Chapter 76 Gift Xuanye Gives Xiuyu
There was a whole system for celebrating the New Year in the palace. Fireworks were set off after the family dinner. This was a play that started when the Three Feudatories War first showed signs of victory. Later, even Empress Xiaozhuang felt that this play made the Forbidden City lively, so it was preserved and became a must-do for every New Year's Eve.
Now that the Central Palace was empty, the one standing next to Xuanye naturally became Tong Jia Zi Fu, the highest-ranking concubine in the harem. As for Xiu Yu, she wasn't far away from Xuanye.
Fireworks soared into the sky, blooming one by one, illuminating the dark night. Xuanye looked past Tong Jia and Zi Fu, looking at Xiu Yu, who was looking up at the fireworks. Suddenly, he felt a sense of déjà vu.
After midnight, the sound of firecrackers gradually died down. Tong Jia Zifu bowed and said, "Cousin, I'll go back to Chengqian Palace first. The Fourth Prince has been very clingy lately."
When Uya Zelan heard Tong Jia Zi Fu talking about the Fourth Prince to the Emperor, she couldn't help but pursed her lips and clenched her handkerchief.
Xuanye smiled and said, "Go back. I'll have Liang Jiugong deliver your New Year's gift to Chengqian Palace tomorrow, along with the Fourth Prince's gift, to congratulate you on turning another year older."
Tong Jia Zifu was quite happy to hear the first half of the sentence, but the second half was something most women in the world didn't like to hear. She glared at Xuanye and said, "Cousin, if you can't speak, then don't say anything. I won't thank you."
Looking at Tong Jia Zifu's back, Xuanye shook his head. He knew his cousin's personality very well.
At that time, Xiaozhuang had already returned to the Cining Palace accompanied by the Empress Dowager. Xuanye asked all the concubines to kneel and pay their respects. He walked over to Xiuyu, put his arm around her shoulders, and said, "Let's go."
Under the envious or jealous gazes of the crowd, Xiu Yu followed Xuanye towards the Yiku Palace.
It was almost midnight, and a group of young eunuchs were holding palace lanterns in front. Xuanye was with Xiu Yu again. This road, which usually seemed a little eerie at night, suddenly didn't seem so eerie or scary to Xiu Yu.
But Xuanye suddenly said, "I feel like you seem different."
"I'm different now?" Xiu Yu asked with a smile, "What's different?"
"Don't be so stubborn or coy anymore. Even in front of them, you can accept my kindness to you calmly." Xuanye's words were filled with happiness.
Xiu Yu asked, "Isn't this good?"
"Okay." Xuanye held Xiu Yu tighter. "No matter what you are like, I like you. I even think that you should be like this, with an aura that no one can bully."
"I've always been like this. I just felt that since I had just entered the palace, I should keep my head down. But a few days ago, I figured it out..." Xiu Yu looked at the approaching Yikun Palace and said, "Since I've come here, become your servant, and enjoy your favor, no matter how I keep my head down, there will always be people who will stab me in the back. Since that's the case, I'll frankly accept your kindness and everything about them. That's the only way I'll feel good. Otherwise, my life would be a bit suffocating."
Xuanye leaned close to Xiuyu's ear and whispered, "Are you aroused by the live Spring Palace?"
Xiu Yu silently rolled her eyes in her heart, but because the servants were all there, she had to give Xuanye face and lowered her voice: "I have an open mind."
Xuanye's voice was still low as he said, "I have prepared a gift for you to celebrate your turning one year older."
Xiu Yu couldn't help laughing. "In my opinion, what the Imperial Concubine said about you is absolutely right. If you don't know how to speak, don't speak, lest you give a gift and upset others."
Unexpectedly, Xuanye said: "I think that my Yu'er is getting more beautiful as she gets older. She is a national beauty and the most beautiful woman in the Qing Dynasty."
Xuanye didn't lower his voice when he said this. Whether it was the eunuchs holding palace lanterns in front or the servants following behind, they all heard it clearly. Liang Jiugong and Xiao Tao looked at each other, and everything was clear in their eyes.
Xiu Yu still had some dignity. Hidden in her fox fur, she pinched Xuanye's waist with her left hand and said, "Do you still want the dignity of an emperor?"
"Well, I don't lack anything for this."
This year was different from last year. Last year, Xiu Yu was heavily pregnant and couldn't really stay up to celebrate the New Year. This year, she was in high spirits. While the fireworks were being set off, Xuanye had already arranged for his servants to decorate the innermost room on the second floor of the Yikun Palace.
Xiu Yu was dragged up to the second floor by Xuanye. When they reached the innermost part, she was still a little puzzled: "I have never been here before."
"I know you are lazy." Xuanye pushed open the door himself, and a screen painted with flowers and birds blocked their view.
Xiu Yu looked at Xuanye curiously.
Xuanye extended his right hand as a gesture of invitation and said, "Please, Concubine Yi, take a look at this year's gift and see if you like it."
Xiu Yu walked in and around the screen. Behind it were guqins, various bamboo flutes, and different styles of xiao and xun. The variety was too numerous to mention.
"This..." Xiu Yu never thought that Xuanye would give her these musical instruments as a New Year gift.
Xuanye said, "I still remember you said that you preferred the sound of stringed instruments to Western instruments." As he spoke, he sat behind the guqin and plucked the strings a few times. "These are all handmade by famous masters of the time. If you want some antiques, I will send someone to Liulichang."
Xiu Yu lowered her eyelids and curved her lips slightly: "Actually, I didn't expect..."
"I didn't expect I still remembered it?" Xuanye stood up and walked over to Xiuyu, holding her from behind. "Ever since you moved into Yikun Palace, I've been dreaming every day when I'm not sleeping there. In my dreams, I see everything we've been through, as well as things that haven't happened yet. I don't know why this is happening. Maybe I owed you something in my past life?"
Xiu Yu nuzzled Xuanye's cheek and said with a smile, "If I say I simply like them and use them as decorations, would you be unhappy?"
"You can't, but I can." Xuanye seemed to have anticipated Xiu Yu's lack of musical skills. "My Yu'er can ride horses, shoot arrows, cook, play chess, and draw blueprints. If you could also learn musical skills, I'm afraid I would think you truly don't belong on earth. Fortunately, you can't. I'm not afraid that one day you'll leave without saying goodbye and return to heaven. Then I can play for you as a zither player."
He loosened his arms, walked behind the guqin again, and sat down. This time, he put both hands on it.
Xiu Yu looked at Xuanye's slender hands plucking the strings of the zither, and then she raised her head slightly, looking at Xuanye's concentrated look, and gradually, she felt a little lost in it.
When the song ended, Xuanye raised his head and happened to meet Xiuyu's gaze. His thin lips curved slightly as he jokingly said, "Am I good-looking? Or is the piano music beautiful?"
Xiu Yu walked over to Xuanye, held his hand, and said, "The piano sounds beautiful, and you look beautiful too."
"Then..." Xuanye glanced at the Western clock. It was already past midnight. "Who looks better, Your Majesty in casual clothes, or me in my pajamas?"
Xiu Yu lowered her eyelids, avoiding Xuanye's burning gaze. Suddenly, she thought about how he had been feeling rather unsatisfied lately. "We haven't made dumplings yet. We have to eat them before New Year's Eve can be considered over."
"What's so delicious about dumplings? I'll eat with you tomorrow, the first day of the new year." Xuanye said as he picked up Xiu Yu horizontally and put her on the moon-shaped bed in this room without going downstairs.
Xiu Yu knew that she couldn't escape again today, so she had to let Xuanye take off her hair accessories and let her help her take off her outer clothes.
"You always have to give something in return when you give a gift." Although Xiu Yu was used to it, she couldn't help but complain.
Xuanye had already made plans, so the charcoal fire in the room burned brightly. His deep, magnetic voice lingered in Xiuyu's ears: "I believe that the joy of love is natural and a gift from heaven, and it should not be wasted."
Xiu Yu was speechless: "How can this be said in such a refined way?" She placed her hands on Xuanye's waist, and her ears gradually turned red.
Xuanye then continued, "I truly believe this. Being with you is a gift from heaven, and I cherish it very much."
"Aren't you afraid..." Xiu Yu bit her lower lip and whispered in his ear, "If you get pregnant again, it will be seven or eight months of torment."
"Then I will wait patiently..." Xuanye rubbed Xiuyu's cheek, and a delicate and gentle kiss fell on her earlobe: "I can wait..."
Outside the Yikun Palace, Xiao Tao and Liang Jiugong had already started a party. The young palace maids and eunuchs gathered around a large round table and took out all the money they had saved up.
The little palace maid in pink palace dress said to Xiao Tao, "Aunt, you have to protect us. We are all from Yikun Palace and we all serve our Concubine Yi!"
"Hey! You little bitch!" Liang Jiugong glanced at the little palace maid. "You're all from the Yikun Palace, and I'm the only one from the Qianqing Palace! What's going on? Are you planning to team up and make money from me?"
On New Year's Eve, everyone was rather unrestrained. Even when facing the chief eunuch, the young palace maid showed no fear at all: "We all agree that Eunuch Liang deserves to lose the money to our aunt."
Xiao Tao spread his hands towards Liang Jiugong: "There's nothing we can do. A powerful dragon can't defeat a local snake! In Yikun Palace, Eunuch Liang, just wait patiently for your money to be lost!"
Liang Jiugong came up and was about to roll up his sleeves, but then he felt too cold. He picked up the dice beside him and snorted, "You little bastards, open your eyes and watch how I, Eunuch Liang, am going to kill everyone today!"
Outside the Yikun Palace, the sound of dice kept rolling, while inside, springtime was in full swing. As the rain and clouds subsided, the cries of the young palace maids and eunuchs reached Xuanye's ears. He embraced Xiuyu and said with a smile, "Your little Tao really loves a good time. Don't let her lose all your money."
"I'm afraid she's the winner." Xiu Yu's cheeks were still flushed, "I think the loser is Chief Steward Liang."
"Then he still has some sympathy for women." Xuanye was also a little sleepy, and his voice gradually became lower. "If he loses to Xiao Tao, I will give it to him when I get back. If Xiao Tao loses, I will give it to you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
