Chapter 48 Painstaking Arrangements Xuanye said: "There is a mystery in your words...
Liang Jiugong knows his master very well. Although his master's words are "golden words and jade words", his master really can't remember them at all when he should forget them. So who would dare to say "Your Majesty, you really said that"!
So, Liang Jiugong tactfully lowered his voice and said to Xuanye, "Master, Princess Yu has prepared another meal for you. When I went there, Princess Yu was busy in the small kitchen. I've never smelled that kind of food in the imperial kitchen before."
"Oh?" Xuanye rubbed the ring on his thumb, his lips slightly curved, and said softly: "She really is..."
"Your Majesty, how about we drink some kumis today?" Niu Hulu Yanlan walked into the warm room leisurely, with a pot of wine on the tray in her hand.
When Xuanye saw Yanlan enter, he naturally stopped talking about Xiuyu and simply nodded, saying, "This is your place. You have the final say on what to eat and drink."
Yan Lan smiled and said, "Then I will boldly make the decision."
When it comes to playing along, Aixinjueluo Xuanye is a master at it. He and Niuhulu Yanlan sat opposite each other, drinking, eating, chatting and laughing, and there was really no awkwardness at all during the meal.
Liang Jiugong was serving on the side, and couldn't help but admire his master's ability in his heart. No wonder he could become the emperor, have three palaces and six courtyards, and enjoy such blessings.
Xuanye and Nianhulu Yanlan had lunch together, and naturally took a nap in Chengqian Palace before returning to Ganqing Palace to review memorials.
By then, the Three Feudatories' arrogance had waned to a mere flame, but with Wu Sangui still alive, Xuanye naturally didn't dare to take it too lightly and would periodically check on the old man's movements. Of course, a spent force is a spent force; how many more days can it last?
When it was time for dinner, Xuanye raised his head from a pile of memorials, rubbed his temples, and said, "Let's go to my cousin."
Liang Jiugong was setting the rules on the side, but upon hearing his master's order, he immediately took the cloak hanging on the gantry and put it on Xuanye: "I thought that the master would not go to Madam Tong's place today."
Xuanye sighed, "How can I not go if the Empress Dowager has ordered me to do so? Besides, I haven't visited my cousin for a while. As her cousin, I should go and see her, too."
"My master is right." Liang Jiugong followed Xuanye and walked out of the Qianqing Palace.
Not long after leaving the house, Xuanye stopped and said hesitantly, "You..." After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Forget it."
Seeing his master like this, Liang Jiugong was somewhat bewildered, but not long after, he probably guessed what the emperor meant. However, if the other party didn't say it, you couldn't do it on your own... So Liang Jiugong didn't ask any more questions and just followed his master to the direction of Zhongcui Palace.
As Xuanye's cousin, Tong Jia Zifu was different from other princesses from the moment she was born. Even before she fully understood the relationship between men and women, her father and her aunt, then the Empress Dowager, had already arranged a marriage for her, marrying her into the imperial palace and becoming a concubine to her cousin. As she grew older, she secretly read some storybooks, and began to understand more about the relationship between men and women. Furthermore, Xuanye was truly a man of great talent, so naturally, Tong Jia Zifu had dreams and hopes for her life in the Forbidden City.
Unfortunately, the stories of love and affection, talent and beauty in the storybooks were ultimately just stories. When a sedan chair took her to the palace, she finally understood why the ancients wrote, "Once you enter the palace, it's like entering a deep sea; from then on, Xiao Lang is just a stranger!"
In Zhongcui Palace, Tong Jia Zifu turned another page of the book, turned her head to look at the time on the Western clock, and sighed softly.
The head maid, Lu Zhu, served Tong Jia Zi Fu a cup of tea and said, "Master, why don't you take the gift you prepared for the Emperor and go directly to the Palace of Heavenly Purity? You have to wait moment after moment, and it makes you anxious."
"My cousin will come." Tong Jia Zifu simply closed the book he hadn't even read once and said, "He didn't accept my gift, so it's not considered a birthday celebration."
"You're so arrogant." Tong Jia Zifu had just finished speaking when Xuanye's voice came in: "I don't know what good things you have prepared for me. If I don't come, it won't be considered a birthday celebration."
Tong Jia Zifu's eyes lit up when she heard Xuanye's voice. She stood up and walked forward, bowing and saying, "Greetings to my cousin."
"How rude!" Xuanye actually regarded Tong Jia Zi Fu more as his cousin, so naturally the way he got along with her was very different from how he got along with her elsewhere.
Tong Jia Zifu smiled and stood up, saying, "I thought my cousin was busy today and wouldn't come."
"Didn't you just say that if I don't accept your gift, it won't be considered a birthday celebration?" Xuanye sat on the couch and looked at Tong Jia Zifu and said, "Give it to me. Let me see what you have prepared for me."
Tong Jia Zifu pointed to the book she had just closed on the tea table and said, "It's right next to you. Do you want it?"
Xuanye knew his cousin was joking, but he didn't care. He just said, "Whether it's a gift or not is secondary. I have something to discuss with you. I plan to make Yanlan my empress soon. I'm sure you've heard about it."
Tong Jia Zifu nodded and said, "When I went to pay my respects to the old ancestor a few days ago, he told me so."
Xuanye asked again, "Did the Empress Dowager tell you that I was going to confer a title on you?"
Of course I did, how could I not say it... But Tong Jia Zifu shook her head deliberately and said, "I think my cousin thinks I'm not good."
"You are my Empress Dowager's niece, my cousin. How could I treat you badly?" Xuanye asked Tong Jia Zifu to sit across from him, then said, "My cousin will make you a noble concubine. I will ask Yanlan to move to Kunning Palace first. As for Chengqian Palace, I will have it redecorated. Would you like to live there?"
Tong Jia Zifu knew she was going to be a concubine, but she had never heard any rumors about the palace move. "Cousin, I'm fine living in Zhongcui Palace. Besides, Sister Yanlan is still living in Chengqian Palace..."
"Chengqian Palace is closer to Qianqing Palace." Xuanye had already found an excuse. "Once Yanlan moves to another palace, you can change the layout of Chengqian Palace as you like. That should be enough."
"Cousin, do you really just want me to live closer to the Palace of Heavenly Purity?" Tong Jia Zifu hesitated for a moment and asked, "Let me ask you something. You asked Sister Yanlan and I to move to another palace. Have you made any arrangements for the main seats in the other palaces?"
She is not a stupid girl after all, Xuanye thought to himself, but said: "Naturally there will be arrangements, but I haven't thought about it yet."
Hearing her cousin say this, Tong Jia Zi Fu naturally could not continue to ask questions. She said to Lu Zhu, "Go and get the gift I prepared for the emperor."
It was already late at night, and Xuanye sat cross-legged on the couch, reading the book that Tong Jia Zifu had been reading during the day. It was a fairly interesting historical novel, but it was beyond Xuanye's expectation that his cousin would actually enjoy reading a story about the struggles between men.
Another quarter of an hour passed, and Xuanye heard Tong Jia Zifu's even breathing, knowing that she had fallen asleep. He stood up and quietly walked out, saying to Liang Jiugong, who was standing by the door of the warm room, "She's asleep, let's go."
This was the inevitable scene that would unfold after Xuanye came to Zhongcui Palace. Tong Jia and Zi Fu fell asleep, and Xuanye left, so Liang Jiugong was no longer surprised.
As the night deepened and the dew deepened, Xuanye shuddered as he walked through the vast Forbidden City. He thought, "Let's hang a few more lanterns on both sides of this road. It's so dark."
"I remember." Liang Jiugong said with a smile, "Master, are you still thinking about the gift that Princess Yu prepared for you?"
As Xuanye walked, he said, "She prepared food. I'm going there so late, I'm afraid there won't be even a crumb left."
Before Liang Jiugong could reply, he saw his master quickening his pace towards his private base. He had no choice but to catch up with him quickly, trying to adjust his breath so as not to let his master think that the quality of his servant was too poor.
The western clock was about to strike midnight. Xiu Yu had finished her bath and was now sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard reading a book. Her black hair was scattered behind her head, giving her a fresh and unworldly look.
Xuanye originally thought Xiuyu had fallen asleep, so he entered the warm room with as light a step as possible. Xiuyu heard the noise and became even more focused on the book in her hand.
"You haven't slept yet!" Seeing Xiu Yu leaning against the headboard, Xuanye's eyes immediately lit up, "I thought that since I came at this hour, I might not be able to talk to you today."
Xiu Yu originally wanted to ignore this person who came so late, but after hesitating again and again, she finally got out of bed. While taking off Xuanye's cloak, she said, "Yu'er thought you were not coming." In the quiet night, people's emotions became more and more abundant, and Xiu Yu couldn't help showing a little temper.
Xuanye was slightly startled, and he found this Princess Yu even more adorable. He raised his hand and touched Xiu Yu's cheek, smiling, "I heard from Liang Jiugong that you prepared another gift for me?"
"That gift won't last long. It will go bad if left out tomorrow." Xiu Yu said as she took out a nightgown for Xuanye from a cabinet that was as tall as a person next to her.
Xuanye said, "There's something mysterious in what you said. Hurry, hurry..." He stretched out his right hand towards Xiuyu, "Take out the gift for me."
"I'll give it to you if you want it!" Xiu Yu simply threw a tantrum. "You've made me wait till this hour, and now you come up here and ask for a gift. You're really being arrogant!"
Xuanye smiled, put his arm around Xiuyu's waist, and said, "It doesn't matter if I don't have it, as long as I have you."
Xiu Yu slapped Xuanye's hand away and said with a smile, "Don't you smell the sweet aroma in this room? It's no wonder that the Third Emperor should be the number one gourmet in the world." After that, she walked to the tea table with a tinder and lit the candle on the thousand-layer cake. Almost at the same time, all the other candles in the warm room went out.
Although the candle was small, it illuminated Xiu Yu's cheek. She gestured for Xuan Ye to sit with her and said, "When I was little, my mother made this for my birthday. She said that if you put a candle in it, the wishes you make on your birthday will easily come true. Would you like to try it?"
Xuanye paid more attention to Xiu Yu than the cake he had never seen before. He smiled and asked, "What wish do you want me to make?"
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