"I'm unable to celebrate the festival with the Empress today. You should retire early."
Without even turning his head, Ye Beiyao left those words behind and quickly departed Phoenix Perch Palace.
Su Yue gazed at his vanishing back, standing at the doorway for a long time without recovering from the shock.
Qiulan supported her anxiously. "Your Majesty, His Majesty has been busy with court affairs lately..."
Su Yue's face turned livid. "No matter how busy he is, he couldn't possibly deny me even this much courtesy."
Today was the Lantern Festival.
In previous years, he had even secretly arranged to take her out of the palace to enjoy the festivities.
Moreover, today was the fifteenth. According to ancestral custom, he should have stayed overnight in her palace.
But now, it seemed he had truly changed.
They all said men were fickle, and the men of the Imperial Family were even more heartless. Now, she finally believed it.
"Your Majesty, could some shameless vixen be scheming behind the scenes?"
Qiuyu was also extremely anxious.
When their mistress fell out of favor, it became very difficult for servants like them.
That was simply how realistic the palace was.
"But we've been keeping an eye on things these past few days. We haven't seen His Majesty go to any of the other palaces."
Qiulan reminded her of this, then gently tried to persuade the Empress again.
"Your Majesty, court affairs have been particularly numerous lately. His Majesty must be exhausted. When a person is exhausted, they have no thoughts for anything else."
Su Yue weakly waved her hand. "Enough. There's no need to speculate further. Perhaps His Majesty has simply grown tired during this period and wants to cultivate himself for a while."
She still refused to believe that the feelings they had