It's no wonder Dongfang Yi had such a guess. After returning to the palace, Donghua indeed rushed out in a hurry.
She was going to find Ruyi. She hadn't seen him at Nangong Liuyun's farewell ceremony today. Later, after asking someone, she learned that he had left the palace on business and wouldn't be back until the You hour.
The time when she returned to the Queen's Palace with Dongfang Yi happened to be the You hour, which was why she rushed out.
When she arrived at the entrance of the Qianqing Palace, as expected, she saw Ruyi standing guard in front of the door.
He spotted Donghua rushing over at a glance. Then he trotted down the stairs and asked, "Donghua? Does the Queen have something to ask of me?"
Donghua took a deep breath to catch her breath and replied, "It's not the Queen. It's me. I'm here to find you."
After saying that, she stared intently at the man in front of her.
Ruyi felt a bit uncomfortable under her stare. So he hesitantly asked, "You're looking for me? What's the matter?"
Donghua then continued, "You were the one who sent me back on the night of the Mid - Autumn Festival banquet, weren't you?"
She asked this question. Since the Queen had told her about this, she had been hesitant. Because the next morning, she found that her clothes were brand new, obviously changed by someone.
But it was too embarrassing for her to ask directly, so she had put it off for a long time. Now she couldn't hold back her curiosity any longer.
Ruyi just nodded blankly. He had no idea what this was about.
But then he recalled that night. The woman who had been drunk and lying in his arms was so gentle and soft.
As he thought about it, a blush crept onto his dark face.
Donghua noticed that his expression was a bit strange, which strengthened her suspicion. So she stammered and asked, "You... Did you do anything else?!"
Hearing this question, Ruyi was a bit confused. What else could he have done? That night she was so drunk and her body was as soft as an eel. So he replied, "Huh? No. I just sent you back to your room and left. Did you lose something?"
After saying that, he scratched his head in confusion.
Donghua looked at his innocent expression and felt even more ashamed and angry.
Lose something? She couldn't very well say that she had found her clothes changed early in the morning. This wasn't about losing something; it was about losing her innocence.
Thinking of this, she raised her head and looked at the man in front of her with an aggrieved expression.
Ruyi felt like he was being pricked by needles under her gaze. So he carefully asked, "Um... What did you lose?"
Donghua was completely enraged by his words. She raised her hand and punched him in the chest, shouting, "I! DON'T! NEED! YOUR! CONCERN!"
After saying that, she angrily turned around and left the front of the Chenqian Palace.
Ruyi, who was left standing there, was even more confused. He didn't understand why this woman had come in anger and left in anger.
But he really hadn't done anything. He didn't know what on earth she had lost that would make her so angry.
Unable to figure it out, he shook his head and returned to his post.
On the other hand, as Donghua walked back to the Queen's Palace, the more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
She thought to herself that she had never realized before that Ruyi was a man who didn't take responsibility. It was just a matter of changing clothes. If he had done it, he should have just admitted it. She wouldn't have done anything to him.
Thinking of this, she didn't even notice a blush spreading across her face.
She couldn't help but recall the time when she was first rescued by Helian Qi.
At that time, she was only eleven years old. Her family had been part of the previous dynasty's old forces. Because they had defected to the new dynasty at the last moment, they had been completely wiped out by the people of the previous dynasty.
Among the 312 lives in the whole family, only Donghua was left.
When the emperor arrived, she had just crawled out of the pile of dead bodies. Looking up, she saw the man in front of her and the young Helian Qi following behind him.
At that time, the emperor didn't want to be lenient towards her family just because they had changed sides. So he wasn't completely at ease with Donghua, who had just crawled out of the pile of dead bodies.
He immediately wanted to order that she be sent to the border areas. It was the young Helian Qi who pleaded with his father, saying that he wanted a companion, that she was saved and kept by his side.
Since then, she had started following Helian Qi. When she was young, she had once had fantasies about that boy. Later, she found that he was like a block of ice, only focused on the court. So she worked hard to learn martial arts in order to become his right - hand man.
She still remembered that at that time, Ruyi had been following the emperor. After she entered the palace after experiencing all those things, she had been a bit aloof from others. It was Ruyi who kept telling all kinds of interesting stories to make her happy.
But later, everyone grew up. Donghua had also left the palace, and she rarely thought about those things.
Now that she suddenly remembered, she still felt full of gratitude. Thinking of the man who had made her laugh when she was a child, her heart also felt warm.
Thinking of this, Donghua couldn't help but smile. Then she quickened her pace and returned to the Queen's Palace.
As soon as she entered the palace, she saw Dongfang Yi leaning against the door frame, looking at her and saying, "Donghua, where have you been?"
Donghua looked at her confused face and couldn't help but smile. She said, "Does the Empress still worry about me? Aren't you only focused on that 'fireplace'?"
Seeing that the woman in front of her was making fun of her, Dongfang Yi immediately tapped her on the nose and said, "Well, Donghua, you dare to make fun of me! Hurry up and prepare dinner!"
Donghua replied with a smile, "Yes, yes, yes." Then she trotted out of the side hall and into the small kitchen.
As soon as she entered the small kitchen, she saw Xiaoqian directing the cooks to prepare the meals.
As soon as Xiaoqian saw her, she ran over and said, "Sister Donghua, you're here?"
Donghua looked at her cute appearance and also smiled. She asked about the dinner.
After Xiaoqian finished explaining everything, she suddenly said, "Sister Donghua, why were you so drunk on the night of the Mid - Autumn Festival banquet?"
Donghua replied in confusion, "Huh? How do you know?"
Xiaoqian scratched her head shyly and said, "I happened to see Guard Ruyi sending you back when I got up to use the toilet at night. I went to check on you. Seeing that you were covered in vomit, I helped you change your clothes."
"You helped me change my clothes?!" Donghua asked in disbelief after hearing her words.
Xiaoqian looked at her in confusion, as if she didn't understand why she was so shocked. But she still replied, "Yes."
After hearing this, Donghua was completely stunned. She thought about how angrily she had gone to find Ruyi, thinking that he had taken advantage of her and didn't dare to admit it. But she never expected that this would be the truth.