Chapter 58 Please, he only saw me as a knife, a beauty...
The singing and dancing continued at the banquet, and the soldiers, having eaten and drunk their fill, gradually became more lively, toasting and chatting happily.
However, the atmosphere between the two people seated at the head of the table was somewhat tense; after their conversation, neither of them spoke again.
Eunuch Fu poured wine for Xie Lanzhou, who picked it up and drank it all in one gulp, which made Su Panyue turn her head and glance at him a few more times.
This was the first time she had ever seen Xie Lanzhou drink.
The white jade and glass wine cup, filled with purplish-red wine, appeared exceptionally small in the man's large palm.
He drank three cups in a row, a drop of wine lingering on the corner of his lips, making onlookers itch with desire.
The wines presented to the emperor were all rare and exquisite. Their aroma wafted slowly, making Su Panyue's mouth water.
She picked up the wine jug on the table, poured herself a glass, and took a sip without making a sound.
The liquor was fragrant and mellow, with a smooth and mellow taste, much better than the liquor she had last time.
So she poured herself two more glasses and, concealed by her wide sleeves, drank them down in one gulp.
After downing two glasses of wine, she completely forgot about the unpleasantness she had just experienced with Xie Lanzhou.
Just as I was about to pour the third cup, someone grabbed my wrist.
She turned her head to look and saw Xie Lanzhou sitting next to her.
Su Panyue took another closer look at him and couldn't help but smile.
A faint pink tinge appeared beneath the man's pale skin, spreading from his cheeks down to his neck, like flowers blooming everywhere.
His eyes had lost their usual deep and sharp look, as if they were covered with a layer of mist, which added to his innocent and pitiful appearance.
Su Panyue had never seen him drink alcohol before, and it turned out that it was because he had such a low alcohol tolerance that he became like this after only three cups.
She gently pried open the hand that was gripping hers and whispered, "Your Majesty is drunk. I will drink in Your Majesty's place."
Having said that, he picked up the wine cup in front of Xie Lanzhou, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.
She can't drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, but someone who can drink a whole jar of liquor isn't exactly bad at alcohol.
After a few drinks, Su Panyue's eyes only became a little more moist, but her expression remained clear.
She picked up the teapot and poured Xie Lanzhou another cup of tea. "Your Majesty, please have some tea."
Slightly drunk, Xie Lanzhou was obedient and didn't drink anymore, just sat quietly to the side.
Su Panyue secretly glanced at him and saw that his face was even more flushed, and he was sitting blankly staring at the ground in front of him.
She chuckled softly, leaned closer, and whispered, "Does Your Majesty wish to return to rest?"
Hearing her voice, Xie Lanzhou turned her head and looked over, then suddenly asked, "Are you thinking of leaving?"
Su Panyue replied, "I'm fine; it's His Majesty who's a little drunk."
Xie Lanzhou seemed not to have heard her answer and asked again, "Do you want to leave?"
Su Panyue blinked, realizing something, and grasped his hand, saying, "I won't leave, I'll accompany His Majesty back to rest."
Xie Lanzhou finally nodded slightly.
Su Panyue told Eunuch Tongfu to keep an eye on things at the banquet, and then helped Xie Lanzhou back to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Helping him to sit on the chaise longue, Su Panyue got up and walked out, but someone grabbed her sleeve.
"Don't go, please." The man's voice was still low, but his words trembled slightly.
Su Panyue's heart softened, and she sat back down.
She reached out and touched his slightly flushed face, soothingly saying, "I'll go and tell someone to make you some hangover soup. I'll be back soon."
Xie Lanzhou held her tightly, refusing to let go, his chin resting on her shoulder, the warmth emanating from through her thin clothes.
Su Panyue sighed helplessly and could only raise her voice, speaking to Shouxi outside the door:
"Please prepare a bowl of hangover soup."
Xie Lanzhou added: "Two bowls."
Sukiyaki, who was outside the door, responded and gave the order to prepare.
Su Panyue said helplessly, "I'm not drunk..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by an unexpected kiss.
His cheeks were slightly flushed, but his lips were a little cool, and when they touched, Su Panyue instinctively shrank back.
He caught up with her and stood staring at her intently from a distance of only a few feet.
"Are you avoiding me?" His voice carried a hint of grievance.
Looking into his wet eyes, Su Panyue suddenly thought of the little dog wagging its tail on the street, begging to be petted.
She didn't answer, but moved closer, and the man closed his eyes as she did.
She gently kissed him, and she could see his long eyelashes tremble slightly, as if something had slipped from the corner of his eye and disappeared in an instant.
The kiss was long and tender, like a feather brushing against the skin, soft and elusive, yet sending shivers down one's spine.
After it was over, Su Panyue took a small step back, looked into his eyes, and said, word by word:
"Don't worry, I will never leave you in this lifetime."
Xie Lanzhou remained silent, only staring intently at her before leaning his tall frame against Su Panyue.
She was thrown backward by the sudden weight, barely managing to steady herself by leaning against the soft pillow behind her.
She looked down at Xie Lanzhou's soft hair and couldn't resist reaching out to touch it, ruffling his black hair.
She then pinched his face twice, finding Xie Lanzhou, who was drunk, quite adorable.
Shedding its sharp edges and armor, it reveals its soft belly, begging for a hug.
As she was lost in thought, the man in her arms suddenly asked, "Why don't you want to go back to Lu? Isn't that your hometown?"
Su Panyue hadn't expected him to still be thinking about this while drunk. After a long silence, she asked, "Do you really want to know?"
Xie Lanzhou nodded.
Seeing his serious expression, Su Panyue slowly exhaled and said:
"I can tell you, but you have to promise me you won't get angry first."
Su Panyue's palms were slightly sweaty as she pinched his cheek. Hearing a soft "hmm" from him, she continued:
"I was born without parents and survived on the charity of kind people. Occasionally, when I was starving, I would do some petty theft."
"When I was about seven or eight years old, I stole a high-ranking official's purse on the street and was caught red-handed. His attendants wanted to beat me to death in the street."
As she lowered her eyes, she caught a glimpse of the man's distressed gaze. Su Panyue gave a self-deprecating laugh and continued:
"I was terrified and ran into a kind person while I was running for my life. He not only didn't blame me, but also rescued me and took me home."
"Later I learned that this person was the Prince of Chang Le, the emperor of Lu, oh no, the late emperor's maternal uncle. He adopted me as his daughter, sent me to learn music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and even specially hired a female teacher to teach me martial arts."
“Until I came of age, I felt incredibly lucky and was filled with gratitude towards him.”
"But on the day I came of age, he held a grand coming-of-age banquet for me and invited many royal relatives, including Shan Mingyuan."
"At that time, he was the eighth prince, the most favored son of the late emperor, and the one with the best chance of becoming the crown prince. During the banquet, Prince Chang Le arranged for me to toast him."
"On the night the banquet ended, he called me into his study and gave me a coming-of-age gift: an incredibly sharp dagger. He wanted me to get close to Shan Mingyuan and kill this future crown prince for him."
"Only then did I realize that he only saw me as a knife, a beautiful knife."
Xie Lanzhou, who was in her arms, sat up at some point and pulled her into his arms, saying softly, "Alright, let's forget about the past."
Su Panyue shook her head, cleared her throat, and continued:
"Under his arrangement, I successfully got close to Shan Mingyuan, and the following year he came to propose marriage, and I became his fiancée."
Ignoring the increasingly stiff back of the man behind her, Su Panyue continued:
"But two months before our wedding, the late emperor passed away, and before his death, he passed the throne to the third prince, Shan Jianyuan."
"Since Shan Mingyuan didn't become emperor, there was no need for assassination. In order to avoid any further involvement with him, Prince Changyuan immediately arranged for me to fake my death and escape, and the engagement was naturally nullified."
“I went from being the adopted daughter of a prince and the fiancée of a prince to a clandestine spy who could no longer see the light of day, and could no longer appear in front of the public.”
"Two years passed in this way. Your Majesty, you ascended the throne. Prince Changyuan's mind started to stir again, and he wanted to plant spies around you."
"So I volunteered to come to Qi, just to leave Lu and live for myself again."
"Your Majesty is probably aware of what happened after that."
Su Panyue finished speaking in one breath, but dared not turn around to look at Xie Lanzhou's expression.
She could feel the chest behind her beating more and more violently, and the man's arm around her shoulder stiffened.
Time seemed to stand still; neither of them spoke, but Su Panyue heard his innermost thoughts:
I deserve to die, why did I have to make her recall all this?
[That Prince Chang Le deserves to die even more, how dare he use her like that! And that Shan Mingyuan deserves to die the most, I want to kill them all!]
Su Panyue blinked, feeling that although his idea was somewhat perverse, it was completely different from what she had imagined.
So she couldn't help but turn around and softly call out, "Your Majesty?"
Xie Lanzhou snapped out of his mind, which was filled with thoughts of killing, raised his hand to stroke her hair, and said gently:
"It's all in the past. No one will ever force you to do something you don't want to do again."
"As for those who have hurt and taken advantage of you, I will seek justice for you one by one."
Having revealed the secret she had kept for so long, Su Panyue relaxed completely. A thought flashed through her mind, and she confirmed:
"No one will force me to do something I don't want to do, including His Majesty?"
Xie Lanzhou nodded without hesitation: "Of course, how could I coerce you?"
Su Panyue gave a playful smile and lowered her voice, saying, "Then I don't like Your Majesty coming from behind, so it's not allowed anymore."
"Huh?" Xie Lanzhou was stunned for a moment before she reacted, and all the feelings of self-blame, anger, jealousy and heartache she had just felt vanished.
They reached out and hugged each other tighter, then he deliberately lowered his voice and said, "What happens in bed doesn't count, and besides, you clearly like it."
Su Panyue was unconvinced and squirmed in his arms, retorting, "You're not me, how do you know I like you?"
Xie Lanzhou chuckled softly and whispered in her ear, "Because I heard everything."
Upon hearing this, the hairs on the back of Su Panyue's back stood on end, and she stared in shock, widening her eyes as she asked:
"You mean, you can hear what I'm thinking?"
Xie Lanzhou nodded without hesitation, "At first it was possible, but I don't know when I stopped hearing it."
Su Panyue was about to confess that she could also hear his thoughts, but upon hearing this, she swallowed back the words she was about to say and murmured to herself, "How could this be?"
As she pondered, a pair of large hands began to roam restlessly. The burning heat of her body suddenly reminded her of something, and she grabbed the man's wandering hands, asking:
"So you heard me thinking, um, that I was lusting after your good looks?"
"Hmm." Being held by the hand did not stop Xie Lanzhou from continuing her work; she could only manage a faint "hmm."
Su Panyue's heart was in turmoil, and an unprecedented sense of shame swept over her, making her wish she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
But some people wouldn't allow it, and even tried to sneak in, leaving her no room for thought and only able to drift along with the tide.
Two bowls of hangover soup, now completely cold, sat on the table outside the door, untouched by anyone.
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Author's Note: Zhou: You bullied my wife, I'll kill you all!
Moon: Then can you please stop bullying me?
The boat shuffled forward: That won't do [pitiful]
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