Chapter 292: Chapter 289 Auspicious Words

Pan An was a famously beautiful man.

Sang Yan playfully used him as a counter to He Ying’s sweet nothings, laughing as she said, “Not bad, not bad, he must be more handsome than Pan An.”

No sooner had her voice faded than she was swept up into an embrace.

He Ying held her legs and lifted her straight up, cradling her in his arms.

His arms were strong, providing her with a great sense of security.

She didn’t need to cling to his neck; her hands were free to naughtily pluck a few plum petals and scatter them over his head.

The plum petals fluttered down gently.

Some landed on his head, some on his shoulders, and some on his chest…

The scene was still quite beautiful.

She also found it amusing, grabbed another handful of petals, scattered them down, and laughed heartily, “Xinyuan, you look even more handsome this way. More charming than the flowers.”

He Ying heard this, set her down, and took a handful of plum petals to sprinkle over her head.

The two of them started to playfully banter like this.

They were like children who had never grown up.

“Alright, alright, we’re about to pluck the plum tree bare.”

After playing for a while and seeing the petals all over the ground, Sang Yan finally developed a feeling of pity for the flowers, “Look at what we’re doing, we truly are ‘murderers of flowers’!”

“‘Murderers of flowers’, is that how it’s used?”

He Ying chuckled, swept her into his arms at the waist, and strode towards Qingning Palace, “I’ll only ravage this ‘flower’–you.”

Sang Yan, now frightened, struggled in his embrace to get down, “It’s broad daylight, no roughhousing! I need to go to the side hall, put me down quickly, I have to check on Luo Shan.”

Seeing her agitation, He Ying soothed her, “Don’t be scared. I won’t do anything–just carrying you back.”

Sang Yan didn’t believe him, “I don’t need you to carry me. I can walk on my own.”

“It’s still a bit far, be careful not to strain your foot.”

“That won’t happen. I’m not so delicate.”

“Oh really? Then who was it that after barely twice in bed, started saying they were tired and begged me for mercy?”

“Can these two things even be compared?”

Sang Yan, angered, tugged on his ear and said, “Fine, since you say I’m delicate, then I do need exercise. Put me down. I need to work my body out.”

He Ying let her down but said, “We’ll do some targeted exercise tonight.”

Sang Yan: “…”

What a lecher!

The two walked back to Qingning Palace hand in hand.

He Ying escorted her to the entrance of the side hall of Qingning Palace, admonishing her, “The side hall is rife with sickness, so don’t stay too long once you’re there, and then go home and wait for me.”

Sang Yan nodded perfunctorily, “I know. You can get back to your affairs.”

He Ying left, glancing back three steps at a time.

Sang Yan entered the side hall promptly and decisively.

Inside the side hall

Luo Shan was still lying in bed.

By coincidence, she had just awakened.

Sang Yan, concerned, asked, “How are you feeling now? Is there anything uncomfortable?”

Luo Shan shook her head with a weak smile and said, “Much better, thank you, Empress… Your Majesty for your concern…”

She truly appreciated the Empress’s various assistances.

Regarding the fates of those villains, the palace maids had told her everything as soon as she woke up.

“Especially grateful to Your Majesty for making decisions on my behalf.”

She truly appreciated Sang Yan, and as she spoke, tears started to stream down her face, “This lowly life of mine shall be in Your Majesty’s service from now on.”

Sang Yan sat beside the bed, took a clean handkerchief, and began to wipe Luo Shan’s tears, comforting her, “Don’t talk or think like that; it’s all in the past. Just focus on recovering. After this adversity, surely there will come a time of joy and prosperity.”

“I accept Your Majesty’s auspicious words.”

Luo Shan spoke and then lifted her hand to rub her nose, scented an odd fragrance coming from Sang Yan.

She felt something was off, furrowed her brows, leaned in closer to smell, but the fragrance was faint, hardly discernible.

Sang Yan, not knowing the reason, asked, “What’s wrong?”

She also turned to smell herself, felt normal, and was quite puzzled, “Is there something wrong?”

“Her Ladyship’s fragrance–”

Luo Shan wanted to say the fragrance was off, as if it were mixed with an addictive scent–love flower.

The love flower had a strong hallucinatory effect.

If used frequently, it was harmful to the body as well.

But she couldn’t finish her sentence before exhaustion and dizziness swept over her.

“The fragrance is not good… shouldn’t be used… Empress…”

Mumbling, Luo Shan fell into a deep slumber.

Sang Yan didn’t understand, nor did she take it to heart.

If at that moment, Luo Shan had made herself clear and Sang Yan had taken it seriously, perhaps everything could have been avoided.

Unfortunately, there are no ifs in life.

Seeing Luo Shan asleep, Sang Yan instructed the Palace Attendants to take good care of her and then left.

She returned to the main hall of Qingning Palace, waiting for He Ying to return.

She waited until the evening.

The sky darkened early these days.

Around 5 p.m., the time equivalent to 6 o’clock in modern terms, dinner was ready.

He Ying usually returned around this time to have dinner with her.

But tonight, he had not come back; instead, he sent Pei Muyang with a message.

“Empress, the Emperor is discussing matters with several ministers in the Imperial Study. It seems it will take quite some time, so he sent me to inform you that he won’t join you for dinner.”

“What has happened?”

Upon hearing this, Sang Yan felt an inexplicable unease and pressed for details, “Who are these ministers he’s discussing matters with?”

She could make guesses based on whether they were civil or military ministers.

Pei Muyang didn’t think much of it and replied, “Members from the Hanlin Academy and several officials from the Ministry of Rites.”

They were all civil servants, adept in verbal sparring.

And the Ministry of Rites was involved too.

Could it be that the incident with Luo Shan had left an impact?

Or, with the wedding approaching, was He Ying secretly preparing some little surprise?

Thinking this, she responded, “I understand. I’m not hungry at this time, so I’ll wait for him to return. You should go back to attend to your duties.”

She disliked He Ying’s irregular meal times.

Mealtime was for eating.

Unless there were life-threatening matters at hand, there was no need for such haste.

Seeing that Sang Yan wouldn’t eat, Pei Muyang found himself in a difficult position: the Emperor sent him over precisely so the Empress wouldn’t go hungry, but now she insisted on doing just that! What was the point of his visit then?

This was unacceptable!

He hastily advised, “Your Highness, you don’t have to wait. The Emperor also said, after I delivered the message, I should go to the Imperial Kitchen and bring over a few dishes, as he plans to eat with the ministers.”

Upon hearing that, Sang Yan said no more.

She dined alone, and when it was about 9 p.m., there was still no sign of He Ying’s return.

She felt the situation might be rather serious.

She instructed Qiuzhi, “Have Little Guizi take a look at the Imperial Study, find out exactly what’s going on.”

Qiuzhi hurriedly acknowledged, “Yes.”

She quickly went off to the outer chamber to arrange for Little Guizi to make a trip to the Imperial Study.

Imperial Study

Officials from the Hanlin Academy and the Ministry of Rites were still kneeling on the ground.

The Ministry of Rites was there to confirm the wedding procedures with the Emperor.

The Hanlin Academy, on the other hand, was there to protest.

Jiang Chongyu, leading the plea, kowtowed and continued, “The public opposition is strong; already, many have paraded in the Capital City streets yesterday, protesting against the Sang Family’s daughter becoming the Empress, beseeching the Emperor to reconsider.”

He appreciated Sang Yan but also believed she was not fit for the high station of Empress.

His reasons were threefold: firstly, she was a widow believed to bring misfortune to her husband; secondly, she had been abducted; and thirdly, she was too intimately associated with courtesans.

“Bad company corrupts good character. Even if Miss Sang is innocent, any involvement with a courtesan blemishes her reputation. With such disregard for her status, how could she be suitable as Empress?”

Jiang Chongyu, upon saying this, kowtowed again and stated emphatically, “This is also the thought of countless citizens.”

He Ying, his expression dark and eyes cold as arrows, scoffed, “So, because the people are ignorant, you follow in ignorance as well?”