The fool has become a spirit, and she can speak

Chapter 1804 Scorching Sun Delivers a Scented Sachet

Cheng Youning looked at the daphne she had stolen from the entrance of the Hall of Mental Cultivation and felt somewhat guilty. Zhuoyang wanted to see the Emperor, but the Emperor refused to see her. Cheng Youning had spoken well of her and pleaded for her, but to no avail.

Every time Cheng Youning faced Zhuoyang's earnest and pleading eyes, she felt guilty for not being able to get things done!

So they brought over a potted flowering tree, saying it was a gift from the emperor. The innocent Zhuoyang had no doubts!

Zhuoyang stared at the daphne flower with a look of fascination, and young Cheng Youning felt a chill run down her spine for no apparent reason.

Inside the hall, sandalwood incense burned in the incense burner, the smoke so fine as to be almost invisible. On the small wooden table, there were a few small dishes and half a cup of tea. The Biluochun tea, whose heat had long since dissipated, had its tea stems sinking to the bottom of the cup, curled up, much like the scorching sun that no one cared about in this deep palace.

Zhuoyang smiled when he saw Cheng Youning, "Your Highness, please have dinner with me tonight!"

Zhuoyang rarely made such a request, but Cheng Youning didn't refuse: "I'll eat a little less with you. I just came from my great-uncle's place, and I had a rabbit feast with him! Qiao Rong, bring out the rabbit meat I brought for Zhuoyang!"

"Yes!"

Soon the food from the food box was placed on the small table!

Cheng Youning sat cross-legged, while Zhuoyang sat opposite her. A servant brought in a pot of hot tea, and Zhuoyang personally poured a cup for Cheng Youning. "Have some hot tea to warm yourself up! It's been cold these past few days!"

Cheng Youning spent the whole afternoon running around the hunting grounds outside the South City. Instead of feeling cold, he actually felt hot. He was a little surprised to see Zhuoyang dressed like that in the courtyard.

Cheng Youning picked up the teacup and took a sip. "Good tea!" Then she put down the teacup and asked Zhuoyang, "Are you sick? You don't look well. If you are sick, have the servants go and invite the imperial physician to take a look at you."

Zhuoyang smiled, looking completely at ease. "I'm not sick, I don't need to see a doctor." As she spoke, she even put a piece of food into Cheng Youning's plate.

"It's best if you're not sick, so I won't worry about you. If you like flowers and plants, I'll have someone send you some."

Zhuoyang looked out the window and said, "That one daphne flower is enough. Seeing this flower is like seeing your great-grandfather!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Youning felt an even greater chill run down her spine. Could this be a case of seeing an object and being reminded of someone?

Cheng Youning looked at Zhuoyang, who seemed dazed, and felt more and more sorry for him!

"Zhuoyang, don't be discouraged. When my great-uncle is in a good mood, I'll coax him a bit, and he'll soften and let you see him. Then you can cry in front of him, and he'll soften again and let you come and go freely from Chenqing Palace!"

Zhuoyang's empty, deep eyes gathered a little life. She leaned forward slightly, her eyes meeting Cheng Youning's dark eyes. "Youning, I don't expect to see your great-grandfather anymore. I'm content that he hasn't forgotten me. I want to ask you about something."

Upon hearing that Zhuoyang wasn't making a fuss about seeing the Emperor, Cheng Youning immediately breathed a sigh of relief. This was precisely why he dared not come here often. "Speak!"

"You Ning, I am imprisoned in the deep backyard of the palace, where I am cut off from all news. Can you tell me everything you know?"

Cheng Youning was taken aback. Imprisonment? Why use such a word? Cheng Youning had never thought of this as imprisonment. She had never seen anyone imprisoned before! Zhuoyang was initially free to come and go from Chenqing Palace. It was only because she disobeyed and wanted to see the Emperor every day that she was later forbidden from leaving Chenqing Palace. Could this be called imprisonment? Could someone who is imprisoned dress so well and eat so well?

"Then tell me, and I'll tell you if I know!"

"You Ning, our Great Lang has been destroyed. Do you know where my father and the others fled to?"

Cheng Youning thought for a moment and decided there was no need to hide it, so she told the truth, "After Bianjing fell, your father and your grandmother fled north with the Crown Prince and several concubines. Our Fengqi army pursued them relentlessly, attacking wherever they retreated. Later, the Crown Prince, your grandmother, and several concubines were all executed, but your father was nowhere to be found. Some say he is secretly gathering strength in some corner, recruiting soldiers and horses to make a comeback, while others say he died on the way to escape. However, there is no concrete evidence for either of these conclusions! No one knows where he is now, whether he is alive or dead! So, you don't need to worry. With so many people protecting him, perhaps he has escaped."

Zhuoyang's tears welled up in his eyes. "I am the culprit. I am the number one sinner in the destruction of Dalang."

Cheng Youning tried to comfort her: "There are cases of a country being destroyed because of a woman, but it is rare for a country to be destroyed because of a princess. When your father listened to slander, he had already sown the seeds of destruction for your Great Lang. Your Great Lang's fate was already sealed, so you don't need to blame yourself."

No amount of comforting words could help. Zhuoyang couldn't forgive herself. She asked Cheng Youning, "How is the maid who took my place in the marriage? Is there any news about her?"

"The Southern Emperor is terminally ill and bedridden. He is likely to die soon. Currently, the Crown Prince is overseeing the Southern Yan Kingdom, and the life of Bajiao, who was sent to marry you, is not as good as before."

*Plop!* The tears that had been welling up in her eyes finally fell. "It's my fault. It wasn't because I was willful. The caravan heading to the Southern Yan Kingdom wouldn't have passed through Fengqi. I'm the culprit!"

Thinking of the days when Bajiao was isolated and helpless, and then looking at Zhuoyang who had no worries about food and clothing, Cheng Youning felt extremely cold inside.

After having dinner and talking with Zhuoyang for a while, Cheng Youning planned to leave.

Zhuoyang escorted him to the courtyard gate. When they parted, Zhuoyang took out a pair of sachets, one red and one silver, like two small cloth bags with tassels.

Zhuoyang said, "I learned it from the palace maids. I didn't do it very well, but I'll keep it as a memento!"

Cheng Youning has a ton of these things, and I never expected Zhuoyang to give him sachets today, and even a pair. If he doesn't accept them, Zhuoyang might think he's disgusted, but if he does accept them, they're really unnecessary.

Cheng Youning looked at his waist, took the silver sachet, and said to Qiao Rong, "Help me put this on!"

Suddenly, Zhuoyang bent down and helped Cheng Youning put the red sachet around her waist. When he straightened up, he smiled at Cheng Youning and said, "This red one is for you!"

Cheng Youning shook the silver sachet in her hand. "Then who is this for?"

"This is for your great-uncle, so he can remember it!"

Cheng Youning twitched the corner of her mouth, "I misunderstood. I thought they were all for me! Don't worry, I will definitely bring them. I'll take the purse to my great-uncle right now."

Zhuoyang was a little worried. "I don't know if he will accept it. If he doesn't, I'll just say it's a return gift for the flowering tree he gave me."

Cheng Youning touched the sachet at her waist and smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, my great-grandfather will definitely accept it. He likes sachets. When we were in Bianjing, you gave me a gilded sachet, and I gave it to my great-grandfather in return. That sachet is still hanging in my great-grandfather's bedroom, and he still uses it."