Jun Ning was not joking; he was very serious.
And his words, at first glance, seemed fine, and quite reasonable.
Qiong Hua was intimidated by Jun Ning's demeanor and nodded vigorously, saying, "For the safety of the two of us, Mother will listen to you."
If Qiong Hua knew what happened after Jun Ning sneaked out earlier, and his so-called countermeasures, she certainly wouldn't be fooled by his words. Not getting physical with him would already be very gracious.
The two of them arrived at the hole Jun Ning usually used to sneak out of the palace. The hole wasn't very big and was hidden in the lush grass, making it hard to find.
Jun Ning crawled through the hole with ease, but it wasn't so easy for Qiong Hua to get out.
After all, Qiong Hua was an adult, and no matter how frail her body was, it was much larger than a child's. She used quite some effort to finally squeeze out, but her clothes, which she had changed into that morning, were filthy. However, she didn't mind.
After both of them dusted themselves off, they headed towards the Imperial Garden.
Fortunately, because of the hot weather, there weren't many people on the way to the Imperial Garden, so they didn't have to worry about avoiding the palace attendants and soon arrived at the Imperial Garden.
…
"Cough, cough, cough, Xiao Lizi, is everything arranged?"
After finishing the bowl of herbal medicine, Emperor Yongning wiped his mouth and asked Xiao Lizi, who was serving beside him.
This question was abrupt and without context, and most people might not understand what Emperor Yongning was referring to, taking a while to react.
But who was Xiao Lizi?
Although he was called Xiao Lizi, he had served Emperor Yongning since childhood and was about the same age as Emperor Yongning now. No one knew Emperor Yongning better than he did.
As soon as Emperor Yongning spoke, Xiao Lizi knew he was asking about the setup in the Imperial Garden to catch someone.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant arranged everything this morning."
"I can only trust you to handle things properly," Emperor Yongning looked at Xiao Lizi with satisfaction and set down the pair of tiger head shoes of a little girl he had been playing with. "The time is about right; it's time to catch the net. Let's go."
Emperor Yongning rose from the dragon-carved imperial chair and walked heavily towards the palace door.
Xiao Lizi followed behind, full of concern.
Ever since His Majesty learned he had a daughter but couldn't protect her, not knowing where she was suffering now, his health had deteriorated day by day, and his steps were becoming heavier.
"Alas!" Xiao Lizi sighed.
With this faint sigh, a group of people headed towards the Imperial Garden.
On the way, they encountered Liu Pin, who limped as she walked because her foot hadn't healed yet.
Despite the scorching heat, she didn't care how intense the sun was and even brought over a bowl of sour plum soup without an umbrella.
Normally, Emperor Yongning would not refuse, but today he had important matters to attend to.
"Liu Pin, wait in the Imperial Study Room first; I'll come back and drink it later."
After briefly settling her, Emperor Yongning went on hurriedly.
Liu Pin watched his departing figure with some disappointment, puffed out her cheeks, wanting to stop him, but ultimately did nothing, and limped towards the Imperial Study Room.
Upon reaching the Imperial Study Room, she saw the red tiger head shoes for the little girl that Emperor Yongning had been playing with and showed a bitter expression.
"Princess, oh Princess, do you know how much your father wants to find you? Please be good, and appear soon!" Liu Pin prayed in her heart, with a look of sincerity, showing no hidden motive.