Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Are you so thirsty?
The room was completely silent, with only the teapot still bubbling on the stove, emitting steam in a very regular rhythm.
It sounds inexplicably like Li Shuyao's "offline countdown".
Li Shuyao hid her hands on the table and twisted the hem of her clothes again. Her mind was in a mess. Sometimes she felt calm and helpless, and sometimes she felt sad and self-pitying.
After a while I thought about logging off. Maybe if I died I could go back.
Then I thought, what if? What if I can't go back?
Wouldn’t it be a waste if I died?
The thoughts in my mind kept turning over and over, and finally all turned into a difficult struggle between life and death.
After a long while, she blinked in confusion, and her pair of round, watery eyes like black grapes suddenly lost all their light in shock. Her bright red lips were tightly pursed, and her cheeks were puffed up, round and tender.
The whole person looks like a little pufferfish that is trying to suffocate itself to death by holding its breath.
The emperor's black eyes were originally as sharp as a hawk, and he took in all of Li Shuyao's reactions without blinking. But as he looked, his gaze for some reason shifted to her cheeks, which looked white, soft and easy to poke, and he was a little distracted for a moment.
Li Shuyao finally pulled a thread out of the tangled mess and decided not to worry about the emperor's intentions for the time being, but at least to answer the question first.
Then the eyes gradually regained their brightness.
She spoke slowly, probably still thinking, "Your Majesty, this servant and... Miss Guo Luoluo met ninety-four days ago. Back then, she had just entered the palace and was assigned to the maid's quarters. The maids treated her very well, but some people were not so happy."
"He deliberately excluded her and didn't talk to her when he was on duty, and he didn't play with her when he was off duty."
"That day, she was going to the embroidery room to deliver some cloth, and someone maliciously pointed her to a very long route. If she followed that route, it would take her over an hour to get there, and almost three hours to get back."
"I couldn't bear to see this, and since I was off duty and resting, I took the initiative to take her there. We took a shortcut and returned with the cloth in less than an hour."
"After she came back, she praised me for my intelligence and said I was kind-hearted and a good person. She wanted to be my friend. That's how I got to know Miss Guo Luoluo."
"Hmm... what's the next question? Oh, right, Your Majesty, it was indeed my responsibility to be on duty that day, but Qingyao, ah no, didn't Miss Guo Luoluo say that her mother was ill..."
"So I didn't have any other thoughts at the time. Later, when I learned that she had been appointed as a court lady by Your Majesty, I was actually a little sad. But it wasn't because I was unwilling, but more because I was afraid. I was afraid that all this might have been deliberately arranged by Miss Guo Luoluo... I was also afraid that after she became a court lady, she would no longer associate with me."
...She was instigated by someone to quarrel with the official girl appointed by the emperor himself. This was a violation of palace rules and could be considered "rebellion against the emperor".
Qingyao also repeatedly emphasized to her that she must not let anyone else know about this, especially the emperor.
Qingyao kept the matter a secret, so naturally, Nanny Jia would not reveal it on her own initiative. Otherwise, it would be considered that she had failed in her duty and failed to discipline her subordinates, and she would have no chance of getting the title of Nanny in charge.
As for Wu Yalianchu...she had no chance to say anything in front of the emperor.
So Li Shuyao, feeling uneasy, slightly modified it in the style of the Spring and Autumn Period.
But these words were not entirely false. After she came through, when she looked through the original owner's memories, she did feel the original owner's strong fear and anxiety at that time.
All the resentment and delusions that followed gradually arose after I listened to Wu Yalianchu's words.
All I think about is that Qingyao can do it, so why can't she?
If both of them became official daughters, wouldn't the gap be less huge?
It is true.
After answering another question, the next one is a free point question.
Li Shuyao let out a small breath, and her puffed-up tender cheeks slightly retracted.
The emperor opposite him also silently shifted his gaze and turned his attention to Li Shuyao's reply.
"I went to look for Miss Guo Luoluo today because, because I slept in today, and when I woke up, there was no food in the small kitchen! In order not to be late for my afternoon shift in the tea room, I went to Miss Guo Luoluo and shamelessly asked for some food..."
When she spoke, she had some reckless courage and spoke with great confidence.
But as he was talking, he realized that what he said didn't seem to make sense, so the courage he had mustered up quickly deflated and could never be mustered again.
When I got to the word "food", I suddenly felt like... a little useless.
"Pfft..." The emperor sitting opposite him actually laughed out loud.
Li Shuyao's mood immediately became as low as it could be.
She lowered her head, her hands clenched into fists around the hem of her dress. "After finishing her meal, I played with Miss Guo Luoluo for a while. We played 'clap one, clap two' and 'two eight, two five, six', which are all folk nursery rhymes from Jiangnan, the kind only children know. And they weren't just recited dryly. Usually, you recite them while playing games. They're not secret codes or riddles. Your Majesty, please understand!"
——Even though her mood had reached its lowest point, she was still thinking about answering the questions.
As for the emperor on the opposite side, his focus was not on replying at this moment.
He tapped the table thoughtfully, then asked another question, "How old are you this year?"
Li Shuyao: “?”
She looked up with a puzzled expression.
Then he thought for a moment, "Seventeen, Your Majesty."
"You're seventeen and still playing childish games?"
Li Shuyao: "..."
She puffed up her cheeks again, but this time it was not out of fear, but out of anger.
After a while, the voice said muffledly: "No, can't I?"
emperor:"……"
He shook his head helplessly and laughed, thinking that he had probably overthought it before.
His stern expression quickly softened, his eyes no longer sharp, and a faint smile appeared on the corners of his lips. He nodded at Li Shuyao and said, "Where's my tea?"
Oh, right.
I was so busy answering the questions that I almost forgot about it.
Li Shuyao quickly loosened her skirt, picked up the teapot that was still gurgling on the stove, quickly poured water into it for the third time, then skimmed off the tea foam, put the lid on, and with trembling fingertips, brought it to the table in front of the emperor.
At the same time, he said, "The tea is still a little hot, Your Majesty, please be careful when drinking it."
Then he asked, "Or, if not, shall I give you a fan?"
"What kind of fan do you want?" The emperor glanced at her and then looked at the bamboo fan next to the tea stove.
Then Li Shuyao excitedly pulled out a folding fan from her sleeve that was only as long as an adult's palm.
With a swish, her eyes sparkled, and a smile played on her lips. "Use this! This was given to me by Miss Guo Luoluo. Using this fan to serve cold tea to His Majesty, wouldn't it also represent Miss Guo Luoluo's concern for His Majesty?"
The emperor looked at the mini round fan, and even though he was calm, he didn't know what to say.
He silently pushed the teacup forward, and saw the little girl in front of him happily lift the lid and fan it with a very serious expression.
She didn't even look at him.
It was as if the cup of tea in front of her was her whole world. As for the king who was high above her, what was that…?
…
After cooling the tea, Li Shuyao put away her folding fan with a hint of excitement, and pretended to be reserved as she pushed the tea towards the emperor, meaning: Here, drink it.
This is the first cup of tea that Li Shuyao, a university student from a prestigious 985 university, brewed after she started working in the 21st century.
Even her biological parents have never drunk it.
If conditions allowed, she actually wanted to take a photo and post it on WeChat Moments...
As Li Shuyao was thinking about this, she saw the emperor opposite her pick up the tea and take a sip with an expressionless face. In one sip, most of the tea in the cup was gone.
Li Shuyao: “?”
Are you so thirsty?
No wonder he had to come to the tea room in person to get some tea.
She was wondering whether to make another cup.
The emperor put the teacup down on the table with a thud, then stood up with a serious expression. After looking at her with his deep black eyes, he turned around and left.
Li Shuyao was stunned for a moment, and suddenly remembered that as a palace maid, she had to stand up and bow to see him off respectfully.
But by the time she got up from the bench, the tall, bright yellow figure had already left the tea room, and not even the corner of his clothes could be seen. Liang Jiugong's slightly flattering voice could be heard from outside the room: "The emperor has come out? But he has to go back to the imperial study..."
The footsteps slowly faded away and disappeared.
Li Shuyao blinked.
A moment later——
Yay!
Saved a gift!
She sat back down happily.
*
It was late at night when her shift ended, and she had a whole day to rest the next day.
Perhaps because she had met such a famous historical figure, she was so excited that she couldn't sleep well that night.
The next day she got up early, tidied herself up, and ran to the back room where Guo Luoluo Qingyao lived. The two of them had breakfast together and played games for a while.
Li Shuyao just told her about meeting the emperor yesterday.
Guo Luoluo Qingyao was a little surprised: "You mean, the emperor personally went to the tea room to find you, and asked these questions?"
Li Shuyao nodded proudly. "Yes, thankfully I'm quick-witted and answered every question perfectly."
"The Emperor didn't even have the slightest suspicion!"
Guo Luoluo Qingyao smiled, her eyes clear and shining. She reached out and pinched Li Shuyao's little face, "Then you are really smart!"
"Isn't it?" Li Shuyao had already put her hands on her hips proudly.
Guo Luoluo Qingyao thought for a moment and then asked, "But why did the emperor want to see you?"
This is not the emperor's temperament.
Li Shuyao shook her head: "He asked me what I was playing with you. I guess he came here yesterday, but didn't come in, so he left?"
"And because you heard that the two games we played were a little strange, you came to ask me about it and have a cup of tea?"
Guo Luoluo Qingyao glanced at her, shook her head, and said thoughtfully, "But I always feel that it's not that simple."
As I was thinking about it, a bold and strange idea suddenly crawled out from the deepest part of my heart.
Could it be that the emperor has fallen in love with Shu Yao?
…
Li Shuyao saw that she was distressed, so he quickly moved closer, rested his chin on her shoulder, and rocked her with his arms. He whispered, "Actually, I guess he came here to drink tea because he was thirsty."
"But it would be too undignified for the emperor of the Qing Dynasty to ask a palace maid for water just because he was thirsty. So he deliberately asked some strange questions to make his case more legitimate."
This was the conclusion she came to after tossing and turning all night last night.
She originally thought it was impossible. After all, who was that? It was the famous Emperor Kangxi in history.
But...but what she wore was not real history, but a fictional novel about palace fighting in the Qing Dynasty. What kind of character Kangxi is depends on the setting of the original author, right?
So she read the original novel over and over again and finally came to this conclusion.
That's definitely it!
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