“I’m not going.” Jian Yang said firmly.
But no sooner had she finished speaking than Xiqiu came to announce that Eunuch Zhang had arrived.
Jian Yang, whose clothes were disheveled at the moment, asked through the curtain, "Have you come to deliver a message for the Emperor, Eunuch?"
Eunuch Zhang respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, His Majesty had Eight Treasures Cake for breakfast and found it quite delicious. He then instructed the Imperial Kitchen to prepare a special portion for Your Majesty, which I have specially sent to deliver to you."
"Thank you so much, Father-in-law, for making this special trip."
Eunuch Zhang handed the food box to Lianxia and said with a smile, "Your Majesty is too kind. It is my honor to serve Her Majesty the Empress, but..."
He changed the subject and said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty will depart after noon. Would you like to have lunch with His Majesty at the Hall of Mental Cultivation?"
Jian Yang refused without hesitation, "I am feeling a little unwell today, so I will not go. I will have to trouble you to take good care of His Majesty along the way."
Eunuch Zhang nodded hurriedly, "Your Majesty, please rest assured, this servant will take good care of His Majesty. His Majesty also said that during his absence from the palace, if Your Majesty encounters any difficult problems, you should go to the Empress Dowager, and she will certainly support you."
Jian Yang thanked him, thinking to herself that this damned emperor was actually quite considerate.
When Eunuch Zhang returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the emperor was already having lunch alone.
He paused for a moment, then stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Empress says she is not feeling well and will not be dining with you."
The emperor nodded: "I guessed it."
After last night, he concluded that Jian Yang would avoid him.
As it turned out, this was indeed the case.
Never mind, there are more important things waiting for him right now, so he can put the unimportant things aside for now.
Because he was traveling incognito, he left the palace without alerting anyone, and did not ask any officials to come and see him off.
Only a few cunning concubines wanted to see him off, but they couldn't even get through the gates of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
After the emperor left, Jian Yang also closed the gates of Weiyang Palace.
Aside from paying his respects to the Empress Dowager, he rarely left his residence.
That was so much fun!
This caused great distress to a group of concubines who wanted to curry favor with him.
However, since they couldn't curry favor with the top leader, everyone turned their attention to the second-in-command, Consort Yu.
As a result, the gates of Yufu Palace became more and more bustling each day.
On this day, Consort Chu from Lanzhi Palace came to pay her respects to Consort Yu, her slender waist swaying gracefully.
Consort Yu secretly pinched the extra fat that had recently grown around her waist, then glanced at Consort Chu's slender waist and couldn't help but roll her eyes.
If Consort Chu hadn't been on her side, she would have found an excuse to teach this show-off a lesson long ago.
However, this Consort Chu was really clueless. Consort Yu only gave her a token compliment on her slim waist, and this girl started to talk endlessly about her weight loss tips.
This made Consort Yu extremely irritated.
She casually picked up a pastry and used it to distract herself.
Upon seeing this, Consort Chu immediately said, "Oh dear, if Consort Yu also wants a good waistline, you absolutely must not eat these snacks, otherwise, your waist will only get thicker and thicker!"
Consort Yu's expression stiffened. She slowly put down the pastries and asked coldly, "Has Consort Chu gone to pay her respects to the Empress recently?"
Consort Chu and her family are loyal supporters of Prince Dingbian, so of course they would not do anything to displease Consort Yu.
So she quickly expressed her loyalty, "Sister Yufei, you are overthinking it. I would never stoop to being like those lackeys in the palace, fawning over the Empress."
Yu Fei gave a cryptic smile: "No, you have to go."
Concubine Chu: "?"
She didn't understand.
Consort Yu looked up at her, "Does Consort Chu trust me?"
Consort Chu nodded immediately, her face showing a hint of flattery, "Of course I believe it."
Consort Yu smiled and beckoned to her with her finger, "Sister, sit closer. I have a secret about the Empress to share with you."
The two bit each other's ears for a while, and then Consort Chu left satisfied.
As Yu Fei watched her departing figure, a hint of murderous intent flickered in her disdainful eyes.
Inside Weiyang Palace.
"hiss."
Jian Yang rubbed her right eye. "Why has my eyelid been twitching all night?"
Lianxia quickly said, "It must be because Your Highness has been reading too many storybooks these past few days, and your eyes are tired."
Jian Yang gave her an approving look. "Very good. Use science to defeat feudal superstition."
Although time travel is something that cannot be explained by science, Jian Yang remains a staunch materialist.
She never believed in nonsense like "left eye twitching means good fortune, right eye twitching means bad luck."
Since even Lianxia said she was overusing her eyes, it must be because she had been studying very hard these past few days. So Jian Yang decided to go to bed early tonight.
Protect your eyesight, starting with her.
When I woke up the next day, my eyelids, which had been twitching all night, had indeed stopped.
After finishing her breakfast, Jian Yang went to Fuxi Palace to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, as was her custom.
They had only gone halfway when a palace maid, who was sweeping, splashed water all over them.
The young palace maid looked to be no more than twelve or thirteen years old, and it seemed she had only recently entered the palace.
Realizing that he had unjustly smeared the Empress due to his work mistake, he immediately trembled like a leaf and knelt on the ground, crying with tears streaming down his face, repeatedly pleading, "Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me..."
Jian Yang shook her head helplessly.
She didn't do anything, but she still scared the child half to death.
"I don't blame you. Get up and get back to work."
Upon hearing this, the young palace maid excitedly kowtowed several times before quickly getting up to continue sweeping.
Holding her soaking wet dress, Jian Yang was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to go forward or backward.
Just then, an older woman came over.
After the old woman respectfully finished her greetings to Jian Guan, she said gently, "Your Majesty, the weather is chilly. Would you please come inside with me to avoid the cold, and then have Miss Lianxia quickly go back and fetch some clean clothes to change into?"
This is the best solution at the moment.
So, Jian Yang followed the old nanny to a nearby palace to escape the cold, while Lian Xia rushed back to Weiyang Palace to get her clothes.
Although it was not yet winter, the nanny thoughtfully lit a charcoal fire for her and then went outside the palace to keep watch.
Jian Yang was feeling warm and cozy from the charcoal fire, and was just about to doze off when she suddenly heard the palace door being pushed open.
She couldn't help but feel a little confused.
Weiyang Palace is quite a distance from here. Even if Lianxia walks very fast, she could only have just returned to the palace at this time and could not possibly return so quickly.
Just as she was pondering this, a familiar figure appeared before her.
She looked surprised. "Lord Xiahou? What are you doing here?"
Xiahou Riyue was taken aback. "Didn't the Empress invite me to meet here?"
Jian Yang's eyes widened. "How is this possible? Lord Xiahou, are you having another episode of delusions?"
"Your Majesty, please do not speak nonsense!" Xiahou Riyue said solemnly. "Yesterday evening, it was clearly the Empress who sent a palace servant to my residence to convey a message, asking me to come here today at this time, as she said there was something important to discuss."
Jian Yang looked at him as if he were an idiot.
They even claimed they weren't delirious, yet they imagined out the details!
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