Chapter 47 Balance "I haven't seen you for a few days, but you seem to be getting bolder...
After leaving the Cining Palace, Xuanye was really happy and aggrieved. These two feelings were stirring in his heart at the same time, and the feeling was really sour.
"Liang Jiugong!" He suddenly stopped, his brows furrowed.
Liang Jiugong immediately followed and bowed, saying, "Master's orders."
Xuanye, hands clasped behind his back, paced back and forth, and said, "Go and inform Yu'er, and tell her..." He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Just tell her that I've been busy lately and may not be able to visit her today."
Liang Jiugong said: "The servant is awake. Master, don't worry, Yu Gege is a master who knows the big picture."
Xuanye looked at Liang Jiugong and said, "Yu'er is naturally sensible, but you... you've never said a single nice word for any of the ladies in the harem. Did Xiao Tao trick you into believing it?"
"Master, you've really misunderstood me." Liang Jiugong knew full well how serious the consequences of being suspected by his master would be. He immediately said, "I was just following your wishes. Master, you think Princess Yu is good, so naturally, I think Princess Yu is good too."
Xuanye raised his hand and knocked Liang Jiugong on the forehead, then turned and headed towards the Qianqing Palace.
Xiu Yu and Xiao Tao were preparing a thousand-layer cake for Xuan Ye in the small kitchen. Seeing Xiu Yu bake one thin crust after another, Xiao Tao couldn't help but exclaim, "Master, you're still the same master. There's nothing in this world you can't solve!"
"You call this a difficult problem?" Xiu Yu glanced at Xiao Tao and peeled the crust from the pan again. "But honestly, my mother never taught me this. I guess I learned it on my own."
"You have already mastered the art of cooking. There is probably nothing in this world that you cannot cook." Xiao Tao was stirring the egg whites in the bowl while praising Xiu Yu.
Xiu Yu said, "There are so many delicious foods in the world. Even the best chefs can't cook them all. Being good at one or two is already very difficult."
"Master is right." Xiao Tao sniffed the aroma of the crust and said with a smile, "When the emperor sees this, he will definitely look at you with new eyes."
Xiu Yu peeled off the last piece of dough, rubbed his arm, and said, "Whether I scratch it or not, it's all fake. Making this thing is really tiring."
"How about..." Xiao Tao swallowed his saliva: "Why don't we try it for the emperor first?"
Xiu Yu knew his apprentice's temper well. He said, "What? You're not even done with this thousand-layer cake yet, and you're already thinking about eating the ingredients? You want to turn a thousand-layer cake into a hundred-layer cake?" But his actions were actually fulfilling his apprentice's wish. He had already scooped out something that looked like cream from the basin with a spoon and spread it on the cake crust. "Let me make you a pancake first?"
Xiao Tao leaned close to Xiu Yu's ear and whispered, "I just knew that Master is the best in this world!"
Xiu Yu snorted softly: "Don't I know you? When things go your way, you can say anything nice, and when things go your way, you can say anything unpleasant! But..."
Xiao Tao asked, "But what?"
Xiu Yu cut some small pieces of banana and put them on the plate before saying, "But it's precisely because all your emotions are written on your face that I like you so much. If you were someone who hid your emotions..." She said no more and just shook her head.
Xiao Tao smiled, but his expression was a little unnatural, and regret was also revealed in his words: "Disciple dare not hide it from Master. After all these years, disciple has learned to restrain himself, even to the point of 'pretending to obey but secretly disobeying'. Disciple is no longer the disciple he used to be."
Xiu Yu looked at Xiao Tao, his eyes becoming increasingly gentle. "Human nature is innate. No matter how much you've experienced or how many people you've met, your nature will never change. So, as long as you're by my side, you'll still be Xiao Tao, my most adorable little disciple."
Xiao Tao pursed her lips and smiled. Years of palace life had indeed changed her greatly. Three hundred years later, she often saw short videos online about who could survive until x number of episodes in a drama. At the time, she had dismissed them as jokes, useful companions to meals. It wasn't until she felt like the protagonist in one of the videos that she realized people truly do change with their circumstances. Those who could only survive one or two episodes in a drama, once they actually entered that drama, naturally had to adapt to the plot in order to survive.
"master…"
Before Xiao Tao could finish her words, Liang Jiugong's voice came from outside the door: "Yu Gege, are you in the small kitchen?"
Xiu Yu originally didn't care much about her image. At this moment, she was still wearing an apron. Without even taking it off, she said towards the door, "Eunuch Liang, I'm here."
Liang Jiugong pushed the door open and walked in. After bowing, he said, "Yu Gege, the emperor has something to do in the front court today, so he may not be able to come and accompany you."
Xiu Yu was slightly startled, and glanced at the things she placed on the table. It was impossible for her to say that she didn't feel anything at all, but in front of Liang Jiugong, she just smiled and said, "Thank you, Eunuch Liang, for coming to inform me."
Xiao Tao had become quite adept at dealing with people. When she saw Liang Jiugong was about to leave, she immediately said, "Master, I'll see Eunuch Liang off."
After leaving the small kitchen and walking a little further, Xiao Taofang said, "Brother, Your Majesty, are you too busy with important matters in the previous court?"
In front of Xiao Tao, Liang Jiugong naturally acted like a big brother: "Whatever the master says is what it is, don't ask any more questions."
"We're sworn siblings." Xiao Tao paused, folded his hands in front of him, and said, "It's only been a few days, and you don't want me as your sister anymore? Are you attracted to someone else?"
"My little ancestor." Liang Jiugong saw that Xiao Tao was a little angry, so he subsided a little and said, "The master is still waiting for me to serve him!"
Xiao Tao didn't beat around the bush and said bluntly, "Your Majesty, are you going to visit another empress?"
Seeing that there was no one around besides him and Xiao Tao, Liang Jiugong simply said, "You're not a new palace maid who knows nothing! Which of the ladies in the Emperor's harem is easy to mess with?" He counted on his fingers, "One, who will become the Empress in a few months. Then there's the Emperor's cousin, and there are ladies with princes... It's impossible for them to be around Princess Yu all the time."
"That's true." Xiao Tao rolled her eyes and said simply, "My master has prepared another gift for the emperor. If I can't see the emperor today, then the gift will naturally not be delivered." After she said that, she turned around and went back to the small kitchen, not giving any face to Liang Jiugong, the chief steward.
"Hey! You little girl!" Liang Jiugong suddenly felt that he had been outmaneuvered by Xiao Tao. However, after all, he had accepted a little sister under his command, so he couldn't take it too seriously. Moreover, he did give him very good news. Otherwise, if the emperor asked about it later, it would be difficult to explain.
When Xiao Tao returned to the small kitchen, Xiu Yu was carefully making a thousand-layer cake.
Xiao Tao said with a smile, "I was afraid you would get angry and stop doing it."
"The materials are all ready. It would be a shame not to make it!" Xiu Yu didn't even raise her head, just focused on the cake, as if she was making a piece of handicraft.
Xiao Tao poured Xiu Yu a cup of tea and said, "Just do it. I believe that there is no wasted effort in this world!"
In Chengqian Palace, Nianhulu Yanlan finally waited for the emperor she had longed for day and night to see. When she greeted him, her tone was full of joy: "Yanlan pays her respects to the emperor."
After Xuanye sat down on the couch, he said, "Stand up. I've reviewed memorials quickly today, so I came to see you."
Niuhulu Yanlan personally served tea to Xuanye, then stood beside him and said, "Today is the emperor's birthday. I had thought that if I couldn't wait for you in the evening, I would take the gifts I prepared and go to the Qianqing Palace."
"I haven't seen you for a few days, and you seem to be getting bolder." Xuanye picked up the teacup and took a sip. "What gift have you prepared for me?"
Niu Hulu Yanlan took down a long and narrow box from the Duobao Pavilion. After opening it, there was a scroll inside.
Xuanye couldn't help but complain: Today I really have a connection with the scroll... It can't have the words "Yikun Palace" written on it anymore. Thinking of Yikun Palace, he naturally thought of Xiu Yu, and Xuanye couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth.
The gentle smile on the emperor's face naturally had a different meaning in Nianhulu Yanlan's eyes. She unfolded the scroll in front of Xuanye and said, "I will give you a copy of calligraphy."
Xuanye was fond of calligraphy and painting. He took one look and said, "This is Song Huizong's 'Lianfang Poetry Calligraphy'!" He took it in his hands, examining it again and again, and could not help but say, "Song Huizong was undoubtedly a king who lost his country, but this Slender Gold Script is indeed worthy of being passed down through the ages."
In fact, Niu Hulu Yanlan did not know anything about calligraphy. Seeing that Xuanye was happy, she said, "As long as the emperor likes it."
Xuanye, of course, knew that Niuhulu Yanlan was quite capable. He rolled up the scroll and asked with a smile, "Did your father find it for you?"
Niu Hulu Yanlan was honest: "I don't know calligraphy, but I want to give the emperor a gift that he likes, so I have to ask for your help."
"The minister of the previous dynasty is indeed an expert in calligraphy and painting." Xuanye muttered to himself, then handed the scroll to Liang Jiugong and said to Yanlan, "The gift you gave me is very much to my liking."
"Then..." Yan Lan clasped her hands together and said cautiously, "How about you stay in Chengqian Palace for lunch today?"
She had originally prepared herself for rejection, but unexpectedly Xuanye said, "Great! I don't know what to eat for lunch today. You can help me decide and save me the trouble."
Yan Lan's eyes sparkled with excitement as she said, "Then I will prepare it myself."
After Niu Hulu Yanlan left the warm room, Xuanye actually seemed to be relieved: "Liang Jiugong, why do I feel so awkward and uncomfortable!"
Liang Jiugong smiled and said, "Master, don't you always feel that the layout of Chengqian Palace is very comfortable?"
"Did I say that?" Xuanye looked around the warm room and said, "This layout is unsatisfactory. What I mean by uncomfortable is..." He frowned, and found the feeling indescribable.
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