Transmigrated Female Official

170 He will protect you for me.

When the Empress decided to send the Sixth Princess and the Seventh Prince to the Yuezhi Kingdom, she didn't even blink. Yet Chu Qingluo was merely a sixth-rank female official, and the Empress hesitated repeatedly. Now, even Long Kui has stepped forward to offer advice, making everyone present even more curious about the Empress's final decision…

The Empress surveyed the crowd from her high vantage point, then suddenly let out a soft sigh and said, "I grant your permission!"

"That's wonderful! Thank you, Your Majesty!" Fusang and the Sixth Princess hurriedly bowed.

But because Longkui had also gotten involved, Chu Qingluo suddenly felt that things were not going well, and hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I still need to prepare for the Summer Festival."

Before the Empress could respond, Long Kui continued, "Lord Chu need not worry. Other officials can share the burden of the grand ceremony for you. You can rest assured."

"..." After being so enthusiastically 'helped' by Long Kui, Chu Qingluo felt even worse. She could only stare at the Empress in silence, hoping that she would suddenly change her mind.

But the Empress simply gave her a reassuring smile and said, "Minister Chu, go ahead with peace of mind. The Summer Festival and the affairs of Guangrentang will be handled by your subordinates, and with Minister Long assisting you, things will not be chaotic."

Seeing that the Empress's mind was made up, Chu Qingluo knew that further words were useless, so she bowed her head and accepted the order: "Yes, Your Majesty, I obey."

……

Inside Ningxiang Courtyard of the Chu Residence.

Nine-Tailed Fox was packing Chu Qingluo's bags.

Watching his busy figure and seeing the ever-growing pile of clothes on the bed, she couldn't help but say, "Nine-Tail, are you trying to make me die from carrying so many clothes and jewelry?"

“It’s not like you’re carrying this yourself, Miss, so how could it tire you out?” Nine-Tailed Fox ignored Chu Qingluo’s protests and continued to add jewelry to her jewelry. “When you arrive in Yuezhi Kingdom, Miss, you should outshine all the beauties.”

"Oh, as long as it's suitable, that's fine. If I have to carry so much stuff, it won't be fun if it's more than what Princess Anyang has!"

At that point, she won't just outshine everyone else, she'll steal the show!

Chu Qingluo added, still not entirely convinced, "Listen to me, just pick a few light and comfortable items."

After hearing this, Nine-Tailed Sighed, put down her dress, walked to Chu Qingluo's side, and said with a droopy face, "Miss, can't we really take Nine-Tailed with us?"

"It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't." Chu Qingluo herself was also helpless. "This is the princess's entourage; even I'm just an accessory accompanying her. Have you ever seen an accessory come with accessories?"

Seeing how logically she spoke, Nine-Tailed Fox could only purse her lips and say, "I'm just worried that no one can take good care of Miss for me—"

“Of course,” Chu Qingluo said. “I also have to serve the two princesses along the way.”

“…Miss is so pitiful!” As Nine-Tailed Fox spoke, her eyebrows furrowed into a V-shape.

Seeing this, Chu Qingluo chuckled and said, "I was just kidding you, it's not that exaggerated. Don't worry, there are quite a few people with me, and I'll take good care of myself."

Seeing that she couldn't persuade her otherwise, Nine-Tails asked again, "Are you really only bringing a few dresses?"

"More real than real gold! Remember to lighten your jewelry too. Stop dawdling and get ready."

"Fine..." Nine-Tails pouted, then reluctantly packed up and went to get the food.

Gongsun Yu had just returned to the Chu family from the new residence when he heard from Steward Li that Chu Qingluo was going to travel to the Yuezhi Kingdom the next day. He didn't care about anything else and rushed off to find her.

Upon meeting, Gongsun Yu's first words were, "I want to go with you."

Seeing that he looked travel-worn, Chu Qingluo reached out and patted the dust off his sleeves, replying softly, "I also wish you could come with me. For that reason, I even went to see Princess Anyang."

After the morning court session today, the first thing Chu Qingluo did was to ask the Sixth Princess if she could bring her family.

"What did Princess Anyang say?" Gongsun Yu asked.

She said that because there was a foreign princess in the entourage, it was inconvenient to allow outsiders to accompany her in order to ensure the safety of the foreign princess.

Whether this official response was just a perfunctory response or not, anyway, the Sixth Princess said she couldn't bring it, and Chu Qingluo had no other choice.

"In that case, Peony should be able to come with you."

“Sigh—” she sighed softly, “I originally wanted to have Shaoyao go with me, but if even she isn’t at Guangrentang… I’m very worried, so I’ve decided to let her stay in the palace to manage the affairs of Guangrentang.”

“There aren’t many people you can trust in the palace, so what you’re doing is the right thing to do.” Gongsun Yu nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly remembered something and asked, “…Will the Seventh Prince also be going?”

Judging from the relationship between Ji Qiran and the Sixth Princess, Gongsun Yu believes that there is a high probability that Ji Qiran will accompany them.

When he asked this, Chu Qingluo was taken aback at first, and then hummed in response.

She was worried that Gongsun Yu would overthink things, and was pondering what to say next when he spoke first: "Although you may find this awkward, I sincerely hope that the Seventh Prince can come along. Because I know that he will protect you for me."

“Gongsun…” Her heart tightened suddenly.

Even with a thousand words to say, at this moment, nothing can be uttered.

"Alright, we can talk about this later. Wuyang is waiting for us to have dinner together." With that, he smiled and extended his hand to her.

She stared at his large hand, her furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and finally smiled faintly, placing her hand on his and letting him take hers...

During dinner, Gongsun Yu and Wu Yang barely spoke, and their chopsticks were only occasionally poking at the rice grains in their bowls.

Chu Qingluo glanced at the two of them and deliberately asked, "What? You don't like the food in the small kitchen?"

“No…” Wu Yang raised his head, met her eyes, and said truthfully, “The Yuezhi Kingdom is far beyond the southern border. It is said that it is full of poisonous flowers and herbs. I am very worried about Qingluo’s safety.”

Chu Qingluo said, "I've heard about this before. Luckily, I have a Hundred Herbs Pill on me, just in case."

Gongsun Yu put down his chopsticks and said, "There is only one Hundred Herbs Pill. Qingluo still needs to be vigilant at all times."

"Hmm...that makes sense." She nodded. "It seems that a silver hairpin is a must-have hair accessory, for easy detection of poison."

"...Actually, I still don't quite understand why Qingluo, who is in charge of the inner palace, had to accompany the Sixth Princess on her birthday celebration for the Empress of Yuezhi." Gongsun Yu raised his doubts.

Speaking of this, Chu Qingluo was also very uneasy. "It was Princess Anyang who proposed that I accompany her, and Princess Fusang seconded it. At first, the Emperor did not agree, but what was strange was that Longkui also seconded it, and only then did the Emperor finally grant his request."