Chapter 116 Playing in the Snow Her words weren't entirely unreasonable; if not…

Her words weren't entirely unreasonable; if it weren't for his interference, she wouldn't be eating these simple porridge and side dishes right now.

After saying that, Qi Fan turned around, holding a white jade bowl in his hand, his face expressionless.

"Then I shall be punished to serve you."

Jiang Zhuoying stared at the lotus seed soup in his hand, her originally fair cheeks gradually turning slightly red.

Why does this guy seem to have suddenly become enlightened?

She stared at the other person's well-defined fingers, raised an eyebrow, and said, "I grant your permission."

The man lowered his eyes and began to spoon the lotus seed soup into her cherry-like mouth.

The taste in her mouth was soft, warm, and glutinous, and Jiang Zhuoying's tired mind gradually cleared up.

Chu Yixin entered the hall at this moment. He knelt under the floor canopy and was so shocked by the scene before him that he was speechless.

"If you have nothing to report, get out."

The sudden, chilling voice snapped him back to reality. He let out a soft breath and raised his hand to touch his forehead.

Fortunately, the master was not possessed.

This is still his original master!

Jiang Zhuoying was startled by his sudden change of expression, and before she could swallow the lotus seed soup in her mouth, she choked and coughed.

Could it be that this guy harbors resentment towards her, but has no choice but to grovel and fawn over her, thus transferring his anger onto Eunuch Chu?

And all of this was for the child in her womb?

The more I thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Given his cunning, it was probably true.

The girl with rosy cheeks coughed harder and harder, her slender and petite body trembling with the frequency of her coughs, and soon her eyes were filled with tears.

Her loud commotion caused the man in front of her to suddenly darken his expression. He put down the jade bowl in his hand, patted her back with one hand, and placed the other hand near her mouth.

"It's alright, just spit it out if you can't swallow it."

Jiang Zhuoying held his forearm and shook her head repeatedly.

He coughed violently a few more times, and finally the urge gradually subsided...

The man helped her back to her side, his eyes filled with worry: "Summon the imperial physician?"

Chu Yixin chimed in at this moment, "This servant will go and summon Imperial Physician Yu immediately!"

"Stop!" Jiang Zhuoying hurriedly leaned forward and called out to him, "I am unharmed. What did you have to report, Eunuch Chu?"

What a joke! To summon the imperial physician just because of a cough—if that news gets out, she'll be portrayed as a sickly and delicate person.

Chu Yixin stopped in her tracks and turned her head to look at Qi Fan's expression.

Qi Fan looked her over with a stern face, and only nodded when he saw that she was indeed unharmed.

Chu Yixin immediately breathed a sigh of relief and stood up again: "This servant has come to report that the people around the Duke of Rui's mansion have been arranged."

Having received such important news, Jiang Lang will likely soon be thinking about passing it on to Xi Yan.

They need to find out the path he takes to deliver messages, just in case.

Jiang Zhuoying's gaze shifted to the bowl of lotus seed soup on the table, which was no longer steaming: "This news is significant, will he back down?"

"Won't."

The apprehensive girl suddenly looked up; the man's eyes were dark and deep.

“I arranged for your father and brother to fake their deaths. The Xiyan people will never let Jiang Lang go so easily. According to their usual habits, they will definitely squeeze him dry and exploit him to the bone.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhuoying trembled slightly. Qi Fan was right. She didn't know why Jiang Lang had chosen this path of no return.

Just for that one title?

But that title should have been his in the first place.

"The snow is still falling. Are you going out to play in the snow after you finish your meal?"

Her hand was covered by a larger, rougher palm, which was warmer and gripped her hand more tightly, the heat gradually spreading from her fingertips to her limbs.

Playing in the snow?

The girl, who had been silent just moments before, suddenly looked up, her peach-blossom eyes filled with surprise.

These words don't sound like they came from Qi Fan's mouth at all.

It should be said that she was "childish and foolish".

How come this fellow has changed so much after just one trip to the palace?

Is it really for the child in her womb?

That can't be right...

Jiang Zhuoying quickly realized that the "playing in the snow" she was thinking of and the "playing in the snow" that Qi Fan was referring to were two completely different things.

The snow-white dumpling standing in the courtyard had a blank face, and when it saw the snowman built by the maids and eunuchs, it remained expressionless.

To be fair, this snowman is quite large, adorable, and incredibly lifelike; the maids even styled its hair into a bun.

"Your Majesty? Look how much this snowman looks like you!"

The speaker was Xiangyue, who looked excited. Standing beside her were smiling Xiangxing, A-Liu, Chu Yixin, and others, who were clearly participants in building the snowman.

Jiang Zhuoying glanced at her lightly; everyone was having a great time.

But he was wrapped up like a ball, with only his face showing. He couldn't play in the snow, and he couldn't even lift his arms.

She took a few steps forward and bent down to touch the snowman's face, when a man's warning voice, whose tone was hard to decipher, immediately sounded behind her.

"Princess."

Jiang Zhuoying: "..."

She stood up and remained silent.

Qi Fan walked over and stood beside her, feeling considerate: "I have already ordered people to search for skilled ice sculptors in Luoyang. Once their family backgrounds have been verified, they will be brought to the palace."

“But I don’t need these.” Jiang Zhuoying pursed her lips, trying to suppress her displeasure, but her tone still betrayed her resentment.

"What does A-Zhuo want?" His tone remained unchanged, just as it had been before.

Jiang Zhuoying turned her back to him, as if in a fit of pique: "In the end, it wasn't you who arranged all of this."

These words immediately created a somewhat awkward atmosphere in the courtyard.

The maids and eunuchs all stood bowed to the side, each one feeling insecure and not daring to utter a sound.

In the end, Chu Yixin assessed the situation, observed her master's expression, and silently ordered all the servants in the courtyard to leave.

Jiang Zhuoying remained standing in place until the man standing behind her circled the ball halfway around and stood in front of her, their toes touching.

One is black, one is white; one is tall, one is short; one is slender, one is short and round.

"Hmm? What does the Crown Princess want?"

She repeated the same words, but her tone was slightly softer than before, tinged with a hint of helplessness.

Jiang Zhuoying suddenly turned to the side and pointed to the snowman on the ground. It was specially built by the maids and eunuchs in the courtyard to please her, and they had put a lot of effort into it.

"I want to touch it."

Before she could get a response from the person in front of her, she pulled her hand out of the fox fur handcuff and leaned down to press it against him.

A handprint was pressed into the flawless snowman's face in an instant.

It felt like a soft, icy cotton ball...

The biting cold made her immediately withdraw her hand.

Fine ice shards remained between her fingers. Jiang Zhuoying shook her right hand, and a cold wind swept through her fingers, making her shiver instantly.

"Anything else?" The man's voice was calm but tinged with coldness.

Jiang Zhuoying withdrew her hand from the cup and looked up. She saw that the other person's expression was unreadable, with his eyes slightly lowered and his whole body exuding a chill.

The long-buried suspicions and displeasure were immediately exposed.

"You only care about the child in my womb!"

Jiang Zhuoying tilted her head back and said, "You don't care whether I'm happy or not, you only care about whether it's good for the baby in my womb."

In previous winters, she could play in the snow and have snowball fights as she pleased, and with the care of her maids, she never caught a cold.

Now that she has this child, she considers herself extremely careful and has no intention of playing in the snow anymore. She just wants to touch the snow and build a small snowman.

But none of this was what he was allowed to do.

Jiang Zhuoying suddenly took two steps forward: "Your Highness has condescended to lower yourself these past few days, it must have been hard for you."

"There's no need for this in the future. I know this child is important, and I will take good care of him."

The man watched as the fluffy, snow-white ball of fur slowly moved into the hall, his brows furrowed low. The cold wind around him seemed to be wrapped in fine ice, sending chills down his spine.

Jiang Zhuoying vomited again soon after returning to her room, even though she hadn't experienced morning sickness for quite some time.

She lay on the small table, the room was heated by the underfloor heating, and there was a stove for warmth beside her, so she didn't feel cold at all.

But she felt acid reflux in her stomach and didn't eat much that day, vomiting up almost everything.

Once her stomach felt a little better, and Xiangxing helped her lean against the sac, the dizziness in her head almost made her unable to open her eyes.

Xiangyue and Xiangxing dared not delay and immediately sent someone to invite Physician Yu.

Her request for a royal physician was naturally noticed by Chu Yixin's informants.

However, after causing a scene in the courtyard, Qi Fan did not go back inside. Instead, he went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation and talked with the Emperor for a long time.

A full hour passed, which made Chu Yixin wait quite a while.

After finally waiting for the person to leave the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he hurriedly stepped forward to report, but received a curt reply from his master.

"Have Yu Jin come over later."

"Oh dear, why bother inviting anyone else? Xiangyue said Her Majesty is feeling very unwell and has already invited Physician Yu!"

"What did you say?" Qi Fan paused slightly.

...

When Qi Fan returned to the West Annex Hall, Yu Jin was no longer there. The room was quiet, and the person on the bed had her back to him, indicating that she had already gone to bed.

The auspicious star was not in the palace; only the auspicious moon remained in the bedroom.

Upon seeing Qi Fan striding towards her, she knelt down first: "This servant greets Your Highness."

"No need, what does the imperial physician say?" In the blink of an eye, the person was already standing in front of her.

Xiangyue trembled and dared not answer: "Your Highness, please ask Her Majesty instead..."

Xiangyue's fearful attitude made Qi Fan frown.

With a slight wave of his hand, the maidservant who was prostrate on the carpet immediately kowtowed and withdrew.

The bedroom was quiet, filled with the delicate fruity scent of pear blossoms in the bed curtains, and the burning floor lamp added a touch of heat.

Qi Fan's throat was a little dry, and his gaze was fixed on the figure on the bed.

The little girl, who had been so fierce and quick-witted just moments before, was now motionless, buried in the blankets, with only her dark back of her head showing, her black hair covering the pillow.

"Ah Zhuo." His voice was a little hoarse.

I had just spoken quite a bit in the Hall of Mental Cultivation and hadn't even had a chance to drink water yet.

The person on the bed ignored her.

As he expected.

The man took two steps forward and sat down on the edge of the tatami mat.

"What did Yu Jin just say?"

Jiang Zhuoying closed her eyes, ignoring everything.

She was still reeling from the shock she had just experienced, and at the moment she didn't want to pay any attention to the noise from others.

I know you're not fast asleep.

"Letting him come back is just a matter of my word."

Jiang Zhuoying: "..."

Without opening her eyes, her tone remained dissatisfied: "Then you can have Physician Yu come back."

Why do you have to bother her again?

"I want to hear it from your own mouth." His tone was flat and even.

Jiang Zhuoying: "..."

Enraged, she kicked him backward with all her might, disregarding everything else.

"Get out!"

The man was silent for a few moments, then suddenly spoke: "It's just playing in the snow. If you really want to..."

"I don't want to!"

Jiang Zhuoying suddenly turned over, her bright red, charming peach blossom eyes staring straight at him.