Qiao Yan saw Di Lanmo running out angrily. Subconsciously, he peeked inside through the unclosed door and happened to see his wise and valiant prince holding a teapot and gulping down cold water in an unseemly manner.
Chu Shisan was crouching on a tree. Seeing Qiao Yan standing dumbfounded in front of the prince's door, he quickly jumped down and came over, asking, "What happened?" As he asked, he also stretched his head through the large crack in the door.
Chu Zhiyan was extremely frustrated. Although the dryness in his throat was relieved, the heat in his body could not be suppressed at all. Moreover, the more he tried to suppress it, the stronger the impulse became. The fair neck, the slender arms, and the faint fragrance of the woman all were fanning the flames of the fire in his body.
Chu Shisan was puzzled. He nudged Qiao Yan with his elbow and asked, "What's wrong with the prince?"
Qiao Yan coughed twice and said, "It's nothing. You know, men also have those days every month."
Chu Shisan was even more confused. What did he mean by "those days"? Those days when one needed to drink water like crazy? Why didn't he have them? Just as he was about to ask further, he felt a chill. Looking in the direction of the chill, he saw Chu Zhiyan staring at him with a cold face.
How dare he say another word? He reached out to grab Qiao Yan and run away, but he grabbed at nothing. Only then did he realize that Qiao Yan had already run away, leaving him behind when he sensed something was wrong.
It was too late to escape. He only heard Chu Zhiyan ask lightly, "Are you very idle?"
Although the tone was soft, to Chu Shisan's ears, it was no different from saying, "Do you want to die?"
"No, no, no. I'm not idle at all." He turned around and leaped onto the tree, lying on the branch pretending to be a black leaf. He thought to himself, "After spending so much time with the princess, I've become much bolder."
It was strange that the prince seemed to tolerate the princess quite a lot and actually let it go.
Just when the "black leaf" was about to be melted by the scorching sun, Qiao Yan came back. "My lord, there's an imperial edict from the palace. The queen has invited the princess to the palace for a little gathering."
Chu Zhiyan gritted his teeth and said, "Pass the message."
To "pass the message" meant to let the princess decide according to her own preference. If she wanted to go, she could; if not, she could find an excuse to decline.
Di Lanmo was stunned for a moment when she received the imperial edict from the palace. "The queen has invited me to the palace for a little gathering?"
Qiao Yan couldn't understand why this was so surprising. He nodded, confirming it was true.
The queen often invited the wives of court officials to the palace for small gatherings.
As for the purpose of these gatherings, everyone knew it well but didn't say it out loud.
What really surprised Di Lanmo was not the event itself but the queen's purpose in inviting her.
The emperor could even poison his own younger brother. How could the queen be kind to her, a fake sister - in - law?
Didn't she see that although the empress dowager looked kind - hearted, she always sent nannies to torment her? No woman in the palace was simple.
"Let's go." Di Lanmo looked at her clothes. They were proper!
Qiao Yan thought for a while and then said, "If the princess doesn't want to go..."
"No." Although she really didn't want to get involved with the women in the palace, there was a voice in her heart telling her to go and take a look.
Qiao Yan said no more. He prepared the carriage and personally escorted Di Lanmo to the palace gate.
This time, the queen wasn't wearing formal attire. She only wore a red robe embroidered with golden phoenixes to symbolize her status. There were also far fewer hairpins and rings on her head. She didn't look as dignified as when they first met, but still, no one dared to underestimate her.
Especially since Di Lanmo still didn't know her purpose. Not to mention anything else, after being tormented by the nannies for so long, there were still some results. At least, the queen couldn't find any fault with her etiquette.
After the queen had granted her a seat, Di Lanmo carefully sat on the edge of the stool. It was very uncomfortable for her. She had even drunk a cup of tea, but the two of them were still exchanging polite remarks.
Di Lanmo couldn't bear it any longer. She was so tired! So she took the initiative to break the silence. "Your Majesty, may I ask why you have summoned me to the palace?"
The queen slowly took a sip of tea to wash down the pastry in her mouth. "It's nothing important. I just heard that the Prince of Qin is ill and has been bedridden for more than ten days. As his sister - in - law, I'm in the palace and can't go out to visit him. So I've invited you here to ask about his condition."
Di Lanmo thought to herself that if that were really the case, she'd be damned! It was just to inquire about the Prince of Qin's physical condition! The matter of Chu Zhiyan being injured in the palace that day must have something to do with the emperor. As for the queen...
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. It's my negligence," Di Lanmo suddenly blushed as she said this. "A few days ago, we... I forgot that the prince's health has always been poor, and we were too unrestrained."
Her words were vague, but how could the queen, an experienced woman, not understand? She also felt a bit embarrassed for a moment.
It was just that the young couple was newly married and unrestrained in their intimate life. For ordinary people, it might not be a big deal, but Chu Zhiyan's health had always been poor, and he had over - exhausted himself in a short period, which led to the deterioration of his condition.
In theory, as an older sister - in - law, the queen could give some advice. But if the Prince of Qin died like this, no one would blame the emperor, let alone her. So the advice on the tip of her tongue was swallowed back.
"You can't be blamed for this. There's no need for you to blame yourself too much. It's that naughty boy. He knows his own physical condition but still has no self - restraint. You shouldn't indulge him too much in the future."
Di Lanmo nodded shyly, but in her heart, she was thinking that the queen clearly meant for her to torture Chu Zhiyan in bed and hopefully torture him to death.
If it were someone else, they might even praise the queen for being reasonable after being deceived. However, Di Lanmo knew a bit about the inside story and couldn't help but have other thoughts about this.
Just then, a eunuch announced, "Her Majesty the imperial concubine has arrived!"
Di Lanmo had never seen such a grand occasion before. She had been deep in thought just now. When she suddenly heard that eerie voice, she was almost scared out of her wits.
After regaining her composure, she quickly stood up. The queen was the mistress of the harem and didn't need to pay respects to the imperial concubine, but she didn't have that privilege.
The imperial concubine was dressed in the golden color that symbolized her status. The hairpins on her head jingled pleasantly as she swayed into the hall.
She gently bowed to the queen and said, "Greetings to Sister Queen."
The queen waved her hand. "Sister, you may rise."
Only then did the imperial concubine straighten up. She quickly walked up to Di Lanmo. "You must be the Princess of Qin. Please rise quickly." Then she took Di Lanmo's hand and sat down beside her. "When did you enter the palace, Princess of Qin?"
"Your Majesty, I've only been in the palace for less than half an hour." After deducting the time spent on the way, she had only been with the queen for about the time it took to burn a stick of incense.
The imperial concubine pouted and said, "All of you like to come to Sister Queen's place when you enter the palace. No one comes to play with me."
Her pitiful and aggrieved look really made her seem like she was just looking for a playmate.