Chapter 409 Arrest
Huo Lin strode into the hall, and his gaze softened as soon as he saw Jiang Huan.
"Why didn't you rest a little longer? Did she rush you?"
Thankfully, her cheeks have regained some color, unlike the frighteningly pale look she had yesterday.
[And Ayina, knowing she needs rest, didn't even try to persuade her, instead keeping her talking for so long, wasting her energy for nothing.]
Thinking this, he looked at Ayina, and their eyes met in the air, sparking a few sparks.
Ayina was already seething with anger because of Huo Yunxing's affair and Huo Lin's failure to take good care of Jiang Huan. When she saw the person in question, her eyes immediately widened.
"Oh, Your Majesty has finally arrived! I thought you were too busy to visit our Imperial Noble Consort, who has just survived an assassination attempt and is pregnant!"
She looked Huo Lin up and down, her tone mocking: "What, you're feeling sorry for her now? Where were you before? Leaving the palace is such a big deal, and you just let her do whatever she wanted? What good are all the guards? If something really happens, it'll be too late to regret it!"
Huo Lin was taken aback by her abrupt words, his face instantly darkened, and the atmosphere around him suddenly became tense.
“Heh,” he scoffed, “You’re quite nosy, living on the grasslands. She’s my wife, not yours.”
[What's with that girl from the northern desert glaring at me?]
[Don't I care for my own wife? Do I expect her to play the good guy?]
[Still subtly criticizing me? You probably secretly hope I haven't taken good care of you, so you can take advantage of the situation!]
Seeing the tense atmosphere between the two, Jiang Huan's heart skipped a beat. She quickly smiled and tried to smooth things over, gently tugging at Huo Lin's sleeve with a hint of reassurance.
"Alright, alright, Ayina was just concerned about me, she was just being blunt, don't be angry."
After saying that, he turned to Ayina and smiled, "Ayina, you've just arrived in the capital. In a few days, when I'm feeling better, I'll host a small banquet at Weiyang Palace to welcome you back. We'll have hot pot, it'll be lively and fun, how about that?"
When Ayina heard about hot pot, her eyes lit up, but when she glanced at Huo Lin's displeased expression beside her, she deliberately snorted and raised her chin.
"Since you've invited me so sincerely, I'll reluctantly give it a try. But let me make this clear beforehand: this hot pot feast is either me or someone else."
Huo Lin's temple throbbed, and he was about to retort when Jiang Huan secretly tugged at his sleeve.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his dissatisfaction with Ayina, and his gaze returned to Jiang Huan, calming down.
[Fine, for her sake, I won't stoop to the level of this barbarian princess.]
[If you don't want to eat, then don't eat. I don't care anyway, I have no appetite!]
[If I continue to argue about this, it will only make me seem petty.]
He raised his hand and gently tidied Jiang Huan's hair at her temples: "You've been out for a while now, are you tired? I'll accompany you back to rest."
Jiang Huan breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he was willing to compromise. Just as she was about to nod, the palace door was suddenly kicked open.
A figure stumbled in and fell heavily to the ground due to the force of the impact. It was Tana, who had just been dragged out and forced to kneel as punishment.
Her hair was disheveled, her face was streaked with tears and dust, and the fabric of her clothes was torn at the knees, with blood seeping through. She looked utterly wretched, as if she had used the last bit of strength to break free of her restraints and rush in.
"Princess, Your Majesty, Imperial Noble Consort!" she cried hoarsely, crawling forward a few steps and kowtowing repeatedly. "This servant knows she was wrong, please forgive this servant, this servant will never dare to do it again!"
This sudden turn of events stunned everyone in the hall, and the air seemed to freeze instantly.
Ayina was the first to react. After a brief moment of shock, anger surged to her head.
She stood up, pointed at Tana, and shouted sternly, "Tana! How dare you trespass into the palace? Get out of here right now!"
Tana, however, seemed to have grasped at the last straw. Ignoring Ayina's scolding, she raised her tearful face and looked at Ayina with sorrow.
"Princess, please give this servant a chance!"
Then, as if she had just noticed Huo Lin, she subtly turned her body slightly in his direction, crawled forward a few steps on her knees, and raised her tear-filled face.
"Your Majesty, save me! I am but a lowly maid, ignorant of the rules, and I have offended the Imperial Noble Consort. I deserve to be punished, but... but I do not wish to die! I beg Your Majesty to have mercy and spare my life. I am willing to serve you like a slave to repay Your Majesty's kindness in sparing my life!"
Her kowtowing movements were extremely exaggerated. With each bow, the already thin collar of her clothes would open slightly, vaguely revealing a small patch of skin below her neck and the outline of her collarbone.
When she raised her wrist to wipe away her tears, she deliberately showed off the red marks on it, making her look extremely miserable and pitiful.
At the same time, a faint, warm fragrance seemed to intensify slightly due to her excitement.
Huo Lin's face was ashen, his icy gaze fixed on Tana with undisguised disgust.
Is this northern desert a breeding ground for madmen or idiots? Each one is more outrageous than the last.
[Ayina may be sharp-tongued, but she has a good heart.]
【This is ridiculous, they're just staging a self-inflicted injury? Do they think I'm some kind of garbage collector?】
Ayina turned pale with rage, pointing at Tana and roaring at the people outside the hall, "Are all the people outside dead? How dare you let her in! Drag her out right now!"
The maids outside the hall rushed in in a panic, but Huo Lin raised his hand to stop them.
He slowly rose, walked step by step toward Tana, stopped in front of her, and looked down at her with sharp eyes.
"Disturbing His Majesty and the Imperial Noble Consort is an even greater offense."
He didn't even bother to discern whether Tana was truly insane or feigning madness; he simply thought of the strange fragrance he had just smelled and immediately gave orders to the guards who had come upon hearing the sound.
"Search him." He turned his head slightly and coldly ordered the guards who entered after hearing the commotion, "I want to see what kind of filthy things this fool has hidden on him."
"yes."
Two guards quickly grabbed Tana's arms from the left and right and lifted her off the ground.
Tana's wailing stopped abruptly, and the color drained from her face instantly.
"No, what are you doing? Let me go!" she screamed, struggling desperately. "I'm from the Northern Desert! You can't do this to me, Princess! Princess, save me!"
She tried to call for help from Ayina, her voice shrill, but the guard's hand was like an iron clamp, unmoving.
Tana's struggle reached its peak as one of the guards began to reach for her waist and sleeve pockets, her eyes filled with terror.
"Get away from me, don't touch me!" she screamed, even trying to bite the guard's wrist.
But her struggles were futile against the well-trained guards. The guards, expressionless, quickly found the source of the strange fragrance on her body: a sachet. In addition, she had several packets of powder wrapped in oiled paper.
Huo Lin looked at those things, his eyes flashing with murderous intent, and said no more nonsense.
"Throw him into the imperial prison."
Upon hearing this, the guards immediately dragged Tana away.
The hall fell silent. Huo Lin embraced Jiang Huan and said softly, "It's alright, let's go back."
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