allonlinenovel Chapter 106 The Imperial Palace, Here I Come
Chapter 106 The Imperial Palace, Here I Come
"Your Majesty, your period hasn't come this month." Yaoqin tiptoed into the palace and whispered to Su Nuannuan, who was sitting by the dressing table.
Su Nuannuan, who had been absentmindedly fiddling with the jewelry in her hands, trembled upon hearing Yaoqin's words, as if suddenly awakened. She composed herself and began to recall carefully, becoming increasingly terrified as she thought about it—it seemed that, as Yaoqin had said, her period was indeed several days late this month.
Immediately afterward, the scene of serving the Emperor a while ago involuntarily surfaced in Su Nuannuan's mind, and a surge of resentment welled up in her heart. She couldn't help but complain, "That Consort Jiang is really useless! She couldn't even stop the Emperor from leaving, she's utterly stupid!"
Hearing this, Yaoqin couldn't help but roll her eyes and complained helplessly, "Your Majesty, you should listen to what you're saying first. That Consort Jiang is just a mere consort, and her rank is much lower than yours. How could she have the audacity to intercept your imperial favor? Even if you gave her a hundred lives, she probably wouldn't dare."
Upon hearing this, Su Nuannuan was taken aback at first, then realized that she had gone too far with her words. She sighed softly and said wistfully, "Alas! If only Consort Su could have entered the palace sooner. With her personality, she would surely have dared to compete with me for the Emperor's favor."
After a moment of silence, Su Nuannuan waved her hand and instructed Yaoqin, "Alright, alright, Yaoqin, go and invite Physician Liu to examine me." However, as soon as she spoke, she seemed to remember something and quickly changed her words, "Never mind, it's still early in the pregnancy. Even if the physician takes my pulse, he probably won't be able to find anything. Let's wait and see; maybe it's just a false alarm." As she spoke, Su Nuannuan raised a hand and gently rubbed her temples, her brows furrowing slightly, looking worried.
"It seems that the most urgent task at hand is to find a way to stop the Emperor from staying overnight at Cuiwei Palace. Otherwise, if he really becomes pregnant, it will be the death of me!" Su Nuannuan thought to herself, becoming more and more anxious.
To Su Nuannuan's utter surprise, the opportunity she had been longing for arrived so quickly! It was as if it were destiny itself.
At this moment, Li Quan limped in and reported: "Your Majesty, I just heard that the Empress Dowager plans to go to the imperial palace to recuperate. The Emperor is worried about the Empress Dowager's health, so he is considering sending a concubine to accompany her and take care of her. However, so far, it has not been finalized which concubine to send."
Upon hearing this news, Su Nuannuan's eyes widened, her face filled with undisguised joy. She quickly asked, "Is this really true?"
Li Quan hurriedly bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, if this servant dared to deceive you with such a thing, it would be absolutely true!"
At this moment, Su Nuannuan was secretly overjoyed: This was truly a godsend! This was the perfect opportunity she had been searching for to get away from the Emperor! So she ordered without hesitation: "Jinse, come with me to Anning Palace."
Not long after, Su Nuannuan's grand procession arrived at the gate of Anning Palace. After tidying her clothes and hair, she walked into the palace with light steps. Seeing the Empress sitting inside, Su Nuannuan stepped forward and respectfully bowed to pay her respects.
Then he recounted how he was willing to accompany the Empress Dowager to the temporary palace.
"Consort Zhuang, are you really willing to accompany the Empress Dowager to the temporary palace?"
Su Nuannuan raised her head, looked directly into the Empress's eyes, and replied in a firm and sincere tone, "Your Majesty, I have indeed made up my mind to accompany the Empress Dowager to the temporary palace to take care of her daily life."
The Empress frowned slightly, seemingly surprised by Su Nuannuan's decision. She then reminded her, "You should think this through. Once you go to the imperial palace, it means you'll be separated from the Emperor for a long time and won't be able to accompany him often. Aren't you afraid of losing His favor because of this?"
Faced with the Empress's questioning, Su Nuannuan showed no sign of backing down. Instead, she calmly replied, "Your Majesty, I know that going to the temporary palace may temporarily distance me from the Emperor, but I believe that the well-being of the Empress Dowager is more important at the moment. Moreover, given my current rank, it is my duty to step forward and shoulder this responsibility. I humbly request Your Majesty to grant my wish."
"Since Consort Zhuang has made up her mind, I will naturally convey your wishes to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. However, if the Emperor has a different opinion, then I'm afraid I can't do anything about it," the Empress said calmly, nodding slightly.
"Your Majesty and Empress Dowager know that this matter is entirely up to them to decide. If things do not go as planned, I will not have any complaints," Su Nuannuan replied respectfully.
The Empress sighed softly, then instructed, "On this trip to the temporary palace, you may return to the palace only on the Empress Dowager's birthday and other important holidays. Otherwise, you will have to stay at the temporary palace with the Empress Dowager until she returns to the palace."
"Your Majesty, I understand," Consort Zhuang replied, bowing her head once more.
"Very well, since Consort Zhuang is now fully aware of the situation, I shall go and meet with the Emperor and the Empress Dowager."
"Your Majesty, I thank you in advance. I will take my leave now." After saying this, Consort Zhuang, Su Nuannuan, gracefully bowed and then slowly withdrew from Anning Palace.
After Su Nuannuan had walked away until her figure completely disappeared, Yingchun, the palace maid who had been standing by her side, cautiously asked, "Your Highness, what do you think Consort Zhuang's intentions are? Why did she suddenly decide to go to the imperial palace with the Empress Dowager?"
The Empress's gaze remained fixed on the direction Su Nuannuan had left, and she said softly, "She's just taking this opportunity to leave the palace."
The Empress paused, then turned to Yingchun and continued, "She must be feeling incredibly bored in the palace and wants to find a way to temporarily escape all this turmoil. Unfortunately, as the mother of the nation, I bear many responsibilities. Even if I yearn to stay away from court intrigues, I cannot act as willfully as she does." With that, the Empress sighed softly, her expression somewhat forlorn.
"I'm actually a little envious of her." The Empress's lips parted slightly, her voice soft, but the emotions it contained were hard to conceal.
Upon returning to Cuiwei Palace, Su Nuannuan eagerly instructed the palace servants to begin packing. Her face radiated confidence and anticipation, as if she could already foresee what was about to happen. She knew that given the Empress's favoritism and affection for her, she would surely speak well of her to the Empress Dowager, helping her achieve her wish of accompanying the Empress Dowager to the temporary palace for recuperation.
"Your Majesty, are you really going to the imperial palace?" Jinse stopped what she was doing, looked up at Su Nuannuan, her eyes full of doubt and concern.
“Of course. The temporary palace is spacious and has a pleasant environment, much more comfortable than this palace. Moreover, we only need to pay our respects to the Empress Dowager on time every day, and the rest of the time is our own. We can do whatever we want, how free and happy it is!” Su Nuannuan said with great enthusiasm, her eyes always on Jinse, as if she wanted to share her joy with her.
At this point, Su Nuannuan silently added in her mind, "Most importantly, once I go to the imperial palace, I won't have to serve that troublesome Emperor every day." Thinking of this, she couldn't help but reveal a sly smile.
Not long after, hurried footsteps approached. It turned out that the imperial eunuch, carrying the imperial decree, had arrived at the gate of Cuiwei Palace. Su Nuannuan quickly straightened her clothes, stepped forward, and respectfully knelt to receive the decree. After hearing the contents of the decree, it was indeed as she had expected, instructing her to accompany the Empress Dowager to the temporary palace for recuperation.
Su Nuannuan happily accepted the imperial edict, and after getting up, she immediately urged Jinse and the others to speed up the packing process.
For a time, the entire Cuiwei Palace was bustling with people, all very busy. Various clothes and jewelry were neatly packed into boxes, and Su Nuannuan's excitement grew as these items were packed.
"I'm coming to the palace!" Su Nuannuan shouted in her heart.