Hearing Yu Jingchen's "lecture" voice, Nan Zhiyun was not as scared as before, but she remained silent.
"Your skirt is a little wet too, I should have said so earlier. What if you catch a cold later? Will you want to take medicine again?" Yu Jingchen said as he helped her tidy up, and took off her other leg as well.
"Go prepare hot water," Yu Jingchen said to the palace servants, then picked Nan Zhiyun up in his arms again.
"Hold me close," Yu Jingchen said to Nan Zhiyun.
Nan Zhiyun timidly wrapped her arms around Yu Jingchen's neck, and Yu Jingchen led her into the inner room.
"Drink some ginger soup to warm yourself up. If you feel unwell, tell me immediately, okay?" Yu Jingchen said.
“Okay…” Nan Zhiyun always seemed a little reserved when she was alone with Yu Jingchen, for some reason.
"Take a shower first, then change your clothes." Yu Jingchen put her down. There was a fluffy blanket under her feet, which felt very comfortable. Yu Jingchen had just had it laid out a couple of days ago because he noticed that Nan Zhiyun always walked barefoot on it after showering. In winter, it was not only cold, but also wet, and he was afraid she would slip, so he simply had a fleece blanket laid out.
"Yes," Nan Zhiyun said, but...
Yu Jingchen knew his concerns. After what happened last time, he also felt that he should be more careful about these things. Since she was afraid, then so be it.
"I'll wait for you outside, no need to rush." Yu Jingchen patted her head. Nan Zhiyun didn't expect to hear this from Yu Jingchen, and stood there dumbfounded, while Yu Jingchen had already walked out.
That night, Yu Jingchen did nothing but hold Nan Zhiyun and went to sleep, without teasing her as before.
"Your Majesty..." Nan Zhiyun was a little unaccustomed to it.
"Hmm?" Yu Jingchen closed his eyes and listened to her speak.
“…” Nan Zhiyun called out but then didn’t know what to say. She just felt a little uncomfortable.
"Why did you stop talking?" Yu Jingchen asked when she didn't speak.
“It’s nothing…” Nan Zhiyun replied to him, and Yu Jingchen sensed Nan Zhiyun’s emotions.
"Don't worry, we'll take it slow. It was my fault before, that scared you. Let's rest first, okay?" Yu Jingchen hugged the person in his arms tighter.
"Mm," Nan Zhiyun replied.
Yu Jingchen smiled, then gently patted Nan Zhiyun's back to lull her to sleep.
I slept without any dreams.
The next day, Nan Zhiyun was woken up by Qian Xia. She was comfortably in bed, so what was she going to do?
"Your Highness, it's time to get up," Qianxia called out. During the previous period, Yu Jingchen had always instructed that she should not be disturbed, so after winter began, Nan Zhiyun could sleep until she naturally woke up almost every day. Now that she was being woken up, Nan Zhiyun found it difficult to get up.
"Don't... go out." Nan Zhiyun started to act willfully.
Qianxia felt somewhat helpless, but she couldn't not call out, so she called out again, "Your Majesty, it's time to get up. Today, all the court ladies are going to the palace to offer their congratulations."
"Ah~" Nan Zhiyun said impatiently.
Actually, she wouldn't need to go if Yu Jingchen just said one word. Yu Jingchen initially thought so too, but then felt it wasn't quite appropriate. These meetings were usually attended by the families of high-ranking officials, and Nan Zhiyun, as one of the four consorts, was there out of etiquette and as a symbol of her status.
Previously, due to his own reasons, he had already attracted a lot of speculation. If Nan Zhiyun didn't go, it would probably cause even more unnecessary trouble.
Some might think that protecting Nan Zhiyun wouldn't be difficult for him if he wanted to, but Yu Jingchen was also afraid of situations he might overlook. Furthermore, there was the Nan family; even if he trusted them now, the one who wanted to bring them down wasn't the same person he used to be.
Nan Zhiyun finally got up. She couldn't help it; once her reason returned, she couldn't really be willful anymore. Still half-asleep, Nan Zhiyun was fuzzy in her sleep and it took Qianxia and the others a long time to get her into the sedan chair.
After Nan Zhiyun went up, she was jolted awake in no time; it was really bumpy and shaky. But it wasn't just the road that was bumpy; there were also people, like... she ran into Consort Yin (who turned out to be Consort Yin, the one who had ridiculed the female lead during her first visit to pay her respects; see chapter 82 for details).
She was disciplining her servants when she saw Nan Zhiyun's sedan chair. Instead of making way, she took two steps forward.
"Nan Zhiyun!" Yin Xiuyi called out.
"How dare you! This is Consort Chen Shu, how can you address her by her name?" Chunhua went up and slapped her across the face.
Yin Cairen was stunned by the beating; she never expected to be hit by a servant of Nan Zhiyun.
"You dare hit me?" Yin Cairen looked at Chunhua in disbelief.
“This is Consort Chen Shu. You, a mere concubine, not only fail to pay your respects to Her Highness but also dare to address her by her given name. You are ignorant of etiquette and have offended Her Highness. Can you bear the consequences?” Xia Yi added.
They didn't care; His Majesty had said before that everything should be decided by the Empress.
"A mere eunuch dares to speak to me like that? Let me tell you, Nan Zhiyun, don't think you're so noble. Didn't you fall from Consort Shu to a lowly concubine? Sooner or later you'll become even more despicable!" Since being demoted, Concubine Yin's temper has worsened.
Look, look at the little eunuch on the ground, beaten beyond recognition by her. He's dressed so thinly, kneeling in the snow. She was kicking and hitting him just now. How long can he last?
"Move aside," Nan Zhiyun said, not wanting to talk to her anymore.
"Nan Zhiyun, what are you so smug about? Do you think His Majesty really likes you? Let me tell you, it's all because your father is still useful. Prince An has been hoarding troops without permission, so His Majesty still needs your father. Otherwise, why would you think His Majesty would dote on you like this?" Consort Yin's words became increasingly inappropriate.
Nan Zhiyun was too lazy to continue talking to her.
However... just as Nan Zhiyun was about to leave, Consort Yin, with a resentful expression, pushed the little eunuch out. When the little eunuch fell, he bumped into the people carrying the sedan chair.
The ground was already slippery, and then this collision caused the people carrying the sedan chair to lose their footing and fall. To prevent the sedan chair from tipping over, the people had been trying their best to maintain its balance. Just when it seemed that it was about to be stabilized, Yin Xiuyi reached out and pushed it.
The sedan chair suddenly crashed to the ground. If it had really fallen, Nan Zhiyun would have been seriously injured. The palace servants rushed to help her up, but they all fell to the ground, and Nan Zhiyun fell on top of them.
However... one end of the sedan chair slammed into Nan Zhiyun's foot. This sedan chair was no light, and the impact made Nan Zhiyun cry out in pain.
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