Chapter 23: Liang Jiugong puts on makeup and puts his arms in front of him, hitting him up and down...
Liang Jiugong crossed his arms, looked Xiao Tao up and down, and said, "I do know the expression 'love at first sight,' but I've never seen anyone so close at first sight as you and Yu Gege."
"There are many strange things in the world." Xiao Tao glared at Liang Jiugong and said, "My master and I are on good terms. I like my master. How does that bother you? Why should you, Chief Steward Liang, worry about it?"
"Okay! I'm superfluous." Liang Jiugong looked at the tightly closed door of the warm room, his curiosity rising again. He lowered his voice and asked Xiao Tao, "Honestly, didn't you ask your master about last night..."
Xiao Tao glanced at Liang Jiugong and said, "Eunuch Liang, weren't you just complaining that my master and I were 'on familiar terms'? We're not familiar with each other! If we're not, how dare you ask such a question?"
Inside the warm room, Xiuyu's hair was still loose, her hair still uncombed. Xuanye was sitting in front of the dressing table, Xiuyu holding her rouge and powder in her hands, carefully and seriously covering Xuanye's dark circles.
"You girls are really good at this." Xuanye closed his eyes slightly and said, "Liang Jiugong is not good at this. After he drew my face like that, I can't face anyone."
Xiu Yu raised her eyebrows slightly and said, "So, the emperor has done this before." She thought to herself: Sure enough, those sweet words yesterday were not exclusive to anyone, they were probably just exclusive to the emperor.
Xuanye immediately opened his eyes, looked at Xiu Yu, and explained, "During the battle against Wu Sangui, I can't remember how many good nights of sleep I had. The dark circles under my eyes were natural, but it was thanks to the imperial physician that I was able to survive until we met. Later, when Wu Sangui's defeat was finally certain, I found the dark circles under my eyes quite annoying, so I asked Liang Jiugong to get some powder from the Imperial Household Department to cover them up."
The explanation was truly clear and precise. Xiu Yu lowered her head slightly to hide the smile on her face, then said, "It's done. What does the Emperor think?"
Xuanye looked at the peep show and praised, "You really have a pair of skillful hands. The handsome and wealthy emperor of the Qing Dynasty has finally returned!"
"You say you're handsome and rich, that's enough!" Xiu Yu couldn't help but complain inwardly, then pulled Xuan Ye up and said, "It's getting late, you should go."
"I can't bear to leave." Xuanye simply put his arm around Xiuyu's waist and said, "I haven't decided which palace I want you to live in yet. Until then, you can stay here for now. Don't you feel wronged?"
"This is your place, Yu'er dare not feel wronged." But from the layout of this palace, Xiu Yu felt that Xuanye was a man of good taste, or rather, their tastes were quite similar, so to be honest, she felt quite comfortable living here.
Xuanye raised his hand and scratched Xiuyu's nose, saying, "Your little mouth, okay..." He smiled and said, "To be honest, I like it very much."
Xiu Yu's eyes rolled, and she said, "Then, until the emperor decides how to settle Yu'er, Yu'er will consider this place her own?"
"That's well said!" Xuanye felt happy in his heart: "It's your place, this is your place."
Xiu Yu glanced sideways at the time on the Western clock and said, "It's getting late. You still have important things to do. Don't delay."
Xuanye held Xiuyu's hand, his eyes filled with reluctance to leave. He leaned close to Xiuyu's ear and wanted to say something, but hesitated for a moment and finally said nothing. He just kissed Xiuyu's cheek lightly and turned away.
When Xiao Tao came in and combed Xiu Yu's hair, there was still a blush on Xiu Yu's cheeks.
There were no other servants in the room to serve, so Xiao Tao teased, "I haven't even put rouge on you yet, so why are your cheeks so red?"
Xiu Yu glared at Xiao Tao with a smile and said, "There's no one else in the room, why are you still calling me a slave?"
"It's okay to call me 'Master' occasionally, but you can't do it all the time." Xiao Tao picked up a comb and gently combed Xiu Yu's long hair. "The palace is different from other places. Here you really have to be on guard and careful at all times. It's actually quite difficult to survive here."
Xiu Yu nodded, held Xiao Tao's hand, and said, "It's okay. From now on, we will always be together. You will never be alone in this palace again."
"That's right!" Xiao Tao raised his eyebrows: "Master, you have to protect me well, even better than you did that time! It's worth it..." Xiao Tao's expression darkened. In fact, it was really not easy to think about those times in the past.
Xiu Yu knew that Xiao Tao must have had a hard time in the first few years after coming to the Qing Dynasty. Otherwise, she would not have entered the palace to be a maid.
Seeing Xiu Yu's expression was a little strange, Xiao Tao smiled again and said, "Master, it's okay. The past is over. In fact, I am still the same person as then. I can just laugh off the bad things."
Mentioning 'that time', Xiu Yu couldn't help but glance at Xiao Tao: "Please don't mention 'that time' in the future. It always reminds me of all the messes you made and all the messes I cleaned up for you. Do you really think your master is so magnanimous? That I don't care at all?"
After combing Xiu Yu's hair, Xiao Tao turned around to open the closet and said, "Who says I'm smart? I can see clearly that you like me as your apprentice. Even if I, a 'fool', really make some trouble occasionally, you still handle it well." Looking at the colorful Manchu dresses in the closet, Xiao Tao turned around and asked Xiu Yu, "Master, what color do you want to wear today? Rose red... apricot yellow... peach pink... or this sky blue one?" As he asked, Xiao Tao took out the sky blue Manchu dress.
Xiu Yu wasn't that particular about what she wore, as long as it was decent, she just casually said, "The one you have in your hand."
"Okay!"
Xiao Tao helped Xiu Yu dress up, then looked at his master Jian with a serious expression, his eyes shining brightly. "Master, do you know how beautiful you are?"
Xiu Yu pursed her cherry lips and smiled faintly, "You're becoming more and more open about your flattery, aren't you?"
"Telling the truth is also called 'flattering'?" Xiao Tao took Xiu Yu's hand and pulled her in front of the man-sized peep show. "Look, was what I just said half false? My master is not only beautiful, but also very attractive. The more I look at her, the more beautiful she becomes!" As he spoke, Xiao Tao moved closer to Xiu Yu, whispered in her ear, and lowered his voice, "To be honest, if you didn't really meet my aesthetic standards, I would still be reluctant to stay in this strict Forbidden City for the rest of my life."
Xiu Yu glanced at Xiao Tao and said sweetly, "So, you are the 'evil ghost in the world'!"
"You're really wronging me." Xiao Tao curled his lips and said, "I just know how to appreciate beauty."
On a separate note, after leaving his "secret base," Xuanye immediately began attending court. He'd barely slept the previous night, but he was in high spirits. He reprimanded several ministers who had fallen short of their duties and rewarded several who had served their duties faithfully. Seeing the emperor's high spirits, the civil and military officials began to speculate about what good news had happened to him. Of course, no one could have guessed it was the beautiful young woman who had just entered the palace.
When the Emperor was unhappy, officials would inevitably tremble as they presented their reports and responded with trepidation, until the Emperor was satisfied, and the imperial court session would end. But now that the Emperor was happy, the officials felt that the imperial court session was lasting even longer. The older officials, whose backs ached from standing, dared not utter a word.
Liang Jiugong knew that once his master got excited, he would be busy with government affairs without stopping. Fortunately, he had been standing for a long time and had found the trick to stand in the most proper way. No matter how long he stood, he would not feel tired.
As the sun rose high in the sky, the old man standing in front couldn't help but show a hint of fatigue. Xuanye finally said, "The battle against the Three Feudatories has finally been won. I have decided to go hunting in Nanyuan after the first month of the year to reward the three armies!"
Finally, they had come to this last moment. All the civil and military officials breathed a sigh of relief and knelt on the ground, saying, "Your Majesty is wise!"
The imperial court session finally ended. When Xuanye stood up and prepared to go to the Cining Palace to pay his respects, he realized that the court session had indeed lasted a little longer.
Liang Jiugong quickly followed Xuanye, only to hear Xuanye ask, "You've been standing beside me for so long, aren't you tired? I see even Mingzhu couldn't help but bend her legs to rest."
"I've been by your side for so many years that I've figured out the rules. Not to mention one or two hours, even three or five wouldn't be a problem."
Hearing Liang Jiugong say this, Xuanye couldn't help but stop, turned around and looked at him, and said: "You are very smart."
Liang Jiugong smiled and replied, "This is just 'practice makes perfect'."
In the Cining Palace, Empress Xiaozhuang was tending to her beloved flowers and plants. When she heard footsteps coming from outside the greenhouse, she knew it was her grandson coming to pay his respects.
"Princess, the emperor is here." Su Moer stepped forward, bowed, and took the scissors from Xiaozhuang's hand.
After entering, Xuanye first greeted Empress Xiaozhuang, then stepped forward and took the old ancestor's arm, saying with a smile: "Grandson spent a little longer in the imperial court today, so I am late."
"As the Emperor, of course, the most important thing is to deal with government affairs." Xiaozhuang sat down on the couch, motioning Xuanye to sit across from her, and then said, "Yanlan came to pay her respects early this morning and mentioned the Emperor's decision to turn over the cards..."
Niuhulu Yanlan is the daughter of Ebilun and now is in charge of important affairs in the harem.
Xuanye said, "Grandma, I was with Xiuyu yesterday. I won't forget what I should remember."
Xiaozhuang knew, of course, that Xuanye had finished all his affairs in advance just so he could spend the entire day with the little princess from the Guoluo family. Although she didn't object, she couldn't openly support it either. She continued, "Logically, within the harem, Mama shouldn't interfere with who you like and who you enjoy spending time with. But Xuanye, don't forget the word 'balance'! Pampering is fine, but knowing how to pamper someone is key to long-term success!"
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