The first major undertaking of the new Emperor after ascending the throne was to confront the northern Yan Kingdom and drive away foreign enemies to secure the borders.

In mid-April, the Yu family father and son received imperial orders to lead troops into battle.

Like a long dragon winding its way, at the front of the formation was Yu Huan Chen in a white robe and silver armor, with a heart-protecting mirror gifted by his wife attached to his chest, holding a battle flag that fluttered proudly in the wind.

This battle flag was personally handed to him by Sui Sui before his departure.

His seventeen-year-old sister stood at the palace gates in a gold-embroidered phoenix robe, her eyes bright and clear, smiling as she said: “Cut down the enemy to honor this flag, and I’ll quietly await father and brother’s triumphant return.”

Yu Huan Chen understood that she wanted the enemy’s blood to soak through the battle flag, to make the long-exhausted dynasty intimidate all directions.

She wanted the Yu family to take this opportunity to establish merit and fame, to forever stand tall in the imperial court.

What a magnificent wish!

When his sister first connected hearts with the most dangerous man in the world, Yu Huan Chen had been worried.

He told his sister that he hoped she would never be drawn into the vortex of power.

Only now did he realize he had been wrong.

Sui Sui possessed courage and vision that transcended power itself. Without anyone noticing, she had transformed from a naive young girl into someone dazzlingly brilliant, radiating glory in all directions.

Since this was so, the Yu family was willing to be like stars surrounding the moon, forever protecting her from behind.

Forever.

Early summer arrived quietly amid humid rain, and Yu Ling Xi moved to a new palace.

The rain fell so heavily, that she wondered where her father and brother’s military expedition had reached by now.

War was never a simple matter, but if they did not establish authority now, there would surely be constant unrest and no peace for years or even decades to come.

The war had to be fought, and the hearts of the people needed to be won over. Yu Ling Xi had spent an entire night “thoroughly communicating” with Ning Yin and finally managed to reduce the people’s taxes for three years. Combining benevolence with authority was the way to long-term rule.

However, this made the national treasury somewhat tight. The silver saved by reducing palace staff was not enough for the enormous military expenditures.

Wisps of white smoke curled from the auspicious beast’s incense burner as palace maids gently fanned.

Yu Ling Xi was reclining on a beauty couch pondering solutions when she heard some arguing in the distance outside the hall.

“Who is speaking?” Yu Ling Xi asked.

Hu Tao went to look and returned shortly to report: “Your Majesty, it’s the wet nurse from Cui Wei Palace kneeling outside. It seems the little prince is ill.”

Yu Ling Xi had been so busy these days that she had forgotten there was still a one-year-old child in the palace.

She rose and went outside, where she saw the wet nurse kneeling far away in the rain, her clothes completely soaked, hunched over as she struggled to shield the feverish, unconscious little prince with a paper umbrella.

Seeing the beautiful Empress in her gold-embroidered palace garments, the wet nurse immediately crawled forward on her knees, saying cautiously: “I beg Your Majesty’s mercy, please save the little prince!”

Everyone knew the new Emperor was not a kind person; not executing the little prince was already a great favor, so who would dare to appear before him?

Thus, when the child had been burning with fever for a day and a night, the wet nurse, in her anxiety, could only take the risk of coming to beg the Empress.

Yu Ling Xi brought the wet nurse and the little prince to a side hall and ordered someone to summon the imperial physician.

After administering medicine, the little prince’s breathing finally became less labored, and the flush on his face gradually faded.

“Go change your wet clothes. Let the little prince sleep here in my palace for a while,” Yu Ling Xi said to the wet nurse. “When the rain stops, you can take him back.”

Grateful for the Empress’s beauty and kindness, the wet nurse withdrew with a thousand thanks.

Yu Ling Xi gazed at the sleeping little prince on the couch. A child just one year old understood nothing, as fragile as a reed that could break with a single bend.

She casually tucked in the little prince’s blanket, rose, and walked around the screen, only to see a tall figure stride into the hall with his hands behind his back.

Ning Yin wore a dark casual outfit today, which accentuated his handsome, cold pale complexion, too intense to look at directly. With a leisurely, casual air, he pulled Yu Ling Xi to sit down and began slowly pinching her waist dimples.

The lower part of Ning Yin’s clothes was somewhat damp, spreading some dark stains, and there were a few barely noticeable mud splashes on his boots. It was unclear where he had returned from.

Yu Ling Xi sat on his lap, held down his veined hands, and questioned in a hushed voice: “Where did you go? You’re all damp.”

“Digging graves.”

Ning Yin’s voice fell softly by her ear, accompanied by a sudden clap of thunder, giving him quite a sinister, villainous air.

Yu Ling Xi suspected her ears had been damaged by the thunder. She raised her hand to touch his damp, cold brow: “Digging what?”

“Graves.”

Ning Yin casually picked up a walnut, closed his five fingers around it, and amid a series of cracking sounds, languidly said, “The old beast has been buried, and it’s a waste to leave the burial goods in the imperial tomb underground. Might as well dig them up to fund the military.”

“…”

Yu Ling Xi finally understood why Ning Yin dared to engage in battle immediately upon ascending the throne; he had planned.

“How much is it worth?” This was what Yu Ling Xi cared about most.

“More than enough to maintain the military expenses for a year.”

Ning Yin placed two intact walnut kernels into Yu Ling Xi’s mouth, smiling with particular innocence. “By the way, I also dug up the tombs of several extinct royal relatives.”

Such as Prince Ning Chang Rui of West Chuan, that fat pig who in life was fond of women and hoarding wealth—his burial goods were very generous indeed!

Seeing Ning Yin’s tyrannical demeanor, Yu Ling Xi found it both amusing and satisfying.

The military funding problem that had given the Ministry of Revenue such headaches was quietly resolved amid grave digging accompanied by lightning.

Another clap of thunder exploded, like war chariots rolling across the horizon.

The little prince behind the screen awoke with a start, uttering sleep-talk mixed with crying.

Yu Ling Xi immediately rose from Ning Yin’s lap, quickly walked to the couch, and sat down, gently patting the little prince’s chest to soothe him.

Ning Yin stood up and followed, his face cold with disgust: “What is this thing?”

“The little prince is sick, he just took medicine,” Yu Ling Xi said softly. “The rain outside is too heavy, so I let him rest here for a moment.”

Ning Yin stood there, dark and forbidding, looked for a while, and said: “Just strangle him and be done with it.”

The wet nurse, who had changed her clothes and entered the door, unexpectedly heard the new Emperor’s words and immediately collapsed to the ground, legs giving way.

“Y-Your Majesty, forgive me!” The wet nurse pressed almost her entire body to the floor, trembling like a leaf in the wind.

“Shh.” Yu Ling Xi placed a finger to her lips, gesturing for her to be quiet.

When the little prince had fallen back asleep, she rose, took Ning Yin’s hand, and stepped out of the side hall.

Behind them, the wet nurse, as if granted a great pardon, crawled and rolled to the inner chamber, embracing the fragile life on the couch.

Back in the main hall, Yu Ling Xi dismissed the palace servants, then turned to look at Ning Yin: “All right, he’s barely a year old, he can’t even speak yet! If my husband dislikes him, I do have a solution.”

A month later.

The Yu family gained a little grandson, said to be the orphan of one of the Yu family’s trusted commanders, so he was adopted by Yu Huan Chen and renamed Yu Jin, hoping he would be pure of heart and noble.

On the day they left the palace, the wet nurse kowtowed deeply three times in the direction of the Empress.

She knew that allowing this child, who was originally meant to be a sacrifice, to change his name and live on was already a tremendous favor.

She would keep the child’s true identity buried in her heart, taking it to her grave, willing to burn incense lamps for a lifetime to pray for blessings, begging that the Empress would live a long life free from illness and disaster.

From then on, there was no more little prince, only General Yu’s adopted grandson, Yu Jin.

At the end of June, the Yu family’s army won their first great victory.

On the day the good news arrived, Su Wan gave birth, successfully delivering a daughter named Yu Yu.

With double happiness, Yu Ling Xi was extremely pleased. She selected small gifts such as a longevity lock and tiger shoes and went to the Yu residence to visit her sister-in-law and newborn niece.

The wet nurse carefully carried Yu Jin to pay respects, telling him: “Jin’er, this is your sister. When you grow up, you must protect her for life, do you understand?”

Yu Jin stretched out his chubby little hand, pointed at the infant in the cradle, and babbled: “Wu… sis-sister!”

This child’s first words were neither father nor mother, but sister, causing everyone in the room to burst into laughter.

“These two children get along well; their relationship will certainly be extremely good in the future,” Yu Ling Xi smiled gently, looking at the wet nurse. “Take good care of my nephew.”

The affectionate word “nephew” made the wet nurse’s eyes red and moist. She couldn’t help but kneel and bow repeatedly, saying “yes” over and over.

Su Wan lay on the couch, her complexion considerably healthier, and quietly pulled on Yu Ling Xi’s finger, asking: “Sui Sui has been married for half a year now, when do you plan to add joy to the family?”

Yu Ling Xi was startled, then curved her eyes into a smile: “He and I are still young, there’s no rush.”

Su Wan expressed understanding: “That’s true, the Emperor has just ascended the throne and must be busy with state affairs day and night.”

Not only was he “busy with state affairs day and night,” he wasn’t idle at night either.

The frequency of “cooking rice” wasn’t low, but Ning Yin had never mentioned wanting children. It seemed that apart from Yu Ling Xi herself, there was nothing else in the world worthy of his concern or attention.

As for children, they would come naturally when the time was right.

On the eighth day of the eighth month, the scorching summer heat gradually receded, and the night breeze already carried the slight coolness of autumn.

A low-key, spacious carriage drove out from the palace gates and stopped at the steps of what used to be Prince Jing’s residence.

Then the carriage curtain lifted, and a crimson-gowned beauty stepped out into the night, gazing at the dignified and steady plaque of Prince Jing’s residence.

Ning Yin, dressed in a deep purple brocade robe with a jade belt outlining his sinewy, athletic waist, followed her languidly: “Sui Sui is in a poetic mood tonight, wanting to revisit old places with me?”

And dressed so… enchantingly captivating.

Ning Yin tapped his palm with a folding fan, involuntarily imagining the splendid scene of this red dress torn apart on snow-white skin.

Yu Ling Xi’s thoughts drifted to the distant past. She composed herself and turned her head with a smile: “Today is the anniversary of our first meeting.”

Ning Yin was visibly stunned and then tapped Yu Ling Xi’s forehead with his folding fan.

“You’re mistaken,” he corrected leisurely. “My first meeting with Sui Sui was two months later.”

In the autumn of the tenth month of Tian Zhao’s thirteenth year, they first met in the capital of the realm of desire; he and she were two opposing sides of darkness and light.

“It’s not wrong, it’s today,” Yu Ling Xi said softly.

In her previous life on this day, she had been forced to apply makeup, placed in a sedan chair, and carried into the Regent’s mansion, where she met that arrogant man leaning on a crutch.

Ning Yin paused, then smiled casually: “Whatever day Sui Sui says it is, that’s the day. As long as you’re happy, it can be our first meeting day every day if you wish.”

Yu Ling Xi curved her eyes in satisfaction, without further explanation.

She lifted her skirt and stepped onto the stone stairs. Guards had already pushed open the doors, and the lantern light spilled across the ground, making her slender figure appear brilliantly radiant.

Yu Ling Xi looked back, her crimson skirt billowing in gentle arcs with the night breeze, and smiled enchantingly at Ning Yin: “I’ve ordered supper and wine to be prepared. Come quickly.”

Ning Yin stood at the bottom of the stairs, a sense of familiarity washing over him.

A familiarity so profound it was as if, long, long ago, he had once possessed this gentle brightness.