Chapter 42 Chapter 42 “My wish is just like this…
On the other side, Guo Luoluo Qingyao didn't know that Li Shuyao had been called to the Qianqing Palace.
She came to talk to Li Shuyao as usual, but was told by other palace maids in the courtyard that Li Shuyao was not in the room.
When she was wondering, she happened to meet Concubine Tong who came to look for her, so she was invited to Chengqian Palace again.
When Concubine Tong saw her coming, she got straight to the point. "Where is the little maid who was with you at the Dragon Boat Festival?"
"Why haven't you brought her to any of the concubines' gatherings these past few times?"
Concubine Tong thought to herself that if Li Shuyao was not valued by Guo Luoluo, it would be better for her to come to work in her palace. She would first give her a position as a second-class maid, and when the first-class maids around her left the palace one by one, she would arrange a position as a first-class maid for her.
After not seeing her for so long, she actually missed the little girl quite a bit.
I want to see her eating with lively eyes and eyebrows while "carefully" observing the movements around her. When she sees someone coming, she subconsciously shrinks under the table and comes out after the person leaves.
Sure enough, it was because Guo Luoluo's status was too low that the little girl had to eat in secret, feeling extremely uncomfortable. If she were to raise him...
Concubine Tong unconsciously fell into a beautiful fantasy.
Fortunately, Qingyao didn't know what she was thinking at the moment. When she mentioned Shuyao, her face fluttered with a bit of awkwardness, but soon returned to normal. She smiled at Concubine Tong and said, "Your Majesty, Shuyao is not a servant of mine. She is actually a tea maid in the tea room of the Qing Palace."
"It was only because we were very close in the past that I begged the Emperor to take her with him to see the world at the Dragon Boat Festival that day."
"A palace maid serving tea?" Concubine Tong came back to her senses and raised her eyebrows in surprise.
Then he asked Qingyao, "Making tea is not an easy job. With her delicate appearance, can she bear to touch the boiling water directly with her hands?"
Qingyao had never known about these things, and Li Shuyao never mentioned them to her.
She hesitated for a moment, "Boiling water?"
Concubine Tong said, "The Emperor likes to drink tea that is 70% to 80% hot. He is so busy with state affairs that he often forgets to eat. Therefore, every once in a while, a cup of boiling hot tea is brewed in the tea room and placed outside to cool. When it is only 60% hot, it is poured out and a new one is brewed. Only in this way can the Emperor be guaranteed to drink tea that is 70% to 80% hot every time."
Concubine Tong said, "You don't even know this?"
Qingyao shook her head in a daze. She really didn't know any of this, and Shu Yao had never told her about it.
Concubine Tong looked at her with disdain and asked, "What do you talk about when you are together?"
Qingyao hesitated for a moment and replied, "We didn't talk about anything, just eating and playing games. Sometimes I would read to her or tell her stories. When she got tired, we would fall asleep on the couch for a while, and then continue playing when we woke up..." She snapped her fingers and was a little unable to continue.
It does sound a bit too carefree.
It was so beautiful that it didn't seem like a scene that would happen in the Forbidden City.
Concubine Tong said "Oh" and nodded in understanding. When her eyes swept over the clothes on Guo Luoluo, her eyes suddenly froze. This is...
She glanced at Guo Luoluo meaningfully. It seemed that the emperor was very fond of this official girl, otherwise he would not have given all the Shu brocade to her to make clothes.
You know, in recent years, wars have been frequent in the west and south, and the situation has been turbulent. As a result, the tributes presented from all over the country have become less and less. Last year, there were only ten pieces of Shu brocade in the palace. Six pieces were first sent to the two ancestors of the Cining Palace, and she and Concubine Nianhulu each received one piece.
The last two horses were stored in the emperor's private treasury, but no one expected that they would appear on Guo Luoluo's body now.
She thought for a moment and then said to Guo Luoluo Qingyao seriously, "You should go to Yanxi Palace less often these days."
She was afraid that Concubine Nara would get jealous if she saw it.
Although Qingyao was a little confused, she nodded obediently, "I understand."
Concubine Tong's mood suddenly improved. Even without Shuyao, Qingyao was not bad either.
Isn’t it very obedient, like a cute and clingy kitten.
She smiled and waved to the palace maid behind her, then said to Guo Luoluo Qingyao, "Recently, the imperial kitchen has developed a lot of new pastries. I think they are quite good, so I wanted to ask you to try them too."
The palace maid brought over a few porcelain plates. Qingyao took a closer look. Aren't these... the snacks that Shu Yao helped taste and then improved the recipe for?
So, the imperial kitchen took the snacks that the two of them helped improve the taste of and went around the harem to show their courtesy?
Guo Luoluo Qingyao was very shocked.
*
This is the imperial study in the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
After being held in someone's arms with her waist around her, Li Shuyao didn't dare to relax at all. Her whole body stiffened like a piece of firewood with steam coming out of it from all over.
Fortunately...
The emperor didn't seem to have any romantic thoughts. He just held her silently for a while and then placed her in front of the imperial desk like a child.
The tall figure stood steadily behind her, holding the pen in one hand and guiding it, while he read the entire question to her in a low voice.
Li Shuyao blinked her eyes, indicating that she didn't understand.
…It’s not that I didn’t understand, it’s just that I was too nervous and didn’t remember everything. I just heard some mumbling about a few feet and a few heads…
Whose feet and whose head?
How many?
She only blinked, and the emperor knew what she was thinking. Not only did he not care, but he patiently repeated it twice, and finally asked Li Shuyao softly: "Remember?"
A deep and magnetic voice rang in her ears, deafening along with her heartbeat.
Li Shuyao nodded again and again quickly, indicating that she had memorized it and could start answering the questions.
Let her go quickly, her heart is about to jump out of her chest.
So he rubbed the hand on her waist twice more, and then reluctantly let her go after a moment.
The man sat back on the dragon throne, picked up the tea that had been cold for who knows how long, raised his head and drank it all in one gulp, and the anger in his heart gradually subsided.
Li Shuyao was still standing in front of the table, covering her chest and beating "bang bang bang" for a long time before she began to answer the questions seriously. She first set the number of chickens as "A" and the number of rabbits as "B". She picked up the brush and began to write the formula, remembering to change all the simplified Chinese characters she knew to traditional Chinese characters.
As for those that she couldn't write, she would just use simplified characters for the time being. They were all Chinese anyway. Even if the emperor saw them, he would probably just think that she was not well-trained and had not remembered the complete characters, so they were missing some limbs.
She wrote for a long time with her back bent, but the whole sheet of rice paper was not enough for her to write on, so she consciously took a blank sheet from the side and continued writing.
After the last big word fell, she bit her lip and put the brush aside. She caught a glimpse of the bright yellow figure moving again from the corner of her eye. She was so scared that she quickly stepped back two steps, lowered her head and knelt on the ground, "Your Majesty, I have finished my answer."
Humph, she was already kneeling on the ground. It was unlikely that someone would grab her and hold her in their arms to touch her little hand, right?
She was thinking happily when suddenly she felt an unquestionable force on her wrist, forcing her to stagger and stand up from the ground with a confused expression.
The warm body continued to stay close, and soon returned to the position before answering the question.
Li Shuyao: "..."
She couldn't help but complain that it was a good thing that this person became an emperor. If he became a teacher, he would definitely be complained about by students for sexual harassment.
Really... Can't I explain the problem without holding it?
How can such a thing be possible in this world?
She is a human being, not a rag doll, okay?
Li Shuyao puffed her cheeks a little depressed, and found that she was being carried around like this. It seemed that she was a little used to it, and she was not as scared as before.
Only the physical discomfort did not diminish at all.
While the man was looking down at the questions, she quietly leaned forward, and her soft belly pressed against the hard edge of the table, quickly being bent into an arc of forty or fifty degrees.
The whole person looked like he was stacked up by someone.
And still continuing to work hard to fold itself...
At the same time, the emperor had already lowered his head to read her answering process. Although the handwriting was a little ugly, the strokes were a little sloppy, and there were some disabled characters with missing limbs mixed in from time to time, and the overall idea was a little strange, the overall answer was still correct.
This made him somewhat surprised.
He turned around and wanted to say a few words of praise, but was caught off guard by her strange posture.
A faint light flashed in his dark eyes, and after thinking for half a breath, he fully understood the intention of Li Shuyao's gesture.
——She was trying to distance herself from him and draw a clear line between them.
But at this point, is it still useful?
However, this stupid brain finally figured it out, so there was no need for him to bother hinting at anything in the future.
Thinking of this, a hint of a smile slowly crept up the corner of the man's lips. He stood there, quietly admiring for a moment the graceful curves exposed by someone bending over. His eyes seemed to be on fire, scanning the area inch by inch from top to bottom.
Finally, I couldn't help laughing out loud.
The laughter immediately broke the silence in the hall.
Li Shuyao quickly stood still and pretended that she was not the one who had tried so hard to avoid close contact.
Then, she blinked her clear and moist almond-shaped eyes innocently, turned her head and asked, "Your Majesty, did I answer correctly?"
"Yes, that's right." The emperor nodded, his eyes still showing his strong interest in Li Shuyao.
His gaze shifted downwards, his fingertips gently rubbed her waist twice, and after hearing Li Shuyao's scream, he grasped her tightly in his arms, then leaned back, and the two of them sat back on the dragon throne upside down like a stack of monks.
But... he was sitting on the dragon throne, while Li Shuyao was sitting on the true dragon emperor.
The True Dragon Emperor's hard thighs pressed against her legs, and his equally hard chest pressed tightly against her back. The scent of ambergris slowly approached, lingering around her fair and smooth neck, and his extremely oppressive gaze seemed to be tangible.
Like a snake, and like a cage.
Wrapping her up tightly.
Li Shuyao: ...
She was so sad that she could not even cry. How could this happen?
Before coming to the Qianqing Palace, she was still afraid that her deception of the emperor would be discovered.
After arriving at the Palace of Heavenly Purity, when she discovered that her act of deceiving the emperor had not actually been exposed, she was still cheering in her heart, thinking that she was very powerful and had successfully concealed the secrets from the people behind her.
But now.
No matter how naive Li Shuyao is, or how inexperienced she is in love...even if she hasn't eaten pork, she has at least seen pigs run, right?
What's more, she didn't read so many palace fighting novels and watch TV dramas in vain.
She, she is being noticed.
She was about to be promoted. From now on, she would no longer be Li Shuyao, the little maid of the Qianqing Palace, but...
What will it be?
She doesn't know either.
This is clearly not what is written in the original book.
Li Shuyao's mind was already in a mess. She wondered if Qingyao would be angry if she knew, and then she worried whether she had ruined the plot by doing this. Because she really couldn't sort it out, she simply recited some plot fragments that she could barely remember.
The man behind her, after carrying her and rolling onto the dragon throne, thought he would be met with violent resistance from her.
But unexpectedly, the person in his arms was motionless.
Just sit on him quietly.
Is it that he hasn't reacted yet, or what's going on?
The emperor has been on the throne for more than ten years, but this is the first time that he cannot see through other people's thoughts.
...It seems like some new experience has been added.
He waited for a long time, but the person in his arms didn't respond at all.
It's no wonder he did that.
So he lowered his head eagerly, pressed his thin lips against Li Shuyao's slender neck, which was as white as porcelain, and nibbled and licked it a few times. He was about to continue to rub against her, but the next moment, the person in his arms became extremely stiff as if struck by lightning.
Then she began to struggle violently in his arms in a panic.
Li Shuyao was almost scared to death.
As an emperor, does the progress bar always move so fast?
She thought she was just holding him like a baby, at most touching his little hands and then touching his waist through his clothes. After all, it was still broad daylight outside, and the ancients always paid attention to etiquette and rules.
Why, you shouldn't mess around in the imperial study, right?
So what was wrong with him…why did he suddenly start biting her neck?
Is it also so quick and exciting when other people fall in love?
Li Shuyao didn't understand and was very shocked. The shock was mixed with a little confusion and fear.
She suddenly felt that it would be better to be a palace maid. As a palace maid, she wouldn't have to be hugged and nibbled on the neck by others.
...Is the neck a place you can just chew on? There are major arteries there. What if you bite it?
She's dead!
Li Shuyao didn't know where she got the courage from. She was afraid at first, then became very angry, so she struggled even harder. When she finally climbed up from the man, she almost crawled around the imperial desk, then knelt in the middle of the hall, her voice trembling, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for my death!"
capital offense?
Where did this come from?
The movement of getting up and catching the person back stopped for a moment, and his hot head became a little clearer.
The emperor stood behind the imperial desk, his expression slightly awkward and unnatural. It was the first time he had done something that could almost be considered "forced", and it was also the first time he had been "rejected" so ruthlessly.
I should be angry, but... seeing Li Shuyao kneeling in the middle of the hall with her clothes disheveled and trembling.
The emperor knew that he had frightened her, and he didn't know whether he felt more guilty or unhappy.
This complex emotion came so suddenly that he didn't know what to do for a moment.
Just hearing Li Shuyao begging for mercy, he subconsciously asked in a hoarse voice: "What death penalty?"
Li Shuyao raised her head slightly. "Your servant, I don't know either, but violating the dragon's body is a capital crime. Although I didn't do it on purpose, it's still a capital crime. That's what Nanny taught me before."
"Since I have admitted my mistake, please forgive me, Your Majesty."
She was now angry and afraid of the man behind the imperial desk.
She was angry that he bit her neck, but she was also afraid that he thought she was being ignorant and would ask someone to drag her out and beat her to death.
——Just like in the novel, the original owner had a miserable ending after failing to climb into bed.
However, she still couldn't understand why the emperor in the original novel didn't like "Li Shuyao", otherwise he wouldn't have drawn his sword and put it on her neck the moment he saw her climbing onto the bed, and told her to "get out" in a voice as cold as ice.
So what was the wrong move for her?
At first, she clearly just wanted to be a little palace maid who lived a leisurely life, eating and waiting to die.
Li Shuyao was thinking, but the emperor was helpless and wanted to laugh because of her long nonsense.
He stood there for a while, and after his body gradually calmed down, he slowly adjusted his court robes, walked around the imperial desk to Li Shuyao, bent down, and slowly helped her up from the ground.
He almost exhausted all his patience and said to her in a gentle and pleasant voice, "You already understand what I mean."
"I'll give you three days to think it over carefully. Then come back and find me, okay?"
It’s about “thinking it through” rather than “rejecting”.
Li Shuyao did not realize the hidden meaning in the emperor's words.
She just raised her head with a surprised expression, and the moment her eyes met the black eyes of the person in front of her, she felt as if she was stung by something, and lowered her head in panic.
Then he replied softly, "Yes."
"I understand."
A hint of satisfaction flashed across the emperor's eyes, and then he let go of her hand.
After signaling her to tidy up her clothes first, he called Liang Jiugong in and sent someone to send Li Shuyao back.
*
...Why?
Why is this?
Li Shuyao thought about it all night, hugging the quilt, but still couldn't figure out how things had developed to this point.
It was a rare occasion for her to suffer from insomnia. After she got up, there were two very obvious dark spots under her eyes.
It looked like a sick kitten, somewhat miserable, but its beautiful appearance was not diminished at all, which only made people who looked at it feel more distressed.
Tian Jiarou was one of the people who felt distressed. She was shocked by the appearance of Li Shuyao when she got up, and her mind was confused and blank.
When she came to her senses, she had already fallen over and knelt on the footboard beside Li Shuyao's bed. She asked with a look of great concern, "What happened to the girl?"
Li Shuyao sat on the bed, shaking her head in a daze, "Thinking about the important things in life."
A major life event?
Tian Jiarou breathed a sigh of relief and asked again, "Has the girl thought it through?"
"If I could think it through in one night, it wouldn't be a big deal in life."
As Li Shuyao spoke, she buried her face in the soft pillow and cried.
As he moved, the bruises on his neck were completely exposed to Tian Jiarou.
She remembered where the girl had gone yesterday, how panicked she looked when she came back, and what Nanny Lin had said to her before.
Tian Jiarou gradually understood what was going on.
But I still feel a little puzzled. Being the emperor's concubine is something that many palace maids dream of but cannot achieve.
Why is the girl so resistant and conflicted?
She couldn't figure out Li Shuyao's thoughts, so she asked twice. Seeing that Li Shuyao still refused to speak, she had no choice but to give up the idea of continuing to ask.
He turned around and started a new topic, reciting today's breakfast in a leisurely tone.
However, this time, Li Shuyao obviously listened in one ear and out the other. Every time she read the name of a dish, Li Shuyao nodded slowly, completely lacking the liveliness and excitement as before.
This made Tian Jiarou even more worried.
So after Li Shuyao finished her breakfast, she silently mustered up the courage to go to the surrounding room and successfully invited Miss Guo Luoluo.
When she pushed open the door, Tian Jiarou was still explaining in a low voice: "...The girl is inside right now, probably still sitting on the bed..."
Before she finished speaking, her eyes met Li Shuyao who was in the middle of the room.
And Li Shuyao who was jumping around:?
Who, who is still lying in bed at noon?
The bad guy Tian Jiarou ruined her reputation.
After skipping over Pamela, Li Shuyao, who had regained some energy, had a fire in her eyes and silently clenched her fists. She was still thinking angrily in her heart that she must eat all the two chicken legs in Tian Jiarou's dinner tonight!
As punishment!
"Shu Yao, what are you doing?"
Just at this moment, Qingyao spoke.
She walked out from behind Tian Jiarou and brought Lingluo to Li Shuyao. Both the master and the servant looked at her with concern.
When Li Shuyao saw that it was her, she suddenly became as quiet as a chicken.
Biting her lip, she shook her head with a very guilty expression, "No, I'm not doing anything."
She put her hands behind her back, feeling very nervous and having the feeling that she could no longer be friends with Qingyao openly.
She...she's a very bad best friend.
No, it should be said that she is not worthy of being Qingyao’s best friend at all.
Li Shuyao's heart was filled with guilt, which made her dare not look up at Qingyao.
Looking at her like this, Qingyao recalled the few words the emperor had secretly sent someone to say to her yesterday, and she gradually understood what was going on.
Lingluo, who was standing by, had no idea what the two of them were thinking. She only wanted to make Li Shuyao happy again.
So, like a strong loli, she picked up the huge food box in her palm with just one hand and handed it to Li Shuyao to show her.
While showing off, she said excitedly, "I just heard Jiarou say that you were in a bad mood. I was thinking that eating a few sweets might help you feel a little better."
"I just thought about it for a long time, but I don't know what you want to eat, so I just took a portion of all the snacks you have eaten recently. It just so happens that the imperial kitchen still owes our young master a favor, so I didn't dare to neglect it and made it right away."
"They're all freshly cooked and piping hot. Would you like to try a few bites first?"
"Yes!" Upon hearing that there was something delicious, Li Shuyao instantly forgot all the random thoughts in her mind.
She had to confess to Qingyao, but as for how Qingyao would punish her after she confessed...
She would bear it alone in silence.
However, she still felt very regretful and sad when she thought that she would never be able to eat delicious food with Qingyao again.
So I just made a selfish decision: wait until I finish eating!
After Li Shuyao responded, they all walked out together.
Lingluo and Tian Jiarou quickly took out all the snack plates from the four-layer food boxes and placed them densely on the table.
Just as she was about to bow and leave, Li Shuyao called out, "Lingluo, Jiarou, you two should sit down and eat with us."
She wanted her "last meal" to be a lively one.
After all, there may not be such an opportunity again in the future.
Li Shuyao was crying in her heart, but she pretended to be happy on the surface, successfully deceiving the simple-minded Lingluo. However, she didn't know that her behavior did not escape the eyes of Guo Luoluo Qingyao.
Guo Luoluo Qingyao understood everything in her heart, but she still wanted to hear what Shu Yao thought first.
So he sat down with a very calm expression and glanced at Lingluo.
Lingluo didn't notice her gaze and her expression was still a little hesitant.
She wanted to go out and take another look around the house to avoid anyone eavesdropping outside.
Li Shuyao seemed to see through her thoughts. She shook her head and whispered, "No need to go out and look. There's no one in the whole yard today. They've all been called in by Madam Liang to learn the rules."
As soon as Tian Jiarou left in the morning, two old maids with stiff and serious expressions rushed in and took away all the palace maids who were not on duty that day and were resting in their rooms without saying a word.
When it was Li Shuyao's turn, perhaps they had received some secret decree, but the two men walked straight past her house without even looking at her.
After hearing her say this, Lingluo finally felt relieved.
But soon, she suddenly took a deep breath, as if thinking of something, "Why did Madam Liang let you go alone and not ask you to learn the rules as well?"
Has something major happened here?
After Lingluo asked this question, she was about to ask more questions in a hurry, but Guo Luoluo Qingyao, who was standing beside her with a calm expression, suddenly grabbed her wrist and shook her chin slightly, indicating that she should not ask so many questions and should listen to what Li Shuyao said first.
Lingluo stopped talking silently.
Li Shuyao: ...
She glanced at the exquisite delicacies on the table with a reluctant expression.
I originally wanted to finish eating first.
But Lingluo had asked this question, and it seemed unreasonable for her not to answer. Qingyao was so smart, she would definitely suspect her.
Well...that's it, goodbye, my dear little snack.
Thinking of this, her delicate and bright face drooped instantly, and she began to explain in a low voice: "Because, probably because..."
"Because of the Emperor's orders."
After saying this, she simply closed her eyes as if ready to die, and quickly summarized everything that happened in the Palace of Heavenly Purity yesterday.
Then she suddenly opened her eyes, her pupils already filled with a layer of hazy water. She turned her head hesitantly, looking at Qingyao beside her with a tearful expression, and said in a sobbing voice: "Qingyao, I, I didn't mean it..."
"I haven't figured it out yet. I only saw the Emperor once, in the tea room... The second time was at the Dragon Boat Festival. And after that, there was the time with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince..."
As she spoke, she held up three fingers and said, "Only three times in total. I didn't do anything. The emperor just, just..." At this point, she really couldn't go on.
It feels very difficult to talk about.
So he lowered his head in shame.
No matter what she said, she felt like she was quibbling.
So I’d better not say any more, otherwise Qingyao will hate me even more after hearing it.
She didn't want to be hated by Qingyao.
Li Shuyao gradually fell into panic and despair.
He didn't notice at all the increasingly bright eyes of Guo Luoluo Qingyao beside him.
She couldn't contain her excitement at all, and she grabbed Li Shuyao's hand. Her tone was almost like taking off, and she said to Li Shuyao in great joy: "Shuyao, did His Majesty really say that?!"
"My wish actually came true just like that?"
Li Shuyao heard this and said directly: "?"
Ah, what wish?
What is Qingyao talking about? Is she angry and confused?
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