Chapter 847: It's time to settle old scores

Dou AnKang walked straight past Yin Ji and entered the inner chamber.
Xiu Xiu, who was about to leave, stopped in her tracks and turned back. The sound of conversation, which had just calmed down in the inner chamber, started again.
"Just now, my elder brother mentioned you to me, I thought he was kidding, but it turns out you really came back... After staying in the palace for so long, you didn't even think about recognizing me..."
This is the plaintive cry of Dou An Kang. Although it sounds calmer than Xiu Xiu's voice just now, she has always been physically weak, so her sobbing is particularly pitiable. Xie Yun's originally gentle voice becomes even softer.
"I didn't intentionally hide it from you. It's just that the timing wasn't right. I was afraid that even if I told you, you wouldn't believe it. We still have a long way to go in the future, so there's no rush for this right now."
"Where have you been all these years? Why did you come back now?"
Xie Yun repeated what she had just said to Xiuxiu without any sign of impatience.
Yin Ji stood outside the door and listened. No matter how he looked at it, he didn't feel like these three people were going to separate. He sighed and returned to the outer hall, where he saw Xue Jing still waiting outside. He waved at him and said, "You can go back now. It seems like they will be talking all night."
Xue Jing hesitated a bit, not because he wanted to stay in the palace, but because when he admitted to this earlier, Xiu Xiu was in a hurry and didn't have time to hold him accountable. He thought about waiting here for her to come out, taking advantage of her happiness to explain a few things to himself.
The situation seems more complex than can be explained in just a few sentences.
After hesitating for a moment, he sighed and said, "Yes, I will take my leave."
As soon as he left the outer hall, it became empty. He leaned against the Luo Han bed and silently stared at the hourglass. Yuchun approached with light footsteps and said, "Your Majesty, should I invite a few people to the side hall?"
Yin Ji shook his head, "Forget it, after a long time apart, let's not disturb them."
"Then...would you like to stay in the side hall for the night?"
Yin Ji didn't move either, "They can't really say for one night, so bring in the talisman."
Yuchun promptly left and replaced the dim lamp with a bright glass lamp. Yinji relied on the lamp's light to handle government affairs. Although matters in the court are usually examined by the Ministry of Works and sent to the border, things that have not been sent cannot be considered unimportant and still need to be dealt with promptly.
However, after rushing for a long time on the road, he didn't have any rest after returning today, and soon he fell asleep leaning on the Luohan bed.
When Xie Yun opened the door of the inner hall to send the two out, he saw his shadow nestling on the Luohan bed.
She instinctively "shushed" and both Xiuxiu and Dou Ankang quieted down.
"It's really late today, you guys go back first. There's plenty of time ahead of us. We'll talk later."
Dou Ankang held her hand tightly. "Let's agree that you will come to find us for lunch tomorrow."
Xie Yun responded and watched the two of them leave the gate of Qianyuan Palace. She then walked slowly to Yin Ji's side, intending to call him to go to bed. However, seeing him sleeping soundly, she felt a bit reluctant. She was afraid that if she woke him up, he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again.
After returning, she hadn't seen Yin Ji sleep until dawn in the past six months.
Tang Ting said he had a heartache, and medicine was useless. He had to figure it out himself.
Xie Yun sighed, feeling a bit sorry in her heart. She brought a blanket and gently laid it on Yin Ji. Then she got in herself. Although her movements were light, the man woke up and held her waist when she got in.
"Awake? Don't talk, you can still sleep for a while."
Yin Ji buried his head in her neck and rubbed it. "Sleeping a little less won't hurt... Have you finished talking?"
He said as he hugged her tighter, his whole body pressing closer. Xie Yun tightened the hand that was hugging her waist, brought it even closer. "We kept it hidden from them for so long, there are always some things that need to be explained clearly. Why did you fall asleep here?"
Yin Ji didn't say anything anymore. He just leaned against her and closed his eyes. Of course, he had to sleep here. It would be very ominous if they slept separately when they returned to the palace.
Xie Yun didn't ask any more questions either. She turned over and raised her hand to pat his back. When Yin Ji's breathing gradually became long and gentle, she fell asleep as well.
When she woke up again, the sky was already bright, and she found herself back on the dragon bed. There was no trace of movement on the other half of the bed, indicating that Yin Ji had put her down and left for the morning court.
After the emperor's personal expedition, the Great Dynasty naturally requires more time.
"Summon the men!"
Cai Tianxi trembled and walked in: "Has the young lady woken up?"
Perhaps realizing that Cai Tianxi was indeed getting older, Yin Ji would often take Yu Chun with him when he had matters to attend to, leaving Cai Tianxi behind in the palace to handle trivial matters.
"When did the Emperor leave? Did he leave any message?"
"Cai Tianxi's memory is quite good. The Emperor left at the Mao hour and said he would leave a few important ministers behind for a meal today. Please arrange it, Miss."
Xie Yun got out of bed and got off the ground. Yin Ji kept the courtiers to eat, saving her the trouble. She happened to go to the Changyan Hall.
"Bring me the menu."
Cai Tianxi had already prepared it and hurriedly had someone send it over. There was nothing special about keeping the meal, and Xie Yun just changed a few dishes according to the courtiers' preferences.
Perhaps there were too many things to attend to, Yin Ji did not return after the morning court and instead had his meal in the nearby Hongming Hall. Xie Yun went over to take a look and vaguely heard that they were discussing the rewards for the great victory this time.
Others may have opinions, but there are two difficulties. One is Dou Jing, he is the remnant of the Dou family and according to reason, he is not qualified to enter the court again; the other is Xie Ji, currently half of the court officials are from humble backgrounds, the situation of being oppressed by the aristocratic children is still fresh in their minds, and it was not easy to drive the aristocratic families out of the court in the first place. If we call them back again, will it be like inviting a wolf into the house?
Xie Yun is sensitive about her identity and prefers to stay away, so she went to the Changnian Hall.
Xiu Xiu had been waiting at the fork in the road early on, and when she saw her coming, she happily approached, hardly different from the little girl three years ago.
"Aunt!"
She held onto Xie Yun's arm, leaning against her and acting coquettishly. The nearby Zhijin was stunned and couldn't even speak, seeing that she had been transferred to the Shanggong Bureau after entering the palace. All the showgirls she had seen before were calm, determined, and efficient, and she never knew that she still had such a girlish side. She was shocked and couldn't even utter a word for a while.
Xie Yun smiled and said, "Shanggong, how can you win people's approval with such an expression?"
Xiu Xiu laughed and said, "I don't need to win people's approval with a cold face... Aunt, I am powerful now. I was the one who discovered Lady Xia before, right? Have I made progress?"
Xie Yun gently touched her head, and Xiu Xiu was such a gentle and soft person. Now, she must have had a hard time standing alone.
"Of course, she has made progress. After three days of parting, one will see an improvement."
Xiu Xiu smiled happily, but Xie Yun didn't want her to lose composure in front of the palace people. He quickly pulled her towards the Changnian Palace. However, before they could enter, they saw a small figure dart in, followed by a nanny chasing after him, saying, "Little prince, slow down."
Xie Yun stopped in her tracks, Little Prince... This is Wang Xinu's child. After returning, she has been busy catching up with old friends and seems to have forgotten about her. It is time to go and meet her.