If Consort Nan dies, the King will be all alone again.
“When the people from the Red Sleeve Kingdom sent her here, I found it strange that they were being so overly solicitous.”
"What use is a woman in the imperial harem hiding a dagger under her pillow?!"
"If I die, my child with Ah Chen will fall right into her hands!"
"She's really got some nerve, using the emperor to command the feudal lords!"
"Whether she wanted to kill me herself, or whether the King of Hongxiu Kingdom ordered her to do so, or for some other reason, I must find out!"
"Your Majesty..." Chen Yuan wanted to continue to dissuade him, but Baili Yingfeng interrupted him.
"Go to Yiqin Palace, I want to ask her myself!" Baili Yingfeng flung his cloak aside and strode out angrily.
Chen Yuan opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.
He knew that the king had ascended the throne at a young age, and that he was suspicious, distrustful, ruthless, and decisive. Once he made up his mind about something, he would never show mercy.
[I'm afraid that, whatever the reason, Nanfei is in danger this time.]
[However, it's rare that the young prince likes Consort Nan so much. If Consort Nan were to die, the young prince would surely be sullen again, and the clansmen would secretly mock him for being a child without a mother's love.]
[Nanfei would never be the one intending to assassinate the King. If that were the case, she wouldn't have needed to go to such lengths to save him when he was attacked in the mountains that day.]
However, even if all this were said, the king would not heed it; he only wanted to believe what he chose to believe.
...
Inside the Zichen Palace of the Nanyang Imperial Palace, Zhao Zhongquan brought in a stack of mung bean and lotus flower cakes. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please rest a bit and try these newly made mung bean and lotus flower cakes from the Imperial Kitchen."
"Hmm." Yun Beiye picked up a piece of mung bean lotus cake and put it in his mouth.
"Have the imperial kitchen change the ingredients; it's too dry and makes me choke." Yun Beiye swallowed the piece of green pastry with difficulty.
He picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and intended to put the dry pastry in it, but after only one sip, he realized something was wrong and angrily threw the teacup onto the table.
"Oh dear, Your Majesty, please calm down!" Zhao Zhongquan was so frightened that he quickly bowed and begged for mercy.
"Who brewed this tea?!" Yun Beiye was very displeased.
"Your Majesty, this old servant just went to the Imperial Kitchen and asked Xia Zi to make you a cup of hot tea."
Zhao Zhongquan examined the cup of tea carefully, then smelled it, and his expression immediately changed drastically.
"Xia Zi!" he shouted outside.
Xiaxia heard the Grand Eunuch calling her and rushed in, shouting in a high-pitched voice, "This servant is here!"
"What's wrong with you?!"
"His Majesty only drinks tea that has cooled to eight-tenths of its original temperature. Your tea has cooled to only five-tenths of its original temperature. How can it still have any aroma?!"
“I’ve told you before, don’t be so dull-witted. You need to use your wits to serve the Emperor!” Zhao Zhongquan pointed to his head and looked helplessly at Xia Zi.
【I really can't handle you! We've never had anyone as clumsy as you in our family!】
[I've said it so many times with heartfelt words, but alas, serving the Emperor is no easy task, especially with the weather being so unpredictable, fluctuating between hot and cold, and frequent rain. If the tea isn't drunk soon, it'll get cold in no time.]
"Yes, yes, thank you for your teachings, Master." Xiazi nodded vigorously.
“You should learn more from your master in your spare time. Your master does have some skills,” Yun Beiye said calmly, wiping his hands with a handkerchief.
"Yes, yes, this servant remembers, please forgive me, Your Majesty!" Xiazi knelt down on the ground with a thud.
"Get out of here, don't get in His Majesty's way!" Zhao Zhongquan kicked Xia Zi, who, despite the pain, tried his best to remain silent and quickly retreated with his head down.
"Your Majesty, this old servant will brew you another cup of tea right away." Zhao Zhongquan left the Zichen Palace with a beaming smile.
Xia Zi was standing at the door when she saw Zhao Zhongquan come out. She quickly knelt down and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Master, for saving my life!"
"You too, be more careful in your work. Serving the emperor is not an easy task."
If Zhao Zhongquan hadn't kicked Xia Zi hard to vent Yun Beiye's anger, Xia Zi would probably have been sent to the Censorate by now.
...
In the courtyard of Fu Shuang Palace, after Yun Duoduo finished practicing the basic skills of the martial arts mastery, she saw that the weather was nice and her mood improved. She decided to go to Zi Chen Palace to see her father.
"Aunt Xiang, let's go to the Zichen Palace!"
Yun Duoduo skipped and hopped towards the Zichen Palace, followed by A Xiang and Sun Huohuo. A Xiang walked slowly, while Sun Huohuo had to move her short legs quickly.
He was puzzled. Yun Duoduo's legs were clearly shorter than his, so why did she walk faster than him?
Sun Huohuo was like a shadow, always following Yun Duoduo around. Wherever Yun Duoduo went, he followed. At first, Yun Duoduo found it a bit annoying, but she gradually got used to it. Occasionally when she went out and saw that Sun Huohuo wasn't following her, she would feel a little empty inside.
When A Xiang, Yun Duoduo, and Sun Huohuo arrived at the entrance of Zichen Palace, the guards went in to report.
"Aunt Xiang, Duoduo will go in and check on Father Emperor and then come out."
“Okay, Huo Huo and I will wait for the little princess in the pavilion next door.” Ah Xiang squatted down and said to Yun Duoduo with a smile.
"Duo'er, it's a bit boring in the pavilion. Could you ask the cook to bring some food over? Huo Huo is getting hungry." Sun Huo Huo rubbed her little belly, looking distressed.
"All you ever do is eat." Although Yun Duoduo looked disgusted, she still ordered the nearby palace servants to fetch some pastries for Sun Huohuo.
Inside the Zichen Palace, Yun Beiye, who had been looking displeased and rather tired, couldn't stop smiling when he heard that his daughter had arrived.
"Duoduo is here?" His tone revealed joy, as Duoduo rarely came to the Zichen Palace to look for him.
"Did you come to see me?" Yun Beiye was somewhat incredulous. He stood up and walked outside.
Zhao Zhongquan wiped the sweat from his brow. "Your Majesty is the ruler of a nation, yet the expression on your face... well, it seems a little inappropriate..."
Moreover, for the king of this country to personally go out to greet the little princess, this...
Alright, alright, the little princess is truly adorable and delightful; let's set aside these rules for now!
“From now on, when the little princess comes, there’s no need to announce her arrival. She can just come in directly. How can I let my daughter wait outside?” Yun Beiye said as he walked.
The guard at the gate was taken aback for a moment. Someone next to him nudged him, and he hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes, I'll remember."
"Father!" Yun Duoduo skipped in, her voice soft and sweet, melting Yun Beiye's heart.
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