Chapter 21 Fainting
"Very well, very well indeed!" Xiao Jingzhan laughed in fury, his voice icy cold. He swept all the notes off the table. "It seems she's been living the high life while I was away!"
He Yong braced himself and said cautiously, "Your Highness... Consort Su is young and naive, perhaps... perhaps she hasn't thought that much about it... This old servant believes that Consort Su definitely has feelings for Your Highness..."
"You have me in your heart?" Xiao Jingzhan suddenly looked at him, his phoenix eyes bloodshot. "Is this what it means to have me in your heart? I think all she cares about are her flowers, plants, and vases!"
The more he thought about it, the angrier and more resentful he became. For the past seven nights, he had lay on the cold couch in Changchun Palace, inhaling the unpleasantly strong incense, wondering if she was tossing and turning in the Liuli Pavilion, kicking off the covers... And what was the result? She played shuttlecock! She made fragrant balm! She brewed drinks!
The feeling of punching cotton with all one's might, without the opponent even noticing, made him so frustrated that he wanted to kill someone!
"Get out of here, all of you!" he roared.
He Yong and Lu Chen felt as if they had been granted a pardon and hurriedly retreated, gently closing the door behind them. They exchanged a glance and saw the same despair in each other's eyes: Consort Su, Consort Su, please be more careful! If you don't appease His Highness soon, everyone in the Eastern Palace will freeze to death!
Inside the study, Xiao Jingzhan was alone, looking at the mess on the floor, his chest tight with anxiety. He walked to the window, gazing in the direction of the Liuli Pavilion, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
The next day, at Changchun Palace.
Crown Princess Li carefully accompanied the Crown Prince during breakfast. Seeing that the Crown Prince's expression was still cold and stern, but not as frightening as it had been a few days ago, she cautiously spoke: "Your Highness, the Imperial Household Department has recently received a batch of cloud satin and Shu brocade from Jiangnan, which are of excellent quality. I was thinking that when the sisters come to pay their respects today, I would let them all choose some and have some new clothes made."
Xiao Jingzhan didn't even lift his eyelids, slowly sipping his porridge and giving a faint "Mm".
The Crown Princess was delighted, seeing that His Highness was in a good mood. She then tentatively said, "Young Miss Su is young, so she must like bright and soft fabrics. The cloud satin is the most delicate. I was thinking, why don't we select a few of the best pieces and send them to Liuli Pavilion?" Her words were both a gesture of goodwill and a way to gauge the Crown Prince's current attitude towards Su Jingyu.
Xiao Jingzhan paused, recalling the report from the shadow guards that "Su Liangyuan has recently been keen on tailoring new clothes and researching rouge and powder." He sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm: "No need to go to such lengths. Just proceed as usual." He hadn't seen her for several days, and his heart was aching like it was being scratched by a cat. It was time to get this little one to pay more attention to him.
The Crown Princess misunderstood this "no need to be deliberate"! She was overjoyed: His Highness... has grown tired of the Su family? He's even taking back this special treatment?
Suppressing her excitement, she said, "Your Highness is right. I was not careful enough. Then... shall we have Sister Su come to pay her respects as usual, so that the sisters can chat together and follow the proper etiquette?" She wanted to take this opportunity to regain the authority of the principal wife and have Su Jingyu come every day to establish the rules.
Xiao Jingzhan was filled with resentment towards that "heartless" woman, and upon hearing this, he inexplicably hummed in agreement. Subconsciously, he wanted to see her!
Upon receiving this "hmm," the Crown Princess felt as if she had received an imperial decree, and her heart was filled with joy.
So, the next morning, before dawn...
Su Jingyu was gently awakened by Yun Shu. "Lady, it's time to get up. Today we are going to Changchun Palace to pay our respects to the Crown Princess."
Su Jingyu sat up groggily, rubbed her eyes, and sighed inwardly. Her good days of sleeping in were over!
She resignedly allowed the palace maids to serve her in washing and grooming. Because she had gotten up too early, she was a little listless and didn't even have much of an appetite for her favorite breakfast. She only ate a small half bowl of sweet porridge.
Upon arriving at Changchun Palace, many of the other concubines were already there. Their expressions varied upon seeing Su Jingyu; some were curious, some sympathetic, and some even openly gloated. Consort Zhang, covering her mouth with her fan, whispered to Wang Chenghui beside her, "Oh, did the sun rise in the west today? Sister Su has arrived so 'early'?" She deliberately emphasized the word "early."
Su Jingyu pretended not to hear, politely bowed and greeted him, then sat down in her seat, focusing her mind and trying to fight off the waves of drowsiness.
She wore a light blue dress today, without any makeup, which made her skin appear even whiter. However, the faint dark circles under her eyes and the weariness between her brows were, in everyone's eyes, irrefutable evidence that she was "heartbroken and unable to sleep after falling out of favor"! The Crown Princess's lips curled into a satisfied smile.
Just then, an announcement came from outside the hall: "His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived—"
The women in the hall instantly perked up—the Crown Prince had actually arrived! They hurriedly rose, straightened their clothes, and knelt to greet him, their faces flushed and their hearts pounding.
Xiao Jingzhan, dressed in court robes, had clearly just come from court. He entered the hall expressionlessly, his gaze habitually and uncontrollably finding her immediately.
Her little face was still fair and radiant, but... she looked a bit tired. Hadn't slept well? The little one usually woke up late, but today she had to get up early out of desperation; she must have been feeling unwell. The anger and grievances that had been building up in Xiao Jingzhan's heart for seven days were strangely replaced by heartache.
He walked to the head of the table and sat down, calling out to rise, but his gaze remained subtly fixed on Su Jingyu. He waited for her to look up at him, just like before, even if it was only for a fleeting glance.
However, no.
Su Jingyu sat there quietly, her eyelashes lowered, seemingly oblivious to all the gazes fixed on her, or rather, she simply couldn't be bothered to pay them any attention. She just felt incredibly sleepy, a little dizzy, and a tightness in her chest, as if she wanted to vomit.
Seeing her indifferent expression, Xiao Jingzhan's anger, which had just subsided, flared up again! He was getting emotional over her tiny dissatisfaction, and she didn't even glance at him?!
The Crown Princess took in the Crown Prince's expression, a cold smile playing on her lips. It seemed His Highness had truly grown indifferent to Lady Su. She picked up her teacup and smiled at Xiao Jingzhan, saying, "Your Highness, the ladies are all here today. The Imperial Household Department just delivered some fabric; why don't we let them..."
Before she could finish speaking, a soft gasp came from below!
Su Jingyu's face turned deathly pale, and fine beads of cold sweat instantly appeared on her forehead. She covered her mouth with her hand, swayed, and then collapsed straight backward!
"Liangyuan!" Yun Shu and Jin Shu were terrified and rushed over in alarm.
Everything happened so fast!
The moment Su Jingyu swayed, Xiao Jingzhan felt as if his heart had been gripped tightly by an invisible hand! He stood up abruptly and, almost instinctively, rushed forward like an arrow released from a bow! He was so fast that he knocked over the coffee table beside him, shattering cups and saucers all over the floor, but he didn't care at all!
Before Su Jingyu completely collapsed, he stretched out his long arm and steadily pulled her into his arms!
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