“I still remember you so cute and rosy back then.” He smiled, just like before. “I remember Zhao Qiyu from when he was seven until he was twenty.”
“But,” he said, his tone suddenly becoming intense, “why did you marry Lu Huai? Do you know that his nature is incorrigible? If you had married me back then, you would be the Empress now, why would you need to be a concubine?”
Qin Xi sighed softly. Emperor Yuxian said the same thing every time he saw her; she was tired of hearing it.
"But it's alright." Emperor Yuxian returned to his previous demeanor, a warm smile playing on his lips. "Now that I am the emperor, I can annul your engagement at any time. What do you say?"
Qin Xi twitched her lips speechlessly, thinking that he might not be quite right in the head.
"Ah, I know. Even a day as husband and wife is worth a hundred days of kindness. My beloved consort, are you perhaps considering our marital bond?" Emperor Yuxian seemed to have thought of something and suddenly realized, "You've seen it too. Husbands and wives are like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly away separately. Now that you've come to the palace with the imperial edict, he hasn't made any gesture. Don't you understand?"
"He doesn't care about you at all. The only one who truly cares about you is me." Emperor Yuxian smiled and shook his head. "My dear consort, think it over carefully. I have state affairs to attend to. I'll come to keep you company again tomorrow."
Qin Xi remained silent.
Emperor Yuxian stood up, dusted off his clothes, and said to her before leaving, "If you need anything, just send someone to tell me, and I will take care of it immediately."
He seemed to know that Qin Qi wouldn't pay him any attention, and left after speaking. When he encountered Shu Hua and Lele at the palace gate, he only glanced at them briefly and made no attempt to shoo them away.
Seeing him come out, Shu Hua hurried inside. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Qin Qi sitting there unharmed, just as he had been before.
Upon seeing that it was her, Qin Xi smiled slightly.
Lele heated a pot of water and placed it on the table. Just as she was about to do something else, Qin Qi called her back.
"Lele," she said, "go and see if there are any writing implements here. I need to practice calligraphy."
"yes."
In the vast palace, Lele searched for quite a while before finally finding the study. She took out the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, placed them in front of Qin Qi, and then stood aside to grind the ink.
Qin Xi lifted his sleeve, dipped it in ink, scraped off the excess, adjusted the shape of the brush tip, and then began to work on the paper.
Watching her fluid and graceful movements, Shu Hua couldn't help but stand over.
Qin Xi's handwriting was always delicate and elegant, but this time it was crooked and messy, making Shu Hua frown. This handwriting… seemed familiar…
Thinking this, she simply asked the question. Qin Qi raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised by her response, "You've seen it?"
Shu Hua admitted, "I have some impression of it. After all, I have never seen such indescribable handwriting before. It shocked me the first time I saw it."
Qin Xi couldn't help but laugh. She naturally knew where she had seen Shu Hua before. Back then, Lu Huai had written a poem, thought it was quite good, framed it, and would introduce it to every guest who came.
If she hadn't stopped him, Lu Huai would have had A Yu carry that calligraphy piece around the streets so everyone could see the literary talent of "Poet Lu".
After hearing her words, Shu Hua stared blankly with her mouth agape. "No wonder... I should have remembered sooner. Such ugly handwriting could only belong to my brother, besides Lu Huai."
Qin Qi was amused by her, and her discomfort eased slightly.
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