Chapter 16: The Night of the Fourteenth Day As the old saying goes, 'The protruding rafters rot first...'
"My Lord." Liang Jiugong poured more hot tea into Xuanye's cup, handed him a hand warmer, and said, "Chu Tiankuo just came back."
Xuanye nodded and ordered: "Send it."
Chu Tiankuo was Xuanye's personal guard, a man of cold character, cold demeanor, and cold skills. Xuanye knew the Forbidden City was a deep, unfathomable sea. He had met Xiuyu several times, and on New Year's Eve, he had brought her into the palace and presented her to the ancestor. For years, the Cining Palace had been lit on New Year's Eve, and the ancestor hadn't even slept, watching him play chess with another princess. This was the first time. Even if he tried his best to keep it secret, he was afraid that the wall still had an ear.
After Chu Tiankuo entered the Palace of Heavenly Purity, he knelt on one knee and greeted, "Your servant Chu Tiankuo pays respect to the master."
Xuanye held the hand warmer in his hand, tapping it slowly with his left hand. "I'm a little late today." He looked at Chu Tiankuo's cold face, wondering what deep hatred this guard had all day long. He never even smiled. "Get up and answer."
Chu Tiankuo stood up and said, "There were indeed some troubles today. Princess Yu was shopping with her maid and a servant, but they encountered some robbers. Princess Yu chased them and personally beat them away, and that's the end of it."
"Did they encounter a few 'bandits'?" Xuanye frowned. "The Governor of the Nine Gates said a while ago that the security in the capital was very good. And now, just a few days later, 'bandits are rampant'? A girl like her was beating up a few grown men, and you didn't intervene?"
Chu Tiankuo replied, "I saw that Princess Yu was quite capable. When she was about to lose her weapon, I was about to attack her. But then her servant gave her a whip, and those people were no match for Princess Yu."
"You're quite patient and ruthless." Xuanye lowered his eyelids and asked, "What happened next? Given your personality, it would be unreasonable not to chase after him."
"Master, you are wise." Chu Tiankuo said, "However, this time I failed. I suspect that those people were not sent by ordinary people. It is difficult to find out who these 'ordinary people' are."
Xuanye frowned and asked, "No one survived?"
"No one is left alive." Chu Tiankuo prided himself on being a master of the outlaws, and his light-body skills were also top-notch. However, even so, he was not able to capture anyone alive. He actually felt quite ashamed.
Xuanye put down his hand warmer, stood up, and walked over to Chu Tiankuo. He smiled and said, "If no one is left alive, then no one is left alive. If we don't know, there's no way to deal with it. If we knew... it would be very troublesome." He sighed softly, grasped Chu Tiankuo's shoulders, and said, "I entrust the comfort of Yu Gege to you. As I said before, protect her in secret and don't reveal her whereabouts."
"Yes." Chu Tiankuo saluted and was about to leave.
But then Xuanye asked again: "Is her Kung Fu really that good?"
Chu Tiankuo was stunned for a moment and said, "It's slightly worse than mine."
"You're quite honest." Xuanye smiled. He intentionally teased Chu Tiankuo and asked, "You've been secretly following her for the past few days, but you're really not moved at all? Is your heart made of stone? To be honest, even I have never seen a princess like that. Not to mention her abilities, just that otherworldly beauty alone is enough to captivate all men in the world!"
Chu Tiankuo still had that cold expression on his face, and his expression didn't change at all. He really didn't know how to respond to Xuanye's words, so he just said hesitantly: "Slave..."
"Forget it!" Xuanye patted Chu Tiankuo's shoulder and said with a smile, "I feel more at ease knowing that you and her don't have a good impression of each other."
After Chu Tiankuo left the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Xuanye's brows furrowed again. He stood by the window, looking at the moon in the sky, and couldn't help but ask Liang Jiugong: "You said, it should be..."
"It's hard for me to guess." Liang Jiugong waited beside Xuanye, draping a fox fur coat on his master. "I don't think the emperor wants to get to the bottom of this. Anyway, Princess Yu is safe, that's the most important thing."
Xuanye smiled bitterly and said, "I have the final say on all important matters of the previous dynasty. Logically speaking, the harem is no different from the previous dynasty."
Liang Jiugong stopped talking, guessing that it was directed at the mistress of the harem. This was not something a slave like him could casually say.
Xuanye added, "You're right. It's good that Yu'er can enter the palace safely. After all, the palace is under the care of the old ancestor..." He turned his head to look at Liang Jiugong and said, "Don't think that the old ancestor doesn't say it, but I know that she likes Yu'er very much."
"I agree with you." Liang Jiugong hesitated for a moment and said, "Maybe..."
"You mean, let me tell the old ancestor about Yu'er's affairs?" Xuanye put his hands behind his back and walked back to the desk to sit down. "We'll see when the opportunity arises."
The emperor still has a soft heart towards the ladies in the harem. Seeing his master's expression, Liang Jiugong couldn't say anything more and could only continue to stand beside Xuanye and set the rules.
On the night of the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, Xiuyu, a potential concubine, was about to enter the palace. It was past midnight, and Lihua and Xiuyu lay in the same bed, but neither the master nor the servant was sleepy.
"Princess, are you scared?" Since no one around could sleep, Lihua simply got up and lit a candle. "I heard from Liuzi that the people who stole our things that day might be..."
"You believe Liuzi's nonsense?" Xiu Yu also sat up, put on his cloak, and glared at Lihua. "The worst thing about things in this world is 'guessing'. If you don't know the answer to a riddle and just make random guesses, it can sometimes get you killed."
Lihua shuddered at Xiuyu's words and asked, "Is it really as scary as the princess said?"
"You've read a lot of books with me, and there are plenty of stories about 'eating people without leaving any bones' in them, aren't there?" Xiu Yu crossed her legs and sighed, "Let's take it one step at a time. Fortunately, I, your princess, have martial arts skills, so it's really not easy to touch me."
"I have to say, Master is indeed foresighted." Lihua recalled the time when Gege squatted and fell off her horse as a child. She still felt the pain. "If Master hadn't forced her back then, Gege probably wouldn't have this ability today!"
"Yes," Xiu Yu sighed. "As the saying goes, 'A loving mother often spoils her child.' My father and mother truly understood this. They both played an indispensable role in raising me to what I am today."
Lihua sat next to Xiuyu and said, "In my opinion, it is the princess herself who is the best. Do you remember that when you rode a horse for the first time, your face and body were bruised. If it were a princess from another family, she would have refused to learn it long ago. If the lady feels sorry for you and softens her heart, you might become one of those 'ladies from noble families'!" As she spoke, Lihua laughed.
Xiu Yu glared at Lihua and asked, "How come I, your princess, am no longer a lady from a noble family?"
"Yes! Who dares to say you aren't!" Lihua boldly held Xiuyu's hand for the first time. "It's just that you're not one of those ordinary ladies from wealthy families. Oh, you interrupted me before I could finish what I was saying!"
"You're just trying to say, 'Your princess is very capable. Even when I fall, I don't make a fuss. The more I fall, the stronger I become!'" Xiu Yu spoke up for Lihua, "Because I know that only by cultivating some skills when you are young can you ensure a safe life."
"Princess." Lihua held Xiuyu's hand tightly. "From now on, I can't accompany you any further." Her eyes reddened as she spoke. "I'm useless. My brain is useless, and my skills are useless. That little Tao is definitely better than me."
Xiu Yu felt sad when she heard this. She hugged Lihua and said, "Go back to the outside of the Great Wall and live a good life. This is my greatest wish for you."
"You can't cry today." Lihua cheered up again: "Princess Hui'er's eyes are swollen, and they won't look good with makeup on."
As she spoke, Lihua helped Xiuyu sit down in front of the dressing table. "Today, I will use all my skills to put makeup on you, Princess. I will make sure you will be the most beautiful among all the beauties."
"Just be decent." Xiu Yu said this, but she also instructed: "Wear that light red Manchu dress today."
Lihua suppressed her laughter, but still couldn't help teasing, "Don't you want to be well-behaved? Madam said it herself that the bright red Manchu dress suits you best."
Xiu Yu smiled and rolled her eyes at Li Hua, saying, "There's an old saying that goes 'the protruding rafters rot first,' but sometimes, you can't just say no to a problem. Since this problem has already been solved, it might as well be done with great fanfare!"
Lihua combed Xiuyu's hair while saying, "Gege, you may not have noticed much, but I've seen a few of the girls who entered the palace with you to participate in the selection. To be honest, if I were the emperor, I would choose you. Those girls are really a bit..."
"If you're talking about your princess, then just talk about your princess. Why are you dragging it onto someone else's princess?" Xiu Yu stopped Li Hua seriously this time. "I'll teach you one last thing. No matter what time it is, just be yourself. Other people's affairs have nothing to do with us."
"I'll remember that." Lihua immediately became obedient. In her heart, everything the princess said was right, and it was all for her own good. Regardless of whether she understood it or not, remembering to follow it would never go wrong.
After putting on her makeup and changing into her bright red Manchu dress, Xiu Yu faced Li Hua, smoothed the tassels on her headdress, raised her head slightly, and asked, "What do you think of your princess's outfit?"
"How does that phrase go..." Lihua racked her brains for a long moment before finally saying, "That's right! 'Beauty beyond compare!' Our Guo Luoluo princess will definitely be the most outstanding among the selected ladies this time."
Lihua didn't really want the day to dawn. If it did, Gege would be taken to the palace in a warm sedan chair, and then they, master and servant, would probably never see each other again in this life. But no matter how reluctant she was, the day still dawned, and the sedan chair still arrived.
"Princess." Lihua held Xiuyu's hand tightly: "This time, Lihua can't accompany you."
"Be good." Xiu Yu patted Lihua's cheek and beckoned Liuzi to come closer. She personally handed Lihua's hand to Liuzi and said, "I won't have the chance to drink at your wedding, so I wish you a son soon and a life together."
"Princess." Lihua and Liuzi knelt on the ground together. Lihua was crying so hard that her eyes were wet. Liuzi was holding back his tears and maintaining his masculinity.
Xiuyu's eyes also turned red. She tilted her head slightly, looking up at a 45-degree angle, trying hard not to let the tears flow. Finally, she sighed softly, smiled and said to Lihua, "Okay, I should go now."
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