Chapter 14 The Delicate Palace Maid VS the Cold Emperor 14
Shen Qi didn’t go far just now. Although he didn’t like the imperial concubine, he couldn’t abandon her, so he hid in the crowd and let the secret guards come forward in time to take the imperial concubine away.
Rather than the imperial concubine who always wanted to stick to him and find topics to talk about, he would rather take Su Zhiruan out for fun, watching her constantly being attracted by all kinds of strange gadgets, and then finally returning to him.
This slight sense of satisfaction would make him feel that he was a needed person, rather than the desire for benefits written in the concubine's eyes.
This kind of life was more selfless for him than being with the imperial concubine.
For a moment, he didn't even want to go back to the palace, follow those boring etiquette, and deal with endless official duties every day.
Everyone envies the life of being an emperor, but no one has ever really put themselves in the emperor's shoes and thought about what an emperor needs to do.
Shen Qi looked at the crowds of people around him, but did not let Su Zhiruan out of his sight.
On the day when the curfew was lifted, countless girls would go out together. After seeing Shen Qi, many of them became eager to come up and talk to him.
But when they saw the tall and handsome man walk up to a girl and buy a mask, the women could only choose to leave with regret.
"Young Master?" Su Zhiruan paused, and then she felt the warmth of a palm on her face. A faint scent of ambergris passed through her nose, behind her ears, and finally fell on her hair. The man put a red fox mask on her, "You..."
When the vendors nearby saw them like this, they subconsciously thought they were a couple, and then started talking nonsense, saying whatever they wanted.
"Oh my! I think you two are extraordinary. This handsome man and beautiful woman will definitely be together forever, grow old together, have many children and grandchildren, and live a happy life! You two bought masks, which is simply the best match for shopping at the night market. In this way, others can't see your appearance clearly, but when they see the masks, they will immediately know that you two are a match made in heaven. No one can object to this!"
No one knew what made Shen Qi happy. Su Zhiruan looked at him hesitantly and then waved his hand to buy all the masks here and chose a pure black fox mask.
"What are you standing there for? Put it on for me." Shen Qi put the mask in Su Zhiruan's hand, and his words came out very naturally, as if they were a couple made in heaven.
She stood on tiptoe, carefully put the mask on him and tied it in a knot at the back of his head.
After putting it on, Su Zhiruan accidentally lowered his head, but his eyes saw the Emperor who was slightly kneeling.
So... that is to say...
In order to let her put on the mask for him, Shen Qi quietly bent down and watched her move slowly with a smile.
Maybe the fireworks in the sky were too bright, or maybe the voices around were too noisy.
Infinite tenderness surged in Shen Qi's heart.
"Sir, are you afraid of being recognized?" Today was a relaxing day, and they were outside. Shen Qi seemed to be in a good mood, so she asked directly, "Or is someone following you?"
Shen Qi smiled heartily, then shook his head generously, "Neither."
As he spoke, he slowly took the girl's hand, and his dry, warm hand enveloped her slightly cold hand. He handed the small items that were bought or given to her to the secret guard, asking the secret guard to carry them for her.
"Why didn't you guess this?" Shen Qi slowly slid along the edge of the red fox mask on her face, and finally landed on her neck. The two were now facing each other, and he slowly said the next sentence, "There is another possibility. I want to form a pair with this little red fox on your face."
Su Zhiruan raised her eyes and clearly saw the sincerity in his eyes.
From her current angle, the sky is full of fireworks, the Milky Way is slowly passing along the moat, and there is an extremely perfect full moon in the sky. The surrounding bustling voices, hawking, cheerful sounds, and shouting are all mixed together. This is a prosperous age that belongs to the people.
"Actually, today, if my mother hadn't arranged for the imperial concubine to follow me, I would have wanted to bring you to the common people. It's a pity..." Shen Qi's eyes were filled with a hint of regret.
But what the secret guards and Su Zhiruan heard was not his regret, but Shen Qi's self-proclaimed title.
"I"
As an emperor, he represented the symbol of the dynasty and called himself "Zhen".
He is high above everyone else, the king of a country and the ruler of a dynasty.
But today, he called himself "I" in front of a little palace maid.
Su Zhiruan is a modern man, so the degree of shock was not too great, but for the secret guards who followed them all the time, it was a shock.
Shen Qi didn't even realize that he was not in a good mood at first because his plans were disrupted.
But in the end, when the imperial concubine left, he still walked together with Su Zhiruan, which can be considered as a common destination.
It's good like this now.
The two found a good spot at the edge of the moat and sat down to watch the fireworks together.
For Su Zhiruan, all of this was quite novel. She was a modern person, and she could only see this kind of ancient customs in TV dramas or movies.
Seeing it with your own eyes and having the director deliberately film it are two completely different experiences.
Shen Qi was enjoying this moment, the bustle in the tranquility, the quietness in the noise.
…
The next day is Mid-Autumn Festival.
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This day is also an important day for the royal family. Every year, the royal family will hold a family banquet in the evening. The princes who have been crowned kings will return to the capital, and various concubines and even the imperial concubines in the temples will be invited out.
The entire palace needs to be taken seriously and prepared carefully.
Even Su Zhiruan is responsible for every aspect of the Zichen Palace.
The venue for tonight's palace banquet was chosen to be the largest palace in the imperial palace.
This place is surrounded by mountains and rivers, next to the Imperial Garden and the Kangqiao Waterside Pavilion. The air is filled with the fragrance of flowers, and the lights are bright and the flowers are in clusters.
The concubines in the harem had already put on their beautiful new clothes, trying to win the emperor's favor on this day.
There were also some concubines of lower status who, upon hearing that Su Zhiruan was favored, simply copied her outfit and wore a goose yellow dress.
As the most honorable woman in the harem besides the Empress Dowager, the Imperial Concubine’s dress is naturally not simple.
The Empress Dowager received all the ladies with royal titles, princesses and the like early in the morning.
The harem hasn't been this lively for a long time.
In the evening, Su Zhiruan calculated that it was around seven o'clock and night was gradually falling.
The palace banquet gradually began.
Su Zhiruan followed behind Shen Qi, with Zi Yu on the other side, and in front of them was Xiao Fuzi who had been busy all day.
Xiao Fuzi was even busier today. He went to see many princes.
After everyone arrived, Xiao Fuzi shook off the dust.
"The Emperor has arrived——"
"Long live the emperor!"
(End of this chapter)