When the old emperor of the Eastern Court heard the report from the young eunuch, he was quite surprised. The crown prince, despite his poor health, actually wanted to personally go to the Eastern Court to fetch his third son. What a deep bond between brothers!
The old emperor was deeply moved by this.
The best course of action was for the Crown Prince to step forward. It gave the Third Prince ample face, demonstrated to the people the court's high regard for him, and allowed the Crown Prince, who had been frail and sickly since childhood, to get out and relax.
Although the Crown Prince might die on the way, what can be done? It was his own wish to go, and his health doesn't allow him much time left. It's good that he can still make some contributions to the court while he still can.
Taking all this into consideration, the old emperor readily agreed.
When the young eunuch returned to report, the Crown Prince asked, "Did Father ask about my health?"
The young eunuch broke out in a cold sweat, shook his head sheepishly, and said nothing, but the crown prince already knew the answer.
His father had never liked him, which was to be expected.
Even so, he was still somewhat distressed. After all, that was his biological father, his own brother from the same parents, yet his father disliked him and only favored the third son, all because he had been poisoned in the womb…
Fortunately, the third brother is now almost completely useless, which makes him feel much better.
Although they are brothers, they have no brotherly affection for each other; they are destined to be irreconcilable enemies.
When He Jiuniang woke up, everything outside had returned to calm, and everyone was asleep. She left some silver on the table in her inn room and then jumped out the window and left.
After arriving outside the city, we boarded a plane and headed directly to the capital of Beiyan Kingdom. This time, we didn't need to detour to the border; we could go straight to the capital. We arrived the next afternoon.
She didn't dare get too close to the city, but landed in a very remote place, and then rode back quickly, arriving when it was almost dark.
She went to the military camp to find Lu Baichuan first. Coincidentally, Lu Baichuan had a lot of things to do today and was only just starting to eat. When she arrived, Lu Baichuan had just picked up his bowl.
Upon seeing He Jiuniang, he hurriedly put down his bowl and went to help her.
"I'm so tired!"
As soon as He Jiuniang entered the door, she collapsed into Lu Baichuan's arms, acting like a fierce woman throwing a coquettish gesture.
Lu Baichuan held her tightly. Heaven knows how worried he was during the days she was gone. Although he knew she was very capable, he was always afraid of the worst, and with her so far away, he really couldn't appear in front of her quickly.
Are you alright?
As he asked, his large hand groped her body, not for any other reason than to check if she was injured.
"Smack!"
He Jiuniang slapped him across the face and warned, "I'm still hungry. Let me eat first!"
Lu Baichuan: ...
He really didn't mean anything by it!
"I just..."
"Alright, alright, I know you're anxious, but I'm really hungry, please be understanding!"
Lu Baichuan: ...
Never mind, I can tell she's alright just by looking at her.
He pulled her to sit down, gave her the bowl of rice he had just served, and served himself another bowl. The couple then sat around a small table and enjoyed a long-awaited reunion dinner.
"Has anything happened these past few days?"
After finishing a bowl of rice, He Jiuniang finally felt like asking about the events of the past few days. She asked Lu Baichuan to serve her another bowl, and they chatted about gossip as they ate.
"A few minor incidents occurred. The Third Prince of Dongting attempted suicide in prison but was stopped by the jailer in time. After that, he seemed like a different person, often going crazy. Zhuo Jiayu also caused a scene a few times, and the Duke of Mu's mansion went to the Crown Prince to complain. Later, Yan Shi was also confined to her quarters by the Crown Prince. The couple that Zhuo Wei had contacted before also made some moves. They sent Zhuo Wei a letter, which we intercepted. They didn't reveal their location, but they instructed Zhuo Wei to find a way to contact the Third Prince of Dongting and take his life."
Lu Baichuan explained the situation in a few words, and He Jiuniang nodded, saying, "The Third Prince of Dongting has lost his finger, which means he has lost his right to inherit the throne. Naturally, he is utterly despondent and wants to die. However, I will not let him die so quickly. I will go and encourage him later. As for the Zhuo family, let them make a fuss. As long as they don't release him, this is already the gentlest form of revenge I can give them. As for the couple's letter, killing the Third Prince was their previous mission. I believe they will receive a new mission in a few days, which is to protect the Third Prince with their lives and not let him suffer even the slightest harm."
Lu Baichuan responded and then asked, "What have you been doing these past few days?"
He Jiuniang immediately became beaming: "I've had a wonderful few days! Let me tell you..."
Then, she vividly described her itinerary and the things she had done, going into great detail, even using many flowery words to describe how beautiful the beauty in the old emperor's arms was.
Of course, the story of the Crown Prince and the old emperor of the Eastern Court was also told, and at the end, an unflattering photo of the old emperor of the Eastern Court was shown to Lu Baichuan.
Lu Baichuan throughout: ...
His wife is really mean; if he hadn't just swallowed the food in his mouth, he would have sprayed it all over her face...
It's clear that his wife's trip was truly spectacular, leaving him itching to witness it all firsthand.
"Has the palace suspected anything?"
"No, Mr. Kang is very cooperative."
"Um?"
He Jiuniang was puzzled and turned to look at him.
Lu Baichuan explained, "Mr. Kang is a smart man. He probably guessed that you weren't in the mansion. Even though you recovered very quickly, you kept pretending to be unconscious."
"Not bad, not bad, no wonder you ranked third in the country! By the way, has the palace examination been held yet?"
"Not yet. His Highness and the Emperor have both said that we can wait until Mr. Kang is feeling better before proceeding, so as to avoid having to test him separately later and being suspected by others of being unfair."
“Alright, I’ll go back tonight. Mr. Kang should be able to recover by tomorrow, and he can participate in the palace examination in a couple of days. We can’t afford to waste too much time.”
This imperial examination was a very formal national examination, and under normal circumstances, the date would not be changed easily. However, Kang Tanhua's situation was special this time. Moreover, Zhu Lian had just died and his family was still holding a funeral. The students who had been friends with him wanted to go and pay their respects, but the journey would take time, so they were all postponed for a few days.
Lu Baichuan couldn't hear anything else, he just grabbed her hand and questioned, "Didn't you just say you'd spend the night with me?"
Why are you going back tonight?
Did I just tease him?
He Jiuniang teased him deliberately, "Yes, I'll stay with you for a while and then go back. It won't take up much time anyway..."
Before she could finish speaking, Lu Baichuan pounced on her and silenced her with a kiss. He was implying that she was no good, and he would have to teach her a lesson through his actions.
He Jiuniang couldn't understand whether this man was easily teased or what. They had only been apart for a few days, but he acted as if they had been separated for many years, behaving wildly like a normal person.
He Jiuniang's complaints could be heard from inside the tent from time to time:
"Be quiet, as if you're afraid no one will know!"
"Oh dear... what happened to you?"
"Ouch! Again?"
"Brother, I was wrong, sob sob sob..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com