Chapter 19: 19

A Visitation (2)

The next morning, the coronation ceremony was finally held on the east side of Taiji Hall as scheduled.

This time, there was not a hint of dissent among the officials and nobilities. The coronation ceremony was completed successfully under the direction of the Master of Ceremonies.

Soon after that, the crowd hurriedly went to the west of Taiji Hall to proceed with the late Emperor’s funeral.

When the late Emperor’s body was placed in a coffin and everyone changed into different mourning clothes based on the degree of their relation to the late Emperor, the funeral finally ended.

As the dust settled, Xiao Yu released his tautly wounded nerves slightly. His weak body was finally at its limit, and he fainted the moment they returned to the Palace of Eternal Spring.

Chu Ning was also exhausted. She could only order the servants to carry him into his room and order another servant to get the imperial physician.

As she waited for the imperial physician to arrive, she called Zhao Yanzhou to meet her outside the palace’s main door and whispered to inquire about Xiao Yu’s reaction last night. Zhao Yanzhou informed her that Xiao Yu ordered someone to send the official epistles written by him and the courtiers on his side to the Palace of Divine Dragons. Chu Ning sighed in relief and returned to the palace.

Although she hated Xiao Yu, she did not wish for him to be killed by the Prince of Qin in a battle for the throne. After all, she was his wife and the daughter of a disgraced minister. As she had no powerful family of her own, her security relied entirely on Xiao Yu alone.

Soon, a maid called from outside the palace, “Your Highness, the imperial physician is here.”

Chu Ning was about to send Cui He to welcome the imperial physician when the maid continued after some hesitation, “His Majesty… His Majesty is also on the way.”

Chu Ning was stunned for a moment before recovering and remembered that ‘His Majesty’ meant the newly enthroned Xiao Kezhi.

Why is he visiting the Palace of Eternal Spring at this hour?　　

Chu Ning felt her heart constrict a little. She looked through the wide-open doors and saw a figure approaching. She did not dare to doubt and took a deep breath before walking out of the door to welcome the incoming figure. She bowed before him.

“Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I didn’t know that you were visiting, so I failed to come out to welcome you earlier. The Crown Prince has fainted from exhaustion after today’s events and is still unconscious. Please forgive him for not coming out to greet you himself, Your Majesty.”

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She kept her gaze lowered. Her hair was done in a high up-do, which revealed part of her fair neck to his gaze. Her bare skin seemed to gleam gently under the bright sunset. 

Xiao Kezhi stopped with a two-step distance between them. His sharp gaze flickered when it caught a glance of her neck.

“Please stand.”

He took another step forward and leaned down slowly to pull her up by her elbow.

His deep and rough voice was completely calm, so Chu Ning was unable to read his thoughts. The feeling of his large and hot hand by her elbow reminded her of the incident at the pavilion a couple of days ago.

She couldn’t help being stunned and gathered courage to look up into his eyes. She also tried to move her arm away from his tight grip.

This time, he did not refuse to let her go. He relaxed his grip, looked away, and said, “I heard that the Crown Prince is ill, so I came to see him.”　

After that, he did not wait for her reply and walked past her into the main hall of the palace.

In another room, the imperial physician was examining the pulse of the still unconscious Xiao Yu and questioned a nearby maid about what happened. Xiao Kezhi did not go into the room. He took a seat outside and waited quietly. There was not a hint of emotions on his face.

With a wave of his hand, he had sent out all the maids who were standing in wait out of the main hall. His two guards stood by the door like statues, so the maids did not dare to come near and could only stand in wait from afar.

Chu Ning looked at Xiao Yu who was lying on a bed and confirmed that he was indeed unconscious. Then, she reached for a teapot on the table and poured a cup of hot tea for Xiao Kezhi personally.

“Your Majesty, please have some tea.”

As she handed the tea cup to him with both hands, she gazed up stealthily to observe his reaction.

Just as he reached out to receive the cup, her fingertips moved slightly. It was uncertain whether it was deliberate or accidental as she rubbed against his hand.

He did not react to the brief touch at all. Instead, he was looking at the steaming tea with a cold expression.

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