Chapter 46 The rich sweet fragrance of the grape vine instantly brushed against the tip of my nose.

Empress Dowager Zhao Jing had never thought that Xiao Yu would be so absurd. For the sake of this seductive woman Yan Nu, he actually disregarded all the rules.

And this Yan Shu was even more arrogant because of the favor she received, and she even had the audacity to sit at the seat of honor.

The Queen Mother frowned, a hint of displeasure flashed across her eyes, and she looked at Yan Shu and spoke.

"While the king certainly favors Concubine Yan, he must not lose his sense of propriety. How can a concubine from the harem sit at the same table with the king?"

When Yan Shu heard what Empress Dowager Zhao Jing said, she was slightly stunned, and her fair little face also froze a little.

For a moment I didn't know whether to leave or not.

However, Xiao Yu raised his eyes and glanced at Empress Dowager Zhao Jing lightly, while his slender and bony hand was still firmly wrapped around the waist of the girl beside him.

Yan Shu couldn't move and was forced to continue sitting beside him.

The young king looked at her deeply, as if to comfort and yet to tease her.

Then he raised his thin lips slightly, and his voice sounded a little cold.

"The Queen Mother probably doesn't want to see me and Concubine Yan sitting at the lower table." Xiao Yu's tone was light, but his eyes were curved with a smile, revealing a hint of coercion.

When Xiao Yu said this, not only the Queen Mother and others were stunned, but even Yan Shu beside him was a little shocked.

If Xiao Yu really followed her to sit at the lower seat, I'm afraid that everyone in the court would point at her spine and scold her as a witch who seduced the emperor.

Empress Dowager Zhao Jing obviously did not expect Xiao Yu to say such a thing, and her face suddenly became a little embarrassed.

She did not ignore that Xiao Yu had just changed his address from "Queen Mother" to "Queen Dowager" and changed his self-proclaimed title from "son and minister" to "orphan", which clearly meant that he was going to break off relations with her.

In the current situation, she still had to rely on Xiao Yu to secure the position of Queen Mother, so she had to be tolerant for the time being and no longer mention the matter of letting Yan Shu sit at the lower seat.

When Yan Shu saw that Empress Dowager Zhao Jing was humiliated, she felt secretly happy.

Although she had previously thought of hugging Empress Dowager Zhaojing so that she could help her in the future when Xiao Yu wanted to kill her, after the last incident of drugging and escaping, Yan Shu realized that the alliance with Empress Dowager Zhaojing was not as good as she thought.

She thought that she and Empress Dowager Zhaojing had a mutually beneficial relationship, but who would have thought that Empress Dowager Zhaojing wanted to kill her to silence her.

Looking back now, if Xiao Yu had not known about it in advance, she would have been killed by Empress Dowager Zhaojing's men as soon as she left the palace.

She was too naive and thought that Empress Dowager Zhaojing was too kind. Little did she know that a woman who could sit in this position would never be a kind-hearted person.

To Empress Dowager Zhaojing, she was a future trouble and of course she had to be dealt with as soon as possible.

Furthermore, Chu Yuan was executed by Xiao Yu, and now Empress Dowager Zhao Jing must be even more resentful of her. Yan Shu had completely given up on the idea of ​​clinging to the Empress Dowager.

Thinking of this, Yan Shu couldn't help but sigh in her heart. After all the trouble, she still had to rely on herself.

Xiao Yu was a moody person, and Yan Shu felt that she could not understand his thoughts at all.

It was like a big knife hanging over her head, making her nervous all the time, not knowing when it would fall.

Yan Shu was lost in her thoughts when she suddenly saw a plate of peeled grapes in front of her.

The crystal grapes placed on the cold ice look like gems shining with alluring luster.

Yan Shu was slightly stunned, and glanced sideways at the person next to her, and saw Xiao Yu peeling grapes with his head down.

The long, slender, white fingers with distinct joints carefully peeled the skin of the grape bit by bit, and the movements were extremely familiar.

As if noticing the girl's gaze, Xiao Yu looked up, his narrow eyes curved.

"Doesn't Shushu like to eat grapes?"

Yan Shu was stunned when he heard this, and opened his mouth to say something, but the next moment a grape he had just peeled was passed to his lips.

The sweet and sour aroma of grapes instantly spread to the tip of the nose.

The girl was stunned for a moment, looking at the peeled grape on his fingertips. After a slight hesitation, she bit it. But no matter how careful she was, she still accidentally sucked on his fingertips.

The sweet and sour taste of grapes spread in my mouth, but I didn't realize that the eyes of the person next to me also darkened instantly.

Yan Shu ate the grapes, feeling sour and sweet in her mouth and sour in her heart.

How great it would be if Xiao Yu and I didn't have those childhood entanglements. Perhaps they could really be an ordinary couple instead of the resentful couple they are now with their own thoughts about each other.

The two people's intimate posture as if they were alone was naturally noticed by everyone at the table.

Yan Qingwan, who was standing next to the empress dowager, almost gritted her teeth.

If Yan Shu had not intentionally stopped her from becoming King Xiao's concubine, who knows who would be the one so favored now.

Yan Qingwan believed she had learned the proper etiquette of a lady from a young age. Although her family background and appearance were not as good as Yan Shu's, her skills in needlework and virtue were all superior to Yan Shu's. Moreover, she was even more gentle and considerate than Yan Shu. Unlike Yan Shu, she was not satisfied with the favor and even wanted to escape from the palace secretly. Such unruly and restless behavior would surely make Prince Xiao dislike Yan Shu if he met a better woman in the future.

Seeing how Xiao Yu doted on Yan Shu, Empress Dowager Zhao Jing's eyes were filled with displeasure until Yan Qingwan leaned over and whispered something to her, and then her expression eased.

Then he smiled and looked at Xiao Yu and said, "I have recently received a group of dancers with excellent dancing skills from Marquis Mingyi. Their dances are also fresh and much more beautiful than those performed by those conventional musicians in the palace. Today is the Qixi Festival, and we have fine wine and beautiful scenery, but we lack beautiful women to accompany us. I have asked them to come out and entertain everyone. If they dance well, the king will reward Marquis Mingyi generously."

When Empress Dowager Zhao Jing said this, everyone naturally agreed.

Especially the leader Wei Ziqi came out immediately to express his gratitude, although Xiao Yu did not say what reward he would give him.

The young king seemed more immersed in feeding the girl beside him and seemed unaware of the outside world.

However, Yan Shu was very interested in the group of dancers who came out gracefully.

As expected, whether it was Queen Yan or Queen Dowager Zhao Jing, they both used dancing as a trick to present beauty.

In fact, Yan Shu could understand this. After all, a beautiful woman dancing could best show off her graceful figure. Even a woman like her loved to watch a beautiful woman dance, so how could it not move a man's heart?

As the Empress Dowager's attendants called out to them, the beauties all raised their sleeves to cover their faces and walked forward.

Each of them, dressed in a green dress, surrounded the girl in the middle, who was wearing a bright pink lotus dress. A bright pink lotus flower was pinned in her black hair.

Yan Shu suddenly felt that he looked familiar.

Isn't this the same clothing and outfit she wore when she and Xiao Yu took a sightseeing boat tour to Luochi?

Although the dresses on the girls were not exactly the same, it was obvious that they were very similar.

So he frowned and watched the twenty girls walk to the center of the banquet and then gradually disperse, and then one by one they lowered the wide sleeves that covered their faces.

As expected, they are women carefully selected by Marquis Mingyi, each one is more beautiful than the other.

As more than a dozen women appeared, everyone at the table held their breath and looked quietly at the woman in pink among the group of women.

If the "lotus leaves" are so beautiful, then the "lotus flowers" in the middle must be stunning.

Even Yan Shu felt deeply curious. Qingtao had said before that one of the twenty women looked very similar to her. Could it be the woman in the middle?

As the music gradually grew, Yan Shu's curiosity was instantly aroused.

The girl in the middle lowered her sleeves, revealing her fair and pretty face.

At that moment, everyone at the table gasped.

Because this pink-clad dancer looks quite similar to the beautiful lady Yan who is beside the king.

Not to mention 80% or 90% similarity, there is definitely 60% or 70% similarity.

At this moment, she was dancing to the music, and at first glance, she looked even more like Lady Yan at the banquet.

However, it is undeniable that this dancer's appearance is much inferior to that of Lady Yan.

Yan Shu was also surprised. It was the first time in her life that she saw a woman who looked so similar to herself. She couldn't help but widen her almond-shaped eyes.

Although it can be seen that the dancer's clothing and makeup are deliberately similar to her appearance, it is undeniable that her imitation is indeed very similar.

What’s even more amazing is that this woman’s dancing skills are indeed outstanding.

Among the twenty women, it can be seen that the woman in pink dances the most easily and skillfully.

It looks like a really gorgeous lotus flower, contrasting beautifully with the large lotus leaves and flowers on the Luo Pond.

Everyone's attention was drawn to it, and they all roughly guessed what Empress Dowager Zhao Jing was thinking.

Everyone knows that the Queen Mother is probably unhappy with the fact that the King only favors Concubine Yan, so she asked Marquis Mingyi to find a woman who looks so similar to Concubine Yan to share his favor.

As the dance reached its climax, the pink-dressed woman's smiles and frowns became brighter and brighter, and she moved closer to where she and Xiao Yu were sitting.

Yan Shu felt a sense of crisis in her heart. She bit her lip and looked nervously at Xiao Yu beside her, only to see that he was still peeling grapes with his head down.

One after another, the small plate in front of her was almost filled up.

Yan Shu was a little stunned for a moment. Could it be that Xiao Yu didn't even watch the dance of the group of women just now?

In fact, Xiao Yu really didn't watch it. If Shushu hadn't wanted to come to the banquet, he wouldn't have come at all.

But since his Shushu likes it, he can certainly compromise.

Since God is willing to give a man like him the chance to have Shushu again, Xiao Yu will naturally cherish it. Moreover, Shushu in this life is no longer as resistant to him as in the previous life, and even covets his body, so he will make good use of it.

As long as Shushu doesn't leave him, it doesn't matter what he becomes.

Yan Shu naturally had no idea what Xiao Yu was thinking. She didn't know why Xiao Yu was so focused on peeling grapes for her, as if everything at the banquet had nothing to do with him.

However, he has a strange personality and perhaps we cannot look at him by ordinary people's standards.

The dance on the stage had already ended, and the Queen Mother immediately began to praise the performance several times. Seeing this, everyone else also echoed the praise.

"This lotus dance is indeed interesting. I wonder what the king thinks of it?" Queen Dowager Zhao Jing glanced at Rong Shuying, the lead dancer, and then looked at Xiao Yu who was sitting at the upper seat, with a smile on her face.

Judging from the reactions of the crowd, Empress Dowager Zhao Jing was quite confident.

Although Rong Shuying's appearance is indeed not as good as Yan Shu's, she is an excellent dancer and is knowledgeable and interesting. Now under Yan Qingwan's training, she has learned Yan Shu's every move and smile to about 70%. Empress Dowager Zhao Jing doesn't believe that Xiao Yu will not be attracted by such a woman.

After all, Yan Shu is not a good girl. She drugged Xiao Yu for her own freedom. Doesn't Xiao Yu have any grudge in his heart?

Now, if a woman with similar appearance and who is gentle and considerate is brought to him, an ordinary man would have accepted her long ago.

"Shu'er, come forward quickly and let me see you. You are such a lovely girl."

Upon hearing this, Rong Shuying immediately stepped forward, her face looking shy, and her every move and gesture really resembled Yan Shu.

After hearing the Queen Mother's words, the young king, who was still peeling grapes, finally raised his head.

His narrow eyes were half closed, and a hint of impatience flashed across his dark eyes.

“So noisy.”

"What?" Empress Dowager Zhao Jing's eyes widened, as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard.

Everyone below was also shocked, surprised at the king's attitude towards Queen Dowager Zhao Jing.

But Xiao Yu did not try to hide his displeasure at all, his face was full of displeasure. He glanced around the seat and finally his eyes fell on the "Shu'er" mentioned by the Queen Mother.

When Rong Shuying noticed the gaze of the young and handsome king, her face immediately flushed and she lowered her head, revealing her most gentle posture.

Yan Shu clenched her palms immediately upon seeing this.

She does not have the dancing skills of "Shu'er", nor her gentleness, and she also has an indelible grudge with Xiao Yu. If Xiao Yu is really just obsessed with her appearance, then the woman in front of him is the best candidate to replace her.

Yan Shu was suddenly confused and didn't know how to face Xiao Yu's next decision.

When Empress Dowager Zhao Jing saw Xiao Yu's eyes fall on Rong Shuying, the displeasure she had just felt because of Xiao Yu's rudeness disappeared.

She raised the corners of her mouth, feeling a little proud.

She knew that no man in this world could be immune to this. The so-called love was just a joke. As long as there was a new look, everyone would forget the old one.

When everyone saw this, they felt that the Queen Mother's move was too powerful. This pink-clad dancer was likely to replace Concubine Yan.

But just when everyone, including Yan Shu, thought so, Xiao Yu suddenly spoke coldly.

"Shu'er?"

The young king's deep voice suddenly rang out.

Rong Shuying nodded shyly upon hearing this. "Your Majesty, my name is Rong Shuying, and Shu'er is my nickname."

"A beautiful lady is a perfect match for a gentleman. She truly lives up to her name," Wei Ziqi, who was seated at the table, deliberately complimented, adding with a smile, "Today is indeed Qixi Festival. It's fitting that His Majesty has such a beautiful lady."

He thought the same as everyone else, that the king was attracted to the dancer, that's why he spoke.

As the Marquis of Mingyi and now the Prime Minister of the State of Xiao, Wei Ziqi naturally holds great weight in the court. Since he has already complimented him, everyone below will naturally agree with him.

Seeing this, Yan Shu's heart sank to the bottom.

If Xiao Yu really fell in love with Rong Shuying, and she had Empress Dowager Zhao Jing as her support, wouldn't he be able to torture her whenever he wanted in the harem in the future?

After all, Xiao Yu didn't really dote on her. If he no longer had any attachment to her body in the future, how would she survive in this huge Xiao Palace?

Just as everyone was smiling and complimenting her, Yan Shu felt a pang of uneasiness in her heart, and Rong Shuying was waiting shyly.

The young king finally opened his thin lips slightly, and there was a hint of murderous intent in his dark eyes.

"Shu'er?" He chuckled, then looked at the dancer coldly, "Are you worthy of being called that?"

Everyone was shocked when they heard this, and Rong Shuying at the table was so frightened that her face turned pale and she was at a loss.

Yan Shu was also stunned, and immediately looked up at Xiao Yu beside her, and saw the familiar madness in his eyes.

How could someone be worthy of having the same name as her, Shushu?

How dare you?

A layer of black mist gradually covered Xiao Yu's eyes.

"Drag him away and execute him on the spot."

A cold voice sounded, and the young king was like a Shura from hell, ruthless and deathly.

Zhou Tong, who was standing by, nodded immediately after hearing this and was about to order the guards to drag the man out.

Anyone who displeases the king must be dealt with immediately and must never again be an eyesore in front of the king.

Seeing the group of guards coming forward, Rong Shuying was frightened and immediately asked for help from Empress Dowager Zhaojing beside her.

"Queen Mother, please save this slave, Queen Mother, please save this slave!"

Empress Dowager Zhao Jing had not expected Xiao Yu to be so bold. When the guards rushed over to arrest him, she immediately shouted "How dare you!"

The guard then stopped.

Empress Dowager Zhao Jing looked at Xiao Yu at the table and said angrily:

"Your Majesty, do you really not care about me now? You want to execute my people just like that. You don't care about the rules and etiquette of this palace at all!"

Xiao Yu ignored the Queen Mother's words and just half-raised his eyelids, revealing his dark and terrifying pupils.

"She violated the taboo of Lady Yan's name, so of course I must execute her." Xiao Yu looked at Empress Dowager Zhao Jing with a half-smile, "Or was it that the Empress Dowager deliberately asked her to choose this name, so she is so protective of her."

Empress Dowager Zhao Jing turned pale when she heard this.

Of course, she couldn't admit that Rong Shuying was the name she asked her to change to.

There are naturally rules in the palace that palace ladies have to avoid, but Empress Dowager Zhao Jing could never have imagined that Xiao Yu would actually want to execute her people for Yan Shu today.

I originally wanted to use this name to let Rong Shuying completely replace Yan Shu, but I never thought that it would become a topic of gossip.

This actually gave Xiao Yu a legitimate reason to execute Rong Shuying.

And she couldn't continue to stop it, otherwise it would be confirmed that she had deliberately asked her people to offend Yan Shu's name.

By then, her reputation as a wise queen mother would probably be criticized.

So after Xiao Yu said that, Empress Dowager Zhao Jing naturally stopped trying to stop them and could only let the guards go forward and arrest the person.

When Rong Shuying saw that the Queen Mother had abandoned her, her face turned pale and she cried in panic.

"Queen Dowager, please save this slave! Queen Dowager, please save this slave! This slave has been wronged!"

Seeing that the Queen Mother ignored her, Rong Shuying's eyes immediately showed a trace of grievance and resentment, and she immediately shouted to everyone:

"Your Majesty! I am innocent! It was the Queen Mother who told me to change my name. My name is not Rong Shuying. My original name is Rong Yun'er. My name is Rong Yun'er!"

As soon as Rong Yun'er said this, everyone immediately understood.

Empress Dowager Zhao Jing also looked at Rong Yun'er with anger, "Stop talking nonsense, you lowly slave!"

Upon seeing this, Yan Qingwan immediately ordered the people around the Queen Mother to shut Rong Yuner's mouth.

The young king at the table just watched coldly, allowing Empress Dowager Zhao Jing's men to cover the man's mouth.

Xiao Yu didn't care who came up with the name.

He just wanted these people to stop bothering Shushu.

Xiao Yu lowered his head to look at the girl beside him whose face was slightly pale. He thought that she was too angry because someone had offended her, so her face turned pale. The pair of eyes that had been lifeless just now immediately curved, so he immediately coaxed her gently.

"Shushu, this annoying person will be dealt with soon, please don't be angry."

If he had known this would happen, he would not have brought Shushu here, and made his Shushu unhappy again.

A hint of darkness flashed across Xiao Yu's eyes, and then he tilted his head to signal Zhou Tong beside him to solve the problem as soon as possible.

Zhou Tong immediately looked at the group of guards and said in a shrill voice:

"What are you all still standing there for? Hurry up and drag him away!"

Upon hearing the noise, the guards immediately stepped forward, grabbed Rong Yun'er and dragged her down. With a handkerchief stuffed in her mouth, she could only shed tears and whimper in anger, while the other 19 dancers trembled in fear at the sight of this.

Although they all knew that Rong Yun'er was indeed innocent and the name Rong Shuying was indeed given by the Queen Mother, no one dared to come out and plead for mercy.

Because everyone is afraid of ending up like Rong Yuner.

Just as Rong Yun'er was about to be dragged away, Yan Shu, who was sitting at the top seat, finally came to her senses, immediately stood up and exclaimed.

"etc!"

The girl looked at Xiao Yu and pleaded, "Your Majesty, please spare her life! It's just a name, and it's just a homophone with different characters. Why execute her?"

Yan Shu could see that Rong Yun'er was controlled by Empress Dowager Zhao Jing. Whether it was her name or her imitation of her every frown and smile, she was just following the Empress Dowager's arrangements.

It seems too innocent to execute her just because of a name.

In this Xiao Palace, human life is worthless.

Perhaps these dancers thought they could rise to prominence when they entered the palace, but they didn't know that today, just because of the discord between Prince Xiao and the Queen Mother, a life was going to be lost. How could this not make people feel sad for the other party?

And so is Yan Shu.

Today Rong Yun'er died because of her, and one day Yan Shu might also die because of someone else.

Everyone looked up and was surprised to see that it was Concubine Yan beside the king who pleaded for mercy. After all, everyone knew that if the king took a fancy to this dancer today, it would take away her favor and threaten her position in the future.

Now that the king wants to execute the dancer for breaking a taboo, Concubine Yan should be very happy, so why is she begging for mercy?

Aren’t you afraid that the king will really fall in love with that dancer?

Yan Qingwan, who was sitting at the table, was also a little surprised. She never expected that Yan Shu would risk angering King Xiao to come out and plead for mercy.

Empress Dowager Zhao Jing frowned unhappily. She felt that Yan Shu wanted to keep Rong Yun so that she could hold something against her in the future.

But Yan Shu didn’t actually think too much about it. She just felt that Rong Yun’er didn’t deserve to die.

Just a name.

Just because I chose this name myself, does that mean I cannot allow others to use it?

What's more, it was the Queen Mother who named Rong Yun'er, so killing her would be even more cruel.

After hearing Yan Shu's words, Xiao Yu's dark eyes were stunned.

It seemed that she didn't expect Yan Shu to plead for the person who offended her.

But when she thought back to the past when she pleaded for mercy for the palace maids who had treated her harshly, she suddenly felt no surprise.

His Shushu was always so innocent and kind, and it seemed that she could always feel sympathy for anyone except him.

Xiao Yu didn't like this.

Perhaps he should not have listened to her pleas and should have simply ordered the execution of the person who offended her.

But he didn't dare.

He was afraid to see his Shushu looking at him with those disappointed eyes.

He was afraid of seeing his Shushu lying coldly in his arms again, losing all warmth and color.

Moreover, Xiao Yu also felt a little greedy. Since Shushu felt pity for those palace maids and couldn't bear to see the dancer, perhaps Shushu in this life would also have more pity on him.

Will there be a day when her gentle heart will feel sorry for him?

Looking at Xiao Yu's dark eyes, Yan Shu's heart trembled slightly, but she still called out to him.

"Your Majesty?"

Xiao Yu lowered his eyes to hide the gloom in them, then raised his eyes and curved his narrow eyes at the girl in front of him.

"Just listen to Shushu."

Xiao Yu's voice was gentle, completely different from the king who just exuded a cold and gloomy aura and wanted to execute someone.

Everyone was extremely shocked, even Empress Dowager Zhao Jing could not believe that Yan Shu meant so much to Xiao Yu.

Just a few words made Xiao Yu release the man.

After being rescued, Rong Yun'er collapsed to the ground powerlessly and immediately kowtowed in tears in the direction of Yan Shu.

With Yan Shu's plea, Rong Yun'er's punishment was changed from execution to expulsion from the Xiao Palace.

This banquet held to honor beauties naturally could not continue at this point. Empress Dowager Zhao Jing suppressed her anger and left the banquet saying that she was not feeling well.

The banquet ended, and Yan Shu and Xiao Yu also rode in a sedan chair back to her Baohua Palace.

When she returned to the courtyard, Yan Shu looked up at the bright crescent moon in the night sky and the scattered stars around it, and remembered that today was the Chinese Valentine's Day.

In previous years, she spent the Chinese Valentine's Day with her mother in Yan Palace. She would learn to make cakes with her mother and pray to the Moon Goddess to give her a pair of skillful hands proficient in needlework.

When she was in love as a young girl, she would secretly wish to God to give her a handsome and good-looking man as her husband.

Yan Shu still remembered that on the second day after she made the wish, she met the handsome hostage Prince Xun sent by the Xiao Kingdom at the banquet.

Yan Shu thought that the Moon Goddess had heard her prayers, and she secretly hid in her bed at night and was secretly happy for a long time.

Little did she know that this was the beginning of her ill-fated relationship with Xiao Yu.

The girl sighed softly.

This sigh naturally fell into the ears of Xiao Yu who was standing beside him. His eyes darkened and he immediately lowered his head to look at Yan Shu beside him.

"What's wrong?"

Xiao Yu thought Yan Shu was still thinking about what happened at the banquet, and immediately frowned.

When Yan Shu heard the question, she immediately shook her head.

"It's okay. I just thought of a legend my mother told me on Valentine's Day." Yan Shu's tone became a little cheerful, as if she was thinking of something happy.

"Your Majesty, have you heard the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl?" The girl looked at Xiao Yu with her watery almond eyes shining brightly.

As if infected by the little girl's happy mood, Xiao Yu nodded, and a hint of joy appeared in his eyes.

Of course he had heard the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, but he didn't think it was that touching.

In his opinion, this cowherd was just a mean man who would do anything to steal people's clothes.

Cowardly, useless, and even shameless.

Of course, Xiao Yu would not say such words in front of his Shushu, because he felt that he was not much nobler than the Cowherd.

Even more shameless and despicable.

When Yan Shu heard that Xiao Yu had heard the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, she immediately smiled, and a sly look flashed across her clear eyes: "Then, Your Majesty, do you want to hear what the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl will say tonight?"

Xiao Yu seemed stunned when he heard this.

Before he could ask, Yan Shu took his hand and walked out of the hall, speaking as she walked.

"My mother once told me that on the night of Qixi Festival, if I waited under the grape trellis, I'd have a chance to hear the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl talking. Unfortunately, back in the Yan Palace, where my mother and I lived, there were no grape trellises, so I never had the chance to listen. But I saw a grape trellis in the palace garden last time, and tonight I must listen to what they say."

Xiao Yu was surprised at Yan Shu's naivety that she would actually believe such nonsense.

But the warm and soft little hand in his palm made him linger, so he followed the little girl to the grape trellis in the garden.

Under the moonlight, the grapes on the rack seemed to be covered with a faint luster.

Yan Shu couldn't wait to pull Xiao Yu under the grape trellis, and then immediately pricked up her ears to listen.

Unfortunately, apart from the rustling of leaves in the wind and the chirping of summer insects in the grass, there was no human voice.

Yan Shu was greatly disappointed.

She knew that there was no such thing as the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl in this world.

She tilted her head to look at Xiao Yu who was quietly standing beside her.

His fair and handsome profile remains the same as before, looking like a god under the moonlight.

She could never guess what such a person was thinking.

His strangeness, his past, and why he drank the snake blood... everything was like a mystery lingering in her heart.

She wanted to ask him why he still treated her the same way even though she had pushed him into the snake cave with her own hands and drugged him to escape from the palace?

Is it just because of her body?

Then why did he order someone to be executed today just because that dancer was also called Shu'er? And why did he let her go just because she pleaded for mercy?

Yan Shu was not sure whether Xiao Yu really had feelings for her.

Can such a person really have feelings?

At this moment, looking at the handsome profile under the grape trellis, Yan Shu's almond-shaped eyes swayed slightly.

Her heart was beating slightly as she finally tiptoed to do what she had most wanted to do but had never dared to do six years ago.

Go and kiss the ideal husband who I thought was given to me by the Moon Goddess.

Xiao Yu, who was listening carefully to the girl's words about the private conversation between the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, suddenly felt a soft warmth on his cheek.

The rich sweet fragrance instantly brushed against the tip of my nose.

Realizing what it was, Xiao Yu's pupils suddenly shrank.

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The author has something to say: Happy Qixi Festival, my dears~ I’m so sorry for not updating yesterday [please], here’s a big chapter today [kiss]

…

Let the young couple have some pure love on the Qixi Festival. Xiao [dog head] was kissed actively, and his heart was already happy [yellow heart]. Tomorrow he will kiss her very hard [kiss]