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

Chapter 195 Fireworks in Full Bloom

Shen Shixi took a bite of the candied hawthorn. It was sweet and sour, and tasted especially delicious. She ate it with great relish.

After swallowing, she said, "Then tell me, besides making my father angry every day, what have I done wrong to him? Have I been unfilial, or have I failed to help him when he is in trouble?"

"Hmph, with a daughter like me, who in the world wouldn't envy my father? Just you wait and see, maybe in the future, all the parents in the world will change their minds."

Li Yuanke then asked, "How will it change?"

"I'll just be born a girl, not a boy!" Shen Shixi laughed out loud.

During the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong favored Yang Guifei, who was his daughter-in-law. Bai Juyi wrote in "Song of Everlasting Regret": "Sisters and brothers all received titles and lands, bringing glory to their family. This made parents all over the world wish for daughters rather than sons."

Li Yuanke thought she was laughing at him, so he chuckled twice in response.

Shen Shixi got angry and kicked him, "You're heartless too! You should be secretly happy to have such a good... concubine like me!"

"Shut the hell up!" Li Yuanke cursed.

Shen Shixi knew he couldn't stand the word "concubine," so she deliberately stabbed him in the heart, "Oh, favoring a concubine, is that enough? Li Yuanke, a genius like me, you should appoint me to an official position."

Li Yuanke said, "Alright, I will grant your wish. Go and become an official. I will bestow upon you an official robe. From today onward, you will stand in the court and choose any position among the civil and military officials. I grant you the opportunity to serve the country, to work tirelessly until the very end, and to dedicate yourself to the cause until your dying breath."

Shen Shixi was startled and chose to be selectively deaf, focusing intently on eating her candied hawthorn without uttering a sound.

[I have no desire to toil away like this. Why burn the midnight oil? Isn't sleeping in much better?]

Li Yuanke found it amusing, staring at her, thinking to himself that this lecherous woman couldn't live without him for three days.

Bai Ping and the others knew their master's character better than anyone else, and they were so trying to hold back their laughter that their shoulders shrugged and their cheeks ached.

Enraged, Shen Shixi threw herself into Li Yuanke's arms, crying, "Your Majesty, you're so mean! Everyone's laughing at me!"

Li Yuanke lifted her into his arms, took a bite of her candied hawthorn, and winced at the sourness.

"My main concern is that you want to leave your mark on history and achieve something in both civil and military affairs; however, rest assured, I will have everything you do recorded, and you will have a place in the history of the Great Zhou; I seized the throne, I governed the country, and in my future, your name will forever stand alongside mine."

He looked into Shen Shixi's eyes and placed a kiss on her forehead.

Shen Shixi stared at him blankly, not even eating the candied hawthorn.

Is Li Yuanke seriously ill? What makes him think I want to be remembered in history? Does he think I don't know that whenever an emperor says, "Oh, you are a great contributor, I will grant you land and a title," he is secretly plotting to kill you?

What heinous crime did I commit to make him want to kill me?

Li Yuanke was truly struck by a bucket of ice water. He had long been familiar with Shen Shixi's extraordinary thought process, but he was still quite angry.

"Get off!" He shoved her.

Shen Shixi, like a roly-poly toy, wobbled back to him, climbed onto his shoulder, and coaxed, "Oh, Your Majesty, I like it so much! Really? You have to keep your word!"

Li Yuanke just watched her with a cold smile, and Shen Shixi couldn't keep up the act anymore.

Why is he still angry? Is this bastard really going to do it, or is he trying to kill me?

Li Yuanke was even angrier, and spread her legs apart, wanting her to slide down on her own.

Shen Shixi quickly clung to him, coaxing him with candied hawthorns, "Your Majesty, don't be angry, come on, have a bite, it'll sweeten your mouth and make you feel better."

Li Yuanke already found it extremely sour, and he turned his face away, clearly furious.

【No, I wasn't the founding empress; I was just a concubine. If history records it, future generations will condemn us both—a tyrant and a wicked concubine. Those scholars have such vicious tongues; they'll curse me so badly my grave won't even let the coffin lid rest on me. What good will that do me?】

"Well, Li Yuanke, it's not that I'm ungrateful, it's just that I didn't do much, I only came up with an idea. I really can't claim any merit. Besides, a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent. I'm just a concubine, I'm content with eating well, drinking well, and having fun. I won't ask for anything else, right?"

Li Yuanke felt a lump in his throat, yet he was helpless against her. He picked her up and said, "Put on a cloak and come out with me."

"It's getting dark, where are we going?" Shen Shixi asked.

Li Yuanke ignored her and went straight out the door, waiting under the eaves.

Bai Ping hurriedly brought out a peach-colored cloak embroidered with peach blossoms for Shen Shixi to put on, and whispered, "Your Majesty, tomorrow is your birthday. Today, please speak nicely with His Majesty and don't upset him at the drop of a hat."

Shen Shixi glared at her. "Why don't you say he made me angry?"

He went out while eating candied hawthorns.

Li Yuanke wrapped her up and carried her onto the horse. Only after she finished eating the candied hawthorn and threw away the stick did he urge the horse to run.

Bingzhou is mountainous with winding roads. From the moment the two left home, fireworks lit up the sky above the city, bursting into bloom. There was no curfew tonight, and there were still many pedestrians and vendors on the streets. Every household came out to watch the fireworks.

This is something that has never happened before.

It was breathtakingly beautiful, like a scene from a fairy tale.

"Li Yuanke, is this my birthday present?" Shen Shixi was turned around and hugged by him. Her face was facing back, and she could see the fireworks blooming one after another.

"Mmm!" Li Yuanke kissed her. "Do you like it?"

Fireworks are dazzling, but fleeting, just like a person's life, which blooms only for a moment in the long river of history.

"like!"

Shen Shixi looked at the fireworks that filled the sky above the entire city of Bingzhou. Such a magnificent sight was worthy of the emperor's handiwork. Even the fireworks displayed by the state on grand festivals in later generations could not compare to this moment.

The place Li Yuanke wanted to take her to was a small villa located on a mountain, making it inconvenient to get in and out. That's why Li Yuanke didn't stay there this time.

The horse stopped at the foot of the mountain, where the blue stone steps wound upwards.

After Li Yuanke lifted her down, he squatted down in front of her.

He wanted to carry her up.

Shen Shixi lay down on it without any psychological burden.

When she was a child, the highest mountain he carried her up had more than a thousand steps, but now there are only a mere three hundred steps.

Li Fude carried the lantern with trepidation. The night was deep and the dew was heavy. The stone steps were damp, and if he were not careful, he would slip and fall, which would be terrible.

Fireworks continued to bloom, their light reflecting off the mist and creating a dazzling display of colors.

Shen Shixi looked at him and kissed Li Yuanke on the neck. "Li Yuanke, you're so sweet!"

Li Yuanke chuckled, "Now you realize how good I am?"

Shen Shixi snorted, "It was just a fireworks display. I praised you, and you're getting all cocky. Li Yuanke, you're really petty."

Li Yuanke was so angry he wanted to throw her down. "Can't you speak properly? You can't even open your mouth without making people angry, can you?"

Shen Shixi laughed merrily, "Li Yuanke, do you really want to throw me off right now? Go ahead and throw me, go ahead and throw me, do you dare to?"

Is he afraid?

"Shut up, or I'll really throw it away!"

Shen Shixi took a breath and feigned grievance, "Weren't you celebrating my birthday? And you're still yelling at me, Li Yuanke, you're a real jerk! I knew you didn't sincerely want me to live a long life. I've heard that being upset on your birthday will shorten your lifespan. If I don't live long, it'll all be your fault!"