Chapter 67 Extra 2
Extra 2: First published on Jinjiang Literature City
The next day, the princes and ladies of the various mansions wore imperial robes and flower crowns and went to Fengyi Palace in an orderly manner to pay their respects to the empress.
Fengyi Palace, the residence of successive empresses, was built in a magnificent, spacious and elegant style. The garden in front of the courtyard was especially filled with a variety of rare flowers and plants. In spring and summer, the palace was in full bloom with clusters of flowers, birds flying and butterflies dancing, creating a scene full of vitality.
However, although Lu Zhiwan is the queen, she has never stayed in Fengyi Palace for a night.
She doesn’t live there now, and she probably won’t live there in the future - Xiao Jingting sleeps with her every night, and the Yangxin Palace has almost become her palace.
Lu Zhiwan felt that only if she and Xiao Jingting had a quarrel or a cold war in the future, she would have the opportunity to spend the night in Fengyi Palace.
Now, she was wearing a bright red brocade phoenix robe embroidered with double-petaled peonies, her hair was puffy, and she wore a crown with a colorful phoenix holding gold tassels on her head. She sat upright on the phoenix chair in the main hall of Fengyi Palace, her eyes lowered, sweeping across the solemn and respectful princes and ladies in front of her, with a calm, noble and aloof look on her face. She was secretly thinking in her heart that after three years, these ladies didn't look old at all, which showed that the maintenance secrets of the noble ladies in the capital were still very effective.
Among the crowd of people he wasn't too familiar with, Lu Zhiwan finally saw a familiar face - Princess Xiao Lanchun of Liaodong.
Or rather, it would be more appropriate to call her Mrs. Gu now.
She looked at Xiao Lanchun, and Xiao Lanchun also felt her gaze and secretly raised his eyelids.
Their eyes met, and Lu Zhiwan smiled at Xiao Lanchun. Xiao Lanchun was stunned for a moment, and then she also curved her eyes towards her, with a hint of moisture in her lively almond-shaped eyes.
Lu Zhiwan's heart was touched, and she tightened her fingertips on the armrest of the phoenix chair. She calmly withdrew her gaze and said calmly and gently to the people below, "No need to be polite."
The women bowed and said, "Thank you, Queen."
Paying respects is a very boring thing, no matter for the person paying respects or the person being paid respects, in this situation where the two parties are not familiar with each other but have to pretend to be friendly, every minute and every second seems long.
After drinking a cup of tea and exchanging pleasantries with the princes and ladies, Lu Zhiwan asked them to leave as it was almost time, leaving Xiao Lanchun alone.
She was so curious about how Xiao Lanchun had turned the tide and successfully won over Gu Rongyu during the three years of sleep!
Xiao Lanchun also had a lot of things to say to the Queen. Now that she saw the Queen keeping her, and the look in their eyes as they looked at each other, she suddenly felt as if she were back to the time three years ago when they were girls discussing how to pursue a man.
Three years is neither long nor short.
Lu Zhiwan went from being Concubine Zhao to being the Queen in one sleep, and Xiao Lanchun was about to become the mother of two children from being an unmarried princess.
"What?!"
In the back garden of Fengyi Palace, Lu Zhiwan nearly dropped the melon seeds in her hand when she heard that Xiao Lanchun was four months pregnant with her second child. Her gaze darted back and forth several times at Xiao Lanchun's waist, covered by her loose imperial robes. She was incredulous: "You're pregnant again? How come I can't even tell?"
Xiao Lanchun chuckled shyly, her every move revealing the charm of a beautiful young woman: "It's only four months, and the winter clothes are thick, so it can't be seen even if it covers it up."
Lu Zhiwan: “…”
It seems that her and Xiao Jingting's progress is indeed too slow, no wonder the court officials are anxious.
"Two months ago, I learned the good news that Your Majesty had awakened. I was visiting relatives in Liaodong. Otherwise, I would have rushed to the palace to pay my respects to Your Majesty immediately." Xiao Lanchun explained, gently stroking her belly. "Unfortunately, I was pregnant, so I didn't dare to rush. No matter how hard I tried, I was still a day late and missed the wedding of Your Majesty and His Majesty."
Lu Zhiwan was very understanding: "As long as the thought is there, it's fine. Health is the most important thing."
Xiao Lanchun was deeply moved when she heard this: "Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful for your understanding."
"Alright, there's no outsider here, so there's no need to keep calling me your wife. It sounds really confusing."
Lu Zhiwan picked up a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus chestnut cake, brought it to his lips, took a nibble, and looked at Xiao Lanchun with a curious look on his face. "I slept for three whole years, and I never thought so many changes would happen after waking up. Tell me quickly, how did you and Gu Rongyu achieve a happy ending? I remember before the execution ground incident, you told me that you would return to Liaodong with your father after his injuries were fully healed. What happened afterwards?"
Xiao Lanchun blushed as she recalled the past. After a while of hesitation, she finally gave in to Lu Zhiwan's urging and continued, "I was truly disheartened at the time and was ready to pack up and return to Liaodong. But the day before I left Beijing, I found Rongyu again..."
Lu Zhiwan's lips curled up slightly, "Oh my, there's still room for improvement, this sour smell of love."
Xiao Lanchun continued to talk to herself, "He was a little surprised to see me, and he even said something about men and women avoiding suspicion and not meeting in private. Humph, I'm going back to Liaodong soon, and I might not be back to the capital for more than a decade. Who cares? I'll just block him and won't let him leave."
Xiao Lanchun still remembers the embarrassed look on Gu Rongyu's face as he was trapped in the corner and his jade-like face gradually turned red.
She asked him, "I'm going back to Liaodong tomorrow. From now on, we'll be so far away from each other, and I don't know when we'll see each other again. Do you really not like me at all?"
Gu Rongyu was speechless as he looked at the overly bold and unrestrained woman in front of him.
According to gentlemanly etiquette, he should avoid her and say, "Princess, please respect yourself."
However, when he met those clear almond-shaped eyes filled with sincerity, he clearly felt the heart in his chest beating uncontrollably and swaying.
He didn't know what was wrong with him.
Do you like her? But from time to time, the image of Princess Yuzhang would appear in his mind, even though they had no contact.
Don't you like it? But knowing that Princess Lan Chun will leave the capital tomorrow, he will feel an unprecedented panic in his heart.
He was afraid that he would never see her again.
Gu Rongyu frowned and was unable to respond.
Xiao Lanchun regarded this as his implicit rejection. She held back the tears in her eyes and said "OK" several times through gritted teeth.
"Since you don't like me, I'm not the type to pester you."
She suppressed the turbulent emotions in her heart and said goodbye to Gu Rongyu: "After all, we have known each other for a long time, and you have renovated the mansion for me. I hope you can find a good partner soon and live happily ever after."
After saying that, she turned around and got into the carriage.
But before the carriage started, she couldn't help but lift the curtain and shouted fiercely at the man with a complicated expression beside the carriage: "Gu Rongyu, you blind man with no vision! You missed such a good woman like me, you will regret it for the rest of your life!"
Without waiting for his response, she hurriedly lowered the curtain and followed the carriage.
The afternoon breeze blew by, and Lu Zhiwan, who was sitting and eating melons, was stunned: "Did you really tell him that?"
Xiao Lanchun hummed awkwardly, then raised her hand to touch her nose. "I didn't think anything of it when I yelled at the time, but looking back on it all these years later, it did seem a bit silly..."
Lu Zhiwan said, "Everyone was frivolous when they were young. It's not a big deal. Go on."
"The next day I left the city with the emperor's carriage, but after only half a day's journey, he caught up with me on horseback."
A hint of pride and smugness flashed across Xiao Lanchun's brows, and the corners of her rosy lips curled up. "He was sweating all over from riding a horse. I've never seen him so embarrassed... But even so, he still looks very handsome..."
Gu Rongyu rushed over and asked her to stay.
Xiao Lanchun was both surprised and delighted, but her girlish pride still made her put on a cool front: "Why didn't you try to keep me when I came looking for you yesterday? Now it's too late to come back today."
Gu Rongyu looked ashamed, his eyes clear as he looked at her. "Yesterday, I was completely confused and couldn't figure out my feelings. Today, I finally understand. Princess, you are very important to me."
He bent down and bowed to her. "I hope your Highness will forgive my stupidity."
Seeing his serious attitude, Xiao Lanchun's resentment had already dissipated for the most part, but she still couldn't help but ask, "How come you didn't understand it yesterday, but you understand it today? Could it be that a god enlightened you overnight?"
At this point, Xiao Lanchun deliberately kept the conversation a secret and looked at Lu Zhiwan with wide eyes: "Madam, guess what he answered."
Lu Zhiwan was stunned for a moment and raised his eyebrows: "Could it be that he really dreamed of a fairy?"
"If he had answered like that, I wouldn't have been angry with him." Xiao Lanchun curled her lips. "He said that he went to Qingxin Temple early in the morning to look for Xiao Ningning and asked her to play another piece of music for him. Although Xiao Ningning felt strange, she still took the zither and played a piece."
In Gu Rongyu's words, after playing a piece of piano, it is like a sudden enlightenment, the mind and heart are cleared.
He clearly realized that the person in his heart was not Xiao Ningning, but Xiao Lanchun, who had always treated him warmly and never concealed her love for him.
"It's really strange. He and Xiao Ningning have only met a few times. If he has doubts, why doesn't he ask the senior monks in the Great Compassion Temple, but goes to ask Xiao Ningning, who has just become a monk for a few days?" Xiao Lanchun muttered in confusion.
Lu Zhiwan sipped the tea and answered silently in his heart: Because Xiao Ningning is the heroine.
However, she did not expect that Gu Rongyu would be able to break through the gravity of the plot and realize his true heart.
Could it be that because Zhao Wenshao was killed by Xiao Jingting and Prince Yuzhang was gone, the constraints of the plot gravity also weakened?
"After he told you that, you forgave him and went back to the capital with him?" Lu Zhiwan asked.
"No. I'm a princess after all, I'm not that easy to please."
Xiao Lanchun raised her chin slightly, her slightly round face showing a bit of pride like a peacock spreading its tail: "I went back to Liaodong, and he chased me to Liaodong--"
After a pause, she dragged out the last syllable and winked at Lu Zhiwan: "I chased him all the way!"
Lu Zhiwan raised his eyebrows. Well, it seems like chasing after his wife is a nightmare.
So Xiao Lanchun spent the whole day telling Lu Zhiwan about Gu Rongyu's pursuit of his wife.
It was not until the red clouds outside the window were dyed all over and dusk fell that she picked up the teacup to moisten her throat with a lingering feeling. Lu Zhiwan also sighed deeply: "It's true that being arrogant is fun for a while, but chasing your wife is a funeral procession."
After chatting for a few more sentences, someone from the Yangxin Palace came to urge the Queen to go back for dinner.
Xiao Lanchun had witnessed with her own eyes how clingy the emperor's cousin was to the empress, so she tactfully stood up and said goodbye to Lu Zhiwan.
Lu Zhiwan sent her out and reminded her with a smile: "Next time, remember to bring your little prince into the palace to play."
Xiao Lanchun is pretty and charming, Gu Rongyu is as handsome as jade, and I wonder who their child will look more like.
When she returned to the Yangxin Palace with this curiosity and asked Xiao Jingting if he had seen the young master of the Gu family and whether he was cute, the man who had long since transformed into someone who longed for the queen to return for dinner had a slightly darker expression and snorted disdainfully: "What's so special about the boy from the Gu family? He has one nose and two eyes. Can he grow flowers?"
Lu Zhiwan: “…”
What's with this weird vibe?
Could it be that this ancestor would be unhappy because I came back a little late?
After thinking for a moment, she stepped forward and took his hand affectionately: "What's wrong, Your Majesty?"
Xiao Jingting: "Nothing."
After saying this coldly, he pulled her to the table to eat.
After just one dinner, he still looked unhappy.
Lu Zhiwan was about to ask again when the man beside him spoke first: "Are you full?"
Lu Zhiwan was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Full...full."
The next moment, Xiao Jingting pulled her up from the table and strode towards the bedroom.
What is going on?
Lu Zhiwan was confused and grabbed his sleeve: "Your Majesty, where are you taking me?"
"On the bed."
“……?”
"Our child will definitely be a hundred times more beautiful than the child from the Gu family."
Lu Zhiwan: “???”
It was not until she was pressed onto the dragon bed that she realized how terrible men’s competitive spirit was!
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