Little Yan Yan was still brimming with enthusiasm as she pulled the person beside her, chatting and laughing rrily.
"The festival market is so beautiful, with thousands of lights everywhere, not to ntion the dragon and lion dances, the fireworks... so lovely! That day, His Majesty even held in his arms... Oh right, you haven’t seen my father, have you? Let tell you, my father is the best father under heaven, he is the Supre Ninth Five..."
As Little Yan Yan continued to boast to Brother Jing, his eyes widened, embedding the yearning for His Majesty deep into his marrow.
Years later, when he stood on the lofty court, looking back, he would sigh!
If it hadn’t been for the First Princess’s words back then, he would certainly not have achieved what he had today! Of course, all of that was to co later.
"Enough, enough, don’t talk now. Let’s eat first, then we can go play. Keep an eye on your younger sister Little Sugar Bean, understand?"
Su Pan’er instructed Little Yan Yan earnestly, and only when she saw Little Yan Yan nod did she let her be.
After the al, Su Pan’er took Lui Muyi aside to the Baoyue Pavilion.
No matter how you put it, they had acknowledged each other as siblings, but in the end, Lui Muyi was still an outsider and also her brother-in-law, so it was naturally good to avoid suspicion. The Baoyue Pavilion was at just the right distance, far enough for those dining to see them but not hear their conversation, exactly the right distance.
Su Pan’er remained silent, as did Lui Muyi.
The Lui Muyi of today was almost a different person from when he was first t, his entire deanor was brushed with a mature stability, even his furrowed brow added a level of maturity.
Silence wasn’t a solution, so Su Pan’er spoke first: "Big Brother Lui, I noticed you almost didn’t touch your chopsticks, do the dishes not suit your taste?"
So she had noticed he ate less!
Lui Muyi’s heart thumped wildly, but he soon cald down.
Forcing calmness, he spoke: "The Imperial als are naturally fine, and they taste very good. It’s just that Lui Muyi has been a bit of a glutton recently, I ate too much before leaving ho and felt a bit overfed. That’s why I ate so little. The Empress worries too much."
"I see. If it’s overeating, I have a good prescription here. Take it ho later, brew it and drink it, and you should be fine," Su Pan’er said nonchalantly.
Lui Muyi responded indifferently. He seed to gaze at her belly a few tis more than necessary: "Empress, you are six or seven months along with the pregnancy, aren’t you?" Lui Muyi wasn’t sure how big a pregnant woman’s belly should be, but Su Pan’er’s belly was unmistakably large.
Her belly was only at four months but it was already noticeably prominent, resembling that of five or six months.
"Not yet, I’m carrying twins. I was also one of the twins." Su Pan’er thought of her younger sister who had beco a nun at the Quiet Cloud Nunnery. During her last visit there, she had intended to see her, but her younger sister had gone missing. She had sent people to look for her afterward but had never located her whereabouts, leaving her constantly worried.
"I see."
Lui Muyi was sowhat embarrassed. Although he had heard rumours among the common folk that the Empress was pregnant with twins, hearing it was one thing and seeing it was another.
Neither of them spoke again, falling back into silence.
"Big Brother Lui, these past years, have you resented ?"
Su Pan’er suddenly asked.
Lui Muyi was quite surprised, arched his eyebrows curiously: "Why does the Empress ask such a question?"
Su Pan’er lowered her gaze: "Naturally, it’s about the matter of Fifth Cousin Sister Su Xian’er. Back then... back then giving away Cousin Sister ..."
"Don’t ntion her, she got what she deserved!"
Whenever Su Xian’er was ntioned, Lui Muyi couldn’t help but gnash his teeth again. If it weren’t for her ddling back then, causing so much trouble, Younger Sister Pan’er wouldn’t have had to endure such hardship and suffer so much. And he wouldn’t be shad in front of Younger Sister Pan’er...
How is one supposed to respond to that?
Su Pan’er had never found it so difficult to speak with Lui Muyi before. But on further reflection, Su Xian’er’s wrongdoing, when all was said and done, wasn’t it all caused by jealousy?
Su Xian’er had gone to the Quiet Cloud Nunnery to "recuperate," and it wasn’t just Lui Muyi who suffered!
There was also Su Xian’er’s equally frail mother, who had tried to speak several tis but stopped herself, and Patriarch Su who kept glancing at her, which made it difficult for her to disregard the situation.
"Big Brother Lui, is Fifth Cousin Sister feeling any better?"
Lui Muyi suddenly looked up, staring at her with a surprised expression as if he hadn’t quite heard her, and asked subconsciously, "What? What did you just say..."
"That ancestral hall is so desolate. Although it’s said to be a good place for recuperating, it ultimately lacks the company of others for a quicker recovery."
Su Pan’er blatantly lied, "It seems to that the Lui Family isn’t lacking just one more room or those two servants to tend to her, let alone so daily expenses, which must surely be a trifle."
Did that an she wanted Su Xian’er to return to the Lui Family?
Lui Muyi stared intently at Su Pan’er and suddenly sneered, "As expected of an Empress, your magnanimity is quite different from before. Your Highness, do you realize what you are saying? To release the tiger back to the mountain..."
"Is that a tiger? Clearly, it’s more like a sick cat, and a long-suffering one at that."
Su Pan’er interrupted him. Then she laughed again, "But then again, even if she were a tiger, I bet with your skills, Big Brother Lui, you could make her as docile as a kitten, couldn’t you?"
Back then, due to a montary lapse, Su Xian’er almost hard Little Yan Yan and even more so, Su Pan’er herself. But in the end, they were both safe and sound. As punishnt, having her locked in the Quiet Cloud Nunnery for nearly two years was punishnt enough!
Now that she was living a harmonious and beautiful life in the palace, even if Su Xian’er were to return to the Lui Family, she would inevitably be watched closely by them and wouldn’t be able to cause any serious trouble.
But if she were released, not only would it cheer up the grandfather, but it would also allow her and her husband to reunite.
The Lui Family had assisted her in managing her private affairs for many years, and she was indebted to them with no way to repay, so continuing to keep the couple apart for years was really not a good thing.
Besides, she could see Lui Muyi’s feelings for her. She couldn’t give him what he wanted in return, the least she could do was to find soone who could make him happy. Although Su Xian’er had gone astray, her affection for Lui Muyi was beyond doubt!
Lui Muyi was silent!
These days, his father hadn’t stopped ntioning Su Xian’er to him.
His father’s idea was either to take a concubine to continue the Lui Family lineage or to seek Pan’er’s help to bring Su Xian’er back to the Lui Family.
But after what Su Xian’er had done, he couldn’t bring himself to say such things...
Now that Su Pan’er had brought it up on her own, he felt a sense of relief, yet at the sa ti, a sour pain spread through his chest, almost completely engulfing him...
"Fine!"
Lui Muyi’s response was wooden, the word "fine" hardly seeming to co from his own mouth.
He forced himself to bow with a cupped-fist salute toward Su Pan’er, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your generosity!"
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