At Changchun Palace, eunuchs and maids knelt down to pay their respects. Mei Cai, the head maid of Consort Liang, greeted him happily, "Greetings, Eighth Prince."
"Get up," the wind from the hem of her robe brushed against Mei Cai's bangs. As Mei Cai stood up, the Eighth Prince had already stepped into the room, leaving the maid with only a dazed look in her eyes.
The maids at the door bowed respectfully, but the Eighth Prince bypassed them. Inside the house, Consort Liang slumped in her chair, lost in thought, while her personal maid, Mei Bao, whispered words of comfort.
The Eighth Prince was startled and quietly stepped forward to take a closer look. He saw that Consort Liang's eyes were red and swollen, and her cheeks seemed to be wet with tears. He felt a pang of sadness in his heart and said, "Mother."
Besides calling her that, he didn't know how to comfort her. A woman like his mother was as delicate as a spring flower, with a sensitive and delicate heart. The only person who could make her cry was her father, the Emperor. But as the Emperor, he had the world in his heart and the four seas at his disposal. With three thousand beauties in his harem, he was destined to betray this deep affection.
When Consort Liang saw her son suddenly appear, she got up in a panic and ran to the inner room to tidy herself up. She was so lost in thought that she forgot the time. When her son saw her like this, he would probably think that she had suffered some grievance and that he was worried about her again. After Mei Bao helped her fix her makeup, she came out leisurely and sat down next to her son, pretending to be calm.
"Mother, did Father Emperor come last night?" the Eighth Prince asked casually.
After Mother went to the inner room, he asked Mei Cai. Mei Cai only knew that Father Emperor had left this morning with a hint of anger. Every time Father Emperor came, Mother would secretly grieve and shed tears.
Consort Liang looked at the elegant face before her and smiled gently, "Yes, I've been here."
Seeing that her son was about to lecture her, she waved her hand and said, "The things between your father and me are complicated, so don't worry about them."
As if knowing he was about to ask more questions, she reached out and took her son's hand, stroking it, her brows smoothing, and she raised the corners of her lips, saying, "I promise you, it will make me feel better."
The Eighth Prince gazed at her and comforted her, "Mother, you still have me. You still have your son, so you don't need to focus your attention on Father Emperor. That way, you'll feel less pain."
"Mother knows," Consort Liang lowered her eyes, still holding back for now. In this quiet and desolate deep palace, with a son who had been sensible and obedient since childhood, her life was not bad. So what if she was not favored? She had long since given up hope and her feelings had turned cold. If the emperor is heartless, then I will leave.
He came last night, and she ignored his cold and sarcastic remarks. Seeing him sullen and frustrated made her feel relieved, but her heart ached with a pain that seemed like regret or reminiscence. She was so immersed in the past that she didn't realize it, which is why her son saw her in such a disheveled state.
She patted his hand with a smile, "Your mother can be capricious sometimes, so just focus on your work."
The Eighth Prince looked directly into Consort Liang's eyes, trying to discern whether she was being perfunctory. Apart from a slight frown on her brows, her expression was calm and gentle. He thought to himself, "It's good that my mother has come to terms with it."
At Huikeju, the Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince had not received any news from Nan Yi, and the two were restless.
The Ninth Prince slammed his fist on the table and said anxiously, "That girl, she didn't even send a message, it's driving me crazy." She ran so fast, it wasn't like she was being chased by a dog. Why was she in such a hurry yesterday, as if she was avoiding something?
"Ninth Brother, we should have caught up with them last night."
The Ninth Prince rolled his eyes at him, and the Tenth Prince, after the fact, touched his nose and smiled sheepishly.
At the entrance of Huikeju, the Eighth Prince jumped off his horse, tossed it to a servant, and rushed upstairs to the second floor. He pushed open the door to their private room and entered. "Well, any news?" the Eighth Prince asked Nan Yi as soon as he strode in.
Seeing the two of them shake their heads in disappointment, he sighed and sat dejectedly by the window, thinking, "I hope nothing bad happens. With that girl's personality, she probably wouldn't realize they're worried about me."
"Eighth Brother, Ninth Brother, let's go find her," the Tenth Prince said, trying to comfort his brothers who were troubled.
"No!" they both said in unison. The Eighth Prince looked at his Ninth Brother, who was also looking at him, and they smiled at each other, it seemed that they were thinking the same thing.
"Why is that?" the Tenth Prince asked, puzzled.
The Ninth Prince patted his Tenth Brother on the shoulder and said with a smile, "The Fourth and Thirteenth Brothers saw her that day, although they didn't get a clear look at her. If we go looking for her now, it might alert others and damage her reputation." After all, she was indeed traveling with them that day, and in that kind of place at that. They were careless.
When the Tenth Prince heard him say that, he was immediately embarrassed and blamed him for letting it slip.
The Eighth Prince comforted him, "It's not your fault. We couldn't refuse her request, which is why things turned out this way."
The Ninth Prince sighed, propping his handsome face up with his hand, and said, "She has to show herself on her own."
Besides, it's not easy to find her. So far, they haven't seen her in full. If she's deliberately hiding, all their efforts will be in vain.
"By the way, Ninth Brother, when you have time, please speak with the Nine Gates Commander and the Shuntian Prefecture, and tell them to solve the case of the missing girl as soon as possible." It's hard to believe that such a thing happened right under the emperor's nose and the court didn't even let in a whisper.
Furthermore, they were also worried about Nan Yi. They knew she must have gone out when they didn't know, and it was always true that the capital city was safe.
“Yes, I’ll go in a bit.” Ninth Prince nodded. Fortunately, both of them were connected to them. Eighth Prince stood up and glanced at the sky. “Let’s go back first today. It’s not good to stay here all the time.”
******
In the study of the Fourth Prince's residence, Yinzhen stood to the side in front of the bookshelf, unconsciously flipping through the book in his hand. His thoughts drifted back to last night. The woman behind his Eighth Brother seemed somewhat familiar. Although he couldn't see her face, her figure was very familiar. Who did she resemble...?
In a flash, a thought struck him, like... *Knock, knock, knock*, the sound of knocking on the door interrupted his thoughts. Yinzhen immediately flew into a rage, coldly hissing, "Little Shunzi, you'd better have something very important to say, otherwise, hmph."
Xiao Shunzi's hand froze on the door as he knocked, his face contorted with grief. What an unexpected disaster! He wondered what he had done to offend his master. He explained in a trembling voice, "Reporting to my master, the head maidservant of Consort Li reports that Consort Li has gone through a miscarriage."
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen was startled and hurriedly ordered, "Go and fetch the imperial physician immediately." The pregnancy had been threatened again; this month, Lady Li had threatened pregnancy twice in a row.
The servants were all dead. He casually tossed aside the book he was holding and hurried to the Li family's courtyard, instantly forgetting the figure he had been thinking about for so long. (Author's note: This idiot escaped death again.)
Six days had passed since her last trip out, and Nan Yi lived in fear, unaware that the three men were worried because she had left alone.
After being well-behaved for a few days, she suddenly became playful again today. Unable to stay still, she wandered around the garden, looking for something to do. When she got tired, she asked Qingyun to bring out a low couch so she could sunbathe in the garden.
Qingyun, sweating profusely, directed the maids to prepare. Their mistress was too energetic; she hadn't had a moment's rest all morning. They wondered where she got all that energy, and felt sorry for the maids.
Nan Yi lay there leisurely, then started to tossing and turning. If she stayed idle like this, her bones would get moldy. The days of fighting were gone forever. She used to fight her senior brother when she had nothing to do, but now she could only play the role of a resentful woman in her boudoir. She could only see her nominal husband once every ten days or half a month.
One moment she was thinking about her senior brother, how he and his adoptive parents would be heartbroken to death after she died, and then she was thinking about how much compensation Lanyuan would receive after she died.
Qingyun was instructing the maid Huan'er to prepare tea and snacks. The girl was chubby, and Qingyun disliked her for being too fleshy, so he made her do more work. Huan'er obediently chuckled in response.
Nan Yi's gaze fell on Qing Yun, observing her meticulous attention to detail and her composed command. He sighed, thinking that this girl would be a shrewd and capable housekeeper in modern times.
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