The Regent Keeps Flirting With Me - Chapter 53

“Greetings to Her Majesty the Empress.” An Wanran smiled very happily. In this situation, no one in the palace would smile. Yet An Wanran insisted on smiling, and it was a very uninhibited smile.

“Princess An, I wonder what brings you here suddenly.” Shen Lingyan was now holding the sachet and was not constantly coughing, giving her a bit more confidence when speaking.

An Wanran did not speak. She just smiled and walked into the Chaohui Palace. She now almost regarded Shen Lingyan as a paper tiger, completely disregarding her. She walked inside the hall, looked around, found a chaise lounge, and lay down, completely acting like the owner.

Shen Lingyan, having been the Emperor for so long, even without much arrogance, was still annoyed by An Wanran’s behavior. She clenched the sachet in her hand but endured it, knowing that An Wanran’s visit this time certainly meant no good.

“Aiya, as expected of Her Majesty the Emperor’s sleeping quarters. Even the chaise lounge is more comfortable than ours.” After An Wanran spoke a few sarcastic words, she started to get to the point.

“I imagine Your Majesty must be wondering what medicinal ingredients are used in this sachet?”

Having her thoughts exposed in one sentence, Shen Lingyan felt a bit embarrassed. She cleared her throat a few times before picking up the teacup brought by the palace maid and wetting her throat: “Indeed, my illness has not been cured even after consulting many famous doctors.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Shen Lingyan regretted it. Wasn’t this indirectly admitting that the medical skills of the Jun’an Kingdom completely surpassed those of her own country? Sure enough, An Wanran spoke sarcastically for a while again, then mentioned the matter of the famous doctor’s prescription, but stopped abruptly when talking about the prescription.

“Hmm?” Shen Lingyan asked eagerly, but An Wanran changed the subject: “Do you know? Just now, His Royal Highness the Regent came to find me…”

Zhou Jin? Shen Lingyan’s eyes widened instantly. Wasn’t Zhou Jin dealing with Dai Junwu’s affairs? How could she have gone to see An Wanran!

An Wanran saw the reaction she wanted on Shen Lingyan’s face and smiled even more happily, a hint of danger, fleetingly hidden in her eyes.

“His Royal Highness the Regent… agreed to go to the Jun’an Kingdom.” An Wanran said word by word, her face carrying an ambiguous smile.

Shen Lingyan felt that only this sentence remained in her ears. Zhou Jin agreed to her, agreed to go to the Jun’an Kingdom with An Wanran for a few years. Zhou Jin might not be by her side for several years.

“No way!! No way!!” Shen Lingyan instantly threw the sachet out of her hand. The sachet rolled into the courtyard of the Chaohui Palace. An Wanran was not in a hurry to pick it up, seemingly not caring about a mere sachet.

“No matter what, do you think Zhou Jin would let you die just for a few years of her own freedom?” Even if An Wanran hadn’t asked this question, Shen Lingyan knew the answer in her heart, but she absolutely could not accept Zhou Jin leaving her now. Even if it meant death, she was unwilling to leave Zhou Jin again.

Without the stabilizing effect of the sachet, Shen Lingyan quickly started coughing violently again, directly collapsing onto the ground.

An Wanran watched the emotionally out-of-control Shen Lingyan and burst into loud laughter. She just lay on the chaise lounge, watching the palace maids who rushed in to help Shen Lingyan. Yun zhu’s fierce gaze swept over, and regardless of the other party’s status, she directly pulled An Wanran up.

“Your Majesty is unwell. Please leave.”

An Wanran was stunned, not expecting a small palace maid to dare to speak to her like this. But looking down at Shen Lingyan, who seemed to be on the verge of death, a sense of smugness welled up. She laughed heartily and walked out of the Chaohui Palace, glancing at the sachet lying on the ground.

She did not pick it up.

Leaving behind chaos in the Chaohui Palace.

“Wanran, take this poison with you on this trip. You must poison Shen Lingyan to death. That Zhou Jin will certainly not be able to handle it. By then, it will be the time for Father to unify the two kingdoms.”

“Shen Lingyan only needs to smell this poison for a little while, and with a little stimulation, even Hua Tuo would be powerless to save her.”

An Wanran fell into a deep sleep in the carriage. In her dream, these scenes of instructions before leaving the Jun’an Kingdom flashed through her mind, finally stopping at the image of Dai Sulan kissing her.

An Wanran instantly woke up with a start, her eyes shaded with malice. She lifted the curtain to look at Zhou Jin, who was rushing toward the Chaohui Palace, and suddenly curled her lips.

“I, An Wanran, never serve as a substitute for anyone.” This sentence was lightly spoken by An Wanran, and then was scattered by the wind.

Inside the Chaohui Palace, Shen Lingyan lay weakly on the bed. She had looked at the exquisite bed beams countless times, but this time, she felt it was unreachable for the first time.

Zhou Jin violently pushed open the door. The imperial physician only shook his head at her from afar, then walked out, closing the door behind him.

Only Shen Lingyan and Zhou Jin remained in the hall. Zhou Jin had so many words in her heart, but at this moment, she only dared to stand at the door, hesitating to walk inside.

The eyes that often carried a smile were now dimmed considerably. Upon closer inspection, tears were already hanging there.

“Ah Jin…” Shen Lingyan called her this for the first time, her voice like a wisp of smoke.

Zhou Jin responded with a sound and stepped toward the bed. Seeing the pale Shen Lingyan, her heart ached terribly.

“Ah Jin, I really like that lotus pond.” Shen Lingyan spoke again, but waited in vain for a response from Zhou Jin. She didn’t care, gripping Zhou Jin’s hand resting on the bedside.

“Actually, I never belonged to this world. If I leave, forget about me…” Shen Lingyan said this part with extreme difficulty. Her coughing threatened to drown her out, and Zhou Jin’s tears rolled onto the back of Shen Lingyan’s hand.

“I shouldn’t belong to this world either. Shen Lingyan, you shouldn’t abandon me.” Zhou Jin’s voice trembled slightly. This was the first time she had cried in two lifetimes.

Shen Lingyan did not respond to her words but sat up and half-leaned into Zhou Jin’s arms.

“Your eyes are so beautiful, you shouldn’t cry. I would rather die in your arms than let you go to the Jun’an Kingdom.” Shen Lingyan’s voice grew fainter and fainter, but her hand lightly wrapped around Zhou Jin’s waist.

Zhou Jin also wrapped her arms around Shen Lingyan’s waist, feeling her warmth, and softly asked: “You knew?”

The person in her arms nodded. After a long while, Shen Lingyan lightly said: “May the moon in our hearts forever hang and never set.”

As soon as the words fell, the strength in the hand clasping Zhou Jin’s waist loosened, and Shen Lingyan’s breath stopped at this moment.

Zhou Jin naturally knew what this meant. Her hands gradually tightened, not daring to look down. Tears uncontrollably rolled down her face, and her whole body was trembling.

Two lifetimes, Zhou Jin had been proud for two lifetimes. But the moment the person in her arms closed her eyes, she cried like a child.