Chapter 4 Offense: She looks cold and aloof, but her face is actually quite soft and pleasant...
[Huh? Wasn't he supposed to die with me? How come he's just standing here scaring people!]
Hearing her inner thoughts, Xie Lanzhou's gaze shifted from the crabapple blossoms on the ground to her kneeling figure.
The eunuch Fu beside him asked, "Which palace are you from, and what are you doing here?"
“This servant is a palace maid from the Imperial Kitchen. I’m here to…” Su Panyue paused for a moment.
Help! I definitely can't tell the truth! What am I supposed to be here for?
"It was this servant who heard that Your Majesty was unwell and wished to visit you." By the end, her voice was barely audible, almost inaudible.
Upon hearing this, even the usually eloquent Eunuch Fu was stunned. How could a palace maid dare to so blatantly seduce His Majesty?
Although he had heard her thoughts, Xie Lanzhou seemed unusually patient today.
He narrowed his eyes slightly: "What brings you here to visit me?"
Su Panyue knelt on the ground, unable to lift her head any further, and wailed in her heart:
[What a lame excuse! I wish I could disappear into a hole. And the hairpin in my hand—if it's discovered, I'm doomed.]
"This servant is also worried about His Majesty," Su Panyue said, forcing herself to speak.
(Thinking to myself: [Of course I'm worried that if you die, I won't live much longer either.])
"You audacious palace maid! Drag her away immediately..." Eunuch Fu, who had served the Emperor closely, had seen many women like this who dared to try and win his favor. They were all dragged away and beaten to death.
But before he could finish speaking, Xie Lanzhou said calmly, "Wait a minute."
Then he curled his lips into a sinister smile and asked, "What are you holding in your hand?"
Su Panyue inwardly groaned, but forced herself to say, "It's nothing."
The man drawled out "Oh?" which made the listener inexplicably uneasy.
Su Panyue was quite certain that if she denied it to the death, this man would cut off her hand to see what it was, so she could only stammer, "It's a...gift for His Majesty."
Boss, just give me a quick death now.
Hearing her thoughts, Xie Lanzhou chuckled softly, though it was fleeting, it still drew the attention of the two people present.
Su Panyue glanced at him secretly, then remembered the rule that one should not look directly at His Majesty, so she quickly lowered her head and knelt obediently.
But deep down, he was not honest:
[Oh, he's still so handsome, I'd die for him! Hehehe, it'll be nice to have a handsome guy to keep me company in the afterlife.]
[No, no, no, I still don't want to die! Waaaaah, my life is so miserable! He won't kill me in a fit of anger, will he? No!]
Xie Lanzhou disliked noise, and he should have been annoyed by her alternating laughter and tears, but at this moment he only felt clear-headed and clear-sighted.
He suffered a severe headache last night and couldn't sleep all night. He summoned all the imperial physicians and they discussed it for half the night, but they couldn't come up with a solution. In the end, all they could do was prescribe those calming incenses that were of little use to him.
Feeling much better now, he felt more inclined to tease the little palace maid.
He stretched out his hand condescendingly: "Then give it to me."
【No, you really want it? It's unreasonable for an emperor who lacks nothing to covet something from a palace maid.】
Despite her reluctance, Su Panyue smiled brightly and took out the silver hairpin hidden in her sleeve, handing it to the man.
As her fingers brushed against his warm palm, Xie Lanzhou felt a tingling sensation in her hand that vanished in an instant.
He grasped the unremarkable silver hairpin: "Is this the gift you gave me?"
Su Panyue's dark, grape-like eyes darted around as she racked her brains to come up with a reason, her little face scrunched up like a bitter gourd.
However, Xie Lanzhou seemed to have no intention of making things difficult for her, and simply took the silver hairpin and left.
Su Panyue looked up and saw the man's robe, embroidered with dragon patterns, brush past her and enter the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
She looked up at Eunuch Fu again and blinked innocently.
"Get up quickly. You're the palace maid who served us yesterday... what was her name again?" asked Eunuch Fu.
"Su Panyue".
After a moment's thought, Eunuch Fu said, "Go to the side hall first and wait for His Majesty's instructions."
Su Panyue looked completely bewildered: Instructions? Instructions for what?
But after finishing his sentence, Eunuch Fu also took small, quick steps and followed into the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
She sighed, rubbed her knees, and felt as if she had escaped death again.
The side hall was filled with the subtle fragrance of ambergris. In the center stood a table made of golden sandalwood, and four towering pillars were carved with five-clawed golden dragons.
Su Panyue looked around, spotted the chaise lounge by the window, and comfortably lay down on it.
She had already decided that she had been poisoned like Xie Lanzhou, but she didn't know how many days she had left to live. She would just live each day as it came.
As a result, he was so comfortable lying down that he fell asleep on the chaise lounge.
Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, separated by only a wall, Xie Lanzhou sat on the dragon throne, casually glancing at the few officials standing below, as quiet as chickens.
Therefore, he could only hear the palace maid's inner thoughts, but not those of others.
He fiddled with the silver hairpin in his hand, frowning in thought, unaware that his expression was making all the officials present uneasy.
After a moment, before Xie Lanzhou could speak, an official couldn't help but kneel down and beg for forgiveness: "Your Majesty, I was wrong to advocate peace earlier. The barbarians of Yan have been arrogant for a long time, and it is necessary to send troops to punish them."
Xie Lanzhou glanced at him and said, "In that case, you should report to the military camp tomorrow. It's time to prepare for war."
The official's face changed drastically, and he kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I am a civil official of the Censorate. How could I possibly go to the battlefield?"
Xie Lanzhou was always a man of his word, and with a light snort, the hall fell silent once more.
*
Inside a side hall of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
It was already dark when Su Panyue woke up from hunger. She had rushed out earlier that day and had only eaten one meal so far.
She sat up from the chaise longue. The palace was pitch black. She touched her stomach, which still ached. She didn't know if it was from hunger or from poisoning.
She sighed softly, looked around, and found that only the two luminous pearls placed at the door emitted a faint glow.
Su Panyue got up and walked to a luminous pearl. She raised her hand and touched the smooth, round pearl. It was the first time she had ever seen such a wonderful thing.
After touching the luminous pearl enough, she prepared to go out to find something to eat, only to find that the door to the side hall was locked.
Su Panyue became a little anxious. Didn't His Majesty have some instructions? Why is she locked up here?
She hesitated whether to kick down the door and try, but worried that if it was His Majesty who wanted to lock her up here, she would be arrested and executed if she ran away.
Just as she was struggling with this decision, Su Panyue suddenly heard a sound coming from the corner on her right.
Her alarm bells went off, and in an instant, all sorts of ghost stories from the novels she had read flooded her mind.
Su Panyue gritted her teeth, picked up a luminous pearl, and decided to go and take a look. Only then did she discover an inconspicuous little door on the right side of the side hall.
She crouched down by the door and listened intently, but there was nothing behind the door, and no further sounds came from behind.
Out of curiosity, Su Panyue cautiously pushed the door open, but it was still pitch black outside.
Afraid of being exposed, she quickly stuffed the luminous pearl into her sleeve, reassuring herself: "I'm not trying to steal anything. I'll return it after I'm done using it. As for when I'll 'finish using it,' hehehe."
Su Panyue took a few steps in the dark and came across a pillar, which was also carved with patterns. She felt around for a while and figured it was a dragon pattern.
She suddenly realized, could she have somehow ended up in the main hall of the Hall of Supreme Harmony?!
As expected of the place where the emperor held court, the hall was enormous; even in the darkness, Su Panyue couldn't see which way the door was.
The hall had no windows and no light at all, so it didn't look like anyone was there. She simply took out the luminous pearl and held it in her hands to light her way.
However, the area illuminated by the luminous pearl was extremely small in such a grand hall, only enough to illuminate a small area in front of her.
So Su Panyue walked very carefully.
Then suddenly my eyes lit up when I saw the dragon throne. Even in the dim light, I could see its golden outline.
The palace gates were definitely facing the dragon throne, so she could go straight out, but Su Panyue hesitated, as if a little voice inside her was screaming:
That's the dragon throne! Just being able to touch it once in this lifetime would be worth it.
So she changed direction and, as if possessed, stepped onto the stairs, approaching step by step.
Several memorials were laid out on the table in front of the dragon throne, but Su Panyue showed no interest in them and walked straight toward the golden dragon throne.
When she was just one step away, she suddenly felt her foot kick something.
She bent down to look at the luminous pearl, and was so frightened that she almost cried out.
A man dressed in black lay on the ground, his face illuminated by a soft glow. He had fair skin, thin lips, sharp features, and long eyelashes that cast hazy shadows, adding to his gentle appearance.
It was Xie Lanzhou, the owner of this dragon throne.
Upon recognizing him, Su Panyue was so startled that she nearly dropped the luminous pearl in her hand onto his face.
You'd better hold it tight; it would be such a shame to damage this face.
Coming to her senses, she tremblingly reached out to check his breath, muttering softly, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty."
Thankfully, he's still breathing, but how did His Majesty end up lying here?
After checking his breathing, Su Panyue should have withdrawn her hand, but seeing the man's closed eyes and submissive appearance, she couldn't help but reach out and touch his face.
It has a delicate and smooth feel, without a single flaw.
[She looks cold and aloof, but her face is soft and feels nice to touch.]
She touched his left side, then his right, and only stopped when she had touched both sides enough, preparing to help him up to see what was wrong.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
She reached behind the man's neck, half-embracing him, trying to lift him up tightly.
Surprisingly, despite his thin frame, he was surprisingly heavy with bulging muscles. Su Panyue used all her strength to drag him to the dragon throne and help him lean against it.
I was exhausted too, so I plopped down next to him. The dragon throne was wide enough to comfortably seat two people.
[This dragon throne is just like that, hard and uncomfortable to sit on.]
Thinking this, she consciously rested her head on the man's shoulder, finding herself in a comfortable position, but her heart was in turmoil.
Should we go out and call for help? What if people misunderstand and think I harmed His Majesty? But he's unconscious; what if something happens to him if I leave him here alone?
[Forget it, consider it an act of kindness before I die. Your Majesty, please don't repay kindness with enmity.]
Su Panyue stood up, preparing to go out and call for help, but her wrist was suddenly grabbed.
She was startled, and the luminous pearl in her hand fell to the ground and rolled away.
Just as Su Panyue stood up, the force on her wrist pulled her so hard that she lost her balance and fell backward with a scream.
She bumped right into a warm embrace, carrying a faint scent of ambergris and an aroma that inexplicably brought her peace of mind.
"Have you had enough?" A slightly hoarse voice sounded from behind.
A note from the author:
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Xie Lanzhou: Family, what should I do if someone touches me? Should I touch them back?
Su Panyue: Don't come any closer! [doge emoji]
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