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“Please don’t be too anxious, Your Highness. She’ll need more time to get used to it, and once she does, you can let her sleep with you.” After a while, he pursed his lips and said in a low voice.

“I guess I was a bit too eager.” Lu Liangwei. She explained, “Actually, we know that you’re capable of taking good care of Ji’er, but you’re still young and unmarried—we’re worried that she’ll be a burden to you.”

Marry?

!!

Chu Qi was briefly stunned before lowering his gaze. “Please don’t fret, Your Highness. I haven’t thought about marriage yet. Ji’er’s a good girl—she won’t be a burden to me.”

Lu Liangwei sighed. “Fair enough. You’re only fifteen—it’s not too late to think about it in a few more years.”

Chu Qi furrowed his brow; he would not consider marriage even in a few more years.

After asking him about his duties that day and chatting with Chang for a while, Lu Liangwei reluctantly bid goodnight to Ji’er.

Having returned to Chu Qi’s arms, Ji’er flashed her a wide smile, all traces of her tantrum gone.

Lu Liangwei felt a little defeated.

If Chu Qi ranked first in this little girl’s heart, she and the Emperor probably had to settle for second or third place.

She squeezed Ji’er’s chubby cheek and smiled. “I’ll come back for you tomorrow.”

Chang saw her out.

Holding Ji’er, Chu Qi sat down on a stool. As he gazed at the baby girl in his arms, a hint of fondness crept into his cold eyes.

When Lu Liangwei returned to her bedchamber, she remembered what had happened earlier that day and decided to let Yin’er and Yaoyao sleep in the side hall that night.

After leaving a few instructions to the two nannies, she made her way back to the bedchamber.

The Emperor had gone to the imperial study after dinner and was not back yet, so she went to the bathroom and indulged herself in a relaxing bath.

When she came back out, Long Yang just happened to walk in, thinly shrouded in evening dew.

The quietness of the bedchamber caught him off guard, and his gaze landed on Lu Liangwei. “Where are the children?”

Lu Liangwei averted her gaze. “Ji’er’s with Chu Qi, and Yaoyao and Yin’er are sleeping in the side hall tonight.” She took two steps toward him and lifted her head to look at him. “You must be tired. Do you want to take a bath?”

Long Yang gazed down at her, his heart starting to race. “You want to take a bath with me?”

Without a word, Lu Liangwei started to unfasten his belt.

Long Yang swallowed, out of both surprise and delight.

After removing his outer robe, Lu Liangwei took his hand and led him into the bathroom.

A steamy atmosphere settled over the room.

Lu Liangwei’s rare act of making the first move sent Long Yang into a frenzy of desire.

The next day, Long Yang was absent from court for the first time.

Lu Liangwei was disapproving when she found out about it after waking up. “Why didn’t you go to court?”

“How could I focus on court affairs when my empress is so tempting?” Long Yang pulled her into his arms and said cheerfully.

His words reminded Lu Liangwei of their passionate night, and she immediately felt like smashing her head against a wall. What would other people think about the Emperor’s sudden absence from court?

“I told Zhao Qian to inform the public that I’ve come down with a cold so they won’t start getting any strange ideas.” Long Yang knew what she was thinking from her mortified expression, and he reassured her gently.

Sure enough, Lu Liangwei heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness.”

Aroused once again by the sight of her blushing face, Long Yang pinned her beneath him, but just when he was about to strip her, the sound of a baby’s cries came from outside the doors. He stiffened. Lu Liangwei, on the other hand, reacted by roughly pushing him away and scrambling up from the bed.

“Yaoyao’s crying…” Running a hand through her unkempt hair, Lu Liangwei hastily slipped on her shoes and started toward the doors.

Quick as lightning, Long Yang pulled her back. Combing her messy tresses with his long fingers, he said a little wearily, “It’s all right to let her cry for a while. You should clean up first.”