Chapter 52 Imprisonment: Without my presence, you may not step out of Jingchun Palace...
Su Panyue then moved back to Jingchun Palace.
The two weeks I was away seemed to have never happened; the furnishings and layout of Jingchun Palace remained unchanged.
The palace servants remained unchanged; Feixue and Feiyan continued to serve her closely, and the other palace servants continued to diligently perform their duties.
Su Panyue entered the inner room and found that the painting she had started to paint on a whim was now back in its original place.
The scene from half a month ago came to mind.
That day, she originally intended to paint the scenery outside the window, but she kept being drawn to Xie Lanzhou sitting beside her. In the end, she only painted half of the spring scenery and a vague outline of a man.
She picked up her pen to complete his facial features, but was not satisfied. After making a few corrections, the features became even more unrecognizable.
She simply put down her pen and stopped drawing, lying on the bed in a daze out of boredom. Xie Lanzhou woke up, and she finally had a chance to calm down and sort out what had happened recently.
Sun Shi really caused a lot of harm. He clearly said that repeatedly taking the same kind of Gu pill would not cause any problems, but he never expected that it would lead to her sharing a life-or-death situation with Xie Lanzhou.
Su Panyue found it hard to describe this strange feeling, but being the emperor was an extremely dangerous position. She could only pray that Xie Lanzhou would be cautious and cherish his life.
*Inside the Imperial Study.
Xie Lanzhou sat lazily in the grand master's chair at the head of the table, letting the imperial physician Gao take his pulse. He looked rosy-cheeked and did not look like someone who had just woken up from a coma.
Imperial Physician Gao stopped: "His Majesty has been unconscious for the past few days, which has caused him to lose some of his vital energy. Fortunately, His Majesty is in good health and there is nothing seriously wrong. He just needs to take good care of himself for a period of time."
Xie Lanzhou nodded slightly, looked up at Gui Bo beside him, and asked, "I've heard that both the Imperial Concubine and I have Gu worms in our bodies?"
Gui Bo met his gaze without fear with one eye and succinctly explained what a mother-child Gu was.
Xie Lanzhou frowned slightly upon hearing this and asked, "Does 'shared life and death' mean that if I die, she will also die?"
Uncle Gui nodded. "And vice versa."
Xie Lanzhou then asked, "Is there a cure for this poison?"
Gui Bo said, "Of course it exists, but..."
"But what? Tell me quickly how to solve this," Doctor Gao urged.
Gui Bo rolled his eyes at him and said slowly, "There are two methods. The first and simplest method is to open the skull to remove the Gu. Cut a slit in the forehead and use another person's heart blood to draw out the Gu worm."
Xie Lanzhou frowned and asked, "Is there any other way?"
Uncle Gui said calmly, "There is another way. You've come to the right person. I'm afraid no one else in the world knows this except me."
The imperial physician Gao said speechlessly, "Don't talk about these things in front of His Majesty, just tell me quickly."
"These Gu worms are most fond of Blood Coagulation Flowers. As long as you crush fresh Blood Coagulation Flowers into juice, you can easily draw them out of the body, but..."
"However, this Blood Coagulation Flower grows in the frigid north, mostly in the high mountains and snowfields, and is very difficult to find. I only happened to see it once when I was traveling more than 20 years ago. After that, I could hardly find it again."
Upon hearing this, everyone present fell silent.
This method sounds simple, but the northern lands are the territory of the State of Lu, which is difficult to enter, let alone search for the Blood Coagulation Flower in a big way. It is foreseeable that there will be many difficulties.
Xie Lanzhou suddenly spoke up: "Alright, let's use this method. But would you be willing to travel with us to the North?"
Gui Bo glanced at him and, seeing that he didn't seem to be joking, replied, "Of course I would. To be able to see that boundless snowfield again in my lifetime would make this life worthwhile."
He voiced the question that had been lingering in everyone's mind, "But how can we get there?"
Xie Lanzhou lowered his eyes and said in a calm voice, "After conquering Lu, I can go wherever I want."
Although these words were spoken lightly, everyone present broke out in a cold sweat. The State of Lu was not a small country like the State of Yan.
On the contrary. The area of the State of Lu was comparable to that of the State of Qi, but its northern regions were too cold, and its population was much smaller than that of the State of Qi. However, the people of Lu have always been fierce and good at fighting, especially skilled in horsemanship and archery. Therefore, they held their own in the north and no one dared to invade them.
Xie Lanzhou ignored their various thoughts and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, I'm tired, you may all leave."
Everyone in the hall withdrew, except for Eunuch Fu, who remained to serve. He asked, "Your Majesty, it's past dinner time. Shall we order someone to bring the meal?"
Xie Lanzhou looked up at the sky and asked, "Has the Imperial Concubine taken it?"
Eunuch Fu said, "I sent Shouxi to tell His Majesty that he will not be going. The Empress should have already finished her supplies."
Xie Lanzhou then asked, "Did she say anything?"
Eunuch Fu hesitated for a moment, unsure how to begin, before finally saying, "Her Majesty says she understands."
"Is there nothing else?"
Eunuch Fu lowered his head even further and whispered, "Your Majesty, there's none left..."
"Go to Jingchun Palace." Xie Lanzhou flicked his sleeves and left.
They soon arrived at Jingchun Palace. They waved to dismiss the palace servants from bowing, and before even entering, they could hear the clear laughter of the women inside, clearly indicating that they were having a pleasant conversation.
He turned to look at Grandpa Fu, his eyes questioning.
Grandpa Fu shook his head, indicating that he didn't know who was inside either.
"Let me tell you, there's a steamed bun shop in the West Market that's incredibly delicious. One bite and your mouth is filled with juicy goodness. It would be wonderful if the imperial kitchen could make buns like that too."
"Your Majesty dislikes greasy food, and the kitchen has never made such street snacks."
"Okay, there are also sugar paintings for sale outside, and they're really well made. Oh, and there are storytellers too, and their stories are much more interesting than reading novels. You really should go out and have a look."
The sound of conversation coming from inside was recognized by Xie Lanzhou. She realized that Su Panyue was talking to the palace maid in charge of the kitchen who had been kind to her.
“This servant is well past the age of leaving the palace and has voluntarily chosen to stay.”
"Don't you want to go out, get married, and have children?" It was Su Panyue's voice.
"I thought about it when I was young, but I don't think about it anymore. But Your Majesty, in this harem, a mother's status always depends on her son. While His Majesty is still without anyone by his side, it would be a long-term solution to have an heir as soon as possible."
"Ah, the imperial heir..." The woman's voice inside the room lowered noticeably, as if she hesitated.
Xie Lanzhou, standing outside the door, clenched and unclenched his fists before finally pushing the door open and entering.
Upon seeing him enter, Su Panyue and Aunt Cui stood up and bowed together.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Xie Lanzhou waved his hand, and Aunt Cui and Eunuch Fu withdrew on their own.
"Has Your Majesty eaten?" Su Panyue asked proactively.
"If you haven't eaten, will the Imperial Concubine serve you a meal?" Xie Lanzhou asked, looking up at her.
Su Panyue hadn't served him meals in a long time, and she didn't know why he suddenly made this request today, but she still agreed.
The two sat down at the table, and Xie Lanzhou suddenly asked, "What were you talking about just now? You seemed to be having a great time."
Su Panyue, feeling a little guilty, said, "We didn't talk about much, just told Aunt Cui about the interesting things that have happened to me these days."
Xie Lanzhou nodded slightly without any special expression, but his thoughts reached Su Panyue's ears.
Why won't you tell me? Why won't you tell me?!
She blinked, quite surprised. She had shared various trivial matters of her life with him before, but Xie Lanzhou's reaction was always indifferent, leading her to believe that Xie Lanzhou was not interested in the little things she talked about at all. So she gradually stopped talking to him about these things. Only after hearing his thoughts did she realize that he actually wanted to hear them.
While waiting for the food to be delivered, Su Panyue took the initiative to tell some interesting stories about her time outside the palace. Xie Lanzhou listened quietly without reacting, but his inner thoughts were quite rich, greatly satisfying Su Panyue's desire to express herself.
Feeling a bit tired from talking, she stopped to drink some water to moisten her throat, when she heard Xie Lanzhou suddenly ask, "You really like being outside the palace?"
You actually want to leave? You want to leave me?
Su Panyue was taken aback. Hearing his somewhat sinister thoughts, she quickly denied it, saying, "No, there are certainly many interesting things outside the palace, but none of them can compare to being by His Majesty's side."
Xie Lanzhou glanced at her, his eyes clearly showing disbelief in her lies, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips as he said, "Even if I confine you here, you won't blame me?"
In fact, Su Panyue didn't think there was anything wrong with this. She had food and drink, people to serve her, and even a handsome man to sleep with. It was like a paradise for her. But she couldn't say it like that, so she carefully said, "Your Majesty should punish me for my mistake."
Xie Lanzhou suddenly asked, "Do you still have any relatives in the State of Lu?"
Su Panyue was taken aback, wondering why he suddenly asked this, when she heard his inner thoughts: "It wouldn't be good if we accidentally hurt our own family."
Su Panyue shook her head. "That's all. I was born an orphan and grew up eating food from many families. Later, I was adopted and then came to Daqi."
[It seems the people of Lu forced her to come, so there's no need to be polite.]
He raised his hand and stroked her hair. Su Panyue hesitated, wondering whether she should explain that it wasn't anyone else who forced her to come; she herself had come to Daqi to seek a better future.
Xie Lanzhou pulled her into his arms and whispered in her ear, "It's alright, this palace will be your home from now on."
It's all someone else's fault; I don't blame you.
Su Panyue blinked, feeling that it wasn't really necessary to explain; it was indeed those old guys from Lu who were determined to take advantage of her.
Dinner was quickly served. Su Panyue had already eaten once, so she kept putting food on Xie Lanzhou's plate with her chopsticks.
Xie Lanzhou must have been a little hungry, because he accepted all the dishes she picked out, and even fed some of the better ones to Su Panyue.
In the end, the two of them ate almost all of the food on the table.
Su Panyue had already eaten some food, but he fed her another meal, so she ate quite a bit too much.
She patted her stomach and gave him a reproachful look. Xie Lanzhou had also eaten quite a bit, but he just looked at her and smiled.
Su Panyue said, "Come with me for a walk to help with your digestion."
Xie Lanzhou nodded, letting her help him up. Su Panyue couldn't help but sigh, he was a very easy person to talk to except when he was in bed.
Jingchun Palace was already quite large, enough for two people to walk around, but Su Panyue deliberately pulled him away.
The guards passing by the gate didn't say anything, and they left Jingchun Palace hand in hand. Su Panyue didn't expect that his confinement would be so casual, that he could just come out as soon as he said he would.
Xie Lanzhou seemed to have guessed what she was thinking. When they reached the Imperial Garden, he suddenly said, "Without my company, you cannot step out of Jingchun Palace."
Su Panyue's little scheme was exposed, and she pouted, saying, "But His Majesty will always be with me, right?"
Xie Lanzhou took her hand and walked towards the garden path without saying a word.
But Su Panyue heard his inner thoughts:
Yes, you'll never leave me for the rest of your life.
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Author's Note: After Zhou's true feelings were revealed, Yueyue became even more adept at manipulating him.
I won't say who had the fun [covering face and peeking]
I was forced to delete a lot of the previous chapter, and it broke my heart. I'll probably have to be more subtle about my risqué content from now on. [Chin resting on hand]
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