Chapter 36 Shy

Li Fu raised his head and looked at Chu Ran in shock.

Chu Ran's eyes were very bright, brighter than the stars in the sky, bright, black, and extremely deep. His smile was also very brilliant, more brilliant than the fireworks Li Fu had seen during festivals.

He was like a ray of light, which poured down from his head, but it was not cold, but warm and full of temperature. As the light poured down, it turned into a lake, wrapping his entire body, including his cold soul, in warmth.

His body was very warm, from top to bottom, inside to outside, the warmth running through every limb and bone. No one could help but covet such warmth, not even Li Fu, who had been living in ice and snow all year round.

Young Li Fu felt as if he was about to drown in this warm lake.

This feeling only lasted for a while, and Chu Ran reached out and pinched Li Fu's cheeks with both hands, pinching them gently like pinching a child's face.

"Why is your face so red and hot? Are you so cold?"

When people are very cold and suddenly enter a warm environment, their skin will indeed become hot.

However, Li Fu's face was too hot, as if it was a red-hot iron, enough to fry an egg.

Li Fu silently tilted his head to avoid Chu Ran's fingers, and then Li Fu lowered his head silently.

Huh?

Chu Ran lowered his eyes and looked at the top of his head in confusion.

What's wrong? Why are you so shy all of a sudden?

He doesn't look like the cool boy he knows.

It was rare to see Li Fu being shy, so Chu Ran took the opportunity to pinch the back of his hairy head, then touched his head, and then sat down again with satisfaction.

Before going to bed at night, Chu Ran put a foot warmer in his quilt. Both he and Li Fu had cold feet, so this way he could keep his feet warm while sleeping.

Just before going to bed, the two of them pressed their feet against each other's skin as usual. However, because they had just lit a fire and there was a foot warmer in the quilt, their feet were not as cool as they had been in the past few days. Even if they pressed their feet against each other's skin, it did not achieve the desired effect.

So the two of them started out by pressing their feet against each other's bodies, and then started fighting with their legs under the quilt, going back and forth, you retreating and I advancing, and it wasn't until very late that the two of them finally stopped.

The night is quiet. Between heaven and earth, there is only heavy snow falling silently.

That night, both Chu Ran and Li Fu slept very well and sweetly, so much so that when Chu Ran woke up, he found Li Fu clinging to him like an octopus, with his arms and legs all wrapped around him.

Although Li Fu usually slept in an undisciplined manner and often kicked off the quilt at night, Chu Ran would occasionally cover him with the quilt when he got up at night, but this was the first time he slept like this.

Chu Ran guessed that the weather was probably too cold and this would help to warm them up.

It was indeed very warm for the two of them to sleep tightly in each other's arms, but... Chu Ran's legs and feet were a little stiff, and he felt like he could hardly move.

Chu Ran took great pains to get the sleeping Li Fu off him.

Chu Ran sat up and glanced at Li Fu. Li Fu turned over, closed his eyes, muttered something, turned his back to Chu Ran, and fell asleep again after a while.

Chu Ran lowered his head to glance at Li Fu. His little face was red and puffy from sleeping, like a red apple, which made people want to take a bite of it.

He dressed and washed up, and waited until Chu Ran left. He glanced at the bed against the wall. Li Fu was still sleeping soundly in the quilt.

Chu Ran closed the door gently, and walked out slowly on the thick snow that had fallen overnight.

Because of the "pearl powder incident" that happened earlier, Concubine Li and Concubine Xi could no longer maintain even superficial peace. The masters of the two palaces were not in harmony, and the people below treated each other like enemies when they met. Sometimes, when things got really serious, they would even fight.

However, the matter eventually reached the emperor, who reprimanded them. The servants of the two palaces became more restrained, but the hatred accumulated in the hearts of both sides did not diminish at all.

Because New Year's Eve was coming soon, each palace had its own quota according to the status of the master. Concubine Li and Concubine Xi were the highest-ranking masters in the palace, so the quotas of the two palaces were the same and the largest. When Chu Ran led a group of people to collect the quota of his own palace today, he happened to meet someone from Zixia Palace.

It was Chu Ran who arrived first. Even if they followed the first-come-first-served rule, they should have been the first to go. But the people from Zixia Palace deliberately cut in line. Could Chu Ran tolerate this? Of course he couldn't tolerate it.

"Get out of the way." Chu Ran said to the eunuch who cut in line with a cold face.

The man raised his head slightly and looked Chu Ran up and down, "Who are you? If you say give way, then we have to give way?"

Chu Ran said: "We arrived first, and you cut in line. According to the rules, you have to stand behind us."

"I just jumped the queue, so what? What can you do to me?!" He pinched his waist, raised his head, glanced at Chu Ran, then quickly retracted his gaze and said with disdain and contempt: "Don't you look at your own status and what qualifications you have to talk to me? If you are not convinced, let your eunuch Ying come out and talk to me! You sent some random person out, and if you don't know, you would think there is no one left in your Qiluan Palace."

The eunuch Ying he was talking about was Xiao Yingzi, who served Concubine Li. In the past, Xiao Yingzi was responsible for this kind of work. Now Chu Ran has gained face in front of Concubine Li, so she sent Chu Ran over this time. But the people in Zixia Palace don't know about this.

When the others heard his arrogant attitude, they already had a grudge against him, and now they could no longer tolerate it. They were all so angry that they were about to take action.

But they couldn't take action. The emperor had already reprimanded them for this matter before. If they took action first, it would give others an excuse and they would have no way to explain themselves.

The other party also knows this, so they dare to act so recklessly.

So what if he cut in line? What can they do to him?

The other party was shaking his head and occupying the place where they originally stood, which was very annoying to watch.

Just when everyone else in Qiluan Palace was holding back their anger but was helpless, Chu Ran sneered and walked over. The eunuch shuddered when he saw him approaching, then thought of something and raised his head high again, "What? Do you still want to fight?"

Chu Ran bared his teeth and smiled at him. Before he could react, Chu Ran bumped his shoulder against his, knocking him several steps away.

The collision knocked the hair crown on his head askew. He finally straightened his hair crown and stood up with difficulty. Then he was met with Chu Ran's blatantly provocative gaze.

After successfully receiving his share of the palace's allowance, Chu Ran led his people out.

After receiving the gifts from Qiluan Palace, it was Zixia Palace. The man turned his head and looked at Chu Ran's departing back. He lowered his head and spat viciously in Chu Ran's direction, "Bah! You are just a bunch of bullies who rely on the power of others. Wait, after the New Year's Eve, our queen will definitely be able to regain the emperor's favor! Then, let's see how arrogant you can be!"

After leaving the house, Chu Ran asked the eunuch beside him, "What did he mean by what he just said?"

The emperor hasn't been to Concubine Xi's palace for more than a month. How can he be so sure that Concubine Xi will be able to regain his favor after New Year's Eve?

The eunuch leaned close to Chu Ran's ear and whispered to Chu Ran, "I also heard from someone that Concubine Xi has been shutting herself up in the palace for more than a month. She has hired someone to practice some kind of dance. I guess she's planning to dance at the New Year's Eve banquet to win the emperor's favor again."

"Really?" Chu Ran asked.

"Of course not." The eunuch pursed his lips again and said disdainfully, "The emperor has seen all kinds of dances. To expect to regain the emperor's favor by dancing is, in my opinion, a fool's dream."

Chu Ran thought so too.

It is indeed difficult to impress the emperor with just a dance.

But since everyone can see clearly, Concubine Xi may not be unable to understand. If so, why did she spend more than a month practicing this dance?

Moreover, from the determined tone of the man's voice just now, it seemed that he was very sure that after New Year's Eve, Concubine Xi would be able to completely turn things around with a dance.

If it were in the past, Chu Ran would naturally stay out of it, but now it is different. From the moment he entered Qiluan Palace, he must share the same hatred and enemy with Qiluan Palace and live and die together.

When Concubine Li was favored, the people under them enjoyed the glory; when Concubine Li fell, the people under them did not suffer any good consequences.