In the Jiuzhou Qingyan Palace, the tinkling sounds could be heard from inside the palace intermittently throughout the whole afternoon.
At first, the sounds were chaotic and rather jarring to the ears. But gradually, they became clearer and seemed to follow a certain pattern.
At first, the palace servants just thought the sounds were nice. Gradually, they couldn't help but hum along softly.
After humming for a while, they found the tune catchy, as if it was engraved in their minds, lingering there.
Inside the palace, Ling Shan's eyes sparkled. Her face and even the bottom of her eyes were filled with relaxed pleasure.
Seeing this, Ban Chun couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief, and her face was also full of great joy.
Although the empress had been cured of the poison, Doctor Chang had told her to take good care of herself by drinking medicine to get rid of the remaining poison.
Therefore, in the past few days, she had been confined in the palace, drinking medicine every day and not allowed to go out. Naturally, the empress was in a bad mood.
Although the emperor accompanied and comforted her every day, and even took over Ban Chun's job, for some reason, Ban Chun always felt that there was a gloomy look between the empress's eyebrows.
No matter how she looked at it, the empress didn't seem happy.
Especially when the emperor was not around, she looked even more melancholy.
It was obvious how much the empress hoped the emperor would stay by her side.
However, the emperor had been extremely busy recently. He wanted to take the empress with him while dealing with state affairs, but the empress reluctantly refused.
Ling Shan: "..."
Fortunately, she didn't know what Ban Chun was thinking. If she did...
She could only give a thumbs - up and praise Ban Chun for having such a vivid imagination!
Ling Shan, who had lost her golden finger, didn't know that not only Ban Chun thought so, but also Jun Wuyuan, who was far away in the study dealing with state affairs.
He glanced at the high - piled memorials and thought of Ling Shan's unhappiness in the past few days.
Jun Wuyuan felt extremely heart - broken. He stared at the memorial in his hand with hatred, as if it were his mortal enemy.
"Is your Mistress Zhao in a good mood today?"
Liang Jiusi had just served the tea and was about to report when Jun Wuyuan asked first.
Immediately, he beamed with joy and replied, hoping for a reward:
"Your Majesty, the empress is in a much better mood today. Although she still misses Your Majesty and looks listless, after receiving the little trinkets Your Majesty sent on purpose, her mood has improved. She is now playing with Miss Ban Chun."
Hearing this, Jun Wuyuan's lips couldn't help but curl up quickly, and his heart relaxed a little.
However, soon his mood sank again, and his lips flattened. He looked a bit unhappy.
He glanced at the pile of memorials, and for no reason, a bit of annoyance welled up in his heart.
His eyes turned fierce, as if he was about to show his fangs and set fire to the pile of memorials.
Liang Jiusi silently shrank his neck and thought: It's better not to think about the reward. He might even be implicated!
Alas, men in love, even the mighty and wise emperor couldn't escape!
Tsk tsk, didn't he just want to fly to Concubine Zhao's side to accompany and cheer her up?
Where was his dignity?
Liang Jiusi was muttering in his heart when the 'undignified' emperor suddenly spoke.
"Find more little trinkets. Also look for some from the folk. If you do this well, there will be a reward!"
Hearing this, Liang Jiusi was overjoyed, and his voice when answering was even louder.
Jun Wuyuan: "..."
He glanced at the beaming Liang Jiusi, then his gaze fell on the memorials again, and he sighed softly in his heart.
These damned guys did nothing all day long. They even submitted memorials for trivial matters. They were really stupid.
That old bald donkey Wang Yuyao, the old hag, was 'seriously ill' but still refused to give up and kept causing trouble everywhere.
Half of the memorials in this pile were deliberately instigated by the old bald donkey.
This old bald donkey!
Moreover, there were some strange things happening in Liangzhou, and the border was also becoming unstable. Jun Wuyuan became even busier.
As a result, he didn't even have time to accompany Ling Shan. He was already full of resentment and had secretly caused a lot of trouble for the old bald donkey.
He even began to secretly plan. This time, he vowed to force the old bald donkey and the old hag into a dead end.
The cat - and - mouse game should end soon. Then he would add another fire to burn them to ashes earlier.
——
"Is your Mistress Zhao still sleeping?"
One day, Jun Wuyuan finally managed to finish dealing with the state affairs in a hurry. When he came back, he was surprised to find Ling Shan sleeping?
He stopped in his tracks, and a thought flashed through his mind.
He vaguely remembered that it seemed they hadn't sat down and had a good talk for several days!
Why had he been so busy?
Jun Wuyuan sat on the edge of the couch and stared intently at the graceful figure on the couch. He began to reflect on himself.
It was all his fault for being too busy. He had made Shan Shan worry and lose some weight.
Jun Wuyuan's eyes were full of heart - ache. He gently stroked Ling Shan's cheek with his finger.
After Ban Chun answered, she waited outside the palace and watched the emperor stride into the palace.
She sighed in her heart. It seemed that from now on, her job of waiting on the empress closely would be gone.
Ling Shan was pretending to sleep at first. She hadn't figured out how to face Jun Wuyuan yet. While pretending, she actually fell asleep.
Secondly, she was really tired after playing for too long. She slept through the evening meal.
Jun Wuyuan originally planned to steal some leisure time, hold his beloved and take a little nap. But just as he held her in his arms, he was recalled to the study by an urgent edict.
After this busy period, when he came back again, Ling Shan was sleeping again!
After several such times, when Jun Wuyuan was extremely busy again, he caught a glimpse of the food Liang Jiusi brought in and was suddenly stunned.
A thought flashed through his mind, and the lion's head in his hand dropped onto the table with a thud.
Liang Jiusi was just arranging the dishes. He was confused by the sound. He looked up and was about to ask when he was frightened by the coldness in those peach - blossom eyes.
This...
What on earth was going on?
"Do you think Shan Shan really loves me?"
The soft question floated into Liang Jiusi's ears like a thunderbolt.
He felt a chill down his back and knelt on the ground with a thud. He knew that if he answered incorrectly, his life would be over!
"Your Majesty, this old servant doesn't dare to say much. But as for Concubine Zhao's feelings, there's no need to mention her past considerate care and meticulousness. Your Majesty knows it well.
Just this time, the empress was willing to bear the pain of the poison alone. She was even willing to give up the antidote and sacrifice her life rather than obey the orders and threats of the one in Cining Palace!
Oh, this old servant doesn't understand love. All I know is that the empress's love for Your Majesty is as true as it can be!"
Jun Wuyuan's eyes softened.
Yes, how could Shan Shan not truly love him?
How could he have such wild thoughts?