"Promise me you won't gamble with your life."
Su Qingcai said sullenly.
In the warm embrace, Su Qingcai's scent filled the air.
Su Xiaoning, who was initially confused and angry, softened upon hearing this. She hugged Su Qingcai back and whispered, "Yes, I understand..."
The two embraced tightly, as if the minor conflict had never happened, which made one feel exceptionally at ease.
Meanwhile, in Consort Zheng's palace.
Consort Zheng paced anxiously in the palace, as if waiting for something.
After waiting for about fifteen minutes, the palace gate was suddenly pushed open gently, and Su Qinghe walked in from outside.
"You've finally arrived! I've been waiting for you for so long!"
Consort Zheng gave a coquettish cry and hurriedly ran towards Su Qinghe, bumping directly into his arms. The surrounding palace servants had already been dismissed, and no one witnessed this astonishing scene.
Su Qinghe remained remarkably calm. He sat down with Consort Zheng in his arms and asked, "Why did you summon me here in such a hurry?"
"You, all you do is ask these kinds of questions as soon as you arrive, you have absolutely no romance!" Zheng Fei scolded, still restless as she sat on Su Qinghe's lap, deliberately twisting her waist and rubbing against him a few times.
An ambiguous atmosphere lingered between the two. After teasing each other for a while, Consort Zheng finally spoke seriously about what had happened in the Imperial Garden. Then she said with worry, "Sometimes the Emperor is beyond my control. Once he is sober, he will always protect Su Qingcai. I can't do anything about it!"
"Hmph, he's always favored Su Qingcai and has never taken me seriously!" Su Qinghe sneered, a murderous intent gradually appearing in his eyes. "Su Qingcai is nothing but a piece of trash. He's only so arrogant because of the koi's help and the Emperor's favor. I still have use for Su Xiaoning, so I won't touch her for now, but the Emperor..."
“You mean…” Consort Zheng suddenly understood something.
Su Qinghe narrowed his eyes and sneered, "You lured the emperor to a hunting trip, and I will take the opportunity to injure him and imprison him in the palace. When the time is right, I will let him..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone who heard it knew his wolfish ambitions.
Consort Zheng frowned slightly, then quickly nodded in agreement, "I understand."
"You have always been the smartest person by my side." Su Qinghe smiled with satisfaction, picked up Consort Zheng, and walked into the inner room.
...
The next day.
As agreed, Su Qingcai secretly brought Bai Hua into the palace so that he could treat the emperor's illness.
Bai Hua examined him carefully, but finally shook his head and said apologetically, "His Majesty's body is perfectly normal, I can't see what illness he has."
"How could this be?" Su Qingcai frowned, never expecting that there were such difficult and complicated diseases in the world that Bai Hua couldn't handle.
The emperor heard this but showed no reaction; his face remained expressionless, as if he didn't care about these matters at all.
Su Qingcai did not notice the emperor's unusual behavior. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Your Majesty, the matter is too thorny. I'm afraid we can't find a solution in a short time. In case things change, I ask Your Majesty to stay in the palace during this period and avoid causing any trouble."
He thought that since the emperor took his illness so seriously, he would readily agree, but to his surprise, the emperor suddenly snorted coldly and said, "No, I will go hunting outside the palace in a few days."
"Hunting?" Su Qingcai was taken aback, completely unprepared for this. He hurriedly dissuaded him, "Your Majesty, you mustn't! Now is not the time for hunting. If anything goes wrong with Your Majesty, we cannot bear the responsibility!"
"You don't need to say anything more, my mind is made up." The emperor remained unmoved and stubbornly persisted in his course of action.
Su Qingcai sensed something was amiss and was extremely anxious, trying to persuade the emperor to change his mind. However, the emperor completely ignored Su Qingcai's earnest pleas and kept repeating, "I'm going hunting."
Repeating the same thing too often will arouse suspicion.
Su Qingcai sensed something was wrong and shut his mouth, but the emperor kept saying "I'm going hunting" as if he were possessed.
Bai Hua frowned, tugged at Su Qingcai's sleeve, and gave him a look that said, "Get out of here quickly."
Su Qingcai had no other choice but to take his leave. As he left, the emperor kept repeating the same sentence.
This matter was too bizarre to understand. On the way back, Su Qingcai was sullen.
"What's wrong with His Majesty? Why is he acting like he has hysteria?"
Bai Hua recalled the emperor's strange behavior just now, and his expression became unusually solemn.
"I can't tell yet, but His Majesty must have contracted some strange illness. I'm afraid there's no one else in the world like him..."
"Is there really no way to treat this rare disease?" Su Qingcai's face turned ashen.
Bai Hua lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, "I'm sorry, I don't know how to deal with this right now, but I'll investigate. There's definitely still hope. By the way, you must not let this matter get out of reach of anyone, otherwise, those with ulterior motives might take action."
“I knew about this at the time,” Su Qingcai said sullenly.
The two looked at each other and remained silent.
...
No matter how much Su Qingcai didn't want it, the news that the emperor was going hunting eventually spread.
The hunt was in three days, and everyone, from royalty and nobles to ministers, was required to accompany the emperor. Even Su Xiaoning, who was being selected as a concubine, was required to go along.
When the news came down, Su Xiaoning wasn't too surprised. She immediately took Meng Ruqiao shopping to prepare her armor for the hunt.
Meng Ruqiao did not refuse, but suddenly asked as they walked down the street, "We are competitors, so why don't you have any reservations about me?"
She's always been straightforward; she says what's on her mind.
Su Xiaoning was slightly taken aback, then a bright smile appeared on her face: "Competition is one thing, friendship is another. It's better to be sincere. What's the point of fighting tooth and nail?"
She put her arm around Meng Ruqiao's arm, and the two of them looked like twin sisters when they walked together.
Meng Ruqiao pondered Su Xiaoning's words and couldn't help but be moved. Just as she was about to say something, Su Xiaoning suddenly leaned closer, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "By the way, there's something I'm curious about. Did you and Chief Shen resolve your differences last time?"
"How did you know about me and him..." Meng Ruqiao was startled, realizing she had spoken out of turn, and hurriedly lowered her head.
Su Xiaoning patted her hand and smiled, "I only said a few words because I consider you a friend, don't overthink it. There's nothing you and Chief Shen can't talk about. Everyone has to live for themselves."
"Should people live for themselves...?" Meng Ruqiao looked disappointed. She seemed to understand the sentence, but she didn't seem to understand it yet.
Su Xiaoning left it at that and didn't say much more. She then took Meng Ruqiao and went shopping as usual.
The two were picking and choosing when Su Xiaoning took a fancy to a red dress. Just as she was about to pay for it, Qin Yunyun suddenly appeared out of nowhere and arrogantly blocked her way.
"I want this dress!"
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