Chapter 22 Dream Talk "Tell me, what did you dream about?"...
Xie Lanzhou appeared silently behind her without her noticing, looking down at her and the cat she was holding.
Before Su Panyue could react, the white fluffy ball darted out and jumped into Xie Lanzhou's arms with practiced ease.
The old woman and the little boy bowed in unison: "Greetings, Your Majesty."
Su Panyue and Lu Tingyu also bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."
"No need for formalities, Granny." Xie Lanzhou stepped forward to support the old woman, and as she pulled her hand away, she also helped Su Panyue.
She stared blankly at the man. He seemed to have lost some weight, and his usually flawless face was covered with a light stubble.
My thoughts instantly wandered off course:
[Your Majesty looks quite good with a beard; you don't look so much like a pretty boy anymore. A rough, rugged man is actually quite appealing.]
Xie Lanzhou raised his hand and touched his chin, only then realizing that he had indeed forgotten about this matter in the past few days.
He walked to the unremarkable sandalwood table and sat down. He picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea. Seeing that Su Panyue was still staring at him blankly, he said in a low voice, "What? Don't you recognize me?"
Su Panyue shook her head, her tone tinged with grievance: "This servant dares not."
Judging from the tone of their conversation, the old woman took the little boy's hand and said, "This old servant will go back to my room first. Your Majesty, please feel free to give me any instructions."
Xie Lanzhou gave a soft "hmm," and Eunuch Fu and Lu Tingyu tactfully withdrew, leaving only the two people and the cat in the hall.
"Sit down." He glanced at the seat next to him.
Su Panyue slowly walked over and sat down. After not seeing him for a few days, he seemed quite unfamiliar.
The white cat nestled on Xie Lanzhou's lap, and as he stroked its fur, he asked, "You can climb this high now, has your foot injury healed?"
Su Panyue gave a soft "hmm," her heart heavy with a suppressed urge to breathe, as if saying another word would cause it to spill out.
[What a jerk! He kissed me and ran away, and now he's acting all high and mighty, criticizing me!]
Silently listening to her thoughts, Xie Lanzhou picked up the teapot, poured her a cup of tea, and pushed it towards her.
Su Panyue glanced down at the teacup in front of her, where a white cat hair was floating in the bright light. She then looked at the culprit lying in his arms, intently licking its paws.
He's even making me drink tea with cat hair in it! Is he doing this on purpose?
Xie Lanzhou then noticed the cat hair swaying in the cup of tea and quietly moved the cup further away.
He cleared his throat and said, "The affairs of the court have been very busy lately."
Xie Lanzhou was telling the truth. In recent days, the Yan Kingdom's envoys had arrived in the capital, and the Prince Rui's subordinates were also making moves. He had to be wary of both sides.
Although this was not a difficult task for him, his daily visits and the rumors of keeping a mistress in a golden house led various forces to send people into the palace to investigate, and the number of spies surrounding the Zhaixing Pavilion doubled.
Even the most meticulous plans can have flaws. He couldn't guarantee that they wouldn't take advantage of the chaos at the banquet to harm Granny Sun and her in the pavilion. Therefore, distancing himself from them at this time was the best way to protect them.
Su Panyue's tone was respectful but tinged with sarcasm: "Your Majesty is the ruler of a nation, and managing countless affairs every day is truly arduous."
Seeing her puffed-up face, Xie Lanzhou curled his lips and couldn't resist reaching out to pinch her cheek.
Su Panyue didn't know where she got the courage, but she raised her hand and slapped the back of his hand, making a loud slapping sound.
She then tried to pry his hands off with all her might, but the man didn't budge an inch. Instead, he rubbed her face with his thumb, leaving a faint red mark on her delicate skin.
Unable to resist, Su Panyue pouted and mumbled indistinctly, "Let go! Your Majesty, you're abusing your power!"
Xie Lanzhou remained unmoved. Instead, he suddenly leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "Why didn't you say this when you touched me?"
Su Panyue's ears turned suspiciously red as if she had remembered something, and she simply gave up struggling and placed her face in his palm.
Staring into his unfathomable eyes, she asked, "Your Majesty, has the envoy from Yan arrived?"
Xie Lanzhou was silent for a moment, then laughed. He should have known that this woman was so clever and quick-witted that nothing could be hidden from her.
He then nodded: "I arrived in Beijing yesterday."
Su Panyue sat up straight and asked somewhat nervously, "When will Your Majesty host the banquet?"
Xie Lanzhou poured her another glass of water before speaking softly, "Tomorrow."
Su Panyue had just opened her mouth to ask, "Then can I..."
Xie Lanzhou interrupted her, saying, "No."
Su Panyue was somewhat dissatisfied: "Why? My foot injury has healed, and I can go back to serve His Majesty."
Hearing her refer to herself as a servant again, Xie Lanzhou smiled helplessly, "There will be danger. Don't you cherish your life the most?"
"Besides, the Empress Dowager and Prince Rui will be there. Aren't you afraid they'll recognize you?"
Su Panyue shrank back a little intimidated, but still whispered, "Didn't His Majesty say he would protect me?"
Xie Lanzhou couldn't help but lower his eyes and chuckle. Everyone else called him a killing god or a living Yama, but this was the first time someone had trusted him so much.
Looking into Su Panyue's bright eyes, the emperor, who always kept his word, chose to compromise. Bringing her up to him wasn't such a bad idea after all.
Then he went inside to talk to Granny Sun, while Su Panyue played with the kitten, stroking its soft belly and pinching its pink paws.
When Xie Lanzhou came out, he saw a person and a cat playing happily. The person who had been looking gloomy just moments before was now smiling brightly, muttering to himself, "Little White, you're much cuter than your owner~"
Xie Lanzhou smiled slightly, coughed lightly, and the two of them, human and cat, turned to look at him in perfect unison.
"Your Majesty, are you alright? Shall we go?" Su Panyue was in a good mood as she was about to regain her freedom, and her tone was much lighter.
Xie Lanzhou nodded and stepped downstairs.
Su Panyue waved to the kitten and followed him downstairs, but after taking two steps, she discovered a problem.
Lu Tingyu helped her up the stairs, but Xie Lanzhou had just sent everyone down, and with her current leg strength, it would be incredibly slow for her to climb down.
Watching Xie Lanzhou walk steadily further and further away, she sighed resignedly and slowly moved down, holding onto the railing.
She had only taken two steps when the man blocked her way. Xie Lanzhou, who had walked a short distance away, had somehow retreated and was now standing with his arms crossed, a step below her.
"At this rate, will you be able to make it through the night?"
Su Panyue tilted her head slightly to look at him, her first thought being: [He's so tall! Even like this, he's still taller than me, right?]
Then he whispered, "Your Majesty, please go first. I can get down eventually."
The next moment, the man grabbed her waist and lifted her up.
Having learned from her previous experience, Su Panyue quickly reacted, took the initiative to hug his neck, and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, but I'm so sorry."
She said thank you, but her actions were anything but polite. She rested her head on the man's chest very naturally, and her bent legs were even wiggling back and forth, looking completely relaxed.
[If you'd said I didn't need to walk, what was the point of me going through all that trouble to climb up myself?]
Hearing her thoughts, Xie Lanzhou lifted her arm and gave her a little shake.
Su Panyue's head bumped into his chest. She reached out to block it, but then her hand couldn't leave his pectoral muscles.
[It feels so good to hold; it would probably be even better if I took it off.]
Xie Lanzhou's lips twitched. Listening to her increasingly outrageous thoughts, he looked down and reminded her, "Have you touched enough?"
Su Panyue withdrew her hand without showing any emotion, and chuckled dryly twice, "Your Majesty is joking. This servant was just afraid of falling and was simply helping you up."
"Afraid of falling?" Xie Lanzhou walked steadily as if on flat ground, it was hard to believe she could say such a thing.
He simply lifted the person onto his shoulder and walked with incredible speed.
Su Panyue gasped, leaning on his shoulder as she frantically backed away down the steps. She kept quiet, afraid of saying something wrong and being thrown down again, only daring to think to herself: "What a childish brat!"
They descended to the first floor in a short while, and the people waiting inside the hall lowered their heads upon seeing the two of them in this posture.
Su Panyue struggled slightly and whispered in his ear in a voice barely above a whisper, "I was wrong, Your Majesty. Please put me down."
Xie Lanzhou chuckled, supporting her arm to steady her. As he pulled away, Su Panyue grabbed his hand and placed something in his palm.
Xie Lanzhou opened his palm, and in his palm lay a lustrous white jade thumb ring.
Su Panyue leaned closer and whispered, "Thank you for the gift."
Xie Lanzhou raised an eyebrow, "Using my things as a thank-you gift?" As he spoke, he put away the ring.
Su Panyue blinked and said, "The important thing is the sentiment."
*
When the group returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, it was already dinner time. Xie Lanzhou immediately went to attend to official business.
Su Panyue ate dinner alone and returned to her maid's room. She turned over on the hard canopy bed and began to miss the soft and comfortable canopy bed in the Star-Picking Pavilion.
Despite her longing, she soon fell into a deep sleep, completely unaware that a man had silently entered her room.
Xie Lanzhou finished her work late at night. When she returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, she didn't see anyone and realized that she had gone back to the maids' quarters by herself.
Xie Lanzhou was so angry he almost laughed. This girl had gone to great lengths to beg him to come out, just so she could sleep in her shabby bunk bed.
Thinking this, he entered her room in the middle of the night. He wanted to see if this palace maid's room was as comfortable as the dragon bed in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Unexpectedly, she not only slept comfortably, but also had sweet dreams.
The woman sleeping soundly in bed murmured softly in her sleep. Xie Lanzhou's heart softened, and he slowed his pace to sit down by the bedside.
The moonlight shone on the woman's flawless face, giving her a holy glow. He leaned down and listened intently, wanting to hear what she was saying.
The more he listened, the more something seemed amiss. Xie Lanzhou's expression changed from sunny to gloomy, and his knuckles cracked as he clenched them.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he reached out and pinched Su Panyue's face, pulling her back from her dream.
Suddenly awakened, Su Panyue couldn't help but want to curse. She opened her eyes angrily and saw Xie Lanzhou sitting on the edge of the bed with a gloomy face.
She paused for a moment, then glanced at his clothes, seemingly relieved.
Before she could even utter the word "Your Majesty," the man asked coolly, "Su Panyue, do you know you can talk in your sleep?"
Su Panyue's eyes widened in horror: "No, no way?"
Xie Lanzhou curled his lips into a cold smile, leaned close to her ear and said, "Let me help you recall what you said: 'Great figure, battle-worn handsome man,' and 'Wow, big mouth.'"
Unexpectedly, he overheard her, and Su Panyue's face turned visibly red. She stammered for a long time without being able to utter a single word.
Xie Lanzhou continued to approach, his lips almost touching her ear, his breath warm but his tone icy: "Tell me, what did you dream about?"
A note from the author:
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The next chapter will be available for purchase! A long, 10,000-word chapter will be updated around midnight, so remember to check it out! There will also be random red envelope giveaways, so don't miss out!! [Sprinkling flowers]
Thank you everyone for your support! [roses][roses]
My next book is "The Stolen Sister-in-Law Has Lost Her Memory," please add it to your favorites~ The synopsis is as follows:
[A seemingly innocent but actually cunning noblewoman x a jealous and lewd man] A chaotic scene of brothers fighting over a wife.
Shen Wanyun, the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's family, was born with unparalleled beauty and charm in Shengjing. She and the heir of the Duke of Dingguo's family were childhood sweethearts, and everyone said that the two were a perfect match, a marriage ordained by heaven.
Until the second son of the Duke of Dingguo's family, born out of wedlock, returned from the battlefield and made great contributions.
The emperor was overjoyed and asked him what reward he wanted. He only asked for an imperial decree to grant him marriage, and thus married his future sister-in-law, Shen Wanyun.
A year into their marriage, the second son was gentle and considerate, while Shen Wanyun was obedient and virtuous. The two respected each other like guests, yet their differences remained clear.
However, due to an unexpected incident, Shen Wanyun was drowned and lost three years of her memory, completely forgetting where this marriage came from.
The second young master deceived her, saying that he and his wife were deeply in love, but Shen Wanyun didn't believe him at all.
She turned to her childhood sweetheart, the young master, and confided, "How could I possibly marry such a warrior as your brother?"
Upon learning of this, the second young master was consumed by jealousy and resolved to show her what a real warrior he was. However, at the last moment, he gently kissed away her tears: "My lady, don't cry. It must be someone else's fault!"
But from that day on, Shen Wanyun was imprisoned in the backyard by him.
The upright gentleman of the past is gone. The second young master has revealed his ruthless methods and even betrayed his own brother, the heir of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, to send him to prison.
Back in the backyard, he saw Shen Wanyun with her legs crossed, beckoning him with her finger: "Husband~ locking him up isn't enough, could you kill him for me?"
Consumption Guide:
1. A sweet and satisfying 1v1 romance novel where both characters are virgins and the story has a happy ending (HE).
2. The male lead is cunning and scheming, the female lead is seemingly innocent but actually ruthless; neither of them are good people.
3. Contains numerous scenes of intense competition and power struggles; proceed with caution if you are sensitive to such content.
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