However, after what happened today, the Pure Consort should have learned a lesson on acceptance and understood what her heart truly desired.

Anyone could tell that Zhan You was a good person. It was clear that he was a reliable man and the Pure Consort would enjoy a happy life after leaving the Palace with him.

Something crossed Lu Liangwei’s mind and she paused for a moment to look at Long Yang. “You weren’t the one who arranged for Zhan You to be here, were you?”

Long Yang smiled. “I wouldn’t go to the extent of planning something as elaborate as that just to get the Pure Consort out of the Palace. Zhan You and the Pure Consort grew up together. He had been her guard before she entered the Palace and he had always been in love with her. However, the Pure Consort had never truly accepted him. Zhan You actually joined the imperial guards because of her.”

“He has always been a responsible man who carried out his duties. He’s honest and upright. Even when he was in love with the Pure Consort, he would only shelve that affection in the deepest corner of his heart. He did everything in his power to serve the Palace just for the opportunity to encounter the Pure Consort occasionally. What happened this time was actually initiated by the Pure Consort.”

Lu Liangwei could tell that the relationship between the Pure Consort and this Zhan You was not as simple as she thought, but she never expected that the two of them had known each other for so long.

This Zhan You was truly a man with deep affections.

“So, you’ve known this all along?” Lu Liangwei was even more astonished by the fact that Long Yang knew about it all this time.

Long Yang picked up his cup and sipped the tea. “When the Palace is selecting imperial guards, we need to ensure that they come from a clean background. Each person has to go through several rounds of selection, which is why I learned about Zhan You’s background when he first arrived at the Palace. It was only because he had kept his personal feelings in check and had never crossed the line that I tolerated him.”

Lu Liangwei sighed. “You’re actually pretty big-hearted.”

“Why do you say that?” Long Yang raised an eyebrow.

“You’ve taken the woman he loved into the Palace to become your concubine. If Zhan You had been upset about this and decided to seek revenge on you, it would have been quite troublesome,” Lu Liangwei said, intentionally emphasizing the statement.

Long Yang was not bothered. “That would never happen. Even if it did, Zhan You could never get anywhere near me unless I summoned him.”

When Lu Liangwei saw how confident he was, she knew that he must know every detail of things that happened around him, and always had the situation controlled in the palm of his hand.

Long Yang’s fingers brushed Lu Liangwei’s face as he said in a low, gentle voice, “Weiwei, I’m telling you this today because I want you to understand that it is in the past. Moreover, the decision to bring the Four Chief Consorts into the Palace was never mine. I’ve never treated them as my women, and even Miss Li wasn’t the Empress I had in mind. That was why I planned for her to elope with her lover.”

Lu Liangwei was shocked to the core by his words. She also felt a little guilty now because of her petty actions.

How could she have thought that His Majesty fancied Miss Li?

Such a thought should never have crossed her mind!

“Alright, I understand.” She leaned into his arms obediently and hugged him around the waist.

They nuzzled each other intimately for quite a while before Long Yang suddenly carried her in his arms.

Lu Liangwei clutched his collar and asked in a panic, “What are you doing?”

When Long Yang saw the flash of nervousness on her petite face, he could not help wanting to tease her.

“What would you like me to do, Weiwei?”

Lu Liangwei, “…”

It was not until her back touched the soft bed that she realized what was happening. She pushed his chest. “Don’t you have work to do? You’ve ignored it for quite a few days already, you should head off now and get to work.”

“Are you so insistent on chasing me away?” Long Yang’s arms were planted on either side of her body.

He sounded a little apologetic as he added, “I wanted to help you warm your bed before leaving. Since you don’t want me here, let’s forget about it.”

Lu Liangwei went momentarily blank. When she saw he was really about to leave, she quickly reached out to pull him back. “Since you were thinking about warming my bed, I’ll allow it. Xiao Yang Zi¹, lie down here immediately.”

The corner of Long Yang’s eye twitched when he heard her using that nickname. He could only caress her face helplessly. “Your Highness should go to bed on your own for now. I’ll return for you later tonight.”

With that, he pushed a few handwarmers under her blanket and sighed with slight exasperation. “I do have a lot of work to deal with. These handwarmers shall have to do for now.”

Lu Liangwei dimmed her smile slightly and said in a soft but sweet voice. “Alright. I don’t need you to accompany me. Hurry up and go, but remember to come back early tonight.”

“Okay. Hurry up and go to sleep. I can tell that you’re exhausted.” Long Yang tucked the corners of her blanket in and left Grand Phoenix Palace once she had shut her eyes.

…

Xuyang.

Beauty Lin stopped in her tracks when she passed by the side courtyard. She could not help but turn back to look.