Chapter 3449: Fighting for Favor
Just when everything in the South Courtyard was quiet and everyone was preparing to rest after a long day of fatigue, a long, dull sound came from the South Gate of Yongzhou City.
The hour of Xu has arrived.
Due to geographical reasons, the sunset in Yongzhou has always been relatively late, and there are many merchants and travelers coming and going, so the time for closing the South Gate has always been at the hour of Xu. However, due to special circumstances recently, the provincial government has issued an order that from now on, the city gate will be closed half an hour earlier.
Today is the last day to close the South City Gate at the hour of Xu.
Despite this, there were still many merchants who were too late to make it and drove their mule and horse carts in a hurry to rush into the gate. The soldiers in the city stood on the high platforms on both sides of the gate, holding torches high, and the flickering flames illuminated every hurried person.
Among the crowd, there was a person whose appearance was a little unusual.
He was not tall and was wearing dark clothes, so he was easily swallowed up by the crowd of people rushing into the city gate. However, this person was wearing a veil hat on his head, and the black gauze hanging from the brim covered his face. He was also very cautious. In order to avoid having his hat squeezed off by the people around him, he kept holding the brim of his hat with one hand and walked in with the crowd.
What was even more surprising was that he didn't have a single piece of luggage on him.
This seemed a little unusual among the business travelers who were carrying large and small bags and even driving cars and horses.
However, because it was too dark and there were too many people around, the soldiers guarding the city did not notice him. This man followed the crowd into Yongzhou City, turned and walked into an alley, and quickly disappeared into the night.
Finally, at the exact hour of Xu, the South Gate was heavily closed.
With a heavy roar, the noisy sounds were completely isolated outside the city gate. Under the silent night sky, only the dull and somewhat strange air was spreading in the city.
The next day, when Nan Yan finally opened her eyes, she was not alone.
Zhu Feng lay on his side beside her, with his eyes closed, seemingly still asleep.
It was just getting light outside the window, and a little light shone through the window onto his face. Under this light, the fine lines on his face could be seen more clearly, and there seemed to be more of them than before.
It's also because of the hard work these days.
Nan Yan stretched out her hand, and just as her fingertips were about to touch the corner of his eye, Zhu Feng opened his eyes: "Hmm?"
Nan Yan changed her stance and gently stroked his cheek, feeling his features becoming more distinct beneath her palm. In fact, he had lost a lot of weight compared to before. She couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty should take good care of himself."
"When it's time to raise it, it will naturally grow."
Zhu Feng stretched and turned to look at her: "What did you want to do just now?"
Nan Yan said: "Nothing."
Zhu Feng looked at her without saying a word. Nan Yan had nowhere to escape his gaze, so she could only smile and say, "I was just looking at the corner of the emperor's eye, uh, the corner of the eye——"
Seeing her hesitant, Zhu Feng rubbed his face and said, "You've got wrinkles."
Nan Yan said: "I didn't say that."
Zhu Feng laughed to himself. He sat up and put on his clothes, saying, "Why shouldn't I say this? I'm not a young man of seventeen or eighteen. If I don't have a single wrinkle at this age, then those decades have been lived in vain."
Nan Yan also stood up, leaned forward from behind, rested her chin on his shoulder, and said, "Your Majesty is really open-minded."
Zhu Feng turned around and bumped his forehead against hers, saying with a smile, "The world is so vast, if people can't let go, then they've really wronged themselves."
The two men stood up talking and laughing. The people outside heard the sound and immediately came in to serve them.
After washing up, they sat together for breakfast. The servants came in to clear the dishes. Nan Yan made a cup of tea for Zhu Feng to digest his food while asking, "Is there anything the emperor needs today?"
Zhu Feng was about to answer her when he heard voices outside.
What's going on so early in the morning?
Nan Yan leaned over to look and asked, "Who is it?"
Ruoshui ran in from outside, bowed to them, and then said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it's Chuyun, the head maid of the Princess. She came to see you. If everything is fine here, Your Majesty will come over to pay her respects."
Hearing this, Nan Yan couldn't help but frown.
Normally, the princess would come directly to pay her respects. If she really had other things to do, she would either wait outside or go back to wait. She would never ask someone to come and see her like this.
As soon as you see her acting like this, you know that she is trying to avoid her father.
Thinking of her thoughts like this, Nan Yan couldn't help but feel angry.
However, Zhu Feng said, "Tell Chu Yun to go back and tell the eldest princess that she can come and pay her respects to her mother. I have something to do and need to leave."
Nan Yan immediately turned around and looked at him: "Your Majesty!"
There is no reason in the world for a father to avoid his daughter. By doing this, isn't he only encouraging Xinping's arrogance?
Zhu Feng took a sip of tea, then stood up and straightened his clothes. He said, "Okay, you don't have to scold her." As he spoke, he thought for a moment, and a smile appeared on his face. He said, "My daughter is able to make such a fuss with me for the suffering of the people. She really is like a princess."
Nan Yan looked at him and felt that he seemed to be a little happy, which made her both angry and amused.
Sure enough, Xinping pestered her like this for the whole day, eating and drinking together. Nan Yan came to her senses at this time. This girl must have felt that she had always stood on the same front with Zhu Feng and felt wronged, so now she wanted to come over to "compete for favor". Think about it, she has had this problem since she was a child, and even wanted to beg for favor in front of her eldest brother. When she grew up, her mind became as small as a needle.
But Zhu Feng had already instructed her, so she couldn't say much.
After a long day, Nan Yan accompanied her to finish dinner and then said, "Go to bed early today."
Just as I was about to leave, I felt a weight on my hand.
Looking back, Xinping grabbed her sleeve and said, "Mother... Mother, please stay and sleep with me, okay?"
Nan Yan couldn't help but sigh, stretched out her hand and pinched her face, saying, "You, don't think that I don't know what you're thinking. Your father has been very tolerant of you, so don't push your luck."
Xinping snorted and dropped her hand.
Nan Yan sighed and said, "Xinping, you—you should grow up sooner."
After saying that, he turned and left.
As soon as she left, her calm mood also soured. She asked the servants to leave and stayed in the room alone. She even turned off the last lamp. The people around her did not dare to disturb her and left one after another.
At this moment, in the darkness of the night, a dark figure quietly sneaked into this quiet courtyard.
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