Chapter 21 Xuanye's Intuition "I have prepared a round fan for you." Xuan...
"I prepared some round fans for you." Xuanye stood up and walked to the front of the Duobao Pavilion. He opened a drawer and took out a folding fan and a round fan. As he took them out, he said, "I originally prepared them for you to use in the summer. I didn't expect they would be useful so early."
Xiu Yu stood up, took the round fan, and looking at the beautiful woman painted on it, she smiled and said, "Your taste is quite good! The beauty on this fan is really quite beautiful." As she spoke, she gently waved it, her eyelids slightly drooping, and her expression seemed to be a little jealous. After all, it was winter, and after waving it a few times, she still felt cold, so she stopped.
Xuanye opened his folding fan with a whoosh, looked at Xiuyu's little appearance, and said with a smile: "No matter how beautiful the beauty on this fan is, she is not even one ten-thousandth as beautiful as Princess Yu'er."
Xiu Yu had now seen through Xuanye's tactics. She simply smiled, lowered her head slightly and said, "Third Master, you are so kind."
After the two of them sat down again, Xiu Yu looked at the chessboard filled with pieces and frowned slightly, "We can't have another draw, right? Playing chess with the emperor would be a bit boring if the only outcome was a draw."
"Isn't 'draw' good?" Although Xuanye said this, after closing his folding fan, he still picked up his black piece and placed it down: "Since Yu Gege doesn't want to 'draw', then let's just walk around and see who can find a way out."
"Okay." Xiu Yu also placed another white piece. "Honestly, Your Majesty has never played Gomoku before, and you figured out the tactics so quickly. Yu'er admires you from the bottom of her heart."
Hearing such sincere flattery, Xuanye felt indescribably relieved. "After all, I'm familiar with Sun Tzu's Art of War and know how to employ troops. Don't even mention how simple the five-man formation is. You've discussed this with me. Am I not good at deploying troops?"
"Hmm." Xiu Yu deliberately hesitated for a moment, then looked at Xuanye and said, "I don't know how good you are at arranging troops. But there is one thing..." She stretched out her right index finger and made a 'one' gesture, "You are indeed skilled on the chessboard."
"Let's just call it a compliment." Xuanye held the black piece in his hand, his eyes fixed on the chessboard, his lips slightly raised. He looked at Xiu Yu and asked, "I forgot to set the stakes before we started playing chess. If Princess Yu loses, what are you going to give me?"
Xiu Yu put down her fan and looked at the chessboard, but she couldn't see any moves Xuanye could make. She simply said, "Yu'er was carried into the palace in that sedan chair. Right now, there's really nothing I can lose to you."
"Yes." Xuanye leaned over to Xiuyu's ear and whispered something in a low voice. Then he returned to his original position and said seriously, "Isn't this the best bet in the world?"
Xiu Yu's cheeks flushed red. She bit her lips lightly, hummed with a smile, and said, "Well, who knows who will win!"
"Maybe?" Xuanye looked at Xiuyu and dropped the black piece in his hand, then said: "Yu Gege, you lose!"
Xiu Yu had certainly lost, but she rolled her eyes and asked, "Did Yu'er just agree to your offer? Does the 'bet' you mentioned really count?"
"Eh?" Xuanye stood up and walked over to Xiuyu. He grabbed her wrist, pulled her up, and stood in front of him. "I am the Supreme Emperor. Once I say something, I can't take it back. Do you think that 'bet' should be honored?"
Xiu Yu didn't dare to look Xuanye in the eye. She changed the subject and said, "You've been playing for so long, aren't you hungry? After eating, you still have to go and take care of government affairs, right?"
"I've already taken care of all the government affairs for today, and I've also dismissed those old ministers early." Xuanye seemed to be showing off his ease in handling government affairs. "But you said it's time to eat." He tilted his head to glance at the Western clock and said, "Wow! It's past dinner time, and I don't feel hungry at all. It's really..." He raised his hand and gently pinched Xiu Yu's chin, saying, "Beauty is a feast for the eyes."
Xiu Yu turned her head away. Now she could only 'let him flirt' but not 'flirt'. Finally, she directed out the window, "Xiao Tao, the emperor is hungry. It's time to prepare food."
Of course, the food had been prepared long ago. Most of it was meat that the Manchus commonly used outside the Great Wall, plus a few exquisite Jiangnan side dishes and Jiangnan snacks.
Liang Jiugong and Xiao Tao had already entered the room to serve, and Xuanye, with the airs of an emperor, began to get serious. "I don't know what you usually eat when you're outside the Great Wall, so I ordered them to prepare the usual Manchu food. Then, I thought, you're a good cook, and your snacks and dishes have a hint of the Jiangnan water town flavor, so I asked them to add a few more. After all, I can't compare to your cooking skills, so we'll just have to make do with what we have."
"The emperor's royal chef must have excellent cooking skills." Xiu Yu certainly didn't try it herself first. She waited until Liang Jiugong picked up some dishes for Xuanye before she picked up the chopsticks.
Xuanye said, "I don't know which princess boasted that she could be my imperial chef's master. Today, I asked my imperial chefs to bring out their best. I'll taste it carefully, and you should taste it carefully too."
First came the Manchurian dishes, all heavy on the meat and quite greasy. Xiuyu was a health-conscious woman, so she'd eat as little of this kind of meat as possible. But in front of the Emperor, she had to eat anyway. After taking a bite, she commented, "This dish is very authentic, with some Manchurian touches."
Xuanye was incredibly attentive, and he could see the small expressions Xiuyu made while she ate. "Most men outside the Great Wall love meat. On the battlefield, dried meat is also extremely important. But on ordinary days, I'm not that fond of these big pieces of meat."
Seeing her little thoughts being seen through by Xuanye, Xiu Yu wondered how she had let down her guard so quickly. She should be more cautious and not show her emotions for now. After hesitating for a moment, Xiu Yu said, "For the sake of health, it's right to eat less meat."
"That's right." Xuanye grew up in the interior of the country, and while he was well aware of the customs outside the Great Wall, he had also been reading Han Chinese books since childhood and deeply agreed with the health-preserving methods described therein: "Eating large amounts of meat is to remember our ancestors, but for the sake of our health, a lighter diet is better."
"Your Majesty is absolutely right." To praise Xuanye, Xiu Yu picked up a piece of seaweed with chopsticks and handed it to Xuanye before finally saying, "Is it a bit against etiquette for me to pick up food for you like this?"
"It's okay." Xuanye personally picked up his own bowl and took the seaweed that Xiuyu picked for him: "Seaweed, kelp, sea fish, you can use more."
Xiu Yu smiled and said, "If there's a chance later, I'll make you a steamed fish to try."
"Okay." To be honest, the imperial chef's cooking skills were certainly very good, but with Xiu Yu sitting opposite him, Xuanye still felt that Xiu Yu's cooking skills were better. He even missed the table of dishes on the fifth night of the New Year.
After lunch and dinner, the sun had already set. Xuanye's "secret palace" had quite a beautiful view in the evening. At this moment, Xiuyu rested her chin on her hand and looked at the afterglow of the sunset, while Xuanye was looking at Xiuyu.
"Such scenery can be seen every day." Xuanye said with hidden meaning.
Xiu Yu couldn't figure it out for a moment, so he said, "But tomorrow's scenery will definitely be different from today. Every day is different."
"That's true." Xuanye was a little annoyed that he failed to make a successful suggestion, so he simply imitated Xiu Yu and watched the sunset.
When the salted egg yolk-like color completely disappeared, Xuanye truly felt that "the good days have finally arrived!" He glanced at Liang Jiugong, indicating that Liang Jiugong and Xiao Tao should go and rest. Then he put his arm around Xiu Yu's shoulders and said, "We lost the game, now it's time to fulfill our promise?"
"This..." Xiu Yu was so focused that she didn't notice Xiao Tao had quietly retreated. To be honest, she still didn't quite understand the things between men and women.
But Xuanye is an "old driver". He gently held Xiu Yu's hand and took her into the warm room.
In the end, I still have to get through this hurdle. There is no way to avoid it. Xiu Yu hardened her heart and tried to adjust her mood. When she raised her head, she smiled again: "The emperor has even prepared a round fan, and the nightgown..."
"Of course there are." Xuanye led Xiuyu to the large camphorwood wardrobe, which was half the height of a man, and opened the door himself. "The one on the left is mine, and the one on the right is yours. Wear whichever you like."
Half of the closet was filled with a dazzling array of colorful clothes. Xiu Yu took out a light blue nightgown and held it in her hand. She couldn't help but teasingly said, "I'm afraid the emperor can't bring Yu'er alone to this place."
Xuanye looked at Xiu Yu's pretty face and replied seriously, "Before I met you, this was my place of retreat. Aside from me, Liang Jiugong, and later Xiao Tao, I never brought anyone else here. Even Xiao Tao only had the opportunity to come and see me because she had to help you change clothes before you met the ancestors. After I met you, I hope this can be a place of retreat for both of us. No matter how great the difficulties or worries we may encounter in the future, as long as we are here, we can leave everything behind and steal a moment of leisure."
Xuanye suddenly became so serious that Xiuyu was a little overwhelmed: "Your Majesty... Yu'er..."
"You don't have to say anything, and you don't have to think about anything." Xuanye personally took out a bright yellow nightgown from the closet: "I trust my intuition, especially the feeling I had when I saw you."
That's all! Xiu Yu took a deep breath, first hung up the light blue nightgown in her hand, then picked up the one in Xuanye's hand and said, "Isn't the emperor used to being served by others? Do you know how to dress yourself?"
"You make me sound like a baby who knows nothing." Although Xuanye said this, he still opened his arms and let Xiu Yu change his pajamas for him.
He changed his clothes, and when it was Xiu Yu's turn to change, he sat down on the bed without any intention of moving.
Xiu Yu was still a shy person after all. She hesitated and said, "If it's inconvenient for you to go out again, why don't you just turn sideways?"
Xuanye asked curiously, "Why did you ask me to turn sideways?"
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