The day finally arrived for Lu Fusu to set out for inspections in neighboring states.
At dawn, the chamberlains kept coming in and out of Chunying Palace, and the palace maids were busy walking back and forth to confirm the final preparations.
"Queen, all your luggage has been moved to the west gate."
"Thank you... By the way, Spring Tea."
"yes."
When her name was called, the maid turned her head gracefully.
"Bring the tea-making utensils."
"Bring it here?"
"right."
The palace maid nodded with a mature smile, said hello to the people next to her, and brought hot water, tea sets and tea cans.
Shui Xinyuan was quietly making tea and looking at the garden blankly.
After their wedding, since they moved into Chunying Palace, they have been with Lu Fusu every night.
In the past, just seeing Lu Fusu made me satisfied, but now I am increasingly dissatisfied.
It was Lu Fusu's job to go out for inspections. Shui Xinyuan knew this very well, so he said nothing.
But she really wanted to tell Lu Fusu that she also wanted to go together and didn't want to stay alone in the palace.
But in the end, I still swallowed these willful words.
Even if Lu Fusu is not here and there are maids in the palace, Qing'er will still enter the palace and visit the Jiaofang... But why is she so uneasy?
"Shuixinyuan."
Shui Xinyuan turned around in surprise and found that Lu Fusu, who had gone to learn about the preparations, had returned.
"Are you... ready?"
"Everything is ready."
"..."
"That's right, I'll have a cup of tea."
Lu Fusu showed a calm smile and sat on the chair.
Shui Xinyuan returned the smile. Seeing that the tea was almost ready, he slowly poured the tea for him.
Lu Fusu was not in a hurry, and tasted the tea made by Shui Xinyuan as usual. He looked at her and said: "...when I am not here, someone may say some unpleasant things, so you don't need to pay attention to them.
No, if you don’t want to see them, you can drive them away.”
"emperor……"
Shui Xinyuan immediately widened his eyes, then lowered his head and lowered his eyes.
It turns out that Lu Fusu knew...he knew that those princes and nobles came to the palace to demand the restoration of the harem.
Lu Fusu took Shui Xinyuan's hand and held her fingertips gently.
"I really want to take you with me...but the road conditions are not good in some places during this journey, so it will not be easy."
"I will...here, waiting for His Majesty to come back..."
Shui Xinyuan held Lu Fusu's finger back and finally said these words.
Although I really wanted to go with Lu Fusu, I couldn't do it.
Once they go together, the ministers will say behind their backs that the emperor dotes on the queen.
Just thinking that Lu Fusu also wants to take him with him is enough.
"Your Majesty, it's time to set off."
The entourage came to invite the emperor to drive away, and the maids lined up in the corridor to see him off.
Lu Fusu drank the tea in the cup, let go of Shui Xinyuan's hand and stood up.
"I'll be there right away, you go wait outside."
"As commanded."
Shui Xinyuan also followed Lu Fusu, intending to watch him leave Chunying Palace.
"..."
Seeing Lu Fusu's leaving figure, Shui Xinyuan couldn't help but want to reach out and quickly squeezed his hand, restraining his inner impulse.
Whenever I touch Lu Fusu, I can't help but ask him not to leave.
But Lu Fusu suddenly stopped.
"I forgot one thing...come with me."
"What's up?"
Lu Fusu told his entourage that he would be back soon. He turned around and walked to Shui Xinyuan, holding her hand and walking into the palace.
"emperor……"
As soon as the door of the bedroom was closed, Lu Fusu hugged Shui Xinyuan and kissed her hard.
Shui Xinyuan couldn't help but hug Lu Fusu's shoulders.
Her mind was blank, but she could clearly feel her heartbeat speeding up, and she felt so heartbroken that she wanted to cry.
After a while, Lu Fusu finally let go of his lips, hugged Shui Xinyuan tightly again, and whispered softly in her ear: "There is no need to send me away... I will miss you."
"..."
Lu Fusu let go of his hand, pulled away from his body, and finally made up his mind to leave.
Shui Xinyuan collapsed on the bed without being able to say a single word of farewell that he had originally planned.
The words I wanted to say but couldn't say, and the words I wanted to say but shouldn't have turned into tears, soaking Shui Xinyuan's sleeves.
I can only pray that Lu Fusu returns safely.
…
Shui Qiancheng stuffed his mouth full of raisins he bought at the early morning market, chewed them angrily with his molars, and walked quickly to the private school.
That annoying brother-in-law was going out for a month, and he thought he could take advantage of this opportunity to chat with his sister as much as he wanted. Ten days ago, after seeking permission from the Zhuge family, he happily went to Chunying Palace to find his sister.
Unexpectedly, although my sister listened to him, she was absent-minded. She almost didn't take the initiative to speak, she just echoed, and it couldn't be called chatting at all.
Because the conversation was not satisfactory, three days later, he entered the palace again. The maid said that his sister was not feeling well and was sleeping, so she did not see her.
After another four days, he entered the palace again.
My sister might be in a bad mood and was sewing clothes silently. Shui Qiancheng didn't know how to talk to her, so he had to go home in frustration.
Maid Chun Cha... Shui Qiancheng didn't know until that day that the mature-looking maid who served him tea when he first entered the palace was called Chun Cha.
Chun Cha told him that after the emperor left home, the princes and nobles came to visit him for days, demanding that the harem be restored.
The Queen refused to meet, and those people wrote memorials, or pretended to come for other reasons, and finally talked about the harem, which upset the Queen.
...Since everyone hopes so fervently, why not simply agree to their request? Shui Qiancheng thought to himself.
Xu Gongchun told him that the harem was a symbol of the emperor's power. The abolition of the harem meant that the emperor lacked the consciousness of being a master. Therefore, Shui Qiancheng hated Lu Fusu even more.
So, he went to see his sister yesterday, and when he mentioned that since everyone made such a request, he might as well grant it to them.
My sister's face immediately changed after hearing this.
"...Shui Qiancheng, if you have free time and don't know how to pretend to understand in front of me, go home and study as soon as possible! The purpose of your coming to the capital is to study. If you come to me just to say these things, don't come here again."
He had known before that when his sister was angry, she could tell that she was not too angry at all.
But...if my sister is really angry, she will show extremely cold eyes and speak calmly in a low voice.
Although her expression is not scary in the eyes of others, the people she scolds will find her eyes intimidating... let alone people who understand Shui Xinyuan.
Shui Qiancheng knew that he had accidentally offended his sister and had to leave the palace in a hurry.
Now he is so close to his sister, but her sister tells him not to enter the palace again, all because of that annoying emperor.
The more Shui Qiancheng thought about it, the angrier he became.
...I wonder what method that guy used to deceive his sister?
Although my sister will get married sooner or later, she should at least choose a husband who is more like a man and more dignified.
No matter how high his status is, a tall, thin man is not worthy of being his sister's husband.
...Anyway, I need to make my sister feel better as soon as possible.
"Shui Qiancheng!"
Hearing Gong Chun's voice from behind, Shui Qiancheng realized that he had arrived at the door of the private school unknowingly.
He had already finished the raisins in his mouth, but his teeth were still clenched.
"……morning."
"Morning...are you free tomorrow? Bo Jian invited us to Zhao's house."
"Zhao... is the servant of the family?"
"Yes! Let's go together! I heard that Zhao Shizhong said that he would invite you to go with him no matter what."
Shui Qiancheng remembered that the last time he was scolded bloody by the young master and his wife of the Zhuge family.
but……
"...Where's Brother Zikui?"
"Of course he will go too."
As long as you tell the young master and his wife of the Zhuge family to ask Bai Zikui, who is also from Liuzhou, for advice on officialdom, there should be no objections.
Shui Qiancheng nodded vigorously.
"I go."
"Great, let's go after school tomorrow."
"good!"
Meeting my fellow villagers from Liuzhou should make me feel better.