Chapter 14

Ling Huanchen weighed the pros and cons and ultimately didn't tell the truth, "I'm quite heavy."

Yu Xi didn't take it seriously and shook it deliberately, "It's very light."

Being carried around is better than being branded as a deceitful person.

Ling Huanchen stopped struggling and nestled obediently in Yu Xi's arms. He was carried all the way to the Imperial Garden, and he didn't even get on the sedan chair.

He lowered his brows, pretending the palace servants didn't exist. His eyes fell on Yu Xi's arm, and he couldn't help but wonder, could martial artists truly possess such immense strength? He was at least the weight of an adult man, so how could Yu Xi lift him so easily, and even with such a breeze.

Thinking of this, Ling Huanchen couldn't help but stretch out his sinful hand, his fingertips fell on Yu Xi's strong arm, and poked it lightly.

It seems that I can't poke it.

Somehow, he started to compete with Yu Xi's arm, determined to find out the secret.

Yu Xi had long noticed the little movements of the person in her arms, but she let it go because it was rare to see Ling Huanchen showing such a childish side.

The person who was addicted to playing slowly realized that something was wrong. Not only did the person holding him stop moving, he also vaguely heard Xiao Qi's giggles.

Ling Huanchen raised his eyes and saw Yu Xi looking down at him. The scene was very awkward for a moment.

"Does Huanchen like my arm?" Yu Xi said with a smile, half doting and half teasing.

Ling Huanchen couldn't laugh anymore, and racked his brains to find a way out. "Your Majesty, I admire your strength and power, and I envy you."

Yu Xi knew that he was just cramming for an exam, but she also felt that it was helpful. "It's not difficult. Huanchen is just too thin. If he eats more in the future, he will be like this."

Do you really think he is a three-year-old child? The meat he gains by eating more is fat, which is nothing like this.

"We have arrived at the Imperial Garden. Your Majesty, please let me down."

The vibrant colors of the garden were no match for the person before him. In the past, he hadn't had the leisure to admire the flowers, but now, as long as Ling Huanchen liked something, he'd be interested. However, he preferred admiring people to admiring flowers.

After putting the person down, Yu Xi still did not let him out of her sight. She held Ling Huanchen's hand and strolled forward in the sea of ​​flowers. The palace servants behind her were signaled by Fu Changshi's eyes to stay where they were and wait.

The two walked through the flowers and stepped onto the stone-paved path. They could faintly hear voices coming from behind the rockery not far away.

"Is this true? Did you see the king wiping the hands of that little mermaid prince with your own eyes?"

The little palace attendant nodded heavily, "Indeed, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that our king could be so gentle."

"But if it is true as you say, that the king dotes on the little prince, why haven't I heard of the king staying overnight in the little prince's room?"

The young palace attendant racked his brains but couldn't figure out the problem. With such a beauty by his side, it was too difficult to be like Liu Xiahui. Suddenly, he took a breath and said in a hollow voice, "Could it be that the king is not capable?"

Ling Huanchen accidentally overheard the whole thing and felt his head buzzing. He turned around and saw that Yu Xi had a bad face and a fierce look in her eyes.

He was not worried that Yu Xi would rush over and do something to the two young palace servants at this time, but he could only hope for the best whether the two could continue to serve in the palace in the future.

The interest in appreciating the flowers was inexplicably interrupted. When Yu Xi followed Ling Huanchen back to the bedroom, her face still looked unhappy.

In the past, Yu Xi would only stay here until after dinner and reviewing the memorials, and would never stay past midnight. But today, after dinner was over and all the memorials had been reviewed, Yu Xi still sat in his room, showing no intention of leaving.

Yunhe winked at Xiaoqi, who immediately understood and closed the door, leaving the two of them inside.

"Your Majesty... go to bed early." Ling Huanchen's hands slowly tightened under his wide sleeves, and he felt inexplicably nervous.

"Um."

The two sat side by side on the couch, seemingly peaceful and harmonious, but in reality, there were turbulent waves. If Ling Huanchen wasn't his benefactor, and didn't worry him so much, he might have favored her just based on her looks.

But now, he was timid and didn't want to be too friendly with the person in front of him, and didn't want to make him feel unwilling in the slightest.

After a long silence, Yu Xi finally said, "The king will stay tonight."

Ling Huanchen's eyes moved slightly, and he was secretly shocked. Could it be that Yu Xi was provoked in the Imperial Garden and wanted to prove her reputation with her own body?

Facts proved that he was only half right. It was true that Yu Xi was provoked and wanted to prove her reputation, but she did not take any substantial action.

The palm strike extinguished all the red candles and plunged the room into darkness.

Before Ling Huanchen could react, an arm came around his waist and brought him to the bed.

There was a familiar body temperature behind him. Ling Huanchen wanted to turn around, but Yu Xi held him tightly and he couldn't move.

"Don't move." Yu Xi whispered hoarsely behind his ear, "I will do nothing but sleep."

At first, Ling Huanchen was very stiff, but he couldn't resist the sleepiness and lost consciousness without knowing when.

When I woke up, the temperature next to me had already turned cold.

Yu Xi's morning court session was probably halfway through by this time.

At this moment, the door creaked open and closed slowly. Xiao Qi tiptoed behind the screen and saw Ling Huanchen sitting beside the bed. His brows immediately lit up, "Master, you are up. The king originally instructed not to disturb you and let you rest well."

Ling Huanchen saw his meaningful look and knew that he was thinking wrongly.

"Master, are you feeling unwell? Are you hungry? Do you want to take a bath?"

Ling Huanchen rubbed his temples and said helplessly, "No need."

Xiao Qi came forward and asked, "Really, we don't need to boil water?"

Ling Huanchen raised his eyes and spoke slowly, "It's really not necessary."

Xiao Qi smiled awkwardly, "I'll go serve the meal."

I managed to avoid the hot water, but I couldn't avoid the ginseng soup.

When Yun He carefully prepared the cushion and handed over the supplements, Ling Huanchen felt powerless.

This is all Yu Xi's masterpiece, even though nothing has happened yet.

"Is this cushion thick? How about I add another layer?"

Ling Huanchen pulled the corner of his mouth, "It's already very thick."

As soon as he took a sip of the ginseng soup, he felt that the aroma of the soup was stronger than usual.

Before he could ask, Xiao Qi started talking non-stop, "There are a lot of tonics added to this soup. Sister He asked for them from the imperial physician."

Fortunately, he swallowed it early, otherwise it would have come out.

I'm afraid this misunderstanding is now known to everyone...

As he expected, the news of the king's overnight stay was exaggerated and spread throughout the palace. Everyone in the palace was waiting for Yu Xi's next move.

Ling Huanchen only expected the former, but he never thought that within half a day, before Yu Xi left the court, he received an imperial edict.

Fu Changshi came in person to announce the decree. King Youcheng bestowed upon him the Jade Luan Palace, twenty palace maids, and countless precious jades, silks, and satins.

"I accept your order."

Ling Huanchen was stunned by the sudden decree. In his previous life, he had always lived in a corner of the Ziyi Palace and had never moved to other palaces. Now, an entire palace was given to him to live in alone.

What is Yuluan Palace? That is where the queen lives. Yu Xi's meaning is self-evident. This is to give him an identity.

If a man of a foreign race were given the title of queen, the civil and military officials would inevitably file petitions. Even if they couldn't cause a major disturbance, they would still have some uneasy ears. Yu Xi's gift of the palace, without mentioning the title, not only silenced the court officials but also hinted at Ling Huanchen's status within the palace, killing two birds with one stone.

I think Yu Xi didn't act on a whim, but had planned it long ago, and just took advantage of the opportunity last night.

Ling Huanchen didn't care much about identity. Whether she was the queen, a court official, or a prince of a foreign race, the most important thing was that the two of them stayed together safely.

"Congratulations, Your Highness!" As soon as Chief Servant Fu spoke, the other palace servants also congratulated him.

"Your Highness, please get on the sedan chair."

In the palace, only the king and the queen would travel in sedan chairs, and all the ceremonial guards were the same as those for the queen. Everyone knew what this meant.

Ling Huanchen noticed the change in address and readily responded, "Thank you."

The two people who accompanied him were happier than Ling Huanchen about the palace move, especially Xiaoqi, whose emotions were clearly visible on his face.

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

The palace servants who were transferred to the Yuluan Palace stood in two rows and kowtowed to Ling Huanchen.

Originally, there were only two people serving him, and Ling Huanchen was quite comfortable with it. But now, with so many people around, he felt uncomfortable.

"Everyone, get up."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Ling Huanchen couldn't recall what he wanted to say specifically, so he simply said, "Each of you should do your job well. If you have any questions, feel free to ask Yun He."

"yes!"

Fu Changshi followed the sedan chair all the way. After the palace servants paid their respects to the master, he stepped forward and said, "All palace expenses are recorded in a book. Originally, it was kept here by me. Now that Your Highness has become the master of Yuluan Palace, it is only natural that it should be submitted to Your Highness for review."

Ling Huanchen raised his eyes slightly. Why is there an additional task for moving a palace?

"Since Fu Changshi has always been in charge, let it continue to be so. Like the king, I have complete trust in Fu Changshi."

He doesn't want to answer it.

Fu Changshi hadn't expected Ling Huanchen to say this. Once someone reaches a high position, they'll cling to it and hold onto it, never handing it over to anyone else. He'd assumed Ling Huanchen would be the same, but now it seemed he didn't understand his highness well enough.

"I thank Your Highness for your trust and will do my best to complete the task."

Ling Huanchen did a favor, which not only won Fu Changshi's favor but also helped him get the job done, killing two birds with one stone.

The news that Yuluan Palace had a new master spread quickly, not only within the palace, but also to court officials outside the palace and even the common people.

Originally, he was confined to the palace, with no one outside paying attention to him. Once the news spread, Ling Huanchen would receive invitations every now and then, all from the families of court officials, who wanted to visit him in the palace.

Ling Huanchen certainly didn't think that there would be any good thing for those people to enter the palace, so she refused them all and told others that she was not the queen and there was no need to pay her respects.

After moving into Yuluan Palace, Yu Xi would always come here after court every day, and stay overnight with justification. Although outsiders reported that he was being favored, in fact, the two of them were just chatting on the same bed.

Before the candle went out, Ling Huanchen suddenly heard Yu Xiyan say, "Huanchen hasn't met Zhao'er yet, right? It just so happens that he will enter the palace in a few days."