Upon hearing this, Huo Qinghe tilted her head slightly. She was sitting next to the Emperor and, fearing that his hands would be cold, she leaned her hand towards his large palm as she spoke.
"My Yanliang Pavilion is quiet enough. I only feel at ease when I'm in Your Majesty's presence. That's why I tend to talk more in Your Majesty's presence. Does Your Majesty find me too noisy?"
Pei Yuanhui's favorite thing about Huo Qinghe was her eyes when she spoke. He tightened his grip and covered Huo Qinghe's teasing hand.
Just then, Huo Qinghe came in from outside, and her hands were much colder than the official's.
Having spent a long time in the presence of the officials, she gradually became bolder.
However, Pei Yuanhui observed that she was only bold in front of him; outside, she was as timid as a quail.
But this arrogance, reserved only for Pei Yuanhui, perfectly satisfied the emperor's desires.
Pei Yuanhui even wanted to see what would happen if Xiao Huo had turned his fangs on someone else.
However… after Huo Qinghe finished speaking, Pei Yuanhui covered her hand, his expression ambiguous.
"Whether you like liveliness or quiet, it's fine. I like you like this in my presence."
He liked Xiao Huo's thoughtfulness towards him, and he liked the side of Xiao Huo that was only for him; all of this made Pei Yuanhui feel at ease.
Huo Qinghe playfully scratched the Emperor's palm: "Your Majesty's words are confusing me. I don't want either liveliness or quietness, I want both. I was too quiet at home, but now I've become much more talkative. I can't help but talk when I see Your Majesty."
She continued to say sweet words.
This is also one of the few times Huo Qinghe has mentioned family matters.
She wanted to become special in the Emperor's heart. Her initial obedience and devotion had been enough. Now she needed to start having more topics that only she and the Emperor knew, and slowly open up to each other.
But it must be done quietly and subtly, like a gentle rain nourishing the earth.
Pei Yuanhui rarely heard Huo Qinghe mention the Huo family. The last time was when he was ill, Huo Qinghe mentioned it once in a letter she sent him.
Pei Yuanhui became a little interested, as he rarely heard Huo Yiyun mention the Huo family.
It wasn't just Huo Yiyun; because the imperial concubines were always wary of mentioning it in front of the Emperor as if they were speaking up for their fathers and brothers, even Empress Xue rarely mentioned it. Consort Chi would only mention it a few times because of the Emperor's relationship with Chi Qinlin.
In this palace, the only person Pei Yuanhui could talk about family with was probably Consort Cheng, but Consort Cheng no longer had any family.
However, Huo Qinghe was an exception. She was asked to enter the palace by Huo Yiyun. As a concubine's daughter, when she spoke, even when she mentioned her family, it was not so easy for people to think of the Huo family.
Pei Yuanhui asked, "What were you like when you were in the Huo family?"
Huo Qinghe looked up and thought seriously for a moment: "My sister left home early, so my brother and I are closer. However, my brother is playful. He would climb trees to pick fruit and sneak out of the mansion to catch fish in the pond. I was very envious at that time. However, the fish that my brother prepared was always particularly fishy. At that time, the fish that my brother cooked was the one I disliked the most."
As she spoke, her brows furrowed.
In reality, it was not very convenient for Huo Qinghe to leave the mansion at that time, but her younger brother, who was small in stature and daring, often ran outside.
However, Huo Qinghe made all the grilled fish herself. At that time, there was nothing else, so the food she made was naturally not considered delicious.
Pei Yuanhui chuckled softly, "You, as the older sister, aren't you going to scold him?"
He immediately understood that Xiao Huo was referring to her half-brother, not the legitimate son that the Vice Minister of Revenue often mentioned.
"You, as the older sister, aren't you going to scold him?"
Upon hearing this, Huo Qinghe couldn't help but raise her hand to cover her head: "Your Majesty doesn't know, when my younger brother was little, he was very active, and I couldn't catch him. If I did catch him, he would cry, and I couldn't do anything about it when he cried. There was a locust tree outside the house at that time, and every time I would circle around the tree to catch my younger brother. Occasionally, my younger brother would climb the tree to get branches to tease people."
This time, Pei Yuanhui truly laughed.
"With your temperament, you were bullied by your younger brother at home, and now that you're in the palace, you'll still be bullied. What will become of you in the future?"
He was naturally referring to the time Consort Zhou punished her.
Upon hearing the Emperor's words, Huo Qinghe couldn't help but retort softly, "Your Majesty, my brother wasn't bullying me. When I was sick, it was my brother who went to find the pear syrup candy."
Pei Yuanhui was both amused and annoyed, and finally felt a pang of heartache.
Pear syrup candy isn't anything valuable, and the fact that Xiao Huo couldn't even take medicine when he was sick clearly indicates that he was bullied at home.
Even when Pei Yuanhui was a prince, life had never been this difficult.
Because of Huo Qinghe's words, Pei Yuanhui was also reminded of some memories from his time as a prince.
The Emperor was not the Empress Dowager's biological son, which meant he was not the legitimate heir. He was only made legitimate after being brought to the Empress Dowager's side and his imperial genealogy was changed. In fact, he endured a period of hardship for the first ten years.
The official's birth mother was not from a prominent family.
Pei Yuanhui couldn't help but tighten his grip on Huo Qinghe's hand.
Huo Qinghe simply and obediently returned the Emperor's hand: "Your Majesty... this concubine is craving some pear syrup candy."
Actually, I didn't want to eat pear syrup candy; I missed my younger brother, Jinghe.
However, he couldn't tell the officials that he missed home at that time.
Pei Yuanhui snapped out of his reverie. The two sat together, the candlelight casting shadows on them, their shadows slanting across the ground, warm and long.
"You only want pear syrup candy? You don't want fish soup? You're not worried about cavities from eating candy at night. How about we have the kitchen make fish soup?"
Huo Qinghe had no appetite for fish soup: "Making fish soup now would be too much trouble. How about... I see there's chicken soup for dinner, why don't we ask the kitchen to make chicken noodle soup? After talking for so long, I'm actually a little hungry."
Pei Yuanhui raised his hand and touched the corner of her eye. Huo Qinghe didn't blink, just stared at the Emperor.
"Is there something else?"
Pei Yuanhui shook his head and chuckled, "I was just afraid you'd burst into tears from your tone."
Huo Qinghe blinked and smiled, "You're going to be so hungry you'll cry."
Pei Yuanhui agreed and called Jin Yang outside, instructing him to have the small kitchen prepare shredded chicken noodles.
Since it was the official who made the request, it couldn't just be chicken noodle soup; some other dishes had to be prepared as well.
Huo Qinghe chatted with the official for a while longer. When the small kitchen brought the midnight snack, not only Huo Qinghe but also Pei Yuanhui felt a bit hungry.
Huo Qinghe pulled the Emperor up and walked towards the outer hall, then whispered, "Thank you, Your Majesty... thank you for listening to what I have to say."
Pei Yuanhui hummed in agreement: "I said I like to hear it."
Even if he couldn't hear the so-called heartfelt words, he could still distinguish between true and false feelings.
Huo Qinghe laughed even more naturally upon hearing this.
The two had just sat down when Miao Xi suddenly came in from outside.
He first glanced at Jin Yang, who was serving food nearby, and then spoke at the Emperor's prompting.
"Your Majesty, Lady Cao from Qixiang Palace has sent someone to invite you."
Consort Cao?
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