Chapter 347 New Year's Gift
"Half a month..."
The emperor took a deep breath and then shook his head.
"No...no, half a month is too long, it's New Year's Eve! I must get the medicine before New Year's Eve."
He gripped Qin Wei tightly, as if using all his strength, so tightly that his eyeballs almost bulged out.
"Tell him...tell him that if he doesn't see the medicine before New Year's Eve, I...I'll kill him!"
Qin Wei's pupils contracted slightly.
"Your Majesty, please don't worry, I will go back and convey the message to him immediately."
After saying this, Qin Wei bowed and quickly left, leaving the emperor coughing repeatedly as he watched his retreating figure.
In Bianjing, as the Lunar New Year's Eve draws ever closer, preparations for the New Year's Eve palace banquet are proceeding smoothly.
The emperor did not return to the capital, and it was said that his health was deteriorating, causing undercurrents to surge within the court.
Jingxing Academy was on holiday, and Li Nanke spent these days at home, helping Song Yi prepare gifts for various families during the New Year. Most of the time, he went with Huang Sheng to take stock of the accounts of Yunqi Tower and Yunqi Wu.
With Yunqi Tower around, she naturally heard a lot of rumors circulating in the court and was very worried about Shen Cong's current situation.
On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the court sealed the seals, and she specially arranged to meet Shen Cong at Yunqi Tower.
When Shen Cong arrived, it was already past noon.
He handed her a long, rectangular wooden box made of rosewood as he entered.
"What's this?"
She asked curiously.
Shen Cong nodded with his chin, "You'll know once you open it and see."
Li Nanke opened the wooden box, inside which was a delicate and exquisite purple-haired brush.
The penholder is made of Hetian green jade pebble, cool to the touch, and so clear that you can see the fluffy clouds inside.
The brush tip is made primarily from the three most supple silver hairs on the tip of a sable ear in early winter, interspersed with two-tenths of an inch of glossy white hairs from the cheek of a white fox from Fengmaoling, Liaodong.
It is said that one hair out of ten million is selected, and it takes a hundred sables and foxes to gather enough hair for this one brush.
Li Nanke exclaimed, "Ninth Brother, is this purple brush a gift for me?"
Shen Cong nodded and hummed in agreement.
Li Nanke closed the wooden box and pushed it forward.
“This pen is too precious. My Ninth Brother gave me a jade hairpin just a few days ago for my birthday.”
She smiled and pointed to the small jade hairpin on her head. The hairpin head was carved into an unopened magnolia bud, and the flower center was made of a pearl the size of a fingernail. It looked warm and exquisite.
She turned ten and could no longer wear her hair in two buns; she could use hairpins.
Shen Cong glanced at the hairpin in her hair, a slight smile playing on his lips, and shoved the wooden box back into her hand.
"This is a New Year's gift for you, take it."
"A New Year's gift?"
Li Nanke stroked the wooden box, her little face puffing out.
"But I haven't prepared a New Year's gift for Ninth Brother. Ninth Brother, is there anything you want? I'll give it to you."
Shen Cong chuckled.
"Shouldn't you put thought into giving a gift? Who asks someone what they want like that?"
Li Nanke stuck out his tongue and chuckled.
"It's almost New Year's Eve, and I'm afraid I won't have enough time to prepare."
She held the wooden box in one hand and tugged at Shen Cong's sleeve with the other.
"Just this once, Ninth Brother, tell me what you want, and I'll prepare it. Next time, I'll definitely prepare a gift for you well in advance."
Shen Cong's gaze fell on her hand tugging at his sleeve, and a silent smile appeared on his lips.
"Anything is fine. I like any gift you give me."
"real?"
Li Nanke's eyes were exceptionally bright.
Shen Cong nodded. "Of course."
Li Nanke's eyes darted around, and suddenly he picked up a bamboo shoot with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth.
He grinned and said, "Then I'll treat Ninth Brother to a meal of stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork."
Shen Cong was caught off guard when his mouth was stuffed with food. He paused for a moment, then a hint of a smile appeared in his eyes.
He slowly chewed the food in his mouth, swallowed it, and then nodded and chuckled.
"good."
Li Nanke paused for a moment, tilting her head to look him over.
"Ninth Brother, something's wrong with you!"
Shen Cong raised an eyebrow. "Something's not right?"
Li Nanke circled around him once, then shook her head.
"To suddenly give me such an expensive gift and not ask me to return it is completely different from your usual personality."
She looked at Shen Cong suspiciously.
"Ninth Brother, you're not hiding something from me, are you?"
Shen Cong glanced at her, then bent down to snatch the wooden box from her hand.
"Give it back if you don't want it as a New Year's gift."
"Who says I don't want it!"
Li Nanke quickly took two steps back and hid the wooden box containing the pens behind his back.
"There's no reason to take back a gift that's already been given."
Shen Cong snorted.
"Didn't you say something was wrong with me?"
"Okay, okay, it's my fault. I'll definitely prepare a nice gift for Ninth Brother."
Li Nanke clasped her hands together with a grin, her grape-like eyes gazing expectantly at Shen Cong.
Shen Cong slightly bent his fingers and gently tapped her forehead.
She chuckled softly, "Naughty."
"Alright, let's stop teasing Ninth Brother. I invited you here today to ask about the New Year's Eve palace banquet. You're not really planning to host it yourself, are you?"
Li Nanke put away her smile and asked Shen Cong seriously.
Shen Cong shook his head.
"Of course not, Shen Xu is still in the palace, and I have already had the New Year's Eve banquet almost ready."
"We can let Shen Xu preside over it then."
Li Nanke breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
"That's good. I also think that Ninth Brother wouldn't give away such an obvious handle."
Shen Cong smiled and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Sit down and eat."
Before they knew it, it was New Year's Eve. Naturally, Li Nanke was to go to the palace for the banquet with Li Mu and Song Yi.
I thought I would see Shen Cong when I got to the palace, but the palace banquet had already started and I still hadn't seen him.
Just as he was about to get up and try to sneak out to ask Erfeng, a palace attendant came in from outside.
Shen Xu stood up and said, "Where is Ninth Uncle? He's still waiting to preside over the palace banquet tonight. All the civil and military officials have arrived."
The eunuch bowed and said, "Your Highness, the Prince said that he was raised by His Majesty and is deeply grateful for His Majesty's kindness."
Today is New Year's Eve, and he misses His Majesty dearly, so he set off early this morning on horseback to the Luoyang Imperial Palace.
Shen Xu was so startled that he stood up abruptly.
"What? Ninth Uncle went to the Luoyang Imperial Palace? What about the New Year's Eve banquet today?"
The eunuch said, "His Highness said that His Highness is His Majesty's eldest son. Since His Majesty is not here, the palace banquet should naturally be presided over by His Highness."
"I?"
Shen Xu pointed to himself, looking surprised.
“But the palace banquet... was all arranged by Ninth Uncle.”
The eunuch said, "The palace banquet was jointly organized by the Left and Right Chancellors. Our prince was merely acting according to His Majesty's orders."
With two prime ministers assisting His Highness, today's palace banquet is sure to be a complete success.
After the eunuch finished speaking, he bowed and withdrew.
The ministers were left looking at each other in bewilderment, many of them silently tucking their impeachment memorials into their robes.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Li Nanke quietly slipped out of the main hall and caught up with the eunuch who had come to deliver the message.
"Please wait, sir. May I ask when the Prince departed today?"
The eunuch bowed respectfully to her.
"Greetings, Princess Fu'an. The Prince set off early this morning, and judging by the time, he should be arriving at the Luoyang Imperial Palace by now."
As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion suddenly broke out outside, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.
Li Nanke turned his head and looked at the person coming from the front, and his expression changed.
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