Chapter 676: Causing Her Own Demise (2)
He Changdi patted Chu Lian’s back before pausing and asking, “How do you want to handle Jingyan?”
Chu Lian’s mind was wide awake by now. Now she thought back to what He Changdi had first said to her and she finally understood his meaning. She tugged at He Changdi’s collar unhappily, “You can handle it however you like. I don’t want to see her again.”
He Changdi mulled over it. He didn’t want her to have to take care of such matter even while she was pregnant. Furthermore, she was carrying their child, so she shouldn’t see anything bloody. He Changdi sunk deeper into thought.
“Shall I get another two maidservants for you?”
Chu Lian shook her head, “No need, let’s wait until our child is born before we add any more servants to the household.”
There were already plenty of servants around her. Two days ago, Princess Wei had even specially sent over a senior servant and some maidservants specialising in caring for pregnant noblewomen.
He Changdi didn’t push the issue and simply enjoyed holding her. He breathed in the faint fragrance emanating from her body and shut his eyes.
Chu Lian played with the collar on his chest and asked in a soft voice, “Were you busy the whole night?”
He Changdi made a tired groan in response.
Chu Lian thought for a bit before moving back a little. Looking at the sky outside, the sun would likely rise in less than two hours.
“Come here, why don’t you sleep for a while?”
He Changdi had only been holding her at the edge of the bed. When he opened his eyes and saw that she had given up more than half of the bed for him, he smiled, “It looks like you’re really getting more and more daring. Aren’t you afraid that the momos will nag you?”
Chu Lian blushed before glaring at him, “Are you going to sleep or not?”
He Changdi moved his body and took up all the space she had offered. He didn’t even take off any of his clothes, simply holding her loosely in his embrace.
Since finding out about Chu Lian’s pregnancy, the two senior servants had forbidden the couple to sleep on the same bed. He Changdi normally slept next to the bed on a chaise. It was now a rare chance for him to sleep together with his wife.
He hadn’t hugged Chu Lian to sleep for so long. As he breathed in her naturally sweet scent, he quickly drifted off into dreamland.
Chu Lian shifted her position within his arms and lifted her chin to look at He Changdi’s features, softened by sleep. She couldn’t resist reaching out to stroke his skin.
There were dark circles under his eyes, showing how he had worked the whole night.
Although Chu Lian didn’t really ask about what He Changdi was doing at court, from the first half of the novel that she had read, she could guess at some things.
While things seemed calm in the capital for now, there was actually a storm brewing underneath. Ever since the crown prince had presented the fake phoenix to the emperor, there had been more and more of his ugly news revealed. Finally, the corruption case in Chaozhou had been exposed. While the crown prince was still holding on to his position, he had already been grounded in the east palace for close to two months.
This grounding was basically equal to imprisonment. The officials on the crown prince’s side had made their moves: some of them had switched sides, and some of them had resigned. There were barely any supporters of the crown prince left.
It was practically a fact that the emperor had already taken away the title of crown prince from Second Prince, all that remained was the formalities.
By now, the factions of Sixth Prince and Fourth Prince were already going against each other in secret.
He Changdi had been working through the night likely due to a major incident in their faction.
She didn’t know much of politics in court and didn’t have any subordinates who could be of use, so she couldn’t help him directly. The only way she could contribute was likely through money.
The first batch of tea that she had prepared in early spring had already been sent to Dejufeng. She would likely get the results from that tea soon.
Deep in her thoughts, Chu Lian didn’t notice the passing of time. In the blink of an eye, it was time for He Changdi to head out to court.
Wenqing called out from outside to remind them of the time. Before Chu Lian could wake He Changdi, he had already opened his eyes.
“Are you still sleepy?” Chu Lian rubbed his slightly prickly chin and placed a kiss on it with a mischievous smile.
The sight of her rosy cheeks riled up the desire in He Changdi’s heart. He returned the kiss with force, but on her lips. Only when he had had his fill, did he stop and try to calm the fires burning in his body.
“I’ll get up now, otherwise I won’t make it in time for court. You can sleep a little longer. When I return, let’s go to the old residence together.”
Actually, Chu Lian wasn’t that sleepy either. She had already slept more than enough in the day and earlier at night. Even if she had only laid down with her eyes open for two hours, she still felt rather energetic.
She got up and helped He Changdi to find his court robes. She then personally instructed Xiyan to prepare breakfast before accompanying He Changdi for the meal. Chu Lian sent him off at the gates.
Chu Lian looked over the servants following after He Changdi and noticed that Laiyue wasn’t there. She found it strange and remarked on it, “Where’s Laiyue? Has he gone somewhere to skive off?”
Wenqing chuckled awkwardly, “He did something wrong yesterday and he’s been punished by Master. He’s currently lying in bed.”
Chu Lian was surprised, “He was beaten?”
Wenqing nodded and held out two fingers, “Twenty strikes of the rod.”
Chu Lian’s mouth twitched. She had a rough guess at why Laiyue had been punished. She glanced at Wenqing and noticed the concerned expression on her face, so she ordered, “Go and prepare some ointment and snacks. Visit him on my behalf. He’s been a loyal servant of your master for so long after all, and it wasn’t entirely his fault what happened last night.”