Besides the fact that most people have benefited from her kindness, her personal charm, methods, and power are all indispensable. Ultimately, she can only win people over with her strength.
After finishing their business, Song Qiuping hesitated for a long time before tentatively asking, "Lord Li, you and His Majesty...?"
Yun Qing knew what he wanted to ask. Song Qiuping seemed to be a bit cunning, but he was actually a very good person. She didn't think he really wanted to find out anything from her.
“His Majesty did not force me.” Yun Qing stopped and looked at him, her eyes shining. “Everyone has seen what His Majesty is like, and I am not someone who can be forced. He just didn’t want my achievements to become his subordinates, so he resorted to this tactic. Therefore, Lord Song, you can stop making some strange speculations.”
Xie Rang was paving the way for her, but wasn't Yun Qing also paving the way for him?
And this path has been paved for nearly ten years.
When the topic of speculation came up, Song Qiuping chuckled awkwardly. He was one of the more active guessers among them, and it was rather embarrassing to admit it.
"His Majesty is the most honored person in the Great Xi Dynasty. We do not intend to find out about your relationship with His Majesty. However, if something unexpected happens in the future, you will be hurt even more. As someone who has been through it, I advise you not to get too deeply involved."
When he said these words, Song Qiuping was genuinely moved. He put aside his official position and was simply advising Yun Qing as an elder.
"Yes, I know." Yun Qing smiled gently. "But are there things you decide not to do from the beginning because you anticipate you might regret them?"
Song Qiuping was slightly taken aback: "That's not it."
"The reasoning is obvious. One should not seek to be without regrets in life, but rather to be without remorse. I am willing to trust Your Majesty this once, it's that simple."
Yun Qing slowly exhaled, remaining silent for a few moments: "Does Lord Song still feel it's inappropriate?"
Song Qiuping remained silent.
From a legal standpoint, these two are teacher and student, and it certainly doesn't sound appropriate for them to be together. Moreover, judging from His Majesty's intentions, he probably never intended to use the harem as a pretext to confine Yun Qing, which inevitably raises suspicions of illegitimacy. However…
Song Qiuping sighed: "If Lord Li has made up his mind, then just stick to your principles. As far as I know, most of the court officials have no objections to you."
Their opinions on the emperor might be even more profound.
Yun Qing asked in surprise, "Really?"
She hadn't expected it to have such an effect.
Song Qiuping nodded, and was about to say something more when he noticed the person walking towards him and stopped himself from speaking.
Yun Qing received no answer, and followed his gaze, paused slightly, then helplessly raised her eyebrows: "Your Majesty."
Although he was told not to keep running outside the palace, it was clear that His Majesty the Emperor said one thing and did another in front of Yun Qing. He was so constrained that he would still run outside the palace.
The simplification of memorials has been very effective, and Xie Rang can now handle matters much faster. To make his actions more legitimate, he will finish processing the memorials before leaving the palace, so that Yun Qing will have no grounds to criticize him.
Xie Rang was not followed by any other ministers. Seeing that only Song Qiuping was beside Yun Qing, he no longer had many reservations and took a few steps forward to walk to her side.
Song Qiuping quickly greeted, "Greetings, Your Majesty."
Xie Rang casually tossed out a "Rise" and ignored him, then began to fawn over Yun Qing, his actions now completely undisguised: "Now that things here have been settled, there's no need for the Grand Tutor to keep a close eye on things all the time. You should spend your time doing other things."
Yun Qing is very organized in her work. Once she has made a decision, Xie Rang can't change it no matter how much he tries to persuade her. After a while, she will be teaching more often, and she will have even less free time. Just thinking about it makes Xie Rang feel quite resentful.
But he had no reason to question what Yun Qing was going to do.
Actually, it was he who initially handed this matter over to Yun Qing.
"Understood." Yun Qing pretended not to understand his hidden meaning and smiled apologetically at Song Qiuping. "Lord Song, I'll be leaving now."
Song Qiuping dared not stop him: "...Alright."
After leaving the Imperial College, Xie Rang led Yun Qing towards the palace.
If you think about it carefully, Yun Qing hasn't been to the palace for several days. She knows Xie Rang is thinking about her and was just about to say something to coax her when Xie Rang took the initiative to interrupt the conversation.
"The Grand Tutor has been away from the palace these past few days, so I've ordered the Hall of Supreme Harmony to be rearranged," Xie Rang said with a faint smile. "The Grand Tutor should go and see if he likes it."
The Hall of Supreme Harmony is where Xie Rang usually lives. Given their personalities, they certainly wouldn't let Yun Qing live in another palace.
But if they lived together, it would certainly be impossible to do things entirely according to his preferences—although this might seem reasonable to outsiders, Xie Rang would never do that.
"Rearranged?" Yun Qing hadn't expected that Xie Rang would quietly pull off such a big move in the few days she hadn't been paying attention. This kind of commotion couldn't be kept secret. She frowned. "What did you do?"
"There's no point in saying it now. Grand Tutor, you should go and see for yourself."
The usually obedient puppy suddenly became mysterious and refused to reveal what it had done. Yun Qing had no choice but to wait patiently.
The carriage entered the palace and stopped in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
From the outside, nothing is apparent. In just a few days, Xie Rang wouldn't be capable of doing anything too outrageous. The real secret lies within the inner palace.
Once inside, Yun Qing discovered that Xie Rang had combined their original rooms and rearranged them in a way that Yun Qing was most used to in the Li Mansion. For a moment, she even doubted that she was in the palace at all.
This place feels both strange and familiar.
The young man lowered his eyes quietly, embraced her from behind, and whispered in her ear: "From now on, this will be the Grand Tutor's other home."
Previously, Yun Qing had always had a room in the Taihe Hall, right next to Xie Rang's, but everyone knew that it was just a temporary residence. Now, doing this has a different meaning.
"I have no harem. The Grand Tutor is free to move about in the palace. If I make you angry, you can go back to your own home at any time. Of course, I will try my best to prevent that from happening."
The emperor's sincerity and promises are extremely valuable things. Xie Rang not only gave them, but gave them two at the same time. After saying that, he also handed Yun Qing a token.
This token represents the exercise of the emperor's authority. Xie Rang had wanted to give it to her for a long time, but Yun Qing said it was inappropriate and didn't accept it. In the end, after many twists and turns, it still ended up in her hands.
But this time was different—Yun Qing accepted it.
She raised her eyebrows and smiled brightly: "Sure, I like it very much."
Her reply was based on Xie Rang's previous statement, which was enough to explain her attitude.
Xie Rang's breathing quickened, and he hugged her even tighter, barely able to contain his excitement.
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