"We're husband and wife. You once said that husband and wife are like birds in the same forest. I won't leave you, no matter what. Since it's your wish, I'll fulfill it at all costs."
"What about your other concubines?"
"I've already given them the status and honor they desire. Only what you want is different."
Du Gu Qing was quite speechless. On the very first day of his accession to the throne, some people had proposed to fill the harem, but he had firmly rejected the idea.
"Your Majesty, when are you going to fill the harem?" Mei Qingxue said coolly. In this vast harem, there were only the concubines of his late father, as well as eunuchs and maids.
The emperor's harem... Humph...
"Xue'er, don't you trust me?" Du Gu Qing said anxiously.
It was always this topic. He didn't know how to convince his beloved. Every time it made him sweat with anxiety.
"I'll wait and see!" Mei Qingxue shook her head and walked away on her own.
After the new emperor ascended the throne, the draft would probably be held soon, right? Ancient emperors really had no other entertainment. They either went hunting or held drafts, and when they were free, they doted on the concubines in the harem.
"Xue!" Today, the ministers had advised him to fill the harem, but he had refused. Now Mei Qingxue was ignoring him because of this. Oh no, he would have to sleep in the study again tonight. He had just regained his privileges with great difficulty; he definitely couldn't lose them.
Mei Qingxue had only taken a few steps when Du Gu Qing pounced on her and carried his "fierce" queen on his shoulder.
"I'll tear down all the yards except for the Qingxue Pavilion and plant flowers there, or raise chickens and grow vegetables. What do you think?"
Eunuch Tang followed them, smiling secretly. The former chief steward of the prince's mansion was now the chief steward of the palace. Seeing them heading towards the Qingxue Pavilion, he asked a young eunuch to move a chair and sat in the shade outside.
"Eunuch Tang, is our emperor really not going to fill the harem?"
"How would I know?" Eunuch Tang squinted his eyes. Beside him was his newly - taken apprentice, who did all the odd jobs. "Xiao Yunzi, it's not our place to discuss the master's affairs. Just remember to serve the queen well, and that's all."
Xiao Yunzi was puzzled. "Then why don't we need to serve the emperor well?"
Eunuch Tang just smiled but didn't answer. At this moment, the emperor was probably kneeling beside the queen's bed, begging for mercy. Maybe he would have to sleep in the imperial study tonight. "Xiao Yunzi, go and find a comfortable set of bedding and send it to the imperial study. Our emperor will be burning the midnight oil tonight!"
"Yes!" Xiao Yunzi didn't ask any more questions. Why would one need comfortable bedding for burning the midnight oil? It was obvious that the emperor would be staying in the imperial study overnight.
"Du Gu Qing, you sleep in the study tonight. Don't let me see you... Humph!"
Damn it. He had only been emperor for one day, and he was already thinking about filling the harem. Men really weren't good for much. Turning such a magnificent royal yard into a place for growing vegetables and raising pigs? He was just trying to coax her again.
No, she had to ask An Ying to help her escape from the palace.
"Your Majesty, please spare this humble one. Don't let me sleep in the study." Du Gu Qing said with a bitter face. His heart was filled with only Mei Qingxue. There was no room for anyone else. If he really couldn't avoid it, he would just let those concubines live in loneliness.
"No mercy!"
Mei Qingxue gritted her teeth and said. She had witnessed the ways of the world for ten lifetimes. She didn't believe that any emperor could dote on only one person. That was just a made - up story in novels. Du Gu Qing was perfect before he ascended the throne, but once the harem was filled, he would no longer belong to her.
Mei Qingxue knew very well that she had a cleanliness fetish. She didn't want anything that others had used.
"Xue..." Du Gu Qing softly called beside Mei Qingxue. Xuan Qiao, who was outside the door, felt sorry for the emperor as he sounded so pitiful.
Which emperor didn't have concubines? Even the emperors in the plays had many women. Her master, when he was a prince, had only her young lady as his princess consort. When he became the Prince Rui, he still had only her young lady as his princess. Now, if there was only a lonely queen in this vast harem, wouldn't other countries laugh at them?
Mei Qingxue turned around, showing only her back to Du Gu Qing. She sighed silently in her heart. It seemed that her happy life was coming to an end.
The happiest memories in ten lifetimes. Maybe she wouldn't regret this life.
If she left the palace, she would take her parents and run away. Presumably, he wouldn't do anything to his elder brother. He shouldn't. Mei Qingxue began to make a plan in her heart.
Seeing that Mei Qingxue really ignored him, Du Gu Qing had to stand up awkwardly. He had his own way to make his Xue trust him. Castrating himself was out of the question. He still wanted a happy life in the future.
"Go to the imperial study." Du Gu Qing straightened his dragon robe and said to Eunuch Tang, "I, tonight, cough..."
"Your Majesty, since you're going to burn the midnight oil tonight, does Your Majesty want this old servant to tell the kitchen to prepare some midnight snacks?" Eunuch Tang knew Du Gu Qing was embarrassed and quickly gave him an excuse.
"I was indeed planning to study at night. Eunuch Tang is the one who understands me best!" Du Gu Qing was very pleased.
Eunuch Tang lowered his eyes. He didn't really understand the emperor's mind. He just knew that Mei Qingxue wouldn't let him into the room. Since he had given the emperor an excuse, he wouldn't expose the truth.
"Don't prepare any snacks. The queen said it's bad for the teeth."
Hearing Du Gu Qing outside the door remember her words so clearly, Mei Qingxue's nose turned sour and tears fell. Listening to Du Gu Qing's voice fade away, her heart felt empty. As usual, she didn't need Xuan Qiao to keep watch at night. An Ying would come tonight to report the accounts of the past few months. It was inconvenient to have maids around.
Du Gu Qing probably knew that An Ying often came and went, but he trusted her whole - heartedly. However, Mei Qingxue couldn't give him even a little bit of trust. To believe that an ancient man, especially an emperor, would be devoted to only one person was like believing that a pig could climb a tree.
In the previous nine lifetimes, she had studied literature in several of them. Naturally, she knew about the affairs in the emperor's family.
Du Gu Qing was already a good person from the royal family, but what was she still demanding? Actually, she didn't know herself.
"Master!" An Ying appeared at the window.
"You're here. Be careful when you come in and out of the palace."
"Yes." An Ying's expression remained unchanged. Only he himself knew that his eyes were full of affection when he looked at her. But he couldn't...
"How's the situation in various places recently?"
"Everything is going well. There are no abnormalities. However, in the south of the Yangtze River, since the people know that the master has become the queen, they have petitioned to protect the Prince Rui's Mansion."
"It's just a house. How's the flood situation in the south this year?" The preparations made in previous years should have worked, right?
"The project of digging ditches and diverting water has been carried out well. The flood this year is not serious. According to your instructions, fish have been raised and lotus roots have been planted in the water - logged areas. It will be a fertile land next year."
"Good. As long as the people's lives improve, the Feng Kingdom will become prosperous, and you won't have to live such a dangerous life anymore." There was no impurity in Mei Qingxue's eyes. Those eyes were as clear as when An Ying first met her, not changing because of her status.
"How are the bridges that have been under construction recently? How's the old duke?"
"The old duke is ill from overwork. Guo Ming has taken over and is doing a good job. The situation is quite good. Although that child is young, he has a lot of ideas. I've checked. The repair of the bridges is also going well. The project quality meets the standards. After the project was completed, the laborers didn't want to leave. They still want to work for us!"
"After the flood - prevention project is completed, they should go back to be farmers. We can't let the land lie fallow. Send a message to the local government in the south of the Yangtze River to encourage farming. Those who plant trees along the water and roads will be rewarded. Laborers will be recruited every year. During the slack farming season, before the flood season begins, they will be responsible for checking and maintaining the bridges and ensuring the smooth flow of the ditches."
"Yes, master." An Ying's eyes were full of admiration.
Du Gu Qing was lying on the roof of the Qingxue Pavilion. Listening to Mei Qingxue assign tasks, his eyes were also full of admiration.
He didn't distrust Mei Qingxue. He was just afraid that that man had improper intentions towards Mei Qingxue. After all, the affection in that man's eyes was not hidden at all. But his Xue still knew nothing.
"It seems that's all." Mei Qingxue thought for a while. "How's the business of my shops?"
Hearing Mei Qingxue worrying about her money, Du Gu Qing staggered and almost lost his balance. The richest person in the whole country was his queen, yet she still worried about her two restaurants.
"Report to the master. All 108 branch shops across the country are operating normally."
"108?" Du Gu Qing was stunned. Did they need to open so many? It seemed that his little woman didn't have enough money.
"Keep an eye on my house in the south of the Yangtze River. Maybe I'll go and live there someday. If you hear that the emperor is filling the harem, come and pick me up."
"Yes!"
Hearing Mei Qingxue's words, Du Gu Qing almost jumped down.
Fortunately, he had remembered to listen to what they were saying today. He didn't expect to hear such an important sentence. Once he took concubines, An Ying would come to pick her up. Fool, he wouldn't give her this chance. Because there would never be a harem. Mei Qingxue, you silly woman. Du Gu Qing complained about Mei Qingxue in his heart a few times, but he couldn't say a single word of blame. He leaped back to his imperial study silently, but he couldn't fall asleep anymore.
His Xue didn't want to share him with other women, and he had never thought of having other women. His father couldn't promise his mother to be devoted to only one person, but he would promise it to her. She was his wife, the woman he loved most. How could he let her suffer the slightest bit of grievance? He had clearly seen how his mother, who was just a concubine back then, had been bullied. When he married Mei Qingxue, he had sworn that he would never let her suffer the same humiliation as his mother.
Those ministers were too conservative. From now on, anyone who was conservative would be sent to guard the library. Tomorrow in the court, he would tell the ministers his intention. He only wanted Mei Qingxue as his woman in this life, even though he was the emperor.
Eunuch Tang knew that Du Gu Qing had gone out and come back. Du Gu Qing had said that he didn't need him to keep watch at night, but he had served Du Gu You for decades. He wasn't used to being idle all of a sudden.
So he still guarded outside Du Gu Qing's door. The emperor also had to follow the ancestral rites. How could he dote on only one person? Eunuch Tang was also afraid that Mei Qingxue would be wronged, but there were some things that, as a eunuch, he couldn't do anything about.