Chapter 40: Rest in the Palace Tonight
Lingling took Lu Ze's hand and asked him to sit on the edge of the bed. She then used her little hand to pull Qi Yuning inside and said, "Mom, kiss Daddy!"
Qi Yuning raised her eyes to look at Lu Ze, signaling him to help.
Lu Ze understood what he meant and coughed, "Lingling, do you want to hear your father tell you a story?"
Lingling said: "Mom and Dad will kiss each other before telling the story!"
Lu Ze took out a white jade-carved horse from his arms and asked, "Lingling, do you like this pony?"
When Lingling saw the white jade pony, her peach blossom eyes lit up, "Wow! Lingling likes it so much!"
While Lingling was playing with the white jade pony, Lu Ze gave Qi Yuning another hairpin and said, "I shouldn't have said those words to you eight years ago. Don't bother me again. This hairpin is my apology to Sister Qi."
Qi Yuning took the hairpin from Lu Ze and said, "I am a magnanimous princess and have forgotten what happened eight years ago."
He didn't take it to heart, but he had never seen her take the initiative to talk to him in the past eight years. Lu Ze sneered and said, "Sister Qi, it's good that you didn't take it to heart."
Lingling was playing with the pony and forgot about asking her parents to kiss her on the face. "Daddy, tell me a story!"
Seeing that Lingling had forgotten about the kiss, Lu Ze heaved a sigh of relief and told Lingling about the case of investigating the smuggling of iron ore in recent days.
Qi Yuning didn't expect that Lu Ze would investigate such a big case these days, so she asked, "Iron ore smuggling? Who is behind it?"
Lu Ze said: "There is no evidence, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and I guessed that it should be the King of Shu, but there is no evidence either. However, the throne will be Zhao Jie's turn to succeed in the future, and Dasheng will probably not be peaceful in the next few years."
Qi Yuning thought about it and it made sense. In the end, the throne fell on the emperor's grandson who had lost his father, which meant that these eight princes would definitely not have a peaceful life.
Shengjing City seems peaceful on the surface, but this peace may not last long.
As Lu Ze talked about the investigation of the iron mine, his voice gradually became weaker. He was so sleepy that he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Qi Yuning was listening attentively when she heard no movement. She looked at the two people beside her. Lingling was already fast asleep hugging Lu Ze's arms, and Lu Ze had also fallen asleep with his eyes closed.
Qi Yuning was afraid of waking up Lingling, so she called out to Lu Ze softly, "Master Lu, Lu Ze."
After shouting for a long time, there was no movement from Lu Ze.
Qi Yuning went to the outside of the bed, stretched out his hand to push Lu Ze's shoulder and said, "Lu Ze, wake up! Master Lu, Mr. Lu, wake up!"
"Lu Ze, wake up!"
Lu Ze was really too tired and sleepy. When he went to Shanzhou to investigate the iron mine, he was tense day and night and only slept for two hours a day.
Afraid that Lingling would miss him too much, he rode day and night for the past three days to rush back to Shengjing. The original seven-day riding journey was shortened by three days.
Although he clearly heard a voice calling out to him, he could not get up at all. His eyelids felt as heavy as if they were weighed down by lead.
“Lu Ze, don’t act like a scoundrel! You are the son of a duke, the princess, and you are lying on a girl’s bed like this. You are not a gentleman…”
Lu Ze finally forced himself to open his eyes. His peach blossom eyes seemed even deeper due to fatigue. He laughed at himself and said, "I never thought that in the eyes of the princess, I could still be considered a gentleman."
Qi Yuning said: "If you don't get up, I will really think you are a pervert."
Lu Ze forced himself to get up, but unexpectedly, as soon as he moved his arm, Lingling, who was holding Lu Ze's arm, woke up.
Lingling looked to the side and said, "Where's mother? Mother?"
Qi Yuning stood beside the bed and said, "Mother is here."
Lingling heard Qi Yuning's voice and fell asleep again while hugging Lu Ze's arm.
Lu Ze covered Lingling with a quilt and rubbed his aching temple with his other hand. He felt extremely exhausted.
Seeing this, Qi Yuning whispered, "Is the prince tired?"
Lu Ze said weakly, "I have been on the road to Beijing for two days and one night without sleep."
"Why are you in such a hurry to come back?"
Lu Ze lowered his eyes and glanced at Qi Yuning who was standing beside the bed. "I'm afraid Lingling will miss me and ask me to see her. The princess can't handle it."
Qi Yuning was only eighteen years old after all, and Lingling appeared suddenly to both of them.
In fact, Qi Yuning was happy to call herself mother, but after all, she was not the real mother who raised the child. When Lingling started crying, she really couldn't cope with it.
Qi Yuning said: "It's a pity that Lingling didn't even make a fuss about missing you. With mother around, daddy is not important to Lingling."
Lu Ze chuckled, "Lingling even brought me wedding cakes. It shows that she still misses me very much."
Lu Ze tried to pull his arm out of Lingling's hand, but as soon as he moved, Lingling opened her eyes again, "Daddy, don't leave!"
Qi Yuning felt jealous when he saw this. Although Lingling hadn't been making trouble in the past few days, today she insisted on sleeping with her arms around Lu Ze's arm, which showed that little Lingling actually missed her daddy.
Seeing Lu Ze's tired face, Qi Yuning said, "You can rest here tonight."
Lu Ze raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
Qi Yuning said: "I'll sleep on the small couch outside for one night."
After Qi Yuning finished speaking, he walked towards the small couch outside, and Lichun came to greet him.
Qi Yuning is most afraid of the cold in winter, so he has Lingling, a little stove, by his side these days. But tonight, he is the only one who is freezing cold, without Lingling. Even with a hot water bottle, it is not as warm as Lingling, the little stove.
After a sleepless night, Qi Yuning added two silk quilts before she felt a little warmer, but her feet were still cold.
Early in the morning, when it was just light, Lu Ze woke up and smelled a faint fragrance. He saw a girl's bed, and Lingling was still sleeping beside her.
Lu Ze stood up and walked to the outer room. Seeing Qi Yuning wrapped in three thick silk quilts, he chuckled. Qi Yuning's sleeping face without makeup was much more beautiful than her usual high-class and exquisite princess makeup.
Qi Yuning opened her eyes and saw Lu Ze staring at her. She frowned and asked, "Is there something dirty on my face?"
Lu Ze said in a hoarse voice: "No, I just think you look pretty even in this plain look."
Qi Yuning chuckled, "You only knew on the first day that this princess is pretty? Where's Lingling?"
"Lingling is still sleeping. I should go to the morning court. Princess, you can go back to bed and sleep."
Qi Yuning was more than happy to go back to bed and hug Lingling, the little stove. She felt warm in bed.
The feet that had been kept warm by the hot water bottle all night but still couldn't be warmed up were finally warmed up by the Lingling small stove.
Qi Yuning hugged Lingling tightly and fell into a deep sleep.
In the dream, it seemed like I was in a secluded orchid valley.
In Youlan Valley, Lu Ze suddenly appeared in front of them, smiling with his peach blossom eyes, "Sister Qi, I warmed your bed for you. Did you sleep comfortably?"
Qi Yuning woke up suddenly, his forehead covered with sweat. How could he have such a nightmare?
Qi Yuning stood up and told Lichun, "After Lingling wakes up, change the bedding on the bed."
Lichun replied, "Yes."
After Qi Yuning washed up, he began to look at the account book. While reading the account book, he fell into deep thought.
The struggle for imperial power is treacherous and complex. Although we know that Xiao Zhaojie will succeed to the throne in the future, no one can predict how dangerous it will be, and it is also hard to say whether there will be any changes.
Huo An has been lurking in the Shu Palace for more than ten years. Qi Yuning can't guess what Uncle Huo means. And what does Uncle Huo mean by "uncle is not uncle"?
Why was Princess Shan, a child, abused to death?
Your Majesty is old, and there may have been undercurrents beneath this peaceful Dasheng Empire. Qi Yuning has to be on guard.
…
In the princess's mansion.
Qin Yuli came to see Princess Pingrou early in the morning just to find out about Lingling.
Princess Pingrou knew her cousin well. She had liked Lu Ze since she was a child. Two years ago, Lady Qin had also thought about betrothing Qin Yuli to Lu Ze, but Lu Ze refused.
Lu Ze had always followed his parents' orders on marriage, and the only one who refused was Qin Yuli.
Princess Pingrou now knew that Qin Yuli was after Lingling's identity, so she kept avoiding the question and refused to mention Lingling's identity directly.
"Cousin Ze!"
Qin Yuli saw Lu Ze coming from the Moon Gate and happily stepped forward to salute him.
Princess Pingrou saw Lu Ze coming back and asked, "When did you come back?"
"last night."
Princess Pingrou asked, "Last night? You didn't stay at home last night?"
Lu Ze nodded slightly. "I was too tired last night, so I slept in the courtyard outside."
Qin Yuli smelled the fragrance coming from Lu Ze. It was not just the orchid scent he was used to wearing, but also the fragrance of the cedar. The wood of the cedar was expensive, and most people used it as bracelets or tea trays.
Only Qi Yuning was extravagant, burning incense and using it to fumigate his clothes and quilts.
Princess Pingrou also smelled the fragrance on Lu Ze's body. "This fragrance is more suitable for you than the orchid fragrance. Where did you get it?"
Qin Yuli's eyes were red as she said, "In the entire Shengjing City, only Qi Yuning uses incense. Cousin Ze, is the incense on your body contaminated by the spices on Qi Yuning's body?"
(End of this chapter)
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