After the emperor read her mind, the salted fish concubine effortlessly won the title of empress.

Chapter 182 The Empress Dowager's Most Beloved Youngest Son

It is about a man named Yin An from Yuan Meiren's hometown. He claimed to be a wise man and liked to tell people that there have been five sages since ancient times: Fuxi, Shennong, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius. He would count the number of people on his fingers, but he would only count four each time.

"Everyone thinks he's a fool. Every time they agree with him, they'll say, 'You're one of them too!' And that guy gets really happy, holds up his fifth finger, and says humbly, 'No, no, you flatter me...'"

Shen Shixi laughed again, mainly because Yuan Meiren's storytelling had a storytelling feel to it.

Li Yuanke smiled and said, "Well said, you'll be rewarded!"

Lady Yuan hurriedly expressed her gratitude, and Li Fude then went to arrange for the rewards.

Li Yuanke then pulled Shen Shixi away. After walking a distance, Shen Shixi thought that the people behind them should no longer be able to see them, so she started to act up. She didn't want to walk and wanted Li Yuanke to carry her.

He placed both hands on Li Yuanke's shoulders, like a wild wolf about to bite someone's neck.

Li Yuanke had no choice but to slightly bend his knees and lift her onto his back.

"Li Yuanke, you must carry me for the rest of your life. Even when I become an old lady and can no longer walk, you must still carry me!" she said with great confidence.

"good!"

Shen Shixi bit him on the neck, and Li Yuanke was caught off guard, stumbled forward and almost fell to the ground.

Li Fude and the others were so frightened they almost lost their souls, and hurriedly stepped forward to support the emperor.

"You brat, what are you doing? Don't cry if you fall!"

"Aren't you annoying? I just bit you once, why are you getting so worked up?" She swung her legs, tilted her head, and bit Li Yuanke's ear, gently rubbing it with her pearly teeth.

Li Yuanke felt weak all over; how could he possibly walk? "Open your mouth and let go of me!"

Li Fude took a look and exclaimed, "Oh my, this is an eyesore! I can't look at it!"

Fearing that someone might see them, he quickly called for people to surround the two of them and turn their backs to them.

She wouldn't let go, and Li Yuanke wouldn't leave, so she had no choice but to let go. "Your Majesty, you're so kind!"

[You bastard, I commend you for not siding with your mother today. If you had said a single word against me, I'd be living with you for good!]

Li Yuanke pinched her leg, and Shen Shixi went crazy, giggling, because it was on the inside of her leg, which was her ticklish spot.

"Don't move!"

Li Yuanke didn't dare to provoke her anymore, so he carried her away.

Behind them, Lin Guiyou and the others could actually see them, and they watched silently until the two figures were finally hidden by the trees before they withdrew their gaze and thoughts.

"How wonderful!" Yuan Meiren sighed.

I don't know what she meant by "good." Was it that the Emperor and Consort Chen's relationship was good, or something else?

Consort Xue committed suicide. It is said that she wanted to see the Emperor one last time before she died, but the Emperor refused to see her.

A heartless ruler is hard to bear.

Seeing how the Emperor treats Consort Chen, everyone wonders if the Emperor will ever be so heartless towards Consort Chen in the future.

"I heard that Consort Chen knew the Emperor when she was very young, and that she always needed the Emperor to carry her around. I wonder if that's true?" Lin Guiyou asked.

Consort Li certainly didn't know, but Consort Yuan, being a veteran of the Prince's residence and a former member of the Eastern Palace, definitely did.

"Yes! When I entered the Prince's Mansion, Consort Chen already knew the Emperor. I remember that Consort Chen often came to the Prince's Mansion to play."

The empress looked like a little pink dumpling, wearing a pearl headband and a peach-red dress. She especially loved peaches, and the backyard of the palace was filled with all kinds of peach trees.

Back then, the little girl would often call her and the pretty Guo sisters. They would make her clothes, purses, make knots, comb her hair, play with her, and try their best to make her delicious food.

One year, the prince received a very beautiful necklace and put it on her. She wore that necklace for several years until it got too big and didn't fit anymore, so she stopped wearing it.

Consort Li knew that such things were not something one could envy. "No wonder," she said, "Your Majesty may seem cold and unapproachable, but you are actually kind-hearted. No wonder the Emperor dotes on you so much."

Everyone knows that without Consort Chen, Consort Li would surely be dead, so no one found it strange that she said this.

They reminisced about the past for a few minutes and then parted ways.

In this palace, one cannot say too much or too little, for a single word might offend someone if spoken carelessly, or incur punishment if uttered incorrectly.

Li Yuanke carried Shen Shixi all the way back to Zhaoyang Palace. He was covered in sweat, so he took a bath and changed his clothes.

"The Imperial Observatory has set the date. We'll depart on the fourth day of the third month. Your birthday will have to be spent on the road." Li Yuanke walked over and stood behind her, watching her write a biography for the monkey.

"Oh, Your Majesty, just prepare the birthday present." Shen Shixi didn't even look up.

Li Yuanke then lifted her up, let her sit on his lap, picked up his brush, and helped her finish writing the character "空" (kong, meaning empty) in the name of Sun Wukong.

"Who from the palace would you like to bring along to keep you company?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Shixi looked puzzled. She turned around, wrapped her arms around his neck, and said, "What do you mean? You want me to choose the concubines to accompany you? How am I supposed to know who you want to keep you company? Don't use me as a pretext. Humph, I don't appreciate it!"

Li Yuanke ignored her, glanced at her sideways, and was about to push her off.

Is Shen Shixi so easy to please?

She clung to him and wouldn't get off.

"Where did I say something wrong? Hmph, did I wrong you? Which one of them haven't you slept with? Do you think I would sleep with any of your concubines...?"

"Shut the hell up!" Li Yuanke snapped, "You foul-mouthed bastard, what nonsense are you spouting?"

"Oh! Why are you so nervous? I'm not into that kind of thing!"

The more she talked, the more outrageous it became. Li Yuanke realized that Shen Shixi was teasing her. She was annoyed, but couldn't help laughing. "If you have a child, don't bring him. You decide who to bring!"

"Then I won't bring any of them, you'll just bring me. I want to be a favored concubine for once."

Shen Shixi lay on his lap, fiddling with the jade pendant at his waist. It was a yellow dragon jade pendant, with a very pure color and excellent carving, even better than the one she had taken from Li Yuanke's private treasury. She wanted this one.

"Stop flattering yourself. Who do you think you are, a favored concubine? With your pretentious attitude, you'll fall out of favor sooner or later."

Seeing that she liked it, Li Yuanke tore off the jade pendant and threw it to her.

My mouth is watering.

"I've never seen you wear this before, where did it come from?" Shen Shixi pretended to be deaf and didn't hear the words of disfavor.

"I won't tell you!" Li Yuanke teased her.

"Tell me, tell me, I want to hear it!" she pleaded sweetly.

They've all become double-sounding words.

Li Yuanke got goosebumps all over, so he covered her mouth with his own and then couldn't stop.

But the two didn't reach the final step.

They played with each other's toys and ended up finding great pleasure in it.

Shen Shixi nestled in his arms, waiting for him to straighten her clothes.

"Li Yuanke, are we getting old?"

Li Yuanke nearly ripped her skirt off. "Shut up! Say 'old' again, and I'll make sure you can't get out of bed for three days and three nights!"

As she was saying this, she mentioned that she was going to her bedchamber, but then Li Yuanyin arrived with the glasswares that Shen Shixi had requested.

He couldn't wait to know what these things were intended to be used for.

Fortunately, Zhaoyang Palace is really big.

Shen Shixi had an empty room prepared, and after equipping it with all the necessary tools, she began distilling the already brewed liquor.

This type of wine is similar to rice wine or yellow wine.

The alcohol produced by distillation has a concentration of up to 96%. The alcohol is then filtered through charcoal to absorb some harmful substances and impurities.

Finally, dilute the liquor with distilled water until the concentration is around 40-50 degrees.

This is also the brewing process of vodka from the Russians, which Shen Shixi thinks is quite suitable for Beisha.

With the equipment set up and the process determined, the first cup of wine was successfully distilled, and the Li brothers were practically drooling.

So delicious!

Shen Shixi took a sip, and thought, "Hmm, it tastes just like before." She took a big gulp and then handed it to Li Yuanke.

Li Yuanke took a sip, then stopped himself from drinking more, and gave the rest to Li Yuanyin.

I have to say the taste is really good. It's spicy and hot when you drink it, which gives me full confidence in selling it to Beisha.

Li Yuanyin took a sip, and almost choked from the suddenness, but the taste was so good that he took another sip, and another...

"Oh, drink up!" Shen Shixi said, gesturing towards the continuously dripping liquid. "Don't blame me for not warning you, this stuff is poisonous if you drink too much. Your future children might even be mentally challenged. Aren't you afraid to drink it like that?"

"That's scary?" Li Yuanke was so frightened that he felt like vomiting.

"A little bit won't hurt. Or, should I let the Emperor have a taste?"

"What do you mean by that? Are you going to show favoritism in something like this?" Li Yuanyin was furious.

"Oh, he's my man, and you're not!" Shen Shixi didn't care about his fragile little emotions and stabbed him hard.

If the Empress Dowager dared to bully her, she would bully the Empress Dowager's most beloved youngest son.

But Li Yuanyin was quite useless; after a few sips, he actually got drunk.