Chapter 37 Xiao Shenjing, do you like me?
Xiao Shenjing had not yet decided what to do.
He glanced back subconsciously, but didn't see Yunxi, so he asked someone to bring her over.
Yunxi knew that with so many imperial guards around, she wouldn't be able to escape anywhere if they gave the order.
He could only bow his head respectfully and walk toward Xiao Shenjing.
Xiao Shenjing hadn't thought much of it at first, but when he saw Yunxi walk out from the end of the line, he instantly realized that she was trying to run away again.
I don't want to stay by his side obediently for even a moment.
Yunxi was naturally not foolish enough to stand next to Xiao Shenjing. Just as she was about to walk into the line of palace maids, Xiao Shenjing's deep voice came again, "Come here."
The sound carried the coolness of the night breeze.
Yunxi silently rolled her eyes.
He walked over with his head down.
Only when she walked up behind him and he could see her out of the corner of his eye did Xiao Shenjing begin to walk towards the Qianqing Palace.
They walked in silence, the only sound the flickering shadows of the ram's horn lanterns bringing a slight disturbance.
Fu Shun glanced sideways at Yun Xi beside him and saw her casually straightening her back and turning her neck.
Recalling what he had just witnessed in the main hall, Fu Shun silently made a decision in his heart.
We must keep this Lord here tonight, no matter what.
In order to truly decentralize the land and ensure the survival of the people of Jing, His Majesty, after ascending the throne, has been trying to implement new policies with swift and decisive measures.
Even though His Majesty works tirelessly day and night, rarely resting even when ill, and is decisive and ruthless in his actions, the Jingquan era left behind too many problems. Beset by internal and external troubles, it is like a withered tree swaying in the wind and rain, just an empty shell that could collapse at any moment.
There are too many stubborn and intractable problems. Even with extraordinary skills, it's not possible to bring a withered tree back to life overnight.
If the policy of cutting down mulberry trees and restoring rice paddies cannot be implemented normally, the Jiangnan region will become a persistent problem that could erupt at any time.
The fact that so many court officials were willing to risk their lives to remonstrate with His Majesty, despite the emperor's wishes, demonstrates their current attitude. These people will be obstacles and will try every means to prevent the restoration of rice cultivation.
The scholars from humble backgrounds promoted by His Majesty are not yet firmly established and are not strong enough to contend with the conservative faction.
If this plan to cut down mulberry trees and restore rice cultivation fails to proceed, it will be tantamount to losing this contest between the old and new forces. In the future, these conservatives will become increasingly blatant in their collusion with each other.
Therefore, Fu Shun knew that His Majesty's mood was unlikely to be good tonight.
Although he never held grudges, this Miss Yunxi was the kind of person who dared to snatch food from a tiger's mouth.
With the thought of "better to sacrifice a friend than myself," as Xiao Shenjing was about to review the memorials, Fu Shun reminded him, "Your Majesty, what about your plan to punish Miss Yunxi today?"
Yunxi glared angrily at Fushun.
Fu Shun had already lowered his head, as if he couldn't see anything.
As expected, Xiao Shenjing also remembered this matter, nodded, and casually said, "Today, punish her by making her serve."
"Serve what?" Yunxi was startled and immediately imagined a bad scene.
Xiao Shenjing turned around and stared at her.
Seeing the momentary panic in her expression, he suppressed his displeasure and said lightly, "Serve me!"
"Your Majesty, this servant doesn't know anything. This is not appropriate. Please find someone else," she suggested with a slight smile.
With so many beauties in the harem, is Xiao Shenjing, that madman, really going to go insane again?
Yunxi clenched her fists. At worst, they would fight to the death.
Xiao Shenjing deliberately glanced at her from head to toe, making no attempt to hide the disdain in his eyes. "Indeed, it's not suitable."
“That’s right, that’s right.” Yunxi nodded in agreement.
Xiao Shenjing said in a tone of bestowal, "I am merciful and will give you the opportunity to study diligently."
Yunxi lowered her head and sneered inwardly, thinking, "I'm afraid you won't be able to enjoy this."
Throughout the journey, she was mentally prepared to fight to the death.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Shenjing led her to the Imperial Study.
Staring at the stunned look in her eyes, Xiao Shenjing chuckled, "So, what do you think you're serving?"
The tone was unintentionally sarcastic.
“I know it’s grinding ink,” Yunxi said stubbornly, “Your Majesty, grinding ink is a delicate task, and I am not suited for it.”
Xiao Shenjing didn't mind her calling him "I" and "servant" at the same time.
He knew that as soon as he mentioned it, she would immediately switch to Zi Shu's style, which was annoying.
There were not many memorials to the throne.
However, it contained several important confidential reports that needed to be dealt with promptly.
After Xiao Shenjing finished reading a memorial, he noticed Yunxi standing by the door yawning.
"Come here and grind the ink for me," Xiao Shenjing said, looking at her.
Yunxi rubbed the tears from the corners of her eyes and walked over listlessly.
She couldn't sleep well in the dormitory every day, and these past few days she'd had even more work to do, keeping her busy almost all day long. She was truly exhausted right now.
Glancing at the moisture in the corner of her eyes, Xiao Shenjing reminded her, "There are also rules to grinding ink."
Yunxi smiled slightly.
She knew it.
This dilapidated palace has strict rules; even taking the wrong turn can result in having your head chopped off, let alone in this run-down imperial study.
When Yunxi picked up the ink stick and placed it into the inkstone, she briefly lost her focus.
She remembered the inkstone she had searched for from afar; it seemed to have fallen before she hit the cliff, and she didn't know where it was now.
Perhaps because her gaze lingered on the inkstone for a little too long, Xiao Shenjing also thought of that inkstone.
For a moment, the warm pavilion was so quiet that only the crackling of the flickering candlelight could be heard.
It wasn't until Yunxi picked up the ink stick first that it made a slight knocking sound when it hit the inkstone.
It shattered the silence of the moment.
Yunxi is not good at calligraphy and painting, and he has no patience for writing, so naturally he is not good at grinding ink.
As the ink stick touched the bottom of the inkstone, she lost all patience and inserted the ink stick vertically into the inkstone, spinning it around vigorously.
The friction sound was deafening.
Unable to bear the harassment any longer, Xiao Shenjing gripped the memorial and said, "This ink stick must not touch the bottom of the inkstone, otherwise it will be 'touching the dragon's scales'!"
Yunxi paused, then couldn't help but yawn, and asked matter-of-factly, "If you don't touch the bottom of the inkstone, how do you grind it?"
"Clumsy and inefficient!" Xiao Shenjing scoffed, then took the inkstone from her hand and instructed, "Watch closely, this grinding requires three stops and nine turns."
Xiao Shenjing's hands are very beautiful.
His movements were vigorous and powerful, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged slightly with each movement.
Unlike the usual frail scholar.
Yunxi just wanted to finish grinding as soon as possible and go back to sleep.
They actually started learning seriously.
After she had ground a pool of ink, she said, "Your Majesty, I'm finished grinding. I'll take my leave now."
"Just wait for me." Xiao Shenjing then wrote with his brush, without even raising his eyebrows.
“Yunxi”
During this time, Yunxi forced herself to grind ink twice more, but her eyelids started to droop. When she was so sleepy that she could barely stand, Xiao Shenjing was still holding the memorial in his hands, frowning as if he was thinking about something.
After the midnight clapper had been struck for a while, Yunxi couldn't hold on any longer. Even if the Heavenly King himself came, she needed to sleep now.
So she ignored Xiao Shenjing and went straight to the rosewood couch by the window, where she lay down.
A gold and silver inlaid bronze incense burner hangs from the corner of the couch, its fragrance making one drowsy.
When Xiao Shenjing discovered her, Yunxi was already asleep.
She lay on her side, pressing down on one cheek, her lips pursed.
She was sleeping soundly, her full lips slightly parted.
For some reason, Xiao Shenjing thought of the way she licked her lips at the banquet.
I thought of that small, slightly red tongue that peeked out.
His gaze lingered on her for a moment before darting away.
After reviewing the last memorial, Xiao Shenjing stood up and walked to the Luohan couch, where he looked down at Yunxi and kicked her foot.
There was no response.
"Yunxi, get up." Xiao Shenjing kicked her again.
Still no response.
This time, Xiao Shenjing bent down and patted Yunxi's face with his hand. "Yunxi, get up for me!"
Her skin was smooth and slightly cool to the touch, and felt wonderful.
Xiao Shenjing did not remove his hand immediately.
Just then, Yunxi seemed to sense something, and before she even opened her eyes, she instinctively kicked out.
"Hiss!" Xiao Shenjing was caught off guard and kicked to the ground. He braced himself with one hand and glared angrily, "Yunxi, how dare you!"
Yunxi looked at Xiao Shenjing on the ground with a blank expression, then looked at her own feet.
He couldn't suppress the triumphant smile playing on his lips.
A dark and windy night for murder.
She immediately considered whether she should tie up Xiao Shenjing when no one was around, and then take the emperor with her and escape from the palace.
Xiao Shenjing clearly noticed the change in her eyes.
The true intentions are revealed when the map is unrolled.
He instantly understood her little scheme, his face darkened, and he uttered two heavy words: "Someone come here!"
Almost instantly, Fu Shun's voice rang out from outside the warm pavilion, "Your Majesty?"
Fu Shun pushed open the door.
Standing up, Xiao Shenjing pointed at Yunxi and said, "Tie her up for me."
"Xiao Shenjing, what do you want to do?" Yunxi immediately stood up from the bed and questioned him.
Xiao Shenjing stared at her and said, almost word by word, "What you tried to do to me just now, I will do to you now!"
"I wasn't thinking about anything!" Yunxi retorted.
"Heh!" Xiao Shenjing sneered, staring at Dao Yi who rushed in and scolding, "What are you standing there for? Why aren't you attacking?"
Yunxi is not the type to surrender easily; even when she's at her wit's end, she's the kind of person who'll fight tooth and nail.
It's a pity that the person who came was Dao Yi, and the warm pavilion was too cramped, so even though she was skilled in light-footed martial arts, she had nowhere to use it.
After causing chaos in the warm pavilion, she was still caught by Dao Yi.
"Excuse me, Miss Yunxi." As soon as Dao finished speaking, the rope was already around Yunxi's neck.
She tried to move, but was held down by two imperial guards and unable to move.
She glared at the man in front of her with resentment. "Xiao Shenjing, are you a gentleman? A gentleman uses words, not fists, don't you know that?"
Xiao Shenjing looked down at her and asked casually, "Why should I use gentlemanly methods against a villain?"
Yunxi said with a disdainful look, "I only slept on your daybed, why are you so petty and narrow-minded? You have no monarchical demeanor at all."
"You think I'll let you go just because you're trying to shift the blame and make trouble?" Xiao Shenjing chuckled, glancing at her. "With your fierce and aggressive look, you'll only behave when you're tied up."
Yunxi glared at him resentfully.
He had better pray that he doesn't fall into her hands one day, or she'll repay him many times over for all the humiliation he's suffered!
Staring at her wolf-like eyes, Xiao Shenjing became even angrier and ordered, "Tie her up tightly. If she escapes, I will hold you accountable."
Yunxi was thus bound hand and foot with her hands tied behind her back.
Even moving a finger is difficult.
Not to mention escaping.
Seeing that her slender body was bound by ropes and unable to struggle, and could only obediently let people do whatever they wanted, a strange light suddenly flashed in Xiao Shenjing's eyes.
A thought I'd never had before suddenly popped into my head.
He waved for everyone to leave, and then slowly squatted down in front of Yunxi.
"What are you going to do?" Yunxi sensed that Xiao Shenjing was in danger at this moment, and she desperately moved her body, trying to get away from him.
"What, scared?" Xiao Shenjing grabbed her chin and forced it up.
"What exactly do you want to do?" Yunxi couldn't hide the anger in her eyes as she stared intently at him.
Xiao Shenjing stroked her smooth skin, a dark shadow pressing down in his eyes. "You might as well try begging me to let you go?"
For some reason, Yunxi felt that Xiao Shenjing was more dangerous at this moment than at other times.
So Yunxi rolled her eyes at him, pursed her lips, and ignored him, rationally choosing not to provoke him any further.
As long as he doesn't kill her, there's always room for maneuver as long as she's alive.
She had to live long enough to witness Xiao Shenjing and Cen Yuwei's wedding, which would be a golden opportunity to escape the palace.
This submissive and unresisting attitude caused Xiao Shenjing to lose interest.
He was just thinking of calling someone in to get Yunxi out.
Looking down, he saw her shapely figure, bound by ropes, revealing her exquisite body.
"Xiao Shenjing, what are you doing?" His lowered gaze made Yunxi feel a chill run down her spine, and she immediately questioned him.
Xiao Shenjing slowly raised his eyes, stared at her, and said, "Throw her out and feed her to the dogs."
As he spoke, the man actually leaned down and picked Yunxi up.
The moment her body was suspended in mid-air, Yunxi stiffened and cursed, "Xiao Shenjing, you madman, put me down."
This person is capable of anything.
What kind of nonsense is it to throw her to the dogs?
Yunxi didn't want to die so undignified, so she struggled desperately to break free from his grasp.
No matter how hard she tried, Xiao Shenjing pulled his arm in and trapped her firmly in his embrace.
The overwhelming force that was impossible to control left Yunxi somewhat taken aback.
This person looked aloof and slender, unlike Dao Yi's muscular build, yet he was surprisingly powerful.
After a brief moment of surprise, Yunxi began to struggle again, "Xiao Shenjing, put me down right now!"
Outside the door, a group of palace maids and eunuchs saw Xiao Shenjing carrying Yunxi out.
After their initial shock, they all lowered their heads abruptly.
It was as if they were afraid to look at it even once more.
Xiao Shenjing didn't actually intend to do anything to her; he just felt that Yun Xi, with her rebellious nature, was exceptionally light and didn't weigh much.
But she kept struggling, cursing and swearing as if she were not afraid of death.
He was curious about where her boundless energy and strength came from, admiring her rich and varied expressions, never expecting that she would walk all the way to the entrance of the bedroom.
He originally intended to throw her down, but when Yunxi saw the fluttering gauze curtains inside the bedchamber, she immediately flew into a rage.
"Xiao Shenjing, why did you bring me here? Put me down quickly, quickly."
"Do you know where this is?" Xiao Shenjing glanced at her with half-lowered eyes.
Yunxi glared at him fiercely. "Nonsense! How come I didn't know? Hurry up and put me down."
The more she struggled, the less Xiao Shenjing let go.
Especially as she walked step by step toward the bed, Yunxi's expressions were nothing short of fascinating.
Xiao Shenjing, who took in all her expressions, couldn't suppress a smile.
His keen interest led him to take off Yunxi's shoes and throw her, her body still tense, onto the dragon bed.
The aroma of ambergris filled the air, and without thinking, Yunxi rolled to the other side of the bed.
Xiao Shenjing slowly spread his hands, letting the palace maids take off their outer robes, and said, "Do you think you can escape after you've gotten on my dragon bed?"
Xiao Shenjing is a madman.
Yunxi finally rolled to the very edge.
Her hair was disheveled, her breathing was rapid, and her almond-shaped eyes were wide open as she warily stared at the figure looking down at her.
After watching the palace maid remove Xiao Shenjing's outer robe, Yunxi suddenly raised an eyebrow and smiled, asking, "Xiao Shenjing, do you perhaps like me?"
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