allonlinenovel Chapter 618 Wanting to See the Empress
Chapter 618 Wanting to See the Empress
The city gates opened at dawn, but before that time, Li Jing had already packed her things. A small bundle and a long sword were all she had to do.
Before she even reached the side entrance, she could see Su Lingyue standing there in the dim light, dressed in pink and colorful clothes.
Perhaps because she had been waiting for so long, Su Lingyue kept rubbing her eyes, feeling sleepy.
Li Jing stepped forward and asked, "What are you doing here?"
When Caiyi saw her arrive, she smiled and handed her a bulging purse. "This is medicine prepared by the Princess. Each medicine has a name on it. Keep it with you on your journey just in case."
Su Lingyue walked up to her, winked playfully, and said, "There are still five hundred taels of silver notes inside. Don't skimp on your food and lodging on the road, and come back soon."
Yan Qing had prepared everything in advance for this mission. However, this was the first time Li Jing had someone see her off on a mission.
It feels pretty good.
Li Jing took the purse, a rare, almost imperceptible smile playing on her lips. "I understand. I'll be back as soon as possible."
The servant was already waiting outside with the horse. Li Jing put the purse into her bundle, went out, mounted the horse, and disappeared into the night.
Looking at the still somewhat dark street, Su Lingyue sighed, "It's such a dark road, yet A-Qing, a woman, dares to travel alone. She really has courage."
"Yes, but since Ah-Ching is so good at kung fu, Your Highness, you don't need to worry!"
"Yeah, let's go back to sleep."
Su Lingyue did not return to her room this time.
Outside Xiao Yu's room, the guards were dozing on the railing. When they saw that it was Su Lingyue who came in, they pretended not to see her and closed their eyes to continue dozing.
Yan Qing was sleeping on the low couch in the room. When she suddenly heard familiar footsteps, she didn't get up, but turned over and continued to sleep.
Based on her memory, Su Lingyue walked to Xiao Yu's bedside in the dark, took off her shoes, lifted the gauze curtain, and crawled into Xiao Yu's quilt.
Touching Xiao Yu's body, as always, Su Lingyue moved closer and hugged him, trying her best to transfer her body heat to him.
*
As usual, Xiao Yu was used to the person who would suddenly appear in his bed every now and then.
Seeing that Su Lingyue was still sleeping, Xiao Yu called Yan Qing over and helped him get up and go to the next room.
When Xiao Yu returned and lay down, Su Lingyue whimpered and hugged him again, seemingly protesting that the person she was hugging had left inexplicably.
Su Lingyue was fast asleep, but Xiao Yu was wide awake. Looking at the sleeping woman beside him, Xiao Yu's heart was filled with turmoil.
He longed to hug her again.
Xiao Yu stayed with Su Lingyue until the sun was high in the sky before getting up.
The furnishings in the room remained unchanged. Seeing Su Lingyue's charming appearance as she dressed in front of the mirror, Xiao Yu's lips slowly curved into a smile.
"You slept even better than me today. Did you go to bed very late last night?"
Su Lingyue fixed the hairpin in front of the mirror before getting up and sitting down on the bed. "Hmm, I slept a little late."
Xiao Yu asked, "Happy?"
Su Lingyue was stunned for a moment before she remembered that Xiao Changshi had been deposed yesterday.
Only then did she realize that from the moment she saw the Crown Prince's residence being sealed off yesterday, she had already forgotten about Xiao Changshi.
Su Lingyue snuggled up to Xiao Yu's neck, kissed him on the lips, and smiled brightly. "Yes, I'm very happy. I said I would make clothes for Your Highness, and they were finished last night. Your Highness can wear them after you've cleaned yourself today, okay?"
Xiao Yu was stunned for a moment, not expecting her to be happy about this.
"Okay," Xiao Yu replied gently.
Looking at the person in front of him, Xiao Yu couldn't help but feel his heart flutter again and again.
At this moment, he felt as if he were in the very heart of hers, warm and tender, and the strength emanating from there allowed him to fight against illness and all negative emotions.
Just as Xiao Yu's emotions were churning, Su Lingyue began to coax him again: "Your Highness, could you lend me two guards?"
“Okay.” Xiao Yu looked at her, smiling gently, without even asking Su Lingyue what she needed the guards for.
Seeing that Xiao Yu didn't ask, Su Lingyue continued, "My aunt was injured yesterday, and I don't know if Xiao Changshi's dethronement has affected her. Although I hate her for harming you, she did raise me after all, so I'm a little worried."
At this point, Su Lingyue's voice choked with emotion.
"And there's Eunuch He. He's always been very kind to me since I was little. His Majesty brought him back to the palace for treatment yesterday. I wonder how he is now."
Seeing Su Lingyue's reddened eyes and the worry she couldn't hide, Xiao Yu sighed softly, "Yue'er, you are my queen, you can do whatever you want."
Su Lingyue was initially worried that Xiao Yu would mind if she borrowed his guards to see the Empress, but upon hearing Xiao Yu's words, she instantly realized that she had been judging him by her own petty standards.
Su Lingyue blinked her big, wet eyes at Xiao Yu, leaned over and kissed him as an apology for her earlier thoughts, and then kissed him again as a thank you for his understanding.
Xiao Yu was quite pleased with her behavior. Looking at the person whose lips were still pressed against his, he whispered, "Go after you finish breakfast. Also, go and come back quickly. Don't linger on the way."
"it is good."
Warm breaths fell on her face, and Su Lingyue felt that nothing else could express her affection for Xiao Yu except kissing him, so she kissed him for a while before leaving.
*
After having breakfast, Su Lingyue took the gold medal given to her by the Empress and headed towards the palace.
Following Xiao Yu's instructions, Yan Qing selected two skilled guards from the manor to drive Su Lingyue's carriage.
The carriage stopped at the west gate. When they reached the palace gate, the guards saw that Su Lingyue had a gold token bearing the Empress's mark on her hand, so they did not stop her and let her pass directly.
On the way to Kunning Palace, Su Lingyue's mind was filled with the deep, bone-revealing wound on the Empress's hand.
My aunt loved flower arranging and calligraphy so much; I wonder if her hands will still be able to do such delicate things in the future.
Under a clear blue sky and blazing sun, the three of them, master and servants, had just reached the vicinity of Kunning Palace when, unfortunately, they encountered the emperor coming from Qinzheng Hall.
Upon seeing Su Lingyue, the emperor seemed momentarily surprised and walked straight toward her.
Su Lingyue, adorned with colorful butterflies and robes, curtsied and bowed to the emperor.
The black boots embroidered with dragon patterns stopped in front of him, and the emperor asked in a deep voice, "How did you get into the palace?"
The emperor seemed very displeased with her entering the palace.
Su Lingyue was a little nervous. She took out a gold medal from her purse and handed it to the emperor: "This is a gold medal given to me by my aunt, the Empress. She said she hopes I can visit her in the palace often and talk to her. Yesterday, I saw that my aunt was seriously injured, and I was worried about her. So I wanted to go to the palace to see her today."
Did the emperor not know that her aunt had given her the gold medal? Wouldn't the emperor be angry?
Su Lingyue lowered her head obediently, trying her best not to anger the emperor.
The emperor weighed the gold medal in his hand and saw Su Lingyue with her head down, looking frightened.
The emperor squinted at her, "What are you afraid of? I'm not going to eat you!"
Despite her fear, Su Lingyue couldn't admit that the emperor was frightening, so she could only lower her head and remain silent.
"Fine, since the Empress has given it to you, just take it. Visit her more often; she'll surely be pleased." With that, the Emperor handed the gold medal back to Su Lingyue.
"Yes, thank you Your Majesty."
Su Lingyue didn't dare to raise her head, but simply raised her hands to receive the gold medal handed to her by the emperor.
Looking at Su Lingyue's fair hands, small and delicate, each finger seemed to be carved from the finest mutton-fat jade.
The emperor placed the gold medal in Su Lingyue's palm and said, "Let's go. Didn't you want to see the empress? Let's go in together."
Still haunted by the memory of the previous thirty lashes, Su Lingyue lowered her head respectfully and said, "Yes."
Although he agreed, he was too scared and slowed down, falling two steps behind the emperor to create distance between them.