He directly pulled Nan Zhiyun down to sit.
"Next time you encounter such a situation, you don't need to go out. If you go out, will it save me a few steps?" Yu Jingchen said, covering Nan Zhiyun's hand.
"But, isn't this the rule?" Nan Zhiyun said softly.
"What I say is the rule, so do you remember?" Yu Jingchen asked.
"Mmm..." Nan Zhiyun responded softly.
"Mother Empress will be back tomorrow, you can spend more time with her then," Yu Jingchen changed the subject.
Nan Zhiyun was a little surprised to hear Yu Jingchen say such a thing. One was that he actively asked her to accompany the Empress Dowager, when he had previously strongly disliked her getting close to the Empress Dowager. The other was that Yu Jingchen actually called the Empress Dowager "Mother Empress," when he had rarely called her that since becoming emperor.
"What's wrong? You don't want to?" Yu Jingchen said again, seeing Nan Zhiyun's bewildered look.
"No, Your Consort wishes for nothing more, I was just afraid Your Majesty would be unhappy," Nan Zhiyun quickly replied.
"Go if you wish to go," Yu Jingchen said simply.
"Alright, let's rest," Yu Jingchen didn't continue the topic. Nan Zhiyun, being sensible, didn't speak further. However, she began to overthink again, as she assumed Yu Jingchen no longer wished or was willing to bring these things up.
"Your Consort will help Your Majesty change clothes," Nan Zhiyun said, preparing to get up. Yu Jingchen didn't stop her and let her have her way.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Xing Lai looked at the charcoal, his expression not good either, because the charcoal had been replaced.
"Eunuch, is there something wrong with these charcoal?" Qian Xia asked.
"Were these sent by the people below?" Xing Lai asked.
"Yes," Qian Xia replied.
"Alright, this old servant understands," Xing Lai didn't directly point out the problem with the charcoal, but walked out of the storeroom directly.
Now that Yu Jingchen and Nan Zhiyun had rested, Xing Lai wouldn't be so insensitive as to go in and report this matter. So he simply ordered someone to replace the charcoal.
However, he was sure that when His Majesty found out about this tomorrow morning, someone would likely suffer.
Perhaps because it was a little cold, Nan Zhiyun curled up slightly. After all, with Yu Jingchen present, she dared not make any other significant movements. Moreover, she didn't dare to proactively say she was cold.
Fortunately, Yu Jingchen could feel it, so he directly pulled her into his arms. "You won't be cold in a moment," Yu Jingchen said.
Feeling the warmth emanating from Yu Jingchen, Nan Zhiyun gradually relaxed. The room was dark, and Nan Zhiyun nestled in Yu Jingchen's embrace, gently holding his clothes.
Yu Jingchen was somewhat surprised that she hadn't cried out in fear today.
"You're not afraid of the dark now?" Yu Jingchen asked.
"I am, but Your Consort knows Your Majesty is here," Nan Zhiyun replied.
"You're not afraid with me here?" Yu Jingchen deliberately asked.
"I'm still scared, just not as severely as before." Nan Zhiyun was afraid to turn off the lights when she was alone, but today, with Yu Jingchen here, she felt less afraid.
"However, I see your courage has indeed grown quite a bit," Yu Jingchen said meaningfully.
Nan Zhiyun felt a little uncomfortable.
"Did you intentionally wait for me outside so early today, deliberately letting me discover that the charcoal fire here was wrong?" Yu Jingchen pointed it out simply and directly.