Chapter 22 He went too far that night. Of course, he could carry her sideways...

He was getting more and more excessive. Of course he could turn sideways with his back to Xiu Yu, but could he also face Xiu Yu head-on?

Xiu Yu bit her lip lightly, her eyebrows slightly raised, and she simply walked over to Xuanye with her light blue nightgown in hand and sat down, saying, "Then, does the emperor still want it?"

"Yes." Xuanye gathered Xiuyu's long black hair behind her head and said with a gentle smile, "Since you've changed my clothes, why don't I change yours too? Is this how ordinary people live?"

"How would I know?" Xiu Yu lowered her eyelids and pursed her cherry lips, looking really playful and cute.

Her mother, Dong E, was a shy woman. Even before she rode a majestic horse into the imperial court to become a concubine, she never told her a single word about the pleasures of the boudoir. Her parents, three hundred years later, were even more secretive about this, so Xiu Yu was completely clueless about the subject.

Xuanye didn't help Xiuyu put on her nightgown. Instead, he raised his hand to unbutton his own clothes, and said confidently: "It's winter now, and you really should add some charcoal to the brazier. But if you add too much, it will be a bit hot."

No matter how innocent she was, Xiu Yu knew what was going to happen next. She bit her lower lip gently, her eyes filled with shyness and, naturally, fear.

Xuanye stroked Xiuyu's back, holding her in his arms as he slowly lay down on the bed. He wrapped a lock of Xiuyu's long hair around his finger and whispered in her ear, "It will hurt a little, but don't be afraid, I'm here for you."

The gentle and magnetic voice melted Xiu Yu's heart, and she stretched out her arms to embrace Xuanye's back.

The Wushan Clouds were filled with affection. Xuanye was afraid of hurting Xiuyu, so he was very cautious at first. Finally, he heard Xiuyu's soft hiss, and then the two of them gradually let go.

They were both young, and Xuanye had been busy with government affairs recently. This was a day of free time that he had squeezed out in a hurry. When the two people who were entangled with each other separated, Xuanye was actually reluctant to let them go from the bottom of his heart.

Xiu Yu was held in Xuanye's arms. Although she was a little tired and still felt her breath was unstable after resting for a long time, to be honest, when the instincts that humans are born with are ignited at a certain moment, the feeling can indeed be described with one word: "refreshing".

"Are you feeling comfortable?" Xuanye held Xiuyu in his left arm, resting his right arm behind his head. "To be honest, I do have some experience in this area, but this is the first time I've been so cautious."

Xiu Yu's words were filled with laziness. She nudged herself into Xuanye's arms again and said, "Who knows how much of what you said is true or false? Anyway, I, a little girl, followed you and let you fool me."

"How could I bear to lie to you?" Xuanye's right arm also stroked Xiuyu's back, almost rubbing her into his arms. "I just had a vague illusion, an illusion that I have been waiting for this moment for a long time, as if it had been decades, hundreds of years."

"Old drivers like you really have a way of coaxing girls. Even though it's a bit cheesy, it's pleasant to hear." When it's late at night and everyone is asleep, people tend to let down their guard. Even an elite like Xiu Yu actually said what was in his heart.

"'Old driver'?" Xuanye was a little confused: "What does this mean?"

"Ah?" Xiu Yu's sleepiness instantly vanished. She opened her eyes wide and looked at Xuan Ye. She chuckled and said mysteriously, "That's what you meant by 'rich in experience.'"

Xuanye pinched Xiuyu's cheek and asked with a smile, "Is this a new word from outside the Great Wall? I haven't been outside the Great Wall for a long time, so there are some things I really don't know."

"Yes." Xiu Yu said, "It is indeed a new word from outside the Great Wall. It is so new that it cannot be newer."

"You..." Xuanye's face suddenly hardened. He looked into Xiuyu's bright eyes and said, "How come you know all these words? You're not a 'good guy' outside the Great Wall, are you?"

Xiu Yu argued, "I'm teaching you some new words out of kindness, but you're saying I'm wrong. After all, the rules outside the Great Wall aren't as strict as those in the Forbidden City. When the princesses get together, they might occasionally say something they've heard by accident."

This statement was quite rigorous. Xuanye nodded and said, "In the future, it's okay to talk about new words like this when it's just you and me. But if it's in front of our ancestors or the Empress Dowager..."

"Your Majesty, do you think Xiu Yu is stupid?" Xiu Yu was a little dissatisfied. "Do you still need to explain such a thing? Not to mention that I behaved properly in front of the ancestors and the empress dowager, even in front of you, if I hadn't been so careless just now, I wouldn't have said those words."

Xuanye didn't like what he heard. He curled his lips and said, "So, you still want to hold back in front of me."

"It's really hard to please the emperor! All bosses in the world are really the same. If you do this and he's not satisfied, then if you try another way, he'll find more things to be dissatisfied with!"

"I..." Xiu Yu simply lowered her eyelids and said in a low voice, "What do you think I can keep after tonight?"

Who could stand that?! Xuanye's women had always been obedient to him, and when it came to sex, they were almost begging him for "more grace." Honestly, after nearly twenty years as the emperor, Xuanye had long been accustomed to others' "obedience" and felt that there was nothing wrong with them doing so.

But when he met Xiu Yu, the girl who would occasionally "criticize" him and then try hard to make him happy, Xuanye not only felt novel, he even felt that this was how it should be between men and women, between people in love.

"Yu'er, I want to be with you forever." Xuanye said these tender words as if by some strange coincidence. When he said them, even he was startled.

Since he was young, the Empress Dowager taught him, "Once you have the kingdom, you can have as many beauties as you want! An emperor who loves beauties but not the kingdom is a sinner to the Qing Dynasty and even more so to the people! In the afterlife, you will have no face to face your ancestors!" He always kept these words in mind.

For him, women, even Empress Hesheli, were more than just spouses. Women sent to the palace by prominent families carried the burden of their families' expectations, and their hearts were inherently less pure. Ordinary concubines, however, were expected to behave in a manner consistent with the norm, always mindful of the saying, "To serve the emperor is to serve a tiger," fearing the emperor's wrath.

Xuanye was stunned at the moment, and Xiuyu was also stunned. She didn't know how to respond to these affectionate words. Reason told her: Wake up! This emperor is so high and mighty, with so many women! If he can say such words in your ear, he can naturally say them in the ears of others. Don't get confused. But her heart told her: He is not lying this time, he really means it.

"Go to sleep." Xuanye finally broke the silence. He stroked Xiuyu's back again and again and said, "There's a long way to go. Let's wait and see."

Xiu Yu was indeed a little sleepy. Although the sexual pleasure was joyful, she admitted from the bottom of her heart that it was too "tiring". It was much more energy-consuming than drawing pictures and making plans, or cooking and making snacks in the past few days.

Xiu Yu fell asleep quickly, but Xuan Ye remained awake for a long time. He was tired, but with Xiu Yu in his arms, even sleep seemed a luxury. He didn't know what had happened to him. He was the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, married in his teens and with an empress. He had seen countless women, but compared to his peers, he was undoubtedly a top-tier expert. But facing Xiu Yu... he didn't know what had happened to him. Perhaps he was truly ill and needed to see a doctor.

A full night without sleep naturally had its consequences. The smile on Liang Jiugong's face as he helped him wash and change clothes made Xuanye feel that even if a servant was comfortable with him, he couldn't use him for too long. If he got too familiar with him, he'd inevitably become disrespectful and unaware of the importance of respect.

Xuanye coughed deliberately and said, "Do you find me funny today? Isn't it hard to hold back your laughter, Chief Steward Liang?"

"I dare not." Liang Jiugong immediately bowed, and the teasing expression on his face disappeared in an instant.

Xuanye hummed and said, "Please change my clothes."

Liang Jiugong was helping Xuanye put on his dragon robe. After hesitating for a moment, he finally said, "Master, would you like some powder today? Just use the powder you prepared for Yu Gege."

"Use powder?" Xuanye was puzzled. "Are you asking a grown man like me to use women's rouge and powder? How dare you!"

"I'm not a daring person." Liang Jiugong simply held the small peep show in front of Xuanye and said, "Master, please look under your eyes. If you don't put some powder on them, I'm afraid that when you're in the palace..."

Xuanye looked at himself in the mirror. Indeed, the circles under his eyes were dark and thick. However, for the sake of the emperor's reputation, he still said, "Do you think there is anyone in this court as bold as you? You dare to laugh at me? Do you really think I'm a soft persimmon because I don't show my power?"

"This servant is doing this for the master from the bottom of my heart." Liang Jiugong said a little aggrievedly: "I remember you said that the substance is indeed important, but the appearance is not unimportant. Isn't this for your appearance?"

"You laugh at me, and you think you're right!" Having said that, after Liang Jiugong changed the dragon robe for Xuanye, Xuanye still went into the inner room to find Xiu Yu who was putting on makeup.

Xiao Tao, the most perceptive servant in the world, would certainly not allow herself to be a light bulb. After paying her respects to Xuanye, she walked to the outer room and stood with Liang Jiugong.

"Your master's panda-like dark circles are okay." Xiao Tao lowered his voice and said to Liang Jiugong.

Liang Jiugong also lowered his voice and asked Xiao Tao: "Where is your master? I guess he is not much better than my master, right?"

"Then you're wrong." Xiao Tao thought of his master in her nightgown and praised her frankly, "My master is a beauty like a fairy. How can staying up late ruin her beauty?"