A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace Chapter 1432 - 1430: Not Going Back

Xia Ruqing pushed him away, her face full of discomfort.

"We’re an old couple now, doing this will just make people laugh!"

Zhao Junyao raised his eyebrows, looking smug.

"Throughout the entire world, who would dare laugh at me?"

"Alright, alright, no one laughs at you, but I’m just not used to it, it feels too warm!"

"At this time of year, you’re saying it’s warm?" Zhao Junyao wouldn’t let it go.

Xia Ruqing couldn’t do anything about him, she smiled wryly and got up.

Zhao Junyao pulled her back.

"Where are you going, not sleeping anymore?"

Xia Ruqing looked at the dark scene outside and lay back down.

...

This winter was long, yet unforgettable.

They lived a secluded life in the small courtyard like in a paradise.

There weren’t many servants, just a few palace attendants aside from the ones handling rough work.

Everything else was managed personally by Xia Ruqing.

In addition,

She spent the entire winter picking up the cooking skills she had lost for many years.

She cooked nearly all three meals each day personally.

The kitchen maids only did the preparatory work or helped with additions.

The main contributor was still her.

Her culinary skills improved, and the meals she cooked became more delicious.

Though the variety wasn’t wide or exquisite, there was a natural, pure flavor that Zhao Junyao found irresistible.

As the year’s end approached day by day,

Zhao Junyao grew a bit anxious, as did Xia Ruqing.

They faced a serious and solemn issue, which was...

"Should we go back for the New Year... or not?"

According to tradition, the Emperor and Empress must return to offer sacrifices to the heavens and ancestors and accept the court ministers’ homage.

However,

"Qingqing, I’m feeling a bit of a headache, summon the Imperial Physician!"

"Emperor, my stomach is aching, have it checked as well!"

The two of them became ’ill’, deliberately portraying themselves as needing rest, not easy to move.

The palace attendants knew the truth but dared not say a word.

The entire temporary palace annex had a mysterious aura.

...

On the 28th of the twelfth lunar month.

Zhao Qichen sent people for the thirteenth time to fetch the Emperor and Empress back to the palace.

Zhao Junyao was thoroughly angry.

"I’ve said my health is not good and not suitable for movement; why does he persist, going back in such cold weather for what?"

The emperor’s temper became somewhat erratic during menopause.

However, Xia Ruqing didn’t find it inappropriate; instead, she was rather relieved.

"Well, I don’t want to go back either; mainly, the New Year is too tiring!"

"Let’s just stay here, and we’ll return once it warms up next year!"

Zhao Junyao sternly nodded.

"Indeed!"

"That’s how it should be!"

That little rascal is over twenty now, shouldn’t he share some burdens for me?

Going back? Going back for him to be lazy? Is there such a good thing?

"The Emperor is wise!"

Xia Ruqing’s face was full of joy.

Heaven knows how much trouble she avoided hiding here.

Not going back, she also gained much leisure.

How wonderful!

She giggled and instructed the palace attendant conveying messages.

"You may go. If there’s nothing particularly urgent, you don’t have to come by!"

The palace attendant was startled inside, struggling to hide the bitterness in his heart, he bowed properly.

"Yes! Empress!"

...

At this moment, in the Imperial Palace,

Amidst preparing for the New Year’s Eve banquet, Zhao Qichen suddenly felt a chill in his heart.

For some reason, he suddenly had a bad premonition.

On the desk lay a pile of memorials, and outside the study, a few ministers were waiting to meet him with urgent business.

The servants sent by Consort Cheng and Consort Hui were also waiting outside, saying they had matters to inquire about.

And there was the matter of his sister’s marriage...

He looked at the palace attendants busy preparing for the new year, his heart in a mess.

Father, Mother, you’ve hidden away, but your son is about to collapse from exhaustion.

A faint resentment rose in his heart.

"Have those sent to the annex returned?"

He asked the little eunuch next to him with a cold look.

"Back to the Crown Prince, not yet returned!"

The little eunuch was quick-witted, hurriedly stepped forward to answer.

"How long does it take for a trip back and forth?" Zhao Qichen asked again.

"It takes a day’s effort. They set out yesterday morning, arrived last night, and the earliest they could return is tonight!"

Zhao Qichen asked no more, just waved him off.

Then, he dove back into the mountain of memorials, continuing another day of busyness.

...

The people Zhao Qichen sent did return that night.

Upon hearing the news that both parents were ’ill’, he wasn’t surprised at all, in fact, a wry smile appeared on his lips.

Father, Mother, you really are... getting more and more willful with age?

"Brother!"

Yue Er rushed in through the night, bursting in and asking hastily once she entered.

"Father and Mother are ill?"

Zhao Qichen gave her a cold look.

"Don’t talk nonsense!"

"Then?"

Yue Er looked worried.

"Didn’t the people you sent say that Father’s health isn’t good, living in the annex might catch a chill, Mother’s health is even worse, she was especially afraid of the cold back in the day..."

"Sigh, should we send someone to fetch them back, Brother, why aren’t you worried at all?"

Yue Er became anxious, beads of sweat forming on the tip of her nose.

Zhao Qichen held his forehead and looked to the sky.

"Yue Er!"

He calmly called out.

"Do you remember where they went?"

Yue Er shook her head.

"I forgot the name, isn’t it just the annex! Oh, Brother, you’d better send someone to bring Father and Mother back!"

Zhao Qichen replied leisurely.

"They went to the Hot Spring Palace, built with geothermal hot springs, the climate is humid, warm, and pleasant!"

Meaning, it’s much more comfortable there than in the palace.

Yue Er was a bit stunned.

A moment later, she realized it herself, her face turning awkward.

"Well, um..."

"Big Brother, it’s getting late, I’ll be heading back first!"

With that, she rushed out.

Leaving only Zhao Qichen with a look of helplessness.

’Alright, if they don’t want to return, then so be it!’

’After all, being ’ill’ is a reason that leaves no room for criticism!’

An emperor of four or five decades, who dedicated most of his life to Great Chu, fell ill due to overwork and went outside the palace for recuperation, who would dare say a half-word of dissent?

The censors could only hold their frustrations.

Only himself...

He looked at the cheerfully flickering candle flame, bracing himself mentally.

’There are only a few hundred memorials left, finishing them means rest, just the thought is exciting!’

Zhao Qichen continued with his dark circles, battling the pile of memorials.

...

The year’s end arrived as expected.

On New Year’s Eve,

The affairs in the harem were jointly managed by the four consorts, Zhaochen Palace was overseen by the Crown Prince.

Everything was the same as in previous years, with nothing different.

Only with the Emperor and Empress not present, did everyone not dare to drink too excessively.

After all, the Emperor and Empress were still ’ill’, who dared to truly celebrate joyously?

The atmosphere on the first day of the new year remained grand.

The rites of ancestor worship were fully entrusted to Zhao Qichen, the eldest son of the royal family, with others participating normally.

The grand ceremony for ancestor worship proceeded smoothly.

As for the second and third days of the new year, there was nothing much.

With the four consorts overseeing the harem, not even a ripple of trouble could arise, and as for the front matters, Zhao Qichen’s abilities surpassed that of Zhao Junyao in his time.