There are no secrets in the deep palace. The news that Xue Shu was reprimanded by Emperor Longfeng and dismissed from his posts in Xichang and Yumajian soon spread.

Xue Shu returned to his residence in Xichang to change his clothes, and when he came out, he noticed the hidden scrutiny of the Xichang guards. Those who had worked under him before had worried expressions, while those who had not followed him had some secret happiness in their misfortune.

He glanced at it, without much emotion in his eyes.

This is how it is in the deep palace, with tens of thousands of palace maids and eunuchs serving a handful of masters. The lower the status of the person, the more they like to flatter the powerful and bully the weak.

It seems that in this way I have become the master.

When he first entered the palace, he had no royal escort, nor did he have the money to buy connections. Cold stares and scolding were the least of his worries. If he met a female official or eunuch with a bad temper, it was common for him to be whipped or beaten with a bamboo stick for no reason.

Above him, there was a supervisor and a thousand households in charge of the Xichang. Previously, when Xichang was weak and he was favored by Emperor Longfeng, these two could not hide and could only do some small things in secret. Now that they heard that he had angered Emperor Longfeng, they might not be able to sit still.

It's a pity that these people's wishful thinking was wrong. Since he dared to offend Emperor Longfeng, he was naturally confident that he could regain his trust.

Thinking of the upcoming winter hunting, Xue Shu showed a bit of contempt in his eyes and went to Ciqing Palace without hesitation.

It was already evening when Xue Shu arrived at Ciqing Palace.

Zheng Duobao also heard about what happened in the Qianqing Palace at noon. He had just finished reporting it to Yin Chengyu when someone came to report that Xue Shu wanted to see him.

"Let him in." Yin Chengyu said.

Zheng Duobao said "Ah" and went outside to call for help. When he saw Xue Shu, he tried to comfort him, "But don't take it to heart after being reprimanded. Didn't you want to stay in Ciqing Palace to serve? Now you have finally got what you wanted."

Xue Shu glanced at him, responded casually, and strode inside.

Yin Chengyu changed into his casual navy blue quilted robe with a black fur edge around the collar. He sat at the table and slowly brewed tea, his every move exuding a natural elegance.

Seeing Xue Shu coming in, he waved away the waiters in the room, then raised his eyes and looked over: "Zheng Duobao has told me about the affairs of the Qianqing Palace."

Xue Shu lowered his eyes: "I did it on purpose."

He admitted his mistake quickly, but his expression didn't show that he felt he was wrong at all.

"I guessed you did it on purpose." Yin Chengyu was not angry, but laughed: "Since you want to serve in Ciqing Palace so much, you can stay here in the future. Zheng Duobao is old and his legs are not good, and I can't bear to call him, so your coming is just right."

He propped up his chin lazily, squinted at Xue Shu, and pointed at his legs: "Come over and massage my legs first."

Xue Shu walked forward with his eyes downcast, knelt on one knee beside him, and massaged his legs with controlled strength.

Yin Chengyu looked at his obedient appearance, squinted his eyes happily, and raised his hand to rub his earlobe: "You have been very obedient these days."

Thinking about it carefully, Xue Shu has never made him angry once since the earthquake.

Xue Shu paused for a second, then continued as if nothing had happened, only his voice was a little deep: "I will be obedient, Your Highness, please love me more."

If he were in the same situation in his previous life, he would definitely not be able to say such words.

No matter what the situation between him and Yin Chengyu was, he always put himself in the lowest position. It was just that he felt inferior to his status as a eunuch at that time, and he felt that Yin Chengyu was forced by the situation to endure humiliation and play with him. Whenever he thought of it, he felt furious and could not show weakness easily. He could only use all means to force him to say something nice to coax him.

But the result is always contrary to expectations.

Not until he woke up from his dream did he realize how wrong he was.

For such a proud person, forcing him will only push him further away. He needs to expose his weaknesses and lure him to come closer little by little.

Xue Shu hid the gloom in his eyes and used massaging movements, his fingertips lightly brushing over the sensitive spots on his legs.

Just as Yin Chengyu understood him, he was also familiar with every aspect of Yin Chengyu.

His movements were extremely gentle, and Yin Chengyu only felt that he was becoming more skilled in serving people. He narrowed his eyes in satisfaction, his fingertips lingered on his cheek, and smiled, "More flattering."

Due to the oral order of Emperor Longfeng, Xue Shu stayed in Ciqing Palace and served Yin Chengyu every day.

Originally, all of Yin Chengyu's daily expenses were taken care of by Zheng Duobao himself. He was the eunuch in charge of Ciqing Palace, and Yin Chengyu had not yet appointed a crown princess, so he had to take care of all the affairs of Ciqing Palace, which was somewhat overwhelmed for him.

But he was worried about leaving the prince's affairs to other people, so he had to work hard to take care of both.

Now that Xue Shu was here, he was thoughtful and considerate, and was also liked by Yin Chengyu, so it was natural for him to take over the prince's daily life.

Zheng Duobao felt relieved, but at the same time, he felt that something was a little strange.

Since Xue Shu started serving the prince, no one else could get close to him. Xue Shu helped him wash and change clothes during the day, and bathed him at night. He even made the bed and warmed it.

The eunuchs and palace maids who originally served the prince had nothing to do and could only do some chores such as cleaning.

Some people even secretly complained to Zheng Duobao, saying that Xue Shu had taken their jobs. There were also those who disliked Xue Shu and wanted to stir up trouble, saying that Xue Shu might want to compete for the position of the chief steward of the East Palace.

Zheng Duobao was a gift from the Queen, and he had taken care of the Prince since he was young, so naturally he did not take these words to heart.

However, when he saw Xue Shu carrying the foot-washing water into the inner room of the palace, he was still very confused. Even if he wanted to serve the prince to show his loyalty, he didn't have to take up such trivial tasks as carrying the foot-washing water?

Xue Shu naturally had no idea what Zheng Duobao was thinking, and even if he knew, he wouldn't care.

He carried the copper basin into the inner room, placed it on the footstool, and rolled up his sleeves naturally: "Your Highness is afraid of the cold, this hot water has ginger juice, soaking more can warm your body."

After November, the weather started to get colder.

The winters have been getting colder and colder over the past few years, and many homeless refugees have died of freezing or starvation almost every year. Although no disaster has occurred this year, Yin Chengyu has been looking at the memorials sent from various places in the past two days, and he has been worried. So he proposed to Emperor Longfeng to reduce the expenses of the palace and use the money saved to build the Shanji Hall, just in case.

Emperor Longfeng had a good reputation, so even if there were any cuts in spending, they could not affect him. If he saved money from the national treasury, he could use it to build more palaces or gardens, so naturally he agreed.

On the contrary, Yin Chengyu, as the crown prince, reduced all the allowances of the Eastern Palace in order to set an example for all officials. Now that winter has arrived, even the ground dragons are not lit, and only heaters are placed in the four corners.

Yin Chengyu has always been afraid of cold, and as the weather gets colder, he always has trouble sleeping at night.

Xue Shu then specially looked for a folk remedy, adding ginger juice to hot water and letting him soak his feet to warm his body.

"Why don't you call other people?" Yin Chengyu frowned but did not move.

"No one else can serve you as well as I do." Xue Shu smiled, took off his shoes and socks nonchalantly, and held his feet and put them into the water.

Yin Chengyu's skin was extremely white, and his feet, which had not seen the sun for years, were even more frost-resistant than snow, and the blue meridians on the arches of his feet were clearly visible. Now soaking in hot water, his skin turned red, and his neatly trimmed and rounded toes were slightly curled up, like a jade sculpture stained with crimson flower juice, every detail of which was exquisite.

Xue Shu's eyes narrowed slightly, and his Adam's apple rolled up and down for a moment before he controlled the strength and pressed the soles of his feet.

The moderate pressure made Yin Chengyu sigh in comfort, and his eyes softened as he looked at Xue Shu: "Don't do this again in the future. Give the prescription to the people below and ask them to serve you."

"I am willing."

Yin Chengyu was considerate, but Xue Shu didn't appreciate it. He raised his eyes to meet Yin Chengyu's gaze, his eyes fixed on hers, and his hands became stronger, repeating: "I am willing to serve Your Highness."

If Yin Chengyu hadn't noticed what he was thinking at first, now that he heard his voice so hoarse, he would understand.

He lowered his eyes and saw the changes in Xue Shu.

Young people are really hot-blooded and can't even stop at washing their feet.

The glimmer of pity that had just emerged disappeared in an instant. Yin Chengyu narrowed his eyes, lifted one leg and placed it on his knee, then put his wet foot on it and stepped on it with some force: "I think the force is not enough, what do you think?"

Clothes are soaked by warm water and become cold by the time it penetrates through layers of fabric and reaches the skin.

Xue Shu was so excited that he gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound.

"Then... use more force." Xue Shu's voice broke. He took a deep breath to suppress the desire in his heart that was about to explode. He lowered his head and continued to press the acupoints for Yin Chengyu, and lightly stroked them with his fingertips.

A slight itching sensation came from the soles of my feet and went straight to the bottom of my heart.

Yin Chengyu couldn't help but move, glanced at him again, and put more force on his toes, as if warning him to behave himself.

Xue Shu seemed oblivious to his warning and just lowered his head and continued massaging.

Only on the exposed arms, where veins bulged out, could one glimpse a hint of unrest.

…

Water cools down quickly in winter. In just a quarter of an hour, it was already freezing cold.

Xue Shu wiped the water off Yin Chengyu's feet before standing up. The hem of his clothes was covered with dark water stains and vague footprints could be vaguely seen.

Yin Chengyu was leaning on the couch, with a bowl of soup stuffed under his feet. His expression was full of mockery: "You just washed my feet, but you can't even stand steadily. It's not good for a young man to be so weak. I'll ask the kitchen to make you some tonic soup some other day."

Xue Shu pursed his lips tightly and looked at him, his eyes full of unsatisfied desire.

He never thought that His Highness would one day apply what he had taught him to himself.

That feeling... happy yet unsatisfied, made the crazy thoughts in his heart expand to infinity.

But in the end, he still endured it.

Xue Shu clenched his fists and bent down a little to pick up the copper basin on the footstool.

Yin Chengyu, who was leaning on the couch, leaned over and twirled his hair with his fingertips. His upturned eyes were filled with a smile: "Remember to change your wet clothes, or else you will catch a cold and outsiders will say that I have wronged you."

Xue Shu looked into his eyes and after a long while he responded in a deep voice.

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Big Dog Gou: I am not here to destroy you, I am here to join you.

Zheng Duobao:?