Chapter 158: Super Fond of His Majesty

Chapter 158: Super Fond of His Majesty

Manager Wang hesitated before admitting, “Wu Zhao Rong…”

Manager Xiang nodded, “Alright, I’ll cover for you this time, but only this once. If there’s a next time, you’re on your own. Blind fool.”

Having said that, he walked away, clearly not intending to enlighten him.

Listening to Wu Zhao Rong's words, his brain doesn’t need enlightening; it’s doomed sooner or later.

Wang's apprentice came over, curious, “Why does Manager Xiang seem so supportive of her?”

Wang thought to himself, whom should I ask? He smacked the apprentice on the back of the head and sent him away.

As Manager Xiang walked, he pondered, out of favor? Ha, how so?

On their journey north, she was in favor. The imperial carriage returned late by a few days, all because she fell ill.

Some even speculated it was because Xu Baolin's pregnancy was unstable.

Nonsense, what do they know.

Besides, Jing Meiren found an opportunity to be promoted by His Majesty.

Could Yun Li really be out of favor now?

Blind fools. Fortunately, Yun Li understands and won’t blame the Internal Affairs Department.

After all, with over a dozen departments under the Internal Affairs, it’s indeed impossible to manage everything tightly.

But, she does not hold grudges, he needs to reciprocate.

So, in a few days, he subtly mentioned Wu Zhao Rong.

Yun Li, hearing the news, just shook her head, finding it amusing.

What’s the point of such actions?

Is this holding a grudge, then?

Yun Li was not in a hurry to seek revenge. No rush.

On the thirteenth day of Yun Li's confinement, it snowed at midnight, and by morning, a thick layer had settled.

In the morning, Li Mu from Zhengyang Palace came again, all smiles: "Greetings to Beauty Qiong."

"Dispense with the formalities. Does the Emperor have a message?" Yun Li asked.

"Ah, the Emperor has sent me to invite you to the Luomei Pavilion for a snow appreciation banquet hosted by Consort Mei, including a barbecue. Everyone's been invited," Li Mu said.

"Oh? So I'm not confined anymore?" Yun Li raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, what could be more important than the Emperor inviting you?" Li Mu replied.

Yun Li nodded, "You're right. I'll change my clothes and then attend the banquet," she said with a smile.

Li Mu couldn't tell if she was happy or not.

He thought to himself that despite her young age, she was quite deep.

Yun Li changed into an orange-red dress embroidered with plum blossoms all over the hem, featuring narrow sleeves also adorned with scattered plum blossom petals.

She cinched her waist with a belt embroidered with gold-thread plum blossoms.

She wore matching embroidered shoes.

Her hair was styled into a lotus bun, neither too loose nor too tight, secured with jewelry made of red gold and coral beads.

A tassel swayed by her ear.

A small red dot was placed at the center of her forehead, and the latter half of her eyebrows was elongated.

A touch of red rouge softly blended at the corner of her eyes.

Her lips lightly coated with rouge, she chose a pair of coral bead earrings.

Draped in a thick ivory-colored fox fur cloak, she stood up with Zhu Que's assistance: "Let's go."

She was accompanied by Zhu Que and Zhu Yu.

Li Mu had been waiting all this while, and upon glancing at her, thought, how could someone deemed to have lost favor look like this?

Throughout the entire palace, who else possessed such elegance?

See, with just a mention from Consort Mei, she has made her appearance.

Ah, it's not that His Majesty has forgotten her; he was just waiting for an opportunity, and here it is.

Lost in thoughts along the way, they arrived at the Luomei Pavilion in the imperial garden.

Upon arrival, they noticed the gathering wasn't large.

Despite Li Mu's indication that many were invited, the Empress, Noble Consort, and Consort De were absent.

Consort Lan was present.

Neither Consort Ye nor Consort Wu attended.

Consort Shu and Consort Ning were there. So was Quiet Beauty.

Among the lower ranks, only Lady Li and Lady Wu were present.

Yun Li first paid her respects, offering a gentle smile to His Majesty: "This concubine pays respect to Your Majesty. May you be forever well."

His Majesty nodded: "My dear, it's been a while since we've seen each other."

Yun Li responded with a smile, after greeting the others: "Indeed, it has been a while. I was planning to seek an audience with Your Majesty after my confinement ended. Now that Your Majesty has summoned me first, it's beyond my expectations."

His Majesty gave a half-smile, "What did my beloved intend to discuss with me?"

Yun Li replied with a laugh, "To act coy and seek Your Majesty's favor."

Emperor Heling was speechless.

He had expected an apology or something of the sort.

"Oh, sister, you've admitted to angering His Majesty, yet you're not thinking of apologizing?" Consort Lan teased, covering her mouth with a laugh.

Yun Li lifted her head, "No. My affection for His Majesty made me speak hastily and anger him. Unless His Majesty decides to ignore me from now on, I will not apologize for such a trivial matter. After all, I adore His Majesty; my heart belongs to him. His Majesty isn't as petty as you think, Consort Lan."

This public declaration of love truly stunned everyone.

Consort Lan had not expected such forthrightness.

Even Emperor Heling felt a bit embarrassed.

"Enough of this nonsense, take a seat," he said.

However, Consort Mei was delighted, "I think what Sister Yun said is wonderful. When you love someone, you should express it. On our grasslands, if you don't speak up about your love, someone else will pursue them."

Being the object of affection, Emperor Heling...

"Wasn't my consort looking forward to the barbecue?"

Consort Mei chuckled, "Yes, the barbecue."

Yun Li smiled sweetly at Emperor Heling.

Unable to resist, he also cracked a smile.

To Consort Lan and the others, this seemed like an exchange of affectionate glances.

"Sister Yun's temperament is unlike the women of Da Jin. No wonder she got along so well with the Grand Consort of Han Wu, and also with Sister Mei," Quiet Beauty remarked with a smile.

"Ah, how is my sister-in-law doing?" Consort Mei inquired, "She can dance, shoot arrows, and used to wrestle too. After becoming pregnant and nearly encountering trouble, my brother forbade her from wrestling."

Yun Li nodded: "The Grand Consort is indeed wonderful, it's just her tolerance for alcohol is too much for me to handle."

Consort Mei laughed heartily: "Her capacity for drinking is impressive, even comparable to my brother."

Consort Mei had this planned all along.

She genuinely likes Yun Li, which is why she suggested inviting Yun Li upon seeing Emperor Heling.

She didn't care about the so-called house arrest. After all, if the emperor says it's okay, then who can object?

Initially, she had no particular thoughts about Consort Lan, but after Consort Lan had a child, her attitude became subtly different.

Which led her to dislike Consort Lan, now focusing her attention solely on conversing with Yun Li.

Emperor Heling found their interaction amusing; Consort Mei is arguably one of the more straightforward ones.

Her dislike for someone is very apparent.

Consort Shu then began discussing musical compositions with Yun Li, previously unaware of Yun Li's remarkable talent for playing the guqin.

Yun Li's reputation for playing the guqin in the north gradually spread, and that's how she came to know.

Being the most considerate of moods, she naturally didn't suggest Yun Li play the guqin right then and there.

Instead, she mentioned inviting her over some other time when she's free.

Despite it being called a snow appreciation banquet, it was really just a gathering, with no one truly admiring the snow.

Recently, He Jinli had been busy. After dealing with the backlog of work upon returning from the north, he truly relaxed for a day.