As white as snow and as condensed as jade

No matter where you are, days without hard work always pass by faster. The year, which comes only once, has passed in the blink of an eye, but the day is still cold.

Unlike previous emperors, everyone knows that the current ruler of the world has an extremely precious body, so even though the New Year has passed, the fire in the Qianqing Palace is still burning vigorously. The warm air is wrapped in a light soothing incense that makes people's bones go weak.

Ji Mingxiu lazily leaned on the couch, not even wanting to put on his outer robe. He just casually flipped through the memorials, feeling comfortable and lazy like a cat.

When Li Qingyun stepped into the hall, this was the beautiful scene he saw.

His Majesty was wearing a light-colored casual dress with the collar open. A jade belt around his waist formed an alluring curve, which also stopped the more wanton gazes from others.

"Lord Li, please sit down. There is no need to be so polite."

Ji Mingxiu raised his head, his dark hair hanging down to his collar. He put down the memorial, sat up straight, and pointed to the golden nanmu armchair on the right.

Li Qingyun was not polite and sat down next to Ji Mingxiu as he was told. From this position, he could see the jade-like white under the robe more clearly, as well as the faint light pink hidden in the dark.

He calmly took a sip of tea and silently suppressed the heat in his heart.

"I wonder why Your Majesty summoned me here today?"

It seemed like a perfectly normal question, but it froze the warm atmosphere in the room. The two of them were silent for a long time before Ji Mingxiu smiled and spoke to break the tense situation.

"Why? I can't even see my own Prime Minister?"

"I know I was wrong, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Li Qingyun readily stood up to admit his mistake, but just as he bent down, Ji Mingxiu weakly held him back with his hand.

"Why are you saying this, Prime Minister? I was just joking."

It is truly a typical template of a wise ruler and wise ministers.

After all this commotion, the atmosphere seemed to liven up again.

"Speaking of which, when my father was still alive, the prime minister was quite trusted by him."

Ji Mingxiu seemed to be feeling sentimental, and he talked about the past in a rambling manner.

"I still remember the first time I met the Prime Minister was in my father's study. My father was so harsh that I was scolded a lot when I was a child, but he thought very highly of the Prime Minister."

Ji Mingxiu was talking nonsense to himself, not noticing that the graceful curve on the corners of Li Qingyun's lips seemed to have frozen, revealing a subtle loneliness.

But he was not talking nonsense. His father did think very highly of Li Qingyun. Before he left, he did not forget to hold his hand and said that if the prime minister was not removed, the country would be in turmoil. This could be considered a kind of compliment.

"Yes, I am the son of a guilty minister. It is my greatest honor to have the late emperor show mercy to me."

Li Qingyun lowered his eyes and took over the conversation, hiding the emotions in his eyes.

"But I know that my father still has a regret in his heart, that is, the Imperial Master cannot assist him like the Prime Minister."

Ji Mingxiu sighed in a pretentious manner, "Now that the court is in turmoil and the Spring Examination is approaching, I am unable to sleep or eat without anyone to use."

So that's how it is. Li Qingyun understood it, and said that the reason why His Majesty suddenly summoned him to the palace, not to the Qinzheng Hall but to the Qianqing Palace, and used both kindness and force to treat him, was because of this incident.

Your Majesty is testing his strength in this way, and he just so happens to want to get something out of Your Majesty.

"Your Excellency the Imperial Master is a man of great talent. If you can get over your worries, I will be happy for you and your Majesty."

"Heart knot?"

"No, it's nothing. I just said something wrong." Li Qingyun stood up and knelt down under the couch again. "Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Although he kept saying that he had said something wrong, anyone could tell that something was wrong with the way he was trying to cover it up.

However, Ji Mingxiu had already achieved his goal, so he didn't care about anything else and let Qiu Ling investigate.

Moreover, the Prime Minister was much more relaxed about this matter than he had expected, which made him feel much better.

"This is not a big deal. I think it's getting late. Why don't you stay and have lunch with me, Prime Minister?"

Ji Mingxiu stood up from the couch, revealing a pair of well-proportioned and graceful feet under his robe.

He reached out for the shoe beside the couch but failed, and instead it fell steadily into Li Qingyun's palm.

Li Qingyun stretched out his other hand and grasped Ji Mingxiu's slender ankle. The blood in his body was almost boiling, but his fingertips were cold due to excessive tension and excitement. Even the blazing fire in the hall could not warm them up.

"Prime Minister?"

Li Qingyun's bony fingers were still a little cold compared to his soft soles, and he subconsciously shuddered and wanted to pull them out.

Didn't pull it out...

"Heh." Li Qingyun smiled casually. His Majesty's ankle was too fragile, with obvious bones and almost no flesh. He could wrap it up easily. This gave him a kind of extremely secret pleasure of insubordination, as if he was holding the bright moon in his heart firmly in his hands.

But he still gently stroked the flesh under his palm, forcibly suppressing this strange feeling, so as not to reveal any emotions that should not be shown in front of His Majesty.

"As a subject, isn't it normal to serve your Majesty?"

Not to mention that there were servants to do this kind of serving work, just seeing the prime minister, who had such great power and influence over the country, kneeling at his feet to put on his shoes, Ji Mingxiu was already a little panicked.

Did the Prime Minister take the wrong medicine today? Or is he threatening me?

Ji Mingxiu's thoughts were scattered, so he naturally didn't notice the slow movements of Li Qingyun's hands. Being able to wear a pair of shoes for such a long time must be considered a skill.