Chapter 11: Teasing her left Gu Xi completely stunned, her face flushed...
Gu Xi was so frightened that she stumbled and quickly grabbed the pillar to prevent herself from falling.
Xiao Heng had obviously heard the noise, but he didn't look up. A desk had appeared in the pavilion at some point, and he was sitting in front of it, holding a pen and reviewing memorials.
The two times Gu Xi had seen him before, he was wearing a dragon robe, the bright yellow always exuding an aura of authority without anger. But now he was dressed in white and sitting at his desk, the moonlight shining on his face, making his eyebrows and eyes look like those of a banished immortal.
This sudden turn of events left Gu Xi stunned and speechless. Now that she had no way to retreat, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and bow to Xiao Heng, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty."
Xiao Heng remained silent, continuing to review the memorials in his hands.
Seeing that he did not look up, Gu Xi made up her mind to pretend that she was a palace maid passing by and would leave quickly after explaining the reason.
She paused for a moment, then continued, "This servant accidentally dropped something here today and came specifically to look for it. I did not mean to disturb Your Majesty. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. This servant will take her leave now." She lowered her voice deliberately, worried about being recognized.
As Gu Xi finished speaking and bowed to leave, Xiao Heng, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "Did you find the item?"
"Your Majesty, I've found it! This servant..."
"Then come and grind the ink for me." Gu Xi was interrupted by Xiao Heng before she could finish saying goodbye.
"Yes... Your Majesty." Gu Xi hesitated for a moment before answering. She secretly groaned inwardly, but dared not refuse, so she could only lower her head and walk toward the emperor.
Now, Gu Xi only hoped that the veil on her face wouldn't fall off, and that the Emperor wouldn't ask who she was.
Gu Xi walked to the table, knelt down in front of the inkstone, and began to grind ink.
Xiao Heng never looked up from beginning to end, keeping his head down and carefully reviewing the memorials, as if the unexpected appearance of the "palace maid" had not disturbed him in the slightest.
On the contrary, Gu Xi was filled with thoughts and her body was tense, not daring to relax for a moment.
The croaking of frogs drifted from afar, and an occasional gust of wind rustled the leaves. These sounds, which Gu Xi usually found beautiful, were now of no interest to her. She only hoped that the emperor would finish reviewing the memorials quickly and that the night would end soon, because she would never dare to come here again.
Xiao Heng finished reviewing the last memorial with a flourish of his pen. He closed the memorial, put down his pen, and then turned to look at the woman beside him, his expression unreadable.
Gu Xi sensed that the Emperor was looking at her, and had been staring at her for quite a while. She felt uneasy under his gaze, but could only pretend not to notice, and dared not stop grinding ink in her hands.
"Which palace are you on duty at?" Xiao Heng suddenly asked, following her words.
Gu Xi felt helpless; things were truly not going as she wished.
While Xiao Heng was reviewing the memorials, she had just gone through a fierce internal struggle.
Gu Xi thought to herself that it was dark now, she had covered her face with a veil, and she had deliberately altered her voice. They had only met briefly twice, so she figured the emperor probably hadn't recognized her. So she steeled herself and decided to carry on with this lie.
"Your Majesty, I am a palace maid from the Laundry Department," Gu Xiqing said, clearing her throat.
"Oh, really?" Xiao Heng spoke in a somewhat casual tone, with a slight upward slant at the end of his sentence. "This ink is ground quite well, what a pity..."
Then his eyes fell on the inkstone that had just been polished, and he continued, "My Qianqing Palace is currently in need of a maid to serve with writing materials. Tomorrow you can go to the Imperial Household Department to get the warrant."
Gu Xi was shocked upon hearing this and quickly put down the inkstone in her hand, saying to Xiao Heng, "Your Majesty, this servant is unskilled and has just entered the palace. I am afraid I will not be able to serve Your Majesty well!"
"It's alright, let Zhao Fuquan teach you," Xiao Heng said dismissively.
"Your Majesty, this servant..."
"What, are you dissatisfied with this job at the Qianqing Palace?" Xiao Heng frowned slightly, his voice sounding a few decibels lower than before.
"This servant dares not." Gu Xi hurriedly lowered her head and knelt down.
"Is it that you dare not or are unwilling?" Xiao Heng countered.
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty." Gu Xi lowered her head further and further, truly afraid of angering the emperor. But she couldn't answer him. She now regretted not telling the truth from the beginning.
"I'll ask you one more time, which palace are you from?"
"Your Majesty, this servant...this servant is from the Laundry Department." Gu Xi replied through gritted teeth. She was somewhat puzzled as to why the emperor asked again. He had clearly heard her just now. It wasn't that she hadn't thought of taking this opportunity to tell the truth, but if she did, then she would have committed the crime of deceiving the emperor.
After hearing Gu Xi's reply, the emperor did not ask any further questions, and stood up with his hands behind his back in front of Gu Xi.
"Get up." Xiao Heng's cold voice came from above Gu Xi's head again.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Gu Xi stood up, her head bowed. She was filled with anxiety and dared not even breathe. She didn't know what else the emperor wanted to ask, or whether she could handle the questions.
"Does your face still hurt?" Xiao Heng suddenly turned around and asked abruptly, his tone unusually gentle, which startled Gu Xi.
Gu Xi was stunned for a moment before she realized that Xiao Heng had recognized her all along! He had done it on purpose!
Gu Xi was unsure whether to be angry or afraid. She was angry that he had deliberately teased her, but she was also afraid that he would punish her for deceiving the emperor.
"Your Majesty, it doesn't hurt anymore. Thank you for your concern," Gu Xi said somewhat resentfully, but her tone was respectful.
Xiao Heng stared at Gu Xi for a while, then suddenly reached out and touched her cheek. The veil covered his hand, gently brushing against the back of his hand with the breeze. His fingers lightly caressed the veil, feeling its soft and delicate texture. It was a little cool at first, but gradually became hot.
Gu Xi was completely stunned, her face flushed red, and her cheeks were burning hot; even through her veil, one could see the crimson color.
"Yes, it's definitely healed." Xiao Ran abruptly removed his hand from Gu Xi's face.
Gu Xi's mind went blank at that moment. When she came to her senses, she was both ashamed and scared, and could only hurriedly lower her eyelids to cover it up.
Gu Xi's heart pounded, fearing that Xiao Heng might do something unexpected again, but after a long while, he remained silent.
After an unknown amount of time, Gu Xi's thoughts gradually calmed down. As she relaxed, drowsiness crept in, and she couldn't help but yawn softly.
"I'm going hunting in the Western Hills tomorrow," Xiao Heng suddenly said, startling Gu Xi, whose heart, which had just calmed down, jumped again.
Xiao Heng glanced at Gu Xi, who looked as if facing a formidable enemy, and finally said only, "It's late, let's go back."
"Thank you, Your Majesty! I shall take my leave now!" Gu Xi felt as if she had been granted a pardon. After bowing, she quickly turned and left.
Before Gu Xi had gone far, the emperor's voice came from behind: "At this time tomorrow, come and grind ink for me."
She wanted to pretend she hadn't heard, but in the end she didn't dare, so she could only reply, "Yes, Your Majesty."
After Gu Xi finished speaking, she gave a slight bow and quickly left.
Xiao Heng watched her staggering figure gradually disappear into the distance, his eyes as deep and dark as the night.
He waved, and Zhao Fuquan appeared out of nowhere, hurriedly packing his things to return to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
******
Gu Xi woke up to a cacophony of noise early in the morning.
After returning from Bihe Garden last night, she tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. She finally managed to close her eyes in the latter half of the night, and now her head is feeling a little dizzy.
"Miss, you're awake!"
Gu Xi had just sat up when Zhu Yin came in carrying a washbasin, passing through the screen in the room.
"The Imperial Concubine just sent someone to say that a spring banquet will be held in the Imperial Garden today," Zhu Yin said as she prepared Gu Xi's toiletries.
Gu Xi nodded upon hearing this, her brows furrowing slightly as if she were pondering something.
The words the emperor spoke to her in the Jade Lotus Garden last night kept popping into Gu Xi's mind. She pondered the emperor's deeper meaning over and over again, but could not quite grasp it.
When she caught a glimpse of the face towel on the bedside table, she remembered what the emperor had done to her the night before, and her face flushed uncontrollably.
Gu Xi steadied herself and forced herself to stop thinking about it.
"Miss, what's wrong? Did you catch a cold and get a fever last night?" Zhu Yin pretended to touch Gu Xi's forehead.
"I'm fine, it's just a bit stuffy in the room," Gu Xi said, taking Zhu Yin's hand.
"Then I'll go open the doors and windows a bit."
Zhu Yin opened the window a little, and the wind blew on Gu Xi's face, making her feel much more refreshed.
Zhu Yin finished Gu Xi's makeup, styled her hair into a simple palace-style bun, and finally chose a plain-colored dress before heading out.
"Miss, what happened last night?" Zhu Yin still felt that Gu Xi was acting strangely. When she was doing her makeup just now, she called her several times but did not respond. She was a little worried.
"It's nothing, I just changed locations and didn't sleep well last night, it's nothing." He then gave Zhu Yin a reassuring smile.
Seeing that Gu Xi's expression was normal, Zhu Yin felt relieved.
When Gu Xi and the others arrived, there were already many people in the Imperial Garden, but the main seats were still empty.
As Granny Kong had mentioned during her instruction, the Spring Banquet was a grand event in the palace, where nobles could enjoy the spring scenery, drink wine, play music, compose poems, and revel in the pleasures of singing and dancing.
Therefore, even though the Emperor and the Imperial Concubine had not yet arrived, the palace banquet had already become lively. The more lively concubines had already begun singing and dancing in the Imperial Garden, while the quieter ones were either painting behind a screen or choosing a fine instrument to practice and exchange ideas.
Gu Xi found a corner away from the main seat and sat down. Listening to the laughter and chatter in the garden, she suddenly missed the time when she was in the Gu family, playing the zither and dancing with her brother, Xin Yao, and Xiao Che.
Zhu Yin felt a pang of heartache seeing her young mistress sitting alone in a corner. Ever since the incident at the lakeside pavilion, perhaps out of fear of offending Consort Wan, the other young ladies who had entered the palace with her had intentionally or unintentionally distanced themselves from their mistress. Even Consort Li, who had been on good terms with her before, was no longer as warm as she had been.
At first, she would stand up for her mistress, but the mistress would say: "It's only human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm. We shouldn't be too harsh on others." Gradually, she stopped mentioning it.
Gu Xi was unaware of Zhu Yin's thoughts at the moment. Her gaze was drawn to an ancient zither on a glass platform in the distance. She had seen this zither in the zither score in Chuxiu Garden before. Because its shape was slightly different from other ancient zithers, Gu Xi recognized it at a glance.
Gu Xi was very curious about who the owner of this zither was and whether he was here today.
Is he the one who played the duet with her at Bihe Garden?
A note from the author:
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