Chapter 132 The Unloved Princess 7
"Imperial Garden? Why did the Emperor suddenly ask me to go to the Imperial Garden?"
Nan Qiao raised her eyes and looked at the palace servant who was delivering the oral instructions.
The palace attendant, bent over, his eyes fixed on the floor, said, "A few new orchids have been transplanted into the Imperial Garden. His Majesty is concerned about the Princess and thinks she would like them, so he wants her to go and see them."
orchid?
Nan Qiao's expression remained unchanged. She put down the handkerchief in her hand and said, "Since it is my father's good intention, then let's go." Then she took Jintang out of Cuiwei Palace.
It was almost early autumn, and the weather was not as hot as before. The palace servants came and went along the way, and when they saw the cold and beautiful woman who seemed not like an ordinary person, they were all stunned at first, and it took them a long time to remember to greet her.
Princess Lingqiao has been back in the palace for nearly a month, but she stays in Cuiwei Palace most of the time and rarely goes out, making it difficult for others to see her.
Most of the palace servants had never seen Princess Lingqiao's true appearance, even though the palace servants on duty in Xuande Hall on the night of the birthday banquet repeatedly emphasized Princess Lingqiao's celestial appearance.
But if you haven't seen it in person, you haven't seen it. Even if the other party praises it to the sky, you can never imagine it.
Some people saw that Princess Lingqiao had not left Cuiwei Palace for a long time, and they secretly wondered whether this princess who had just returned to the palace was deliberately spreading her stunning reputation in the palace in order to create momentum.
But I never thought that Princess Lingqiao was... so beautiful.
The palace servants came back to their senses and looked at the palace servants following Princess Lingqiao, with a burning look in their eyes.
It would be great if they could serve in Cuiwei Palace.
The Imperial Garden boasts a wealth of exotic flowers and plants. Even though it's not spring, a dazzling array of vibrant colors still bloom. Lotuses grow in a lake, where in late summer and early autumn, the flowers bloom in pairs. Near the lake's edge, the delicate fragrance of lotus flowers lingers...
Nan Qiao walked slowly, and the palace servant in front of her slowed down his pace. She seemed to have sensed something, and when she looked up, she saw a tall figure standing in the pavilion by the lake.
It's a man.
"Greetings to Her Royal Highness Princess Lingqiao!"
The palace attendant who led Wei Ce to the imperial garden looked at Princess Lingqiao not far away, his face slightly red, and he immediately saluted.
Wei Ce, who was casually observing the lotus in the pond, paused for a moment, then quickly turned around, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Princess."
"Stand up."
A slightly cold female voice sounded in front of him, as clear as pearls falling on a plate, which made Wei Ce's heart move. Such a voice made him feel an impulse in vain.
An urge to look up at the other person immediately.
This impulse came inexplicably. Wei Ce smiled and stood up straight as usual according to etiquette. Then he slowly raised his eyes and looked at the Princess Lingqiao who was not far away and whom he had never met before.
His handsome face was filled with a respectful, even faint smile, and there was a subtle indifference in his eyes.
He was not interested in the delicate little princess, and the reason he met her this time was only because of the old emperor.
His gaze lightly fell on the little princess opposite him, and then he was stunned, and then gradually became dull, and a blankness soon appeared on his handsome features.
This is……
Princess Lingqiao?
Is this really... the Princess Lingqiao that the old emperor wanted him to marry...
Could it be that the old emperor has gone mad?
His brain, which had always been smart in marching and fighting, now seemed to be rusty and could not function properly.
Nan Qiao looked at the man in front of her who seemed to be stunned, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, and she glanced thoughtfully at the palace servant who brought her to the pavilion.
Her brows furrowed slightly as she grasped Jintang's hand. Just as she was about to skip the pavilion and head straight for the Orchid Garden, the man in front of her seemed to come to his senses. He stepped forward and said in a clear voice, "Your Highness, how are you? I am Wei Ce, the son of the Zhenbei Marquis. Nice to meet Your Highness Lingqiao."
After saying that, the man in front of him bowed again.
Nan Qiao was a little confused by his actions.
Didn’t we just exchange greetings?
Why are you saluting again now?
She had no choice but to say again: "Stand up."
Wei Ce quickly stood up straight again, his eyes fixed on the princess opposite him, and said with a smile: "Where are you going, Your Highness?"
Nan Qiao took a sip and said, "I heard that there are new orchids being transplanted in the Orchid Garden. I'd like to go take a look."
Wei Ce's smile deepened: "I see, then the princess and I are destined to be together. His Majesty gave me two orchids as a gift and asked me to go to the orchid garden to pick them myself."
"We're on the same path, so why don't I accompany the princess?"
We were traveling the same route, but we weren't going the same way. Nan Qiao's expression remained unchanged. He glanced at the palace attendant who lowered his head but remained silent, and hummed.
Seeing Princess Lingqiao's gaze in front of him, Wei Ce raised his eyebrows, still smiling, and followed her shamelessly.
Along the way, a prince who had originally made up his mind to secretly reject the princess's favor was now extremely active.
"...Your Highness, do you like orchids?"
"I don't like it."
"I also don't like orchids. They are delicate and hard to keep alive."
"Um."
"...I wonder what kind of flowers and plants Your Highness likes? My father has always loved tending to plants. While the rare and exotic plants at home aren't as numerous as those in the Imperial Garden, there are a few rare and precious ones..."
"I don't like flowers or plants very much."
"...Your Highness and I have similar interests. We have never been fond of picnicking..."
“…”
At the end of the conversation, Nan Qiao felt somewhat helpless as she thought that if someone didn't like growing flowers and plants, then how could they be considered to have similar interests?
They had already walked around most of the Orchid Garden. The man beside them kept chattering, and Nan Qiao suddenly felt a little dizzy. Her pace slowed down a little, and she was about to fall to the ground.
Big hands hugged her slender waist, and her delicate body was brought into a hot embrace. Nan Qiao's face turned pale, and her vision went dark.
After about a quarter of an hour, the scene in front of her gradually became clear. She found herself leaning on the man's chest, and the palace servants behind her were making a lot of noise. She blinked uncomfortably again.
"Don't make any noise!"
A cold rebuke came from above. It was a different voice from the one just now. It carried a sharp sense of majesty, and the surroundings soon became quiet.
Nan Qiao slowly raised her eyes and tried to open them to look at the man who was hugging her.
The relaxed look he had when teasing just now was gone. His handsome face was completely gloomy and his eyes were as cold as ice.
Wei Ce also looked at the princess in his arms. The princess's face was as white as porcelain and her lips were pale. Perhaps she felt uncomfortable, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly, which made his heart tighten.
His expression was a little chilly, and he said softly to His Highness, who was clearly still not fully conscious, "Your Highness, I'm sorry."
He picked the person up and turned to walk out of the Orchid Garden.
The body in his arms felt light and fluttery. Even though she was cold, she looked weak. It didn't look like the body of a princess who was pampered in the palace.
Wei Ce's eyes turned a little colder, and under the guidance of the Cuiwei Palace attendants, he quickly brought the person back to Cuiwei Palace.
After the imperial physician had finished the examination and confirmed that Her Royal Highness the Princess was fine, the palace was locked.
According to palace rules, after the palace is locked, no one outside the palace can stay inside. So even if he was reluctant to leave, he had to leave now.
After taking a lingering look at the figure hidden by the curtain in the inner room, Wei Ce turned around and was about to leave Cuiwei Palace, but he paused as he stepped out of the palace gate.
Looking back at Cuiwei Palace, Wei Ce's eyes flashed, but his expression remained unchanged, and he quickly left the palace.
The servants guarding outside the palace gate immediately brought the horse over. Wei Ce jumped on the horse, whipped it, and galloped at the speed of a march. He soon returned to the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion.
Without responding to his parents who were waiting in the main hall to ask him something, Wei Ce went straight back to the study...
*
"faint?"
Lin Qinghuai quickly put down his pen and looked at the secret guards below him with a stern gaze. "Why did she faint? Didn't I ask you to protect her? How is she now? Is she seriously injured?"
The secret guard lowered his eyebrows and said, "He is now fine. The imperial physician said that the prince was weak and had stayed in the orchid garden for too long, which led to his coma."
Seeing that the secret guard said that there was nothing serious, Lin Qinghuai's heart finally settled down. He breathed a sigh of relief and murmured to himself: "Orchid Garden? Qiao Qiao might like orchids. I can build an orchid garden for her in my house, and make it bigger than the one in the palace..."
wrong.
Lin Qinghuai suddenly realized something, frowned and asked, "Why did Your Highness go to the Orchid Garden today?"
These days, the secret guards came to report her news to him every day. It has been a month since she returned to the palace. Qiao Qiao never liked to go out, so why did she suddenly go to Lanyuan?
The secret guard lowered his head even lower: "It was an oral order from His Majesty. On the way to the Orchid Garden, His Highness ran into the Prince of Zhenbei."
So, he enjoyed it together with the Prince of Zhenbei.
The entire study was completely silent. The secret guard lowered his head, not daring to look at the desk. No one knew better than him how possessive his master was of Princess Lingqiao. Now that he knew the news that His Majesty seemed to be planning to marry the princess to the son of the Marquis of Zhenbei, he would probably be furious.
But even though the master was angry, some things still needed to be reported. The secret guard swallowed and continued, "...Zhenbei Hou's son carried the unconscious prince back to Cuiwei Palace. When he left Cuiwei Palace, he seemed to be aware of our presence."
As a general who has fought on the frontier in recent years, Wei Ce's martial arts skills are not weak, so it is not surprising that he can sense the aura of these secret guards.
Deathly silence spread across the small study. Just as the secret guards were getting anxious, the voice of their superior finally reached them:
"...Go down and find out what medicine the imperial physician will need to treat His Highness. Then ask the steward to send the best medicine to His Highness if there is any in the storeroom."
The secret guard nodded his head and soon disappeared into the study.
There was a half-written word on the desk. The word "静" was written with rich ink and iron-like strokes.
Good handwriting is crucial for the imperial examination. As a child of a poor family, Lin Qinghuai has to work much harder than children from wealthy families in terms of appearance, bearing, and literary talent.
Practicing calligraphy for half an hour every day can not only help you write well, but also calm your mind. This is a habit that Lin Qinghuai has maintained since he was a child. For more than ten years, no matter it is windy or rainy or he is on a tour outside, this habit has never been broken.
But today, he didn't want to write.
His thoughts were a tangled mess, like a tangle of threads that could never be untangled. Whenever he thought of what the secret guard had said, Wei Ce would hold the princess he had been thinking about in his arms, and a surge of anger would surge in his heart.
A desire to completely eliminate Wei Ce's evil spirit.
No wonder the old emperor hasn't taken any action these days.
It turned out that the old emperor had set his sights on the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion.
Yes, a dog who has been diligently guarding the northern border for him for so many years is definitely better than a treacherous minister like me.
Lin Qinghuai closed his eyes and tried hard to suppress his fluctuating emotions.
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