Chapter 408 Punishment
Ayina's ears turned bright red from the praise. To hide her discomfort, she picked up her teacup and took a big gulp, mumbling, "Have you flattered me enough? No matter how much I flatter you, it won't make any more gifts."
Jiang Huan smiled and lowered her head, ceasing her teasing, and began to ponder how to arrange these exotic gifts.
Just then, the sound of footsteps came from behind.
Looking up, she saw a maid carrying a tea tray approaching from beside Ayina.
She walked a few steps slower than the ordinary palace maids. When she reached Jiang Huan, she didn't properly curtsy, but just gave a perfunctory bow, her voice drawn out.
"Your Highness, please have some tea."
Xiao Zhao watched from the side with a furrowed brow, about to reprimand him, when she heard a sharp crack.
Ayina slammed her teacup on the table, splashing tea everywhere.
"Tana!" Ayina's voice instantly turned icy cold. "Did you leave your bones in the northern desert? Is this how you greet the Imperial Noble Consort and serve tea? Who are you trying to impress with this coy and effeminate manner?"
Tana was startled by the sudden shout, nearly dropping the tea tray in her hands. Her face paled, and she tried to explain, "Princess, please calm down. This servant... this servant only..."
"Just what?"
Ayina didn't give her a chance to finish speaking. She suddenly stood up, walked a few steps in front of her, and the oppressive feeling brought by her height made Tana involuntarily take half a step back.
"Stop with your little tricks! You're still too green to try and pull any tricks on me!" She grew angrier as she spoke, her anger rising rapidly.
She turned her head and shouted sternly at the outside of the hall, "Guards!"
Upon hearing this, the two maids from the northern desert who were guarding outside the hall immediately went inside.
Ayina snorted coldly and ordered, "Drag her out and make her kneel down. Let her wake up and think about what she should and shouldn't do."
"Yes!" Two maids shouted, stepping forward to grab Tana on either side and dragging her out without any politeness.
"Princess, spare me! I know I was wrong! Imperial Noble Consort, spare me!" Tana panicked and cried out for mercy, but she was dragged out without mercy, and her voice quickly disappeared outside the palace.
The hall fell silent instantly, the atmosphere becoming somewhat tense due to the sudden outburst.
Ayina took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her anger, and turned to walk back to her seat.
She looked at Jiang Huan's pregnant belly, and thinking of what she had heard on her way here, her brows furrowed tightly. Her anger towards Tana quickly turned into worry for Jiang Huan.
"None of you are giving me any peace of mind."
She got angrier and angrier as she talked, and couldn't help but start complaining about someone who wasn't even there.
"And your emperor too, knowing you're pregnant and this is a crucial time, how could he let you act so recklessly? Leaving the palace is such a big deal, what good are all the guards? Swords have no eyes, humph, I really don't know how he can be such a husband, he doesn't care about anyone at all!"
Hearing Ayina's barrage of accusations, Jiang Huan quickly tried to explain for Huo Lin.
"Alright, alright, don't be angry. I was just bored and had to go out for some fresh air. He gave me a lot of instructions and sent out layers of guards. Who would have thought we'd be so unlucky as to run into an assassin?"
She gently patted Ayina's hand. "Look, I'm fine now. I'm just a little tired. I'll be fine after a rest."
Ayina snorted, clearly still harboring some resentment towards Huo Lin, but seeing Jiang Huan's gentle explanation, her anger subsided considerably.
She sighed, her tone softening slightly: "Anyway, you'd better be careful in the future. You're not alone anymore."
Jiang Huan smiled and nodded: "I understand."
After exchanging a few jokes, Jiang Huan remembered the important matter and her expression became slightly more serious.
She took Ayina's hand and carefully began to speak: "Ayina, there's something I need to tell you, it's about the carefree king."
"Huo Yunxing?" Ayina subconsciously sat up straighter, her fingers unconsciously clenching tighter. "What's wrong with him?"
Jiang Huan looked at her expression as she suddenly became focused and said slowly, "A month ago, he went to the epidemic area in Jiangnan in person. Everything went smoothly and the epidemic was under control. But a few days ago, news came that he had unfortunately contracted the disease."
Ayina's breath hitched almost imperceptibly, her knuckles turned slightly white, but she still managed to maintain a calm expression.
"And then...? Is it serious?" She tried her best to make her voice sound calm, but a hint of urgency still escaped her lips.
"Don't worry," Jiang Huan quickly reassured him. "There is now medicine to treat the epidemic. In order to allow him to recuperate peacefully, the Emperor has ordered him to be secretly moved to a quiet villa. The imperial physicians are also accompanying him to provide careful treatment."
She paused, looking at Ayina's still furrowed brows, and added, "But because of this unexpected turn of events, your wedding date will probably have to be postponed."
"Postponed?"
Ayina blurted out, somewhat disappointed, but then straightened her back, raised her chin slightly, and deliberately raised her voice, as if she didn't care at all.
"Hmph, I thought it was something important. So what if it's postponed? Who cares!"
"That idle prince, he's always making trouble for himself. Why can't he just stay in the capital? Why does he have to go to some epidemic area? He's really... really stupid!"
"It's just a minor illness. He's very resilient and definitely won't die. Perfect, this princess can enjoy herself in the capital for a while longer and won't be bound by an engagement so early."
She spoke very quickly, as if trying to cover up the turmoil in her heart with these words. To make her words more convincing, she even took a big bite of the rice cracker and chewed it with extra force.
But her trembling fingertips and her subconsciously bitten lower lip betrayed her deep-seated worry.
That feigned composure was like a thin layer of ice, beneath which lay a surging anxiety.
Meanwhile, outside the palace, the sun was scorching hot.
Tana was unceremoniously forced to kneel on the scorching bluestone slab by two maids from the northern desert. Sharp pain shot through her knees, and sweat mixed with tears of humiliation streamed down her forehead.
As she listened to the faint sounds of laughter and conversation coming from inside the hall, the resentment in her heart grew wildly like weeds.
It was one thing for Ayina to act arrogantly and domineeringly in front of her, but now that they were in Daliang, she was actually so obsequious and cautious towards a concubine!
So what if she's pregnant with the emperor's child? What's the big deal? Look at how pale she is, it's questionable whether she can even give birth.
She's utterly spineless. She's supposed to be a princess of the Northern Desert, but she's completely disgraced the region.
If it were her... if she had the chance... she definitely wouldn't be as pathetic as Ayina!
The more she thought about it, the more she hated it, her nails digging deep into her palms as if she wanted to carve that resentment and ambition into her very bones.
Inside the palace, Jiang Huan naturally couldn't hear Tana's vicious thoughts.
Just as he was about to say a few more words of comfort to Ayina, footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
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