“I don’t mind,” Shang Mian smiled, knowing she was holding a grudge.
“I mind you,” she pretended to be disdainful.
“Sorry, but what you say doesn’t count,” Shang Mian twisted her arm behind her, and his cool lips pressed down.
Intimately entwined, melting together – what could be more intoxicating than a passionate kiss with a loved one?
The fire in the imperial palace was extinguished in one place and reignited in another. Palace maids and eunuchs were terrified, no longer caring about palace rules. Many escaped the imperial city in the chaos…
She couldn’t be bothered to argue with them and stepped aside, but the group blocked her path. A delicate-looking girl said, “Sister, a woman remarrying is against feminine virtue. A twice-married woman brings shame to the clan. Sister, you only care about climbing social ladders, disgracing all women.”
Ruan Ning rolled her eyes and asked, “Did your cook put too much salt in the food recently?”
“The delicate girl stared with innocent eyes, puzzled.
‘If you hadn’t eaten too much salt, how could you be so idle, spouting such nonsense?’ Ruan Ning said, pushing the woman aside and walking out quickly.
The girl burst into tears: ‘Sister, I was sincerely advising you, yet you humiliate me…’
‘I think she’s right. You’ve definitely had too much salt and are too idle,’ Shang Mian said from behind. ‘Seize these women who have rashly entered the royal residence and offended the empress, and beat them to death.’
The women were terrified, crying out in protest, but Shang Mian remained unmoved. Ruan Ning softly advised him, ‘They just said a few idle words. Spare them this time.’
Impatient from being pestered by old schemers about taking concubines, Shang Mian coldly snorted, ‘If we don’t deal with these people harshly, they’ll only become more presumptuous. Kill them to prevent others from copying their behavior.’
Without further discussion, he waved his hand, and people dragged the women away, disappearing without a trace.
Ruan Ning shivered, wondering if she would meet the same fate if she ever offended him.
Shang Mian embraced her and smiled, asking, ‘Those old schemers urged me to ascend the throne immediately. Do you want to be empress?’
Ruan Ning shook her head.”
