Chapter 43: I have doubts about the word "letter", but think about it, this...
Inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity, after Xuanye finished reading the last memorial regarding the newly built dam, a smile finally appeared on his face. He turned his head to look outside again, and saw that the sky was already pitch dark.
"Liang Jiugong!"
Xuanye's loud call startled Liang Jiugong, who was sleeping while making rules.
But the rules that had been in place for so many years weren't established in vain. Liang Jiugong quickly regained his composure, turned around, picked up the cloak draped over the gantry, and, having regained consciousness, smiled and said to Xuanye, "Master, where would you like to go today?"
Xuanye closed the memorial, tucked it into his sleeve, and said, "Go see Yu'er."
As Liang Jiugong put the cloak on Xuanye, he said, "The Emperor has been staying with Yu Gege every day in the southern suburbs. Now that he's back in the capital, he still can't leave Yu Gege."
Xuanye glanced at Liang Jiugong and said, "Didn't you acknowledge Xiao Tao as your sister? I'll go find Yu'er, and you go see Xiao Tao. We can both get what we need, master and servant, isn't that good?"
Liang Jiugong had spent so many years in the palace, and he knew, of course, that nothing could be hidden from the Emperor. Of course, he had never considered hiding his adoption of Xiao Tao as his sister from anyone. There were no secrets in the inner palace; anyone who didn't know this would suffer greatly.
"My master is so wise. Nothing in this palace can be hidden from you." Liang Jiugong followed Xuanye to the master's secret base while praising his master.
Of course, there is no one in this world who doesn't like to hear nice words. Even though Xuanye was trying hard to train himself to not take such flattery seriously, he still felt very comfortable when he heard Liang Jiugong say this.
"You have been by my side for such a long time. Although you are not good at other things, your ability to flatter me is getting better and better!" Xuanye put his hands behind his back and quickened his pace to meet Xiu Yu.
Liang Jiugong, after all, wasn't a martial artist like Xuanye. He could initially keep up with his master's flying pace, but gradually, he began to breathe heavily. But even with his breath, he had to fulfill his duty as a servant and flatter his master. "Master, I'm clever. It's all thanks to you, your guidance."
Xuanye, who was walking quickly, suddenly stopped, turned around and faced Liang Jiugong, almost bumping into this personal servant.
Liang Jiugong was very grateful that his master stopped and allowed him to catch his breath.
Xuanye said with a stern face, "Are you getting more aggressive? Are your skin getting tighter again? Do you want to go to the Imperial Household Department and get a beating?"
Liang Jiugong held his legs with both hands and panted, "Slave, what I said is all true."
Seeing Liang Jiugong gasping for breath, Xuanye couldn't bear to tease him any more. He finally slowed down his pace towards the secret base and asked as he walked, "Do you think Yu'er is asleep?"
'It's already this late, the moon is almost setting! How could she not be asleep?' Liang Jiugong thought to himself, but he didn't dare to say it out loud: "I guess that even if Princess Yu is asleep, she must be extremely tired from waiting for the Emperor. Who knows, Princess Yu might even fall asleep on the desk."
Of course, Liang Jiugong, the old fox who had been in the palace for many years, guessed it right! As soon as Xuanye entered the study, he saw Xiu Yu sleeping on the desk with her arms folded.
Xuanye, fearing that he would wake Xiu Yu up, waved his hand to signal Liang Jiugong to step back. He then quietly walked forward and tentatively picked up Xiu Yu by the waist.
Xiu Yu was a quick-witted person, her body quickly regained consciousness. While her mind was still a little hazy, she was about to use her Qinggong to jump out of the arms of this 'roguish playboy'. But when she saw clearly that the man was Xuanye, her heart quickly relaxed. She instinctively put her arms around his neck, and spoke lazily, "I thought you weren't coming."
"Go to sleep." Xuanye coaxed softly. Because Xiuyu was light, he held her right hand and rubbed the back of her head: "I am by your side, always."
Xiu Yu was really very sleepy. After Xuanye put her on the couch, she soon fell asleep again. This time she slept much more soundly than when she lay on the desk.
Xuanye took off his cloak, gently covered Xiu Yu with it, and then walked to the back of the desk and sat down.
Looking at his beloved bird gun, which had been chopped into pieces by Xiu Yu, Xuanye frowned at first, but then saw the neatly arranged blueprints beside it and smiled knowingly. His Yu Er was a very trustworthy person, and he had known this for a long time.
Holding the blueprint in his hand, Xuanye first read it carefully, then opened his toolbox, took out the tools he would use one by one, and reassembled his beloved treasure according to the blueprint.
With the things you love in your hands and the one you love by your side, who would say the night is long? You would only think it is too short.
As daylight dawned, Xuanye's beloved bird gun finally returned to its original state. He stretched, yawned loudly, and unintentionally shifted in his armchair, a creaking sound that woke Xiuyu.
"When did you come?" Sitting up from the couch, Xiu Yu raised his right arm and pinched his aching neck with his right hand. He couldn't help but complain in his heart, 'The couch is still not as comfortable as the bed. It turns out that the most comfortable bed in the world is your own!'
Xuanye stood up and walked to Xiuyu, and handed his reloaded bird gun to Xiuyu as if he was presenting a treasure: "How is it?" His eyes were full of childish boasting, and there was also a hint of begging for praise.
Xiu Yu knew that Xuanye had a strong learning ability, but a bird gun was not a telescope after all. Drawing the blueprint took her a lot of time and effort. How could the third emperor just put back the bird gun that she had "cut into pieces"?
Xiu Yu held the bird gun in his hand, looked up at Xuanye, and said jokingly, "Are you sure this thing you installed will work? Will it... go off accidentally?"
Anyone who saw this provocative look would probably have their heart skip a beat, and Xuanye was no exception. He sat down next to Xiu Yu, put his arm around her shoulders, and said, "You really underestimate your Third Master. Let's go to the training ground together and have a try, and we'll see what happens."
"You try? Or should I?" Xiu Yu curled her lips and shook her head, then waved her hand: "In my opinion, just put it back where you took it from. There's no point in hurting yourself."
"This bird gun is my treasure. You and I have tinkered with it and turned it into a mere decoration. This is really bad." Xuanye took the bird gun from Xiu Yu's hand and put it aside. Then he rested his head on Xiu Yu's shoulder and said, "I've been up all night and I'm very tired."
"You didn't sleep all night?" Xiu Yu was a little surprised, but seeing the dark circles under Xuanye's eyes, she couldn't help but believe it: "Even if this bird gun is your favorite thing, the blueprints are already drawn, so why rush to reinstall it? Besides, you just came back from the southern suburbs, aren't you tired at all?"
"I'm tired. Didn't I just say I was tired?" Xuanye seemed to be acting like a spoiled child, and his heart was naturally sweet. "However, I have something to tell you. I can't let it go because I haven't been able to tell you."
"Huh?" Xiu Yu was curious. "You're the Third Master of the Emperor. Is there anything in this world that you can't let go of unless you speak it out?"
"Your Majesty is also a human being." Xuanye sat up straight and took out the memorial that recorded the progress of the dam construction and handed it to Xiuyu: "This matter concerns you, so of course I have to tell you as soon as possible."
"This..." Xiu Yu was a little hesitant. After all, 'the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics' was the rule of the Qing Dynasty. As one of Xuanye's 'future concubines', she had to abide by the rules in order to live in peace.
Xuanye saw through Xiuyu's thoughts and said, "Since I gave it to you, it means you can look at it. Don't worry."
Xiu Yu was naturally curious. She held the memorial in her right hand, her eyes rolling as she asked with a smile, "So... did I really read it?"
Seeing Xuanye nodded very confidently, Xiu Yu opened the memorial and saw that the Minister of Works wrote in neat small characters how smoothly the construction of the dam was going and when the river problem would be solved. She was happy from the bottom of her heart and her words were full of joy: "It's really great." In her previous life, she devoted herself to building roads and bridges, and always felt that her knowledge was put to good use. Perhaps this time she could be considered not to have wasted what she had learned in her previous life?
Xuanye put his arm around Xiuyu's shoulders and laughed along with her, saying, "River management is one of the major issues I've focused on since ascending the throne. While you only made a few strokes initially, I can see that those few strokes are something the Ministry of Works couldn't replicate even after years of hard work. I have my doubts, but on reflection, even if they remain doubts, they don't seem to hinder anything. You're a good helper to me, and I have no doubt about that."
With every word Xuanye said, Xiu Yu's heart went up and down. Although she wanted to be the right-hand man of the Qing Emperor, she was more afraid of the doubts in Xuanye's heart. Once a question mark appeared in the emperor's mind, it would be a chasm that was difficult to cross. Once there was such a chasm, let alone being a "right-hand man", it would be very difficult for her to walk out of the Forbidden City safely without being treated as a monster.
But why didn't he ask? Did he just let this question linger in his mind?
"Your Majesty, actually..." Xiu Yu hesitated. She couldn't really take off her vest. Wouldn't that be the same as admitting that she was a monster?
"Since you're hesitant, don't say it." Before Xiu Yu could finish, Xuan Ye stopped her from saying what she wanted to say but didn't dare to. He slid onto the couch, grabbed Xiu Yu's hand and placed it on his chest, saying, "I told you, as long as you're by my side, it doesn't matter how many secrets you're hiding."
Xiu Yu gently leaned over Xuanye's upper body, touched the tip of Xuanye's nose with her right index finger, and said sweetly: "Although it's a bit awkward to say thank you, I still want to say thank you to you."
Xuanye simply hugged Xiuyu's back and let her lie down beside him: "I don't know why I trust you so much. If it were someone else, I'm afraid I would have kept my distance from her. Maybe..." He touched the back of Xiuyu's head, looking at her with eyes full of affection: "We have been friends for several lifetimes, so I trust you so much, without any reason."
"A friendship spanning several lifetimes?" Xiu Yu remained undecided. "Is it really that mysterious?"
"Yes." Xuanye hugged Xiuyu and closed his eyes: "I'm really sleepy. Stay with me for a while."
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