Chapter 37 Don't you remember the wedding ceremony? You got the table wet last night...
Hearing that he was going to apply the medicine for her, Su Panyue said, "No need to trouble Your Majesty." Her voice came out muffledly from under the covers.
Xie Lanzhou looked at the woman wrapped up in a ball and smiled bitterly, knowing that he had lost control a bit last night and exhausted her.
After a moment's thought, he touched her through the blanket and asked, "Would you like to go to the Imperial Study?"
Su Panyue wondered, "What's he going to the Imperial Study for? Does he intend to do this again?!"
Seeing that she had forgotten about his plan to peek at the military map, Xie Lanzhou sighed and said, "This morning I discussed the war with the Yan Kingdom with several generals. If nothing unexpected happens, we will be sending troops in three days."
Hearing his words, Su Panyue suddenly came to her senses and remembered her real purpose for going to the Imperial Study yesterday.
On the day she moved to Jingchun Palace, Sun Shilai's deadline for her seemed to be tomorrow, which is why she dawdled over embroidering a purse and went to the Imperial Study.
But why is he suddenly bringing this up now? Could it be that he's realized my intentions?
Su Panyue poked her head out from under the covers, looking at the man's calm expression, with even a faint smile on his lips.
[Perhaps I'm mistaken? If he had truly discovered my identity as a spy, he would have already skinned me alive.]
Although Su Panyue felt that her concealment was flawless, out of caution, she still pretended to say unintentionally, "The war with Yan Kingdom is arranged by His Majesty, so it will naturally be a resounding victory."
"Besides, the empress dowagers are not allowed to interfere in politics, so it wouldn't be appropriate for me to go to the imperial study, would it?" After saying that, she looked at Xie Lanzhou with a sincere gaze.
The man reached out and smoothed her long hair, which was a little messy under the covers. His voice was deep: "Don't you remember? You made a mess on the table last night, and you haven't had time to clean it up yet."
Su Panyue suddenly remembered something, her face flushed red, and she quickly said, "I'll go! I'll clean it myself, Your Majesty, please don't trouble others."
Xie Lanzhou touched her face with the hand that had been stroking her hair, and chuckled softly, "It's so hot."
Su Panyue was so embarrassed and angry that she couldn't help but raise her hand and slap the back of his hand.
One person misjudged the force, and a crisp "snap" sound was made, which was particularly noticeable.
Su Panyue's heart skipped a beat: [Oh no, I actually hit him!]
She stammered, "This concubine did not mean it, please forgive me, Your Majesty."
After saying that, seeing Xie Lanzhou looking at her reddened palm without saying a word, she added in a low voice, "If you can't forgive me, you can hit me back."
After saying that, she stretched out her hand in front of him.
Xie Lanzhou looked down at those fair hands and the red marks on their wrists, recalling how those hands had been held behind his back and how they had clung tightly to his neck.
Thinking of this, his eyes darkened, making Su Panyue's heart pound.
"Seriously? It was just a pat. You patted my butt so many times yesterday, and I haven't even settled the score with you yet!"
Hearing her thoughts, Xie Lanzhou took a deep breath, grabbed the hand that was offered to him, pulled her forward, and drew her into his arms.
Su Panyue looked up at him, remembering that he had started in the same way last night, and couldn't help but ask, "What...what are you doing?"
Xie Lanzhou simply said two words: "Apply the medicine."
Then he picked up a small porcelain bottle from earlier, grabbed her arm, and applied it to her arm.
The cool, refreshing ointment, applied to her wrist, sent a shiver down Su Panyue's spine, which was then soothed by the man's warm body heat.
Looking up at his focused, downcast expression, Su Panyue could sense a sense of reverence in his eyes, as if he were handling some rare treasure, his movements gentle and slow.
Su Panyue felt a secret joy, but then she thought again, he was the culprit after all:
He wouldn't listen to anything I said yesterday; if he had just been a little gentler, I wouldn't be in this state today!
After wiping her exposed wrists and ankles, Xie Lanzhou lifted her skirt along her calves.
Su Panyue tried to pull back, but he grabbed her ankle and whispered, "You haven't applied the ointment to your knees yet."
Su Panyue pouted speechlessly and didn't resist anymore. She had already seen everything she should and shouldn't have seen yesterday, but she didn't expect him to remember it so clearly.
After applying the ointment to her body, Xie Lanzhou took a handkerchief from the shelf, dried the ointment on her hands, and then turned around to pick up another porcelain bottle.
Su Panyue's heart tightened, and she quickly said, "It's all applied."
Xie Lanzhou: "There's one more place, the most important one."
Su Panyue knew where he was referring to, and tried to shrink back into the bed, but the man still managed to grab her calf with his long arm.
"No need, no need, there's no need to apply medicine there." Su Panyue continued to refuse, her legs pressed tightly together.
Xie Lanzhou said in a serious tone, "I applied it to you yesterday, and it's a bit swollen. You'll need to apply some more medicine today."
Su Panyue's vision went black; she almost fainted.
She had no recollection of whether he had applied medicine to her yesterday, but the fact that he had asked so directly made her feel a little embarrassed, even though she wasn't usually shy.
Her face flushed red, and when she looked up, she saw the man still staring at her with a half-smile.
She couldn't help but mentally curse him with every word she knew: [You filthy scoundrel, you dog of a man, you pervert, you bastard!]
After finishing, she snatched the porcelain bottle from the man's hand and said angrily, "I can do it myself, Your Majesty, no need to trouble yourself."
The words "Your Majesty" were uttered through gritted teeth, but Xie Lanzhou simply smiled and lowered his head, no longer making things difficult for her. He got up and went outside, leaving a message before closing the door:
"Call me if you need anything, and I'll be waiting at the door."
The only response he received was Su Panyue's wide-open almond-shaped eyes.
After finally managing to "invite" him out, Su Panyue quickly scooped out a dollop of ointment and applied it, then awkwardly smeared it with a finger.
He couldn't help but think to himself, "How did he manage to squeeze that in? It seems he's not the only one with extraordinary talent; I'm quite remarkable too."
Xie Lanzhou, separated by a door, heard her thoughts clearly. As his Adam's apple bobbed, he straightened his clothes, subtly concealing something with his wide sleeves.
Su Panyue was quick and finished tidying up in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, but she still had some difficulty walking.
Feixue helped her out, while Xie Lanzhou was still waiting outside the hall. He took Feixue's arm and carried her out of the hall.
Su Panyue was surprised to find that he had actually come in a sedan chair today.
The palace is vast, so nobles of a certain status can ride in sedan chairs. She had seen the Empress Dowager ride in a sedan chair before, but Xie Lanzhou seemed to have never used one.
Is this all for my own sake?
As Su Panyue was thinking, she was put into a sedan chair, and Xie Lanzhou followed her in. He lowered the curtain and said to the outside, "Go to the Imperial Study."
Upon arriving at the Imperial Study, Su Panyue immediately noticed the chaise longue that had endured so much yesterday. The items on it should have been cleaned up and looked brand new.
Xie Lanzhou placed her on a low stool next to the table, poured himself a cup of tea, and then poured another cup and pushed it in front of her.
Su Panyue thanked him, but still felt a bit uncomfortable looking at the table in front of her. She didn't really want to drink the tea placed on it, as she had left a lot of water on it yesterday.
Hearing what she was thinking, Xie Lanzhou smiled and took a sip of tea, lost in thought.
Su Panyue, with her sharp eyes, noticed a military map spread out on the table and hesitated before asking, "Your Majesty, is this the one I got wet yesterday?"
Xie Lanzhou nodded, casually rolled it up, and handed it to her, "Take a look at your masterpiece."
Su Panyue pinched the scroll with two fingers. Although she knew it was hers, she was still very disgusted with it. She took a deep breath before opening it and found that there were no obvious water stains on it, and the marching route was still clearly visible.
After a moment of surprise, he turned around and found that Xie Lanzhou had already sat down to the side and was looking through the memorials.
Su Panyue immediately memorized the route on the map, then threw the scroll aside and said, "Your Majesty, please burn it."
Xie Lanzhou took it and casually tossed it into the brazier beside him. His gaze inadvertently swept over the bamboo tube next to the antique shelf, where a scroll was badly wrinkled. He lowered his head to hide the smile on his lips and continued to flip through the memorial.
With nothing to do, Su Panyue looked around and found the sachet she had given as a gift the day before in a corner of the table.
She reached out to take it and look at it, but someone beat her to it.
Turning to look at the man with a memorial in one hand and a sachet in the other, she teased, "Your Majesty isn't even focused on reading the memorial; you're even trying to take my things."
Xie Lanzhou held the sachet in his slender fingers and said, "This was originally a gift from you to me. Do you want it back?"
Su Panyue smiled secretly and said, "My sachet has some clever details. I wonder if Your Majesty has noticed them?"
Xie Lanzhou raised an eyebrow, then glanced down at the sachet in his hand, but couldn't discern anything amiss.
"Give it to me, and I'll tell you." Su Panyue's expression grew increasingly smug.
Xie Lanzhou, however, still held onto the sachet tightly, saying, "Tell me."
[How stingy! I gave him a gift, but he can't even take a look at it himself.]
Su Panyue thought to herself, but still said with a little pride, "I embroidered both sides of this sachet! Turn it over and take a look at the pattern inside, you'll definitely like it."
Xie Lanzhou opened the sachet with some surprise and glanced at it, only to see a vague outline and not be able to tell what it was.
Su Panyue said anxiously, "You have to turn it over to see it; it's meant to be used on both sides."
Xie Lanzhou simply tucked the sachet into his sleeve, coughed lightly, and said, "You've been very kind. What reward would you like?"
Su Panyue was truly angry now. Although she had come to secretly look at the military map yesterday under the pretense of delivering a sachet, her original intention in embroidering the sachet was not for this, nor did she want any reward.
After last night, she became bolder and stood up, saying that she didn't need any reward. Without waiting for Xie Lanzhou's reply, she left the imperial study and returned to her Jingchun Palace in a huff.
After everyone left, Xie Lanzhou stared blankly at the door that had been slammed shut by her for a while before taking out the sachet from her sleeve.
He reached inside and took out two strands of hair tied together with red thread. He had tied them himself after finishing his work yesterday. He had heard that in folk tradition, this symbolized that the hair was tied together and the two strands would never be separated.
He gently placed it on the table, turned the sachet over, and couldn't help but chuckle when he saw the embroidery inside.
Su Panyue had actually embroidered a golden mountain inside with black background and gold thread. Moreover, the golden mountain was embroidered much more delicately than the pair of mandarin ducks that looked like wild ducks. It could emit a golden light from different angles. She really put a lot of thought into it, so it's no wonder that she was unhappy earlier.
After a long silence, Xie Lanzhou put away the sachet and called for Grandpa Fu.
"Reward Consort Su with one hundred taels of gold, and then take her to the storeroom to choose some jewelry she likes."
"And by the way, tell them that I was wrong."
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Author's Note: Xie Gou likes to do these sneaky things without wanting the female lead to find out.
Even knowing his wife is a spy, he still has to help her complete her mission...
By the way, does anyone dislike watching shows that follow a plot?
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