Chapter 59 059 ...You're getting married?
The Su residence.
"Brother, have you found Lin Wan?"
Su Xuanhuai, who had just returned home from court, had not yet recovered when he heard footsteps rushing towards him from behind. He frowned slightly, but without turning around, he knew from the sound that it was Su Furong.
Su Furong, who had been worried day and night for two months, heard from her family early in the morning that they had found her cousin's whereabouts. This made her so excited that she ran all the way to find Su Xuanhuai and ask him for clarification.
Panting, Su Furong ran up behind him, looked around but didn't see Lin Wan. Quite puzzled, she took a breath and asked, "Brother, where is Lin Wan?"
When Su Xuanhuai saw her come in, his first thought was to see if Lin Wan was beside him. Heaven knows, he had just returned and hadn't even had time to catch his breath when she started asking him all sorts of questions.
"In the palace."
"What? In the palace?"
“It’s in the palace,” Su Xuanhuai waved his hand and pointed in the direction of the palace outside. He picked up the teacup that had just been filled with tea from the table next to him, and was about to take a sip to calm himself down when she interrupted him again.
Su Furong was truly puzzled and stared at him, asking, "Has she been in the palace for the past two months?"
"It's not clear yet."
Seeing that she couldn't get a clear answer to any of her questions, Su Furong angrily snatched the teacup from his hand and put it back on the table. "How come you don't know anything? You claim to be the Crown Prince's right-hand man, but you don't know anything. Why didn't you go and find out before you came back?"
Faced with Su Furong's unreasonable and nonsensical words, Su Xuanhuai smiled with annoyance, "You should be glad that your brother and I are more familiar with the Crown Prince, otherwise I would not know Lin Wan's whereabouts."
The atmosphere in the room became slightly awkward and stagnant. No, Su Furong still needed to know the exact situation of Lin Wan and couldn't anger Su Xuanhuai. Instead, she smiled and asked him, "Brother, you're really something. Where's Lin Wan? Why hasn't she come back?"
Su Xuanhuai snorted and continued, "The Crown Prince mentioned that Princess Lin Wan and Lin Wan hit it off immediately, so he let her stay in the palace for a few days. After a few days, once the Buddhist affairs in the palace are finished, he will send someone to bring Lin Wan back."
"But……"
When Su Furong caught up and wanted to say something more, she was silenced by the fierce look in his eyes.
"This involves people from the palace, not ordinary people. How can we act arbitrarily? Since the people from the palace have spoken, and Lin Wan is asked to stay in the palace for a few days, we can only listen to them. We can ask her the details when we have a chance to see her in a couple of days."
Although Su Furong didn't understand, she could still sense the implication. She swallowed back the rest of her sentence, saying, "Okay, I understand the difference between what's important and what's not."
As she walked back into the courtyard, she kept wondering if she had been wrong all along, and that Lin Wan was not actually with Xie Huaiyuan, but had been in the palace all along.
"Furong, have you brought Lin Wan back yet?"
At the corner of the corridor, Granny Zhang carefully helped the old lady stand there, eagerly waiting.
Hearing the voice, Su Furong looked over and saw that it was the old lady of the mansion. She quickened her pace and stepped forward. With Zhang Mama's support, she carefully steadied herself and said softly, "Grandmother, it's windy here. Let's go back inside and talk."
Ever since Lin Wan disappeared, the old lady has been uneasy and worried about her every day. Although she has asked the city patrol to help intensify the search for Lin Wan's whereabouts, the days have passed by and there has been no news at all, as if the stone had sunk into the sea. How could she not be worried?
Early this morning, Su Xuanhuai, who had gone to the palace for court, hurriedly sent someone back with a message saying that he had found Lin Wan. So, she couldn't wait in the courtyard and went to the front hall, wanting to see Lin Wan as soon as possible.
The old lady searched everywhere for Lin Wan but couldn't find her. Panic gripped her, and she couldn't catch her breath, coughing involuntarily.
Su Furong's eyes were full of heartache. She quickly helped the old lady soothe her back and catch her breath. After returning to the house in the courtyard, she also hurriedly gave the old lady some water to moisten her throat. Only when she saw that the old lady's breathing had eased and she was no longer coughing did she sit down beside her.
"Grandmother, don't worry. My brother just said that Lin Wan is fine and everything is alright."
The old lady frowned in suspicion: "If there really is no problem, then why was a message sent but no one has returned?"
Su Furong's eyes twitched, and her tone was tinged with helplessness: "Brother said that she would stay in the palace for a few days before returning."
"The palace, the imperial palace?"
Upon hearing this, the old lady asked again and again in disbelief, her already slightly furrowed brows furrowing even more deeply.
After a long pause, he continued, "I'm afraid that once you go in, it will be very difficult to get out again."
Su Furong: "Grandmother, what do you mean by that? Does it mean that Lin Wan will never be able to return or leave the palace?"
The old lady remained silent, gazing quietly out of the house. "This palace is not a place one can enter and leave at will. When Xuanhuai enters the palace, find an excuse to meet her and find out exactly who wants her to stay in the palace."
-
Chongming Hall.
The hall was brightly lit, and the incense burning on the altar filled every corner of the hall.
In the very center, a man was kneeling with his head bowed. The tray he held in his hands was covered with portrait scrolls, but he was sitting on pins and needles, his forehead covered with fine sweat from fear. He dared not utter a word and knelt silently.
A man in a bright yellow brocade robe sat in a round-backed chair in front of the table. His expression was expressionless as he silently looked through the stacks of memorials that had been piled up. Whenever he saw something that needed to be added or deleted, he would pick up his pen and write his comments.
He had been the crown prince for many years. If it weren't for the emperor's sudden illness and the fact that the country could not be without a ruler for a day, he would not have had the opportunity to rightfully assume the role of regent. However, even so, many of the things he had to do were more or less hindered.
Even the most powerful person in the palace can't be truly certain that the throne is theirs until the very last moment.
The Crown Prince put down his brush, raised his cup, took a small sip, and his gaze swept over the portrait scroll held by the person kneeling in the hall, a cold smile playing on his lips.
His mother really knows how to pick her time. Knowing that his father is not yet awake, she wants to take the opportunity to find a pretext to add a concubine to her life. Isn't this putting him in a very difficult position?
At that moment, a person walked in from outside the hall.
"Royal brother." The man, dressed in a bright blue brocade robe, strode into the hall, a smile on his face as he looked up at the person sitting directly in front of him.
"You've come at the perfect time. I'm currently being troubled by the people sent by the Empress Dowager. Come quickly and help me."
Prince Jin glanced down at the palace servants kneeling in the hall, their foreheads covered in sweat. He then glanced at the many rolled-up scrolls out of the corner of his eye. “I heard that my brother is going to choose another concubine, which is why Mother is in such a hurry.”
"Second brother, please don't tease me. I'm already so busy with court affairs and Father's affairs that I'm completely overwhelmed. How can I possibly have the mind to choose a concubine?"
The Prince of Jin squinted and called out to the palace servant kneeling on the cold floor.
This call drew the attention of everyone in the hall, and they all looked over.
"Take the scroll back first. Once the Crown Prince has finished dealing with state affairs, he will definitely take a good look at it."
The prince paused in his cup, then slowly put it down and looked up: "Why aren't you getting back yet?"
The palace servants, finally able to leave upon receiving the order, were as if granted a general amnesty. They knelt and thanked the emperor profusely before bowing and departing from the palace.
The Crown Prince smiled and carefully examined the young Prince Jin standing in the hall. "Second brother, speaking of marriage, why aren't you married yet?"
Prince Jin's mother was Consort Shu. He was exceptional in both literary and military talents. If it weren't for the Empress's strong support and efforts to secure his position as Crown Prince, he might not have been able to become the Crown Prince.
"Your Majesty, please don't tease me. Marrying a wife is all about fate. Perhaps my destined one hasn't arrived yet. There's no rush."
However, the Crown Prince only made a few jokes before getting down to business. Since the Emperor was seriously ill and had not yet woken up, the Empress mentioned going to Cibei Temple to worship Buddha and pray for the Emperor's well-being. This matter was then entrusted to Prince Jin.
By the time the discussions were finished and Prince Jin walked out of Chongming Hall, the sun had already begun to set in the west.
The Prince of Jin's expression remained unchanged as he walked steadily toward Xie Huaiyuan and the others who had been waiting for him.
Shen Rongshi: "The Crown Prince has something very important to discuss with the Prince, and he insists on summoning you close to the time he is leaving the palace?"
Prince Jin: "It is important, but it is about going to Cibei Temple to worship Buddha. Xie Huaiyuan, you are in charge of following up on this matter."
Xie Huaiyuan, looking displeased, simply nodded in response and said nothing more.
The Prince of Jin frowned immediately: "Is your injury still not healed?"
Xie Huaiyuan subtly moved his arm, maintaining the faint smile on his lips: "Your Highness is kind enough to remember these things. It's just a minor injury; it will be fine in a few days."
Prince Jin nodded in satisfaction: "You don't need to worry so much. I will definitely find out who was behind what happened that night. Is there any news from Doctor Hua?"
"If nothing unexpected happens, I should be able to return to the capital in time for the Buddhist ceremony."
Upon hearing this, Shen Rongshi's expression turned serious for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and smiled at Prince Jin, following Xie Huaiyuan's words: "Huaiyuan is right. As long as Physician Hua returns in time to heal His Majesty, all problems will be resolved."
After discussing for a while, the group dispersed.
After seeing the Prince of Jin off, Xie Huaiyuan and Shen Rongshi slowly walked towards the palace gate.
Shen Rongshi had overheard some gossip before, and hesitated to speak, but with the palace gates in sight, she finally couldn't help but say, "I heard you sent people to prepare a special celebratory banquet..."
Xie Huaiyuan paused, then smiled helplessly, "By the way, that shop happens to be one of your family's shops. No wonder you knew about it."
These wedding attire are not something that can be made casually. If it weren't for such an important event as a wedding banquet, who would be in such a hurry to spend several times the usual amount of money to have the tailors in the shop work day and night to make them?
"You're getting married?" Shen Rongshi's voice was full of surprise, and it took him a while to squeeze out the question. "Why are you in such a hurry? Did you get some girl pregnant and can't hide it anymore?"
After hearing this, Xie Huaiyuan paused for a moment, a barely perceptible emotion flashing across his eyes. He then looked up at him and calmly said, word by word, "Yes, what you said is indeed a good idea."
so.
Wanwan, you'll never be able to run away again!
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