The sun was already setting in the west, and there was less than an hour before the palace gates were to be locked.
Gan Qiongying jumped off the carriage, grabbed Li Quan who was kneeling on the ground, and asked, "What's wrong with His Majesty? Eunuch, don't just say half of what you mean, explain clearly!"
Li Quan, however, looked at Li Hua, who was behind Gan Qiongying and had just lifted the carriage curtain, preparing to get out of the carriage.
"This old servant greets...Your Highness the Third Prince."
Eunuch Li bowed to Li Hua, clearly mistaking him for Zhongli Zhengzhen.
Gan Qiongying turned to look at Li Hua, and then remembered that when they were in the carriage earlier, Gan Qiongying thought that since they were going to return to the manor anyway, she shouldn't make Li Hua wear a human skin mask.
Who would have thought that just as they arrived at the princess's residence, Li Quan would suddenly appear out of nowhere.
Li Hua had clearly forgotten that he was not wearing a human skin mask. Ever since he took off the human skin mask in front of Gan Qiongying, he had never wanted to put it back on.
In the past, the human skin mask was Li Hua's face, and Li Hua's acceptance of the human skin mask was even better than his own real appearance.
But once you can be honest with your loved ones and show them your true self, it becomes very difficult to put yourself back under that false mask.
When Li Hua heard Li Quan call him that, he paused for a moment and was about to retreat back into the carriage when Gan Qiongying immediately reached out and grabbed his sleeve.
"Where are you going to hide? You go back to your residence first, and I'll go to the palace with Eunuch Li."
Li Hua hesitated before getting out of the carriage, but she didn't know what Gan Qiongying had said to the emperor, nor did she know whether the eunuch Li by the emperor's side was a trustworthy person.
Therefore, Li Hua did not speak rashly. These old eunuchs in the palace were all very sharp-eared and sharp-eyed. Under the premise that Li Hua deliberately imitated Zhong Li's voice, few people could distinguish between them.
However, Li Hua dared not gamble in front of these shrewd people who had served in the palace their entire lives.
However, Li Hua was overthinking things, because Gan Qiongying immediately introduced him to Li Quan: "This is not the one from Jinchuan, this is my consort."
“I’ll tell you the specifics later,” Gan Qiongying said to Li Quan. “You wait for me in the car for a moment. I’ll say a few words to the prince consort and then come over.”
Although Li Quan was extremely shocked, he was not a naive girl like Manyue who hadn't even grown up yet. Having cultivated himself in the palace for so many years, he had long since developed the ability to remain calm even when Mount Tai collapsed before him, which was the position of chief eunuch.
Li Quan nodded, took a few steps back, and returned to the spot where he had been standing. He watched from afar as Gan Qiongying led Li Hua to the entrance of the Princess's residence and they stood under the swaying lanterns at the gate, talking.
As the sun set, the two looked at each other with such deep affection that even from such a distance, Li Quan could see the strong feelings between them.
He hadn't quite believed this person was the prince consort. How could the prince consort have the exact same appearance as the hostage prince of Jinchuan?
For a fleeting moment, Li Quan even suspected that the Jin Chuan hostage and the princess were involved in some kind of conspiracy, and that the princess was so foolish as to have gotten involved with the Jin Chuan hostage.
However, after looking at him for a while, Li Quan was convinced that this was the prince consort, because the Jin Chuan hostage was arrogant and haughty, and would never look at Princess Duanrong with such eyes.
Gan Qiongying didn't say anything to Li Hua, but just squeezed his hand, looked up at him and said, "I probably won't be able to come out tonight, but I'll definitely be back tomorrow, so don't worry."
“Although I don’t know what happened in the palace, I will come out to discuss it with you no matter what it is,” Gan Qiongying reassured Li Hua. “We are husband and wife, and I will definitely not take the risk alone like last time.”
"Don't worry too much. Just go back to your residence, eat well, sleep well, and wait for me to return tomorrow."
Li Hua nodded, glanced at Li Quan not far away, turned slightly to block his gaze, and then reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind Gan Qiongying's ear.
"Don't panic when things happen, and don't think about taking a desperate gamble. I'm here for you." Li Hua looked at Gan Qiongying solemnly and said, "I'm more powerful than you think. You just need to trust me."
Gan Qiongying nodded; her feelings this time were completely different from the last time she entered the palace.
Li Hua did give Gan Qiongying some confidence, and Gan Qiongying also felt that nothing serious should happen this time.
Although her arrangements in the capital city could be easily discovered by the Empress Dowager and her associates, Gan Qiongying deliberately allowed them to find them.
However, they were unable to ascertain in a short period of time whether Gan Qiongying had indeed planted "landmines" throughout the country as she and the Empress Dowager had claimed.
Gan Qiongying had anticipated the Empress Dowager and the Regent's "counterattack," and she truly didn't believe they would dare to fight to the death.
The two quickly exchanged a few words of comfort. With so many people standing at the door watching, they restrained themselves from embracing each other, even though they wanted to.
"Hurry up and go inside. I don't know if there will be any autumn rain in the next couple of days, but the weather is starting to get cold. If you're really bored tonight, you can put some compress on your legs."
Li Hua nodded, and Gan Qiongying quickly walked towards Li Quan's direction.
Only after Gan Qiongying boarded the carriage and it sped away, disappearing around the street corner, did Li Hua finally turn his attention away. He then directed the carriage into the princess's residence and, upon returning to his courtyard, quickly sent people to inquire around.
The first place we went to was the Regent's Palace.
Meanwhile, Gan Qiongying did not spend too much time on the road, because the carriage was traveling very fast, and before dusk, she finally entered the palace before the palace gates were locked.
Li Quan had been appearing unusually anxious until he actually entered the palace. Instead of panicking, he showed some hesitation.
Gan Qiongying sat on the palanquin, and she got angry at his hesitant expression.
"Speak your mind directly. I'll cover for you if His Majesty blames you!"
Li Quan then looked at Gan Qiongying, his eyes filled with desolation, which made Gan Qiongying's heart skip a beat.
"This matter... must be discussed with the princess by His Majesty himself, otherwise this old servant will die a thousand deaths to atone for it."
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