Su Qingtian gently comforted her while placing a hand on her stomach and rubbing it softly.
Su Yunmo instinctively clasped his wrist, nuzzled her small head against his arm, and fell into a deep sleep with her eyes closed.
Su Qingtian froze on the spot, staring at Su Yunmo with wide eyes, his limbs stiff.
She had just acted spoiled, hadn't she?
She was acting spoiled towards him, wasn't she!
Su Qingtian chuckled happily, his heart pounding like a drum, so overjoyed he could barely tell north from south.
Then, he suddenly turned serious, his mind jolting as he remembered something: "She called me Daddy just now!"
She had called him Daddy, and twice at that.
General Su felt his heart melt. He extended a finger and poked Su Yunmo's cheek.
Su Yunmo grunted and puffed out her cheeks.
Seeing her like this, Su Qingtian's smile stretched from ear to ear.
His daughter was so adorable, his daughter!
Heh heh~
Su Yunmo's fever subsided that night, and she only felt a bit better by noon the next day.
The doctor came to examine her and instructed her to avoid anything raw, spicy, or stimulating for the next few days, recommending bland food.
Lü Luo was worried and got out of bed every mealtime to cook for Su Yunmo.
Although the mansion had dedicated cooks, and Lü Luo could have rested assuredly, she was a naturally fretful person.
Su Yunmo appreciated her kindness and couldn't refuse, so she ate the plain congee sent by her every day.
It was truly awful.
The occasional dishes she brought were burnt, and even the vegetable broth had a layer of black ash floating on top.
After two days of persistence, Su Yunmo finally couldn't help but give Lü Luo feedback about it.
Lü Luo looked wronged, wanting to say something but swallowing her words.
However, despite the unsatisfactory food, Su Yunmo's condition continued to improve.
On this day, an invitation arrived from the palace.
As autumn had arrived, a memorial day had been set before the autumn hunt, and a palace banquet was to be held.
Su Yunmo hadn't visited Consort Liang the last time she was in the palace, so she thought of using this opportunity to check on the situation in the cold palace.
But as she had just recovered from her illness, Zhou Wanyou forbade her from going.
Even General Su, who usually paid little attention to Su Yunmo's affairs, agreed with his wife this time, instructing Su Yunmo to rest well at the mansion today.
Su Yunmo had spent the past month mostly confined to her bed, so she had no intention of resting further.
As soon as they left, she quietly followed.
This palace banquet was very important, and one couldn't enter the palace gates without an invitation.
Su Yunmo had planned to sneak in behind the servants of the General's mansion.
But before she could do so, Su Qingtian discovered her and directly dragged her out of the carriage, dumping her at the entrance of the General's mansion.
Su Yunmo watched the carriage drive away, clenching her small fists.
"I told you this illness was an accident!"
Why wouldn't anyone believe her!
Ziyuan followed behind her, helpless: "You can't enter the palace today. Perhaps another day?"
Su Yunmo stomped her foot: "It's all because of Ye Jingyu. Don't let me see him next time. If I see him..."
"If you see me, what will you do?" A carriage stopped at the entrance of the General's mansion.
Su Yunmo's eyelids twitched. She looked up and met the gaze of someone in the carriage wearing a shimmering mask, and her tone immediately changed.
"If I see you, I'll hitch a ride with you!"
Su Yunmo glared at him and climbed into the carriage.
Ye Jingyu frowned in disdain at her demeanor and lifted her up, placing her on a soft couch beside him.
Su Yunmo was ungrateful, pouting and huffing, still angry about the events of the past two days.
The carriage headed towards the imperial palace.
Ye Jingyu idly played with a jade pendant, appraising her: "You're already causing trouble right after recovering from your illness. It seems you weren't that sick after all."
Su Yunmo couldn't be bothered to ask how he knew she was sick and glared at him through gritted teeth: "How dare you say that! You're all grown up, can't you even take care of a child!"
Who ever heard of a normal person dragging a child into the water!
Ye Jingyu found it amusing.
She only acted like a child at times like these, and the word 'child' was indeed quite useful sometimes.
"If I can't take care of you, there are others who can. Others lose a few pounds when they're sick, but I weighed you just now, and you've gained weight since before. It seems the General's mansion has good food."
Mentioning this made Su Yunmo even more upset: "Good food? It's all just plain congee and burnt dishes!"
It was all his fault she had to suffer so much, and this scoundrel didn't even show gratitude. She cursed him to never have chopsticks when he ate!
Ye Jingyu's hand paused in its play with the jade pendant, and the smile on his lips faltered, his eyes darkening: "So you don't like those things?"
"Who would like them," Su Yunmo grabbed a cushion and leaned back against it, then glanced at the mask on his face again.
"Why are you wearing that ghastly thing again? It's so ugly."
There was no one else in the carriage.
Ye Jingyu stared at her for a moment before exhaling a heavy, single syllable: "Heh!"
Su Yunmo: "??"
The carriage arrived at the palace gates.
Ye Jingyu jumped out of the carriage without a glance at the person inside, then strode into the palace, his back posture radiating annoyance.
Qian Xue sighed helplessly.
Wasn't His Highness in a good mood when he was cooking in the kitchen a couple of days ago? Why was he throwing a childish tantrum again?
She sighed and had to lift the person in the carriage down: "Once you enter this gate, you are in the inner circle."
She paused and added: "If you're worried, you can follow behind His Highness, and no one will dare to stop you."
Su Yunmo, mimicking Ye Jingyu's earlier posture in the carriage, snorted heavily: "Who cares to follow him!"
With that, she walked away, entering the inner gate and heading in a different direction from Ye Jingyu.
Qian Xue looked at the two of them, both acting out, and couldn't help but feel amused and exasperated.
After entering the palace, Su Yunmo headed towards the rear halls. Although the path through Chengming Hall offered a shortcut to the rear palace, it required going around the imperial garden.
The palace banquet hadn't started yet, so everyone would surely be in the Imperial Garden. She had to be careful not to run into anyone from the Su family.
She didn't run into anyone from the Su family, but as she walked up the corridor, she happened to encounter Ye Jingcheng.
Today was truly an unlucky day!
Su Yunmo thought to herself.
But since they had met, she couldn't back down.
Ye Jingcheng's expression turned somewhat grim upon seeing her. Compared to their previous two meetings, he no longer seemed to have the patience to maintain even a superficial pleasantness.
It seemed he hadn't been having a good time lately.
"Have you been a bit too active recently? Aren't you afraid of being too sharp and breaking your edge?"
The Zhao family's affairs, the Ministry of Revenue's matters – she had almost extricated herself. Fortunately, her mother supported her in the harem, and the Emperor also gave her some face.
But now, she had even ruined the marriage plan between the two marquisates. It was clear that the wild fire could not be extinguished, and the spring breeze would blow again.
Su Yunmo saw a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes as she crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.
"Prince Lian has always been skilled at manipulating others. Now that you've lost a few chess pieces, why are you so agitated?"
"Chess pieces?" Ye Jingcheng sneered, reaching out to grab her wrist and pull her closer. With his other hand, he curled his fingers and traced her face.
"You're right, a chess player wouldn't care about lost pieces. What I care about is how many are left on this chessboard."
"Momo, do you remember what I told you last time? If you change your mind, I'll always welcome you."
Su Yunmo had heard many people call her Momo.
There were family and friends, but only Ye Jingcheng could say those two words in a way that made her feel so nauseous.
A sudden restlessness stirred in her chest.
Wanting to jump into a river?