To prevent herself from regretting it like she does now, Li Hua left the human skin mask at home when she went out today.

All I have right now is a regular mask that can cover half my face.

Li Hua picked up the mask, tied it tightly around the back of her head, and then put the cloak back on, covering herself completely.

She sat there for a long time. It was clearly autumn, and today was a cloudy day with a rather cool breeze outside, but Li Hua was sweating profusely.

His fingers, gripping his robe so tightly they turned blue, were now intermittently heard outside, a mixture of complaints and urging of the eunuchs at the palace gate to come in and ask questions.

The general idea is that they are asking why the princess hasn't come out yet.

Li Hua followed the rhythm of Man Yue's questions, taking off and putting on her mask and robe repeatedly.

One person was so agitated in the carriage that they almost fainted.

By this time, noon had passed, and the sun began to slowly move westward.

Gan Qiongying's palanquin finally made its way out of the palace amidst much anticipation.

When the palanquin reached the palace road leading out of the palace, Gan Qiongying dismounted and turned to ask Eunuch Li, "Did the Prince Consort really come to pick me up? He should be busy at this time... Really?"

Gan Qiongying had asked several times already, and Eunuch Li kept answering with a smile, "Yes."

Gan Qiongying's smile twitched like a short-circuited robot; she tried to suppress it, but couldn't.

Longing doesn't lie, and it's something that can't be suppressed.

It was as natural as eating and drinking. Although Gan Qiongying had been living in the palace for so many days, she was always in a state of fear and constantly filled with all sorts of things, with no free time at all.

But she never stopped missing Li Hua.

Before they were separated, she didn't think much of it, but now that they've been apart for more than twenty days, Gan Qiongying has experienced what it means for a short separation to make a new marriage.

She was both excited and nervous, and now she regretted not dressing up properly in the palace before coming out.

These past few days she's been staying up late and living in fear, and the clothes she brought into the palace are now somewhat empty; she's wearing the clothes she wore before she got married.

Back then, she preferred brighter colors, so her outfit today is also bright red.

Unfortunately, Gan Qiongying's complexion couldn't withstand the redness, because even the most beautiful person would turn into a haggard old woman after a month of this.

Although Gan Qiongying is still young, she only looks thin and haggard, but she is indeed not the same as the bright and beautiful Princess Duanrong who outshone all others when she entered the palace for the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.

Gan Qiongying now looks like a withered bean sprout.

She was about to see her lover when she finally realized that her appearance was not quite right. She practically ran as she walked toward the palace gate, and even Eunuch Li couldn't keep up with her.

As Gan Qiongying ran, she tidied her hair, just roughly smoothing it out. With the situation so urgent, she didn't care about her appearance anymore.

She felt in her heart that Li Hua was definitely not someone who judged by appearance!

Poor Eunuch Li was too old to let Gan Qiongying rush to the palace gate on her own. The emperor told him that he could only return to report after he saw Gan Qiongying safely board the carriage back to the princess's residence.

Therefore, Eunuch Li ran and stumbled, panting heavily as he chased after Gan Qiongying.

While feeling both amused and exasperated, they were also happy for Gan Qiongying.

Judging from the princess's appearance, she must truly love the prince consort. But how many couples in this world truly love each other?

Moreover, things had already come to this point, and Eunuch Li, who was always very proper and followed the principle that propriety was of paramount importance.

However, he did not remind Gan Qiongying not to run around in the palace. After all, the emperor's life was saved by Princess Duanrong. The princess danced on the roof of the palace, and Eunuch Li would risk his life to build a ladder for her.

Gan Qiongying finally rushed to the palace gate at top speed. She suddenly stopped at the gate and tried to calm her breathing to appear less anxious. However, the corners of her mouth were turned up as high as they could go, and she looked at the guards at the palace gate with a bright smile.

Before she could catch her breath, Gan Qiongying eagerly stepped out of the palace gate, and Eunuch Li could only see her off there.

Eunuch Li hurried to catch up with Gan Qiongying, bowed respectfully, and then knelt before her, saying, "This servant wishes the princess a long and prosperous life."

Gan Qiongying glanced back at Eunuch Li, her eyes and brows like a spring breeze sweeping across the earth, bringing everything back to life, lush and verdant.

Before she could even take a few steps out of the palace gate, Manyue let out a howl and rushed over. Before she even reached Gan Qiongying's side, tears started falling like rain.

“Princess…” Manyue rushed over, disregarding all etiquette, and hugged Gan Qiongying tightly in her arms.

Gan Qiongying hugged her back, rubbed her back vigorously, and said with a smile, "Don't cry, it's embarrassing. I'm fine, aren't I?"

In my heart, I was also shouting with joy: I, Hu Hansan, am back!

Gan Qiongying dragged the human-shaped pendant, Manyue, towards the carriage of the princess's residence. Chen Wa, along with a group of guards, jumped off their horses and knelt down in unison before Gan Qiongying.

Chen Wa raised his head, and even though he was always proud and arrogant, his eyes were now slightly red.

However, he couldn't express his longing and worry as freely as the young girl Manyue did, disregarding etiquette.

So he spoke with composure and dignity, yet with a slight tremor in his voice, calling out "Princess" one more time than usual.

Gan Qiongying nodded to him, and Chen Wa immediately lowered his head, afraid that if he was even a moment too late, this grown man would burst into tears.

Manyue was still wailing, but she did manage to let Gan Qiongying go. Gan Qiongying couldn't control her emotions for a while, but Manyue was very perceptive and sensible.

He waved to Gan Qiongying, indicating that she didn't need to worry about her, and then kept pointing at the carriage.

Gan Qiongying had heard long ago that the prince consort was coming to pick her up. It was a eunuch who went in to inquire at the palace gate who relayed the message, and Eunuch Li told Gan Qiongying about it.

Gan Qiongying didn't even step on the stool; she simply grabbed the carriage shaft and jumped onto the carriage. At this point, she didn't even have time to think about why the prince consort hadn't gotten out of the carriage to greet her when she left the palace gate, even though he had already arrived.

Gan Qiongying was filled with immense joy at the prospect of the two of them meeting soon.

After getting into the carriage, he abruptly lifted the carriage curtain—

Then, a scream came from both inside and outside the carriage at the same time.

"ah!"

"ah!"