Chapter 130 The Unloved Princess 5
The gaze that made him feel hot quickly disappeared. Lin Qinghuai glanced at the broken pieces of celadon that he had placed on the dining table, and called a palace servant to replace the wine glass with a new one.
The banquet was halfway through and most of the dishes on the table had gone cold. Nan Qiao had had some snacks before coming over, so she was not hungry and did not pay much attention to the dishes.
The singing and dancing in the hall started again, and the swaying dance of the gorgeously dressed dancers also attracted some of Nan Qiao's attention, easing some of the embarrassment.
"Your Highness, most of the dishes on the table are cold. Don't eat too much. Eat some fruit first."
The voice beside her ear brought Nan Qiao back to her senses. She was stunned for a moment and lowered her eyes to look at the fruit plate that was pushed over to the food table.
The purple grapes rolling away like black pearls in the jade-white round plate are shining, which makes people salivate just by looking at them, as if they can already smell the sweet taste.
Looking to the right along the hand stained with bright red kodan on the disc, a delicate face soon came into view. Nan Qiao paused and recognized the person in front of her. It was the Princess of Loulan whom she met on the street on the day she returned to the imperial capital.
Princess Tuolin of Loulan smiled enthusiastically, "Your Highness, try this! These purple grapes are a precious tribute from Loulan. They are very sweet and fresh."
She left the palace at the age of five, and her childhood memories were already mottled. Except for the younger ones, most of the monks in Hanyun Temple were introverted and quiet. Nan Qiao had never met anyone who treated her so warmly.
It seemed difficult to refuse such enthusiasm, and Nan Qiao was silent for a moment, then just nodded silently.
The plate of purple jade grapes remained untouched, but Tuolin didn't seem to mind. She leaned sideways, moved a little closer to Nan Qiao's position, and introduced herself in a friendly manner.
Nan Qiao listened silently without saying anything. She was of a cold nature and did not like to talk. When they were in the temple, it was mostly Jintang who talked and she listened.
The Princess Loulan in front of him was very talkative, and seemed unaware of the silence of Princess Lingqiao. She talked about the local scenery of Loulan and the various things she saw and heard on the way from Loulan to Da Zhou, and even talked about some interesting things she had heard in the imperial capital in the past few days.
"...Princess, look at the man sitting over there. I heard that he is Prime Minister Lin of the Great Zhou. He won the top spot in the imperial examination at the age of sixteen. Not only is he a brilliant writer, he is also very handsome and elegant." Princess Loulan's cheeks were slightly red, and she was telling her secret love story to the young man as if she was telling her close friend.
"I heard that many girls in the Great Zhou Dynasty like him..."
Tuolin looked a little lost, but this loss seemed to be mixed with something else that Nanqiao couldn't understand.
The expression on the face of the woman who was as cold as the moon goddess did not change. It seemed that she was not interested in Lin Qinghuai mentioned by the enthusiastic Princess Loulan. Tuolin paused, the blush on her cheeks dissipated a lot, and her eyes became a little complicated.
The voice beside him suddenly stopped. Nan Qiao glanced sideways, seeming a little confused. Seeing that the other party had straightened up, he did not say much. He just continued to watch the singing and dancing in the hall, wondering when the banquet would end.
It's a bit boring, so she might as well go back to her room and read some scriptures.
*
With the end of the last song and dance, the entire longevity banquet came to an end. After respectfully sending His Majesty's holy cross out of the Xuande Hall, the people in the hall still did not leave.
Burning, envy, obsession, curiosity... Without His Majesty's deterrence, countless complicated gazes were cast on Princess Lingqiao, who also stood up to see His Majesty off.
Nan Qiao seemed unaware of anything. After the emperor left, the royal relatives and powerful ministers in the hall did not leave. She felt a little confused and suppressed the urge to go back immediately.
The hint of doubt in her bright eyes weakened the cold feeling on her body, just like a stream that has melted slightly in spring. Even though the ice has not been completely broken, it has attracted the sympathy of countless people.
Several young men who could no longer contain themselves seemed a little agitated, staring at Nan Qiao with burning eyes. At this moment, the rule that the prince consort could not interfere in government affairs was thrown out of the window.
If I could marry a fairy like this, and become a pair of immortal lovers, loving and harmonious every day, I would be happy even if I didn't become an official.
Thinking of this, the eyes of several men became even hotter, and their steps towards the women's seats gradually increased, as if they would rush to the princess at the next moment, and express their love impatiently.
"It's getting late. It's been raining for the past few days, so there's bound to be water on the roads. Your Highnesses and Lords, please proceed slowly."
A gentle male voice sounded, and the meaning in it made Nan Qiao's eyes light up slightly.
This means you can leave.
Not noticing someone approaching her from the men's seat opposite, the woman in green hesitantly looked back at the prince's seat, then stepped out of the hall.
The figure disappeared at the palace gate, like a wisp of breeze passing by, and disappeared again in vain, making those who had been staring at her feel regretful.
I always feel like I'm dreaming.
Lin Qinghuai watched the green figure walk out of the hall, his heavy gaze fell on the men who were already moving towards the women's seats, and the smile on his lips faded a little.
Lin Qinghuai casually pinched the handkerchief wrapped around the wound, smiled, and gracefully said goodbye to the ministers and princes who had not yet left, then disappeared outside the palace gate in the hazy moonlight.
When he returned home, it started to drizzle again. The bedroom in the front yard was very close to the study. Lin Qinghuai changed into a clean moon-white robe and returned to the study to sit quietly.
The midnight snack brought by the servants was hot. Not much was used at the banquet, so Lin Qinghuai took a few bites.
The study door was pushed open, and a dark guard dressed in black came in from outside. He knelt on one knee in the hall of the study, with his head lowered.
"Did you send the person back safely?" Even though he knew that the secret guard had done a good job, Lin Qinghuai still asked tirelessly.
Secret Guard: "Master, he has been safely returned to the bedroom."
The secret guard's voice was as hoarse and cold as ever, but Lin Qinghuai, who was sitting at the top, still sensed some emotion in the other's words.
Lin Qinghuai raised his eyebrows, but he was not surprised. He just said calmly: "You just need to protect her."
"Don't let other thoughts arise."
The secret guard bowed his head in response.
Letting the secret guard go out, Lin Qinghuai carelessly peeled off the sealing wax on the envelope, but in his heart he was thinking whether he should place a few more female secret guards around the other party.
She only has one personal maid now, so why not have him hire a few secret guards who are proficient in medicine and martial arts and place them by her side...
Prime Minister Lin, who had completely regarded the charming little princess as his own, was silently planning in his mind, but his eyes were reading the letter in front of him that was brought from Hanyun Temple to the imperial capital.
"...His Highness stays in Hanyun Temple all day long and has a pure and innocent temperament. I hope you will take good care of him, considering the friendship we once had when we stayed in the temple..."
A lamp was lit in the study, its flame encased in a candle holder, quietly glowing. Under the light, the eyes of the young man in the moon-white robe shone, as if he had read words of immense satisfaction in the letter in his hand...
*
The next morning.
Hanyun Temple is quiet and deep, and it also cultivated Nan Qiao's habit of light sleep. Even though he slept late last night, he was awakened early this morning by the sounds coming from outside the temple.
Jintang walked into the inner room carrying a copper basin of hot water covered with a silk handkerchief. Princess Lingqiao was still sleepy from being awakened, and her eyes were hazy.
The voice, as clear and cold as pearls and jade, was also a little confused at this time: "...Jintang, what's going on outside? Why is it so noisy?"
There were basins of ice in the four corners of the inner room. Nan Qiao's cheeks were slightly red, but there was no sweat on her forehead.
Noticing this, Jintang felt relieved and immediately chuckled, "Your Highness, His Majesty just gave us an oral order to move the palace."
Move the palace?
Nan Qiao suddenly opened her eyes, her brows furrowed, and she asked in confusion, "Moving the palace? Why are we moving the palace?"
Jintang smiled happily: "His Majesty said that the palace Your Highness lives in has not been repaired for a long time and is too old, so Your Highness is asked to move to Cuiwei Palace."
She helped Nan Qiao get up, turned around and dipped the silk handkerchief into the water. The wet handkerchief became silky and soft, and Jintang smiled with satisfaction.
Sure enough, only such a silk handkerchief is suitable for wiping the skin of her prince.
Thinking of the oral order from His Majesty to move the palace that he had received early this morning, Jintang was filled with joy in the morning.
As expected, there is absolutely no one in this world who hates Her Royal Highness the Princess.
She wiped Nan Qiao's jade-white skin with a smile and said, "I had just asked them to be more gentle, but I never thought I would disturb His Highness."
"How about I ask them to stop first and wait until His Highness has had enough sleep before moving on?"
"Need not."
I'm already up, how can I sleep?
Nan Qiao said this lightly, blinked uncomfortably, and quickly stood up and combed her hair with the help of Jintang.
"Your Highness, the palace maids from the Internal Affairs Department came here just now. They said..." Jintang said as she combed her hair, relaying the words from the Internal Affairs Department in a somewhat depressed tone, "...they said they want to select a few personal maids for Your Highness."
The number of maids available to people of different statuses in the palace is also different. As a princess, Your Highness only has one personal maid, which is indeed a little too few.
But... Jintang felt a little uncomfortable when she thought that someone would take over her job of taking care of His Highness personally.
Nan Qiao's gaze fell on Jintang's face, which looked somewhat lost. His expression remained unchanged, he only lowered his eyes and said, "Pick it up, but you are the only one who can be my personal maid. I can also select some people to come in and do some tidying work to prevent you from being too tired."
Hearing this, Jintang instantly became happy again, and a big smile appeared on her face.
Nan Qiao frowned unconsciously, thinking about how she was brought to this cold and secluded palace right after returning to the palace a few days ago, and she had never even seen the so-called father.
Now, he's moving to a new palace and becoming a palace attendant...
Such a huge difference has occurred since last night.
No one would undergo such a change without reason. The sudden change in treatment in the palace made Princess Lingqiao feel a little wary.
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