"What's wrong?" she asked.
"...I heard...that the Imperial Concubine has an affair." Qianxia seemed to find it difficult to say this.
A secret affair? This question clearly startled Nan Zhiyun. The Imperial Concubine had a secret affair?
“Moreover… the child that Consort Gui had in the Eastern Palace wasn’t His Majesty’s…” Qianxia continued. Nan Zhiyun was shocked. Just how audacious did Consort Gui have to do such things? Furthermore, were these things truly true? Could His Majesty have done it on purpose…? Nan Zhiyun harbored doubts.
"Your Majesty needs to take good care of your health now, so please don't worry too much about these things." Qianxia was concerned about Nan Zhiyun's health.
"Hmm... how was the matter concerning the Imperial Concubine handled?" Nan Zhiyun asked.
"It's not clear yet, but I doubt His Majesty would tolerate it," Qianxia replied.
"When did it happen?" Nan Zhiyun continued to ask.
"It's been almost half an hour. I heard that they found some things they shouldn't have in Consort Gui's Yunpeng Palace today, which is why it was exposed," Qianxia explained.
(Just a heads-up: everyone, please note that the secret room in the main story is because of the Empress Dowager, but in this life, the Empress Dowager has not been reborn, so there is no secret room in this story~)
Nan Zhiyun didn't press the matter further, but she felt that things shouldn't be so simple. How could it have been exposed so suddenly? Had Yu Jingchen done something about it? But when did he find out? And why is he doing all this now?
"Does Your Highness wish to continue sleeping?" Qianxia brought Nan Zhiyun a cloak and draped it over her shoulders.
"I can't sleep." Nan Zhiyun shook her head.
"What does Your Highness need to do now?" Qianxia asked.
"I'll sit for a while. Where's today's book? Bring it over." Nan Zhiyun wanted to read a book to pass the time; she had just woken up and couldn't fall back asleep.
"Your Majesty, His Majesty has ordered that we should not read at night. It's too dark then, and reading will damage our eyes," Qianxia explained. This was something Yu Jingchen had explicitly forbidden.
Nan Zhiyun: "..." For a moment, she didn't know whether she should continue watching.
"Let's light two more lamps. There's nothing to do, so we can read a book." Nan Zhiyun still wanted to read; if the light was too dim, she could just light two more candles.
"Yes..." Qianxia didn't know what else to say.
She brought the book to Nan Zhiyun and lit two lamps. Yu Jingchen hadn't returned yet. Nan Zhiyun was a little nervous at first, but she gradually became engrossed in the book.
Yu Jingchen returned about half an hour later. The first thing he saw when he got back was Nan Zhiyun sitting under the candlelight reading a book. He frowned but didn't say anything.
When Qianxia saw Yu Jingchen enter, she glanced at Nan Zhiyun and then bowed, saying, "Your Majesty."
Nan Zhiyun was somewhat confused by the address "Your Majesty". She looked up and immediately tensed up when she saw Yu Jingchen.
"It's so dark in here, why are you still reading? It'll hurt your eyes." Yu Jingchen walked over to Nan Zhiyun.
Nan Zhiyun put the book down; it was a little hot to the touch. She wanted to hide it behind her, but she didn't dare.
"Your Majesty, the Empress just woke up a little while ago and can't fall back asleep, so she wanted to read a book. Please don't blame her," Qianxia explained on behalf of Nan Zhiyun.
"Step back," Yu Jingchen said impatiently. Qianxia glanced at Nan Zhiyun worriedly, but didn't linger. She thought the current Emperor wouldn't do anything to the Empress. After Qianxia left, Nan Zhiyun became even more uneasy, constantly fidgeting with her hands.
Yu Jingchen squatted down in front of her, then took Nan Zhiyun's hand: "What did I say to you today? Why are you holding your own hand again? I told you not to hurt yourself." He smiled, seemingly not angry, and took the book from Nan Zhiyun's hand.
"Are you scared?" Yu Jingchen asked her.
Nan Zhiyun did not answer, but her attitude was already very clear.
"It's okay, I'm not angry. I'm just worried you might hurt your eyes. It's too dark in the room, so don't look at these things too often at night," Yu Jingchen said.
"Can't sleep?" he asked.
Nan Zhiyun glanced at Yu Jingchen this time, and Yu Jingchen looked back at her, showing no anger on his face. Instead, he kept smiling, very patient and gentle. She nodded, feeling a little sleepless.
"It's okay, if you can't sleep, then don't." Yu Jingchen didn't force himself. He had already slept for more than three hours, so it was normal that he couldn't sleep.
“Although I can’t read books, I can tell you stories. Would you like to hear them?” Yu Jingchen asked her. In his previous life, Nan Zhiyun loved to listen to these stories and always wanted him to tell them, so he had already memorized them.
However, Nan Zhiyun was surprised when she heard Yu Jingchen's words. Was he telling a story? That was simply too unbelievable.
"What's wrong? Don't you want to hear it? Or do you think I can't explain it well?" Yu Jingchen looked at Nan Zhiyun with amusement.
Nan Zhiyun dared not meet his gaze; she... truly didn't quite believe it. Also, wasn't it said today about the Imperial Concubine...? But why did His Majesty seem completely unaffected? Didn't he care about such things? Wasn't he angry about such things?
"What's wrong? Do you have a question for me?" Yu Jingchen looked at Nan Zhiyun, his expression somewhat adorable.
"Your Highness..." Nan Zhiyun finally spoke, wanting to know if what happened today was something Yu Jingchen had deliberately done.
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