Good Ending: She Swears She Will Not Let Him Die!

Chapter 202: Chapter 201: Infection

When she woke up again, the sky was already bright.

Du Yunluo sat up, rubbed her aching eyes, and called out, ”What hour is it?”

Jin Ling heard the noise, quickly came in, lifted the curtains and hung them on the bronze hook in the golden phoenix’s mouth, saying, ”Miss, it’s almost early snake hour.”

Du Yunluo was surprised, ”Then why didn’t you wake me? Has Miss Huang already gone to the hunting ground?”

Jin Ling shook her head repeatedly, saying, ”This morning the Aunt came to deliver the message. Last night, Prince Rui injured his leg, and the Holy Emperor decided to depart for the Capital today. We were told to pack up properly and leave after having lunch. I thought Miss was practicing calligraphy late last night, so I didn’t wake you.”

Upon hearing this, Du Yunluo let out a sigh of relief. After all, royal hunting was not as casual as at home, and it wouldn’t be good if she was the only one who overslept.

There was still some time before lunch, so Du Yunluo lay down and dozed off again.

Last night Mu Lianxiao mentioned that Li Luan’s leg injury was only superficial without damaging bones or muscles. The Holy Emperor’s urgency to return to the Capital today was likely due to the matter in De’an.

Before Mu Lianxiao’s message returned, the Holy Emperor probably didn’t expect the water situation in De’an to be so severe.

Calculating carefully, Mu Lianxiao left after the fourth watch. After freshening up, he set off on his journey, essentially going without sleep for a night.

Not sure if he would feel sleepy on the road.

As Du Yunluo pondered, she went back to sleep.

When Jin Ling woke her again, it was almost early afternoon.

All luggage was packed, Jin Ling assisted Du Yunluo with washing her face and combing her hair. After lunch, a Palace Attendant came to invite them.

As Du Yunluo went out, Huang Jie was also just about to leave.

Since that frightful day, Huang Jie had been in poor spirits. After two days of recuperation, she finally managed a smile.

Du Yunluo knew she was purely an unintentional victim. Despite her personality, as Du Yunnuo would say, ”drawing a tiger but resembling a dog,” Huang Jie was a good person without malicious intent. Being with her was more comfortable than being with Princess Yunhua or Mu Lianhui.

The two walked out together.

Huang Jie moved closer to Du Yunluo and spoke softly, ”Did you stay up late last night? I got up at night and saw a light in your room.”

Du Yunluo murmured, ”Hmm, just writing, lost track of time.”

Halfway there, they happened to meet Mu Lianhui.

Today, she had changed out of her riding gear into a water white jacket covered by a smoke blue coat, with two jade hairpins in her hair. This was Mu Lianhui’s favorite refreshing attire in Du Yunluo’s memory.

”Yunluo,” Mu Lianhui called with a smile, ”Did Ah Shao come to the hunting ground yesterday? Did you see him?”

Du Yunluo nodded, ”Outside the Holy Emperor’s tent, I saw the Princely Heir emerge and head off to the hunting ground on horseback.”

”Indeed, yesterday...” Mu Lianhui glanced at the palace maids and eunuchs, avoiding the topic of Li Ke and the bear, and instead said, ”He left early today, and it’ll probably be a two-month journey.”

Du Yunluo of course knew Mu Lianxiao’s itinerary but chose not to discuss it with Mu Lianhui, simply acting oblivious: ”Really...”

Mu Lianhui pursed her lips and slightly lowered her voice, ”It’s often like this. The Holy Emperor values him, and he runs about outside all year. Aunt always says it’s rare to see him a few times a year. But, when he actually dons armor, the family will undoubtedly worry even more.”

Du Yunluo paused for a moment and gave Mu Lianhui a faint look.

She knew what Mu Lianhui was aiming to say.

It used to be this way, occasional remarks that left her worried about Mu Lianxiao.

Not just Mu Lianhui, Jiang Yunuan often spoke this way too.

Du Yunluo remembered that when she married in, Mu Liancheng had already set off. Jiang Yunuan, pregnant at the time, often spoke with her, each word carrying care, longing, and worry for her husband.

Hearing it often, Du Yunluo couldn’t help worrying too. As Mu Lianxiao’s deployment drew near, the more anxious she became, sometimes bickering with Mu Lianxiao. Even so, the fear within kept surging, uncontrollable like floodwater breaching a dam.

For this, Mrs. Zhou reprimanded her quite a bit.

Reflecting now, surely there was part of Du Yunluo’s inherent temperament to blame, as well as the influence of Mu Lianhui and Jiang Yunuan’s words.

Emotions are contagious, especially when facing similar situations. This feeling is even more pronounced. In Jiang Yunuan, she saw her own impending life, thus growing more fearful.

Understanding this root cause, Du Yunluo naturally wouldn’t be swayed by Mu Lianhui anymore. Moreover, she had already endured half a lifetime in the previous existence, clueless about its end, so why fear now?

Du Yunluo lowered her gaze, saying, ”Of course, I would worry.”

The voice was gentle, the tone calm, speaking of worry but without much fluctuation, falling on Mu Lianhui’s ears, somewhat genuine yet strangely off.

”You’re coming of age in November, aren’t you?” Mu Lianhui asked again. Seeing Du Yunluo nodding, she laughed covering her mouth, ”Aunt always talks about how you haven’t come of age yet, she’s eager to have a daughter-in-law. You know, in our house, Ah Shao is the only one left in the eldest branch, so Aunt is particularly anxious.”

Du Yunluo understood Mrs. Zhou’s mentality well. As Mu Lianxiao’s mother, she naturally hoped her son would marry early and wished for a grandson soon.

Du Yunluo had lived with Mrs. Zhou for five years. Although Mrs. Zhou didn’t like her and didn’t approve of her temperament, she never troubled her over not being pregnant.

Mrs. Zhou could find plenty of faults—like feeling Du Yunluo was spoiled, capricious, and always creating issues—but never once had she mentioned the matter of pregnancy to her, neither in front nor behind.

In this regard, Du Yunluo was grateful to Mrs. Zhou.

After all, the eldest branch did indeed need a child at the time.

Not wanting to discuss Mrs. Zhou with Mu Lianhui, luckily she could feign bashfulness, simply bowing her head in silence.

Mu Lianhui added a couple more sentences without seeing a response from Du Yunluo, then gave up.

Outside, the carriages and horses were all ready.

Du Yunluo scanned the area but didn’t see Princess Nanyan, guessing she must be attending to Li Luan.

Instead, Princess Yunhua stepped into the carriage wearing leather boots, her face slightly sullen.

Mu Lianhui motioned with her mouth, saying, ”She’s complaining about returning early, rare to come to the hunting ground, and the Princess hasn’t fully enjoyed it.”

Du Yunluo heard it but said nothing.

The convoy set off, moving faster on the return journey than when coming, without pauses to rest. By nightfall, they reached outside the Capital, where the gate was opened by the guarding officers, welcoming the royal entourage.

They continued straight to the palace gates, where everyone then dispersed.

Returning to Du Mansion, the Du Family left the corner gate open upon receiving the news and opened the flower gate. Du Yunluo originally thought of going back to Anhua Courtyard but realized Mrs. Zhen would certainly be waiting, so she headed to Qinghui Garden first.