Farewell Flower Festival

This year's New Year's Eve was also the first time that Chao Yan entered the palace to have New Year's Eve dinner with Mu Tianling as Princess Ling.

At the dinner, Concubine Yin reported the good news to Emperor Mu, saying that Han Min was pregnant. Concubine Yin waved her hand, and Mu Tianqi took Han Min forward. Han Min lowered her head slightly, and her face blushed, feeling a little embarrassed.

Not long ago, Chao Yan heard that Crown Princess Liu Sui was pregnant. Now she heard that Han Min was pregnant too. She subconsciously looked in the direction of Wen Xue, the Third Emperor's sister-in-law.

Wen Xue met her gaze and lowered her head slightly shyly. Chao Yan also felt that it was inappropriate to stare at someone else's belly. After retracting her gaze, she subconsciously lowered her head to look at her own belly, feeling a little nervous and frightened.

Although she had truly become Shen Xue, having a child so early really made her feel overwhelmed and at a loss as to what to do. What if she really got pregnant? Thinking of the childbirth scenes she had seen in TV dramas before, she felt her scalp tingling and under great pressure. She could only eat to calm herself down.

Mu Tianling considerately put food into her bowl, with a gentle smile on his face and a look as gentle as if melting. He noticed Chaoyan's small action of looking down at her stomach before, and saw through her thoughts at a glance. Chaoyan was even more shy when he saw her with such a gentle look in his eyes, knowing that he must have noticed what she was thinking, and she quietly buried her head in eating.

There was singing and dancing at the dinner, and the atmosphere was full of joy and excitement.

Mu Tianyuan seemed a little restless. He looked at Mu Huang, then at Liu Sui beside him, as if he was in some kind of dilemma.

In the middle of the dinner, he was distracted and almost knocked over his wine glass. Liu Sui also noticed his abnormality and asked him what was wrong. He said a little embarrassedly that he had to go change clothes. Liu Sui smiled behind her handkerchief, which made him even more embarrassed.

Chaoyan felt a little strange when she saw Mu Tianyuan got up and left.

After a while, the person still didn't come back.

Liu Sui asked Luzhu to take people to look for it.

Everyone else was watching the singing and dancing, and some were drunk, so not many people noticed that Mu Tianyuan had left and had not returned yet.

However, Chaoyan noticed it. She had already found it a bit strange, and now seeing Luzhu taking people away, she felt that things were even more complicated.

At this time Han Lie appeared again, walked to Eunuch De and whispered a few words. Eunuch De stepped forward and said, "Your servant will help the emperor change his clothes." Emperor Mu nodded and left with Eunuch De and Han Lie.

Emperor Mu did not show up until after the dinner.

On the way back in the carriage, Chao Yan wondered if something had happened to Mu Tianyuan. Mu Tianling analyzed that if something really happened, the news would not be easily spread.

As Mu Tianling expected, no news came out of the palace until the Lantern Festival.

But often the calmer the surface, the more turbulent waves are hidden beneath it.

During this period, the ministers in the court have been keeping a low profile and have not held any lively banquets or gatherings like in previous years. They have been watching the situation and not trying to take the lead.

On the day after the Lantern Festival, news spread from the palace that Emperor Mu was ill. Emperor Mu then issued an oral decree, asking Mu Tianqi to take over as regent and govern the country.

Emperor Mu was ill this time, and instead of letting Crown Prince Mu Tianyuan serve as regent, he let Second Prince Mu Tianqi govern the country. It is not difficult to imagine that Mu Tianyuan must have made a big mistake and made Emperor Mu sick, and his position as crown prince is probably in danger.

Chaoyan wanted to go to the palace to visit the Crown Princess Liu Sui. She thought that she was not having a good time in the palace now. If she was depressed all day long, it would not be good for the baby in her belly.

Although she did not agree with Mu Tianyuan, if the crown prince changed, the Ling Wang Mansion would be affected in the future. She had to make a decision on what to do in the future.

She discussed it with Mu Tianling. He was a little puzzled and asked Chao Yan if she hated the prince. She said that she hated the prince, but the Crown Princess was different and was worthy of her friendship.

Even if she couldn't help much, at least a visit would give the Crown Princess some comfort. What's more, the Crown Princess was pregnant, her parents and brothers were all in Huaicheng, and there was no relative around her who could comfort her.

Mu Tianling did not object to her visiting the Crown Princess. He just reminded her that the current situation was confusing and he could not care about what others did. The most important thing was her safety.

Chao Yan assured him that she was now a family man and would act carefully.

……

After entering the palace, Chaoyan met Han Lie on the road. She nodded and prepared to leave with Feicui and Amber, but Han Lie stretched out his hand to stop her. Feicui and Amber immediately became alert and protected Chaoyan behind them.

Han Lie took his hand back and said, "Princess, don't be nervous. I just want to remind you not to get involved in this mess."

Chao Yan said: "I don't have the ability to make muddy water clear. The Crown Princess is still pregnant. I'll go visit her. Maybe I can make her happy. This will make her feel better, and it will also be good for the child."

Han Lie said: "If the princess really thinks so, then I will be relieved." He looked at Chao Yan with those slightly smiling fox eyes, and his tone was a little meaningful.

Chao Yan nodded again and left with Jadeite and Amber.

After her figure disappeared around the corner, Han Lie went in another direction.

When Chaoyan saw Liu Sui, she looked very bad and haggard, as if she had not had a good night's sleep for a while. Luzhu brought a stool to the bedside and asked Chaoyan to sit down, then went to pour her some tea.

Liu Sui forced herself to cheer up and smiled, saying that now only Chao Yan dared to visit her. If it were someone else, they would have cut off ties with her and stayed away.

Chaoyan reached out and held her hand, and found that her hands were cold, so she gave her her hand warmer and advised her not to think of the worst of everything, and the most important thing was to take good care of her health.

Liu Sui could hold on at first, but when Chao Yan gave her the hand warmer, the warmth spread into her palms, and she couldn't hold back her tears any longer. Lu Zhu wiped her tears and tried to comfort her, but her own eyes also turned red, with tears welling up in them.

"Sister-in-law, if you trust me, can you tell me what happened?" Chao Yan knew that she shouldn't ask this question. Asking this question would make it seem like she had ulterior motives for coming here and wanted to find out the inside story in order to prepare for the future. But to be honest, she really wanted to know what happened.

Liu Sui wiped her tears with a handkerchief, calmed down and said, "Although we don't meet often, I know you are kind-hearted and not a gossiper. You came to visit me this time with good intentions. So listen to my advice. It's better for you and your fourth brother not to know." She forced a smile and returned the hand warmer to Chao Yan. "Okay, I'm fine. You can go back soon. Luzhu, see the fourth princess off."

When Luzhu saw Chaoyan off, Chaoyan handed the hand warmer to Luzhu and said she would come back to visit in two days. Luzhu came back and handed the hand warmer to Liu Sui, saying, "The Fourth Princess said she would come back to visit the master in two days. I think the Fourth Princess is on the master's side. If the master asks, the Fourth Princess should help us." Liu Sui looked at the hand warmer and said, "It's easy to add icing on the cake, but it's hard to send charcoal in the snow. But now, no one can help."