Chapter 16 Huaqing Palace in the Deep Night

Deep in the night, Qin Zheng Palace.

Jiang Chen concluded the secret discussion and handed the family tree on the table back to Jing Yue, signaling her to put it back in its original place.

Currently, the enemy is in the dark while he is exposed, so he must be cautious in every move he makes.

Therefore, the news of browsing the royal family tree must not be leaked, lest it arouse the vigilance of those behind the scenes.

It wasn't until Jing Yue left that Feng Jin, who had been waiting for a long time, stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, it's getting late, would you like to retire for the night?"

Jiang Chen was not sleepy. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said, "No, I want to go to Huaqing Palace to take a look. Go and prepare."

He remembered that Feng Jin had mentioned that Xu Jiaying had trouble sleeping and needed the help of spices to rest properly.

Jiang Chen wanted to visit her and see if her insomnia had improved.

Upon receiving the order, Feng Jin did not leave immediately, but said with a troubled expression, "Your Majesty, Noble Consort Ying took leave two days ago, saying that she was not feeling well and removed her nameplate for serving you in bed."

"What do you think, how about changing to someone else? I'll bring the nameplates right away, and you can choose."

"No need, I'm just going to take a look, it doesn't matter."

With that, Jiang Chen stood up and walked towards Huaqing Palace.

Seeing this, Feng Jin quickly followed and ordered his men to arrange the imperial carriage.

By the time everything was ready and they arrived at Huaqing Palace, half an hour had passed.

At this time, the night was deep, and Huaqing Palace was in darkness, not even the lighting had been lit.

This deathly silence made Jiang Chen, who had just stepped out of the imperial carriage, frown.

Was it because the Ministry of Internal Affairs was mistreating Jia Ying so harshly? Or had her insomnia become so severe that she couldn't bear to see even a hint of light?

It seemed that because she didn't want to be disturbed, the servants of Huaqing Palace had been dismissed, and Jiang Chen didn't see a single palace servant along the way.

Even the usual night watch palace maids were gone, which was very abnormal!

In this strange atmosphere, Jiang Chen stepped into the inner hall of Huaqing Palace.

He pushed open the vermilion door.

Jiang Chen subconsciously lightened his steps, making no sound.

But Xu Jiaying, who should have been lying in bed sleeping peacefully, was nowhere to be seen.

Jiang Chen thought for a few seconds and put his hand into the bedding, unsurprisingly finding that there was no warmth in it at all.

The appearance of this situation meant that the person on the bed had been gone for a long time... but where could she go in the middle of the night?

Just as Jiang Chen was wondering, a faint sound of a woman sobbing suddenly entered his ears!

The sound was ethereal, filled with extreme sorrow and resentment, drifting from the outer courtyard.

Jiang Chen felt a chill down his spine, but after calming down, he felt that the voice was strangely familiar, and he couldn't help but walk towards the source.

He pushed open the side door and walked to the big tree at the end of the courtyard.

Under the lush canopy stood a woman, with a petite figure, wearing a thin palace dress, as beautiful as a moon elf.

It was Xu Jiaying!

And the mournful cry came from her mouth, appearing particularly painful and helpless in the cold night.

Jiang Chen watched her back from afar, his brow slightly furrowed. What happened? Did someone upset her?

While thinking, Jiang Chen strode to Xu Jiaying's side, took off his cloak, and wrapped it around her trembling delicate body.

"What happened that made you so sad?"

"I said before that I would compensate you. If you feel wronged, don't hold back. You can come to Qin Zheng Palace to find me, and I will stand up for you!"

The unexpected warmth startled Xu Jiaying, and her sobs stopped abruptly.

"Your, Your Majesty, why are you here at this hour?"

Jiang Chen took out a delicate wooden box and said gently, "I heard that you haven't been resting well lately, so I came to visit and bring you some gifts."

As he spoke, he took Xu Jiaying into his arms and gently wiped away the tears on her face.

The focused and gentle movements stunned Xu Jiaying for a moment, and she even forgot to reply.

After a long time, until Jiang Chen completely withdrew his hand, she finally came back to her senses, and a complex emotion surged in her beautiful eyes.

"Your Majesty, I'm fine. It's getting late, you should go back and rest."

Jiang Chen raised his eyebrows slightly and scratched Xu Jiaying's delicate nose: "You're the only one in the entire harem who would ask me to leave!"

"You're crying like this, did something happen? Tell me, and I'll solve it for you." His tone was calm, with an imperceptible hint of pampering.

Xu Jiaying was silent for a moment before choking, "Thank, thank you for your concern, Your Majesty, it's just that today is my mother's birthday..."

Her almond-shaped eyes filled with mist, and she bit her lip and said, "In the past, at this time, I would specially cook and make a bowl of longevity noodles for my mother, but..."

Xu Jiaying didn't continue.

But Jiang Chen could feel her grief, and a trace of loss could not help but appear in his eyes.

Some regrets, even if he is the emperor, with power over the four seas, he can't recover some things after all.

He tightened his big hand on Xu Jiaying's waist and said softly, "Do you want to be with your family?"

Xu Jiaying nodded, silently shedding tears.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen couldn't bear it: "Then I will send a team of imperial guards to escort you to the imperial manor tomorrow."

This was all he could do now.

Seemingly feeling Jiang Chen's soft heart, Xu Jiaying suddenly knelt down and pleaded:

"Your Majesty, I want to stay in the imperial manor for a few more days, may I?"

"Okay, I allow it, get up quickly, the ground is too cold!"

With that, Jiang Chen picked up Xu Jiaying and walked towards the inner hall of Huaqing Palace.

"'Our body, hair, and skin are received from our parents'. Your family members in heaven will definitely hope that you can take care of yourself and live a healthy and happy life."

"Don't cry like this in the future, it's bad for your eyes. Excessive worry is also very harmful to your health..."

Xu Jiaying buried her head in Jiang Chen's chest, listening quietly, without saying a word.

But from an angle that no one could see, the clarity in her almond eyes had been replaced by resentment and hatred.

Today was not her mother's birthday, but the memorial day for the entire Xu family!

What was hateful was that because she had become this dog emperor's noble consort, she was restricted by palace rules and couldn't even burn paper money for her deceased family members!

She hated it so much, hated the dog emperor, and even more hated herself, who was useless and couldn't do anything!

She was an unfilial daughter, and also an irresponsible sister... she, she was sorry for her family's years of care and love!

Her cold gaze climbed onto Jiang Chen's face. Looking at the man's concerned expression, Xu Jiaying no longer had any hesitation in her heart.

At this moment, she had already made a choice!

The night grew deeper.

Jiang Chen put Xu Jiaying on the bed, personally comforted her to sleep, and then left Huaqing Palace.

Originally, he didn't want to leave, but Xu Jiaying disagreed, showing a lot of resistance. Jiang Chen understood her mood, so he didn't force it.

Listening to the sound of wheels gradually moving away outside the window.

Xu Jiaying's eyelashes trembled, and after a few breaths, she suddenly opened her eyes and took out a waist tag from the secret compartment on the bedside.

It was stolen from Jiang Chen.

Xu Jiaying stroked the waist tag, feeling the unique dragon pattern on it, a trace of determination flashed in her eyes, and finally turned into calmness.

Then she turned over and got out of bed, changed into the prepared palace maid's uniform, and quietly ran towards the outside world...