I Became the Devil Queen's Heart Demon

Chapter 604 - 231 Empress knows it all! The Empress’ Key Minister! (Thanks to the alliance leader with a disease)_2

"Where did my thoughts wander off to..."

"But it’s been a long time since I’ve seen the Crown Prince so happy."

At this moment, Sun Senior Palace Lady spoke, "Fan Sigui, there’s something I’m curious about, I wonder if I might ask."

Fan Sijin said, "Senior Palace Lady, feel free to speak."

Sun Senior Palace Lady pondered for a moment, then asked, "The Crown Prince seems to have a very good relationship with Chen Mo?"

Fan Sigui looked slightly puzzled and replied, "I actually find it quite strange too. They’ve only met twice, yet the Crown Prince is particularly close to Chen Mo, even after returning to the palace, he keeps talking about him..."

A strange look flashed in Sun Senior Palace Lady’s eyes, as if she’d thought of something.

The two walked several dozen steps further, and Fan Sigui seemingly casually remarked, "In all these years, no minister has ever entered the East and West Six Palaces; it seems Her Majesty the Empress really favors Mr. Chen."

Within the Inner Court, besides Zhao Hua Palace being used for handling governmental affairs, most of the other palaces house concubines, thus making them forbidden areas within the Imperial Palace.

For an outer minister to appear here is a serious violation of the rites system.

Sun Senior Palace Lady said lightly, "Chen Mo concurrently serves as Personal Merit Guard Yulin Lang General, so he inherently has duties to patrol and guard the Imperial Palace. Moreover, given his abilities, it’s normal for Her Majesty the Empress to value talent."

Fan Sigui nodded and said, "Senior Palace Lady’s words are reasonable."

The atmosphere fell into silence once more, with the two following quietly behind, as if they had only been casually chatting.

But what they were really thinking, only they themselves knew.

...

...

"Mother, that tree grows so uniquely, I haven’t seen anything like it in Linqing Palace."

"That bird flies so high, Mother, will I be able to fly that high when I grow up? I really want to look outside the palace walls."

"Wow, this courtyard is so spacious, it looks perfect for playing ball..."

Along the way, the Crown Prince chattered non-stop.

The Empress responded intermittently, seemingly a bit preoccupied.

After a while, she suddenly noticed the atmosphere becoming quiet, and turned her head to see the Crown Prince standing still with his head hanging down, as if he’d done something wrong.

"What’s wrong?" the Empress asked bewilderedly.

The Crown Prince peered at his toes, entwining his fingers, and mumbled, "Why hasn’t Mother been responding to me? Did I say something wrong in court that made Mother angry?"

The Empress shook her head and said, "This palace was just thinking about something..."

Seeing the Crown Prince feeling down, the Empress bent down, patted his shoulder, and praised, "The Crown Prince’s performance at the Golden Throne Hall was excellent. This palace has long been fed up with those ministers."

"Really?" The Crown Prince still seemed a bit doubtful.

The Empress earnestly replied, "Of course it’s true, why would this palace lie to you?"

"That’s good then." The Crown Prince heaved a sigh of relief, his face quickly cleared up, smiling brightly, "Initially, when Master Lv asked me to attend the court, I was a bit apprehensive, but it turns out it’s not that scary after all..."

Hearing this, the Empress felt a twinge and asked, "What else did Master Lv say to you?"

The Crown Prince tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said, "Not much. Master Lv just told me to express myself freely without too much concern since Mother is there to support."

The Empress furrowed her brows slightly and asked again, "Then why did you decide to support Chen Mo?"

The Crown Prince replied matter-of-factly, "Chen Mo is my friend, who else would I help if not him? Besides, I don’t like the smell on those ministers, but Chen Mo is different..."

The Empress queried with curiosity, "What smell does Chen Mo have?"

"I can’t quite describe it," the Crown Prince chewed on his finger, pondering for a moment, then said, "It just feels very familiar, like I want to be close to him... Hmm, sort of like Father, but not entirely the same..."

Chen Mo was taken aback for a moment.

He also found it odd. They had only met twice, yet the Crown Prince showed excessive reliance on him... He had thought it was due to loneliness in the palace and a lack of friends, but it seems that’s not the entire reason...

"Could it be that the Crown Prince senses Dragon Qi, which is why he feels something similar between me and the emperor?"

Chen Mo thought to himself.

Aside from this, there shouldn’t be any other explanation.

The Empress furrowed her brows slightly and said, "Do you remember the situation when you first met Chen Mo?"

"I remember," the Crown Prince nodded, saying, "That day Master Lv didn’t give a lecture, saying he wanted to play ball with me, but accidentally kicked the ball outside the wall, and while I was retrieving it, I happened to meet Chen Mo..."

The Empress and Chen Mo exchanged a glance, with knowing expressions.

In this world, so many coincidences are often deliberate.

Unaware of what the two were thinking, the Crown Prince blinked his sparkling eyes with anticipation and said, "Mother, can we play ball together later? You and Chen Mo on one team, me and Fan Sigui on another, to see who has better ball skills!"

"..."

Chen Mo silently lowered his head.

The Empress glared at him, cleared her throat, and said, "This palace still has affairs to attend to today, another day... ahem, another day we’ll play, okay?"

The Crown Prince pouted, refusing to compromise, "But Mother hasn’t come to see me in a long, long time..."

Seeing his pitiful look, the Empress hesitated for a moment, then softly said, "Today indeed I’m swamped, but if there’s time in the future, this palace will come to Linqing Palace to see you."

"Alright, it’s a deal."

The Crown Prince responded sensibly, not pressing further.

Arriving at the East Inner Court, the Crown Prince stood before Cangzhen Gate, reluctantly gazing at the two of them.

Even as Fan Sijin picked him up and walked through the gate, he was still waving at them, and from afar, they could faintly hear that childish voice, "Mother, goodbye... Chen Mo, remember to come play with me..."