Chapter 42: The attitude of the ancestors However, Xiaozhuang could not...
However, Xiaozhuang couldn't let her expression or words betray the fact that she also liked Xiuyu. Instead, her face grew more serious as she said, "Yu'er, the harem has its own rules. Yanlan will be crowned empress soon, so you should be more careful with your words and actions."
Xuanye originally wanted to say a few words for Xiu Yu, but was stopped by Xiaozhuang's look.
Xiu Yu smiled brightly, her eyes and brows revealing the clarity of a young woman, yet also a gentleness. She replied softly, "Don't worry, Grandfather. Yu'er isn't someone who doesn't know etiquette. Father taught me since childhood that if no one offends Yu'er, she will never offend anyone."
"You said that without any humility. What a clever girl!" Xiaozhuang couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of her heart. "Now that you say that, I don't know what to say. Or..."
"Let's try Princess Yu's cooking first." Su Moer, the nanny who understood Empress Xiaozhuang's feelings best in the world, was naturally happy to smooth things over at this time, and by the way, she picked up a piece of plum cake for her own princess.
Xiaozhuang glared at Su Moer, but a smile appeared on her face.
Su Moer also smiled and glanced at Xuanye.
Xuanye was naturally grateful to the nanny who raised him, and his eyes were filled with gratitude and playfulness.
Su Moer casually picked up a piece of plum cake and handed it to Xuanye, saying, "Your Majesty, please try it too. However, I think you've probably tasted Princess Yu'er's cooking."
Xuanye took the plum blossom cake and said, "Madam, you're wrong. Yu'er's pastries are like the milk tea you make. No matter how many times I've had them, they're always delicious and I'll always miss them."
"The emperor is good at talking." Su Moer was naturally happy to hear Xuanye say this, but before she could pick up the pot of milk tea, Xiu Yu had already picked it up and poured a bowl for Xiaozhuang first, and then for Xuanye.
Eating cakes and drinking milk tea was of course a happy thing. Even until Xuanye took Xiu Yu away from the Cining Palace, Xiaozhuang's face was always happy. Even Su Moer said: "Gege actually still likes Yugege in her heart, but you just don't want to acknowledge her."
"How can I recognize them?" Empress Xiaozhuang stood up with Su Moer's help and walked to the warm room. "Each of them is not a worry-free person. As for me, I'd better water my flowers and believe that my children and grandchildren will have their own blessings."
"You've said for a long time that you wanted to take a break from gardening and growing plants." Su Moer's words hinted at her own princess's constant worrying: "Aren't you always thinking about our emperor?"
Xiaozhuang paused, turned to glance at Su Moer, and said, "Do you think I can rest assured about planting flowers and raising grass with him? They're both smart kids, meticulous about big things, but really not so considerate about small things." As she spoke, she stretched out her left hand and began to count on her fingers: "Tell me, Aisin-Gioro Xuanye, Guoluo Xiuyu, or Niuhulu Yanlan, which one of them is worry-free? Judging by their performance today, I should be thankful if they don't poke a hole in the sky for me in the future!"
Su Moer helped Empress Xiaozhuang sit down on the couch, and then said, "This time, it was our future Empress who started the fight first. Otherwise, Princess Yu wouldn't have embarrassed anyone. Your Majesty, you definitely wouldn't have said anything to protect Princess Yu."
Xiaozhuang raised her head and looked at Su Moer, raised her eyebrows, and said, "You, your heart is too biased."
"Aren't you partial?" Su Moer poured Xiaozhuang a cup of tea. "I'm sure you like the pastry made by Yu Gege from the bottom of your heart. It's dense and soft, and I'm sure it won your heart in an instant!"
"You!" Xiaozhuang pointed at Su Moer, but had to admit that this sister who had been with her for decades had a very accurate judgment of her.
"You should put your mind at ease," Su Moer consoled Empress Xiaozhuang. "In my opinion, Princess Yu will never allow herself to suffer any injustice. If she doesn't, the Emperor will naturally be relieved. If the Emperor is relieved, you can also focus on growing flowers and grass."
"If it's really as you say, then I'll burn a few more incense sticks to the Buddha, thanking him for finally letting me rest." Although Empress Xiaozhuang said this with a smile, a hint of sadness still lingered in her eyes. Grandparents' worry about their grandchildren is perhaps innate and difficult to change.
In Xuanye's secret base, Xiu Yu and Xuanye sat down on the couch together. Liang Jiugong and Xiao Tao looked at each other, saluted and retreated.
Xiu Yu first rubbed his shoulders, then glanced at Xuanye's face from the corner of his eye. He immediately smiled, picked up the teapot that Liang Jiugong had just handed over, added some tea to the tea bowl beside Xuanye, and said, "Your Majesty has worked hard on the journey. Drink some tea and take a rest."
"I just drank it at the old ancestor's place." Xuanye said this, but still picked up the tea bowl and took a sip.
Xiu Yu suppressed her laughter and said, "Your Majesty is willing to speak up for Yu'er in front of the future Empress. Yu'er should thank you very much."
"Do I need your thanks?" Xuanye deliberately glanced at Xiu Yu and said, "I'm just following my heart."
"Yes, that's all!" Xiu Yu stood up and sat next to Xuanye. After hesitating for a moment, she simply took Xuanye's arm and said, "Then, what do you want to eat? I'll make it for you. I can also make the Eight Great Bowls."
"Can you?" Xuanye still had a stern face. "I thought you could only make some snacks, boil some soup, and cook a few dishes."
Xiu Yu counted for Xuanye on her fingers until he stopped talking. Then she said, "This isn't too few, is it? Do any of the beauties in your harem have more than me?"
"They know how to eat." Xuanye finally couldn't pretend anymore, so he put his arm around Xiuyu's shoulders and laughed, "What Mama said just now was actually for your own good, so don't take it too seriously."
"I can clearly see who is good and who is bad, and I can tell them apart." Xiu Yu glanced around Xuanye's secret base and sighed, "I haven't been back for a while, and I miss it a lot."
"Do you miss it here more, or do you prefer to go hunting in the western suburbs?" Xuanye held Xiu Yu's hand.
Xiu Yu looked at the injured arm hidden in his sleeve and said, "Going hunting in the western suburbs is certainly interesting. But to be honest, I don't feel particularly good this time."
Xuanye nodded, his eyes dimming a little. "Then, I'll take you to Rehe later. It's farther away from the Forbidden City, and maybe you'll be happier there."
"Why does the emperor say that?" Xiu Yu held Xuanye's hand in return: "I am very happy to be with you."
"Really?" Xuanye was like a child, his eyes flashing with excitement: "Are you happy to be with me?"
"Yes." Xiu Yu blinked, her eyes twinkling with bright stars: "Before entering the palace, I didn't have much hope. But later..."
"What happened next?" Xuanye sat sideways and looked directly at Xiu Yu.
Xiu Yu bit her lower lip lightly, then raised her head and asked, "Do you really have to tell me?"
"Isn't it better to say it out loud than to keep it in your heart?"
Xiu Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay! Later, I met you. Your Majesty, you are the person Yu'er has been looking for for a long, long time. This is what I thought in my heart the moment I saw you."
Xuanye's heart moved, and he immediately pulled Xiuyu into his arms, murmuring, "I've been looking for you for a long, long time."
Unfortunately, their time together was short-lived after they returned to the Forbidden City. After lunch, Xuanye left his secret base, leaving Xiuyu alone and bored.
Xiao Tao poured tea for his master while jokingly saying, "Master, are you not used to the days without the Emperor?"
"Who said that!" Xiu Yu glared at Xiao Tao and tugged at the handkerchief in her hand. After a while, she simply stood up and walked to the Duobao Pavilion, where she found a bird gun from a small box. "It really is his own place, and he must have hidden some treasures there."
"Princess, do you want to..." Xiao Tao's cleverness kicked in, and she quickly guessed what her master was thinking: "Tear this down?"
"Not bad." Xiu Yu raised the bird gun: "Just like disassembling a telescope, draw some blueprints."
Xiao Tao took out the toolbox, spread out some paper on the desk, and prepared his brush: "Drawing blueprints is what you're best at, so I'll help you."
Sitting behind the desk, Xiu Yu moved his ten fingers, then took out the tools from the toolbox and carefully disassembled the bird gun.
Xiao Tao had long been accustomed to helping Xiu Yu. Whenever Xiu Yu took apart a part, Xiao Tao would number it. Before they knew it, the moon was already high in the sky.
The drawings for the bird gun were much more complicated than those for the telescope. When Xiu Yu was about to finish, Xiao Tao had already fallen asleep while standing.
Xiu Yu gently stood up, held Xiao Tao's shoulders, and said softly in her ear: "My little disciple is tired, go to sleep." As he spoke, he pushed Xiao Tao away.
Xiao Tao immediately regained consciousness, fell to his knees, and said, "Master, I was wrong. I know I was wrong!"
"Xiao Tao!" Xiu Yu pulled Xiao Tao up with force, touched the back of her head, and said, "Why do you act stupidly when you fall asleep? Who made you so scared? Do you want Master to avenge you?"
Xiao Tao rubbed his eyes and smiled when he saw that it was his master. "Master, I was really sleepy just now. Have you finished painting?"
"Not yet." Xiu Yu glanced at the desk and said, "There's still some finishing work to be done. I'll do it according to the old rules."
Xiao Tao was still a little sleepy: "Master is always like this. When he sees that I am sleepy, he lets me go to sleep."
"If you're tired and don't go to sleep, what else can you do if you keep going?" Xiu Yu squeezed Xiao Tao's hand and said, "Go to sleep, and I'll go to sleep too."
"Master, I'm going to sleep now. If you need anything, just call me."
Looking at Xiao Tao's back, Xiu Yu suddenly felt like she had returned to three hundred years later. Back then, Xiao Tao was a child who could not stay up late. Every time the head office conducted routine inspections, she was always the first one to go back to the dormitory to sleep.
The surrounding environment and the uncomfortable bottom of the flower pot finally pulled Xiu Yu back to reality. She yawned, sat back behind the desk, and continued her finishing work.
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