088

The candle was almost burned out, with only an inch of wick left, and the flame was getting dimmer and dimmer.

Zhu Huang saw that his master had not yet gone to rest, and could not help but remind him: "Your Highness, it is already midnight."

But Lu Jingrui had no desire to sleep.

He didn't know what his elder brother did to his elder sister-in-law after leaving the pleasure boat, and whether he blamed her. If he had known, he would not have mentioned the girl. In fact, he couldn't say that he liked her, but he just thought she was pretty.

As a result, this sentence brought trouble to Chu Yin and himself.

He no longer had any interest in the girl. He just hoped that his elder brother would not arrange the marriage and that he and his elder brother's wife had reconciled. He did not want to lose Chu Yin's care for him because of this.

A sleepless night.

The next day, Chu Yin woke up very early.

Seeing Lu Jingzhuo getting dressed, she hurriedly got up from the bed and took the initiative to tie his belt for him, while asking, "Why didn't the emperor call me?" As soon as she asked, she thought of what happened on the pleasure boat, "I went to bed early last night and had enough rest."

"Well, that's good."

His voice sounded a little hoarse, I don’t know if it was because he just woke up or because he didn’t sleep well.

Chu Yin's movements became gentler. She fastened the jade belt and stood on tiptoe to help him put on the Yishan crown.

He could see that this was compensation.

Maybe Chu Yin feels guilty towards him too?

He reached out and stroked his wife's messy hair.

Afterwards, the two of them had breakfast quietly. Then Chu Yin sent her son to Chunhui Pavilion first, and then came back to see him off.

The man didn't mention anything about what happened yesterday, as if he had already forgotten it.

As long as she pretends to have forgotten about it, this matter might be able to be uncovered. However, Lu Jingzhuo has already sent people to investigate Sun Luqiu's identity. What if he still wants to arrange a marriage for Lu Jingrui?

Does she care?

But as soon as she asked, the seemingly reconciled situation would be broken in an instant.

He was in a dilemma, with the sound of Chu stuck in his throat.

Seeing the dragon chariot stop at the gate of the Qianqing Palace, she suddenly said, "Your Majesty..."

Lu Jingzhuo was about to go down, but her grabbed his sleeve.

"What?" he asked.

Chu Yin took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty, don't you understand why I have been acting so strangely lately?"

"Are you going to tell me?" Lu Jingzhuo was a little surprised.

"No, I want to wait until the winter solstice to tell His Majesty."

"Winter Solstice?" He had heard this term before, in relation to sachets.

"Um."

“Why does it have to be the winter solstice?”

"Because... His Majesty will know by then."

Lu Jingzhuo was very confused as to why they had to choose a day to tell a secret, but he felt a little relieved.

"Your Majesty, are you not angry now?" She moved to his lap.

"I wasn't angry in the first place." His mood returned to normal before going to bed last night. Otherwise, how could he review memorials and handle government affairs today?

Chu Yin leaned over and kissed him on the lips.

He didn't duck.

She deepened the kiss and he responded.

The two of them were intimate for a while, and Lu Jingzhuo said, "I have to go."

Chu Yin did not loosen her arms around his neck.

"Anything else?"

"Well," she hesitated for a moment, then mustered up the courage to say, "Since I promised His Majesty that I would tell His Majesty in the future, can you please not arrange a marriage for my third brother?"

It turned out that her confession just now was all because of this sentence.

Lu Jingzhuo suddenly felt angry and said sullenly, "Don't push your luck."

"I'm not doing this for my third brother, really. I promise that His Majesty will understand my actions in the future..."

"What if I can't?"

"Then I will leave it to His Majesty to punish me."

What kind of punishment would really shock Chu Yin? The punishment on the pleasure boat yesterday would definitely not work. Lu Jingzhuo stared into her eyes and said slowly, "Can I kill you?"

Chu Yin cares most about the position of queen.

Her heart skipped a beat and her face turned slightly pale.

The cost is huge.

But if she couldn't make it through that and was going to die on the winter solstice, Lu Jingzhuo would definitely believe her. And if she didn't die, she had survived the biggest disaster in her life, so what couldn't be solved? She had the courage to tell him everything. If he didn't believe her, she would talk about Yi Jian's matter, Cheng Miyuan's matter and the plague. In the end, it would be useful and would solve the doubts in his heart.

Chu Yin said: "Okay."

With the position of empress as a guarantee, at this moment, Lu Jingzhuo had no choice but to re-examine Chu Yin.

She certainly didn't lie to him.

The position of empress means as much to Chu Yin as the throne of emperor does to him, and she would never give it up easily.

Lu Jingzhuo said: "Okay, I will wait until the winter solstice."

Chu Yin felt more relaxed after talking about it, and stroked his ear with her fingers: "Then during this period of time, we should just be the same as before, okay?"

"What was it like before?"

"I can come to see His Majesty anytime... You can't chase me away, and I can't change the fact that I'm sending you here."

That was something he enjoyed, so she didn't know why she thought he wanted to change.

Lu Jingzhuo said: "You can still sleep on my lap."

Chu Yin smiled: "Then I want it now."

She took his hand and got out of the car and went to the Qianqing Palace.

Lu Jingrui was worried about Chu Yin, but he didn't dare to go to Kunning Palace to find her, so he had to go to the racecourse often to learn riding from Lu Jue in an attempt to meet her, but he didn't meet her for several days, so he had to use Lu Jue.

Lu Wei told his mother about his uncle that night: "He felt that his mount was not good enough, and asked about your mount, the Queen Mother, saying that this red horse would have a better temperament."

Chu Yin knew Lu Jingrui's intention as soon as she heard it.

The next afternoon she went to the racecourse.

As soon as I got off the car, I saw Lu Jingrui not far away.

He was wearing a dark blue riding suit and holding a horse in his hand, but he was not riding. Perhaps he had just practiced and was taking a rest.

"Third brother." She called him loudly.

The young man turned his head, his eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

"Sister-in-law," he walked over quickly, "Are you okay?"

Chu Yin was startled, then guessed what he meant and said with a smile, "What can happen to me?" Pointing to her mount, "My horse Chixia has a really good temperament. Why, do you want to change your mount?" She pretended not to know what he was thinking.

That was just an excuse to meet her. Lu Jingrui lowered his eyes and patted the horse's neck: "It may feel that I want to replace it, so it is particularly obedient today. In this case, I will give it another chance."

"That's right. The relationship between a mount and its master is just like that between people. It takes time to get used to each other. They may not be compatible right away."

Lu Jingrui nodded: "Sister-in-law is absolutely right, just like sister-in-law and brother, the relationship is getting better and better."

"Yes, that's true," Chu Yin climbed onto the horse, "You can ride with me for a while."

Lu Jingrui naturally did not object.

The two of them rode slowly, so it was convenient for them to talk.

Chu Yin tested him: "Third brother, the emperor has sent people to investigate the girl you asked about last time. Do you want to know who she is?"

"I don't want to," Lu Jingrui shook his head, "but I'm worried about this. Has elder brother found out? Will he grant me a marriage?" If he confronted his elder brother in person, he would definitely be furious, but if he listened to him, he really didn't want to marry a girl Chu Yin didn't like.

Chu Yin said: "The emperor doesn't plan to grant me a marriage, but if you want to marry her..."

Lu Jingrui was overjoyed: "Really? That's great!"

I was actually very excited.

Chu Yin's lips curled up: "Are you so happy? Won't you regret it in the future?"

"No regrets, I just hope that my elder brother and sister-in-law won't be unhappy because of me. As for girls, there are so many girls to choose from in the capital, what is there to regret?" In his eyes, love between men and women is not that important.

What he wanted to hold tightly in his hands was Chu Yin's care for him.

Chu Yin now completely understood his thoughts.

"An unexpected result leads to a good outcome", a lucky coincidence.

Unconsciously, she had occupied an important position in the heart of this young man whom she regarded as an enemy.

That’s all.

She should continue to be his "good sister-in-law".

"Third brother, if you find another girl you like in the future, I will definitely help you." As long as it's not Sun Luqiu, any other girl will be fine.

"Well, thank you, sister-in-law."

While the two were talking, an expedited document from Weizhou arrived at the Qianqing Palace.

It really is a plague.

Lu Jingzhuo stared at the document and read it again, recalling Chu Yin's actions that day.

His wife is really extraordinary!

But no matter what, he would never think that Chu Yin was a Daluo immortal.

Which god would act so coquettishly?

Fox fairy?

Putting aside his messy thoughts, Lu Jingzhuo immediately ordered Jinzhou, Luozhou and other counties near Weizhou to fully support Weizhou, dispatched yamen runners and soldiers to maintain order, and provided available medicines and food to fight the plague together. He then sent ten imperial doctors to Weizhou. Liu Yuanpan was allowed to stay because he was Chu Yin's usual imperial doctor. Next, he summoned several important officials.

He didn't come back that night.

When Chu Yin opened her eyes, she found that there was no one around her.

But it was still dark.

Did he get up particularly early today?

Chu Yin quickly got out of bed.

Hearing the noise, Rendong and Manqing came over to help her wash and dress.

"Has His Majesty gone to the Palace of Heavenly Purity?"

"Your Majesty must have rested there last night."

Chu Yin was surprised.

He has never been like this before.

Did something big happen that kept him busy until late last night?

If it was after midnight, he might not have come to Kunning Palace because he was afraid of waking her up.

Chu Yin ate hurriedly.

After dinner, he sent Lu Wei to Chunhui Pavilion as usual, and then went straight to the Qianqing Palace.

Dong Ling was in the outer hall. He stepped forward and saluted: "Your Majesty, the emperor has not woken up yet."

"What happened?"

"Weizhou sent an urgent document saying there is a plague."

It wasn't something she couldn't predict, so Chu Yin felt relieved.

"When did His Majesty go to bed?"

"Shen Shi."

It was too late and he didn't come back.

Chu Yin found a copy of "The Book of Length and Shortness" on the bookshelf and opened it while sitting on a chair by the window.

About an hour later, there was some movement inside.

Dong Ling walked in quickly and came out soon to invite Chu Yin.

"Why are you here?" Lu Jingzhuo asked.

Could she be so good as to guess when the document from Weizhou would arrive?

"I saw that His Majesty was not at home this morning, so I was worried about you and came to check on you," Chu Yin looked up at his face, "You should get some more sleep. I heard from Dong Ling that you went to bed at 3 p.m., so take care of yourself."

Seeing her eyes full of concern, Lu Jingzhuo smiled and said, "I am used to getting up early. I woke up once at dawn. I was afraid of feeling drowsy, so I forced myself to sleep for a while. Now I am very awake."

He has always been self-disciplined. Chu Yin understood: "Then go to bed early tonight."

"Well," he looked at her and suddenly said, "Weizhou is really a plague."

After the previous conversation about the "Winter Solstice", Chu Yin couldn't even play dumb for a moment, and said in shock: "Thank you for your hard work, Your Majesty."

She didn't even give any explanation.

It seems like he really knows.

As the two of them walked out, Lu Jingzhuo glanced behind Chu Yin.

Although this is impossible, he inexplicably imagined Chu Yin having a furry tail.

When it's acting coquettishly, its tail wags back and forth, making it seem even more adorable.

The man's look was a little strange.

Chu Yin thought he was wondering how she knew about the "plague," so she said, "The winter solstice is not far away."

"Well, there are still two months."

No matter what, Chu Yin is definitely a human.

Their three children are all human. If they were fox spirits, they shouldn’t have given birth to…

He pinched his brows and threw away the unspeakable images in his mind.

Chu Yin: Of course I am a human.

Lu Jingzhuo: Actually, fox spirits are not completely unacceptable.

Chu Yin: ...