Liao Tingyan couldn't help but glance towards the palace door for the third time.

Guiye, who was serving her, brought over a bowl of cold soup. Seeing Liao Tingyan's gaze sweeping over the door, she understood and knelt down beside her, gently asking, "Are you waiting for His Majesty?"

In fact, Liao Tingyan wasn't waiting for Sima Jiao, and even wished he wouldn't show up. But in the past few days, he would come over every day to torment her lightly before leaving. However, today he was suddenly nowhere to be seen, making her feel uneasy, always worrying that Sima Jiao was planning something big, scaring herself.

However, her fear of this madman was mistaken by Guiye as deep palace lovesickness.

Guiye even specifically explained to her, "His Majesty should be in the East Hall of Taiji Palace, discussing national affairs with the Prime Minister and the Grand Tutor. I believe he will come to visit the Noble Consort in the afternoon."

After arriving here, Liao Tingyan realized that the emperor did not hold court every day. Since his ascension to the throne, he had always held a grand court session once every half month and a small meeting every three days. The grand court was held in Taiji Palace, usually with major matters to report, while the small meetings were held in the East Hall of Taiji Palace, where only a few high-ranking officials had private meetings with the emperor to discuss court affairs.

However, Emperor Sima Jiao was not very competent. Even for such small meetings, he would attend if he felt like it and skip if he didn't. Almost all matters were decided by the Prime Minister, the Grand Tutor, and the Grand Protector. Every day, he was only responsible for being a powder keg, ready to blow up one or two people at any time.

When Guiye mentioned the Prime Minister and the Grand Tutor, Liao Tingyan's thoughts began to wander.

At this time, the situation in the court could be described as "three kingdoms contending". The basic power was in the hands of three people. One was the Prime Minister, who came from a humble background and had received the favor and trust of the previous emperor. He had helped the previous emperor repel numerous foreign enemies and was a talented general. Before the previous emperor's death, he entrusted his young son to him, ordering him to assist the young emperor. Now, his power and influence were immense.

The second person was the Grand Tutor Duan, a representative of the noble families. He was the head of the Duan family, with centuries-old major clans standing behind him. He was also the father of the previous empress, that is, the maternal grandfather of Emperor Sima Jiao.

The last person was the Grand Protector Gao, who was in charge of the military forces in the capital city and the palace defense. He often reviewed memorials and handled important matters on behalf of the emperor, and was the most trusted old eunuch by the emperor.

The reason why Liao Tingyan remembered these three people so clearly was that they all had quite a few roles in the original novel. Well, to be honest, Grand Tutor Duan and Grand Protector Gao had more roles than Sima Jiao. They were the two old foxes who did many big things after Sima Jiao's death in the original story.

In the East Hall of Taiji Palace, Sima Jiao sat casually in the upper seat, flicking the wine cup in front of him from time to time.

"Your Majesty! That Guo fellow must not be let off lightly. I request Your Majesty to issue an edict to arrest Guo Yan, along with more than thirty members of his Guo family, and behead them all as a warning to others!"

The Prime Minister, a middle-aged man with a long beard and a martial official's hat, spoke in a voice like a resounding bell. His knife-like eyebrows were fierce, and with a cupped fist salute, he exuded a murderous aura, carrying a subtle sense of oppression.

The white-haired and white-bearded Minister of Personnel stepped out and cupped his hands, saying, "Your Majesty, please think thrice. Although Guo Yan is suspected of disrespecting Your Majesty and the previous emperor, he is a man of great talent. If he is really to be beheaded for his drunken words and his family is also implicated, I think it is inappropriate."

The Prime Minister snorted, bluntly saying, "Minister of Personnel, are you protecting Guo Yan out of appreciation for his talent or because of Grand Tutor Duan?!"

Grand Tutor Duan, who had been standing on the side with an unperturbed demeanor, finally spoke unhurriedly when he was involved, "Prime Minister, you are overthinking. Let alone the fact that Guo Yan doesn't have much of a relationship with my Duan family, even if he did have a relationship with my Duan family, if he violated the law, my Duan family would not tolerate it either."

The Prime Minister said, "Those slanderous words, how dare he, a mere junior official like Guo Yan, spread them widely!"

He turned to Emperor Sima Jiao, who was sitting in the upper seat, "Your Majesty, I request a thorough investigation into the source of this matter! I believe behind Guo Yan, there must be a mastermind!"

The officials below argued back and forth, but Sima Jiao's expression remained indifferent, as if he was in a trance and didn't hear what they were saying at all.

At this time, the Prime Minister put on a domineering appearance. Only then did Sima Jiao look at the lower seats and say nonchalantly, "Who did the Prime Minister say to kill just now? That Guo something?"

"Your Majesty, I request to behead Guo Yan and more than thirty members of the Guo family!" the Prime Minister spoke again.

Sima Jiao waved his hand impatiently, "Since the Prime Minister says to kill, then kill."

Hearing this, the Prime Minister showed a smug smile and glanced sideways at Grand Tutor Duan. The aged Minister of Personnel had a sorrowful expression on his face and silently stood back behind Grand Tutor Duan, while Grand Tutor Duan's expression remained unreadable, still looking calm.

Sima Jiao seemed very annoyed and stood up, saying, "Are you done talking? If you're done, then disperse." Having said that, regardless of what the others thought, he directly strode away.

The officials were already used to Sima Jiao's style and said nothing, each withdrawing. Only two old ministers showed a pained and worried expression, shaking their heads and sighing.

Sima Jiao walked out of the East Hall, his footsteps slowing down. With a gloomy face, he walked along the empty corridor towards the back. The eunuchs serving him followed from a distance. He walked all the way to Liao Tingyan's Furong Palace.

Entering the palace, Sima Jiao saw Liao Tingyan lying on the beauty couch, facing the gentle fragrant breeze by the window, sound asleep.

Seeing her sleeping so soundly, Sima Jiao's mood instantly worsened. Why could she sleep so well whenever she had nothing to do? He walked to Liao Tingyan's side and stared at her expressionlessly for a good while. Suddenly, he reached out to grab her wrist.

On Liao Tingyan's wrist was a white jade bracelet, which he had bestowed last time. The white jade was lustrous, and her skin was smooth. The two were in contact, and it was unknown which one was more beautiful.

Liao Tingyan's hands were always very warm, and even the jade bracelet on her wrist, worn for a long time, seemed to have taken on the temperature of her hands. Sima Jiao grabbed that jade hand and suddenly lowered his head to bite it.

Why would she wake up from a nap in pain to find Sima Jiao biting her hand? Liao Tingyan's first reaction was that there was no rabies vaccine here. Then she was stunned.

Sima Jiao not only killed people but also ate them? Eating raw human flesh, what kind of supreme demon king was he?

Seeing that she was awake, her eyes staring at him in disbelief, Sima Jiao laughed and let go of her hand. He even touched the tooth mark he had left and said, "You're awake."

Liao Tingyan: "...Your Majesty."

Why could this guy greet her normally with a straight face when the tooth mark was still on her wrist? Did he think she was blind and couldn't see it?

"Your Majesty, what are you doing?"

Sima Jiao let out a sound and casually said, "I wanted your company, but you kept sleeping, so I woke you up."

Your way of waking people is really unique. The last time I heard about someone biting another person to wake them up was with my roommate and her dog.

Liao Tingyan smiled, "I see." - Fuck you.

"What does Your Majesty want this concubine to accompany you to do?"

Sima Jiao said, "I don't know, anyway you must make me happy."

If he wasn't the emperor, someone like this would have long been flushed down the toilet. Liao Tingyan was infinitely gentle, showing a slightly troubled expression, "But this concubine doesn't know what to do to make Your Majesty happy."

Sima Jiao observed her expression and suddenly asked, "Can you curse? Let me hear you curse once."

Liao Tingyan's eyes swept over the red tooth marks on her hand, and her lips moved slightly. Fuck your mother, did you hear that you idiot!

She cursed in a delicate voice, "...Your Majesty is so bad!"

Sima Jiao laughed his head off, grabbing Liao Tingyan's hand, gasping for breath, "You, you curse one more time."

Liao Tingyan: Never heard such a perverted request before.

A burst of laughter erupted in Furong Palace, startling the people guarding the outer hall like Guiye. Especially Jin De, the eunuch who had served Sima Jiao for more than ten years and was the chief steward of Taiji Palace, looked at the palace door with a surprised expression.

Although the emperor was capricious, with many smiles on his face, such hearty laughter was really rare. That Concubine Liao, what kind of tricks did she have to be able to please His Majesty to this extent?

Liao Tingyan expressed that she didn't have any special techniques, mainly relying on Sima Jiao's erratic condition and unpredictable sense of humor. Who knows what tickled him each time he laughed.

After Sima Jiao had laughed enough, he pulled Liao Tingyan up with one hand. Liao Tingyan thought he was going to take her somewhere again and stood up with the momentum. Who knew that when she stood up, Sima Jiao himself lay back down in the position she had just been in.

Before Liao Tingyan could react, Sima Jiao used force again and pulled her onto the beauty couch with him, letting her lie on top of him.

Liao Tingyan remained motionless, feeling an arm around her waist and a chin resting on the top of her head. She was lying in Sima Jiao's arms and felt that this situation was a bit awkward.

It was broad daylight, the windows were open, the couch was so small, and the cushion wasn't soft enough... So was Sima Jiao suddenly being lecherous going to sleep with her? Did the original story have any sense at all?!

Sima Jiao held her in his arms as they lay together. He took the hand that he had bitten earlier, the red mark still there. He just slowly caressed that tooth mark, not speaking or making any other movements.

Seeing that he made no other moves for a long time, Liao Tingyan's tense heart slowly relaxed without her realizing it. Then she went limp. After going limp for a while, she felt that Sima Jiao beneath her was like a cool mat. Lying on it felt cool and refreshing.

If she couldn't feel his heartbeat in his chest, she would almost suspect this was a corpse. Looks like his body was too weak, his hands were so cold.

Was it because his body was too weak that he didn't sleep with the female lead? While Liao Tingyan was lost in wild thoughts, she suddenly felt Sima Jiao sniff near her head, "What fragrance is on your body?"

Liao Tingyan was stunned for a moment. Fragrance? What fragrance, she didn't use any scented powder or the like today. It couldn't be that clichéd, could it? Sima Jiao wouldn't say it was the natural beauty's fragrance emanating from her body? The fragrance of a virgin? Then the topic would become more and more dangerous in this way, sliding towards an indescribable direction?

Liao Tingyan had just become alert when she heard Sima Jiao ask, "Did you eat something very fragrant?"

Damn, I guessed wrong! This man was really unpredictable! Liao Tingyan maintained her expression, "This concubine... drank some honey fruit wine."

Sima Jiao: "Bring a cup for me."

A maid who appeared out of nowhere silently went down and quickly came back up with a cup of sweet-smelling honey fruit wine, presenting it to Sima Jiao. Sima Jiao only took a sip before frowning and throwing the honey fruit wine along with the cup out the window, "What the hell is this, how can you drink something so sweet."

Liao Tingyan: Never seen someone so hard to serve.

"Your Majesty, the Grand Protector Gao has returned." The eunuch Jin De suddenly came in to report.

Sima Jiao moved his fingers and sat up, holding Liao Tingyan, "Let him come in."

Hearing the words "Grand Protector Gao", Liao Tingyan's heart stirred. This Grand Protector Gao lived for a long time in the original story, and could even be said to be the main big boss the male lead had to deal with in the later stages.

He was the eunuch who took care of Sima Jiao growing up and was also his confidant. Even after Sima Jiao died and his country perished, this Grand Protector Gao escaped and still gathered a group of people wanting to restore the country, causing a lot of trouble for the male lead.

After the male lead ascended the throne, he was still deeply troubled by him, because he had buried countless hidden pieces in the palace. When the male lead took over this palace, he was unable to fully investigate them, almost leading to his assassination.

This Grand Protector Gao was a formidable and cunning character.

However, the appearance of such a character was very honest and amiable, with an ordinary appearance that did not attract attention. Even his eyes did not reveal a hint of sharpness when looking at people. On the contrary, those tea-brown eyes had the magnanimity and kindness of an elder - completely different from the Grand Protector Gao in Liao Tingyan's imagination.

"Gao Mi, was everything smooth on this trip of yours?" Sima Jiao stood up, putting the hugging pillow Liao Tingyan back on the beauty couch.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, everything went smoothly." After answering the emperor's words, the Grand Protector Gao even took the time to bow to Liao Tingyan, looking at her with eyes that seemed a bit... doting?

Author's Note:

These are different short stories, not a quick transmigration novel. But there are connections between each short story, as for what connections, I won't spoil it. Also, about adding more chapters... Those who think I will add more are probably all new readers. (Sighs)