"Replying to you, Auntie. We knocked on the door, but without Her Majesty the Queen Mother's order, we didn't dare to disturb her rashly. Please be kind and help us, Auntie," said Zihuan, one of the little maids, stepping forward and acting coquettishly.
Although Xiaoxiao and Zeping usually looked very serious, they often joked with the maids and were kind - hearted.
"You naughty girl," Xiaoxiao said, tapping Zihuan on the forehead with her finger.
She stepped forward, approached the door and knocked on it. "Your Majesty the Queen Mother, are you up?"
"Your Majesty the Queen Mother? It's getting late. It'll soon be time to see off the envoys." Xiaoxiao waited for a while, but still got no response.
She frowned, pushed open the door and walked in.
Last night before going to bed, she thought the snow wouldn't stop for a while, and Her Majesty the Queen Mother was in delicate health and might not be able to bear the cold, so she specifically ordered someone to bring in charcoal for heating. But when she entered the room, she didn't feel any warmth at all.
She quickly walked behind the screen and immediately saw the wide - open window. The wind was blowing in with a hint of coolness.
Xiaoxiao was greatly shocked. Why was the window open?
As she walked up to the bed, sure enough, she saw the noble Queen Mother curled up in a ball, her red nose sniffing.
"Xiaoxiao, you're here."
"Your Majesty the Queen Mother, are you all right?"
"It's nothing serious. It's just a minor cold. I'm just too cold to get up."
Last night, she was so angry about Huo Qizhou's attitude that she couldn't fall asleep. She tossed and turned, then got up and opened the window to enjoy the snow. She didn't know how long it had passed before she finally felt sleepy. She dozed off and just found the bed to lie on.
This morning, she was woken up by her stuffy nose. She was extremely regretful. How could she have harmed herself because of that scoundrel Huo Qizhou?
Xiaoxiao saw that the charcoal fire hadn't gone out. She moved it to the bedside, then called out to Zihuan outside. The little girl led the others in. She picked up a thick cloak and wrapped it around Shi Muyuan to keep her warm.
"How much time is left?"
"Huh?" Xiaoxiao was confused.
"How long until the envoys leave?" Shi Muyuan said in a nasal voice.
"There's still some time. Your Majesty the Queen Mother, do you still want to go? You're sick. We should call the imperial physician to take a look at you."
"No, that's not possible!" Shi Muyuan immediately refused.
"I'm fine. I'll get better soon." If it weren't for her heavy nasal voice, Xiaoxiao would almost have believed her.
She had been looking forward to this for several days. Since she crossed over, she had been staying in the palace. She was already bored with the grandeur of the palace and wanted to see what the ancient civilian world was like.
This time, seeing off the envoys would require going out of the palace to the city gate.
Seeing that Xiaoxiao still wanted to argue, Shi Muyuan glared at her. "I'm the Queen Mother. How dare you defy me? Hm?"
Xiaoxiao was amused by her act of putting on airs at this moment. "Yes, Your Majesty the Queen Mother."
Shi Muyuan didn't care that Xiaoxiao was holding back her laughter. Anyway, she could finally go out of the palace gate!
Xiaoxiao couldn't persuade Shi Muyuan, so she could only wrap her up thickly and gave her a hand warmer.
The headdress was too heavy. Shi Muyuan refused to wear it on the pretext of having a headache.
Since the clothes were mainly for comfort and warmth and were in light colors, Shi Muyuan didn't put on the noble makeup as before. She just put a little color on her lips to make herself look more energetic.
She didn't like that kind of old - fashioned makeup in the first place, but she was afraid that her overly cute and round face couldn't hold the occasion.
So, the people waiting to set off at the palace gate saw a very well - behaved woman sitting in the Queen Mother's sedan chair, slowly moving towards the palace gate.
Some people didn't recognize her at first and were whispering to each other about who this woman was and why she was sitting in the Queen Mother's sedan chair. Then they saw Zeping, the chief eunuch beside the Queen Mother, come out and shout, "Her Majesty the Queen Mother is coming!"
The little face of the woman in the sedan chair was almost completely buried in the furry collar of the fox - fur cloak. The corners of her eyes and the tip of her nose were red, probably because she had caught the wind and got cold in the sedan chair.
A hint of confusion flashed in Huo Qizhou's eyes, and the image of the pure - white flower flashed through his mind.
Shi Muyuan was helped into the carriage by Zeping. There was charcoal burning in the carriage, and she immediately felt much warmer.
Everyone outside the carriage was in an uproar, but they didn't dare to show it. They had to hold it in and would talk to their friends about it after seeing off the envoys.
Knowing that the envoys didn't want to delay any longer and Shi Muyuan also wanted to go out of the palace quickly, she directly urged Zeping to give the order to leave the palace.
Along the way, Shi Muyuan would occasionally stick her head out to look at the shops on the street. Since the Queen Mother was traveling, the common people on the street knelt down in a dense mass.
Shi Muyuan frowned and retracted her head. It was boring. It seemed that she had to find a time to sneak out to have some fun.
When they arrived at the city gate, after exchanging some polite courtesies with Mosang, the envoys of the Zhouyou Kingdom were ready to set off.
Mosang looked back at the two people standing on the city gate while sitting on his horse.
It was the first time he saw Shi Muyuan wearing such light - colored clothes. She was petite and lovely, completely different from the person who bet with him that day.
The huge contrast made him can't help but take a few more glances.
He then looked at Huo Qizhou in black beside Shi Muyuan and somehow found him annoying.
Shi Muyuan was also amazed by Huo Qizhou today.
He was wearing a black robe embroidered with dark cloud patterns in silver thread. A plain silver hairpin tied up his long black hair high. He had sword - shaped eyebrows and star - like eyes, and there was still an unyielding coldness between his eyebrows.
Shi Muyuan's anger from last night disappeared immediately. Facing such good looks, she was defeated.
Moreover, she thought last night that maybe she had pushed all the things to him recently, which made him unhappy.
After all, no one wants to work overtime.
Shi Muyuan pursed her lips, unconsciously picked at the hand warmer in her hand, and pulled it closer to her chest. "Are you angry?"
"Hm?" Huo Qizhou looked at her in confusion.
"Come on, I didn't do it on purpose. But I don't know how to do anything. I can only handle some trivial matters. Those things are too difficult. I... I dare not act recklessly. If I mess things up, it will be even more troublesome! Besides, aren't women in the harem not allowed to interfere in state affairs?" Shi Muyuan remembered that's how it was written in TV dramas.
Huo Qizhou withdrew his gaze without any reaction.
Shi Muyuan pouted. He was really sulky.
But she still continued, "It's my fault, but it's also because I trust your ability..." Shi Muyuan's little mouth kept chattering.
Suddenly, Huo Qizhou sensed something flying through the air. He turned around, his long black hair fluttering. He also pulled Shi Muyuan back two steps. Then several cold arrows flew out of the air, grazing the sleeves of the two of them.
Huo Qizhou frowned and whispered, "Forgive me." Then he grabbed Shi Muyuan and hugged her in his arms, spinning and flying down the city wall.
"Ah!" Shi Muyuan only let out a scream before being pulled back several steps.
Unexpectedly, after they landed, a well - hidden ambush team rushed out. Fortunately, Huo Qizhou reacted quickly and managed to dodge.
Thankfully, the people at the city gate noticed the abnormality on the city gate and rushed out with the army.