Chapter 123

"It must be the massages you've been giving me these past few days that have worked. No wonder I slept so well last night. In recognition of your massages, I'll reward you with that jade hairpin from my dressing table."

She slept very soundly last night; it had been several days since she had slept so well.

Zhu Lan was overjoyed and readily agreed.

Everything the mistress had was good, and this was the first time the Crown Princess had ever bestowed something upon her, so she was naturally happy.

At noon, Zhu Lan took the hairpin that Shen Qingnian had recently admired to Song Xuan's study.

She knelt on the ground and reported, "The Crown Princess slept very well last night and is in a good mood today. She ate two more shrimp at breakfast than yesterday."

"Was that hairpin on your head a gift from the Crown Princess?" Song Xuan glanced at Zhu Lan, drawn to the hairpin in her hair.

He remembered that the jade hairpin belonged to Qingnian.

Zhu Lan's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly kowtowed to explain, "It was given to me by the Crown Princess this morning. The Crown Princess's legs and feet have been prone to swelling lately, so I massaged them for her."

The Crown Princess woke up this morning to find that the swelling in her feet had gone down, and she had slept very well last night, so she rewarded this jade hairpin to her maid.

Looking at the jade hairpin on Zhu Lan's head, Song Xuan felt a pang of sadness in his heart, and his gentle expression turned somber.

Seeing this, Zhu Lan repeatedly said, "Your Highness, spare me! Your Highness, spare me! This servant will remove the hairpin right away."

After saying that, she raised her hand to take the jade hairpin from her hair, but Song Xuan stopped her.

Song Xuan's tone remained gentle, yet tinged with coldness: "Since it was a gift from the Crown Princess, then you should take good care of it."

After he finished speaking, he waved to Xia Xiazi and said, "Take the person away."

Song Xuan felt somewhat frustrated that a palace maid had stolen his credit.

Zhu Lan quickly got up from the ground and followed Xia Zi out of the study.

Outside the study, Xiazi pulled Zhu Lan aside and warned her, "You're such a clever girl, don't wear that hairpin, or you might lose your head!"

Zhu Lan hurriedly removed the jade hairpin from her hair, her expression somewhat distressed: "I had no idea His Highness the Crown Prince would be so angry..."

If she had known, she would never have worn the jade hairpin.

Xiazi hesitated for a moment, then waved her hand, telling Zhu Lan to leave quickly.

Based on the scene of His Highness the Crown Prince climbing through the window into the sleeping quarters last night, he could roughly guess why His Highness was angry...

Ah, His Highness the Crown Prince certainly has it tough.

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Several days passed in this way. After finishing his official duties at night, Song Xuan would climb through the window into the bedchamber to massage Shen Qingnian's acupoints on her feet.

Shen Qingnian's spirits had visibly improved, but she still ignored Song Xuan. With his coronation imminent, she had no mind to care about anything else, only replaying the events of his coronation day in her mind over and over again...

Song Xuan has been extremely busy these days. The finished fireworks have already been delivered to the East Palace, and he is just waiting to send them to Shen Qingnian to apologize.

Time quickly came to the day before the coronation.

That evening, Song Xuan returned to the Eastern Palace early, hoping to reconcile with Qing Nian before ascending the throne. The fireworks display was to be held that night.

He understood that Qing Nian was very irritable because of her big belly, but he couldn't wait any longer. He wanted to see Qing Nian's smiling face as soon as the coronation ceremony was over tomorrow.

The spring chill lingered, and the evening breeze carried a hint of cold, but it couldn't dispel Song Xuan's slightly excited mood.

He did not go directly to the bedroom, but first went to the small kitchen to make a bowl of shrimp wontons before going to the bedroom.

I just heard Xiazi report that she had no appetite and did not have dinner.