On the other side, in Concubine Chu's palace.
At this moment, she paced back and forth, unable to calm down. She had already received a letter from Nangong Liuyun saying that he would rush back before the New Year to handle his own affairs. However, she still felt a bit uneasy. She always felt that the enemy she was facing this time couldn't be resisted easily.
Although Dongfang Yi was hard to be an enemy, at least she wouldn't casually treat human lives like animals. After all, she was kind - hearted. But the one she met this time was not only extremely skillful but also incredibly vicious. And it was obvious that this person had no goodwill towards her. If she wasn't careful, she might really fall into this person's hands.
Moreover, she was in the open while the enemy was in the dark. She still couldn't figure out who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Thinking of this, her uneasiness grew. This uneasiness soon enveloped her whole being, but she didn't know how to deal with it. She could only let herself get more and more anxious.
An inexplicable atmosphere hung over every corner of the palace.
Dongfang Yi had just returned to the palace and hadn't stayed long when she heard a series of exclamations outside her bedroom.
"Snow is falling!"
She casually opened the window in her bedroom and looked outside. Sure enough, she saw wisps of white floc floating down with the wind. They looked extremely beautiful.
She stretched out her hand to catch them. Those little snowflakes melted in her palm, leaving a trace of coldness.
"How beautiful," she couldn't help but sigh.
She couldn't help but recall the time when she had misunderstood Helian Qi. It was also such a snowy day, but the snow was heavier then. She had been provoked by Concubine Chu who came to show off her power, and Helian Qi had slapped her to bring her to her senses. From then on, she had determined never to fall in love with anyone again.
But later she found that all those things in the past were just a misunderstanding. He had done that just to protect her. After going through so many hardships together, they came to understand each other better and their feelings became stronger and stronger.
Thinking of this, she suddenly felt a chill. She quickly closed the window and trotted to the fireplace, warming her hands and feeling the warmth.
"This is the feeling of happiness!" she said with a squinted - eyed smile.
Suddenly, the palace door was opened. Donghua ran in from the outside, bringing in a gust of cold air. There were still a few snowflakes on her head. Rubbing her hands, she ran up to Dongfang Yi and said, "It's so cold! Why did it suddenly start snowing outside!"
After saying that, she also put her hands in front of the fireplace.
She heard the woman beside her giggle a few times, so she asked in confusion, "Your Majesty, what are you laughing at?"
Dongfang Yi turned her head and stared at her intently with curved eyebrows. "I just feel so happy to warm myself by the fire with you," she said.
When she finished speaking, Donghua was deeply touched and even the corners of her mouth curved up. This might be just an ordinary sentence for Dongfang Yi, but for her, it felt like the warmth of family.
This woman had given her the warmth of family and made her, a drifting boat in the past, finally find a harbor. It was no wonder how touched she was.
"I'm really lucky to have met you, Your Majesty," she said, her eyes shining as if reflecting the firelight.
Hearing this, Dongfang Yi reached out and scraped the tip of her nose, then joked, "Don't cry again, Donghua, you crybaby!"
After saying that, she burst into laughter.
Donghua immediately felt a bit embarrassed. She was known for her unparalleled martial arts and was called the number one woman in the Eastern Sheng Dynasty, but she had shed tears in front of this woman several times, and now she was called a crybaby.
"Your Majesty, you're being too much!" she shouted cross - eyed, but she couldn't stop the woman in front of her from laughing. She could only blush and stamp her feet continuously, but there was nothing she could do.
Dongfang Yi found the helpless look of the woman in front of her even more amusing. After she had laughed enough, she started to talk about what had happened in the Qianqing Palace today.
She said that she and Helian Qi were planning to open the granaries to distribute grain during the New Year to console the families of the conscripts sent to repair the imperial mausoleum. In this way, she could also take the opportunity to go out and have some fun.
Donghua originally thought she was going to talk about something great, but she didn't expect that her ultimate goal was still to play. She couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Hey, it seems that Donghua doesn't want to go out of the palace with me!" Dongfang Yi joked like this, pretending to look pitiful.
She didn't expect the woman in front of her to say such a thing suddenly. She was immediately at a loss and thought that she shouldn't have rolled her eyes. She really wanted to go out of the palace to have a look.
"Your Majesty!" she called out, her voice filled with a bit of pleading.
"Then hurry up and prepare some food for me. I'm starving," Dongfang Yi said, pointing at her flat stomach.
Donghua quickly ran out and rushed to the small kitchen, thinking that she must not miss the chance to go out of the palace and have some fun.
The snow was floating down all over the sky and showed a tendency to get heavier. But inside the palace, it was warm and full of human touch.
On the other side, outside the palace, in the Prince Nanping's Mansion.
"Haha, timely snow promises a good harvest!" an old man with gray - white beard said.
Standing beside him was Helian Rong, the Prince Nanping. He also nodded in agreement and said, "What the Grand Tutor said is very right. With the emperor on the throne, the Eastern Sheng Dynasty will surely be safe. This king will just be a carefree general."
After saying that, he showed a slightly bitter smile. He knew very well what he was thinking. He had never had any great ambitions since he was a child and didn't want to fight for anything. So after his elder brother became the emperor, he became a free - spirited general.
But now that he had met the queen, he couldn't help but fall in love with her. He despised himself for coveting his elder brother's woman, but he was also powerless to resist. So he could only flee to a more distant place.
During the last hunting competition, he and that woman had fallen into the same trap. He originally thought that he might still have a chance, but later when he saw the deep affection between her and his elder brother, he completely lost hope.
"Alas, you still don't understand. You and the emperor are brothers. You are destined to work together. You will understand one day that running away can't solve any problems," the Grand Tutor sighed and said.
He had watched these two children grow up since they were young and knew their personalities well. Although the national situation was good now, the national power was still unstable. Take Nangong Liuyun for example. He was really a vicious person. If Helian Rong didn't stay in the court now and left the emperor to face all these problems alone, it would be too hard on him.
Helian Rong knew all these things, but now he just wanted to be a bit selfish. Since his elder brother had already got everything, just give him a chance for freedom without any concerns. This was all he wanted now.