Chapter 3: Wedding Night.

“There is no need to rush. Your Majesty should finish your meal first.”

Xu Changle’s physical condition clearly had a good reputation within the palace, and the same was true in Xiao Tan’s mind.

To Xiao Tan, he was probably the type of delicate person who would faint if he ate one mouthful less at a meal.

But no matter what, with Xiao Tan’s words, Xu Changle could finally justifiably stall for time.

He ate slowly like a picky child.

There were at least a hundred dishes on the table. He would have someone pick a bit from one, eat two mouthfuls, frown, then switch to another and eat two more. When he got tired of eating, he would have someone feed him a sip of soup.

He looked like a disabled person without hands.

Of course Xu Changle was not disabled. He simply wanted to drag out the time.

When was the last time he saw the Empress?

It was three months ago, during the enthronement ceremony for the Empress.

He had been extremely busy during that period. One moment he had to sit behind the curtain selecting the harem, the next he had to attend the Empress enthronement ceremony.

Of course, as always, he had no say in who was chosen. He only needed to nod frantically whenever the palace maids sent by Xiao Tan asked, “Your Majesty, do you like this female sovereign from the so-and-so family?” and say:

“Yes! Yes!”

That was enough.

Everyone knew that both the ordinary concubines and the Empress had already been decided long ago. He was just a tool.

But even though Xu Changle was such a tool, some people were still dissatisfied.

For example, Xiao Linyue, the youngest daughter most favored by Xiao Tan’s aunt, and now Xu Changle’s Empress. She was quite unhappy about it.

Xu Changle did not understand her way of thinking at all.

He only knew that on the day of the enthronement ceremony, while he was racking his brains trying to figure out how to protect his chastity that night and absolutely not fall into any trap that would produce an heir who could replace him, the moment he stepped through the doors of the “Fengchen Palace” sleeping quarters belonging to the Empress, Xiao Linyue, dressed in fiery red wedding robes, drew the treasured sword hanging by the bed with a sharp ring.

“A mere puppet actually dares to step into my chambers?”

It was a sword gleaming with cold light, pointed straight at Xu Changle.

“You are worthy?”

At that moment, Xu Changle’s mind went completely blank. He did not even notice what Xiao Linyue looked like. There was only one emotion in his heart — wild joy.

This was simply heaven helping me!

“Ah— Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty has fainted! Quick, call the Holy Witch! Hurry!”

Thus, on the night of the grand wedding, the frail, pitiful, and helpless little emperor Xu Changle “fainted from fright” in a very convincing manner.

Moreover, after the palace servants hurriedly carried him back to his own sleeping palace, he conveniently woke up weakly before the Holy Witch arrived. Then he looked timidly at the arriving Xiao Tan and said:

“Prime Minister, the Empress… the Empress she… sob!”

With one sob, everything was left unsaid.

It was not that I refused to sleep with the Empress and give her face. It was the Empress who wouldn’t let me! She even pointed a sword at me wanting to chop me! I was really so scared!

“Sob sob!”

He was really so pitiful!

Xu Changle’s appearance attribute was 10, the human maximum!

What did that mean?

It meant that no more beautiful existence could be found among humans. His appearance had, in a sense, become something that could affect people’s minds.

Except for a small number of people with extremely firm willpower, ordinary people would feel dazed just by looking at him. A little more contact and their favorability would explode, and they would even make concessions for him to varying degrees.

For example, all the palace servants in this room.

They had been taking care of Xu Changle intimately for a long time and were deeply affected by his appearance buff. Their hearts had unknowingly shifted in his favor.

The moment they saw the look of fear on Xu Changle’s face, all the palace servants showed expressions of distress. Some even had tears in their eyes and turned away to sob quietly.

“Your Majesty, oh Your Majesty…”

The Empress has such a cruel heart! She actually wanted to kill Your Majesty!

The same went for the Holy Witch who hurried over.

When Xiao Tan asked her, “How is His Majesty’s condition? Will it affect tonight’s consummation?”

This Holy Witch surnamed Chen had no notable family background and was a rare commoner. But she possessed excellent medical skills and could tell at a glance that Xu Changle was fine.

But at this moment, His Majesty looked so pitiful.

That teary-eyed, frightened and uneasy appearance…

Sigh.

Sigh!

How could one not feel pity?

So this Holy Witch Chen did not even take his pulse before declaring firmly, “His Majesty has suffered severe fright, which has triggered his old ailment. I fear that tonight…”

The moment the words left her mouth, Holy Witch Chen felt a jolt of terror and her back instantly broke out in cold sweat.

Wait, what had she done? She actually dared to deceive the Prime Minister!

Fortunately, Xiao Tan had no interest in digging deep into the trivial matter of “whether Xu Changle could really perform tonight.” Her mind was clearly on more important matters.

She frowned deeply, her whole body radiating displeasure, yet she never once looked at Xu Changle.

“I understand.”

Xiao Tan’s gaze swept across the entire hall. Wherever her eyes fell, people dropped to their knees with thuds.

Everyone trembled in fear, including the Holy Witch. All of them prostrated on the ground at her feet.

After a long silence, Xiao Tan finally spoke.

Her voice was very calm, excessively calm, as if she were speaking of something insignificant.

“His Majesty spent the night in the Empress’s palace tonight and was not frightened. I do not wish to hear any gossip about tonight anywhere.”

“Yes, Prime Minister.”

The palace servants felt as if they had walked through the gates of hell. They had almost lost all strength in their bodies.

On the wedding night, the Empress actually attempted to assassinate His Majesty!

Having witnessed such a shocking event, it was already lucky to keep their lives. How could they dare to spread it? Wouldn’t that be seeking death?

Death would be one thing, but falling into the Prime Minister’s hands would mean a fate worse than death!

As for Xu Changle.

Xiao Tan’s gaze finally landed on him.

“My clan cousin has been gentle and virtuous since childhood and has been greatly pampered by the family. It is inevitable for her to feel uncomfortable after leaving home for the first time. As her husband, Your Majesty should naturally be tolerant.”

One sentence summary: My sister was spoiled at home. You just have to endure it.

Xu Changle expressed with tears that he was just a punching bag and he would endure it.

In reality.

Sigh, he was a delicate man after all. Being pointed at with a sword by his own Empress had made him ill for three whole months. It was very reasonable that they had not consummated the marriage in three months.

Not to mention the Empress, he was now afraid even when he saw other concubines! So it was perfectly reasonable that he could not go to the other concubines’ palaces either, right?

In this way, three months passed.

During these three months, Xiao Tan was probably busy with other matters and did not pay much attention to whether Xu Changle had actually slept with the concubines.

Until today.

At this point, delaying was no longer possible. Tonight, no matter what, he had to go to the Empress’s Fengchen Palace.

In these three months, after discovering the wonderful uses of his appearance stat of 10, Xu Changle had tried various ways to indirectly inquire about information on this Empress and other people who might affect him.

However, the people in the palace were all very shrewd. Even though he was just an extremely harmless-looking puppet emperor and the palace servants were very fond of him, when it came to topics involving important figures, they all spoke very vaguely and untruthfully.

For example: “Her Majesty the Empress has a gentle and virtuous personality and was extremely doted on at home.”

Or: “Her Majesty the Empress cares about Your Majesty and sends tonics every day.”

There was not a single piece of substantial information! And some were obviously lies!

After painstakingly gathering information for three months, the truly useful bits were not even as much as that one sword on the wedding night.

At least from that clean and decisive sword, Xu Changle could discern three characteristics of Empress Xiao Linyue.

Or rather, three pieces of information.