Chapter 40: Foreshadowing: No matter how joyful the hunting in Nanyuan is, it will eventually come to an end...
No matter how enjoyable the hunting trip to Nanyuan was, it would eventually come to an end. Xiu Yu had never imagined that she would be fine when she arrived, but would have to leave with an arm in a sling.
In the carriage, Xiao Tao changed Xiu Yu's dressing while saying, "Master was attacked shortly after entering the capital, and then injured again on the hunting grounds. It's difficult not to connect these two events."
Seeing Xiao Tao's worried face, Xiu Yu couldn't help but laugh: "Look at you with such a sad face! I don't think it's a big deal, what are you worried about?"
The carriage was moving along the road. Xiao Tao knew that no matter what the master and disciple said in the carriage, no one outside would hear. She returned the ointment to the medicine box and said, "How can you still be so careless? When you were the chief engineer, you didn't care when someone tried to trip you up. Being the emperor's concubine is completely different from being a chief engineer! If you're not careful, it might..." She gestured to her neck with her palm, making Xiu Yu laugh.
Xiu Yu said, "Even if I'm as worried as you, what does it matter? First, I don't know who the other party is. Second, even if I did find out, would I really be able to retaliate?" Xiu Yu shook his head and sighed, "Most likely they'll just turn a blind eye. From now on, you and I just have to be extra careful."
"This isn't something you can avoid by being careful." Xiao Tao thought seriously and said, "You can't be too restrained either. You need to let them know how powerful you are when it's time. Otherwise, those who bully the weak will think you're just a soft persimmon to be bullied!"
Xiu Yu looked at her injured arm, thinking about what Xiao Tao had said. After a long while, she came to her senses and looked at Xiao Tao: "You said, the emperor..."
"Your emperor, while shrewd in matters of the past, is more concerned with the affairs of the harem than anything else!" Xiao Tao was incredibly bold in making such a 'judgement' of the current emperor. At that moment, she didn't even dare to look at Xiu Yu, her eyelids drooping, a hint of regret at what she had just said.
Looking at Xiao Tao's expression, Xiu Yu raised his uninjured arm, touched the back of Xiao Tao's head, and said, "How come my fearless disciple is so frightened just because I said a few words?"
Xiao Tao still didn't dare meet Xiu Yu's eyes and continued, "My little disciple has suffered for saying the wrong thing before." She rolled up her sleeves, revealing scars on her arms from being whipped. "Being a slave in the palace, saying the wrong thing is also very painful. I have whip marks like this on my back, too."
Xiu Yu's heart softened all of a sudden. She knew that Xiao Tao had suffered a lot before meeting her, but when these hardships turned into scars and appeared in front of her, the shock was still too strong.
"Little disciple..." Xiu Yu rarely called Xiao Tao like this. This time, she carefully held her little disciple in her arms and gently stroked her back, just like an elder caring for the younger one.
Xiao Tao was no longer a child, after all; she was a mature palace maid who had emerged from the depths of fire and sword. It wasn't long before she regained her composure, straightened up from Xiu Yu's embrace, and said with a smile, "Master, after meeting you, I sometimes even wonder if perhaps everything I've been through these past few years was to better prepare me to help you."
"What do you mean?" Xiu Yu looked at Xiao Tao curiously.
Xiao Tao said seriously, "Think about it, only when I've experienced the hardships I deserve will I know where the pitfalls are, and you won't fall into them! Besides, I really owe you too much in my past life. You've cleaned my ass too many times. In this life, God must have made me repay you."
"Nonsense!" Xiu Yu rolled her eyes at Xiao Tao with a smile, "You're still too young. This 'palace gate is as deep as the sea', have you jumped over all the traps? Besides, people know that you're my personal maid. How can they dig traps for me that they dug for you?"
Xiao Tao's eyes rolled, and she had to admit that her master was still her master, and she could only try her best to be a good assist to her master.
"Master, that seems to be true."
Seeing Xiao Tao's dejected look, Xiu Yu's smile deepened. "In fact, we should be grateful to God for being able to meet again in this place, right? Think about it, if we hadn't all come here, or if we had all come but never met in the end, then..."
"Willn't that mean I will die alone?" Xiao Tao thought of the years when she was depressed. In fact, apart from the suffering she endured because of not understanding the "rules" of the deep palace, what made her feel most helpless or even desperate was the loneliness in her heart. She felt helpless because she was the only one among all the people in the world who was independent and detached from the world.
"So!" Xiu Yu spread his hands and said, "Now you understand me, and I understand you. More importantly, you and I knew each other in our previous life. Isn't that great?"
Xiao Tao thought about it and realized that what Master said made sense. "Actually, if I think about it from another perspective, aren't Master and I like we've just walked into a game or a play? It's like cosplay. If we don't act well, there will be punishment."
"You really are..." Listening to Xiao Tao's description, Xiu Yu was really at a loss whether to laugh or cry, but she also felt that this description and metaphor were not bad. After thinking about it, she finally 'cursed': "In your previous life, you loved to play. It would have been fine if you played by yourself, but you even dragged me to play with you. Now that you have come to this Qing Dynasty, you still have such a playful heart and want to continue playing in the harem?"
Xiao Tao's big eyes almost slitted with laughter. She lowered her voice and said, "It's not a bad idea. I will accompany Master to overcome the difficulties together."
Xiu Yu smiled and shook her head, "You make it sound like I have to go through the barriers, but you don't."
It was a rare moment for Xiao Tao and Xiu Yu to be alone. Xiao Tao looked at his master's stunning face, shook his lower lip, and said, "Why didn't God arrange for me to be your child? How happy I would be to have such a beautiful mother."
"You want to be my child?" Xiu Yu was shocked when she heard Xiao Tao say this: "You are joking a bit too much. Even in the previous life, I was only a dozen years older than you. In this life, you can be my sister, or my child..." She shook her head, thinking that Xiao Tao was talking nonsense.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Tao said seriously, "Now I am almost the only confidant of Master. Even if I say something outrageous, I think Master won't blame me." She bit her lower lip and lowered her voice even more, "Actually, before I became your apprentice, I secretly thought, if I were a man..."
"You want to marry me?" Xiu Yu tapped Xiao Tao's forehead and said, "Think carefully about how to get through each level and survive safely in this harem. Your mind is full of nonsense. I don't know how Liang Jiugong chose you and arranged for you to serve the emperor."
Xiao Tao mumbled, "Of course it's because I'm the smartest and most intelligent among the palace maids. It's not like I spend all day thinking about the nonsense that Master says."
"Don't you think about it all day?" Xiu Yu knew that Xiao Tao's feelings for her were mostly respect, a respect that wasn't based on appearance alone, but rather on her abilities. So, most of the "random" things she said were just nonsense, so there was no need to take them to heart.
Xiao Tao felt the carriage slow down gradually. She was curious and asked, "We used to never stop on our way back to the capital from hunting in the southern suburbs. Why do we want to stop and rest this time?"
“It never stopped before?”
As soon as Xiu Yu finished speaking, the carriage stopped. Xuanye lifted the curtain, extended his right hand to Xiu Yu, and said, "You've been sitting in the carriage for a long time. Get off and rest."
Xiu Yu held Xuanye's hand and let him help her get off the carriage. Then she said, "I just heard Xiao Tao say that in the past, we never stopped on our way back to the capital. What happened to the Emperor this time?"
"There are some things I should tell you in advance." Xuanye put his arm around Xiu Yu's shoulders and walked towards the woods nearby.
After walking for a while, they had already entered the woods, but Xuanye still didn't speak.
Xiu Yu couldn't help but say, "Just say whatever you want to say. Do you have any concerns about me?"
Xuanye stopped, turned to look at Xiuyu, and said, "Since you entered the palace, you haven't seen the concubines in my harem, right?"
Xiu Yu's eyes rolled, and her eyelids drooped slightly. She said, "So, that's what you want to talk about. I guess your concubines will come to greet you when you return to the palace this time?"
"It's possible." Xuanye held Xiuyu's shoulders and said, "So..."
"Don't worry." Xiu Yu smiled, her small chin slightly raised. She looked into Xuanye's eyes and said, "Although my father is a soldier, I am not some ignorant princess. Now that I have entered the palace, I know what I should know and what I should abide by."
"I'm afraid I've wronged you." Though still young, Xuanye already had women in his harem. Taught by the Imperial Madam, Xuanye believed that the empire was his most important concern, and that most of the women in his harem were brought in to balance the previous dynasty. When their positions were determined, they would undoubtedly have significant ties to the previous dynasty. But upon meeting this Guo Luoluo Xiuyu, she even offered an explanation she would never normally offer... If the Imperial Madam knew about this, she'd probably... But with her shrewdness, she'd probably see through everything.
Xiu Yu lowered her head slightly, a gentle smile on her lips. "Don't worry, since I've entered the palace and become your woman, I can endure any grievances."
Xuanye contentedly took Xiu Yu into his arms and said, "Don't worry, I won't let you suffer any injustice."
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