Chapter 109 Who will give in first?
After that night, Xuanye spent several days either going to Concubine De's place or Concubine Rong's place, or else he would randomly flip through cards. He even made a game where he asked Liang Jiugong to put the cards upside down, and whoever he caught would be the one. Of course, Xiu Yu was not among them.
The servants in the harem were too realistic. Just as Xiao Tao said, one or two days was nothing, but after three or five days, when even Xiu Yu's nameplate was removed, all kinds of expressions of the servants began to show.
Xiu Yu wasn't particular about anything else, but when it came to ingredients, he preferred to have nothing rather than something of inferior quality. The servants all knew this particular characteristic of the Yikun Palace's master, so they had always picked out the freshest and best ingredients to send to the Yikun Palace's kitchenette. Now, though, fresh wasn't the only thing; it could almost be described as acceptable.
Xiu Yu looked at the dishes and meat in front of her. She should have cried, but she had to smile bitterly.
Xiao Tao sighed, "Master, there's no benefit in being in a cold war with the Emperor. The weather will get colder soon, and then there won't be enough charcoal. That would be much more difficult than it is now."
Xiu Yu rolled up his sleeves, ready to use his cooking skills to turn the tide of these vegetables and meat.
"So, I was just skeptical when you said that. Now I've truly witnessed it. It's true that an unfavored empress is worse off trying to make a living outside the palace."
"That's right." Xiao Tao helped Xiu Yu: "Outside the palace, if you have a good skill, you can always earn a stable living. But in this palace, even if you are as capable as the master, if you don't have the emperor's favor, the servants will dare to bully you."
"If I were them, I would do the same." Xiu Yu was no saint, but she was used to thinking from other people's perspectives. "Since ancient times, the victor is king and the loser is a bandit. This is true no matter what. But what we servants don't know is that the emperor's favor is impermanent. He may be favored today, out of favor tomorrow, and favored again the day after tomorrow. It's very unpredictable."
"How can a queen who has fallen from favor still be talking so much in the small kitchen?" Tong Jia Zifu didn't find Xiu Yu in the study, so she naturally came to the small kitchen: "You have a really good attitude."
Xiu Yu bowed and smiled, "Greetings, Imperial Noble Consort."
"Not bad, you understand the rules now." Tong Jia Zifu joked casually, then glanced at the ingredients and said, "Did those servants really bully you?"
"There's nothing I can do." Xiu Yu spread his hands. "It's all my fault that I lost the favor of your cousin, the Emperor."
"You're such an optimist." Tong Jia Zifu was both angry and amused. "There's been so much speculation in the harem about what happened to you that night, and even what happened during your southern tour. Each one is so vivid, like a storybook. It's a shame that Concubine Yi, who's oblivious to the world outside and only cares about cooking, doesn't care at all. It's a shame they've gone to such lengths to put it all together."
"Imperial Concubine, didn't you tell me this?" Xiu Yu put the bones in the basin and washed them. "Are you still planning to bring the Fourth Prince to dine with me today?"
"Yes." Tong Jia Zifu sat aside, took the teacup from Xiao Tao, took a look inside, and said with a smile: "Your tea might as well be poured me some plain water."
"Then I'll go change it." Xiao Tao said, picking up the tea tray again.
Tong Jia Zifu waved her hand and said, "Forget it. If your master can drink, I can drink too. I'm not that squeamish."
Xiu Yu picked a few celery stalks and plucked off the leaves.
"Doesn't the Imperial Concubine want to tell a story? Come and listen."
Tong Jia Zifu sipped her tea as she spoke, "Some say that during your southern tour, you took advantage of your favor and became arrogant, bullying Madam Li and annoying your cousin. Others say that because you have so many sons, you're tempted to compete with the Crown Prince for the throne. And some say you hid a weapon in the palace, and your cousin discovered it, so you stormed out of Yikun Palace and never returned."
Xiu Yu just found it funny: "Which of these guesses does the Imperial Concubine think is true?"
"If one of them is true, then they are quite capable." Tong Jia Zifu had seen Xuanye these days, but she didn't dare to ask about Xiu Yu in front of her cousin.
"None of it is true." Xiu Yu sighed while cutting celery: "In fact, nothing happened, maybe because nothing happened." She and Xuanye were both proud people, and when two proud people quarreled, neither of them wanted to bow their heads first.
Tong Jia Zifu wasn't really a gossipy person. Seeing that Xiu Yu didn't want to talk, she didn't ask any more questions. However, she still kindly reminded him, "Yu'er, your cousin is the emperor after all. The world is peaceful now, and he can have any woman he wants. You are indeed special, but if the stalemate lasts too long, I'm afraid something unexpected will happen."
"I know." Xiu Yu said in a low voice.
Tong Jia Zifu continued, "Before, you were favored by your cousin, so you didn't see the fickleness of human nature and the harshness of the world in the harem. Now that you've seen it, you should understand that surviving in the harem requires hard work. The thing that your cousin has the most around him is women. Even if it's just to keep them quiet, shouldn't you at least give your cousin a way out?"
Tong Jia Zi Fu's words touched Xiu Yu's heart, but this step was not something that could be given just by saying it.
In the Qianqing Palace, Xuanye's life wasn't easy either. Ever since he left the Yikun Palace in anger, although he was surrounded by beautiful women every night, he still had nightmares every day. He either dreamed about his past with Xiuyu or about things that had never happened, but the heroine in each dream was Xiuyu.
It's not that he hadn't thought about going to Yiku Palace again to ask and take a look, but every time he reached the palace gate, he would hesitate. He didn't know what he should ask, and if he really asked something, what kind of answer he would get, was it a lie, or was it true.
Liang Jiugong had been in the palace for a long time, and he was well aware of how the palace had been acting one way and thinking another. Furthermore, his relationship with Xiao Tao gave him a clear understanding of the situation in Yikun Palace. But he was still just a servant, so even if he wanted to help, he couldn't do much, and could only act according to circumstances.
It was not until Xuanye had finally had enough of the card-flipping trick that night and angrily knocked over the tray, scattering the cards of the ladies all over the floor, that Liang Jiugong felt that his chance had finally come.
As he picked up the sign, he said, "Master, you want to marry me, right?"
Xuanye snorted and said, "Would I miss someone who doesn't have me in her heart? Concubine De, Concubine Rong, even Concubine Hui, who is not worse than her..."
"What's there to compare?" The person who opened the curtain and walked in was Xiu Yu, who was wearing men's clothes.
Seeing this, Liang Jiugong bowed and retreated.
Xuanye pretended not to see the visitor and picked up the red pen again. In fact, he had already reviewed all the memorials, so there was no need for the red pen.
Xiu Yu didn't even bow, but walked straight to Xuanye and said, "Aren't you going to ask me to sit down?"
"I don't know what Concubine Yi likes. I don't know if you want to sit in my seat in the Palace of Heavenly Purity."
"I still don't know if I should sleep in your bed?" Xiu Yu had drunk a little bit of wine and was half drunk, which made it convenient for her to act coquettishly or something.
Xuanye was stunned by Xiuyu's question. He looked up and saw her cheeks flushed slightly. He asked, "Have you been drinking?"
"I drank a little and feel dizzy." As she spoke, she squeezed Xuanye to sit down: "I wrote that booklet for fun. I wrote it when I first entered the palace and had not yet moved to the Yiku Palace." After all, Xiu Yu gave Xuanye a way out first.
Xuanye hummed, fiddling with the red brush with his hands, still hesitating whether to go down the stairs.
"I have a bad memory. If I don't write it down in the booklet, I can't remember what you like." Xiu Yu explained to herself. This was indeed one of the reasons why she wrote that booklet.
"I..." Cinnabar got on Xuanye's hand.
Xiu Yu simply snatched the red pen and hung it on the pen holder.
"Why don't you ask how I've been these days?"
"Aren't you living a good life?" Xuanye was still angry. "I think you don't need to constantly guess what I like. You should just live a happy life."
"Being favored and then out of favor, life is not easy." Xiu Yu didn't plan to use any sweet words to coax Xuanye. She recounted her life these days: "The emperor is busy with all kinds of affairs. He really doesn't understand how miserable the unfavored concubines in the harem are. Even I have been treated like this, let alone others."
"They dare to bully the people from Yikun Palace?" Xuanye finally looked at Xiu Yu straight in the eye. She was wearing the men's clothes that she wore when they first met, and it was obvious that she was admitting her mistake.
"I'm afraid it's not just the people in the Yikun Palace. The concubines who don't have a good reputation with the emperor have an even harder time." Xiu Yu sighed when she thought of this. "You still have to think of a way. After all, they are all your women."
"Hmph." Xuanye snorted coldly, "Do you really think I'm so powerful that I can control everything? In the previous dynasty, it was all like 'the water is too clear to have fish'. In the harem, eunuchs and palace maids don't want to live anymore?"
Xiu Yu was somewhat surprised by Xuanye's reaction.
"Everyone has their own abilities and ways. If the leftover ingredients from others are sent to your Yikun Palace, doesn't Concubine Yi also have the ability to turn them into delicious meals?"
After hearing what Xuanye said, Xiu Yu put down her left hand which was about to hold Xuanye's arm.
"So you know everything, but you pretend you know nothing."
"You put me on the high platform!" Xuanye fiercely hugged Xiu Yu's waist and said, "If you don't bring the ladder, you will let me fall to pieces!"
"Are you broken into pieces?" Xiu Yu said with a smile: "It's better to talk it out."
"Yeah, it's obvious that we should just talk it out. Who is it that's being embarrassed and refusing to say a word?"
"It's clear someone just turned around and left, leaving no room for maneuver." Xiu Yu knew Xuanye's anger had subsided. Looking at the scattered signs, Yan Ran asked, "Is the sign-flipping show over? How does it feel to randomly select people?"
Xuanye stood up, picked up Xiuyu, and said, "You have owed me so much these days, and you must make it up to me today. I won't do it for less!"
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