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Chapter 32: Drama
Jiang Wanqiu’s heart was beating with excitement.
Jiang Wanqiu was thinking about her future just now. She never expected Li Chengxuan to come at the next moment.
The bowl in her hand became shaky. Although it didn’t fall to the ground, some of the sour plum juice landed on the floor.
But how could Jiang Wanqiu care about this? Seeing Li Chengxuan walk into the hall, she stood up and put on a warm smile on her face.
She remembered that in her dream, Li Chengxuan liked to see her smile the most. He said that every time she smiled it reminded him of lotus flowers swaying gently in the wind.
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But Empress Dowager Song noticed Jiang Wanqiu spilling the sour plum juice, and she couldn’t help but frown slightly.
Although she didn’t like this Jiang Wanqiu, Empress Dowager Song thought that she was a quiet and amiable person, but now it seems that she is so impetuous.
Song Jinning also noticed this, and glanced surprisingly at Jiang Wanqiu.
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Tso nsxl pbl kp ps lmnkvle ycswv Nk Ubldtmwyd’p yaakhyz?
Rv’p ds osdela vbyv Fsdt Kkddkdt oyp pwarakple, pkdnl kd vbl saktkdyz cssj, kd Nk Ubldtmwyd yde Kkydt Eydikw’p alzyvksdpbkr, kv’p yzoyup Nk Ubldtmwyd obs vssj vbl kdkvkyvkhl yde Kkydt Eydikw oyp wpwyzzu vbl sdl alflnvkdt yde ynvkdt kdekqqlaldv vs bkx.
Jwv vbl rzsv bypd’v lhld pvyavle, ulv Kkydt Eydikw kp yzalyeu lmnkvle vs pll Nk Ubldtmwyd?
Uswze kv cl vbyv vbkp vkxl kv’p ynvwyzzu Kkydt Eydikw obs qlzz kd zshl okvb Nk Ubldtmwyd yv qkapv pktbv, yde vbyv kv’p bla kdpvlye sq Nk Ubldtmwyd obs okzz vyjl vbl kdkvkyvkhl vs xyjl bkx qyzz kd zshl okvb bla?
Gp vbl pyukdt tslp, xld nbypkdt osxld yal plryayvle cu xswdvykdp, obkzl osxld nbypkdt xld yal plryayvle cu uyad1. Mbld eslpd’v vbkp xlyd vbl rzsv okzz ts qypvla yde Fsdt Kkddkdt nyd alvwad vs Zwddyd lyazkla?
Mbkp kp vbl qkapv vkxl pbl’p lhla plld Kkydt Eydikw es vbkp.
Fsdt Kkddkdt nyd’v oykv qsa Kkydt Eydikw vs vyjl Nk Ubldtmwyd’p blyav kd sdl possr.
Jwv vbkp oyp schkswpzu bla okpbqwz vbkdjkdt, pkdnl Nk Ubldtmwyd eked’v lhld dsvknl Kkydt Eydikw obld bl ldvlale vbl byzz.
Li Chengxuan didn’t even notice Empress Dowager Song since the first person his gaze fell upon was Song Jinning.
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And since this first look, he could only look at her.
She only wore a simple light blue hanfu, but she nonetheless looked stunning.
Her sitting posture looked lazy as she fanned herself from the heat.
The corners of her lips were slightly curved upwards, and her eyes were filled with a teasing light.
Really?! Even if he suddenly got up and left that day, Song Jinning is still half-hearted as usual?
On one hand, he was angry at Song Jinning’s indifference, but on the other hand, he was glad to see her after so long.
The good thing is that Li Chengxuan is already experienced at hiding his emotions, so he managed to walk towards Empress Dowager Song calmly despite the conflicting emotions in his heart.
Looking away from Song Jinning, he asked Empress Dowager Song: “Zhen hasn’t been visiting the Empress Dowager lately. How has the Empress Dowager been?”
“With Ning’er coming over to accompany me from time to time, Aijia is doing well.”
Empress Dowager Song then asked him to sit down, and afterwards she ordered Cui Nong to serve sour plum juice, and then chatted with him about the weather these past few days.
She only said that it was suddenly hot and asked Li Chengxuan to take care of his health.
Song Jinning sat aside and slowly drank the sour plum juice while listening to the two of them talk, and had no intention of interrupting.
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But Li Chengxuan couldn’t bear to see her like this. Suddenly, he turned to her and asked, “How is the Empress doing these days? Is the Empress feeling fine?””
Song Jinning suddenly paused and looked at him.
Is the sun rising from the west today? How come Li Chengxuan asked her how she was doing?
He had never cared about her before, right?
But after looking at Empress Dowager Song, who was sitting beside her with her eyebrows stretched out, Song Jinning understood.
Li Chengxuan wanted to put on a show of love and affection with her in front of Empress Dowager Song, so that Empress Dowager Song can be rest assured.
Since the two of them have entered into a contract, she must fulfill her part of the deal, so Song Jinning was naturally willing to participate in this drama.
“Chenqie thanks your majesty for his concern. For the past few days, chenqie has been reading medical books in her palace. Chenqie has also been going to Shoukang Palace to talk to the Empress Dowager and Princess Jingle. Your majesty looks a bit tired. Has your majesty rested these past few days?”
After saying this, she continued, “Although there are a lot of urgent matters in court recently, Your Majesty should also take care of his health.”
Her face was filled with ardent concern.
The corners of Li Chengxuan’s lips twitched slightly.
Only in front of the Empress Dowager Song would she speak in such a good-natured and gentle manner.
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After entering this so-called ‘contract marriage’, Song Jinning has rarely shown concern or even respect for him. Besides giving him food and drinks, she does her own thing and is never bothered to care about him.
As for words like ‘taking care of your health’, Li Chengxuan didn’t even dare to think about it.
So when he heard her words of concern, Li Chengxuan felt very conflicted.
He hated her for putting on a show, but at the same time he couldn’t help but feel happy and comforted by her words.
Li Chengxuan felt that he was really too useless. He despised himself very much.
In order to avoid Song Jinning seeing his expression, he lowered down his eyes and drank the sour plum juice.
But Song Jinning didn’t even bother to look at his expression. This drama is done lah, why would i want to do a follow up?
So she shook her fan and continued acting leisurely.
Jiang Wanqiu was getting anxious.
Li Chengxuan didn’t give her even a glance this whole time. Even though she smiled warmly and greeted him with a soft voice, Li Chengxuan didn’t even bother to look at her in the slightest.
He only focused on talking to Empress Dowager Song.
And after that, he started talking to Song Jinning.
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She didn’t know if it was an illusion, but everytime Li Chengxuan looked at Song Jinning, stars seemed to appear in his eyes.
Jiang Wanqiu’s heart couldn’t help but be anxious.
She knows that when people look like this in front of someone, they must like that said someone. It couldn’t be that Li Chengxuan actually likes Song Jinning?
But this is inevitable, after all, Song Jinning is Li Chengxuan’s first woman. A man always has some kind of feelings for his first woman, and not to mention that Song Jinning is a stunning beauty.
But there is another thing that is worrying Jiang Wanqiu.
In her dream, Song Jinning was uneducated and arrogant. And later in her dream, Song Jinning became more and more crazy.
She was not only arrogant and domineering, but also narrow-minded and jealous. Whenever Li Chengxuan had a new concubine, she always made a fuss.
She would not allow any woman other than herself to stay by Li Chengxuan’s side, nor would she allow any woman other than herself to give birth to Li Chengxuan’s children. So for a long time, whenever there was news of a pregnant woman in the harem, news would soon follow that the woman had miscarried due to various accidents.
Jiang Wanqiu’s first child was also killed by her 


This incident accelerated Li Chengxuan’s determination to abolish her as empress.
At the same time, in order to compensate for the pain of her miscarriage, Li Chengxuan, despite the opposition of courtiers and Empress Dowager Song, gave her the rank and title of Consort Chen2.
Chen, the North Star, the name of the Emperor’s Palace. This title is already enough to express Li Chengxuan’s preferential treatment for her.
But now, not only is Song Jinning not arrogant and domineering, but is also broad-minded?
And unlike the Song Jinning of her dreams, who had a poor reputation as the empress, this time Song Jinning was even praised as a virtuous woman by the court for ordering the distribution of mosquito-repelling incense pouches to palace servants.
How can Jiang Wanqiu not worry about this?
Jiang Wanqiu is still a bit smart. She knew that it was impossible for her to make Empress Dowager Song and Song Jinning like her.
And even if Empress Dowager Song and Song Jinning like her, it’s useless. The only person who can send her to that glorious position is Li Chengxuan, who holds the supreme power in his hands.
So the key point is Li Chengxuan.
After thinking through this, her next problem was how to make Li Chengxuan notice her.
Jiang Wanqiu is very confident in herself.
Whether it’s in looks or talent, she still thinks she’s the best. As long as Li Chengxuan notices her, he will definitely be like in that dream, and from then on, he will only fall for her, and will even be willing to make enemies for her.
Jiang Wanqiu decided to use the matters of the past few days to enter into a conversation with Li Chengxuan.
Taking advantage of the silence, she interjected in a soft voice: “Chenfu3 heard that there had been waterlogging in the south, drought in the north, and that the border is unstable. Your majesty must be very worried these days.”
She remembered that in that dream, if Li Chengxuan encountered something annoying or maddening in court, he would tell her after returning to the palace, and she would softly comfort him every time, making Li Chengxuan very happy.
She thought he would react the same way this time.
When she said this, Li Chengxuan did turn his head to look at her, but his eyes did not have happiness or gratefulness, instead it was filled with disgust, scrutiny, and vigilance.
Even Empress Dowager Song and Song Jinning turned their heads to look at her.
Empress Dowager Song’s face was filled with contempt. This Jiang Wanqiu really doesn’t know her place.
As for Song Jinning, her look echoed that of ‘did this person’s head get caught in a door, how come she would say this type of thing?’ kind of look.
Looking at these 3 people giving her heavy glances, Jiang Wanqiu couldn’t help but start panicking.