Chapter 55 Chapter 55 She is not a fire extinguisher!
It took a long while for Li Shuyao to come back to her senses. She blinked and lowered her head, staring at the complicated knot in the little prince's hand for a long time, her fingertips hesitantly fiddling with it, not knowing how to start.
...She didn't even understand how the little prince had turned it before.
After a moment, she puffed her cheeks, shook her head with a depressed expression, and said sullenly, "I don't know how to solve it."
The little prince tilted his head to look at her and said, "Don't you want to give it a try?"
Li Shuyao shook her head repeatedly and refused to try even a little bit.
The little prince put his hands closer to her, almost digging his round body into her arms, and persuaded her in a sweet voice: "Try it, it's easy."
Li Shuyao: “.”
It's not easy at all.
But since the brat said so, Li Shuyao didn't want to create an image of a weak soldier who fled without fighting in front of him, so he stretched out his hand tremblingly, carefully pinched a few crisscrossed ropes, pulled, and successfully tied a knot.
Li Shuyao: …………
Little Prince: ...
Both of them fell silent.
Li Shuyao held the ball of thread tightly in her hand, her eyes wandering around. She really wanted to find a hole in the ground to crawl into, hide there for tens of thousands of years, and never come out again.
The little prince, perhaps sensing her embarrassment, pursed his rosy lips, his thick eyelashes fluttering slightly. Without saying anything, he quietly turned around and squatted in front of the assorted toys, rummaging for a moment before finding a new ball of cotton thread. He said cheerfully to Li Shuyao, "Don't cry, there's another ball of thread here."
You can still continue playing.
After saying that, he pinched the ball of thread with his little fingers and stretched it out, and something that looked like a ring fell out.
Li Shuyao suddenly came to her senses, quickly picked up the ring from the ground, raised her eyes and said solemnly to the little prince, "This is not for playing with a tangle of strings."
"How do you play that? Teach me." The little prince looked well-behaved and easy to talk to.
After saying that, without thinking, he handed the cotton thread in his hand to Li Shuyao.
The expression on his chubby face is very kind. He doesn't look like he is three years old, but three hundred years old. He also has a sense of having experienced some vicissitudes of life, and he treats everyone as a junior with tolerance and peace.
Li Shuyao suddenly felt really stupid. She had clearly said that she came here to play with the little prince. But now it seemed more like the little prince was trying to coax her...
She really has no dignity as an adult at all.
This can't go on any longer.
Thinking about this, she reached out and took the cotton thread from the little prince, stretched it, and then said to the three-headed milk ball on the ground with a very serious expression: "Your Highness, have you ever seen a magic show?"
"Magic?" The prince was stunned, a little confused. "What is magic?"
Li Shuyao changed the wording, "It's similar to the magic show under the overpass."
The little prince's eyes suddenly lit up, "You've also been to the overpass and performed magic tricks?"
Li Shuyao:?
She quickly shook her head and said, "No, I have never been there. I only saw it by chance when I was a child walking on the street with my family."
"Is it beautiful?"
“It’s beautiful.”
"So you learned their tricks after just watching them once?" The little prince's eyes sparkled, as if he had finally found an excuse to praise her. He opened his little mouth and said, "Then you are really amazing!"
"I don't know how to do it, and neither does Khan Ama."
Li Shuyao felt a little guilty after being praised, and she tightly grasped the ring with her fingertips.
The voice replied vaguely, "Well, it's not like that. I read it once, or a few times, and then I found time to study it..."
It is pronounced as "finding time", but in fact it means searching for some magic trick videos on the Internet and then learning from them.
After crossing over, she had intended to show off her magic skills in front of Qingyao, but she was troubled by the lack of special magic props. In the end, the only magic trick left was this "ring through the necklace" magic...
Li Shuyao thought that maybe it would work if she could use it to fool the little prince.
So she began to perform.
Pick up the cotton thread with one hand and let it hang freely. With the other hand, hold the ring, pass it through the cotton thread, and shake it up and down a few times.
The apricot blossom eyes looked a little nervous, but she pretended to be relaxed and said to the little prince on the ground: "Your Highness, watch carefully. Now is the moment to witness a miracle!" [1]
After he finished speaking, the hand holding the ring suddenly loosened, and the ring rolled down, but it did not fall to the ground. Instead, it somehow magically passed through the cotton thread and hung firmly at the bottom of the cotton thread, swinging.
The three-headed little prince standing on the ground let out a very cooperative "wow", holding his chubby cheeks with both hands, his dark eyes flashing with surprise and joy. He jumped up and down excitedly on the spot for several times, then shouted to Li Shuyao in a clear voice: "I, I want to learn too!"
"Aunt Shuyao, please teach me."
When the words "Aunt Shuyao" were uttered, Li Shuyao was a little stunned, and subconsciously wondered in her heart whether this broke the palace rules.
...It seems not.
During this period in the Qing Dynasty, "Gugu" and "Banban" were both relatively respectful terms for the palace ladies.
She was quickly relieved.
Pursing her lips, she squatted down with a somewhat shy expression. With one hand, she took the little prince's lotus-shaped hand, and with the other hand, she placed the cotton thread and the ring in his palm. After teaching him step by step, she said to the little prince, "To be honest, it's actually a bit difficult to learn. The main thing is that you have to find the right angle when you let go of your hand at the beginning, otherwise it will be difficult to hang the ring when it falls down."
She also wanted to say, "It took me more than ten times to learn the trick."
Then, before he could utter the last sentence, the little prince excitedly let go of the ring. The silver ring fell straight down due to the influence of gravity, and finally hung steadily at the bottom of the cotton thread, swaying in an extremely arrogant arc.
Li Shuyao:?
She said in a very tactful tone: "It's possible that it happened by chance..."
Before he finished speaking, the little prince had already untied the ring with his nimble fingers and hung it again, and it was successful again.
He forgot about Li Shuyao's existence for a moment, and kept moving his hands over and over again. No matter how he loosened his grip, the ring could still pass through the cotton thread steadily...
Li Shuyao felt even more numb.
Is this talent?
These days where the elders are inferior to the younger ones...
Never mind, she gradually got used to it.
If she can't compete, then so be it. There are so many geniuses in the world. If she had been dwelling on these things every day, she would have exhausted herself to death long ago.
Li Shuyao knew that her brain was not very flexible, but she had a strong mentality.
To be honest, if we compare the size of her heart, it would be the entire Forbidden City... Never mind, it's too big, let's just compare it to the entire Palace of Heavenly Purity. I guess not many people can compare to hers!
Isn't this also her advantage?
Li Shuyao quickly adjusted her attitude and followed beside him, smiling and applauding the little prince.
After that, he played with the toys in the room with him for a while. Finally, the little prince looked at the charcoal stick in Li Shuyao's box with a sense of unsatisfied interest.
He curled up in a very relaxed manner, snuggled into Li Shuyao's arms, tugged at her sleeves, and asked in a milky voice, "Aunt Shuyao, you haven't told me yet, how are we going to dance in the house?"
Li Shuyao held him in one hand and took the charcoal stick with the other. She turned her head and looked around the room for a moment before she said, "Let's go play outside."
The sun was strong in the yard, and hopscotch required jumping around on one foot, so she was afraid that the little prince would get heatstroke.
But it’s different indoors.
The two walked out of the toy house hand in hand and came to the outer room where Li Shuyao first saluted the little prince. Li Shuyao first moved all the chairs in the room to the corner.
Then he squatted down and used a charcoal stick to draw three stacked squares on the green tiles, followed by two squares, then another square, and then two squares. He then began to draw winding curves, Z-shaped lines, parallel lines, perpendicular parallel lines, circles and frames, spiral lines, and some one, two, three, four, palm and foot shapes, and ended with a winding line. [2]
She simply painted all over the outer floor.
After finishing the drawing, she threw away the lines in her hand with a look of satisfaction, clapped her hands, and said to the little prince who had a dull expression beside her: "Your Highness, let me demonstrate it to you first?"
As he spoke, he glanced cautiously toward the door. Seeing that it was quiet outside and no one was peeping, he walked confidently to the three squares he had drawn at the beginning. He hopped across the three squares on one foot, then switched from two feet to one foot, turning and turning along the curve...
Little Prince: “…”
So this is "hopscotch".
When playing hopscotch, you are not jumping on real houses, but on drawn houses.
But... this doesn't look like a house.
The little prince frowned quietly and thought for a moment with a serious expression.
Forget it, Aunt Shu Yao said it’s a house, so it’s a house.
He sighed silently in his heart, then raised his little head and carefully observed how Li Shuyao played hopscotch.
outside the house.
Nanny Lin and Nanny Ling, who were half-squatting and peeping into the room through the crack in the door, were both stunned.
The same was true for the palace maids who served the little prince.
A drop of sweat quickly slid down He Zhuer's forehead. This... His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is still young and can't do it yet. He can't hop on one leg.
What should I do now?
If he doesn't dance well, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will feel ashamed and will practice hard in secret and will not stop until he has mastered it.
But you can jump well...
He Zhuer looked at the female official who was jumping around inside with an obviously happy expression, and he was very confused. What was so fun about this?
inside the house.
Li Shuyao finally jumped to the finish line.
The expression on the delicate little face instantly blossomed into a bright smile.
She exaggeratedly placed her hands on her waist, turned around and smiled at the little prince, "That's it. Your Highness, do you understand?"
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. You'll get it after you dance once."
"Come and stand here. I will dance with you."
Without saying anything, she pinched the little prince's hand and brought him to the starting point. Her apricot-colored eyes were full of anticipation as she stared at him without blinking, as if urging him, "Dance."
"It's very simple."
Is it simple...?
The little prince lowered his head and looked at his feet.
Then she lifted one of her little feet tremblingly, and her round body immediately lost its balance and stood still, like a tumbler doll swaying from side to side.
Li Shuyao looked at it, her expression stunned.
Eh?
At this moment, the little prince suddenly moved, like a little bird that was just learning to fly. He mustered up the courage to jump forward on one foot, and his feet and hands landed on the ground together.
Li Shuyao blinked.
Wow.
The little prince instantly became reserved and frustrated. He supported himself with his hands and stood up from the ground. His big, round eyes like black grapes timidly glanced at Li Shuyao, "Is this a violation of the rules?"
Li Shuyao: "..."
She nodded. "Yes, you can only place one foot on one grid, and two grids can only place two feet."
"Your Highness the Crown Prince..."
She wanted to say that this was not okay, but then she thought again, the three-year-old kid can't hop on one leg yet.
Forget jumping, I can't even stand steadily.
What's the difference between asking him to jump three squares in a row and asking Li Shuyao to go to heaven and earth?
They are all equally difficult.
Thinking about it, Li Shuyao glanced at the lines on the ground and felt that he was probably doing something unnecessary.
If she had known that the little prince was so weak, why would she have drawn so many lines and patterns?
Just drawing a few squares is enough to keep the little prince entertained for a whole day.
Li Shuyao wanted to persuade the little guy on the ground to give up.
But before she could say anything, the three-headed kid retreated to his original position with a calm expression, then raised one foot, took a deep breath, and continued to pounce forward, but this time he did not land on both feet.
Because his whole body fell out!
Li Shuyao was watching from the side with fear and trepidation, and the palace maids who were peeping outside the room were all sweating in their palms.
After seeing Li Shuyao "risking her life" to protect His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the palace ladies quietly loosened their clenched palms and let out a long sigh.
I felt like my heart almost jumped out of my chest for a moment.
In the room, Li Shuyao, who was frantically picking up the kid from the ground, had her heart pounding violently.
She licked her lips, which had become dry due to nervousness, and tried to persuade him, "Your Highness, why don't you just forget it?"
The little prince was very calm. He glanced at her with a look of neither sadness nor joy. "Don't panic. It's just a fall. It's no big deal."
It’s no big deal for you, but it’s a big deal for us!
At this moment, Li Shuyao and the palace maids who were peeping outside the house were all in turmoil.
Li Shuyao regretted it.
She didn't expect that a simple game like hopscotch could stump the little prince.
At this moment, she didn't feel any joy in her heart.
——After all, the kid is only three years old. What is there for her to be proud of if he wins?
Even a little ashamed...
Thinking of this, Li Shuyao silently hugged the little guy's soft body tighter.
Then he turned around and placed him at the starting line. He came up with what he thought was a clever idea and bent down to ask the kid, "How about this, Your Highness, take this slave's hand and jump over first?"
The little prince looked at her with his dark eyes and shook his head.
With a serious face, he said in a deep voice, "No, I can learn it."
"I am the crown prince, the heir chosen by the Khan. I will shoulder the responsibility of governing the country. If I can't even do a simple thing like this, how can I become a great man in the future?"
Li Shuyao: ...
Good, good, great.
But this does not conflict with holding her hand.
It's not just this one jump.
Li Shuyao squatted down and continued to explain to him patiently. She first held her hand and danced once to get a feel for it. After she got the feeling, she let go of her hand and danced by herself.
The little prince still shook his head, "I have found the feeling."
Li Shuyao didn't believe it and thought he was bragging.
Just like the bragging in the diary that the emperor gave her before, about shooting a deer at the age of five and catching a tiger at the age of ten...
Li Shuyao continued to persuade her tirelessly.
The little prince, however, still put his hands behind his back, pursed his lips, and pouting his cheeks, refusing to agree to hold her hand.
The kid is a little too stubborn.
Li Shuyao felt a little headache.
The two of them just stood there in a stalemate.
After an unknown amount of time, Li Shuyao was the first to compromise. "Then you can jump. I will protect you from the side."
Her voice didn't sound as lively as before, and her back looked a little depressed as she stood up and left.
Like a dog that was not trusted, he retreated a few steps with his shoulders drooped, walked to the edge of the grid, and stretched out his hands slightly, making a posture for protection.
The little prince pursed his lips.
He felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, but he didn't actually dislike the little palace maid.
It's just that he wanted too much to prove that he could do it.
...If my eldest brother can do it, then naturally he can do it too.
Thinking of this, he took a deep breath and lifted up one of his little feet, but this time it was not as shaky as the first time.
He stared at the small grid in front of him and jumped with all his might. This time he stood steadily in the small grid, without his feet touching the ground, nor did he fall out in a ball.
He did it!
The little prince was stunned at first, but then a smile appeared on his chubby face. He said to Li Shuyao with bright eyes, "Aunt Shuyao, look, I can do it! I jumped over!"
When he got excited, he wanted to jump up and down on the spot.
So he "broke the rules" again.
Li Shuyao drove him back to the starting line with a serious face.
Li Shuyao was actually very happy for the little guy, but after being happy, an emotion called "guilt" gradually emerged in her heart.
She shouldn't have looked down on the little prince before.
If only I could trust him just once.
The little prince is really amazing. He was able to maintain his balance after only three attempts.
Think about yourself again.
Li Shuyao felt more and more useless.
so……
She decided to go back and study hard to learn big characters.
Never do things half-heartedly like before.
One day, she will impress Qingyao and the emperor.
Humph, just wait!
…
Li Shuyao played with the little prince until the sun set.
When the orange-pink sunset quietly climbed above the vermilion palace wall, Nanny Lin came over with a nervous look on her face and urged Li Shuyao.
"Xiao Fuzi just came over to report that the adults in the imperial study have almost all left, and we estimate that it will be finished in another quarter of an hour."
"My lady, please come back with me quickly. You still need to bathe and change clothes. You can't keep the emperor waiting for too long."
The little prince, who was sitting on the ground playing with toys, seemed to have heard some strange words. He raised his head curiously, blinked his eyes and asked Ling Ma: "Young Master?"
What young master?
At this time, Nanny Ling coughed lightly, lowered her head and explained to him gently that Li Shuyao was now the emperor's concubine and no longer the little palace maid she used to be.
The reason why she could come and play with him today was probably because the emperor had made a promise before. In addition, in the morning, the court suddenly received a battle report from the front line, and the emperor was busy for a while, so he sent Li Shuyao here to play with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to kill time.
The young prince was very surprised after hearing this. He took Ling Ma's hand and asked her, "Then Aunt Shuyao can't come again in the future?"
He felt quite sorry about that.
Thinking about it, he turned his head and looked at Li Shuyao's gradually leaving back with some reluctance.
Matron Ling first corrected his way of addressing Aunt Shuyao: "Your Highness, please address Little Lady Li as Empress Li from now on."
Calling her sooner or later is the same thing. Maybe the next time they meet, Li Shuyao will already be the real mistress of the harem?
Nanny Ling knew very well that based on the emperor's current fondness for Li Shuyao, as long as she did not rebel, she would definitely be given the position of concubine in the future. Therefore, it was not wrong for the little prince to call her "Empress". He could not call her "Li Shu's Mother" or "Li's Mother", right?
Of course, if the emperor didn't give me the position of concubine...
Thinking about it, Ling Ma added, "Or you can call her Little Master Li."
Little Prince: “…”
He suddenly felt that the toy in his hand was no longer fun.
He bit his lip and asked Ling Mama, "So, will Li Shuyao be Khan Ama's woman from now on?"
He actually called me by my name directly.
Nanny Ling was a little frightened by his words and did not answer immediately.
The young prince seemed to be talking to himself, "If she becomes Khan Ama's concubine in the future, she will give birth to children for him, right?"
"Once you have your own child, you will make all plans for him and will no longer be close to me, right? You may even regard me as a thorn in your side..." As the little prince spoke, his chubby face quickly cooled down.
Nanny Ling felt like her heart was about to jump out of her throat.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is only three years old now, who taught him these words?!
She quickly knelt on the ground, "Your Highness, please don't say these things carelessly!"
The three-headed little ball had his hands behind his back, his expression looking inexplicably stern and cold, with a light flashing in his dark eyes, and no one knew what he was thinking.
After a while, he called out in a deep voice, then kicked the toys on the ground away with a slightly depressed look, and said in a low voice, "Liar."
I don't know who he is talking about.
Nanny Ling stood up from the ground tremblingly, bent down, picked up the toy that was kicked two steps away by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and carefully put it into the box.
When I heard the two words that the Crown Prince muttered, my heart sank quickly.
There must be people sent by Hesheli in Zhaoren Palace!
She also needs to inform the emperor in time.
…
Li Shuyao didn't know that after she left, the "little friend" she had played with for a whole day suddenly turned against her.
She was carried back to the East Warm Room by the anxious Nanny Lin like a chicken, and then pressed into the bathtub with Nanny Lin's hands like a duckling, washing her again and again.
The faces of the palace maids serving around were full of anxiety.
She was the only one confused.
Not long after, she was fished out of the bathtub, put in front of the dressing table and dressed up. Finally, she was covered with a layer of graceful gauze, wrapped in a thick cloak, and sent directly to the door of the East Warm Pavilion.
Nanny Lin's tone was as if she was explaining her last wishes. She pinched her little hand and patted it twice, then said quickly, "I heard from Liang Banban that the emperor is in a bad mood today."
"After you go in, you need to coax the emperor more, understand?"
"Go ahead."
After saying that, he reached out and pushed Li Shuyao into the east warm room.
Li Shuyao:?
What does wow mean!
She's not a fire extinguisher!
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