Princess Zhaoyang stayed in the palace for a few days, thinking that she had hidden her intentions very well, but Dong Lingjiu still saw some of her eagerness.
　　The day before the banquet, the weather turned cooler, and the night wind was rustling outside.
　　There was a lamp in front of the table, Ruixue was picking up the lamp flowers, and the halo was cast on the wall behind the Empress Dowager, shaking a hazy shadow.
　　"She didn't choose a male lover in the mansion?" Dong Lingjiu put down his pen and asked casually when he was free.
　　"Yes," Ruixue replied, "That's what the princess's mansion said."
　　"Let her be." Dong Lingjiu said, "It seems that there is some treasure in my palace that Yingying is thinking about."
　　Li Ruixue didn't think about anything else for a while. She thought that there was only one doctor named Zheng who often came to the Cining Palace, and he was also good-looking. After thinking about it for a while, she thought about it and thought about it a little bit: "Master Zheng doesn't talk to the princess often."
　　"Of course he won't." Dong Lingjiu trusted him very much.
　　As he was talking, Zheng Yuheng came in from outside. The wind made him a little cold, but he was in good spirits. The whip wounds were almost healed. The more delicate wounds had already fallen off, leaving only a deep red mark.
　　The mark was reflected on his body, as if the petals were crushed, and the juice dripped down, wet and greasy all over his body. The nail polish fell on the white jade, with a sense of destruction that made people dirty and damaged.
　　Dong Lingjiu naturally didn't want to hurt him, but because she personally supervised his injuries and applied medicine to the young doctor in the first few days, she remembered it more deeply. When
　　Zheng Yuheng saw her looking over, she went forward to take his pulse and asked how he felt after taking the medicine after dinner... He asked first and then remembered it, with a serious look. He was carefully calculating the effect of the medicine when he suddenly heard Dong Lingjiu ask, "Tomorrow, the prince of Lin'an will get married. Since I have issued an imperial decree, it is reasonable for me to attend the banquet and give the palace a decent look."
　　Zheng Yuheng nodded.
　　"There will be a doctor in the entourage," she said, "Are you going?"
　　Zheng Yuheng was stunned for a moment and asked softly, "Has the queen considered other accompanying doctors?"
　　This sentence sounded like a test, careful, careful, and a little dissatisfied. Dong Lingjiu felt that if she said another name, the young doctor Zheng would immediately lower his head and eyes, and his eyes would be red without saying a word.
　　Her guess was indeed accurate.
　　Zheng Yuheng listened quietly. He didn't expect that the Queen Mother neither mentioned anyone else's name nor directly confirmed it was him. Instead, she said, "The bride is the daughter of the Zhu family. She was engaged to you before. Her family broke off the engagement for the sake of the prince's family. Wouldn't Heng'er feel uncomfortable when seeing this?"
　　Zheng Yuheng never dreamed that there would be such a thing. He almost bit his tongue and hurriedly explained, "I have never met the daughter of the Zhu family. It has nothing to do with me who she marries. As for breaking off the engagement... If the Zhu family had not broken off the engagement, it would be a headache."
　　Dong Lingjiu looked at him with a smile.
　　After Zheng Yuheng finished speaking, he felt that he had clarified it too hastily. He was a little annoyed with his performance. He was so immature, so impatient, and showed his emotional changes. No wonder the Queen Mother still treated him as a child.
　　But he is not like that. He... He has grown up a long time ago.
　　So Dong Lingjiu said, "Then you can accompany me."
　　The description of "accompany" has a more special power than "follow", which makes Zheng Yuheng mistakenly think that if he stays with the Queen Mother, she can make her feel better. The Queen Mother really needs him.
　　After deciding this matter, Dong Lingjiu gathered her sleeves and stood up, walked towards the bedroom, and said as she walked, "How is your injury?"
　　Zheng Yuheng followed her: "It's already well, thank you for your concern."
　　His footsteps stopped outside the bedroom, only one step away from the door with clear boundaries. When he was about to bow and send the Queen Mother in, Dong Lingjiu suddenly turned around and grabbed his hand.
　　Zheng Yuheng was startled and was pulled in by her without any defense.
　　The bedroom was lit with candlesticks. Dong Lingjiu pointed to the soft couch and scented curtains and asked him to sit over there, and then sat in front of the makeup mirror to take off his hair accessories and dress up, wash and change clothes.
　　Zheng Yuheng was walking over there on cotton.
　　This scene was too much like some kind of "visit". Zheng Yuheng's mind was in a mess. He thought about how he shamelessly let Dong Lingjiu hug him that day. Now the retribution has come. The Queen Mother must think that his previous reserve and nobleness were all a disguise, so she wants... she wants to punish herself...
　　punish...? Should she resist? Is he still innocent in front of the Queen Mother?
　　Zheng Yuheng's thoughts were in a mess. He held a piece of sleeve in his palm. When he lowered his head, he remembered that this dress belonged to Emperor Mingde, and he had a very subtle and indescribable feeling.
　　Dong Lingjiu let her hair down and only gathered her long hair with a thin ribbon. She took off her heavy robe and left a plain dress on her body. The fabric was faintly decorated with lotus flowers.
　　She walked to the front of the couch, sat beside Zheng Yuheng, and raised her hand to touch the other's collar.
　　The moment the collar touched the fingertips, the little doctor almost subconsciously shrank. At the same moment, the screen was completely unfolded, isolating the inside and outside. The palace guards who were on night watch lowered the bead curtain, making a series of fine, clear collision sounds.
　　Dong Lingjiu took advantage of the candlelight to press the clothes on his body, and picked it from the buckle on Yu Qilin's belt. The belt loosened and slid off very smoothly. She was about to open the other's lapels, but Zheng Yuheng's breathing suddenly became faster, and her palm pressed the edge of the front lapels.
　　"Empress..." He called her in a low voice, a little like begging.
　　Zheng Yuheng was so panicked that he couldn't speak.
　　This matter is really hard to say, just like a person who has long known that he is going to experience something very important, and has prepared, planned, and made enough psychological preparations for it, but at this juncture, it will still collapse all at once.
　　Zheng Yuheng is like a Great Wall that has been pushed down, and every brick and stone that once thought it was solid is trembling.
　　"I...I dare not," he bit his lip and said with difficulty, "I deserve to die..."
　　He really felt that defiling the empress was a sin, and he would not be able to alleviate this guilt until he was forced, coerced, and completely unable to shirk it.
　　Dong Lingjiu did not understand his complicated psychological activities, but just heard the uneasiness in his words, raised his eyes and glanced at him, and said: "Raise your hand."
　　Zheng Yuheng's hand moved a little bit.
　　Dong Lingjiu raised her finger to push it away, and said helplessly: "I want to see your wound and see how it looks."
　　Zheng Yuheng looked back with half-belief and half-doubt, his expression a little tangled.
　　While he was tangled, Dong Lingjiu had already peeled off the green shirt with ease. Her palms were very warm and delicate, porcelain white. She wrapped her hands around Zheng Yuheng's waist and hugged him lightly.
　　Her body was so light and frail, almost weightless, but when it fell into her hands, Zheng Yuheng felt as if there were a heavy chain. Just a hollow hug without actual contact, the chain was buckled around his ankles, and he couldn't get it off.
　　Zheng Yuheng took a breath, and said, "Then you see."
　　He lowered his head, his posture was like a sacrifice, just like a tribute to the gods, and there was a little pity in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.
　　Dong Lingjiu untied the rope buckle on his clothes, pulled his underwear down to his shoulders, glanced at the whip wounds on his body, pressed the edge of the red marks with her fingertips, and whispered to him: "Does it still hurt?"
　　Zheng Yuheng shook his head.
　　Her hand fell down, pressing all the way to the most injured part, and asked him: "Is everything healed?"
　　Zheng Yuheng could bear it even if it was a little stinging. Moreover, at this time, Dong Lingjiu's touch was more unbearable than the scars. His Adam's apple moved slightly, and his breath was not smooth: "My queen...you...don't..."
　　"Does it still hurt you?" she said.
　　This is not a matter of pain or not!
　　Dong Lingjiu checked his injuries very rigorously and meticulously, just like checking the little emperor's homework. Finally, she was relieved and hugged him gently, saying, "It seems much better. Even if you go to the banquet outside the palace tomorrow, you won't be tired."
　　Zheng Yuheng buried his head in her arms, his forehead against Dong Lingjiu's shoulder, his ears burning like fire: "Is it because of... this, Madam?"
　　Dong Lingjiu said, "Otherwise, what kind of lecher am I, who must tease you?"
　　Zheng Yuheng whispered, "...Is it not..."
　　Dong Lingjiu couldn't help laughing, holding his face and lifting it up, and said gently, "Look at you, what do you think of others? You haven't experienced anything, how can I bear to scare you." Zheng Yuheng
　　was ashamed, his eyes couldn't stop looking at the edge of the bed, and he wanted to kneel down and plead guilty to prove his innocence.
　　But Dong Lingjiu didn't give him this opportunity. She even let Zheng Yuheng lean against the inside of the bed. When the gauze curtain fell, her hand was on Zheng Yuheng's back, separated from the whip wound on his body by a thin layer of clothes.
　　Zheng Yuheng's Adam's apple moved, and he lowered his voice: "Your Majesty... I shouldn't..."
　　"Hmm?" Dong Lingjiu closed his eyes, "Do you have the final say in the inner palace?"
　　Zheng Yuheng immediately shut up, and felt the pressure of the Queen Mother again. He was not sleepy at all, and did not dare to look into Dong Lingjiu's eyes, so he could only stare at her lips.
　　Dong Lingjiu rarely applied lip balm, and her lips were soft and beautifully shaped.
　　Just as Zheng Yuheng was fascinated, Dong Lingjiu suddenly raised her hand and touched his ear from the back. After feeling the warmth, she laughed softly and said, "Why are you still shy?"
　　Zheng Yuheng tried to defend the last bottom line: "I am just an imperial physician..."
　　"Then let's have someone else accompany you?" Dong Lingjiu seemed to be thinking, "Who? Then..." Then let the cat come in and sleep.
　　"No." He blurted out.
　　Dong Lingjiu paused, opened her eyes and looked at him with a smile.
　　Zheng Yuheng lowered his head and reached out to hug her back, thinking that if His Majesty knew about this, he would definitely chop him into meat stuffing for dumplings.
　　He imitated the way Dong Lingjiu comforted him, gently holding her shoulders and back, and said in a gentle and soft voice: "You should rest, your Majesty... Yuheng will accompany you."
　　The little doctor came over and carefully touched her forehead.
　　In late summer and early autumn, the moonlit nights turned cooler.
　　In this quiet night with a heartbeat like a drum, Zheng Yuheng shared a bed with a person of the opposite sex other than his relatives for the first time in his life, and this woman was the most honorable and influential person in power and superior of this dynasty.
　　But in his heart, all the power and glory were just pearls and gems added to the gorgeous clothes and holy crown of the Queen Mother, and were ornaments to decorate her, and their essence was insignificant.
　　He almost longed to enjoy this moment, but was afraid that the moonlight at this moment would only stay on him for a short time.