Chapter 23 Guilty Heart

Full of confusion, Yun Wan followed the eunuch who led the way through twists and turns and arrived at the Huichang Gate, which he was familiar with.

The palace gates were heavily guarded, with red walls and black tiles. On the narrow corridor paved with bluestone bricks, only an ebony carriage was quietly waiting.

As I got on the carriage, I unexpectedly met three pairs of curious eyes.

Yun Wan apologized: "Sorry, I kept you waiting for so long."

These words were mainly said to Lu Yuanduo and his son. They could have gone back first, but ended up waiting for more than an hour in vain because of him.

Lu Yuanduo shook his head: "It's okay."

His thoughts shifted, and he carefully chose his words and asked, "Your Majesty...what is it that he is looking for you about?"

There was a hint of confusion between his brows.

Yun Wan sat next to Asui and touched his head. After hearing Lu Yuanduo's words, she said, "The emperor heard that I was good at making incense, so he let me smell a scent and ordered me to mix it."

Lu Yuanduo was surprised, "Perfumery?"

Yun Wan nodded without giving any further explanation.

As the emperor's confidant, Lu Yuanduo had heard that His Majesty seemed to be looking for something related to incense in recent years.

As for what it was, he didn't know. It was a big taboo to spy on the emperor's actions without permission.

Catching a glimpse of the worry in her eyes, Lu Yuanduo paused and said, "I'll do my best. If it really doesn't work, I'll find a chance to explain it to His Majesty."

Immersed in his own thoughts, Yun Wan lost interest and replied casually, "Thank you, Duke."

.........

After a day of going through so much, Yun Wan was exhausted when she returned to Cuiwei Garden.

Asui was fine. He was an energetic child. After what happened in the afternoon, he returned to his familiar home and became full of energy.

As soon as he entered the house, he searched for tea and personally poured a cup for Yun Wan and handed it to her, "Mother, have some tea."

Yue Jian, who was standing by, covered her mouth and laughed, "Madam, our young master has been to the academy and has become more filial than before."

After drinking a cup of hot tea, the fatigue in his body dissipated a little. Yun Wan patted Asui and told Yue Jian: "Go and get Asui's bookcase back. You don't have to go there for the next few days."

Yue Jian nodded and went out.

When he heard the word "book box", Asui was obviously dejected.

Seeing this, Yun Wan waved at him and said, "A Sui, come here to mother."

After taking off his shoes, Ah Sui climbed onto the couch and knelt in front of her, "Mother."

No matter how good Hongwenguan is, it is not as good as home. After staying there for ten days, Asui looked obviously thinner.

Pinching his cheeks, which were no longer as soft as before, Yun Wan asked softly, "Why do you look so downhearted? Did you get scared in the palace this afternoon?"

There were so many people present at the time, and Ah Sui was so young, how could he have ever seen such a scene? Yun Wan thought he was frightened.

Ah Sui shook his head and muttered, "Mother, I'm not a good student anymore. Can I still be Xu Xueshi's student in the future?"

When Asui thought about how he had become the kind of bad student who was unlearned and unlearned in the eyes of others, he felt sad and was afraid that Yun Wan would be disappointed in him.

For a moment, his brows drooped and his little face showed anxiety.

Her heart felt like it was being stabbed with needles, and she felt a dense tingling pain. Yun Wan lowered her head and held his little face in her hands, asking gently, "Why do you say that? Why aren't you a good student?"

"I've only been in school for less than ten days, and I'm already being punished to stay home and reflect on my mistakes. This is terrible... And what am I going to do with my homework?"

Asui scratched his cheek, feeling angry.

So it was because of this, Yun Wan felt amused.

Ah Sui became even more depressed, frowning and asking, "Mother, why are you laughing? Aren't you angry?"

Rubbing his doughy face, Yun Wan couldn't help laughing: "Why are you angry?"

"We, Asui, are not the culprit. You were merely implicated. Besides, you performed so well in the hall today. Logically, you should be rewarded."

But in that situation, both princes were punished, and only Asui was rewarded. Wouldn't that make people hate him?

Yun Wan was not dissatisfied with the current result.

Fearing that he might get stuck on something, Yun Wan changed the subject: "Besides, my mother has just requested His Majesty to exempt you from copying books, and His Majesty has granted your permission, which means you have done nothing wrong."

Seeing that Ah Niang was so relaxed with him, Ah Sui sighed, "It just doesn't feel good."

Unable to hold back a chuckle, Yun Wan feigned distress and said, "What can we do? It's already happened. There's no point worrying about it."

"It just so happens that you're supposed to be going home tomorrow, and it's the Cold Food Festival holiday in a few days, so let's just take this as an early vacation."

Asui frowned: "Okay then..."

Yun Wan hugged him and said lovingly, "No matter what others think, you are the best child in my heart. Do you understand?"

"Regret and worry are useless emotions. They only disturb us. What's done is done. It's the same as when we review our lessons at home."

Yun Wan understood what he was struggling with. Others always praised Asui when they saw him, but this was the first time he was punished, and he felt very upset.

Ah Sui's eyes lit up instantly: "I understand, mother."

Children's emotions come and go quickly. After the mother and son talked for a while, Asui felt relieved.

His eyes rolled and he suddenly remembered something, a trace of guilt appeared on his little face.

"Mom, I want to tell you a secret." Asui smiled shyly and spoke in a low voice.

Yun Wan was curious, so she tilted her head and moved closer, and then she heard—

"I was the one who kicked the Crown Prince on the left side of his face."

Yun Wan was stunned, "A Sui you......"

Ah Sui tugged at his sleeves and snorted unhappily, "Who made him break my bowl during the fight?"

That was his favorite bowl of rice, but it was smashed by the prince for no reason.

When Asui saw the broken porcelain bowl on the ground, he became angry.

So, in a fit of rage, he took advantage of the melee between the two sides and stretched out a leg, then kicked hard, and unexpectedly hit the prince's left cheek.

Fortunately, the scene was chaotic and no one knew what had happened, let alone thought that the kick was from the youngest boy, Asui.

After Yun Wan's shock subsided, he said seriously, "Let's keep this a secret between us. No one else can know about it, okay?"

Fortunately, the prince always believed that it was the third prince who kicked him.

Yun Wan was surprised that her little Asui had a bad temper, which made her feel a lot more at ease.

It is better to seek revenge than to swallow your anger when you are bullied.

Asui nodded.

.........

For the next half a week, apart from recuperating from his injuries and reading, Asui would spend half an hour facing the wall and reflecting on his mistakes.

Yun Wan spent most of her time in the incense room, carefully preparing the incense, hoping to complete the task ordered by Emperor Jingxuan as soon as possible, but there was little progress.

Even after a long time, the carefully prepared incense powder was not as good as the first one, which made her very depressed.

Thus, the Cold Food Festival arrives.

On this day, the time limit for Asui and Lu Changze to reflect on their mistakes was lifted.

As a descendant of the Lu family, he went to worship his ancestors early in the morning with Lu Yuanduo and other members of the Lu family, while the other female family members gathered in the mansion to have fun.

This kind of occasion has always been unfavorable to Yun Wan. Everyone is concerned about her widow status. Although they don't say it, they will deliberately avoid her in their actions, as if they don't want to be contaminated by bad luck.

Over time, Yun Wan became too lazy to show up, and felt relaxed and at ease.

Seeing that she had been in the incense room for the entire morning with almost no results, Yuezhi suggested considerately, "Madam, the weather is great today, why don't we go out for a walk?"

Yun Wan understood the principle of working in isolation, and she put down the incense burner in her hand.

"Okay, let's go to the incense shop and take a look."