When Xiao Yi mentioned this name, the image of the slender young woman from yesterday's palace banquet appeared in his mind.
Xiao Yi didn't know why, but he paid a little more attention to this young woman.
He thought to himself, perhaps it was out of concern for Chen'er? After all, this was... Chen'er's future Crown Princess.
Empress Xu nodded slightly and personally poured tea for Xiao Yi, holding it out with both hands. "Your Majesty, please have some tea."
Xiao Yi took the tea and looked at the prayer beads in Empress Xu's hands, saying in a relatively gentle tone, "Empress, there's no need to trouble yourself with such matters."
"How can I not trouble myself? She is someone His Majesty personally chose, and she is also someone I genuinely like. If something were to happen to her, how could I bear it?" As she spoke, Empress Xu's eyes were filled with regret and heartache.
As they were talking, an announcement sounded from outside: "The Crown Prince has arrived!"
Xiao Chen strode in from outside.
Today, he was wearing a light golden robe, and standing there, he looked exceptionally handsome.
"Greetings, Father Emperor, Mother Empress." Xiao Chen bowed respectfully.
It had to be said that this Crown Prince surpassed ordinary people in both appearance and demeanor.
Empress Xu looked at her son with satisfaction, then said to Xiao Yi, "Chen'er is a filial child. No matter how strong the wind and snow, he comes to greet me every early morning."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yi looked at Xiao Chen and praised, "Good."
Xiao Chen said respectfully, "Your son also wanted to pay his respects to Father Emperor, but Father Emperor prefers quiet and dislikes being disturbed..."
This was indeed the truth.
Xiao Chen could actually feel that although his Father Emperor, Xiao Yi, had made him Crown Prince and occasionally praised him, there was always a lack of intimacy between them.
Normally, Xiao Yi did not like him to disturb him.
Xiao Yi said gently, "No need to explain, I didn't mean anything else."
Speaking of which, Xiao Yi remembered what Empress Xu had just told him, so he said, "Go and see the Eldest Miss Pei."
Xiao Chen looked at Xiao Yi with some surprise, a little confused. Who did his Father Emperor want him to see?
Xiao Yi continued, "I just heard your Mother Empress say that she is very ill. Although she hasn't married in yet, you have been engaged for several years. Such affection should be shown by visiting her."
Xiao Chen was shocked: "What? She's ill? Very ill?"
Xiao Yi asked with some confusion, "Why? You didn't know?"
The Empress knew about the Eldest Miss Pei's serious illness, but Xiao Chen, her future husband, did not?
Xiao Chen's expression became somewhat awkward when asked this.
Empress Xu quickly came to Xiao Chen's rescue: "Your Majesty, you can't blame Chen'er. It was I who feared Chen'er would worry, so I told people not to tell him..."
Xiao Yi frowned slightly, his expression showing clear disapproval: "This is truly absurd! With matters like this, just because you feared he would worry, does that mean he wouldn't worry?"
Empress Xu gave Xiao Chen a look.
Xiao Chen quickly said, "Father Emperor, Mother Empress, Your son will go and see her now."
Xiao Yi waved his hand slightly, allowing Xiao Chen to leave.
Xiao Yi looked at Empress Xu and slowly said, "Empress."
This one word, "Empress," made Empress Xu's heart tighten. Although Xiao Yi's voice was gentle, Empress Xu could still detect a different feeling within that gentleness.
Xiao Yi continued, "I do not wish for Chen'er to become an Emperor devoid of emotion in the future."
He did not want Xiao Chen to walk the same path as himself.
At this moment, Xiao Chen was walking through the snow to see Jin Ning.
Without realizing it, he quickened his pace.
He wasn't sure if it was because of his Father Emperor's words or if he himself was worried about Jin Ning.
Yes.
He was indeed worried about Jin Ning.
His Father Emperor's words were not wrong; they had been engaged for years, and they had known each other since they were childhood sweethearts.
In his youth, he had known that the well-behaved, dignified, beautiful, and delicate younger sister would become his future Crown Princess.
He had also thought about what his Crown Princess should be like.
The only image that came to mind was that of Jin Ning.
She was beautiful and intelligent, virtuous and polite, knew the rules and understood propriety. Although she didn't put on airs like other daughters of noble families, she carried herself with great dignity.
Such a woman should be the Crown Princess, and later, the Empress.
However, in the past three years, they had only met once.
Now that they had reunited, Jin Ning had grown into the appearance of a young lady, which inexplicably made him feel a sense of unfamiliarity.
Now that he knew she was ill, he was indeed very worried.
...
Jin Ning leaned against the head of the bed, looking at Xiao Chen in front of her with a blank expression.
She didn't want to pay attention to Xiao Chen, but Xiao Chen was the Crown Prince, and she didn't want to bear the crime of disrespecting a superior.
Thinking this, Jin Ning made a move to get up and bow, but her movement was exceptionally difficult.
The Imperial Physician had already examined her and said she was very ill.
Therefore, even though her condition had greatly improved after sleeping for a night, she still had to put on this act of being gravely ill.
Seeing this, Xiao Chen suddenly stepped forward and placed his hands on Jin Ning's shoulders, "There's no need for such formalities. Just lie down."
Jin Ning coughed weakly a few times and said with difficulty, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your concern."
Xiao Chen looked at Jin Ning, whose face was pale with a hint of bluish-green, as if her vitality had been drained. His heart tightened, as if a hand had suddenly grasped his heart, making him feel very uncomfortable.
"Are you... alright?" Xiao Chen's voice was hoarse.
Jin Ning gave a weak smile, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I won't die for now."
This sentence, "I won't die for now," sounded as if she had seen through life and death, carrying a strange sense of loneliness.
Xiao Chen said, "Father Emperor and Mother Empress are very worried about you and sent me to check on you."
Jin Ning heard this and was somewhat surprised: "Is that so?"
Empress Xu, a smiling tiger, was just a venomous widow who bit people under the guise of virtue.
What surprised her was that Xiao Chen said Xiao Yi was very worried about her.
However, in a moment, Jin Ning came to her senses. Xiao Yi wasn't worried about her; he was clearly worried about Xiao Chen's future Crown Princess.
No one wants their son to die before marriage, especially his fiancée.
Of course... except for Empress Xu.
Compared to this bad luck, Empress Xu would rather marry Xiao Chen to a true Daughter of Destiny, not a concubine-born daughter like herself who had a false Phoenix Destiny.
Xiao Chen noticed that Jin Ning was not paying attention to him. Now that Jin Ning had taken the initiative to ask about this, Xiao Chen's heart relaxed, and he continued, "Yes, Father Emperor has always liked you very much."
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