Chapter 231: Chapter 231: The Imperial Journey Back to the Capital
With her here, Lin Wanyi’s pregnancy can still be controlled.
In fact, Lin Wanyi’s cold illness had mostly healed, plus Doctor Dou came frequently to check her pulse for peace of mind.
If she really wanted to be pregnant at this moment, it wouldn’t be difficult.
But Lin Wanyi was unwilling.
The Second Prince had not yet started his studies, and the Second Princess was only five months old.
Although there was a turnaround in family matters, it wasn’t enough for her to face the storms within the palace.
She didn’t want the child to be born into a turbulent environment, so it’s better for her to be more cautious.
The Emperor didn’t hold much hope for this matter.
Seeing that Lin Wanyi didn’t answer, he stopped talking about it.
Anyway, as she has children by her side now, it doesn’t really matter.
However, this matter of staying at the traveling palace for convalescence, seems to be coming to an end.
In any case, returning to the palace is the proper thing to do.
After thinking about it, he opened his mouth and said.
"After your birthday is over, you must return to the palace, so you should start packing early."
"Yes, I understand. There aren’t many things, really, it can be packed up in a day or two."
"That’s good. After you return to the palace, you should stay peacefully at Yihua Palace. I’ll order Mu Changzai to relocate; anyway, she also wants to serve Princess Consort Ying there, so let her have her wish."
Lin Wanyi couldn’t say much about this.
She and Mu Lanchun were not very close, so whether she moved or not didn’t matter to her.
She was used to living in Ruiyang Pavilion, with no one else around.
Only the two children.
If she returns to Yihua Palace and suddenly has Mu Changzai, it would indeed take time to adapt.
That works well.
"Yes, everything will be arranged by Your Majesty."
Life was relaxed and comfortable, and soon it was the twenty-second day of the lunar month.
On this day, it was Lin Wanyi’s eighteenth birthday.
Early in the morning, there was a commotion outside, and Lin Wanyi nestled into the Emperor’s arms.
Finding a comfortable position, she went back to sleep on her own.
Seeing her actions, the Emperor couldn’t help but smile.
But then, a familiar voice came from outside.
It was Dong Yuzhong.
They dawdled around and finally crossed the Jinshui River.
Naturally, the "imperial carriage" arrived at the traveling palace as well.
The past few days felt like an ordinary married couple’s life, almost making him forget that he was still an Emperor with a pile of matters waiting for him to handle.
Lin Wanyi, though drowsy, was not deaf.
Upon hearing Dong Yuzhong’s voice of greeting, she immediately awoke.
Looking at the Emperor again, her eyes showed a bit of surprise.
"It’s about time, get up. Today, we’ll celebrate your birthday at the traveling palace, and tomorrow we will return to the palace."
"Yes, I understand."
Hearing the stir inside, Dong Yuzhong immediately raised his voice slightly and said.
"Your Majesty, do you want this servant to come in and attend?"
The Emperor took the clothes and helped Lin Wanyi dress before he responded with a "hmm" towards the outside.
So, Dong Yuzhong, who hadn’t been seen for many days, hurriedly entered the door.
He brought a bit of cold air, but it quickly dissipated in the warmth of the inner room.
This was probably the longest time he had been away from the Emperor’s side.
With a slightly excited tone, he said.
"Servant Dong Yuzhong greets Your Majesty, greets Miss Lin."
"Mr. Dong, you’re too kind. It’s been a while."
Lin Wanyi always treated him with courtesy, and Dong Yuzhong naturally reciprocated.
With a cheerful smile, he said.
"Yes, this time following Your Majesty outside, it was full of red maples when we left, and now it’s all snow on the ground."
Lin Wanyi smiled, then joined Dong Yuzhong in attending to the Emperor’s grooming.
In front of others, she was still the well-disciplined Lin Guiren.
But only the Emperor knew that privately, when it was just the two of them, her charisma was becoming more pronounced.
But it was his own indulgence, so he accepted it.
The arrival of Dong Yuzhong brought a sense of relief to everyone serving in Ruiyang Pavilion.
Especially Qiu Ming.
The past few days he kept a strict watch on all sides, fearing someone would discover the Emperor’s early return.
Causing trouble for Lin Wanyi was a minor issue.
If something ever happened to the Emperor while at the traveling palace, the entire Ruiyang Pavilion would be implicated, and even execution might be deemed too trivial a punishment!
Now that Dong Yuzhong had arrived, it was a public declaration that the Emperor was here too.
Initially, on the way back to the Imperial Palace, there was no need to "detour" this way via the traveling palace.
However, since the Second Prince and Second Princess were here, Dong Yuzhong deliberately spread the word.
Saying the Emperor came to fetch the Prince and Princess back to the palace, and Lin Guiren was just accompanying them.
Invisibly, this also dispelled quite a bit of hostility towards Lin Wanyi.
With Dong Yuzhong’s return, the Fourth Prince naturally came back too.
Though he had the status of an outsider, he was the Emperor’s uncle.
Therefore, living in the traveling palace wasn’t inappropriate, only that it was some distance from Ruiyang Pavilion.
"On this return journey, did you encounter any danger?"
"The Fourth Prince can rest assured, we didn’t."
"That’s good."
His greatest concern was whether Prince Zhan would attempt any mischief on the road.
After all, since they set out together grandly, it was puzzling that he was left in Taishan.
He feared that Zhan’s heart would be displeased.
"Once we safely escort the Emperor back to the palace, this matter will be concluded, and now that you have been integrated into the Imperial Guard, you may choose whether you want to stay by the Emperor’s side or follow me back to the Imperial Armor Army."
The Fourth Prince valued talent but never imposed on his subordinates.
Being in the Imperial Guard with the Emperor was probably the fastest route to rise in ranks for a military general, second only to the battlefield.
Therefore, he wouldn’t deprive them of this hard-won opportunity.
Lin Xingzhi and Jiang Huanqing exchanged glances without caring what others thought.
Compared to being a guard by the Emperor’s side, they preferred following the Fourth Prince.
Life within the military camp was monotonous, with lots of training.
But those days felt fulfilling.
So they immediately responded.
"We would like to follow the Fourth Prince back to the Imperial Armor Army."
The other dozen or so people who had come along shared the same sentiment.
Seeing their performance, the Fourth Prince laughed heartily.
"Each one of you is an outstanding young man, alright, then I’ll mention it to the Emperor and once he’s settled back at the palace, we’ll head right back!"
"Yes!"
Their voices were united and full of valor.
Yet, they were unaware of the stormy waves they would face the next day!
Eyes set with determination, they were invincible.
Lin Wanyi’s birthday banquet was set for noon.
For this, Chunqi was incredibly busy, exerting all her skills to make preparations.
Seeing the table filled to the brim with food, Lin Wanyi was both laughing and crying.
"Your Majesty, there are only three of us, no matter how much we eat, we can’t finish all this."
"Who said there are only three of us?"
Lin Wanyi was full of doubt; besides the Emperor, her, and the Second Prince, who else would it be?
Surely it couldn’t be the Second Princess.