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After Nangong Yan placed Qingli in the carriage, he laid her down comfortably. Thankfully, the carriage was spacious enough for her.
As the carriage moved towards the outskirts of the city, it shook slightly along the way, nearly causing Qingli to fall. Quick to react, Nangong Yan steadied her. To prevent her from being jolted again, he kept his supportive position until they reached their destination.
“Your Majesty, we’ve arrived,” Heijin announced.
Nangong Yan carefully carried Qingli out of the carriage.
This place was one he had visited during his childhood, and he had always loved it. After growing up, he had someone build a courtyard here, enclosing the area to make it his private domain. He would occasionally come here to stay for a couple of days when he left the palace.
The broad and beautiful scenery always managed to soothe his weary heart.
He carried Qingli into the house, where his personal physician followed closely behind, ready to attend to her.
“Your Majesty, this young lady is not in serious danger. She has merely lost vitality and needs some expensive herbs for nourishment and rest,” the physician reported.
Nangong Yan nodded. “Very well. Get whatever herbs she needs from the storeroom. Prepare the medicine for her.”
The physician immediately agreed and hurried off to gather the required herbs and prepare the medicine.
Nangong Yan sat by the bed, gazing at the unconscious Qingli. Her complexion was much paler than usual, her skin delicate, with no visible pores; her face resembled a piece of white jade.
This was the first time Nangong Yan had looked so closely at a young woman, and he couldn’t help but think how beautiful Qingli truly was.
He recalled that fateful night four years ago, and his face involuntarily flushed. He took out a handkerchief to cover half of Qingli’s face, leaving only her brows and eyes visible.
At that moment, she looked just like the girl from four years ago.
Nangong Yan’s certainty grew—this Qingli was indeed the same girl who had once saved him.
As his hand brushed against her delicate neck, he thought that with just a gentle squeeze, he could easily take her life. Remembering the humiliation from four years ago, he felt a mix of anger and shame. His hand tightened around her neck, his gaze fixed intensely on her face.
Suddenly, Qingli, still in a deep sleep, furrowed her brows slightly. Nangong Yan immediately released his grip, unable to harm her.
The physician soon returned with the prepared medicine. However, since Qingli was unconscious, the physician didn’t know how to administer it, so he handed the bowl to the emperor.
Nangong Yan took the bowl and asked the physician, “How do I feed it to her?”
The physician, sweating, replied, “Your Majesty, you need to help her sit up and gently open her jaw to feed her the medicine.”
Carefully watching the emperor’s expression, he added, “Or, Your Majesty, you can feed her yourself.”
Nangong Yan frowned and called for Heijin to enter. He then assisted Qingli into a sitting position, holding her jaw open while Heijin used a spoon to feed her the medicine.
“Cough! cough! cough!”
Suddenly, Qingli began to cough halfway through taking the medicine.
Nangong Yan shot a displeased look at Heijin.
Heijin, feeling helpless, quickly explained, “Your Majesty, I was being very careful and didn’t give her too much. I don’t know why Miss Qingli started coughing; you can’t blame me for this.”
Nangong Yan shot him a cold glance, and Heijin could only proceed with even greater caution.
It took a long time to finally feed Qingli the medicine, and Nangong Yan felt exhausted.
Once it was done, he asked the physician, “When will she wake up?”
The physician checked Qingli’s pulse again and replied, “It should take a few more hours.”
Upon hearing this, Nangong Yan, feeling there was nothing left to do, left the room and went to the lakeside to fish.
Meanwhile, in the Princess’s residence, Yin Lengdie had arrived and rushed to Princess Nangong Yuyao, asking, “Yuyao, do you know that the emperor has a woman by his side?”
Nangong Yuyao, the younger sister of Nangong Yan, had been conferred the title of Princess after her brother ascended the throne. She held a high position in Nanyang City, second only to the emperor himself.
Upon hearing Yin Lengdie’s words, Nangong Yuyao was surprised. “Xiao Die, what do you mean? My brother has a woman? Who is she?”
Nangong Yuyao was extremely curious. For so many years, her brother had remained unmarried. After being injured in battle and losing the use of his leg, he had been left with no heirs. It pained her to see her brother alone for all these years
If he truly had a woman by his side, it would be wonderful. At least, he wouldn’t be so lonely anymore.
Seeing Yin Lengdie’s hesitation and subdued reaction, Nangong Yuyao eagerly reached out, taking her hand. “Xiao Die, hurry and tell me! Who is she?”
Yin Lengdie composed herself and said, “I don’t know. I only saw the emperor carrying a woman into a carriage from afar in the street. I didn’t see who the woman was.”
Yin Lengdie spoke with a hint of sadness, but Nangong Yuyao was ecstatic!
“Carrying her? Xiao Die, did you really see my brother carrying a woman into a carriage?”
Yin Lengdie really didn’t want to see her so excited. She turned away from Nangong Yuyao, poured herself a cup of tea, and took a sip.
“Yes, it’s true.”
She had thought Nangong Yuyao would know, as she visits the palace almost daily. The siblings were very close, and Nangong Yuyao usually knew about Nangong Yan’s affairs.
Unexpectedly, she didn’t know about this.
Yin Lengdie felt quite disappointed.
Nangong Yuyao quickly said, “I’ll go to the palace and ask. Xiao Die, do you want to come?”
Yin Lengdie immediately became interested. “Okay, let’s go together.”
Nangong Yuyao immediately had a carriage prepared and headed to the palace. She didn’t need any tokens to enter or leave the palace at will.
Upon arriving at the palace, they couldn’t find the emperor. His study and chambers were empty. After asking the palace servants and eunuchs, no one knew where he had gone.
Nangong Yuyao felt frustrated. “Where did my brother go? Could he be outside the palace?”
Yin Lengdie recalled the figure she had seen, a cold glint in her eyes.
“Perhaps, the emperor really isn’t in the palace, and that woman isn’t from the palace either.”
Nangong Yuyao sighed, frustrated that she couldn’t find out.
“If he’s outside the palace, we won’t be able to find him. We can only wait for him to return,” Nangong Yuyao decided to stay and wait for Nangong Yan’s return.
Yin Lengdie also stayed, waiting with Nangong Yuyao.
However, even by the end of the day, Nangong Yan still hadn’t returned. Instead, they ran into Pei Yu in the palace.
Pei Yu, upon seeing his wife in the palace, showed a hint of surprise. “What are you doing in the palace? Didn’t you say you were going out shopping?”
Nangong Yuyao quickly explained, “I brought Xiao Die here. She saw my brother carrying a woman into a carriage on the street, and we were very curious, so we came to the palace to ask. But my brother isn’t here. Pei Yu, do you know where my brother has gone?”
Nangong Yuyao, being rather oblivious, didn’t notice the somewhat tense atmosphere between the couple and blurted it out.
Yin Lengdie lowered her head, frowning, inwardly annoyed at Nangong Yuyao’s unnecessary chatter.
She and Pei Yu had already argued because of Nangong Yan, and now, with Nangong Yuyao’s words, Pei Yu might have even more questions.
Pei Yu glanced at his wife and said calmly, “No matter who the emperor is with, it’s his own business. He’s been alone for many years. If he finally has someone by his side, it’s a good thing. Why ask so many questions?”
As Pei Yu spoke, his eyes were fixed on his wife.
Yin Lengdie remained silent, keeping her head bowed.
Nangong Yuyao laughed, “Of course, I’m happy that my brother has someone. I’m just curious and wanted to ask.”
Pei Yu had also come to the palace to find the emperor, but he hadn’t found him and was about to leave.
“Xiao Die, I’m going home. Are you coming with me?”
Nangong Yuyao quickly replied, “Go ahead. You two lovebirds can’t even be separated for a moment.” She teased them playfully.
Everyone knew that Pei Yu and Yin Lengdie were a loving couple. Many envied Yin Lengdie for marrying such a desirable husband—talented, handsome, and devoted. Even though they had been married for three years and Yin Lengdie had yet to conceive, he remained faithful and unwavering in his affection for her.
Yin Lengdie didn’t want to go home, but she could only nod, unable to refuse. She followed Pei Yu out of the palace.