Chapter 344: Your Majesty Didn’t Stop Her? No More Hiding
A kiss landed on her right cheek, then slowly traveled inward.
Tao Wanxin instinctively tried to push him away, but he caught her hand. He held it tightly in his palm, using his injured right hand.
The passion between them flared ever hotter. Zhao Minghong was the first to come to his senses. Seeing the unshed tears in Tao Wanxin’s eyes, he got up and stepped back from the bed.
’It’s still broad daylight. Wanyin wouldn’t want to be this intimate. Besides, she’s pregnant.’ Zhao Minghong inwardly cursed himself for being a beast.
He said, panting, "You should get some rest. There are still matters waiting for me at the Imperial Palace."
With that said, he fled in a panic, as if a ravenous beast were hot on his heels.
When he reached the doorway, he nearly tripped over the threshold. Chang Lu had to steady him to prevent him from making a fool of himself.
Tao Wanxin straightened her disheveled collar. The memory of being held tightly in those large, scorching hands made a new wave of heat wash over her.
*
Ji Qingwu had just reached the main gate of Prince Yong’s Mansion, a list in her hand. It detailed all the fine items she had selected from Prince Yong’s treasury, which would be delivered to her clinic later.
’This house call was well worth the fee.’ The annoyance of having her sleep disturbed vanished without a trace.
However, she had only taken a few steps when Princess Qingyun darted out from nowhere and blocked her path.
"Fifth Cousin." With red-rimmed eyes, Qingyun tried to lean on her.
Ji Qingwu immediately took a step back. "If you have something to say, say it plainly. Don’t start with the waterworks."
Qingyun said, "Fifth Cousin, you have to help me."
’She doesn’t look sick, and she came all the way to Prince Yong’s Mansion...’
Ji Qingwu’s intuition screamed that this was trouble. ’If even Prince Yong can’t handle it, what makes her think I can help?’
She said bluntly, "I can’t help you. You should ask your third brother. If that doesn’t work, go to the Imperial Palace and ask the Empress Dowager."
Qingyun said dejectedly, "Fifth Cousin, you know as well as I do what happened in the palace. My mother can barely protect herself now, how could she have time to worry about me?"
Now, half the officials at court were waiting to be purged. Not even the Empress Dowager would escape; it was only a matter of time.
Everyone was on edge, and Ji Qingwu felt the danger keenly, especially since she still bore the title of "Lady Wei."
Ji Qingwu pointed to herself. "Don’t you think I’m in an even more precarious position? I really can’t help you."
Qingyun grabbed her hand, her face a mask of misery, and refused to let her leave.
"The Prince Consort requested a post in Longzhou, and my imperial brother issued a decree approving it. The Prince Consort is leaving Lin’an to take up his new position the day after tomorrow."
Hearing this, Ji Qingwu shook her hand free and started walking away without a shred of hesitation.
’Pleading Li Chengxun’s case before Emperor Wu Su would be no different from suicide.’
Qingyun clung to her arm. "Please, try to talk to them for me! Fifth Cousin, if you go, I’m sure it will work."
Ji Qingwu turned her head, frowning. "Who do you want me to persuade? Who do you think I have any sway over? Li Chengxun and I have had nothing to do with each other for ages. And this is an imperial decree from the Emperor. How could I possibly change his mind?"
Qingyun whispered, "...Either of them. I think you could persuade both."
’Where does she get this confidence?’ Ji Qingwu wondered. She took a deep breath before asking, "Why don’t you want Li Chengxun to go to Longzhou?"
Facing Ji Qingwu, Qingyun was a little more honest.
"I don’t want to be apart from him. The Prince Consort and I have only been married for half a year. I can’t bear it."
Without a second thought, Ji Qingwu offered a simple solution. "Then just go with him to Longzhou. That way, you two can still see each other every day and won’t have to suffer being apart."
Qingyun said in astonishment, "But I’m a princess! How could I go with him to such a harsh, cold place?"
Leaving Lin’an, leaving everything she knew, to go to some remote, godforsaken backwater? She had never even considered it.
Ji Qingwu said, "Then don’t go."
"You have to make choices in life. You can’t just demand that others bend to your will. The Prince Consort is not your possession."
At these words, the light in Princess Qingyun’s eyes dimmed.
Ji Qingwu continued, "Actually, if you look at it that way, the choice is in your hands."
Having said her piece, Ji Qingwu took the opportunity, while Princess Qingyun stood there pondering, to make a run for it.
「Back at the Wei Family’s Xinyuan Hall.」
When it was time for dinner, Ji Qingwu picked up a branch and used it to prod Si Hai down from the tree he was perched in.
"Si Hai, go bring Jiu Jiu back. It’s time for dinner."
After landing, Si Hai hesitated, scratching his head. "The Young Miss can’t come back just yet. She’s still with the Emperor."
He quickly added, "But don’t you worry, Miss Ji. The Young Miss has eaten her fill and is having a wonderful time."
’What could she be playing at that would make her forget her own mother?’ Ji Qingwu thought, putting her hands on her hips. She felt a pang of jealousy.
"What’s Jiu Jiu doing in the Imperial Palace that’s got her so engrossed?"
Si Hai replied, "She’s accompanying the Emperor while he holds audiences with his ministers."
Ji Qingwu thought she must have misheard. "She’s doing what?" she asked in disbelief.
Si Hai said, "The Emperor is in the Diligent Governance Hall discussing matters with his ministers, and the Young Miss is right there beside him."
Ji Qingwu asked, "And what was the reaction from the court officials? No one asked whose child she was? Or pointed out that it was against protocol?"
Si Hai recalled the scene he’d witnessed. "No. Before the ministers could even speak, the Young Miss questioned them until they were all left speechless and utterly ashamed of themselves."
Ji Qingwu’s mouth fell open. She took a breath and asked, "And His Majesty didn’t stop her?"
"No," Si Hai said. "Our master was laughing heartily."
A crow cawed as it flew over Ji Qingwu’s head. CAW...
Si Hai continued, "Young Master Yuan Heng was sitting beside her, too. If anyone dared to show the slightest hint of dissatisfaction, the Young Master would glare them into submission."
Ji Qingwu closed her eyes. ’I can’t believe this is real.’
Emperor Wu Su hadn’t just kept Jiu Jiu by his side; he had paraded her in front of all his court officials, truly pushing her into the public eye.
His actions were brazen, and their meaning was crystal clear.
It was both an urging and a reminder: Ji Qingwu was running out of time.
Ji Qingwu threw the branch in her hand into the pond below, sending up a small splash.
Her eyes reflected the disturbed surface of the water, the spreading ripples seeming to dance in their depths.
’Fine! No more hiding!’
"Go get Yuan Heng."
Hearing the woman’s voice, as crisp and sharp as shattering jade, Si Hai froze in shock.
Ji Qingwu repeated, "Go to the Imperial Palace and bring Yuan Heng out as well."
Si Hai stammered, "But... but he’s the little prince! How could he possibly leave the Imperial Palace?"
A light breeze lifted a strand of Ji Qingwu’s hair. She calmly tucked it behind her ear. "Just go and ask the Young Master. Tell him I wish to see him. Whether he is willing to come is his decision."
Si Hai accepted the order and sped away. By the time he reached the Imperial Palace, the official meeting in the Diligent Governance Hall had concluded, but other matters had not.
Jiu Jiu was still full of energy. With a sweet cake in one hand, she was arguing with an old minister who was pontificating about how "women must not meddle in politics."