Xin Xuanshi acted very quickly. After the empress dowager nodded in agreement and allowed her fellow apprentices to enter the palace, the group was taken to the gate of Yonghua Palace by the servants of the Sheng family in the evening of the same day.
Wei Shuyi accompanied her to wait here, and saw the outstanding man at first sight.
As she had mentioned before, he was in his forties, with an ancestral appearance, graying hair, and a simple mask covering the lower half of his face. His hawk-like eyes were so sharp that the moment they met, one could no longer bear to look directly at him.
"Here! Big Brother, I'm here!"
The younger children came over, skipping and jumping, and handed them two candied haws. "Sister, I bought these specially for you. My brother said that since you're entering the palace for the first time, you can't come empty-handed. You have to prepare gifts. Sister, you get one too!"
"Thank you very much."
Wei Shuyi took it, his gaze still fixed on the end of the procession: the man was looking up at the palace gate, showing no sign of moving forward. Unlike the others, he didn't look around eagerly, filled with curiosity. He simply stared at the emperor's handwritten inscription, saying nothing.
"Is that your senior brother?"
Concubine Xin nodded and replied, "Yes! He doesn't like to talk much and his movements are also very slow. Please don't be offended, my dear sister!"
As she spoke, she walked over quickly, tugged at the man's sleeve, and whispered a few words.
He then took three or four steps and met Wei Shuyi's eyes.
"……"strangeness!
Why did she feel a dull pain in her chest? Even the old injury on her left shoulder suddenly started to itch unbearably, causing her heart to palpitate!
"Sister Noble, are you feeling unwell? Why do you look so pale?" Concubine Xin noticed something was wrong and hurried over to support her. "Do you want my senior brother to give you..."
Before he could finish his words, the man fell to his knees with a thud!
He kowtowed repeatedly to Wei Shuyi and performed a great salute!
She thought he didn't understand the palace etiquette, and quickly reached out to ask him to stand up: "Master, I am not the master of the harem, so I don't deserve your courtesy."
"I'm kneeling to pay my respects to the destiny, not to the young lady herself. You must have misunderstood." He stood up again swiftly and bowed. "I wonder what you have to say that has taken so much trouble to summon us to the palace?"
"It's not convenient to communicate here. Why don't we go back to my Sang Yuxuan and discuss it?"
"Okay."
Along the way, except for the eldest brother, everyone else was amazed at the decorations in the palace, and would chat with the beautiful palace maids when they saw them.
He was always the odd one out, walking with his arms folded and his waist slightly hunched. His strange walking posture attracted the inquiring gazes of the palace people.
After finally arriving at Sangyuxuan, Jingning was surprised to see a huge group of people: "My lady, who are they?"
"Future Imperial Astronomical Observatory, go serve tea."
"Ah?! Okay, okay, I'll get ready right away."
When the eldest brother heard this address, he couldn't help but frown: "Young Master, do you want us to enter the palace and become officials?"
"No, no! Actually, my dear sister has her own reasons!"
So, Xin Xuanshi talked about the plight of the talented people and took the opportunity to step on the supporters of the imperial teacher a few times.
When the insignificant character was mentioned, his expression remained unchanged. Only when he heard the word "national master" did he finally react: "Is he Yu Huai?"
"I just entered the palace not long ago, so I don't know! Sister Noble, do you know this name?"
Wei Shuyi did not deny: "It is Lord Yu Huai."
"Okay, I can help you with that." The other party decisively accepted the job and made an additional request, "However, I can't go to the Imperial Observatory. I can only stay by your side as a palace servant."
"What?!"
Wei Shuyi didn't understand, and deliberately emphasized: "Master, there's nothing wrong with being an imperial astronomical observatory. You have an official position and a salary, which is better than sweeping the floor here."
"I don't want to face that Imperial Master all day and fawn over him. My young master summoned us here because we're all so blindly obedient and can't be used for personal purposes?" He snorted self-deprecatingly. "Besides, in this palace, anyone who isn't the Emperor or Empress Dowager is just a slave in disguise. They're destined to serve others!"
She was speechless for a moment, then after some thought, decided to explain the risks clearly: "Actually, what the Taoist priest asked is not difficult. It's just that I'm afraid you'll regret it..."
"Why?"
"If you want to stay in Sangyuxuan as a palace maid, you can only be castrated."
Concubine Xin covered her mouth in horror: "Oh my God!"
This is a rule that has been passed down to this day: no real men can appear around concubines, specifically around the emperor's women, including palace maids.
But he didn't look panicked. Instead, he responded calmly: "Okay, sure. As long as there's no age limit, I'm fine with it."
"Big Brother! Have you thought it through? That's... snap!" "Yes, Big Brother, if you become a monk, you can grow hair later, but this..." "Why don't you just forget it? This is too risky! Even though you haven't thought about getting married and having children, you can't completely cut off your retreat!"
For a moment, the group of fellow apprentices were trying to persuade him, and even Wen Yu next to him was stunned and puzzled.
How could anyone be willing to become a eunuch just to avoid official position?
"I have made up my mind. You don't need to persuade me anymore. If you have the opportunity to work in the Imperial Observatory, please do not become a pet of the Imperial Master. Remember what I said before."
"yes!"
He raised his eyes and stared at Wei Shuyi again: "So, what about you, my lady? What are you going to do?"
"I will always remember the Taoist priest's sacrifice."
"make a deal!"--
Wei Shuyi, accompanied by Consort Xin, was anxious to return to Shoukang Palace to report. If they were late, the Empress Dowager would have already gone to bed, and they would have to wait another night.
Given Liang Cairen's current situation, she has to ensure that every second counts.
"Yinzhu! Has the Empress Dowager gone to bed? I..."
Before he could finish, Yin Zhu gestured to the inner hall and said, "The emperor is here to visit the little princess and is chatting with her inside!"
Xie Yanci is here?
She felt more timid as she got closer to home, and even had the urge to turn around and leave.
But no! For the sake of Liangcairen, she had to bite the bullet and ask for help!
Just at this moment, the emperor walked out from behind the screen, and their eyes met, leaving only loneliness.
He rarely wore dark formal attire; even his nightgown was a dazzling bright yellow, projecting an irresistible imperial majesty. But today, he had even removed his jade crown, his long black hair bound only with a silver headband, cascading lazily behind him.
His hair was as if cut by a knife, and he was extremely handsome.
Seeing her coming, his dark jade pupils finally sparkled, but the words he spoke were devoid of affection and seemed ordinary: "Zhaohua is awake, do you want to hug her?"
Wei Shuyi trembled slightly, afraid that under the flowing light, she would detect the alienation in his eyes. She froze and saluted on the spot: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. I have come here to see the Empress Dowager..."
"It's fine if you don't miss me, but don't you miss our daughter too?"
The tone of the emperor no longer had the majesty of the past, but was instead mixed with grievance.
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