin Guiyou be trying to get her father and brothers to impeach the heir of the Duke of Wei's mansion? Great, the two dukes' mansions are fighting! How interesting!]
Upon hearing her thoughts, Li Yuanke nearly tripped as he left the palace.
"Oh dear, Your Majesty, be careful!" Li Fude was startled and quickly helped the emperor up.
Li Yuanke waved his hand, went out, and boarded the imperial carriage.
The Right Guard General did indeed deliver evidence—evidence that the heir of the Duke of Wei was colluding with the enemy in Xiling. It turned out that Xue Ju had actually conspired with Xiling. When Xiling attacked, he defended. As long as Xiling let him win, he would provide benefits to Xiling.
Over the years, he has provided a considerable amount of supplies to the enemy. Every year, at least one-third of the military funds issued by the imperial court to the soldiers have been used by him to bribe Xiling.
No wonder Xue Ju achieved military merits, and the Duke of Wei petitioned for him to guard Tianfei Pass.
As long as Tianfei Pass can be defended, the Duke of Wei's mansion will remain standing, and Tianfei Pass is also the easiest pass to defend.
Even so, Xue Ju was still able to lose it.
With the evidence irrefutable, Li Yuanke was naturally furious, but he was always very patient. He sat alone for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before saying, "Summon the Duke of Wei to an audience!"
The Duke of Wei rushed over, and upon seeing the evidence thrown in front of him, he was immediately dumbfounded. His vision blurred, and he nearly fainted. Completely drained of energy, he was speechless. "This guilty subject begs Your Majesty to punish me!"
Li Yuanke appeared heartbroken and indignant. "I grew up with Xue Ju. The late emperor trusted you and betrothed your daughter to me. How could I possibly be closer to your family? Why would the Duke of Wei's mansion deceive and betray me like this?"
The Duke of Wei wept bitterly, "Your Majesty, this sinful subject has no face to face Your Majesty, no face to face the late Emperor. I am guilty, I deserve to die!"
Seeing him cry, the emperor secretly breathed a sigh of relief.