Si Que's gaze fell on the teardrop on the back of his hand. He paused slightly, holding the teardrop in his hand, and continued to tie her belt.
You Yuji also realized that she had lost her composure and shed tears. She turned her face away and raised her hand to rub the moisture from the corners of her eyes with her fingertips. She couldn't help but whispered anxiously: "Why are you here? How did you get in? Were you seen by the palace maids? The prince..."
"It's okay, don't worry."
Si Que interrupted her, picked up her coat on the table and continued to help her put it on.
You Yuji was stunned as she listened to his ordinary words. Her eyes felt sore and the tears that she had suppressed with great difficulty surged up again.
This was a very common sentence, she had said it to others many times, and even now in this situation she often used it to comfort her pillow.
But no one had said this to her in years.
Suddenly, she couldn't stop her tears, and they rolled down one by one. She hurriedly wiped them with the back of her hand, but the tears on her face couldn't be wiped away, and instead her hands were wet.
Si Que fastened You Yuji's coat belt, stood up, and watched her wipe away tears in panic in the bronze mirror. Si Que closed his eyes and held You Yuji's wet hand. He slowly leaned over, brought You Yuji's tear-stained hand to his lips, and kissed the back of her fingers.
You Yuji turned her face to the side and looked up at him. She suddenly wanted to see the emotion in his eyes at this moment, but tears blurred her vision, so she couldn't see him clearly.
Si Que looked over, as if he knew what she was thinking, and reached out with his cool fingers to wipe her tears. You Yuji subconsciously closed her eyes, and her tear-stained eyelashes wet his hands.
The next moment, You Yuji's whole body flew into the air. She opened her eyes and instinctively hooked her arms around Si Que's neck.
Si Que did not carry You Yuji away directly, but carried her towards the bed. He carefully placed her on the bed, and just as he was about to stand up, You Yuji gently grabbed his clothes.
A feeling of drowsiness and fatigue enveloped You Yujie, and she began to feel sleepy again, but she didn't dare to fall asleep. She was afraid that she was just dreaming, and she was afraid that he just appeared in her dream to save her.
Si Que leaned over and kissed You Yuji's wet eyes.
You Yuji's eyelashes trembled, and when she closed her eyes, she heard him say, "Leave it to me."
"Have some sleep and I'll pick you up before dark," he said again.
You Yuzhi slowly let go of the hand that was holding Si Que's collar and slowly put it back to her side.
When Si Que stood up, You Yuji had already fallen into a daze due to the effects of the poison, half asleep and half awake. Si Que stood by the bed and stared at her for a while, then pulled the quilt from the inside of the bed and covered her.
He looked at her again, caught a tear that fell from the corner of You Yuji's eye with his fingertips, and slowly put it in his mouth to taste it.
Si Que turned around and walked out. When he reached the outer room, he passed by the mahogany dining table, on which was placed You Yuzhi's breakfast this morning, which had not yet been removed.
Si Que glanced at the bowl of Yuanxiao that You Yuji had eaten half of, picked it up, and used the small spoon that You Yuji had used to scoop a Yuanxiao into his mouth.
Slimy and disgusting.
His expressionless face suddenly raised one corner of his lips and he smiled.
Si Que put down the small white porcelain bowl and happened to meet Zhen Xu coming out of the clean room. When Zhen Xu saw him, she opened her eyes wide in surprise. Si Que glanced at her calmly, retracted his gaze, and walked out calmly.
It is not a good thing for a madman to calm down.
When the prince came out of the Queen Mother's palace, the eunuch who was close to him immediately ran up to him and handed him the medicine. Seeing the medicine, the prince's unhappy expression eased a little, and he held the medicine in his palm and played with it.
Just now, he was once again warned by the Queen Mother Dong to be more careful in this troubled spring and to be cautious in everything he did. The prince also understood that the Queen Mother Dong was doing this for his own good, but he was really annoyed after hearing the same words so many times, not to mention that the Queen Mother Dong had the common problem of most old ladies - being long-winded.
Today was the Lantern Festival, and he had to come and pay his respects again. He finally got out of the East Queen Mother's room, feeling much better. He shook the medicine in his sleeves, and had to run to the West Queen Mother to pay his respects again.
The Empress Dowager Cixi had no blood relationship with the princes in the palace. To be exact, she had no children alive. She once had a daughter, but unfortunately she died at the age of 18, and she had no children since then. She was honored as the Empress Dowager Cixi because of her care for His Majesty. On the one hand, because she had no blood relationship with the princes in the palace today, and on the other hand, because of her gentle and generous personality, the princes and grandchildren never treated the Empress Dowager Cixi as seriously and nervously as they did the Empress Dowager Dong.
Therefore, when the prince came out of the Empress Dowager Dong's palace and came here to pay his respects, he felt much more relaxed and couldn't help but think of some messy things.
The residences of the two Empress Dowagers were not far from each other. On the way, the prince played with the small medicine bottle in his hand and couldn't help but think of someone hiding in the courtyard. The thought suddenly came to him, and he couldn't suppress it. He held the small medicine bottle with a little force, and was a little unwilling to wait.
After all, he had been the crown prince for too long, and he still had to take care of his reputation. If he were to abandon his reputation as the crown prince and force himself on a woman, it would be difficult for him. He thought about You Yuji's reaction when he met her twice, and felt that You Yuji was not a crying and stupid person. If he could persuade her again, it would be best if she would throw herself into his arms and come to serve him.
He glanced at the small medicine bottle in his hand, thinking that maybe the medicine could be used tonight. Today happened to be the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and the flowers were in full bloom and the moon was full, which was suitable for the yin and yang to unite.
The prince didn't know that the bottle of medicine in his hand had been replaced. To be exact, the medicine in the small porcelain bottle had not been replaced. Instead, the small porcelain bottle itself had been coated with a layer of medicine. A thin layer of colorless and odorless medicine foam rubbed from the smooth bottle body into his palm and had already slowly invaded his body.
"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." The palace maids in the Empress Dowager Cixi knelt down respectfully to greet him.
The prince's thoughts were disrupted. He coughed lightly, put the medicine bottle in his hand into his sleeve, stepped over the threshold and walked inside.
The prince stayed with the Empress Dowager Cixi for a much shorter time than with the Empress Dowager Dong. After leaving the Empress Dowager Cixi's place, he went directly to Wanrong Garden.
Today's Lantern Festival banquet is held in Wanrong Garden.
The Wanrong Garden is full of lush vegetation, and precious potted flowers can be seen everywhere. Because of the season, although there are not as many colorful flowers as in summer, it is still a beautiful sight.
At this time, some court officials had gathered in Wanrong Garden. When they saw the prince coming, the court officials immediately stood up and saluted. The prince waved his hand, smiled kindly and said, "There is no need for these empty formalities today. My dear ministers, just enjoy yourself."
The court officials responded in unison and sat down one after another.
The prince turned his head and asked the eunuch beside him whether the King of Jinnan and the King of Pinghuai had entered the palace. When he learned that the two of them were in Jinhe Pavilion, he immediately went to Jinhe Pavilion.
As soon as the prince arrived at Jinhe Pavilion, he saw Chen Qi at the door. The prince looked Chen Qi up and down and said with a smile: "It seems that Qi'er's injuries have almost healed."
Chen Qi clenched his hands behind his back into fists. He tried his best to suppress the anger in his heart and spoke in a normal tone: "Greetings, Prince."
The prince waved his hand casually, and as he stepped onto the steps of Jinhe Pavilion, he asked casually, "Where are you going?"
"I was just about to go to the East Palace to look for Brother Lian." Chen Qi secretly observed the prince's expression and paused, "I heard that he is still in the East Palace."
"Yes." The prince nodded. "Yesterday's homework was reviewed by the teacher. Today, he asked his brother to write an essay. He can only come here after he finishes it."
As he spoke, the prince had already stepped onto the three stone steps, passed Chen Qi, and went into the Jinhe Pavilion.
Chen Qi lowered his eyes and respectfully stepped aside. When the prince stepped into the door, Chen Qi looked at him deeply, then retracted his gaze and quickly walked towards the East Palace.
In Jinhe Pavilion, the King of Jinnan and the King of Pinghuai were drinking tea. When they saw the Crown Prince coming in, they both stood up at the same time.
"Haha." The prince laughed twice and walked over. He exchanged a few words with the two people and tasted the new tribute tea together.
However, when the prince occasionally looked at the King of Jinnan, he couldn't help but frown slightly. He couldn't help but think of You Yuji as the daughter-in-law of the King of Jinnan. When he ascended the throne and made You Yuji the queen, didn't his queen call her second brother father
The King of Jinnan felt the Crown Prince's frequent gazes and looked over at him in surprise.
"Haha." The prince laughed twice and said "good tea" perfunctorily.
Chen Qi rushed to the East Palace and first went to find Chen Lian as he said. Chen Lian was indeed with Chen Xun. Chen Lian didn't like writing articles and sighed. Chen Xun stood aside and shook his head helplessly and said, "Write quickly. If you don't finish writing, I can't go to Wanrong Garden."
Chen Xun tapped Chen Lian on the head with the folding fan he mentioned.
The servant reported that Prince Qi was coming. As soon as the servant finished reporting, Chen Qi had already stepped over the threshold.
"Third brother! You're hello!" Chen Lian immediately put down his pen and stood up to greet him.
Chen Qi nodded with a smile and said, "Much better."
Chen Xun said, "Didn't you say the arrow was coated with poison? I thought you would need to recuperate for a while. Of course, I am happy for you to recover so quickly."
Chen Qi was in a state of confusion, but he had to explain patiently with a smile: "The arrow was coated with poison, but it was not a highly toxic substance. The wound was not in a vital part, so I was lucky."
He quickly changed the subject and said, "When I came over, I saw Mingzhu stumbling and trotting in the yard, looking for her father."
Thinking of his daughter, Chen Xun's expression softened immediately. He knocked Chen Lian's head again with the folding fan he mentioned, and said in feigned anger, "It's a pity that if he doesn't finish writing the article quickly, Mingzhu won't be able to see her father."
"Hey, hey, hey, stop talking. I'll write, I'll write now!" Chen Lian's face fell, he sat back at the desk and picked up the pen.
Chen Qi suppressed his anxiety and said to Chen Xun with a smile: "You go ahead, I'll just keep an eye on Lao Liu here."
Chen Xun looked at Chen Lian, obviously hesitant.
"Go ahead." Chen Qi said, "Although I can enter the palace today, my injury has not fully healed, and I can't stay outside for long. It's better to hide in the house and have some peace and quiet."
Only then did Chen Xun agree and go to Wanrong Garden first.
Chen Lian wrote furiously, and said without turning his head: "Third brother, please sit down. It will take me a while to finish writing."
Chen Qi sat down and patiently took the tea handed to him by the palace maid and drank a cup. He was so anxious that he could not bear it. He leaned over to take a look at the article written by Chen Lian and said, "You continue writing. I'll go to the small garden behind."
"Yeah." Chen Lian nodded without raising his head.
Chen Qi walked out of Chen Lian's study and strode towards the Ziwei Garden of the East Palace. The prince hid You Yuji in the East Palace, so there was only one place that was most suitable for hiding and would not be easily discovered by the other masters of the East Palace.
Chen Qi walked through the Crape Myrtle Garden, his steps getting faster and faster. He listened to his heartbeat getting faster and faster. As he got closer and closer to the small courtyard, he became more and more nervous.
He missed twice.
The first time was at Sidi. Although he had seen her and never forgot her, he dared not say or do anything. He quietly picked up her lost whip and hid it beside him for more than two years.
The second time was at the palace banquet last year. He knew that Chen Anzhi's lover was someone else, and he also knew that Chen Anzhi liked elegant girls. But he still didn't dare to stand up and stop the marriage when the Empress Dowager Cixi granted it. Later, thinking back, if he had stood up and said the two words "heart-delighted", everything would have been different.
This time, he would not be cowardly. He would find You Yuji right now, hold her hand, and say the words "I love you" that were hidden deep inside.
He had already made up his mind to take You Yuji away from the Eastern Palace and tell others that You Yuji had gone to the palace for a banquet today and got lost.