When Lin Xi entered, Pei Jinxu was resting with his eyes closed. Annoyingly, however, several songstresses were singing and dancing beside him, fawning over him from time to time.
Only upon seeing Lin Xi did Pei Jinxu wave his hand in irritation, bidding them to stop.
Lin Xi brought the items in. Pei Jinxu assumed she had made them, but after one bite, he nearly gagged.
“Did you make this?” Pei Jinxu asked.
Lin Xi shook her head and explained, “The Imperial Noble Consort delivered it herself.”
Hearing this, Pei Jinxu fell into deep thought. After a long while, he said, “Is she trying to poison me?”
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Perhaps the Guifei did not do it on purpose. These pastries look exquisite; she must have put a lot of thought into them.”
“Heh.” Pei Jinxu sneered, picking up a pastry to examine it. “All show and no substance,” he remarked. “Just like that woman.”
“Someone, come! Take these pastries and feed them to the dogs.”
Eunuch Li came in, but just as he was about to take the plate away, Pei Jinxu pressed his hand down on it.
“Forget it. The dogs probably wouldn’t eat it either.”
“Pfft!” A songstress nearby couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
Lin Xi merely shot her a cool glance, and the girl quickly lowered her head again.
Back in her palace, Ning Wanwan couldn’t help but want to laugh as she imagined Pei Jinxu’s frustrated expression after eating the pastries.
But would this annoy him so much that he wouldn’t let her go home?
Just as Ning Wanwan was racking her brain for a way to get out of the palace, a sharp, piercing voice rang out from outside the door:
“His Majesty has arrived—!”
Startled, Ning Wanwan pinched her thigh hard, forcing tears to well up in her eyes as she gazed pitifully at Pei Jinxu.
She thought Pei Jinxu might soften, but when he saw her like this, his expression was as if he had seen a ghost.
“Ning Wanwan, you’re an Imperial Noble Consort, for goodness’ sake. Are you acting up again?”
“Your Majesty hasn’t come to see your consort these past few days. Your consort was about to wither away.” As Ning Wanwan spoke, she put on a coy act and prepared to throw herself into Pei Jinxu’s arms.
Pei Jinxu sneered and abruptly dodged.
Ning Wanwan’s lunge met with empty air, and she nearly fell to the ground.
You rotten Pei Jinxu! If I weren’t asking you for a favor, I would never tolerate this!
“Your Majesty~” Ning Wanwan tried to pounce again.
This time, Pei Jinxu didn’t dodge. He looked down at the woman in his arms, his eyes darkening as he ground out through his teeth, “What in the world are you trying to do?”
“Your consort wishes to go home and see her parents,” Ning Wanwan said, batting her large eyes.
A playful smile suddenly touched Pei Jinxu’s lips. “Alright. If you perform well tonight, I’ll let you go home for a visit.”
Ning Wanwan gritted her teeth and endured it.
The next day, she woke up with an aching back, the sun already high in the sky. The person beside her was long gone.
“Damn you for daring to trick me!” Ning Wanwan furiously threw a pillow. If she weren’t completely naked at the moment, she would have thrown the blanket as if it were Pei Jinxu and smashed it to death.
“Niangniang, this is the Palace Exit Token.”
As she was getting dressed, Eunuch Li arrived, holding a token in his hands and presenting it to Ning Wanwan with the utmost respect.
“That’s more like it,” Ning Wanwan huffed haughtily.
She boarded the carriage, and the grand procession departed through the palace gates.
Suddenly, with a jolt, the carriage stopped. From outside came Lüqiu’s arrogant voice:
“How audacious! How dare you crash into the Imperial Noble Consort’s carriage.”
Ning Wanwan lifted the curtain, her beautiful eyes looking ahead in confusion.
In front of Ning Wanwan’s luxurious, grand carriage, the one opposite it appeared small and old.
A young man dressed in simple white robes, with a refined and handsome bearing, stepped out of the carriage. He was young, yet carried himself with a dignified and steady air.
He slowly approached and said something to Lüqiu, which made her too embarrassed to scold him further. She had no choice but to turn to Ning Wanwan for instructions.
Ning Wanwan stared at him, somewhat infatuated, thinking to herself: Truly as graceful as the rosy clouds and the moon, so handsome and elegant. What a fine young man!
Unlike Pei Jinxu’s dark and somber aura, this young man was younger, and his disposition was like the rising morning sun.
“Lüqiu, let it go,” Ning Wanwan said.
“Oh.” In truth, the moment Lüqiu saw the man, she no longer wanted to pursue the matter. She had only shouted a few words to save face.
Seeing that Ning Wanwan had said to let it go, she gladly took the opportunity to back down.
As the large carriage passed by, the young man happened to look up. The breeze lifted the curtain, revealing Ning Wanwan’s exquisite side profile, as captivating as a siren’s.
With just a glimpse of her profile, the young man was left somewhat stunned.
“Lüqiu, who was that man just now?” Ning Wanwan asked.
Lüqiu shook her head, indicating she didn’t know.
When she returned to the Ning Family residence, she found the atmosphere to be rather heavy.
Madam Ning’s eyes were red from crying. She sobbed to Ning Wanwan, “Wanwan, something has happened to your brother.”
Ning Wanwan was taken aback. “What happened?”
Many white hairs had sprouted on Ning Yuanchen’s head. Ning Yuanzhou was his only son, and now that something had happened to him, coupled with being impeached at court, his sorrow and troubles had inevitably multiplied.
Madam Ning cried, tears and snot streaming down her face. “A few days ago, Yuanzhou fought a great battle against the Hu people. Although he secured a narrow victory, he has since gone missing. We don’t know if he’s alive or dead.”