mesbooks Chapter 289 Where Can You Hide Next Year?
Chapter 289 Where Can You Hide Next Year?
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window into the room. She slowly opened her eyes and found the bed beside her empty. Su Nuannuan's heart skipped a beat, realizing that the Emperor had already gone to court.
She slowly sat up, stretched, and then softly called out, "Jinse, Yaoqin."
Before she finished speaking, Jinse and Yaoqin quickly walked in, one carrying a basin of water and the other carrying a bowl of medicine.
"Your Majesty, you're awake!" Jinse said with a smile. "Wash up first, then drink this contraceptive soup." As she spoke, she handed the contraceptive soup to Su Nuannuan.
Su Nuannuan glanced at the bowl of contraceptive soup, shook her head, and said, "No need to drink it. The Emperor didn't do anything last night."
Upon hearing this, Jinse was somewhat surprised. She stared at Su Nuannuan with wide eyes, seemingly incredulous. However, Su Nuannuan remained calm, clearly not joking.
Jinse sighed helplessly and had no choice but to put the bowl of contraceptive soup aside. She muttered to herself, "If I had known that His Majesty hadn't done anything last night, I shouldn't have stayed so far away from Your Highness. I wasted my time worrying."
Su Nuannuan seemed to see through Jinse's thoughts and said with a smile, "What are you thinking, you silly girl? I am still guarding the Empress Dowager's tomb. Even if the Emperor had such thoughts, it would be useless."
Upon hearing Su Nuannuan's words, Jinse suddenly realized her mistake and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes, yes, I was really confused."
Su Nuannuan's lips curled into a slight smile, ignoring Jinse. Her gaze then turned to Yaoqin, and she asked softly, "By the way, have all the things been loaded onto the carriage?"
Yaoqin replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, Eunuch Li arranged for people to move the things onto the carriage early this morning." As she spoke, she handed a wrung-out handkerchief to Su Nuannuan with gentle and skillful movements.
Su Nuannuan took the handkerchief, carefully wiped her face, then handed it back to Yaoqin and continued to ask, "Where are Cheng'er and Yao'er?"
Yaoqin replied with a smile, "The young prince and the eldest princess went to the East Palace to say goodbye to His Highness the Crown Prince."
Su Nuannuan nodded, feeling slightly relieved. She knew that Cheng'er and Yao'er had a close relationship with His Highness the Crown Prince, so it was natural for her to say goodbye this time.
By the time Su Nuannuan finished dressing, quite some time had passed, but the two children still hadn't returned. Just as she was about to send someone to the East Palace to look for them and bring them back for breakfast, Li Quan hurriedly walked in.
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Liu from the Eastern Palace requests an audience." Li Quan bowed respectfully.
"Let him in!" Su Nuannuan said calmly.
A moment later, a young eunuch followed Li Quanshu in quickly.
"This servant Liu Quan greets Consort Zhuang." The young eunuch Liu Quan bowed and said.
"Eunuch Liu, does the Crown Prince have any instructions?" Su Nuannuan sat upright on the couch, her beautiful eyes sparkling as she looked at Eunuch Liu before her and asked softly.
Liu Quan quickly bowed and replied with a smile, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince has left Prince Yong and Princess Jianping for breakfast at the East Palace. He was afraid that Your Highness might not be able to find the young prince and princess, so he specially sent me to report this."
Su Nuannuan nodded slightly to indicate that she understood, and then said, "I understand. Please ask Eunuch Liu to go back and tell the young prince and princess that we will depart promptly at Chenshi (7-9 AM)."
Liu Quan bowed again and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty is too kind. It is only my duty to deliver messages. Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely pass on the message to the young prince and Princess Jianping." After saying this, he slowly withdrew from Cuiwei Palace under Li Quan's guidance.
Since the two children had been kept at the East Palace for breakfast by the Crown Prince, Su Nuannuan no longer needed to wait for them. She got up, moved to the table, and casually ate some breakfast.
After finishing her meal, Su Nuannuan tidied herself up briefly and then headed to Anning Palace to bid farewell to the Empress.
When she stepped into Anning Palace, she unexpectedly encountered Consort Li. The two smiled at each other and exchanged a few pleasantries.
After Su Nuannuan paid her respects to the Empress, she chatted with her for a while. The Empress was very attentive to her and reminded her to be careful on her journey.
After bidding farewell to the Empress, Su Nuannuan was about to leave when Consort Li rose to see her off. The two walked out of Anning Palace side by side, chatting and laughing all the way, the atmosphere harmonious.
Along the way, Su Nuannuan and Consort Li chatted easily and happily, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the palace gate.
From afar, Su Nuannuan spotted the two children. They stood there obediently, seemingly having been waiting for some time.
"Sister Li, it's time for me to set off," Su Nuannuan said to Consort Li with a smile. "We can continue our conversation when I return to the palace next year."
"Sister Zhuang, have a safe journey," Consort Li replied gently with a smile.
Su Nuannuan slowly stepped down from the sedan chair, waved gently, and then turned and walked towards the carriage.
After Su Nuannuan boarded the carriage and settled in, she lifted the curtain and looked out. To her surprise, she found that Consort Li had not left, but was still standing in the same spot, quietly watching her.
Su Nuannuan felt a warmth in her heart and quickly waved again, signaling Consort Li to return. Consort Li smiled slightly, waved back to Su Nuannuan, and then turned to instruct the eunuchs carrying the sedan chair to return to the palace.
Watching Consort Li's figure gradually disappear into the distance, Su Nuannuan instructed Tingyu to set off.
Meanwhile, in the imperial study, the Emperor was engrossed in reviewing memorials. Suddenly, he heard Li Desheng beside him whisper, "Your Majesty, Consort Zhuang, the young prince, and the eldest princess have already left."
The emperor paused slightly in his hand, raised his head, and asked with a puzzled look, "Just like that, you're leaving?"
"Before leaving, I went to Anning Palace to bid farewell to the Empress," Li Desheng said tremblingly, his voice so soft that it seemed only he could hear it.
"This heartless wretch!" the Emperor exclaimed, slamming the memorial in his hand onto the imperial desk.
"Please calm your anger, Your Majesty!" Li Desheng was pale, his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he knelt on the ground, his body trembling slightly.
Looking at the trembling Li Desheng before him, the Emperor's anger subsided slightly, but his voice still carried a hint of authority: "What are you doing? Get up!"
Li Desheng felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He shakily got up from the ground, lowered his head, and dared not look the emperor in the eye.
A faint, ambiguous smile appeared on the Emperor's lips. His tone was calm, but it contained a chilling threat: "There's still a year left. I'd like to see where you can hide next year."
Li Desheng's heart skipped a beat. He knew exactly what the Emperor meant. The Emperor had seen through Consort Zhuang's deliberate avoidance of him.
However, the Emperor was unaware of the truth behind this; he simply assumed that Consort Zhuang had taken the initiative to ask the Empress Dowager to keep her away from him. Thinking of this, Li Desheng couldn't help but feel a pang of worry for Su Nuannuan.
"Go to the East Palace and summon the Crown Prince," the Emperor suddenly said, interrupting Li Desheng's thoughts.
"Now that you're married, it's time for you to handle some state affairs for me."
Li Desheng quickly replied, "Yes." Then he hurriedly left the hall and arranged for someone to go to the East Palace to invite the Crown Prince.
After leaving the main hall, Li Desheng couldn't help but raise his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.