Chapter 499: Just Want To See Her Once
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation | Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
■■From today onward, let them send the business matters to the residence. I am not feeling well and will not leave the residence for the time being.” Xiao Shihang really didn’t leave the residence after that. He would occasionally meet business partners, but that was all.
The secret guards that were dispatched would also trail the people of Prince
Jiangning’s Residence, but they could not find anything unusual.
As she lay on the bed at night, Su Ying half-closed her eyes and prepared to drift into dreamland. In her sleepy stupor, she felt herself being hugged by
Xiao Jin from behind.
Su Ying subconsciously snuggled into his embrace. It was a little cold at night now, so it was warmer to sleep leaning against him.
Xiao Jin’s warm palm landed on her flat abdomen and rubbed it back and forth. Su Ying grabbed his hand and placed it on her back. Her period just happened to start on this night, so she was feeling a little uncomfortable.
“Your uncle isn’t thinking of rebelling, is he?”
Xiao Jin’s palm pressed against her lower back. He accumulated the force in his palm and slowly transferred the heat into her body.
“If his nature has changed, it’s not impossible.
in Xiao Jin’s recollection, ever since he was old enough to understand things,
Prince Jiangning had always been a profligate spendthrift.
Be it the Emperor Father or the Emperor Grandfather, they had given him many opportunities to prove himself in the Imperial Court. However, he had always messed things up because of feasting and drinking, and having fun. Thereafter, his brother and his own father had to clean up the mess for him.
After the late emperor ascended the throne, if not for the fact that he was worried about people gossiping about him suppressing his brother, he really didn’t want to station such a dangerous character like Prince Jiangning in the Imperial Court. Much later, when Prince Jiangning screwed up once more and made another mistake, the late emperor finally sent him packing and let him goof off elsewhere by himself.
Since that time, he had been goofing off until now. No one knew better than
Prince Jiangning about the good places to eat and play in the capital city.
“He doesn’t have such thoughts, but that doesn’t mean his son does not.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Xiao Jin kissed the comer of her somewhat pale lips. “Still feeling uncomfortable?”
Su Ying frowned slightly. “It’s a little uncomfortable this time.”
“Don’t be greedy for cold food next time.”
Two days ago, Su Ying suddenly had a craving for iced desserts. Uncle Hea obligingly made iced cakes for her for two consecutive days. She felt good eating it, but after eating it, she did not force out the chilliness that she had absorbed. This led to the chilliness descending into her body and tormenting her during her period.
She didn’t know why, but ever since she arrived here, she would crave some particular food badly every time her period approached. It was the kind of craving where she would even dream of eating it.
For example, this time she craved iced desserts, and no one could talk her out
of it.
“Then I’ll eat something spicy next time.”
When she ate spicy food, she would complain her stomach was burning. Xiao jin felt that it was better to let Uncle Hea cook dishes that were more bland. Su Ying’s body was strong enough, but her stomach could not withstand extreme agitation.
Su Ying didn’t sleep well that night and only woke up when the sun was high in
the sky the next day.
Bai Shuang had received Xiao Jin’s instructions early in the morning and went to the imperial kitchen to get them to boil a big bowl of eggnog sweet soup.
“Your imperial Highness, take the sweet soup first to warm your stomach and force out the chilliness in your body.”
Last night, Xiao Jin kept sending heat to her lower back, so now, she felt much better when she woke up in the morning.
“Isn’t it too cloying to eat this so early in the morning?
“His Majesty specifically instructed the Imperial kitchen to put less sugar. It is
just a little sweet.”
Su Ying took a sip of the sweet soup. Indeed, it wasn’t too sweet, so she gulped it down in two or three mouthfuls and burped. The chilliness that had descended into her stomach yesterday was forced out, and the bloated feeling in her stomach also disappeared.
“It’s so troublesome to be a woman.”
Even someone as strong as Su Ying had to take note of certain taboos when she had her period.
“When your period comes, it is always somewhat uncomfortable. Your Imperial Highness, just rest in the palace these two days and don’t go anywhere.”
Su Ying nodded. She could take the opportunity to rest.
In the imperial study, Xiao Jin had just finished discussing state affairs with a few ministers. It was almost noon, and he was about to return to the Conjugal Phoenix Palace when he heard Zhang Shuming coming up to report, “Your Majesty, Lord Zhu requests an audience.”
Ever since Su Ying went missing, Zhu Lin had been leading people to search for her whereabouts. It was only when Xiao Jin confirmed her whereabouts that he summoned Zhu Lin back to the capital city. However, Zhu Lin fell ill as soon as he returned to the capital city. He had only recovered two days ago and just returned to the Imperial Court today.
“Send him in.”
Zhu Lin walked into the inner hall and bowed.
“What’s the matter, Official Zhu?” Xiao Jin asked.
Zhu Lin raised his head and said, “Your Majesty, your lowly official wishes to meet the Empress. I would like to ask her about some matters regarding the Aquarius River Dam.”
Xiao Jin frowned. “What do you want to ask?
■■I just want to ask what did Her Imperial Highness use to block the crack in the dam back then?”
The reason Su Ying fell off the dam was because she had gone to plug the crack in the dam. Now that the flood season in Aquarius River had passed and Xiao Jin had also sent people to repair the old dam, the thing that Su Ying previously used to repair the old dam’s crack still couldn’t be removed. They didn’t know what it was.
This was indeed a question that only Su Ying could answer in detail.
“I will ask her about this,” Xiao Jin replied.
Zhu Lin raised his head and glanced at Xiao Jin again. After holding it in for a long time, he said, “Your Majesty, is the Empress really alright?”
“She’s fine.”
In truth, Zhu Lin truly, genuinely wanted to just see Su Ying once. Even though this request was against the palace protocol, he really wanted to see the real Su Ying in the flesh.
■■Your Majesty, may I know if I can meet Her Imperial Highness in person? Let me ask her myself.”
Xiao Jin frowned with displeasure. Su Ying was still feeling unwell last night, and he didn’t want to burden her in order to fulfill Zhu Lin’s wish.
“No.”
“Your Majesty… your lowly official really… If I can’t see Her Imperial Highness with my own eyes, my worried heart will never settle down. Your Majesty…” Zhu Lin’s eyes turned red-rimmed as he spoke. He knelt in front of Xiao Jin and reached out to grab Xiao Jin’s pant legs, but Xiao Jin kicked him to the ground. “Zhu Lin, I think your skin has grown too tight and needs the rod to loosen it for you.”
“Your Majesty, even if you want to beat this lowly official with the pole, this lowly official has no complaints. I only wish to take one look at the Empress…” The veins on Xiao Jin’s forehead bulged furiously.
“Your Majesty, please grant my wish. I swear that I will never let Her Imperial Highness know that you fell from a tree when you were a child and landed butt-first on dog poop when you were trying to steal bird eggs. Also, you pushed the Emperor Grandfather into the water while trying to catch fish in the pond…”
“Zhu Lin, shut your trap!”
Thirty minutes later, Su Ying arrived outside the Imperial study in a sedan chair.
As she stepped off the sedan chair, Zhu Lin, who had been waiting outside the hall entrance for a long time, quickly stepped forward. He stopped three steps away from Su Ying.
Su Ying stared blankly at the person in front of her in astonishment.
He was wearing a silver-white loose robe. The jade belt at his waist lessened the severity of his official robe, giving him the scholarly air of an elegant young master. Su Ying’s eyes traced a line from the official robe upwards. When she finally met Zhu Lin’s bloodshot eyes ringed by dark eye circles, she was very startled.
“Zhu Lin, did you overdose on some drug?” Not only were his eyes bloodshot and lifeless, but even his cheeks which were previously somewhat full and lustrous were now so gaunt that they had sunken in. His face was dark and sallow, and there was no trace of his previous coquettish self.
Zhu Lin swore that in his twenty years of life, he had never felt that anything could sound better than Su Ying’s voice at this moment.
“Your Imperial Highness… you… you’re really still alive!”
Su Ying frowned. “Your eyes have become so ghastly red.. Were you crying in mourning for me?”