Nan Zhiyun had never seen such an expression before. She looked at Nan Su again and found that her father also looked unfazed, which made her even more confused.
The other side found Nan Zhiyun's suspicious and surprised expression amusing. How could she seem so cute? Tsk, it had to be said, her filter was quite strong; would she have found this cute before?
Not long after, the State Preceptor changed his clothes and came over, and then...
"Does the State Preceptor carry his changed clothes with him?" Nan Zhiyun asked "innocently."
Gu Yin: "..."
The Empress Dowager: "..."
Nan Su: "..."
"I prepared in advance," the State Preceptor said, avoiding the main point.
Alright... Nan Zhiyun asked no further.
Gu Yin naturally sat down next to the Empress Dowager. Nan Zhiyun watched, her brow furrowed and unyielding. Something was wrong, not right...
"Why is the State Preceptor here?" Nan Zhiyun, uncharacteristically, spoke more.
Gu Yin: "..." How was he supposed to answer?
"What is the relationship between the State Preceptor and the Empress Dowager?" Nan Zhiyun continued to ask.
"How did the State Preceptor get in?" Nan Zhiyun kept asking.
Gu Yin looked at the Empress Dowager, who pretended not to see him. Gu Yin had no choice; this was condoning it. What could he do? He had to explain himself.
"I see Noble Consort Shu speaks much more than before," Gu Yin remarked.
Nan Zhiyun: "..." Forget it, she wouldn't say anything more.
The Empress Dowager glanced at Gu Yin, a sinister look in her eyes, making Gu Yin a little uneasy.
Not only her, but Yu Jingchen, lurking in the shadows, also observed. What was this attitude?
"Alright, let's eat first," the Empress Dowager said.
Nan Su didn't talk much, but he still actively picked out many of Nan Zhiyun's favorite foods.
"Thank you, Father~" Nan Zhiyun gave Nan Su a sweet smile.
"It's good you like to eat. Yun'er is too thin; you need to gain some weight," Nan Su said.
"What girl likes to be fat?" Nan Zhiyun replied.
"Plump is cute. Yun'er would be cuter a little fatter," Nan Su continued.
Nan Zhiyun didn't argue with him. Her father... anyway, he had been dedicated to fattening her up since she was little.
However, it was said without intent, but heard by those who paid attention, like Yu Jingchen... Noble Consort Shu was indeed a bit too thin, and her appetite was usually small. This wouldn't do; she needed to be nurtured, to gain some weight.
Xing Lai could tell what she was thinking just by looking at Yu Jingchen's expression. All he could say was... Noble Consort Shu, be careful.
Looking at the harmonious scene below, Yu Jingchen was somewhat dazed. The way Nan Zhiyun behaved when he wasn't around was completely different from when he was with her. In the end, in front of Nan Zhiyun, he was still an outsider, or perhaps not even that. She was extremely reserved in front of him, very fearful.
Yu Jingchen left the place. Outside, Xing Lai clearly saw that Yu Jingchen was in low spirits. He could guess why. After all, such a family was truly enviable, and His Majesty...
Xing Lai remembered that ever since His Majesty was made Crown Prince, he had moved to the East Palace, and had become quite estranged from the Empress Dowager, who was then the Empress.
Over the years, His Majesty had been alone, uninterested in anything, and not caring about anything. But just now, it was obvious that His Majesty cared, even... envious, or perhaps longing.
"Your Majesty..." Xing Lai called out.
"Let's return to the palace," Yu Jingchen said, suppressing his emotions.
Xing Lai said no more and accompanied Yu Jingchen back to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Lunch was ready, a dazzling array of dishes... Unfortunately, it was just him alone. Looking at the vast Imperial Palace, there were many people, yet on this table, there was only him.
Yu Jingchen pursed his lips and finally sat down. The palace servants began to taste the dishes, and the entire room was almost silent, with no extraneous sounds. Was the weather too cold? Or was this place truly too desolate? Compared to the Ciann Palace just now, this place had very little life.
Xing Lai, serving by his side, also fell silent. He hadn't felt it before, but after witnessing the scene just now, he realized that His Majesty seemed to live each year the same way, only going through the motions with everything other than court affairs.
"Go investigate Gu Yin," Yu Jingchen suddenly said.
The fact that he could enter the palace so silently, and his relationship with the Empress Dowager... these were things he hadn't noticed before, so there must be something he had overlooked.
Xing Lai also knew the importance of this matter. After all, the Imperial Palace was heavily guarded, and secret guards were almost everywhere, yet Gu Yin's movements had not raised any suspicion. Moreover, this didn't seem like the first time...
"Also investigate where the Wen clan was before," Yu Jingchen added. The previous time the Wen clan built a secret room in the Imperial Palace without anyone noticing, and there had been no new developments in this matter. How could a mere consort conceal such a large undertaking from all eyes?