Qi Yi Ning not only looked outstanding, even his hobbies were quite elegant, he usually loved reciting poetry and painting, or going for a walk to enjoy the scenery. When not handling governmental affairs, he was often accompanied by beautiful concubines, he seemed like a very pleasant person. Especially after he suppressed the Empress Dowager and her maternal clan, gaining complete control over the imperial court. Finally relaxed, he ordered a wanton collection of beauties into the imperial capital to fill the empty harem. It was these circumstances that allowed Zhao Bi Xuan to be sent in by her family, then Zhou Yun Sheng came along and became the biggest stepping stone for her dominating two dynasties.
Given that she was the fate of the world's daughter, regardless of how licentious Qi Yi Ning was, after meeting her, he became very affectionate and loyal. He not only ignored the other harem members, doting on her alone, he even established the Second Prince as Crown Prince when he was just over a year old. His doting on this mother and child was considered unprecedented.
Every time Zhou Yun Sheng was forced by the villain system to write down an imperial edict to promote her, his heart would bleed. At that time, he had already reincarnated more than a dozen times, his eyes had slowly widened, his ability to read the human heart cultivated to perfection. Even if Zhao Bi Xuan was outwardly loving and considerate, he could see the indifference and resentment hidden in her heart. He'd immediately disliked her, and as it turns out, she also despised him, but still deceptively postured in front of him every way she could, like a serpent, playing him for a fool.
Only God knew how many times he'd wanted to kick her out of the way and yell 'Get out of my sight!', but he was always stopped by the villain system's 'DENIED'. Because of this, he could only pretend to be infatuated, pretending and pretending for eight years. He saw through Zhao Bi Xuan's fake love, saw through the [Respectful>] Gong Prince and the [Peaceful>] An Prince's disloyal hearts, and clearly saw through the imperial court's internal strife. The only thing he'd failed to see through was the Second Prince's origins. Until his death, he'd never thought that the child was not his own.
He'd always liked children, and the Second Prince was snow-white and cute, sensible and well-behaved, he'd sincerely loved him, and when he learned the truth, he'd almost coughed up blood. Even while Qi Jin Yu was beheading him, he still worried, when this guy becomes Emperor, how will he deal with Zhao Bi Xuan and the Second Prince's identity? After all, the whole world knew that the mother and child were Qi Yi Ning's favorite concubine and prince.
But since it involved the fate of the world's children, the world's consciousness would naturally fix the bug of the two's identity, he never should have worried about it. Last life, he foolishly worried about these things, this life, he was going to carefully help this family of three.
Zhou Yun Sheng patiently played with the Second Prince for a while, then waved, "Time to eat."
Zhao Bi Xuan quickly ordered the wet nurse to take the child away, then busily served Zhou Yun Sheng the dishes. After dinner, Zhao Bi Xuan unsurprisingly used the excuse of bodily discomfort to send Zhou Yun Sheng away. She didn't want to be intimate with him, but also didn't want him to be intimate with others, so she sent messengers to invite him over every day, then racked her brain for excuses to avoid joining him in the bed chamber.
In this harem, she had already become the target of harsh criticism, if one of the other concubines won Zhou Yun Sheng over, her situation would become very dangerous.
If it was another man, they wouldn't be able to stand her 'stroking the fire then quickly pouring water over it' behavior, but since Zhou Yun Sheng was gay, this was exactly what he wanted. He wished her a good rest and strolled away. At the palace door, he looked up at the plaque hanging on the beam, three bronze words were written in flamboyant calligraphy – Feng Yi Palace.
Even as a high rank Imperial Consort, what qualifications did she have to live in the Feng Yi Palace? Zhou Yun Sheng sneered and slowly strolled back to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. He turned over the memorials piled on the imperial table, learned which time period he had returned to, and couldn't help but reveal a melancholy expression.
Previously, because of the threat posed by the villain system, he was particularly favorable to Zhao Bi Xuan, and even began to place her family members in important positions. She was originally a common born [the child of a concubine] daughter from the Wen Yuan March, descendant from an important General, her ancestors rose to great power during Da Qi's founding. But after everything calmed down, there was peace and prosperity, and the old Emperor pursued a political strategy of heavy military suppression, so her family's power slowly declined. However, in recent years, the barbarian tribes surrounding Da Qi unexpectedly formed an alliance, repeatedly encroaching on Da Qi's border during the summer and autumn seasons. Zhou Yun Sheng received the second task from the system at this time, promote the Wen Yuan March.
So he hand-picked Marquess Wen Yuan's eldest son, Zhao Xuan, to be the West General, and the man led the army to expel the Tartars. Zhao Xuan was a genius military leader, as soon as he arrived at the border, there were repeated reports of victories, and under the villain system's coercion, Zhou Yun Sheng had to promote him again and again. On the day of the Second Prince's birth, the man finally obtained an overwhelming victory over the barbarians, and was coated with a layer of his nephew's 'Lucky Star from Heaven' golden light. Zhou Yun Sheng was 'overjoyed at the news', and without waiting for him to come back to the capital, he sent out an imperial edict, giving him the title Duke Yu Gou, and the position as the country's Grand General. Because the Da Qi Empire was still heavily suppressing the military, this could be regarded as a rare military position. The man had at least a million troops under his control, enough to dominate the country.
Zhou Yun Sheng opened the top memorial, it was written by Zhao Xuan. If you could read people by how they wrote, it was not hard to see how untamable and capable Zhao Xuan was from his rigid and beautiful calligraphy. But it was a pity, the man had already cast his lot with the Gong Prince, he was the Gong Prince's greatest support to wrestle away the throne, and also Zhou Yun Sheng's number one enemy.
In the memorial, he relayed that the west expedition army had arrived in the encampment outside the imperial capital, and was awaiting the Emperor's opening of the city gates for inspection.
"I came a step too late." Throwing away the accounts book, Zhou Yun Sheng shook his head and sighed sullenly. Wen Yuan March had already become a power house, if he moved against the Gong Prince, he was bound to be eliminated by Wen Yuan March. The millions of troops Zhao Xuan had under his control were not decorative, he had to move carefully, or he would be bitten. Plus, the harem was also under the Empress Dowager's control, and she'd instructed the Jing Guo Duchy to stir up trouble in the imperial court from time to time, so he also needed to deal with her. If he had arrived a year or two earlier, this task would've been much easier, he could've lifted a finger and crushed Zhao Bi Xuan and the Gong Prince dead.
"Your majesty the Emperor, the hour is late, you should rest. Tomorrow, you have to greet the multitude of officers and soldiers." A gentle voice calmly brushed his ear. Zhou Yun Sheng glanced sideways and immediately smiled with squinted eyes. The imperial court and the harem each had their disputes, neither was 100% safe to keep at his side, so was this loyal High Eunuch, Liu He, also not a spy the Empress Dowager and the Gong Prince planted at his side? The only reason the former Qi Yi Ning never suspected him was because he was a gift from the Old Emperor.
Zhou Yun Sheng never trusted Liu He, but he'd also never guarded against him. He knew that he was pre-destined cannon fodder, resistance or no resistance, it made no difference. So when the An Prince rebelled, he was not at all surprised to see Liu He lead the An Prince to come capture him. The An Prince rebelled from the front, and the Gong Prince sent troops to rescue the king from the rear, allowing him to get rid of his two rivals in one fell swoop and take the throne without the slightest stigma . Who knew how many years the Gong Prince and the Empress Dowager had planned this out.
[Read this in a sarcastic tone guys 😂 This is why: Basically Gong Prince killed and stole his throne...pfft 😂]
Even more ridiculous, the Gong Prince's final words to him were complaints, saying that everything he did was a last resort, if Zhou Yun Sheng hadn't stolen his favorite woman, and repeatedly tried to assassinate him in suspicion and jealously, he wouldn't have embarked on this path of killing his brother to usurp the throne, he was forced. Then he wept mournfully as he beheaded his brother.
As his head was sent flying, Zhou Yun Sheng desperately wanted to shout – I was forced too! He was an excellent example of an Inapt Emperor, what was he doing fighting to death with his brother nine years his junior? Even when his younger brother grew into adulthood, he had no way to shake his throne. The only reason he repeatedly tried to assassinate the Gong Prince was because he had to complete the system's missions. After all, what kind of villain would he be if he didn't plot against the male and female leads?
Scenes from the past sliding in front of him like a screen, Zhou Yun Sheng waved, "Wait upon me as I change my clothes." He really should rest early, because tomorrow, he was likely to meet his lover in the imperial court. He had already guessed the man's identity, and his heart was full of expectations.
————
The next day, the war heroes excitedly stood in the imperial court to receive rewards. Sure enough, Zhou Yun Sheng felt his lover's presence amongst them, he looked at them one by one, then his pupils couldn't help but darken gloomily.
How can it be him? His heart was stirring with stormy waves, but his expression didn't change, he bestowed upon the heroes all the rewards they deserved.
The travel worn war heroes knelt and gave thanks, their eyes filled with undisguised happiness. Only a simple and honest looking teenager soundlessly opened his mouth, tweaking his ears and scratching his cheeks, obviously flustered.
Seeing this familiar scene, Zhou Yun Sheng smiled pleasantly, he gestured to the teenager and asked, "My dear courtier, do you have something to say?"
"This small official is so bold as to beg Your Majesty to exchange this small official's reward." That teenager kneeled and cupped his hands, his cheeks pale white, obviously very nervous.
"Oh, are you dissatisfied with my reward?" Zhou Yun Sheng clearly knew the reason, but he really wanted to tease him.
"This small official would not dare! Please Your Majesty, this small official begs you to listen to his story." The boy's pale cheeks quickly tinted purple, his lips trembling as he quickly explained his circumstances. He was not dissatisfied with the reward, he just wanted to exchange his promotion to a high official for a title for his dead mother. He was originally a common born son from the Wu Chang March, his mother's rank was low, but she was as beautiful as a flower, so she was often bullied by the first wife, and died of illness when he was eleven years old. Standing by her death bed, he vowed that he would earn a title for his mother and bring it back, so she could have a little bit of honor under the Yellow springs.
Of course, Zhou Yun Sheng had learned this inside story when he and the teenager gradually grew closer.
Seeking a title for his dead mother, this devotion to filial piety was something no one in Da Qi would scorn. Zhou Yun Sheng waved his generous hand, approving the exchange, and thoroughly praised the teenager. As for the status of the first son of Marquess Wu Chang and the Marchioness, Zhou Yun Sheng said that he was too busy with court affairs, and had no free time to pay attention to them. If they also wanted a title, their sons had to earn it.
Seeing the hour growing late, he waved his hand to announce a withdrawal from the court, deliberately asking the teenager and Zhao Xuan to remain.
"Bi Xuan has recently felt unwell, I fear that she misses her family. By insight, I invited the Marchioness to visit the palace a few days ago, you're also welcome to visit. While you were campaigning in the Northwest, Bi Xuan chanted prayers for you every day, these heart felt thoughts were very heavy." Zhou Yun Sheng waved, his dark eyes staring unblinkingly at the particularly tall and strong, extraordinarily handsome man in front of him.
He never imagined that Zhao Xuan would be his lover. In the last life, he had only seen Zhao Xuan on two occasions, the first, when he sent him off to campaign in the Northwest, the second, when he returned to the imperial court after his victory. Afterwards, the man hurriedly left for the border again and never returned to the capital, that was, until the An Prince rebelled and the Gong Prince sent troops to rescue the king, then the man led his soldiers and rushed to aid the Gong Prince, quickly seizing the imperial capital and burning most of the city's defenses.