Chapter 59 Chapter 58 (Explanation included) Your Majesty, please keep the young master...
The emperor unfolded the rice paper, revealing tiny handwriting. The paper was covered in phrases like "noisy" and "you." Through these words, one could almost see the boy's expression as he wrote them. Perhaps he was speechless after reading these dull memorials, only able to frown and write down his complaints.
Mu Congmo casually placed the rice paper on a corner of the imperial desk, then picked up the memorial that Gu Shiyan had read and wrote the word "noisy" on it. He wondered how scared the official who received the memorial would be because of the emperor's casual handwriting.
Mu Congmo followed Gu Shiyan's suggestion and reviewed all the memorials. Gu Shiyan probably never thought that the few words he wrote casually would actually be reviewed by the emperor on the memorials.
The memorials on the imperial desk were gradually decreasing, but Gu Shiyan showed no sign of waking up. Mu Congmo did not disturb him, but just let him be.
Hu Xian tiptoed in. He had initially worried about disturbing the emperor's affairs, but when he saw Gu Shiyan, still asleep, he forgot to control his expression. He paused for a moment, then quickly lowered his head and approached Mu Congmo.
"Your Majesty, it's time for dinner." Hu Xian, guessing the emperor was about to let Master Gu sleep, lowered his voice. He turned his head to Gu Shiyan's side and looked at the emperor hesitantly.
It was common for the emperor to invite officials to dine at the palace as a display of favor. However, these officials were often nobles, powerful figures, or close ministers to the emperor. This Young Master Gu didn't seem to fit the bill. Furthermore, Mu Congmo disliked being disturbed during his meals and had always kept him alone to serve. Therefore, since his ascension to the throne, there had been no precedent for the palace inviting ministers to dine.
Hu Xian was a little embarrassed for a moment. The palace naturally had meals prepared for the officials on duty, but firstly, Gu Shiyan had not woken up yet, and secondly, he was not sure what the emperor meant.
Mu Congmo didn't even raise his head and continued what he was doing. "No rush, let's wait until he wakes up."
Hu Xian understood now, and he bowed before retreating. The emperor was diligent in government affairs, so he often delayed his meals. Hu Xian was no stranger to this, but now that the emperor actually delayed his meal to wait for someone else, Hu Xian was still a little shocked.
Another palace was filled with the rich, heavy aroma of sandalwood. The Buddhist hall was decorated in a simple manner, and a few nearly burned-out sandalwood sticks sat in the incense burner before the Buddha statue. The rich sandalwood scent, mixed with the delicate fragrance of fruits and other offerings before the Buddha, gradually brought peace of mind.
In front of the Buddha statue, there is an old woman kneeling on a cushion. She is dressed in white, with her hands clasped together and her eyes closed.
A sudden voice echoed in the empty and quiet hall: "It seems that His Majesty has invited the young master to dine with him."
Then the Buddhist hall fell into silence again. The Buddhist beads in the woman's hand kept turning, which seemed to be related to her troubled mood at the moment.
Is this the emperor's favor or does he want to make the Gu family jealous? No one knows what the emperor is planning, but Shangguan Jing will never allow Gu Shiyan to have any problems in the palace.
In Chengming Palace, Gu Shiyan finally woke up from his sleep. His eyes were a little blurry, and when he noticed Mu Congmo sitting above him, he thought it was an illusion.
Then he realized that he was in the palace. Thinking of the memorials that had caused him to fall asleep, Gu Shiyan's mood became a little unhappy. He picked up the tea at hand and took a sip. The tea was already cold when he took a sip, but he didn't care about these subtleties. Instead, he felt that this kind of tea could make him wake up.
He opened his eyes completely, and it turned out that the figure just now was not an illusion. Mu Congmo had returned without him knowing when. But what surprised Gu Shiyan was that the other party didn't send anyone to wake him up. He didn't think that the other party would let him sleep like this.
"Oh, you finally woke up. I thought you were going to spend the night in Chengming Palace today." Mu Congmo's sarcastic voice came.
Gu Shiyan thought, "Isn't it because you insisted on making me read those boring memorials?" But his face didn't show any emotion. Mu Congmo's words made him wonder how long he had slept. His eyes shifted to the window. Although the window was closed and he couldn't see the scene outside clearly, he could still vaguely see some sunlight coming in, like the midday sun.
He ignored Mu Congmo's sarcasm. He just closed his eyes for a while, it was not as exaggerated as he said.
Seeing that Gu Shiyan ignored him, Mu Congmo didn't get angry. He just reached out and rang the bell beside the imperial desk. The next second, Hu Xian, who heard the movement, tiptoed in.
The first thing he thought of when he saw Gu Shiyan was, "Little Ancestor, you're finally awake." He then withdrew his gaze and stood respectfully in front of the imperial desk, waiting for Mu Congmo's instructions.
"Serve the meal." the emperor ordered.
But Hu Xian still stood there without moving. On weekdays, the emperor would have his meals in the inner hall behind the screen of Chengming Palace, but the emperor always regarded that side as his private territory, and no outsider had ever entered except the palace servants.
He saw that Mu Congmo's intention was clearly to keep Young Master Gu to dine with him, but he was unsure where the emperor's bottom line was with Young Master Gu, so he asked hesitantly, "Your Majesty, where are we having dinner today?"
Mu Congmo looked at him as if he were a fool, then he remembered that there was another person, Gu Shiyan, today, "Just use it in the side hall." As the emperor's voice came, Hu Xian retreated with a sense of relief.
Mu Congmo stood up and strode towards the side hall. He noticed Gu Shiyan standing there in a daze and said in a mocking tone, "What? Master Gu has become an immortal who practices fasting in his dream. He even skipped meals. Are you trying to save some money for me?"
"I didn't know that Your Majesty was so poor that he even had to cut back on his subordinates' food." Gu Shiyan retorted without thinking.
Mu Congmo chuckled, seeming a little surprised. No one had ever talked back to him like this before.
Seeing the other party leave, Gu Shiyan followed him. It seemed that he would have dinner with Mu Congmo again.
In the side hall, Hu Xian directed the eunuchs to arrange the exquisite dishes in order, then waved his hand to let them all go, leaving only himself.
Mu Congmo sat down on the chair at the head of the table with his arms and legs spread out. Seeing this, Gu Shiyan also pulled out a chair and sat down. Hu Xian, who was standing by, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot. "Oh my little ancestor, how could you sit down here before His Majesty gave the order?"
Gu Shiyan was looking at today's dishes and didn't notice Hu Xian's excited look. Hu Xian secretly glanced at the emperor and saw that there was no dissatisfaction on his face, so he didn't remind him.
"You go down."
Hu Xian was stunned for a moment before realizing the words were directed at him. He leaned forward and prepared to leave, while at the same time frantically winking at Gu Shiyan. However, Gu Shiyan was destined to disappoint his good intentions. Seeing that the other party had no reaction at all, Hu Xian stopped talking and sighed inwardly. "Master Gu, I have accepted your money and have done the job for you, but your young master simply won't listen to me at all."
The emperor needed to be served at meals, but today the emperor had sent him away, so only Gu Shiyan was left. However, Young Master Gu couldn't understand his expressions. Did he want the emperor to do it himself? Hu Xian felt hopeless. That was all. This matter had nothing to do with him anymore.
Gu Shiyan naturally noticed Hu Xian's extremely obvious action, and even Mu Congmo noticed something, but he remained indifferent. Let him serve Mu Congmo at dinner? Forget it, he was afraid that he would do something to exterminate his entire clan.
After Hu Xian left, there were only two people left in the hall. The atmosphere was quiet for a while. Seeing that Mu Congmo did not move, Gu Shiyan also sat there.
As Mu Congmo picked up the chopsticks, Gu Shiyan followed his movements. One of them was dignified while the other was slow and measured, and they seemed to be quite compatible.
After finishing the meal, Mu Congmo took out a handkerchief from his sleeve. Gu Shiyan noticed that there seemed to be another different handkerchief underneath the handkerchief, and that handkerchief looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember it for a moment.
Only then did he notice that Mu Congmo seemed to have changed his clothes before. He immediately remembered the emperor's action of getting up. Was he going to change clothes? He secretly complained, how particular he was. Just because he bumped into him, he had to change clothes. Fortunately, he was a wealthy emperor. If he was born in an ordinary family, how could he withstand such a fuss?
During the meal, the two of them adhered to the principle of "not talking while eating" and got along quite well. But now that the meal was over, the atmosphere had returned to its awkward state. Fortunately, neither of them cared about the other's thoughts, so they didn't notice the strange atmosphere. When the young eunuchs came in, they were almost frightened by the atmosphere and dared not move, their legs trembling.
Gu Shiyan pondered what to do next. The maid the Empress Dowager had sent earlier had said that His Majesty's whereabouts were unpredictable and the Empress Dowager had no idea, so he was told to adapt to the situation. If he were at home, he would have taken a short nap after meals, but now he had to act according to Mu Congmo's instructions. Thinking of this, he looked at Mu Congmo with a hint of resentment.
Mu Congmo sensed a murderous intent, seemingly emanating from the seemingly frail young man before him. He was puzzled, wondering how he had offended him, yet simultaneously excited. Such people were fascinating, and he was eager to see when he would attack him.
If he was really injured, would Ah Yan feel sorry for him when he knew about it? Would that mean he could see her again? But he changed his mind and thought, what if he got scars on his body and Ah Yan didn't like it? It would be better to let Mo Yu and the others do the defense of the palace.
Mu Congmo stood up and left, leaving behind a sentence: "We have finished our meal. You can continue to help me review memorials in the afternoon."
For a moment, those young eunuchs seemed to feel a great pressure, but the feeling disappeared the next second. They suspected that it was just an illusion and did not take it seriously.
Gu Shiyan stood up and followed Mu Congmo towards Chengming Palace, but he looked in a bad mood.
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