It was almost dark when Nan Zhiyun returned from Cining Palace, and Nan Su had already left the palace, since the palace gates would probably be locked if they were any later.

There was one thing that Nan Zhiyun kept bothering her: why hadn't the Imperial Preceptor left even though everyone else had? Was she still going to stay in Cining Palace so late?

Nan Zhiyun's brows furrowed deeper the more she thought about it. Yu Jingchen had come out with Nan Zhiyun, and to be honest, he hadn't expected to stay at Cining Palace for so long.

This feeling was wonderful, and all of this was thanks to Nan Zhiyun. Yu Jingchen looked at Nan Zhiyun beside him and took her hand.

"It's cold outside. The sedan chair has already been arranged. Are you planning to walk all the way back like this?" Yu Jingchen looked at Nan Zhiyun and teased her.

Nan Zhiyun then realized that she had walked quite a distance after leaving Cining Palace.

"What are you thinking about?" Yu Jingchen asked, noticing her absent-minded appearance.

“No… I was thinking about the Imperial Preceptor,” Nan Zhiyun said truthfully.

Yu Jingchen raised an eyebrow; he knew this girl had been "stimulated" today. Judging from her behavior, she was incredibly curious about the relationship between Gu Yin and the Empress Dowager, and she was very bothered by Gu Yin's attempts to curry favor with the Empress Dowager.

"What are you thinking about him?" Yu Jingchen asked knowingly.

"I miss him and the Empress Dowager." Nan Zhiyun was truly honest. The key point was... she couldn't fool Yu Jingchen either.

"Why worry about these things?" Yu Jingchen pulled her closer to him. The wind picked up, and the winter wind was truly biting cold. He was afraid that Nan Zhiyun's small body would feel uncomfortable from the wind, so he directly shielded her from it.

Nan Zhiyun didn't pay much attention to these details; she was quite carefree.

"Why are the Imperial Advisor and the Empress Dowager together? I've never noticed this before." Nan Zhiyun couldn't understand. What went wrong? How come she didn't know that her Empress Dowager and that Imperial Advisor had such a close relationship?

Moreover, that Imperial Advisor is acting very strangely. Why is he different from before? And why is he so intimate with the Empress Dowager? Most importantly, why hasn't he left yet? That's right, he hasn't left.

Nan Zhiyun felt uneasy thinking about this. Why didn't he leave? The palace gates were about to close, and even her father had left the palace. How could he still stay in Cining Palace? The more Nan Zhiyun thought about it, the more uneasy she felt.

Yu Jingchen carefully looked at the little girl in his arms, whose face kept changing unpredictably, and found it very interesting.

"What's wrong? Are you unhappy?" Yu Jingchen continued to ask.

"...Your Majesty, when will the Imperial Advisor leave?" Nan Zhiyun thought she should ask Yu Jingchen.

"How would I know? Maybe they're not leaving?" Yu Jingchen wondered if he was doing it on purpose.

“But he can’t stay in the palace, can he?” Nan Zhiyun reminded him.

Oh, are you in a hurry?

"Then what should we do?" Yu Jingchen asked her deliberately.

“…Your Majesty can let him go,” Nan Zhiyun said.

“How can I let him out? He came in without my permission,” Yu Jingchen said again.

“…” Nan Zhiyun choked up.

"Should I have someone escort him out?" Yu Jingchen found Nan Zhiyun's worried expression amusing, unable to understand what she was so concerned about.

Nan Zhiyun: "..." Why does she feel like this is a bit unreliable?

Then, something seemed to happen to her, and she looked towards Cining Palace before saying something that Yu Jingchen never expected:

"Your Majesty, may I stay at Cixi Palace today?" Nan Zhiyun asked innocently.

Yu Jingchen: "..." Living in Cining Palace? Yu Jingchen's expression froze instantly.

"Living in Cining Palace?" Yu Jingchen almost wondered if he had misheard.

“…Is it not allowed?” Nan Zhiyun felt guilty upon hearing Yu Jingchen’s question and dared not say anything else.

When Yu Jingchen saw Nan Zhiyun like this, his heart softened immediately.

"No, you can stay if you want." Yu Jingchen couldn't refuse her request.

"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty," Nan Zhiyun said, her joy evident in her eyes.

"Shall we go straight back to Cixi Palace now?" Yu Jingchen asked her.

"Hmm..." Nan Zhiyun responded. They hadn't gone far, so wouldn't it be best to go straight back to Cining Palace?

"Then let's go," Yu Jingchen said to Nan Zhiyun.

"Okay," Nan Zhiyun replied. Yu Jingchen released her, and Nan Zhiyun took two steps back, curtsied, and then, supported by Qianxia, ​​went back to Cining Palace.

Xinglai grinned as she watched her emperor staring intently at Consort Shu's retreating figure. This was clearly pre-planned, wasn't it? Although the Empress Dowager doted on Consort Shu, she might not necessarily keep her here today.

After all, the Empress Dowager must have some purpose in blatantly keeping the Imperial Preceptor here. Since she didn't actively keep Consort Shu just now, she might not keep her now either.

His Majesty is cunning and shrewd. He doesn't believe His Majesty can't see through the Empress Dowager's intentions. Look, she's still standing here, probably waiting for Consort Shu to come out again.

Tell me, why not just tell Consort Shu directly instead of forcing her to "bump into a wall"? Is that something a human would do? But these are not things a servant like him should concern himself with, so he should just stay quietly.