Chapter 9 Meeting the Parents Xuanye stopped flipping through the book and raised his head...
"Ah?" Xiu Yu wasn't one to play dirty; she simply hadn't expected the Emperor to bring this up at a time when there seemed to be something else going on. She bit her lip, her eyebrows raised slightly, and raised her head to look at Xuanye and ask, "Since you've brought it up now, what do you want me to do for you?"
Xuanye smiled and said, "It's not a difficult task. Just follow me." He extended his right hand towards Xiuyu and said, "It's dark and the mountains are high. I'm afraid I might fall. Princess Yu, can you help me up?"
The eighteen-year-old Xiu Yuduan was quite clever and eccentric. She put her hands behind her back and said, suppressing a smile, "Is it you who want me to help you down the rockery?"
What a clever girl! Xuanye raised his right hand and gently tapped Xiuyu's forehead with his bent fingers: "If you continue to be naughty, I can't guarantee that I will make any demands."
After all, one must bow down when under the eaves. The Forbidden City is the emperor's place, and Xiu Yu is a "guest," so naturally, she must "follow the host's wishes." She simply supported Xuanye's arm and said, "Okay, then, please be merciful, Your Majesty."
Xuanye was not willing to obey Xiuyu like this. He simply held Xiuyu's hand and said, "Just follow me obediently. The Forbidden City is huge, and this is your first time here. Be careful not to get lost."
As Xuanye had said, the Forbidden City was enormous, and with the darkness, its solemnity had a certain air of its own. Even though Liang Jiugong and Xiao Tao were following closely behind, lanterns in hand, Xiuyu felt a little uneasy, and she couldn't help but tighten her grip on Xuanye's hand.
Xuanye could naturally understand what was wrong with this girl. He held Xiu Yu's hand even tighter, letting her know that he was by her side and she had nothing to be afraid of.
It seemed like they had been walking for a very long time, and when the three main halls came into view, Xiu Yu let out a sigh of relief.
"So Yu'er is afraid of the dark." Xuanye said to Xiu Yu in a low voice with a smile on his face.
Xiu Yu still stubbornly said: "I'm not afraid, I'm just afraid that it will be dark and the road will be slippery, and the emperor might be careless..."
"Ha!" Xuanye raised his hand and tapped Xiuyu's nose. "In this vast Forbidden City, I'm afraid there's no one else who dares to speak to me like that, except for you, Princess Yu."
As he spoke, Xuanye had already brought Xiu Yu into the Qianqing Palace, and did not forget to explain: "I have thought about where to settle you, but I can't go now. I have to let Princess Yu fulfill her promise to me in the Qianqing Palace." He said this deliberately, his eyes always fixed on Xiu Yu's face, watching the changes in her expression.
Honestly, Xiu Yu would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous after being brought into the Palace of Heavenly Purity by Xuanye. She turned her head to glance at Xiao Tao, who gave her a look that reassured her. She finally relaxed her nerves and smiled again, saying, "Your Majesty, please feel free to ask for anything. Since the Emperor has said he won't make things difficult for Yu'er, I will definitely give him a satisfactory answer."
"Xiao Tao, take your master to the warm room." After entering the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Xuanye obviously had more of the demeanor of an emperor than when he was in the pavilion just now.
Xiao Taofu nodded, and then took Xiu Yu into the warm room.
Xuanye sat down on the dragon throne and habitually picked up the memorial on the desk and began to read it.
In the warm room, Xiu Yu pointed outside with her left index finger and asked Xiao Tao in a low voice, "What's he up to?"
Xiao Tao smiled and said, "Don't worry, Gege. The Emperor really does treat you well. He just wanted to see what you look like in your Manchu dress."
As he spoke, Xiao Tao took out the Manchu dress that he had prepared for Xiu Yu. The rose-red dress was not too gorgeous. Xiu Yu saw it and thought that Xuanye's taste was pretty good.
As Xiao Tao was changing Xiu Yu's clothes, he lowered his voice and said, "Master, if my guess is correct, the Emperor might take you to see the Grand Empress Dowager in a while. You should be mentally prepared."
Xiu Yu was no stranger to big events, and while she found this a bit sudden, she wasn't completely unacceptable. "Let's meet, we'll have to meet sooner or later anyway."
After changing into her Manchu dress, Xiao Tao helped Xiu Yu sit down at the dressing table. This was Xuanye's imperial palace, and she hadn't expected the dressing table to be filled with women's hair accessories, earrings, and the like. Xiu Yu picked up a jade hairpin and looked up at Xiao Tao, her gaze quizzical.
Xiao Tao immediately explained, "This was specially prepared by the Emperor for the princess. He was afraid that only one set of jewelry would not be suitable, so he added a few more sets."
Xiu Yu raised her eyebrows slightly and nodded.
Outside the warm room, although Xuanye was reviewing memorials, he could faintly hear some of the conversation inside. He called Liang Jiugong forward and said in a low voice, "Xiao Tao, you've made a good choice. I'll reward you later."
Liang Jiugong had experienced this situation more than once or twice, and he was no longer surprised. He just said, "Thank you, Master."
After all, it takes some time for a girl to dress up. Xuanye was bored waiting and simply picked up a book to read. After some time, the door of the warm room opened. Xiu Yu walked up to Xuanye holding a handkerchief and bowed, saying, "Guo Luoluo Xiu Yu pays respects to the emperor."
Xuanye stopped turning the pages of the book. He looked up at Xiu Yu. The person in front of him was no longer the handsome young man in men's clothes, but a beautiful lady who seemed to have walked out of a painting. It would not be an exaggeration to call her a goddess or fairy.
Xiu Yu said, "If you put on this Qi clothing, will Yu'er fulfill your bet?"
"Only half of it is fulfilled." Xuanye stood up and walked over to Xiuyu, wanting to shake her hand, but hesitated and didn't touch it. "Before the palace gates reopen, you still have to accompany me to the Cining Palace to meet the ancestors. If you answer the questions correctly, then the bet will be fulfilled."
Xiu Yu thought to herself: Xiao Tao is indeed worthy of being someone who has been in the palace longer than herself. His guess is indeed correct. However, a hint of confusion still appeared on her face. "To see the ancestor?"
"Don't be afraid." Xuanye gave Xiuyu a reassurance: "The ancestor has good taste and will definitely like you."
"I hope it's as the Emperor said."
It was very cold in the second half of the night, and a warm sedan had been prepared outside the Qianqing Palace, but there was only one.
Xiu Yu turned to look at Xuan Ye, who smiled and said, "We are short on manpower at night, so I'll force Princess Yu to ride in the same sedan chair with me. My sedan chair is big enough, so I don't think it will be unfair to Princess Yu."
Didn't they intend to give her a chance to choose? Xiu Yu could only complain in her heart, and of course her face showed some helplessness: "Your Majesty..."
Xuanye didn't give her a chance to speak. He pulled her into the sedan chair and said, "You called me 'Third Master' that day. It was a good name."
Even if it was the emperor's sedan chair, it was still just a sedan chair after all, and the space inside was not very big. It was the first time Xiu Yu was so close to Xuan Ye, and she felt a little nervous. She replied, "That was outside the palace. Inside the palace, Yu'er wouldn't dare."
Xuanye knew that no matter how special this girl was, she would still be somewhat shy. However, he didn't feel anything wrong about riding in a warm sedan chair with a girl he had only met three times. There was no awkwardness in the air. Instead, Xuanye felt comfortable, a comfort he hadn't felt in twenty-four years. It was as if the empty space in his heart had been filled and warmed.
Xiu Yu actually didn't feel embarrassed. She thought it was because she knew that the person next to her was her boss, whom she would have to serve and cling to for the rest of her life.
Although it was past midnight, the Cining Palace was still brightly lit, clearly indicating that the old ancestor had not yet retired to bed. The warm sedan chair descended, and Liang Jiugong lifted the curtain for Xuanye. Xuanye emerged first, naturally shaking Xiuyu's hand and leading her out of the sedan chair.
This place is not like the pavilion we were in earlier, nor is it like the Qianqing Palace. This is the place of the Grand Empress Dowager. After Xiu Yu stepped out of the sedan chair, she pulled away the hand that Xuanye had held, clasped her hands together, and clutched the pale pink handkerchief in front of her, looking like a lady from a noble family.
Xuanye said: "Don't be nervous, I'm here."
Xiu Yu took a deep breath, his face showing confidence: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I'm not nervous."
At that time, the Empress Dowager was sitting upright on the couch drinking tea. In fact, at her age, even if she stayed up all night to celebrate the New Year, she should have gone to bed after midnight. However, her grandson did something a little "out of the ordinary" today. If she didn't meet the princess of the Guo Luoluo family, she would feel uneasy.
"Madam, were those fireworks displays just now beautiful?" Xuanye strode into Kunning Palace, intentionally bringing up a light-hearted topic. Then he bowed and said, "Grandson greets Madam. Happy New Year."
The Grand Empress Dowager saw Xuanye's high spirits and knew he was truly happy, which meant she, as his mother, was also very happy. However, as the Grand Empress Dowager, Xiaozhuang could not treat her grandson like an ordinary grandmother. She still had to act like the mother of the country and said, "No need for formalities."
Xuanye walked up to Xiaozhuang and said with a smile, "Madam, your grandson has brought the princess from the Guoluo family."
As she was saying this, Xiu Yu bowed and said, "Guo Luoluo Xiu Yu pays her respects to the Grand Empress Dowager. May the Grand Empress Dowager live a long and healthy life."
Xiaozhuang gestured to Xuanye to sit down. She looked at Xiu Yu's appearance carefully. The real person was much more outstanding than the small portrait. Although her eyebrows and eyes were not very clear because she was looking down, her whole demeanor was really not like that of a princess raised in a captain's family. No wonder her grandson was so unforgettable that he insisted on bringing her into the palace in advance to celebrate New Year's Eve.
"No need to be polite." Everyone loves beauty, and Empress Xiaozhuang felt that if the daughter of the Guo Luoluo family did not enter the palace to become her grandson's concubine, no matter who she married, she would be wronged. Therefore, her smile was more gentle, with a hint of treating her grandson's wife in it. "Sit down, Princess Yu'er."
Xiu Yu said, "Yu'er thanks the Grand Empress Dowager."
When she actually saw Xiu Yu's features, even Empress Xiaozhuang, a woman of countless experiences, felt that her face was flawless, her features delicate, and she looked like a goddess. She smiled and asked, "Your father was a captain. I guess you learned horseback riding and archery since you were young?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
