Ji Man pinched Ning Yuxuan’s waist before helping him up and supporting him as they walked outside. 

  The temperature was comfortably warm. Ning Yuxuan and Ji Man were sitting on one side of the garden while Haohao was frolicking with a group of young servant girls. They felt quite fortunate as they watched this scene. 

  “If I hadn’t entered Nie Sangyu’s body, would it be Wen Wan that’s sitting here instead?” Ji Man suddenly asked. 

  Ning Yuxuan slightly furrowed his brow. “Why mention something that’s already in the past?” 

  “That’s true.” Ji Man closed her eyes. 

  On the path to here, she hadn’t deliberately harmed anyone. She only used things that she knew about human nature that wasn’t known to people in ancient times to her advantage and improved Nie Sangyu’s overall character. Perhaps, she has used some tricks to get Ning Yuxuan, however, her tricks was simply making Nie Sangyu into a better person. 

  It was only by improving herself and becoming more suitable to him that she was able to fully steal this man back. 

  By lucky coincidence, she was quite compatible with this man. 

  Although she hadn’t gone out of her way to get revenge, Qian Lianxue and Wen Wan were both dead. It was probably because her arrival had broken some sort of equilibrium? She felt as if Nie Sangyu was the one that had gotten her great revenge, and she was the one with a clear conscience. 

  There couldn’t be a better ending. 

  Lightly leaning against Ning Yuxuan’s shoulder, Ji Man watched Haohao from a distance. She would probably spend the rest of her life here. 

  On the other side of the garden, Liu Hanyun, who was wearing a cloak, was holding Xi-er‘s hand and standing at the entrance. Watching that dazzlingly and picture perfect scene from a distance, her eyes reddened. 

  Xi-er was nestled by her side. He timidly said, “Mom, Xi-er wants to go back. I don’t like coming out.” 

  Liu Hanyun closed her eyes and nodded. “Okay, mom will take you back.” 

  Compared to Haohao, who was extroverted and loved by everyone, Xi-er was timid and scared to speak in front of strangers. Other than his mom, he wouldn’t answer questions when anyone else spoke to him. 

  Last time, when Liu Hanyun thought she was going to die from her illness, she thought that this was for the best. This way, she would be able to entrust Xi-er to the marquis, and his father would show him a bit more affection. 

  Unfortunately, she hadn’t died, and Haohao was brought back to the estate. Liu Hanyun wryly smiled. This was simply the will of the Heavens. 

  — 

  Several days later, Ning Yuxuan went over to the other estate to check on the court ladies-in-training. Soon, it would be the next round of selection for the imperial harem. Last round, Zhao Zhe hadn’t chosen many women to formally enter his harem, so there naturally had to be another round. Qian Yingchen had personally selected the women that were currently residing in the other estate. These women were slender and elegant with attractive faces and figures. Some were gentle, and some were spirited. They were all well versed in zither, Chinese chess, calligraphy, and painting. 

  When these women saw Marquis Moyu, many hearts wavered. They immediately passed on tokens of their love in the form of scented sachets. When Ning Yuxuan returned home, he deliberately went over to see Ji Man while he was coated with a myriad of perfume. 

  Ji Man’s expression didn’t change when she ushered him inside and changed the medicine on his injury. It looked as if it was almost fully heated. Afterwards, she attended to him while he had dinner. 

  He had originally thought she was going to say a few words of reproach and ask questions, so he was surprised that she hadn’t reacted at all and was behaving so gently too. Ning Yuxuan relaxed, but he still thought her lack of response was odd. During the dinner, he couldn’t resist asking her, “If I bring home a concubine, what will you do?” 

  Ji Man raised her head to look at him. “My lord, Sangyu is only a commoner without status or rank. Isn’t it weird for you to ask Sangyu this question? It wouldn’t be Sangyu’s place to worry about this.” 

  “Don’t you like men that whole-heartedly devote themselves to one woman?” Ning Yuxuan raised his eyebrows. 

  Ji Man nodded. “My lord, aren’t you the one that likes a magnanimous main wife that can tolerate sharing her husband with several other women?” 

  Marquis Moyu coughed to clear his throat. He looked at her several times before saying, “Are you planning on becoming that type of woman?” 

  “No.” Ji Man slightly smiled. “Sangyu hasn’t married yet and has the power to choose whether to leave or stay. When the day comes that Sangyu has lost all hope in the marquis, Sangyu will leave.” 

  Ning Yuxuan froze in surprise for a moment. Soon after, his expression turned ugly. “You’re still thinking of leaving?” 

  “Of course, Sangyu has already said that Sangyu will only like a man who devote himself to one woman.” 

  “If I can’t do that, you’re going to leave?” 

  “What would be the point in staying?” Ji Man was smiling as she looked at him. “Life is better in the Heavens. My lord, do you not understand why I chose to stay here? If that reason disappears, why would I remain here? I might as well go back. As for Haohao, I might be able to bring him back with me.” 

  “Don’t you dare!” Ning Yuxuan angrily shouted. 

  Ji Man respectfully stood up and saluted. “My lord, please calm down.” 

  It felt as if they had gone back to the beginning. He was ready to throw a fit in anger while she remained unperturbed. 

  This was a tug-of-war over different ideals. Should they satisfy the other party or themselves? 

  Whoever loved more would lose. 

  Ning Yuxuan helplessly sighed. He pulled her over to sit down and forced himself to explain, “The court ladies-in-training in the other estate gave these sachets to me. These scents are supposed to be able to soothe people’s spirits. Didn’t you say that you haven’t been able to sleep well recently? I brought these back for you.” 

  “Thank you, my lord.” Ji Man brightly smiled as she took all of the sachets from him. 

  A woman needed to have principles. Moreover, she needed to let him know that if these principles were ever broken, then it was bye-bye. She had to mean what she said, so that he wouldn’t dare to repeatedly make mistakes. 

  Translator Ramblings: I like how the author shifts from Ji Man’s narration that she’s arrived at her perfect ending to Liu Hanyun’s very tragic point of view. She literally thinks it’s a worthwhile trade to die in exchange for Xi-er getting some love and affection from his father. It feels like Ji Man, Ning Yuxuan, and Haohao are in a bubble of joy and oblivious to everyone else while Liu Hanyun and Xi-er are left standing at the outskirts. I like the juxtaposition imagery of how their halo happiness is so bright that it makes everything else dark in comparison. And, just because Ning Yuxuan and Ji Man have forgotten/would like to forget about Li Hanyun and Xi-er’s existence, the author hasn’t forgotten. 

  On a lighter note, I don’t think Ning Yuxuan seriously wants to add anyone to his harem. He’s already experienced firsthand the chaos of having a harem full of woman plotting and competing for his attention. He starts off just wanting to tease her, and then he couldn’t help himself when he saw her unexpected response. He wants to test what her bottom line is. Then, Ji Man smacks him down XD.

  Chapter 450 – Women that he needed to marry and women that he didn’t (1) 

  A woman could be weak or tough, but no matter what her attitude was, as long as she did the following three things, her husband wouldn’t bully her. 

  First, respect her husband about his choices in his career and his other decisions. Give him sufficient respect. Even if you think he’s wrong, don’t criticize him and boss him around. Instead, in an appropriate tone, carefully give him suggestions. 

  Second, don’t rely too much on your husband. She could spend her husband’s money, but she shouldn’t completely rely on her husband to support her. 

  Third, no matter how considerate and gentle a wife was, she had to have a bottom line and have principles. If the bottom line was ever touched, it was necessary for an explosive scene to occur so that he would clearly remember to not do it again. 

  Ji Man had forgotten which forum post she had read these words. Anyways, she thought these rules were quite reasonable. If one day, she wasn’t happy living with Ning Yuxuan, she could immediately leave him. She wouldn’t starve to death without him. She had her rice store. If she wasn’t happy, she could go look for Errong and Yurun. He wasn’t the only person in her world. 

  If male chauvinism didn’t die, the holy war would simply continue indefinitely! 

  However, she couldn’t just think about taking a stand and fighting Ning Yuxuan. The two of them still had to live together. Her advantage was that she was a modern-day person, so she was more knowledgeable and slightly smarter than the average person here. 

  Right now, Ning Yuxuan was probably secretly preparing for the major event. As the person standing by his side, she couldn’t cause trouble for him. Instead, she had to do her best to assist him. 

  Men had their battlefields, and women had their own as well. After Erxin was promoted, Ji Man went with Errong to visit her in the palace. 

  Erxin’s rank wasn’t considered high, however, other than the empress, Erxin was the only one to receive the emperor’s favor in being promoted. Ji Man looked at this young woman’s delicate and pretty face. There was a big difference between her and Errong, who had a carefree personality. Erxin seemed like a sensible young lady that strictly adhered to etiquette. It wasn’t surprising that she had received the emperor’s favor. 

  Errong remained in the hall to chat with Erxin while Ji Man left to go to the empress’s palace. 

  The ceremony to promote Shen Youqing to empress had already passed. It hadn’t been as grand as one would have imagined. The emperor had publicly said it was because he didn’t want to tire the empress out now that she was pregnant. However, Shen Youqing knew the truth. Zhao Zhe wouldn’t be that considerate of her. 

  Now that she was pregnant, it wasn’t suitable for her to receive favor. With wave after wave of new women entering the palace, Shen Youqing felt awful. And yet, as the empress, she had to be the mother of the nation. She couldn’t show her jealousy or casually punish other people. As the empress, she was worse off than an imperial concubine. 

  Since Ji Man had visited Shen Youqing many times before, Shen Youqing’s servants had become familiar with her. She didn’t have to say a word before she was led to Shen Youqing to pay her respects. 

  “Why do you have the free time to visit today?” Shen Youqing wasn’t happy to see her. During the past round of selection, the emperor had kept several of the court ladies that looked similar to Nie Sangyu. This woman continued to be her greatest threat. 

  Ji Man smiled and said, “Sangyu just came here as an ordinary friend to pay respects to Your Majesty. Sangyu heard that Your Majesty has been feeling ill-at-ease, so Sangyu came here to chat with you.” 

  Right now, Nie Sangyu was a mere commoner, but she could freely go anywhere in the palace. If she did anything wrong, the emperor wouldn’t blame her. How could it be possible for the women in the palace to not hate her? If Nie Sangyu didn’t have the emperor’s love as her support, what right would she have to call herself the empress’s friend? Or, even be granted an audience? 

  While Shen Youqing inwardly sulked, her slight smile didn’t waver. “How thoughtful of you.” 

  “This humble woman thinks that Your Majesty doesn’t have to worry about losing favor,” Ji Man seriously said, “Your Majesty’s clan has worked hard to make strong contributions for the emperor’s benefit. No matter what, Your Majesty’s position as the empress can’t be rattled.” 

  Shen Youqing nodded. She knew this. However, without the emperor’s favor, what would be the point in being the empress? 

  “Your Majesty doesn’t need to avoid these new people and should personally train them. This way, you’ll become familiar with them, and everyone will become closer in the future.” Ji Man smiled. “This humble woman has said too much. Your Majesty naturally already knows this.” 

  Of course, Shen Youqing already knew that it was important to win over the loyalty of the imperial harem’s members. She didn’t need Nie Sangyu to teach her this. It was only that she wasn’t the type of woman that could tolerate her husband’s other women. 

  Ji Man didn’t say anything extraneous. She assured Shen Youqing that her position as empress was unmovable while hinting that she had to instruct and be guarded against these new women. Otherwise, what if they became major threats to her one day in the future? 

  In fact, not every palace was rife with the competition, even if there was, it wasn’t as fierce as it was portrayed on TV. However, after Ji Man carefully stirred these thoughts into the muddy waters of Shen Youqing’s mind, other similar thoughts bubbled over. Once Ji Man left, Shen Youqing ordered her servants to bring over the newly arrived court ladies to the eastern palace so they could respectfully listen to her words of edification. 

  There were people in the palace that were loyal to Ning Yuxuan. They took advantage of this perfect opportunity by playing a few tricks. During one of the empress’s lectures, Erxin was pushed from behind and sprained her ankle. 

  When Zhao Zhe heard that the empress was giving a hard time to someone that he was currently favoring, he was fuming mad as he took Erxin away. Although he didn’t reprimand Shen Youqing, a few people in the eastern palace murmured within Shen Youqing’s hearing range that the emperor must be harboring a grudge against her. Words like once a man achieves great success, his main wife would become the least favored were also said. Even if the empress was pregnant, she didn’t have a strong position in the emperor’s heart. 

  These palace servants were the best at their craft. Instead of saying these kinds of words in front of Shen Youqing, they would sneakily say this on the front staircase leading to the palace’s doorway. Even if Shen Youqing didn’t want to hear these words, it would be difficult for her to avoid hearing it. 

  Zhao Zhe no longer cared about her? Shen Youqing covered her lips. Extremely upset, she wanted to directly ask the emperor. She got onto a palanquin and ordered the palanquin bearers to bring her over to the emperor’s hall. 

  However, the palanquin bearers ended up taking her on a detour. Because of their dillydallying, her arrival at Zichen Hall interrupted the emperor, who was in the midst of favoring a palace maid.

  Chapter 451 – Women that he needed to marry and women that he didn’t (2) 

  In the marquis’s estate, Ji Man and Ning Yuxuan were sitting across from each other and drinking tea. 

  “I heard the emperor is giving the empress the cold shoulder. The empress is so upset that she almost miscarried.” Ji Man put down her cup and sighed. “You’re too ruthless.” 

  “If Shen Clan and Xiao Clan’s alliance isn’t torn apart, we’ll be the ones left feeling uneasy.” Ning Yuxuan put down his cup too. He looked at her very admiringly. “I didn’t expect that you would know what I was planning on doing and even lay out the foundation for me.” 

  Ji Man clicked her tongue and shook her head. “It was just a coincidence.” 

  How could she have known his reach was long enough to enter the inner palace? Wasn’t he a marquis that stayed within the bounds of his role? 

  Right now, was this considered a meeting of villains that were colluding together? 

  — 

  Erxin was truly a cunning young woman. Step by step, she climbed upwards without meeting any difficulties. In return for her sprained ankle, she was promoted to noble consort. She even went to the empress’s palace to thank her for her favor. 

  — 

  Using the excuse that he was sick and the superstitious belief that a marriage would cure his illness, Ning Yuxuan asked the emperor to hurry with bestowing him a marriage. He wanted to get married to Ji Man soon. 

  However, Zhao Zhe still didn’t agree. 

  Not only did he refuse, he also invited Ji Man to the palace to write poems and discuss them with him since Ning Yuxuan was supposedly sick. 

  “This emperor still remembers the poem you wrote in Luoyan Pagoda, Inviting you to drink wine.” Zhao Zhe smiled. “Can you write something else?” 

  Ji Man nodded and easily wrote out the lines from Prelude to the Water Melody by Su Shi. 

  How long will the full moon appear?

  Wine cup in hand, I ask the sky.

  I do not know what time of the year

  ’Twould be tonight in the palace on high.

  Riding the wind, there I would fly,

  Yet I’m afraid the crystalline palace would be,

  Too high and cold for me.

  I rise and dance, with my shadow I play.

  On high as on earth, would it be as gay?

  (T/N: Excerpt taken from https://www.ccjk.com/literary-translation-thinking.) 

  The emperor’s delighted laughter was so loud that even the people passing by Zichen Hall could hear him. And so, the people in the palace thoroughly realized that there was someone in the emperor’s heart. He especially longed for her and doted on her, but he couldn’t have her. 

  — 

  After Ji Man had been summoned into the palace by Zhao Zhe for three days in a row to write poems for him, the empress finally couldn’t tolerate this anymore. She tried to persuade Zhao Zhe into bestowing a marriage for Nie-shi and Marquis Moyu. 

  “Why?” Zhao Zhe pursed his lips. “This emperor doesn’t want to bestow that marriage.” 

  Shen Youqing trembled in anger. “Your Majesty, she’s someone else’s abandoned wife. Why do you insist on coveting her?” 

  Zhao Zhe angrily reprimanded, “As the empress, how can you be so petty? This emperor is only discussing poetry with Nie-shi. Why would you have a say in this matter?” 

  Men expected their wives to be magnanimous. When they requested for their wives to not be wrongfully and randomly jealous, they were usually saying this because of a guilty conscience. 

  Shen Youqing was driven out of Zichen Hall, and she returned to her palace and cried all night. Afterwards, the fetus wasn’t stable again. Seeing that the empress was constantly stressed from one thing or another, the imperial physicians thought it wasn’t likely that the empress would be able to carry the fetus to full term. 

  But then, Erxin came over and delivered a soup beneficial for pregnant mothers. It was made from a secret family recipe. The imperial physicians checked the results; the fetus had settled down and was saved. 

  However, later on, Erxin encouraged the emperor to favor the empress. The empress had been pregnant for three months, and the fetus’s condition was stable, so the empress was also willing to serve the emperor in bed. It was only one night, but the empress ended up miscarrying. 

  When Ji Man heard this news, it felt as if she had been blasted with the stench of blood. She couldn’t resist dry heaving. 

  “What’s wrong?” Ning Yuxuan put down his book to look at her. 

  Ji Man shook her head. It was probably because her imagination was too rich, and she had disgusted herself with the imagery. 

  Since the empress had lost her baby because of the emperor, no one else could be blamed. Shen Youqing felt lost. She closed her doors and wouldn’t see anyone for an entire month. 

  In the imperial court, case after case of Shen Clan’s members embezzling and accepting bribes were brought forth. Although Xiao Tianyi did his best to protect them, many people were still implicated. 

  Ji Man had a premonition that Shen Clan would become the second Nie Clan. 

  — 

  More and more people came over to marquis’s estate under the guise of visiting a sickly patient. However, whenever these people came over, they would end up staying sequestered in Ning Yuxuan’s study and discussing something with him for half a day. When they left, their expression would be very solemn. 

  Ji Man wouldn’t ask Ning Yuxuan what these discussions were about. She would just helpfully brew tea for him and rub his shoulders. When she was in a good mood, she would hum a little tune. 

  Ning Yuxuan had been staying in Feiwan Courtyard for a long time without staying elsewhere. When Ji Man was present, not even a servant girl could be seen by his side. Ji Man had also secretly followed him. She didn’t see him overly intimate with anyone else either. 

  If one day a tiger suddenly like to eat carrots, would you believe this is true? Anyways, Ji Man didn’t believe it. However, seeing that he was behaving so well, she was pretty happy. She behaved like a virtuous, little woman. From time to time, she would cook for him. 

  One day, when she was going out, she heard the servant girls discussing in the rear courtyard. 

  “Why does it seem like the marquis’s estate only needs the western courtyard and Miss Nie? What’s the point in have the other courtyards. They’re not being used anyways.” 

  The servant girl next to her hurriedly covered her mouth. “Be careful. What if someone hears you and tells on you? This household isn’t lacking in servants.” 

  Ji Man contemplated her situation. Did Ning Yuxuan enjoy this modern-day lifestyle or was he faking it? 

  That night, when they were laying in bed, Ji Man couldn’t resist the urge to ask him this question. 

  Ning Yuxuan was a bit lost. “What’s a modern-day lifestyle?” 

  “The way that we’re living right now, just you, me, and Haohao, and not many servants. I’ll cook for you and do your laundry, then go out to check my rice shop. When you come back from the imperial court, we’ll eat dinner together. I’m the only woman by your side.” 

  Ning Yuxuan looked at her seriously for a long time. He pursed his lips and said, “That’s not impossible. Right now, there isn’t any woman that I have to marry.” 

  He only had two types of women: women that he needed to marry and women that he didn’t. 

  Ji Man felt somewhat discouraged. After such a long time, it wasn’t because he enjoyed being with her more than anything else. Instead, it was because there was no one else that he needed to marry?