adbindia Chapter 202
Chapter 202
Because she had eaten very little over the past few days, Yun Wan eventually threw up nothing but sour fluid, which made Emperor Jingxuan's heart ache terribly.
He carefully gathered Yun Wan into his arms, personally poured tea for her to rinse her mouth, and used a clean handkerchief to wipe the water stains from the corners of her lips and the sweat from her face.
Feeling disheveled, Yun Wan pushed him away somewhat awkwardly. "I am dirty, don't soil your clothes."
"If they get dirty, I will just change them. Be good, my lady."
Emperor Jingxuan forcefully secured her waist, kept a straight face, and patted her bottom, voicing his retort.
The pat did not hurt, but its presence was extremely strong. Yun Wan's ears and neck flushed a deep red, and she instantly stopped moving.
Seeing her quiet down, Emperor Jingxuan looked satisfied. He uncapped the anti-nausea medicine prepared by the imperial physician and placed it under Yun Wan's nose. "Smell this. If you still feel unwell, I will order the ship to dock and we will take the land route instead."
The land route meant taking a horse-drawn carriage, which required a detour. It would be a full hour or more slower than the water route, not as fast as taking a boat, nor as cool as being on the river.
Yun Wan shook her head in resistance. "I'm not feeling unwell anymore, let's continue on the boat."
She was just a little seasick. Just like when she was five or six years old and took a merchant ship back to Yangzhou with her uncle, Yun Wan had also been seasick for several days. Later, after taking many boats in Yangzhou, she was no longer prone to it. She didn't expect that after so many years of not traveling by boat, this seasickness would act up again.
Knowing that the previous carriage accident had left a shadow on her and she still rejected it in her heart, Emperor Jingxuan said, "If you feel unwell, you must tell me. You cannot force yourself, otherwise I will hold them accountable!"
He glanced coldly at Yue Ya, Fuling, and the other palace maids.
Yue Ya and the others knelt down in panic.
Yun Wan leaned in his embrace and said helplessly, "Your Majesty, don't frighten them. I know my own body. If I truly feel unwell, I will definitely tell you."
After saying that, she instructed Yue Ya, "I am a little thirsty, I want to drink some sour plum soup."
Yue Ya understood that her master was helping them out of a predicament and hurriedly said, "This servant will go prepare it right away."
Yun Wan: "Go and see what Sui and the others are doing. Don't let them get too close to the railing."
Although the possibility of falling in was very small, it was still necessary to remind them and take precautions in advance.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
As soon as her voice fell, a familiar figure and voice appeared at the door.
"Mother, are you feeling better? Do you want to eat some lotus seeds? I will peel them for you."
Sui trotted in, holding two or three bright green lotus seed pods in his arms. Hearing that his mother was seasick and vomiting, he had hurried over.
The stems of the lotus seed pods were very long; held in his arms, they were half a head taller than him.
Yun Wan propped herself up, looked at the lotus seed pods in his arms in surprise, and asked, "Where did these fresh lotus seed pods come from?"
Sui put down the lotus seed pods and explained, "Just now, the boat passed by a patch of lotus flowers, and Eunuch De picked them for us."
Approaching the temporary palace, the boat sailed into a lake. A large area of lotus flowers was planted in the lake, and Xiao Dezi took the opportunity to pick a few stems for the little masters.
Sui did not forget to wipe his palms and clothes clean, and then leaned on Emperor Jingxuan's thighs, talking to Yun Wan: "I just tasted one, it's very fresh and sweet, without the bitter lotus heart. Eunuch De said it hasn't grown out yet; the lotus seeds are fresh and tender, perfect for eating raw."
Yun Wan smiled and reached out her hand. "Then peel one for Mother, and Mother will taste it too."
Hearing this, Sui immediately became energetic. He rolled up his sleeves and began to peel the lotus seeds, casually peeling off the green outer skin, and handed the round white lotus seeds to the two of them.
"Two for Mother, one for Imperial Father."
Emperor Jingxuan paused slightly as he pinched the lotus seed, "Why do I only get one?"
"Because I also want to eat one, that's fair."
Sui said it as a matter of course. He had peeled four in total and wanted to reward himself with one.
Emperor Jingxuan snorted softly, reluctantly accepting this explanation.
The two lotus seeds were eaten in a few bites, and Yun Wan said with a smile, "It is indeed delicious, sweet and fresh, without the bitterness of the lotus heart."
Simply put, they were still baby lotus seeds, very tender, and suitable for eating raw.
She did not feel uncomfortable after eating them.
Sui became even more motivated, "Since Mother likes it, I will peel more."
Having mastered the skill of peeling shrimp to perfection since he was a child, peeling small lotus seeds was a piece of cake for Sui. He peeled them very fast, and every lotus seed was pure white and flawless.
After he finished peeling one pod, Yun Wan spoke up to stop him, "That's enough, if you peel any more, your hands will hurt."
Sui obediently did not continue peeling, and stuffed the remaining two lotus seed pods to Emperor Jingxuan. The meaning was self-evident.
Emperor Jingxuan laughed in exasperation.
For the sake of his wife liking to eat them, he still peeled them himself.
However, he was heavy-handed, and the small and tender lotus seeds were peeled by him until they were bumpy and uneven. The mother and son looked at each other, neither of them wanting to eat them.
Emperor Jingxuan: .........
Heartbreaking.
.......
The boat traveled on the lake for more than half an hour, arriving near noon.
There were already palace servants waiting on the shore, having prepared sedan chairs to send the masters to their residences in the temporary palace.
Without a doubt, the place where Emperor Jingxuan stayed was Penglai Pavilion, the coolest and best-located place in the entire temporary palace, and Yun Wan stayed with him.
The other accompanying concubines, such as Concubine Hui, were arranged to stay elsewhere. They had foresight and knew that their coming to escape the summer heat was just a byproduct, so they all chose residences farther away from Penglai Pavilion.
Anyway, it was a trip to escape the summer heat; it would be a waste not to come.
Emperor Jingxuan stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the children in front of him, and asked, "What about you boys? Where do you want to stay?"
Sui said without hesitation, "I will stay wherever Mother stays."
Pei Qian nodded, "We are good brothers, we want to stay together!"
The Third Prince chimed in, "I will stay wherever they stay."
One after another spoke up, and Emperor Jingxuan's mouth twitched slightly.
Fine, these three brats could only stay together in Penglai Pavilion.
Fortunately, Penglai Pavilion did not lack space.
He turned his head to ask the Crown Prince, "And you?"
The Crown Prince looked at the three of them, lowered his head and said, "This son obeys Imperial Father."
Emperor Jingxuan: "Pinghu Residence is also good, you can go there."
As for the First Princess, she stayed with Consort Xian, as always.
The Crown Prince murmured, "Thank you, Imperial Father. This son takes his leave."
His heart felt sour. Why were Qi Chenghui and Qi Chengsui qualified to stay in Penglai Pavilion, and even Pei Qian, an outsider, but he had to stay elsewhere?
But he did not dare to show his dissatisfaction to others. Since his uncle's family was raided and his mother's rank was demoted and she was grounded, the Crown Prince had experienced the fickleness of human nature. People who used to interact with him enthusiastically now avoided him like the plague.
They were all people who curried favor with the powerful!
The Crown Prince felt resentful and gloomy in his heart.
At the same time, he fiercely held a grudge against the three of them in his heart.
Sui sneezed, and the palace servants hurriedly poured him hot tea.
Penglai Pavilion was surrounded by water on three sides. The shade of the trees was dense, making it very cool. Even without using an ice basin in the room, one would not feel stifled. It was a refreshing contrast to the imperial palace.
After getting off the boat, Yun Wan felt much better. For lunch, she drank a bowl of lotus seed porridge.
The lotus seeds used were exactly the half bowl peeled by Emperor Jingxuan.
In the afternoon, Yun Wan felt sleepy and rested on the beauty couch. When she woke up, she saw Sui and the other two with their faces full of red mosquito bites.
"?"