Such relaxation was too luxurious for him, rare in his life.
Sui Xing was massaging his temples, hoping he would no longer be constantly overly tense.
Due to physical contact, the two were extremely close.
Rong Huai's gaze swept over every inch of her face with abandon and greed, feeling that this face had truly grown from the tip of his heart, flawless and making him more captivated the more he looked.
"...Alright." Rong Huai wanted her hand to stay on him a little longer, but he also knew her arm was injured and should not be overworked.
He took her hand and held it gently, saying in a low voice, "The imperial physician prescribed medicine for you; I guarantee your arm won't have a single scar."
Everyone loves beauty, and she was so beautiful; she surely wouldn't want marks on her body.
"I only roll up my sleeves when gathering herbs; whether there's a scar or not, no one else will see, and I don't care. However—His Majesty can decide." Sui Xing said with a smile, her eyes curving.
Rong Huai looked at her intently for a moment, realizing that beneath her gentle smile was a hint of seriousness.
...Is she a little fairy from the heavens? He even had such an absurd thought, so these common human emotions didn't apply to her.
Afterward, Rong Huai accompanied her to wash up, ate with her, and drank medicine with her. To use an inappropriate analogy, the Emperor, with his aura of severity, sat beside Sui Xing like a lion guarding his territory.
His gaze always rested on Sui Xing.
Sui Xing frowned at a sour-tasting dessert, and he immediately had it removed, his reaction so swift that the System was amazed.
System: "In the original plot, the Male Lead would only tell the palace staff to note what the Female Lead liked or disliked; he never bothered with such trivial matters!"
For an emperor with numerous state affairs, what he ate daily certainly didn't need his consideration; only others carefully guessing what he wanted to eat that day was the norm.
"The Imperial Kitchen staff are getting increasingly incompetent." Rong Huai glanced at Fu Quan, the meaning clear: Fu Quan was to have the person who made this dessert killed.
Fu Quan dared not speak further and turned to leave—
But then he heard the woman softly say, "It's just that I'm not used to sour and sweet things. Upon careful taste, I found that dessert to be quite good, and my mouth is bitter from the medicine. Could His Majesty let me try that dessert again?"
The room fell silent for a moment, and Fu Quan swallowed.
His Majesty had decided to execute the Imperial Kitchen chef; who would dare to intercede! Yet this Sui Xing had such a kind heart, but His Majesty was His Majesty after all, so...
"Fu Quan."
Rong Huai called out, neither cold nor indifferent.
Fu Quan gasped, thinking, 'Oh my, Sui Xing's words really work!'
He bowed and returned to His Majesty's side, and sure enough, he heard His Majesty say, "Bring up that one from earlier."
"Yes." Fu Quan wiped his sweat and left.
Rong Huai didn't feel there was anything wrong with going back on his word for Sui Xing. He looked at her and said, "It should always be like this from now on."
Sui Xing blinked: "What?"
"What you want, what you don't want, tell me everything." Her happiness, unhappiness, even anger, fury... he wanted it all to belong solely to him.
In the original plot, when Rong Huai said these words to Ye Wan'er, Ye Wan'er reacted very strongly.
She grabbed the table, overturned all the gold plates and jade dishes on it, her face full of tears and humiliation: "Don't think I'm like other women! I could have lived perfectly well without you; you ruined everything for me!"
The man remained silent, watching her hysterical.
Ye Wan'er hated his coldness, hated his calmness, smashing everything in the room but not daring to approach the man by half a step.
She feared this man from the bottom of her heart.
But now, with the same words, the woman in front of him nodded, her eyes shining: "Okay."
Rong Huai's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and that desire, heavier than the urge to kill, overflowed from his heart.
After dinner, Sui Xing suggested strolling in the Imperial Garden, and Rong Huai naturally agreed.
Since Rong Huai's entry into the palace, the Imperial Garden had become a frequent site of accidents; palace maids and eunuchs often drowned here, and a long-dead body could always be found behind the rockeries.
And these strikingly beautiful, vibrant flowers—their roots might also conceal several unrecognizable corpses.
There were over a dozen princes, and no Crown Prince had been established for a long time; who wouldn't want to try? Filial ties in the palace were thin; brothers, fathers, and sons, mothers and sons would fight to the death.
The flowers in the Imperial Garden, like the entire palace, were outwardly beautiful but inwardly corrupt; their roots had long rotted.
Rong Huai had never truly looked at them or appreciated them.
Until today.
Sui Xing was familiar with various medicinal herbs and also studied flower species. She recognized every flower in the Imperial Garden and could tell several lovely and heartwarming stories about each.
Rong Huai listened quietly, feeling that the entire garden's sunlight finally came alive and warmed up.
"...Is this how you usually coax your junior sisters?" The man's voice was deep, his eyes filled with intense possessiveness.
He didn't want her smile to belong to anyone else, not even junior sisters.
When her junior sisters were mentioned, Sui Xing's expression softened even more: "Yes, when they were little, they were most afraid of memorizing texts, so I would make up little stories as bedtime stories. They loved listening, and after a few days of listening, they could remember the names and properties of the herbs in the stories."
...
The man's mouth turned down, his eyes dark.
Sui Xing was about to bend down to stroke a flower petal when her wrist was suddenly clasped.
Even she, slow as she was, realized something and looked at the man.
Sure enough, Rong Huai said faintly, "No one has ever told me bedtime stories."
Sui Xing chuckled: "Does His Majesty want to hear one too?"
...
Rong Huai didn't speak, but his eyes clearly conveyed an answer: Yes.
"Then let's listen tonight."
The sunlight quietly fell on her shoulder, coating her slender, elegant silhouette with a faint golden halo.
Her smile was gentle, showing no hint of being forced: "I will make up a few stories for His Majesty that I've never told my junior sisters before. I hope His Majesty likes them."
"Mm, I like them." Rong Huai stared at her, unable to tear his gaze away.
Sui Xing indulged him, letting him hold her hand, showing no intention of pulling away: "I haven't even told them yet."
She didn't need to painstakingly invent unique or rare stories; as long as she spoke a few words, he would cherish them.
In the vast Imperial Garden, two figures, one black and one white, slowly walked from the East Gate to the South Gate as time passed by.
The years were peaceful and good.
Fu Quan was filled with emotion.
Sui Xing was truly remarkable. His Majesty hated wasting time more than anything. If a minister's memorial had too much unnecessary talk, His Majesty would get angry, let alone spending an entire afternoon in the Imperial Garden—
This was simply unimaginable in the past.
But today, it was so easily realized! Sui Xing didn't even say much, just a simple mention of 'wanting to go to the Imperial Garden for some fresh air,' and His Majesty came.
Back in the sleeping quarters, Sui Xing took out several medical books to read, and Rong Huai sat beside her, reading memorials.
The man's eyelids would occasionally lift, silently gazing at her for a moment before lowering again.
Two days later.
Because Sui Xing had been in the palace for too long, her junior sisters at the medical hall missed her terribly. They bribed the palace guards—only to learn that their second senior sister was injured!
This was intolerable; the junior sisters were as anxious as ants on a hot pan, trying every possible means to enter the palace.
The news reached Sui Xing, and she told Rong Huai.
By this time, Sui Xing had told Rong Huai bedtime stories for two nights, and Rong Huai felt that he was no worse than that group of junior sisters, so he immediately agreed.
After agreeing, he began to regret—would she miss life outside the palace after seeing her junior sisters? Would she... want to leave?
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