When Su Ziji rose, he had not meant to wake the person sleeping beside him. Yet the moment he moved, the slightest sound made Ye Buhui's lashes tremble faintly as she opened her eyes.
"Provincial Graduate?"
"You're awake too? The winter cold is harsh. Sleep a little longer; dawn has not yet broken." Su Ziji dressed as he spoke softly.
"Provincial Graduate, I don't know why, but I keep feeling uneasy, as though something is wrong." Ye Buhui sat up and spoke in a low voice.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Though Su Ziji did not truly think so, he comforted her with those words.
"I think it may be because you have only just arrived here, and the new surroundings have left you unsettled. How about inviting some friends you know well over for a gathering later?"
"Would that bring trouble to you, Provincial Graduate?" Ye Buhui was tempted by the suggestion, but she asked this first.
Su Ziji smiled. "Just rest easy. Affairs at court have never affected the social dealings of the womenfolk. Not to mention merely inviting a few close friends for a gathering—even if you later associated with Prince Qi's consort and Prince Shu's consort, it would actually be nothing."
Those old foxes at court often did not interfere in the dealings among the women of the inner household. In truth, this was also to leave themselves a way out and leave some room for Yu.
Politicians who even interfered with the womenfolk's associations, making things far too obvious and excessive, generally found it difficult to go far.
After comforting Ye Buhui, Su Ziji went straight to the front courtyard.
When he arrived at the flower hall and stepped inside, those who had been waiting there all knelt in obeisance.
"Your servants greet the Lord!"