Chapter 1449: Chapter 1456: Pregnant (3)

Upon receiving the Emperor’s summons, Duke Li Guo arrived quickly. In the Royal study, Nangong Yi expressed his thoughts, which, as soon as he finished speaking, encountered strong opposition from Duke Li Guo.

“Your Majesty, this must not be done. You have only ascended the throne less than six months ago, the country is still unstable, and the remnants of the abolished prince still linger with ambitions, and the thoughts of the Great General are not yet clear. If you leave the Capital so rashly, once someone notices and harbors ulterior motives, have you considered the consequences?”

Nangong Yi chuckled lightly and said, “Why not? The land under the heaven has remained unchanged for ten thousand years, while we humans are mere passerby. All I can plan for is merely a brief century, and after that century, I will be buried in the Imperial Mausoleum, my grand tomb will eventually decay, but what remains unchanged is still this land. This country is like an inanimate object; I strive for it in life, but cannot retain it after death. When I decay, I will merely add a handful of soil to this land. The Empress and I have a pact for a century; in life, we share joys and sorrows, in death, we share the same coffin. Even turned to dust, there is her and there is me, never to feel loneliness. Thus, if I must choose between the country and her, I choose her!”

Nangong Yi stood in front of his maternal grandfather, his posture dignified and imposing, voiced firmly: “In my eyes, she is far more important than my country and its altars.”

The elder was moved by his words and sighed, “Since Your Majesty is resolute, this old servant can only do his best to help you cover all aspects, but the Great Khan of Liaodan is incomparably brave. You must take extra care on this journey!”

“Thank you for the reminder, Grandfather. Your grandson will remember!”

Nangong Yi then arranged the matters within the Palace, took Zhui Feng, Zhu Yue, Huan Qiu, and several dozen Secret Guards, and quietly left the Palace in the dead of night, riding swiftly towards Liaodan…

…

At this time in Liaodan Kingdom, it was the coldest season of the year. The world was frozen solid, drops of water turned into ice, everywhere was blanketed in vast whiteness, the earth cracked open, and the northern winds whipped fiercely like knives. The streets of Shengjing looked as if they were cast from silver, shining brilliantly with a chilling coldness. The entire Liaodan Kingdom was frozen like a huge block of ice; mountains trembled with cold, rivers stiffened, and even the air seemed about to solidify.

At this moment, the warmest house in the whole territory of Liaodan was the one where Cai Wei lived.

This was specifically prepared for her by Saknu—spacious, luxurious, even the Chengqian Palace where Nangong Yi and Cai Wei had their grand wedding could not compare. Not to mention the furniture inlaid with gems, nor the curtain valued at ten thousand golds, not even the various jewelries worth cities on the long dressing table. Just to mention the walls of this sleeping chamber alone, a lot of thought was put into it.

Liaodan’s harsh winter made Saknu concerned for her weaker state, so he specifically instructed to construct the walls of this Palace into fire walls.

Fire walls utilize stove smoke to heat through a built hollow wall similar to the fire kang, a heating method used by Liaodan nobles. It offers benefits such as a long heat-retaining phase within the walls, high thermal efficiency, and uniform heat distribution.

Of course, there are cons too, such as the waste of charcoal.

In Liaodan, noble families often choose smaller rooms to live in during winter to save on charcoal, as silver charcoal is expensive. In a grand palace like the one where Cai Wei resides, burning the fire wall twelve hours a day costs over one thousand taels of silver daily. While this amount isn’t significant for the Great Khan of Liaodan, given the long winter, just running this fire wall through the season would cost over ten thousand taels of silver, a true mark of luxury!

In the gorgeous and magnificent palace, Cai Wei lay on a pristine fox fur bed, deeply asleep, seeming never to awaken.