Chapter 90 Chapter 90 "Banban, can this... be torn? ...
Zhao Qingyi felt hot all over and wanted to ask the maid to add more ice to cool her down.
The maid pushed the door open first and came in, "County Lady, someone is coming from the palace."
Zhao Qingyi quickly closed the brocade box, hid the things tightly, and tried to appear calm.
Qiao Yue said jokingly, "Your Majesty has been busy with state affairs lately and wanted to see you but couldn't leave, so he sent someone to ask the county lady if you would be willing to come to the palace."
Zhao Qingyi knew that the food shouldn't have been delivered today. Chu Yuanhe must have thought that she missed him.
but……
It seems that I do have a little bit of thought about it.
Before in Zhejiang, they slept in the same bed together almost every day. Suddenly they were separated and they felt a little uncomfortable.
Zhao Qingyi finally gave in to her heart and asked the maid to wait outside, saying she would come later.
A quarter of an hour later, she boarded the sedan chair wearing a silver-red brocade cloak. The sedan chair had a smooth journey and was taken directly to the Purple Palace.
When Chu Yuanhe entered the palace, he was still reviewing memorials in his casual clothes. Hearing footsteps, he raised his smiling peach blossom eyes and glanced at her cloak, then paused for a moment, "Is it cold outside?"
Zhao Qingyi blushed and shook her head.
Chu Yuanhe put down his imperial edict and waved at her, "Come sit here. I'll be done soon. Will you have dinner with me later?"
He heard that Zhao Qingyi had a poor appetite in the past two days and ate little. He didn't know whether it was because the food in the mansion was not tasty, or she was not used to the imperial meals in the palace, or... she was missing him.
He couldn't eat when he thought of her.
Seeing Zhao Qingyi motionless, Chu Yuanhe simply walked over and took her hand. He found that her hand was particularly hot. He looked nervous for a moment, "Are you sick?"
The back of a large hand covered Zhao Qingyi's forehead, and she came back to her senses and shook her head hurriedly, "No..."
"Then why are you so hot?" Chu Yuanhe put aside the affairs of state for the time being, took her hand and sat her down, and was about to take off her cloak, and then call the imperial physician to come and take her pulse.
Zhao Qingyi quickly held him down, her face flushing even hotter. "I'm really fine, you...you go ahead and do your thing..."
After all, it was her first time doing this, so she was too nervous and couldn't do it calmly and easily. She had to take it slow.
Chu Yuanhe sensed resistance from her body and stopped talking. He asked tentatively, "Are you unhappy about the princess' marriage?"
Zhao Qingyi lowered her eyes and didn't answer, which did affect her mood a little.
But she couldn't express it.
Chu Yuanhe stroked her cheek gently and smiled softly, "Don't let your imagination run wild. The promise I made to you will always count." He asked her what she wanted to eat and he asked the imperial kitchen to prepare it.
By the time Zhao Qingyi recovered from her awkwardness, the palace maids had already set the dishes and left. The two of them were back to normal. He picked up food for her, and knowing that she loved fish, he always carefully removed the bones from the fish he picked for her.
Zhao Qingyi had been busy all day and hadn't eaten much. Now she was much more relaxed with him and unconsciously took a few more bites. After she had eaten and drunk her fill and washed her hands, she stared at Chu Yuanhe.
He ate quite fast, but every move he made was very polite, revealing the dignity and reserve of a noble man.
Zhao Qingyi was lost in thought. After a moment's hesitation, she couldn't help but speak out her true feelings. "I heard that the princess who was to be married off was very beautiful. Perhaps she was the type you liked..."
She carefully observed the other person's expression when he heard this. Unfortunately, Chu Yuanhe was as calm as ever, and it was impossible to tell whether he was expecting or disgusted.
"If the princess wants to marry you, I... I'm not an unreasonable person..."
Before he finished speaking, Chu Yuanhe's hand holding the jade chopsticks froze noticeably. He slowly raised his head, his eyes deep, "What do you mean by that?"
Zhao Qingyi was slightly frightened by his gaze and didn't know what to say for a moment.
On the way here, she had gone over those words in her mind several times, but when she arrived in front of Chu Yuanhe, she couldn't continue even after she started to speak.
Afraid that Chu Yuanhe would misunderstand, Zhao Qingyi hurriedly explained, "I didn't mean anything else..."
"What exactly does that mean?" Chu Yuanhe put down his bowl and chopsticks, staring at her intently, waiting for her next words.
Zhao Qingyi was completely choked.
That look was so sharp that it seemed as if it could see through all her secret thoughts with just one glance.
Although she was prepared to accept Chu Yuanhe's future harem, she couldn't say it. She couldn't take the initiative to support him in accepting the princess as a foreign princess.
Chu Yuanhe directly pointed out, "You want me to marry the princess?"
Zhao Qingyi lowered her head, not daring to look him in the eyes.
There was still something Chu Yuanhe couldn't understand, and he couldn't help but sneer.
Zhao Qingyi thought he was angry, and said in a muffled voice, "Have your meal first." Then she stood up and tried to run away.
Chu Yuanhe raised his hand and grabbed her slender wrist.
Before Zhao Qingyi could stop herself, he pulled her back and she fell into his arms.
Chu Yuanhe's gaze passed over her wrist. A corner of her cloak opened, revealing a plain gauze skirt. However, the gauze was almost transparent, and her jade-like skin was faintly visible underneath.
So this is why she wears a cape?
Chu Yuanhe's newly born sense of uneasiness faded a lot, and he curled his lips, "I didn't know that Banban had such a generous and tolerant side."
There was something hidden in his words, which made Zhao Qingyi blush.
As she twisted her waist and struggled, Chu Yuanhe hugged her, his tone less playful and more serious, "Banban, you don't need to be what anyone expects you to be. You just need to be yourself and don't have to make decisions against your own heart."
Even if someone has regulations on what a wife should be like, or what a queen should be like, those are other people's rules, not his.
What Chu Yuanhe wanted was a vivid and real her.
All of Zhao Qingyi's struggles stopped at this moment.
He finally noticed it.
Her concessions that went against her principles, her forced tolerance and magnanimity, and... her painstaking efforts to please.
Chu Yuanhe held her lower back with one hand and embraced her slender legs with the other. He leaned over and kissed the sweetness on the corner of her lips. "...Of course, I won't interfere with things like what clothes Banban likes to wear."
"only……"
His fingertips moved along her fair wrist and slowly landed on the straps of her cloak. "What on earth are you wearing today? Can I see it?"
The originally solemn and tense atmosphere suddenly collapsed. As the palm penetrated, the calm mask that Zhao Qingyi tried hard to maintain began to shatter bit by bit.
"No, I'm not ready yet..."
She pulled her cloak tighter, her snow-white cheeks flushed bright red.
Chu Yuanhe stopped moving. He pulled his hand back, lifted her up with his arm, and looked at her with interest. "Then wait a little longer."
Seeing that he was not unhappy, Zhao Qingyi breathed a sigh of relief. After escaping from his arms, she hid far away, her long eyelashes flickering, "You, you eat first, and then we can talk after you finish reading the memorial..."
Now that she was here, she had never thought of returning empty-handed, but not now.
"So that's what you meant when you urged me to eat quickly." Chu Yuanhe's eyes darkened, and his voice couldn't hide his joy. "Don't worry, I've almost finished eating. I have enough energy to torment you..."
He deliberately made his words ambiguous, and as he wished, he saw her shrinking back in shame, burying her face in her knees, and curling up into a small ball.
The palace maid came in and ordered some food. Chu Yuanhe returned to the imperial desk. Perhaps thinking about what was going to happen next, he quickly reviewed the remaining memorials. However, it was still early, and he wanted to keep her tonight.
It would be difficult for her to leave if she left a little later.
Zhao Qingyi had been waiting. At first, she would read a book or wander around in the inner hall, but Chu Yuanhe's bedroom was really deserted. The most interesting person was only that person. Unfortunately...
She unconsciously looked at the man with stern eyes outside the bead curtain.
It turns out that this is what he looks like when he is serious.
Before this, Zhao Qingyi never had much real feeling for her, because he was humble in front of her. Except for the last time they were in a cold war, when he would occasionally reveal some dominance in bed in order to keep him, most of the time he treated her gently, submissively, and even flatteringly.
Now seeing that man sitting high on the dragon throne, working diligently day and night, she finally had a real feeling about the emperor Chu Yuanhe.
After looking for a long time, the scrutiny and inquiry in Zhao Qingyi's eyes could no longer be concealed.
Chu Yuanhe had keen senses and had spotted her long ago. He finished reviewing the last memorial with a stern face before pretending to raise his eyelids casually, "Is there something on my face?"
Being caught peeping, Zhao Qingyi looked away awkwardly.
What's going on? I feel hot again.
She waved her hands to cool herself down, only to find that the ice around her had melted long ago. No wonder she felt hot again.
Zhao Qingyi really wanted to take off her cloak and cool down, but she wasn't sure if Chu Yuanhe had finished his work. What if she delayed him from doing something important?
I should have known not to wear those things earlier, but now I am in a difficult situation.
Chu Yuanhe suppressed a smile, tapped the imperial desk with two fingers together, and said nonchalantly, "If you get bored in there, come over."
It would be fine if he just called for help, but why was he knocking on the imperial desk? It seemed like he was reminding her of something...
For some unknown reason, Zhao Qingyi's face turned red again.
She stood there in a daze. Chu Yuanhe thought that his hint was not effective enough, so he simply waved his hand and pushed the pile of memorials to the very edge, freeing up a lot of space.
This time he said directly, "Come here and sit here."
His eyes were scorching, as if they had woven a dense net to cover her, leaving her nowhere to hide. Zhao Qingyi moved over with her head held high, and when she reached him, he grabbed her waist and carried her to the imperial desk.
He squeezed in between her knees, pressing his upper body against hers.
Chu Yuanhe hugged her, closed his eyes, and carefully felt the softness in his arms. With her around, his tired heart resumed beating rapidly, strong and hot.
Without any extra words, he buried his head and bit open the laces of the cloak. The brocade material was smooth to begin with, and without the restraint, it easily slipped off her shoulders. The cloak fell off, revealing the delicate curves underneath.
Zhao Qingyi let out a low cry, and then a cool breeze seemed to blow past, making her shiver. She tried her best to restrain the urge to run away, and her slender fingers that were holding the man's shoulders curled up slightly.
Her heart was beating fast. She was still not used to being here, especially dressed like this and sitting at his desk. It was too unrestrained, especially this time, she was the one who offered it to him.
Zhao Qingyi bit her red lips lightly, looking helpless, "Chu Yuanhe..."
The candlelight in the hall flickered, and she was so embarrassed that she almost cried. When she opened her mouth, she couldn't control herself but uttered three words, "...Does it look good?"
The moment he saw clearly, Chu Yuanhe's eyes suddenly darkened, his thin lips slightly opened, and he exhaled a faint dragon breath, but he said nothing.
Zhao Qingyi wasn't sure whether he would like her like this. She did all this to please him, but she also had her own unspeakable secrets.
She was looking forward to his reaction, wanting his eyes to stay on her for a long time, and even more wanted to see him lose control of himself for her...
So she asked again in a low voice, "Am I...good-looking?"
What responded to her was a gaze as hot as a tongue of fire, as if tirelessly admiring her inch by inch, with unprecedented patience.
It seems that his understanding of Banban is not deep enough, and the other party still has many... surprises that he has never known about.
Zhao Qingyi had no idea what the man in front of her was thinking. He neither spoke nor moved, just stared at her. When she could no longer bear his gaze, the man gently hugged her and kissed her on the lips.
It was a long time before he separated from her, and the sound of heavy breathing echoed in the hall.
Chu Yuanhe's tone was both relieved and excited. "It looks very beautiful, even more beautiful than I imagined, but..."
He paused, and the long fingers that were caressing her cheek gently lifted her chin. "I hope this is the real you."
What he wanted to give her was freedom rather than shackles. He wanted to marry her only because he wanted to see her with his eyes open and closed for the rest of his long life. He didn't want to put her into the body of a "queen" and make her follow the rules in the eyes of the world in a rigid manner.
He knew Zhao Qingyi's true nature very well. Once she revealed her true feelings to others, she was no longer a pedantic person who followed the rules. She had her own personality and temper. She would cry when she was sad, lose her temper when she was jealous, and curse and hit people when she was angry...
Therefore, Chu Yuanhe never asked Zhao Qingyi to be generous, nor did he ask her to please him. He only asked her to be herself, nothing more.
Chu Yuanhe's face was sharply outlined by the candlelight, but his eyes were always soft, like the quiet and deep night, vast enough to embrace everything.
Zhao Qingyi stared into his eyes, as if an invisible warm power reached her heart, flowing continuously, allowing her to feel it very clearly...
He loved her with all his heart.
Finally, Zhao Qingyi plucked up the courage to kiss him back on the lips.
Her response was exceptionally enthusiastic. This time, without much guidance, Zhao Qingyi learned to express her desires openly, and every word she said drove Chu Yuanhe crazy.
Clothes were scattered all over the floor, and the solemn and dignified imperial desk once again became a sea of unbridled joy.
Chu Yuanhe was panting, letting her rest for a moment, then he slowly and methodically adjusted her gauze dress. After being ironed by his palms, the gauze fit her delicate curves perfectly, highlighting her hazy beauty.
A hint of joy flashed in his dark eyes again.
"Banban, can this... be torn apart?" His tone was sincere, with a slight hoarseness.
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