Prince's Mansion.
The prince put down his brush and picked up the calligraphy to look at it.
"The Cining Palace took three years to build and was finally completed before the Empress Dowager's 80th birthday. Father meant to wait for the Empress Dowager's birthday to celebrate together and give her a happy birthday at the same time."
"Then let me first congratulate Her Majesty the Queen Mother on this double happiness."
Shangguan Shu's injury was almost healed, but he was busy attending court due to too much official business, so his face did not look good at the moment.
Upon hearing this, the prince put down the calligraphy and looked at Shangguan Shu with a half-smile, "Runzhi, you should congratulate yourself too."
Shangguan Shu smiled and asked, "What do you mean, Your Highness?"
"The Emperor let it slip that after the Empress Dowager's birthday, he'll promote you to Grand Tutor!"
"oh?"
Shangguan Shu stood up and bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Your Majesty, and Your Highness, for your appreciation. How can I repay you?"
The Crown Prince stepped forward and patted Shangguan Shu on the shoulder, half-jokingly saying, "Since you are the eldest son of the old Duke, my father regards you as his nephew. And since you married my sister, you became my father's son-in-law. We are all family, so there is no need to be so polite."
Shangguan Shu was extremely humble and said, "I dare not."
The prince wondered, "Runzhi, could it be that because of what happened last time, you've become estranged from us?"
Shangguan Shu suppressed the dark color in his eyes and said, "Your Highness, you are overthinking it. How could this humble minister do that?"
"Even though Your Majesty and Your Highness consider me a traitor, they still tried their best to save my life. I am deeply moved by this kindness."
The prince was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, clenched his fist and punched Shangguan Shu's shoulder, "It's good that you know it!"
"Just to spare your life, I was forced to punish you privately. Afterwards, my father really scolded me!"
Shangguan Shu smiled faintly and did not comment.
"I suddenly remembered," the prince touched his nose, "you should go and persuade Ying'er that it would be best if Qi You didn't go to the Queen Mother's birthday, so as not to bring back the Queen Mother's sad memories."
Shangguan Shu's gaze paused for a moment, then he slowly nodded.
The two chatted about some official business, and after that, Shangguan Shu left the Prince's Mansion.
Sitting in the carriage of the Duke of Huizhenguo's Mansion, Shangguan Shu's face showed a hint of fatigue and heaviness.
What he said just now in the Prince's Mansion was not entirely false.
Emperor Jianxi and the Crown Prince really favored him.
And he was going to betray them for Huai'an...
These days, he has been struggling with whether this is right or wrong.
The friendship in this world is not only about love, but also about responsibility.
If he betrayed them, he would lose an elder who treated him as his own nephew, a brother who grew up with him, and more importantly, he would lose Zhao Ying.
How many days has it been since Zhao Ying spoke to him?
He had been recuperating for many days, and except for the first day when he brought her here, she had never even set foot in his Xi Garden, and she didn't even send anyone to say hello.
She seemed to want to use her actions to show him that even if they didn't divorce, they would only be husband and wife in name only.
How cruel...
He could almost conclude that if he committed treason, Zhao Ying would never forgive him.
He didn't want to lose Zhao Ying...
He wanted her to smile at him like before, treat him well, and have only him in her eyes...
The sharp pain in my chest came again.
Shangguan Shu subconsciously raised his hand to cover his mouth, and there was unspeakable pain and dejection between his handsome eyebrows.
His heart was in turmoil.
It turned out that all he needed to do to make him feel helpless was for Zhao Ying to ignore him.
He was so easily manipulated by her.
The coachman suddenly called out, "Young lady?"
Shangguan Shu heard the voice and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Sir, there seems to be a young lady in front, and she seems to be alone..."
Shangguan Shu was startled when he heard this and immediately lifted the curtain to look outside.
Sure enough, there was a delicate little baby sitting on a step in front, holding its chin, looking left and right with its big watery eyes.
Shangguan Shu asked the coachman to stop the carriage, then got out and walked towards Shangguan Qingyue.
Shangguan Qingyue was tired from walking and was looking for an acquaintance on the street to have someone carry her home. Suddenly, her vision darkened and she subconsciously looked up.
Suddenly, my eyes lit up. [Daddy!]
She quickly stood up and rushed towards Shangguan Shu, then climbed up with her little hands holding Shangguan Shu's legs.
【Daddy, hug me! 】
Shangguan Shu's heart softened. He picked up his little daughter and walked back to the carriage while asking, "Why are you out here alone?"
Of course Shangguan Qingyue couldn't admit that she had sneaked out, so she simply lowered her head, pursed her lips and said nothing.
Who knew that her inner voice would expose her completely.
[I sneaked out...]
Shangguan Shu frowned and wanted to scold her, but seeing that she was too young, he felt sorry for her and couldn't bear to do so. So he took a deep breath, took out a handkerchief, wet it with some tea, and wiped the little girl's colorful face.
After wiping his face, he wiped his hands and then fed him some cakes.
Watching Shangguan Qingyue eating the cake, Shangguan Shu warned: "Yuer, from now on, never go out on your own without an adult. If you get kidnapped by human traffickers, you'll never see your mother again!"
She must have sneaked out through a dog hole. When he got back, he asked people to block all the holes in the walls of the mansion to see if she could run away again!
【oh. 】
Shangguan Qingyue nodded perfunctorily, sneering in his heart.
[Want to kidnap me? The trafficker probably doesn't want to live anymore, hehe...]
Shangguan Shu shook his head helplessly.
When they arrived at the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, Shangguan Shu carried Shangguan Qingyue to Gan Garden.
Finally, I have a reason to find Zhao Ying.
The sadness in Shangguan Shu's eyes faded a little, and his pace became faster. Shangguan Qingyue in his arms could feel it.
【Daddy, are you in a hurry to pee? 】
[If you need to pee urgently, put me down. I can wait for you for a while.]
Shangguan Shu: ...
Yet the pace did not slow down.
After a while, we finally arrived.
Shangguan Shu walked in holding Shangguan Qingyue and happened to meet Zhao Ying who was leaving.
The moment he saw Zhao Ying, Shangguan Shu's dry heart seemed to be moistened by the spring rain.
He wanted to hug her and kiss her...
Zhao Ying only glanced at him, then smiled and looked at Shangguan Qingyue in his arms, "Mother is going to look for your third brother, do you want to go with her?"
[Okay, okay!]
Shangguan Qingyue nodded excitedly.
Zhao Ying was about to snatch Shangguan Qingyue from Shangguan Shu's arms, but Shangguan Shu moved aside and said expressionlessly, "I'll go with you!"
"No."
"I just happened to have something to ask Qi You."
Seeing that he was not going to return Yue'er to her unless she let him go, Zhao Ying took a deep breath and walked past Shangguan Shu, which was considered as her agreement.
Shangguan Shu curled the corners of his lips slightly and followed.
On the way, Shangguan Shu said, "Ying'er, I just came back from the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince said that the Queen Mother's birthday is in a few days, and he specifically instructed not to let Qi You go... But if you want to, it's okay, I don't mind!"
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