Chapter 57 Feeling Guilty: You're not from the Great Qi, but you still have your own selfish motives? ...
The next day at noon, Xie Lanzhou came to Jingchun Palace after court. Su Panyue specially ordered someone to cook the calming and tranquilizing soup that Gui Bo had prepared the day before.
After the two had finished their meal, she brought out the medicine.
Xie Lanzhou subconsciously took the still-steaming porcelain bowl from her hand, smelled a faint bitterness, raised an eyebrow and asked, "What is this?"
Su Panyue truthfully replied, "It was the prescription that Gui Bo wrote for me, to clear away internal heat."
Xie Lanzhou frowned and asked, "Do you think I have a bad temper?"
Su Panyue muttered, "If it were just a matter of being easily angered, that would be fine, but the other things are quite a bit too..."
Upon hearing this, Xie Lanzhou fell silent and resignedly drank the medicine in the bowl clean.
Then, without saying a word, he carried Su Panyue to bed.
She kicked and struggled, saying, "What are you doing, Your Majesty, in broad daylight?"
Xie Lanzhou placed her inside the cot and replied, "Go to sleep."
Su Panyue hadn't recovered from the excitement of riding on horseback yesterday, so she shrank back and whispered, "Let's do it tonight."
Xie Lanzhou smiled and said, "It's just a short rest, what is the Imperial Concubine thinking about?"
Su Panyue punched him in anger, then turned her back to him.
A warm chest pressed against her back, and a man's low voice sounded behind her: "I have something to tell you, do you want to hear it?"
Su Panyue held her breath and ignored him, pretending to be asleep.
The man's voice drew closer, his warm breath brushing against her ear, "It's about the State of Lu."
Upon hearing this, Su Panyue couldn't help but tilt her head slightly and prick up her ears.
But Xie Lanzhou stopped talking.
Su Panyue's curiosity was piqued by him, and after a while she couldn't hold back any longer. She finally turned around to ask him for clarification, but was instead embraced tightly by the man.
He had clearly been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, and after embracing her, he skillfully buried his head in his chest.
Su Panyue's face flushed slightly, but she hadn't forgotten the important matter.
She pulled Xie Lanzhou's face close and asked, "What happened to Lu?"
Xie Lanzhou licked his lips, still savoring the moment, and said, "The Emperor of Lu is dead."
Upon hearing this, Su Panyue was taken aback. "Shan Jianyuan? Isn't he still very young?"
Xie Lanzhou raised an eyebrow and glanced at her, seemingly surprised. At the same time, Su Panyue heard his inner thoughts:
[They actually called that person by their full name; are they very familiar with each other?]
Su Panyue pretended not to hear and continued, "How did he die?"
Xie Lanzhou curled his lips into a wicked smile: "I heard he died in bed."
Su Panyue was silent for a moment, then clicked her tongue in disdain and asked, "Then who will succeed him? He shouldn't have any princes yet, right?"
Unexpectedly, she knew quite a bit about the Lu royal family. Xie Lanzhou secretly took note and replied, "No, his younger brothers are vying for it, and it will most likely fall to the Prince of Yongning."
Su Panyue looked up in surprise and asked, "Prince Yongning?"
Xie Lanzhou said, "Shan Mingyuan, it seems that's his name in the news sent back by the scouts."
Upon hearing that familiar name, Su Panyue swallowed nervously and looked away guiltily.
What are you feeling guilty about?
As she was lost in her memories, she suddenly heard the man beside her speak, quickly pulling herself out of her reverie and casually asking:
"What are Your Majesty's plans? Will you continue to attack the State of Lu?"
Xie Lanzhou hugged her tighter, "Hit her, the more chaotic it is, the more you should hit her."
Su Panyue hesitated, wanting to say a few more words of advice, but what he said made a lot of sense, so she finally only asked one question:
When does Your Majesty plan to send troops?
Seeing her expression, Xie Lanzhou said calmly, "Mid-next month."
"So fast?" Su Panyue was a little surprised, after all, today was already the tenth day of the month, and there was only a month left until the middle of next month.
Xie Lanzhou said, "Well, during this time, prepare some things you need to bring."
"Me too?" Su Panyue was so surprised that she sat up straight in bed.
Xie Lanzhou lay on his side, looking up at her. "Yes, let's go together to remove the curse."
"There's no rush to cure the curse, Your Majesty. I'd better stay in the palace and wait for good news," Su Panyue said hastily.
Xie Lanzhou reached out and took her hand. Sure enough, her fair palm was damp with sweat; she would do this when she was anxious or nervous.
"Don't worry, I will protect you and never let you get hurt in the slightest," he reassured her gently.
Su Panyue wanted to say that it wasn't because of that, but she found it difficult to say it, so she asked again, unwilling to give up:
"Does His Majesty intend to personally lead the expedition?"
Xie Lanzhou hummed in agreement, pulled her down to lie down, and casually grabbed Fu Guangjin from the side to wipe the sweat from her palms.
Sleep peacefully, I've got you covered.
After saying that, he pulled Su Panyue into his arms again and closed his eyes for a short rest.
The man's even breathing soon came through, but Su Panyue, who usually slept well, found it hard to fall asleep.
She didn't want to go back to Lu, and she didn't want to see Shan Mingyuan. She closed her eyes in despair, feeling that she might not have much time left.
*
Even though Su Panyue was extremely unwilling and repeatedly hinted to Xie Lanzhou that she did not want to go to Lu with him, he refused each time.
Gui Bo also said that the two's Gu worms had matured and reached the stage most conducive to being drawn out. If it dragged on any longer, it would probably be even more dangerous.
So Su Panyue had no choice but to give up struggling and start preparing for her trip.
As a native of Lu, she was most familiar with the climate there.
Summer is over, and the north wind will soon bring a drop in temperature. It won't be long before it starts snowing.
So she ordered the textile workshop to rush-produce a batch of winter clothes, and also reminded Xie Lanzhou.
He has been very busy lately. The army that attacked Yan has successfully entered the capital of Yan. The King of Yan has fallen and the regime has been overthrown. Xie Lanzhou is busy arranging the follow-up matters.
Su Panyue was still nominally under house arrest, but the area under her house arrest had been expanded from Jingchun Palace to the entire palace. Therefore, she found the Imperial Study herself, knowing the way well.
When Eunuch Fu saw her arrive, he invited her in without even announcing her arrival.
"Your Majesty has finally arrived. His Majesty has not yet had his meal today."
Su Panyue nodded and said, "I'll go take a look."
Upon entering the inner hall, Xie Lanzhou was looking down at a memorial. He only got up to greet her when he saw her approaching.
"What are you looking at so intently, Your Majesty? You've even forgotten to eat," Su Panyue said reproachfully.
"Looking at the appointment and dismissal of those old officials of Yan State is troublesome."
[This has prevented me from being close to her for so long; I want to kill them all.]
Xie Lanzhou casually tossed the memorial aside and put his arm around Su Panyue's waist.
Hearing his thoughts, Su Panyue's mind went on high alert. Remembering Uncle Gui's instructions, she quickly poured him a cup of tea and said:
"Your Majesty has worked hard. It is truly a blessing for the people to have such a wise ruler as you."
Seeing Xie Lanzhou raise his eyes dismissively, Su Panyue added:
"It is my blessing to have such a good husband."
Xie Lanzhou's expression softened slightly, and he touched her hand, asking, "How are your preparations going?"
Remembering the important reason she had come to see him, Su Panyue said, "I've come to remind His Majesty that Lu is bitterly cold, much colder than Daqi in winter."
"We have already instructed the weaving workshop to make our winter clothing. Your Majesty, please remember to prepare cotton-padded clothes for the soldiers as well."
Xie Lanzhou nodded, "You should worry more about me than those tens of thousands of soldiers."
As he spoke, he moved a step closer, and Su Panyue gently pushed him on the chest, saying, "Eat first, how can you have energy if you haven't eaten?"
Xie Lanzhou chuckled softly, but still dined with her.
Then Su Panyue was kept in the Imperial Study and busy for more than an hour.
She had to plead with him repeatedly, calling him "good husband" and "good brother" countless times before he finally let her go.
After tidying up, Su Panyue was too lazy to go back. Fortunately, she didn't have much to prepare, and Feixue Feiyan took care of everything for her, so she was happy to steal some time with Xie Lanzhou.
Xie Lanzhou moved the folded document directly to the bedside and leaned against the headboard to read it.
Su Panyue leaned against his chest, and seeing that he didn't shy away from her at all, she also looked at him openly.
"Your Majesty, is the army we sent out earlier about to return?"
Xie Lanzhou replied, "It should arrive in another two or three days."
Su Panyue said "Oh," then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Will His Majesty personally lead the expedition or bring these soldiers?"
“The surrendered soldiers from Yan might make a mistake, while this army, which has just won a great victory, is at the peak of its momentum, so it is natural to bring them along.”
Su Panyue nodded, agreeing with his point, but still offered her own opinion: "The soldiers have been away from home for a long time. It would be better if they could reunite with their families for a while before setting off again. What does Your Majesty think?"
Xie Lanzhou pondered for a moment, then handed her the memorial in his hand, saying, "You decide."
Su Panyue subconsciously reached out and took the memorial. It described the arrangements for the army's return from the campaign against Yan. While she was still in a daze, Xie Lanzhou handed her a vermilion pen.
"I'll approve it?" Su Panyue was somewhat surprised.
“Yes,” Xie Lanzhou said earnestly.
Su Panyue carefully took the vermilion pen and wrote down the suggestion she had just made, allowing the soldiers to return home for three days to reunite with their families.
As she wrote, she pondered. He even entrusted her with the task of approving memorials—what immense trust that must have been! Then, the next second, she heard the man's innermost thoughts:
If I could, I'd love to show all these memorials to someone else!
Su Panyue paused, her pen pouted in exasperation, but she still spent the afternoon reading the memorials with Xie Lanzhou. By the end, she couldn't help but sigh that Xie Lanzhou was really not that short-tempered after all; some of the memorials were so full of nonsense that she wanted to kill him.
*
Three days later, the ever-victorious general led 10,000 troops and many captured members of the Yan royal family back to the capital in triumph.
Xie Lanzhou personally greeted the hero at the city wall and then held a grand celebration banquet, where he discussed and rewarded those who had contributed to the victory.
Among the generals who returned this time, besides the main general Chang Sheng and the deputy general Ji Hongxi appointed by Xie Lanzhou, the most eye-catching was Yan Shao, a brave young general who was familiar with the terrain of Yan and had entered and exited the Yan army camp three times.
This man always wore a mask in the army, and even covered his hair with a hood, so no one knew what he really looked like.
On the day of the celebration banquet, Xie Lanzhou asked him in front of everyone what reward he wanted.
The tall, handsome young man then removed his mask and hood, revealing a head of blond hair and a striking face.
The crowd below buzzed with discussion, and Su Panyue, sitting next to Xie Lanzhou, also asked in surprise:
"Isn't that the blond hunk?"
Xie Lanzhou glanced at her sideways, and Su Panyue immediately changed her tune: "Actually, she's not as beautiful as His Majesty, really!"
Yan Shao, unaware of the intentions of his superior, knelt and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I do not wish for any rewards of gold or silver. I only wish that Your Majesty treats the people of Yan kindly."
Xie Lanzhou's unfathomable eyes narrowed slightly, and a hint of coldness appeared on his face.
Su Panyue sensed something was wrong and spoke first, saying, "General, you are joking. Since you have submitted to the Great Qi, you are all subjects of the Great Qi. His Majesty has been working day and night for the sake of the people here. Why should the General ask for a reward?"
Having his little scheme exposed, Yan Shao's back stiffened as he knelt on the ground, and he could only respond in a low voice, "Your Majesty is right, it was your oversight."
Xie Lanzhou remained silent, and the banquet continued.
Su Panyue picked up some food for him and asked softly, "Is His Majesty still angry?"
Xie Lanzhou accepted all the dishes she offered and slowly said, "With the Imperial Concubine speaking up for me, there's nothing to be angry about."
“He is, after all, a prince of Yan, not a citizen of Qi. It’s normal for him to have some selfish motives,” Su Panyue said.
"You're not from Daqi either, but you also have your own selfish motives?" Xie Lanzhou suddenly asked.
Su Panyue paused, her chopsticks still holding the food she had just picked up, and then dropped the piece of fish she had just picked up. "His Majesty and I have long been united in heart and mind, how could I possibly have any selfish thoughts?"
As she spoke, she kept her eyes downcast on the teacup in front of her, as if time had stood still. After a moment, Xie Lanzhou replied, "Alright, I believe you."
Su Panyue didn't speak again, because she heard Xie Lanzhou's inner thoughts:
Why did you send people out of the palace to search for methods of disguise? No matter what, I will not let you go this time.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Zhou: My wife is hiding something from me, I'm so sad [crying]
Yue: Listen to me, I really don't want to go back to Lu! [melting emoji]
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