Chapter 5 What Went Wrong
Being suddenly hugged like this, a hint of imperceptible surprise flashed in Xiao Chenglan's eyes.
His brows relaxed slightly, his eyes fixed on the head lying on his chest. He curled his lips slightly, but his voice was calm:
"Jia Jieyu, what did you learn today?"
Jiang Yingli was stunned for a moment, then realized that Xiao Chenglan must be testing her on how she had learned the rules today.
"Oh, I've learned the elegant dining etiquette of concubines, the etiquette of welcoming the emperor, the etiquette of paying respects, and..."
"How do we welcome you?" Xiao Chenglan interrupted her.
Jiang Yingli recalled it briefly, reciting it like a book: "Upon hearing the announcement, one should immediately stop what they are doing, straighten their appearance, and gracefully proceed to the outer hall to greet the emperor. One should only stand up when His Majesty allows them to. If His Majesty hesitates, one should reflect on whether they have done something wrong that warrants accountability."
Xiao Chenglan quickly asked her to get up today!
Come to think of it, she has been behaving herself and has definitely not done anything wrong, so why should she be held accountable?
Seeing her smug look, Xiao Chenglan found it amusing: "Not bad, go on."
After receiving the affirmation, Jiang Yingli's tone became a little lighter: "After entering the inner hall, I should first help His Majesty change into his daily clothes..."
Jiang Yingli suddenly couldn't continue.
Xiao Chenglan looked at her with a subtle mockery in his eyes.
"Why don't you say anything?"
The face lying on his chest turned red visibly.
Jiang Yingli wished she could find a hole in the ground to crawl into at this moment!
It turned out that His Majesty opened his arms to ask her to change his clothes, but she understood it as a hug!
No wonder His Majesty never hugged me back.
"Your Majesty, I know I was wrong..." Jiang Yingli felt very guilty and quickly tried to get out of his arms.
However, as soon as she struggled a little, two arms came around her back and waist and held her tightly.
"What's wrong?" Xiao Chenglan asked her.
"I was wrong. I should have changed His Majesty's clothes, but I hugged him instead... But I really wasn't lazy! I studied hard, but I was just distracted for a moment. Your Majesty also heard me recite everything just now..."
As Jiang Yingli spoke, she raised her head and secretly glanced at Xiao Chenglan. When she found that he was also looking at her, she quickly tried to lower her head.
Xiao Chenglan pinched her face to prevent her from lowering her head.
"Jiang Yingli, didn't you change my clothes before in the palace? And today you've learned the rules carefully, so how could you still make a mistake? Why are you so upset?"
He knew that she had always been timid, and once she entered the palace, she became even more frightened and uneasy, as if the sky was falling, and she did not like it here.
But she had to be by his side.
So, at this point, he couldn't control her, she had to adapt and stand up.
The first thing is to let her adapt to her new identity as an emperor and not to panic, worry or alienate herself from it.
Thinking of this, Xiao Chenglan restrained his expression and said in a serious tone, "You are my concubine, how can you make mistakes even when serving me, huh?"
Jiang Yingli was a little flustered by this question and wanted to kneel down and admit her mistake. But Xiao Chenglan was still holding her tightly, pinching her cheeks, so she couldn't move.
She felt a little aggrieved for a moment: "I've suddenly entered the palace, and I'm not used to it. Besides, in the past, Your Majesty extended his hand like this, not only to change clothes, but also to hug me. I was distracted for a moment, which is also human nature..."
Jiang Yingli dug up the old things in Prince Su's Mansion and looked at Xiao Chenglan pitifully, as if reminding him that she was just doing it out of convenience.
Seeing her cute and innocent look, Xiao Chenglan softened his heart.
That's it. I finally remembered that besides being afraid and admitting my mistakes, there are two other options: defending myself and acting like a spoiled child.
Forget it. Although he wanted to put on airs to let her know that there would be no consequences, the moment he put on airs, she was frightened.
There's no need to rush to build up your courage, just take your time.
Xiao Chenglan put aside his deliberately serious expression, and his face softened. He loosened his grip on Jiang Yingli's cheek, curled his knuckles and lightly tapped her forehead, then smiled and said:
"Since you are right, why are you admitting your fault?"
Jiang Yingli heard his voice slow down and secretly looked up at him. Seeing that Xiao Chenglan was not as stern as before, she whispered: "Then I am not afraid that His Majesty will think that I am not studying the rules carefully and will punish me..."
Xiao Chenglan laughed faintly, "You're so scared, but tell me, did I punish you often in the past?"
Jiang Yingli thought back to the four years she had spent in Prince Su's mansion, her mind blank. The only thing she remembered was the image of His Majesty comforting her when she got into trouble.
She could only shake her head, but then she said, "But the prince is the prince, and His Majesty is His Majesty. It's different from before."
Seeing her drooping eyelashes and looking anxious, Xiao Chenglan hated the Jiang family even more.
The Jiang family never gave her love and raised her to be so cautious.
He also hated himself for not meeting her earlier.
She had been raised in Prince Su's Mansion for four years, and she had finally shown some of the brightness and liveliness of a young girl. But now that she was in the palace, she had returned to her old ways.
Xiao Chenglan kissed Jiang Yingli's trembling eyelashes and whispered softly, "There's nothing different. I'm not an unreasonable and incompetent ruler who punishes people at every turn. Besides, if I punish you just because you hugged me, wouldn't I be a stone that doesn't understand romance?"
Jiang Yingli had just felt wronged, but she dared not cry. Now, after hearing Xiao Chenglan's gentle and soft words, tears fell uncontrollably.
Xiao Chenglan wiped her tears with his fingertips as he said, "You were so engrossed in gardening that you stewed a pot of chicken soup and forgot to watch the fire. You burned down my kitchen and almost burned down my study, and I didn't even punish you."
Jiang Yingli paused in her crying, then buried her face deeply in Xiao Chenglan's chest and shut herself off.
"Your Majesty, please don't talk about such a shameful thing..."
Xiao Chenglan chuckled, pulled her into his arms, and patted her back gently.
"Next time you'll know. If you make a mistake in a small matter like this, just act like a spoiled child to me and it will go away. Why are you so nervous?"
Jiang Yingli sobbed softly, wiped her tears, and raised her little face.
"A small matter? Then what is a big matter? When can I act like a spoiled child, and when can I not?"
Her eyes and nose were red from crying, and her voice was a little nasal, which was cute.
Seeing her so pitiful, Xiao Chenglan's heart softened again.
"Everything you did in front of me was a small matter."
He paused, a hint of mockery in his eyes: "Besides, if you're such a coward, what big trouble can you possibly commit?"
It seemed like he was praising her, but it also didn't seem like it. But Jiang Yingli pursed her lips and finally felt a little more at ease.
Although, most of what His Majesty said to the concubine in the bedroom was just to coax people and should not be taken seriously, he was right about one thing.
She was his concubine and she just hugged him. There was no reason to punish her. She wasn't making trouble while he was handling official business.
Thinking of this, Jiang Yingli tightened her grip around Xiao Chenglan's waist and hugged him with confidence.
In the past, in Prince Su's mansion, Xiao Chenglan could only be held by her. In the future, many concubines would be able to hold him like her and listen to his sweet, coaxing words...
Xiao Chenglan noticed Jiang Yingli's drooping and trembling eyelashes, and naturally saw the loss in her almond-shaped eyes.
But he didn't say anything to comfort her. He just lowered his eyes and looked at her quietly, with complicated emotions in his eyes.
He placed his palm on the top of her head, rubbing it gently, resting his chin on it, and called softly, "Jiang Yingli."
"His Majesty?"
Xiao Chenglan didn't say anything else, just let her hold him.
After a long while, Xiao Chenglan finally said, "Okay, that's enough hugging. We still have things to do tonight."
Jiang Yingli stood up straight obediently, was confused for a moment, and then her face gradually turned red again.
Before her thoughts faltered, Xiao Chenglan quickly said, "You've strayed again. This isn't about sleeping with me."
"What is that?" Jiang Yingli really couldn't think of anything else that could happen at this late hour other than serving the emperor in bed.
Xiao Chenglan said sternly, "You have to write the words of instruction for the new concubine when she enters the palace."
When Jiang Yingli heard this, the sky fell again.
She opened her eyes as wide as she could and stared at Xiao Chenglan earnestly, trying to awaken his 'conscience'.
"Your Majesty, shouldn't this be drafted by a dedicated inner court official, and I only need to read it out loud? Why do I have to write it myself? I don't know how."
Xiao Chenglan ignored her gaze and said, "What's new about reading from a script? I don't like this trend."
Jiang Yingli was on the verge of tears. "But the new concubine's speech is nothing more than admonishing everyone to be virtuous and to serve His Majesty together as sisters. It doesn't seem to have any other new ideas..."
Xiao Chenglan smiled slightly, "Don't you understand very well?"
Jiang Yingli choked.
You dug your own hole and jumped into it!
Xiao Chenglan touched her head and said, "As long as I'm here, I can teach you anything you don't know."
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