He lay beside her, propped himself up, and deeply kissed her until she felt weak and powerless again. Contentedly, he held her in his arms and whispered, “Sleep.”
He quickly fell asleep.
Now it was Ruan Ning’s turn to be unable to sleep. She silently grumbled, making various gestures at the sleeping person, but realized she couldn’t fall asleep.
As dawn approached, Ruan Ning finally drifted into a drowsy sleep. Yan Xuan carefully moved her to the side, covered her with a blanket, and then got up feeling refreshed.
Gao Songhou was outside the hall, reporting in a low voice: “As ordered by Your Majesty, this servant has arranged to watch Qixia Palace. Last night, after Your Majesty took the Imperial Consort out, a palace servant went out but took no further action.”
“Continue watching tonight,” Yan Xuan ordered.
In the post station, Ning Ye grabbed Sui Huan, anxiously saying, “Why are you leaving again?”
“I have something to do, I’ll come see you tomorrow,” Sui Huan replied impatiently.
Ning Ye pouted, unhappy: “You don’t care about me! You just leave me here and ignore me. Except for helping you yesterday, you haven’t even looked at me.”
“Don’t be willful. I have many things to do, I can’t always be with you,” Sui Huan said, prying her hand away and turning to leave.
Ning Ye quickly blocked Sui Huan’s path. “You must stay with me, or I’ll tell my sister about what you asked me to get yesterday!”
“How dare you!” A flash of viciousness appeared in Sui Huan’s eyes, but he softened his voice. “Wait for me. I’ll come find you after I finish my business.”
“I’ll wait, but you can’t break your promise,” Ning Ye replied, half-believing him.
After Sui Huan left, he took a deep breath to dispel his frustration. A subordinate hurried over and whispered something in his ear, darkening Sui Huan’s expression further.
After the Sun family’s fall, several court positions became vacant. Sui Huan had wanted to compete for the Si Ma position but had just learned that Yan Xuan had given it to his illegitimate brother. Everyone knew that the two young masters of the Sui family were not on good terms, making Yan Xuan’s move particularly malicious.
After the third watch, Ruan Ning was awakened again.
