After Gu Yanyue was brought back to the palace by Yuwen Ran, she was ill for several days. Yuwen Ran knew that it was because she witnessed Murong Yue's death in front of him, but she was powerless to do anything. She must have been so traumatized.
Seeing her frowning brows and deep thoughts, Yuwen Ran remembered that when he was in a bad mood in the past, Gu Yanyue would cook for him to cheer him up. He also remembered what Gu Yanyue had said to him before: "There is nothing that can't be solved by a delicious meal. If there is, then two meals will do."
He had seen Gu Yanyue cook some home-cooked dishes, which didn't seem too difficult. He thought that if he cooked a meal himself, Gu Yanyue might be in a better mood.
However, Yu Wenran still underestimated the importance of cooking. He usually watched Gu Yanyue make it simple, but when he tried it himself, he found that it was not the case at all. After two hours of struggling in the kitchen, he could only make a bowl of porridge that was barely edible.
He originally wanted to pour it out, cook another bowl and serve it to Gu Yanyue, but the palace maid came to report that Gu Yanyue had woken up.
Yu Wenran was worried that Gu Yanyue hadn't eaten properly for a few days, so he took the bowl of porridge and went back to the bedroom first, intending to let Gu Yanyue eat it first, and then ask the imperial kitchen to prepare some easily digestible food.
Yu Wenran picked up a spoon, scooped a spoonful of porridge, and blew it carefully to cool it down. He fed it to Gu Yanyue when the temperature was just right.
The moment Gu Yanyue took a bite of the porridge, she frowned, but when she thought that this was the porridge that Yu Wenran had spent two hours making for her, she swallowed it obediently.
Yu Wenran watched Gu Yanyue swallow it, with stars in his eyes, and asked cautiously: "Does it taste okay?"
Gu Yanyue thought for a long time. She wanted to tell the truth, but she was afraid of damaging Yu Wenran's self-confidence. If she told a lie, she might inspire Yu Wenran's interest in cooking, and she would be the one to suffer in the future. After considering for a long time, she finally said, "A Ran, can I teach you how to cook?"
After hearing this, Yu Wenran also lowered his head and tasted the porridge he cooked. He found it terribly sweet. He thought he had put sugar in it instead of salt. He quickly put down the bowl in his hand, said "Pooh" several times, and looked at Gu Yanyue, "Why didn't you say it was unpalatable? If I had known it was so unpalatable, I wouldn't have let you eat it."
Gu Yanyue had never seen Yuwen Ran like this before, and she couldn't help but laugh. Seeing Gu Yanyue frown for a few days, Yuwen Ran finally smiled, and felt that his cooking was worth it, even though the taste was really not that good.
When Gu Yanyue was able to get out of bed, she planned to teach Yu Wenran how to cook as promised.
She wanted to start teaching from the simplest dish of scrambled eggs with tomatoes. When Yuwen Ran had just cooked the eggs and was about to put them in the pan, a palace maid came hurriedly and said that someone had sent a message from the Queen Mother's Palace. The Queen Mother woke up this morning and heard the news from Prince Xiang's Mansion that Prince Xiang had been poisoned and was unconscious. She was worried about Prince Xiang for a while, and she was too anxious that she suddenly fell ill in Cixi Palace.
After hearing this, Yuwen Ran was afraid that Gu Yanyue would be reminded of the scene of Murong Yue's suicide when she heard the news about Prince Xiang from the Queen Mother, so he asked the palace maid to take her back to the bedroom first, and went to Cixi Palace alone.
When Yuwen Ran arrived, the empress dowager had not yet woken up. When she heard the eunuch outside the door announce, "The emperor is here—," she moved her fingers, slowly opened her eyes, and said in a hoarse voice, "The emperor... is the emperor here?"
Yuwen Ran walked slowly to the side of the couch. The maidservant who was serving the Empress Dowager stood up and gave her seat to Yuwen Ran, bowing to him: "Your Majesty."
Yuwen Ran sat down beside the couch and patted the Queen Mother's hand: "Is Mother feeling better?"
The Queen Mother closed her eyes and said, "Your Majesty, I have missed Yi'er even more since I fell ill this time. I am truly heartbroken that Prince Xiang had such an incident. I want Yi'er to come to the palace to keep me company."
Yuwen Ran smiled faintly and said, "Since my mother wants it, then I naturally have no objection. Come, pass on my decree that Shangguan Yi enter the palace within one day. If she exceeds the deadline, she will not be allowed to enter the palace again."
Yuwen Ran's words were vague, and it was unclear whether he was forbidding Shangguan Yi to enter the palace this time or forever. The aunt serving beside the empress dowager, receiving her signal, withdrew and quickly sent for Miss Shangguan to be brought into the palace.
When the aunt came back, Shangguan Yi followed her. Yuwen Ran had already left. Shangguan Yi saw that the empress dowager was still lying on the sickbed, so he didn't care about his manners anymore. He trotted over, knelt in front of the empress dowager's bed, and kowtowed to her: "It's Yi'er's fault, mother. It would be fine if I wasn't by your side to take good care of you on weekdays, but I didn't expect that the news of your illness would be delivered to Yi'er by the aunt who served you."
The Queen Mother turned her head with difficulty, and looked at Shangguan Yi with her drowsy eyes. Finally, a glimmer of light appeared in them: "Good child, I don't blame you. Get up quickly."
Shangguan Yi obeyed, stood up, and carefully helped the Queen Mother to her feet. The Queen Mother sat on the headboard, staring at Shangguan Yi, who was becoming more and more beautiful. Her eyes gradually turned red. "Yier looks a lot thinner."
Shangguan Yi raised her hand and touched her cheek, then smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you must have seen it wrong. Yi'er sees that Your Majesty has lost a lot of weight. Is it because the Emperor and... the Empress haven't taken good care of Your Majesty?"
The Queen Mother patted the seat beside her and motioned Shangguan Yi to sit over: "Come here, I have something for you to do..."
Shangguan Yi sat down, and the Queen Mother asked, "I remember you have an uncle who works in the palace in the Western Regions?"
Shangguan Yi nodded, "Yes"
The Queen Mother asked Shangguan Yi to come closer and whispered in her ear: "Tell him to find a way to pass a message to Prince Tuoba Chen of the Western Regions..."
Shangguan Yi nodded repeatedly, indicating that she had taken note of everything. The empress dowager waved her hand and asked her to go back and do what she had just instructed.
Western Regions
After Shangguan Yi's uncle received the letter sent by Shangguan Yi via carrier pigeon, he handed a sign into the palace to meet Tuoba Chen.
When he was led in by the servant, Tuoba Chen was practicing calligraphy in the study. He was trying to do two things at once: listening to the news reported by Shangguan Yi's uncle and practicing calligraphy at the same time. But gradually his strength increased, and by the time Shangguan Yi's uncle finished reporting, the calligraphy in his hand was almost destroyed.
He crumpled up the rice paper and threw it on the ground, his face not looking very good. "Is this really true?"
Shangguan Yi's uncle lowered his head and said, "I dare not deceive the prince."
Tuoba Chen stood up, folded his hands into his wide sleeves, and looked down at Shangguan Yi's uncle with an increasingly indifferent expression. "Give the order and prepare to go to the Central Plains. Since Yuwen Ran doesn't cherish A Yue, then I won't be polite."
Tuoba Chen did not come to the Central Plains to meet the emperor, so he naturally did not inform anyone in advance.
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