novelraw Chapter 161 Surprise: Never Apart
Chapter 161 Surprise: Never Apart
After leaving the Zhenbei Marquis's residence, Song Shuangning kept recalling her grandmother's words.
In fact, after the matter was over, her first suspect was the Empress.
The Empress's attitude towards her was already visibly distant and aloof.
Is it because they fear her current favor with the emperor, or because they fear her excessive brilliance?
She couldn't tell for a moment.
But then I thought, as the empress, every move she makes is under the watchful eyes of everyone. Such blatant behavior would do more harm than good to her.
After all, at this critical juncture, even the slightest disturbance in the harem...
The first one to be thrust into the spotlight will undoubtedly be the Empress, who is the head of the six palaces.
In this way, she gently crossed the Empress's name off the list of people she suspected in her heart.
The second person who came to mind for suspicion was Consort De.
Consort De was always low-key in the palace, never arguing with anyone, and always appeared indifferent to worldly affairs.
But within the inner palace, it is always easier to dodge open attacks than to guard against hidden ones.
A person who adopts an attitude of "not competing with the world" should have difficulty moving forward in the deep palace. However, Consort De not only firmly established herself, but also gained the trust of the emperor and the favor of the empress dowager.
This skill is by no means ordinary.
More importantly, at the recent Dragon Boat Festival palace banquet, the Emperor did not entrust the organization of the event to Consort De.
In the past, the Emperor valued Consort De highly, and rarely entrusted her with many matters of the inner palace.
Although the Emperor did not say it explicitly, she could guess that he had also become suspicious of Consort De.
"What are you thinking about, so lost in thought?"
Song Shuangning snapped out of her daze and gently shook her head.
Xiao Yan released her hand and rubbed her head: "I have private matters to attend to. You take two palace maids and go for a stroll."
Song Shuangning tugged at his sleeve, reluctant to part, and said, "Does Your Majesty have something important to attend to that requires you to leave me behind?"
Xiao Yan patiently coaxed, "It's a very important matter. I'll be right back."
As soon as Xiao Yan left, Song Shuangning, Tinglu, and Tingyu instantly lost their previous restraint.
The ink and brushes from the pen and ink shop, the exquisite jade pendants from the antique shop, the colorful velvet flowers from the yarn shop...
She would buy anything new and interesting that caught her eye.
In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Tingyu and Tinglu's hands were piled high with brocade boxes of all sizes, and their arms were almost too heavy to lift.
Song Shuangning felt unsatisfied and turned around to go into the glass shop on the street corner. When she came out, she had another glass cup in her arms.
Li Fuquan and his guards, who were hiding in the shadows and following behind, were dumbfounded.
Li Fuquan clicked his tongue in surprise: Just a moment ago, the Empress was teary-eyed and reluctant to part with the Emperor, but now she doesn't seem sad at all.
Tingyu, panting, said, "Girl, that's enough... We can barely handle it."
Song Shuangning glanced at Tingyu and Tinglu and saw that their arms and arms were already piled high with things.
unwise!
We should have chosen more guards to accompany them.
This is nothing!
It had been more than half a year since she last left the palace, and she hadn't been able to buy things as she pleased for almost two years.
She sighed, turned around and bought a sugar figurine. The sweet taste in her mouth helped to suppress her melancholy, and she strolled on, humming a little tune.
As she was walking, her clothes were suddenly tugged gently. Song Shuangning looked down and met a pair of clear eyes. It was a little boy with his hair in a topknot.
"Sister, this is for you."
He looked up and handed over a small flower basket filled with pink and white mimosa flowers.
As soon as the soft, childlike voice finished speaking, before she could even ask a question, the child had vanished in a flash.
Song Shuangning continued walking forward, clutching the flower basket, but after a few steps, she was stopped again by a little maid with her hair in two buns.
Without a word, the little girl stuffed a jasmine bracelet into her hand.
"Sister, sister, come with me quickly." The little girl grabbed her hand and shook it, saying in a clear, crisp voice.
She was led by the little girl, winding her way to the riverbank.
In the shimmering water, a plain-colored painted boat was quietly moored, with thin gauze lanterns hanging from its eaves, swaying gently in the evening breeze.
The little girl gave her a sweet smile: "Sister, someone is waiting for you."
After saying that, he skipped and hopped away.
Plain-colored gauze curtains hung around the painted boat, and a familiar figure could be vaguely seen.
Song Shuangning couldn't help but laugh out loud, and the doubts in her heart vanished.
No wonder there were surprises along the way; it turned out the Emperor had prepared them for her.
She lifted her skirt and slowly stepped onto the painted boat.
Looking up, she saw Xiao Yan gazing at her with a smile in his eyes, his gaze tender and affectionate.
Song Shuangning smiled and teased, "So Your Majesty prepared a surprise for me. Where did Your Majesty learn all this from?"
"I probably learned it from the storybooks you hid."
Song Shuangning's cheeks flushed slightly; the storybooks she had hidden away were not exactly 'pure' at all.
Seeing her reaction, Xiao Yan couldn't help but chuckle. He took her hand and led her to the bow of the boat, whispering, "Look up."
She did as she was told and looked up.
In the darkness of night, a cluster of fireworks suddenly exploded, its crimson flames spreading out like millions of sparks falling to earth.
Immediately afterwards, bluish-green clouds and pinkish-purple shimmering lights bloomed in the sky, and layers of fireworks reflected on the lake surface, making it sparkle.
Xiao Yan pulled her into his arms, his soft voice carried on the evening breeze, "This is the third surprise. May my Ningning, year after year, be as dazzling and brilliant as these fireworks."
When the last cluster of fireworks exploded, it transformed into a sky full of "lotus flowers in harmony," and even the evening breeze was filled with sweetness as the firelight flickered.
"I also wish that we, like the lotus, would be of one heart and never be apart, year after year."
He said "I" instead of "朕" (the imperial "I").
This small detail warmed Song Shuangning's heart.
The riverbank was already crowded with people who had stopped to watch, all looking up at the fireworks filling the sky, their low exclamations of praise and envy rising and falling.
After a long while, the figures on the shore gradually thinned out, and the noise subsided.
They then went ashore.
A very soft, delicate meow drifted over on the wind.
The two looked in the direction of the sound and saw a kitten about three months old lying by the roadside. It was soaking wet and barely breathing, but it was still struggling to move its thin body.
Song Shuangning's heart clenched suddenly, and in a daze, she even thought of the cat she kept in modern times.
Snowball was very well-behaved and affectionate, but at only three years old, it passed away.
She looked at the struggling kitten, which looked almost exactly like Snowball. The only difference was that Snowball was plump and round from her care, while this kitten was a skinny little thing. Her nose tingled slightly.
In countless late nights, she would secretly rejoice, rejoicing that Snowball had passed away before her. If she had left first, how would Snowball, all alone, have endured those long days and nights?
Thinking this, my eyes involuntarily welled up with tears.
Xiao Yan took in her expression, raised his hand to wipe away the moisture from the corner of her eyes, and said gently, "If you want to raise it, then take it back."
"Really?" Song Shuangning looked at him in surprise.
In the end, Li Fuquan took off his outer robe, wrapped the shivering kitten up, and took it back to the palace.