Chapter 49 Making Tea, Slacking Off, and Dozing Off

Shen Hegui's attention was always on Lu Wensheng, so he noticed the abnormality immediately.

Long, strong arms quickly reached out and pulled Lu Wensheng firmly into their embrace.

Shen Hegui: "Did I scare you?"

Lu Wensheng closed his eyes and stubbornly insisted, "I smelled the rotten oil in the copper candlestick by the door and vomited my breakfast. I can't stand being hungry. When I'm extremely hungry, my limbs become weak and my head spins."

Shen Hegui glanced at the dry biscuit skin that Lu Wensheng was holding in his hand, then fed it to Lu Wensheng's mouth, saying mercifully, "Eat it!"

Lu Wensheng felt a lump in his throat and silently turned his face away in refusal.

All the meat has been picked out, what's left to eat!

His gaze fell on the dry, hard crust of the pancake, and Shen Hegui's eyes flickered as he thought of the filth he had just seen.

There was a pile of filth at the entrance, which was Lu Wensheng's vomit. He thought someone had entered the place and was about to hurry out to find and get rid of them.

However, the person sealed it with wax, so there shouldn't be any strange smell. Unless Lu Wensheng broke the wax seal, and there were no candle scissors or candle needles here, then they would have to use their hands.

Having figured out the trick, Shen Hegui immediately tossed the pastry aside and solemnly instructed, "Don't touch random things with your hands in the future, especially before handing me anything edible, understand?"

The conversation jumped around too much, and Lu Wensheng couldn't keep up for a moment. She opened her eyes and met Shen Hegui's phoenix eyes with a confused look: "Hmm?"

"The oil in the candlesticks by the door was extracted from Shen Rui's body; it's filthy!" Shen Hegui explained patiently.

Upon suddenly realizing what he had poked, Lu Wensheng felt a chill run down his spine and shivered uncontrollably several times.

"Are you cold?" Brushing his hand across Lu Wensheng's icy back, Shen Hegui tightened his arms, pulling her closer. "Will this make you feel better?"

"Hold me tighter." She needed to wash her hands, frantically washing them! She'd touched dead people before, but this was the first time she'd ever tasted the oil from a living person's corpse! She couldn't think about it, couldn't make any associations, she had to forget it all!

After coaxing herself for about half a cup of tea's time, Lu Wensheng finally felt better. She struggled slightly and said, "I'm feeling better now. Thank you for the gift."

Seeing Lu Wensheng unconsciously rubbing her arms, Shen Hegui simply took off his outer robe and draped it over her shoulders. His slender fingers seemed to unintentionally brush against the artery on the side of Lu Wensheng's neck. "It's cold and damp here. Let's go. I'll take you to have lunch."

Lu Wensheng rubbed his fingers together in his sleeve a few times, hesitated for a long time, and finally chose to ask the question that welled up in his heart: "Is the person Your Highness's mother was in love with still alive? After Your Highness grew up, did you ever send people overseas to search for any remaining descendants?"

“He is dead. When I was a teenager, I went out to sea alone to look for him, but the sea was vast and boundless, and I found no clues.”

Lu Wensheng turned to look at the portrait behind him, puzzled: "Back then, Shen Rui brought so many people with him when he went on his southern tour. He should be able to provide a lot of clues."

A mocking smile appeared on Shen Hegui's face: "Yes, if they were all still alive, they could provide a lot of clues. But there are many greedy people, and Shen Rui is one of the best among them. Moreover, he is very suspicious and believes that only the dead can keep secrets and put his mind at ease!"

He lowered his eyes, casually flicked the fingertip he had cut the night before, and his tone suddenly changed, becoming meaningful: "People who wake up drunk often have splitting headaches, chest tightness, and lack of energy. Why don't you guess why you were as lively and energetic as usual the next day?"

Lu Wensheng: "I was drunk and went crazy, I bit... I bit His Highness?"

Since Shen Hegui made such a claim and asked such a question, she must have bitten him! The emperor went south, and at least tens of thousands of people died, and not a single word of it got out. Is this the power of the emperor? It's terrifying!

Stealing a glance at Shen Hegui, who now held power, Lu Wensheng immediately slid to his knees and apologized: "I'm sorry, I'll never dare to do it again! I was drunk and didn't mean it, please forgive me, Your Highness!"

His well-defined knuckles pulled the man up, his gaze lingering on Lu Wensheng's lips: "What's the panic! I never said I wanted to hold a grudge against you. Now guess why my name is 'Crane Returns'?"

For the first time, Lu Wensheng deeply experienced the power of imperial authority. She dared not look directly at Shen Hegui and replied cautiously, "I can't guess for the time being."

Could it be that Shen Hegui's mother's lover has the character 'crane' in his name?

“When I was young, I lived with my mother. In the middle of the night, she would always call out a name in her dreams: ‘Qianhe’. So I guessed that my mother must have been hoping that her former lover could be brought back to life, rescue her from the deep palace, and return as a crane.”

Stroking the finger mark on Lu Wensheng's chin, Shen Hegui felt a faint sense of satisfaction: "Alright, I've told you so much just to make it clear to you that Shen Rui deserved what he got. In the future, if anyone comes forward to criticize my actions, I hope you will stand firmly on my side."

Lu Wensheng's heart skipped a beat: "What does Your Highness mean?" It was as if Shen Rui could grow back his hands and feet and run away.

"I'll take a gamble with myself." Shen Hegui suddenly let go and turned to walk outside. "Go on out, we have things to discuss this afternoon."

Lu Wensheng was completely bewildered. Seeing Shen Hegui take a step away, he didn't want to say anything more, so he could only follow.

As they approached the door, Lu Wensheng could no longer contain his curiosity and decided to ask Wang Minzhi whose mouth was next to her and why she was treating them like this.

"Your Highness!" Lu Wensheng pointed to the glass jar containing Wang Minzhi's head, "As a fellow man, don't you feel uneasy every time you look at it? And who is that person next to him?"

“Zhang Chongke, the censor.” Shen Hegui stopped and stepped aside, his eyes cold. “Do you still remember what they said that day at Yuhua Terrace?”

Lu Wensheng has a photographic memory, and her daily memories are naturally the same. After a little thought, she clearly recalled everything that everyone had said that day.

She said, "Zhang Chongke said he would fabricate some songs and prophecies to completely destroy His Highness's reputation; Wang Min said he would send His Highness women and use His Highness's children to prove that His Highness is a demon."

“Hmm,” Shen Hegui responded softly, “It is said that people will enter the cycle of reincarnation after death. Since Zhang Chongke likes to spread rumors, I cut off his mouth to prevent future troubles. Wang Minzhi was concerned about my bedchamber affairs, so I cut off his head and the root of his troubles, so that he can only worry about me from now on.”

After a moment's thought, he said to Lu Wensheng, "If you don't like my strange habits, I can change them later, and this place can be destroyed." Upon seeing Lu Wensheng, he realized how boring this place was, and with the previous dynasty becoming increasingly busy, he wouldn't have much time to come here in the future anyway. Besides, these were all things that were easily perishable, so it was better to clean them up in advance.

Lu Wensheng stopped in his tracks as he approached Shen Hegui, a huge question welling up in his heart.

What do you mean by saying that if she doesn't like it, he can change it later?

Oh! It must be because she and Shen Hegui will be close friends in the court in the future, like grasshoppers on the same rope. He was worried that his hobby would give rise to gossip and cause trouble for her official career, since she was going to become a close minister of the emperor in the future.

The emperor's close advisors should know even the color of Shen Hegui's underwear on any given day, let alone his quirks.

Thinking he had figured out the key point, Lu Wensheng immediately replied, "Alright! It's not good to keep these things. If outsiders find out, it will cause trouble for Your Highness for no reason."

Every word she spoke was for his benefit, and Shen Hegui was extremely pleased with it.

*

The room was dark, and when the sunlight came out again, Lu Wensheng squinted uncomfortably. She picked up the teapot on the ground and said to Shen Hegui beside her, "I'm going to wash the teapot and go to the outhouse while I'm at it."

"Alright!" Shen Hegui said gently.

Watching Lu Wensheng walk away, Shen Hegui immediately called over Feng Gou, his expression instantly changing as he coldly asked, "Who invited Lu Wensheng? How could they be so disrespectful and contemptuous!"

Fortunately, Lu Wensheng was different from others. If it were anyone else, they would probably be terrified and wouldn't dare to come any closer to him.

Feng Gou held his breath and stared intently at Shen Hegui, then whispered, "He should be a palace guard."

"Take them all to the front of the Fengtian Hall and give them twenty strokes of the cane!"

"This old servant will take care of it right away!" Of all people to neglect, why did he have to neglect Lord Lu? He has no sense at all!

"Wait a minute." Shen Hegui called out to Feng Gou and added, "Have Lin Shoubai bring a few people to Zhaowu Hall tonight."

From now on, Lu Wensheng will be living with him in Zhaowu Palace, so it's better to fill in this secret room. As for Shen Rui, he can be locked up somewhere else.

The sun is high in the sky.

After changing into clean clothes and enjoying a delicious imperial meal, Lu Wensheng followed behind Shen Hegui to the Wenhua Hall.

Having just discovered Shen Hegui's secret that morning, Lu Wensheng decided to perform well in the afternoon to demonstrate her value and prevent Shen Hegui from suddenly going crazy and trying to kill her.

However, old habits die hard, and she yawned several times after standing there for a short while, then secretly found a large red-lacquered pillar to lean against.

She was so sleepy after the meal! Closing her eyes felt so good! She would just take a short nap; these old men were going on and on, and they could probably chatter on for quite a while.

The sound passed through his ears but did not enter his mind, and Lu Wensheng gradually drifted into a light sleep.

...

"Your Highness, all preparations for this year's imperial examination are complete. All officials, both inside and outside the examination hall, have been selected, and their names are listed here for Your Highness's review." Zhan Xingxiu held the memorial high above her head and continued, "The imperial examination is scheduled for the ninth day of the third month, and the examination hall will be closed on the sixth day of the third month."

Feng Gou stepped forward, took the memorial, and presented it to Shen Hegui.

Shen Hegui raised his eyes, his slender, jade-like fingertips lightly tapping the cover, but he did not open it.

"Regarding the matter of preventing cheating, I..."

Before Shen Hegui could finish speaking, a snoring sound suddenly rang out, hitting the ears of every official present.

"Huff, huff, huff—"

The hall fell into a deathly silence. All eyes were drawn to the black boots peeking out from behind the curtain.

Who dares to be so audacious? To openly sleep during a political discussion! And even snore! That's outrageous! They must be tired too!

Feng Gou secretly glanced at Shen Hegui's face, and seeing that he was expressionless, he whispered, "Your Highness must be thirsty. This old servant will go and make you some tea."

Shen Hegui nodded and slowly finished speaking, "I would like to hear your opinions."

Shen Hegui's voice was not loud, but it was extremely intimidating, so all the officials present turned around instantly and began to ponder their countermeasures.

Those in positions of power should act accordingly. Since His Highness intends to indulge them, why should they insist on being the ones to stand out?

Feng Gou gently covered Lu Wensheng's mouth and shook her shoulders lightly.

When Lu Wensheng sneaks a nap at work, there's always a sharp, thin rope tied to his heart, so he wakes up instantly.

Just as she was about to call for her attendant, Feng Gou had already put his index finger to his lips and pointed towards the palace gate.

Recalling where he was, Lu Wensheng was startled.

Oh no, she was clearly dozing while standing, but now she's sitting down. How long has she been asleep?

Lu Wensheng immediately peeked out, wanting to see how many old men were left in the Wenhua Hall, but as soon as his gaze left the curtain, he met Shen Hegui's calm and indifferent eyes.

Good heavens! Why are Shen Hegui's eyes like searchlights?! She barely peeked out and he was already watching her!

"My lord, Your Highness is thirsty. This old servant will take you to get some tea." Seeing that Lu Wensheng had not gotten up for a long time, Feng Gou had no choice but to offer Lu Wensheng a way out.

"Okay!" She was quick-witted and understood immediately.

Strangely enough, when he stood inside the hall, he felt drowsy, but when he stood outside, Lu Wensheng felt like he could stay up all night and still be full of energy.

The two walked along the long corridor.

Lu Wensheng asked in a low voice, "Master, how long have I been asleep?"

"Not long after," Feng Gou respectfully instructed, "Lord Lu's official robes have been washed and dried. He will change into them in the side hall in a moment, and then serve the tea to His Highness. This matter will then be considered closed."

Lu Wensheng nodded.

Shen Hegui treated her quite well.

As soon as the two stepped into the side hall, a young eunuch in blue rushed over and shouted, "Godfather, we've arrived at the gate of Wenhua Hall, but it seems there's a small chip on the corner and some red paint has come off."

For eunuchs in the inner court, their master's affairs were of paramount importance. Therefore, Feng Gou immediately felt a chill and said with urgency, "Take me there quickly."

He turned to the side, looking troubled.

Normally, Lu Wensheng is extremely understanding. She waved her hand and said readily, "Go ahead, Grand Eunuch. I will explain to His Highness for you."

"Thank you, Lord Lu."

Since Shen Hegui took over the palace, the servants in the palace have become much more disciplined. Therefore, when changing clothes, Lu Wensheng was not worried at all about anyone breaking in.

Lu Wensheng glanced down at the fragrant official uniform and walked briskly toward the tea room.

The tea room was orderly. Lu Wensheng opened each tea canister and looked at it, finally choosing a dark brown broken tea.

She doesn't know how to brew famous teas like Luo Jie or Song Luo, but this dark, unnamed tea is definitely easy to make with just water.

She's so young and she's already sleepy; Shen Hegui is a few years older than her, so he must be even more sleepy. She should add more food to show her thoughtfulness.

Thinking of this, Lu Wensheng grabbed some more and put it in the teacup.

Boiling water was poured in, the lid of the teacup was placed on top, and Lu Wensheng carried the tray away.

About a few dozen breaths later, a palace maid hurried over and replaced the tea canister that Lu Wensheng had grabbed: "That careless Ju Yun, how could she mix up the wood ear fungus pieces and the tea leaves!"

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Author's note: After I finish rewriting the fantasy novel that I locked up, I'm going to write a side story about the male lead's mother [covering face and peeking] so that she can be brought back to life and see her son.