Chapter 59 confirms that she was only after more of his favor...
In fact, when she was kidnapped by Zhao Chengxin, she really didn't expect that Anhe would still care about her, and even break down the door. The first person she saw was Anhe.
She admitted that at that time, she felt a sense of relief at Anhe's arrival.
From then on, there were no more contact with Anhe, let alone the countless times they had.
It was nothing more than some trivial daily matters, and she could even make Anhe so angry that his eyebrows would twitch. Anhe also promised not to kill her.
At least until now, even after she pleaded for Chen Qinglie, An He was still furious.
Thinking of this, Zhao Liangxu suddenly realized.
She liked the special treatment Anhe gave her; she liked that she was different from others in Anhe's eyes; she liked that Anhe, despite saying harsh words, always unconsciously treated her specially.
So what if this uniqueness comes from playfulness and interest?
She enjoyed the sense of security that this preferential treatment brought her.
Perhaps he also has some affection for me.
Even a little bit is enough to make her stand out in her attitude towards the world.
But she wasn't really sure.
If she were an ordinary person, she would confidently accept it, believing she possessed that charm.
Ke Anhe was no ordinary person; he was a power-hungry eunuch.
People in the palace are the best at saying one thing to one person and another to another; she didn't believe Anhe couldn't do that.
His physical disability had warped his psyche, and Zhao Liangxu couldn't be sure that someone like An He would easily develop any weak feelings for someone.
Zhao Liangxu looked up at An He, her tangled thoughts snapped in two.
She quickly realized that even the smallest details could reveal the true nature of love; there aren't that many passionate and dramatic romances out there.
Why must intense calamities give rise to emotions?
In her daily interactions with Anhe, she realized she truly liked him, so she stopped worrying about it.
As for Anhe's own thoughts, what did she care about before?
From now on, his past thoughts and ideas are no longer important. Now that he has made up his mind, Zhao Liangxu is determined to drag An He down with her.
"Eunuch An, this is what I wanted to say to you."
She leaned close to Anhe's ear, her voice like a dream brought from the heavens, making him feel as if he were not in this world: "I've figured it out, I like Eunuch An."
"Eunuch An likes me a little, right? Can you spoil me a little more?"
She had a new goal: to make Anhe's heart beat as fast for her as it did for her. Therefore, she didn't feel ashamed at all when she said such straightforward and affectionate words.
Anhe's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest.
He felt he must be crazy, that he was dreaming.
Perhaps only in her dreams could Zhao Liangxu speak words that she could never say, like a compassionate bodhisattva.
But this is not a dream.
Summer hadn't arrived yet, and the March wind still carried a slight chill. Even the fabric of his clothes and fingers felt cold against his skin, but the warm breath Zhao Liangxu sprayed on his ear felt so real.
He didn't know how to react to Zhao Liangxu's cunning words. Should he indulge in Zhao Liangxu's "liking" for him, or should he be timid because his feelings for her had been discovered?
Anhe suddenly awoke from her daze.
No, the "pampering" she mentioned isn't right.
She was aware of her own leniency during this period, and she thought that perhaps this was what she liked?
A eunuch's fondness for his plaything.
He struggled to come up with the sentence, and he didn't even know whether the sentence itself was more detestable, or whether the so-called genuine affection that she perceived was more detestable.
He was almost certain that Zhao Liangxu could sense his extremely tolerant attitude towards her, so she felt that this change was the indulgence of a eunuch towards a plaything.
She realized this, which is why she acted so boldly, in order to gain more power and affection from him, right?
She's only driven by profit; she can only be driven by profit.
An He met Zhao Liangxu's gaze. Her eyes were extremely clear, and An He felt that anything he said now would be pale. He could only stare into Zhao Liangxu's eyes, trying to see a hint of disgust or forbearance in them.
No, only a pair of puzzled eyes swayed gently, much like amber-colored jade.
He really couldn't figure out why Zhao Liangxu would say those things.
Zhao Liangxu didn't intend for Anhe to have a very satisfactory reaction right now; she felt it was better to proceed gradually.
So she placed her hand on Anhe's face, smiled slightly, and said, "Eunuch An, could you use less face powder next time? I don't want my mouth to smell like jasmine again next time."
She only managed to elicit an incredulous wide-eyed look from An He, then escaped An He's gaze at the opportune moment, standing aside and saying to An He, "I'm too tired after the banquet, Eunuch An, I'll go back and rest first."
She left behind only a faint scent of sandalwood before departing, leaving Anhe behind.
It wasn't until a sweeping eunuch passed by and carefully bowed to Anhe in greeting that Anhe suddenly came to her senses. Without even glancing at the bowing eunuch, she left on her own.
*
After the banquet for merchants, Zhao Liangxu returned to the Office of the Minister of Personnel and ...
Zhang Changfei had no right to say much to Zhao Liangxu, but he felt a strange sense of regret. Although in his mind, Zhao Liangxu was still a wicked woman who did not follow etiquette, after spending time with her, her image in Zhang Changfei's mind had become more complete, and he unknowingly regarded her as a strange friend.
As for Zhao Liangxu, after returning to the Ministry of Personnel, she occasionally participated in the process of receiving envoys, but at most she would do odd jobs on site. No one dared to assign her too many tasks. Since Chen Qinglie received five lashes from An He's subordinates, although her colleagues still did things as usual, they had also developed a hidden fear.
She understood the current situation. If Chen Qinglie were to be severely punished by An He, the atmosphere in the yamen would likely become even worse.
Receiving envoys was a different matter from the banquet for merchants. Zhao Liangxu had little opportunity to interact with foreigners, so she simply asked for leave from the government office. Chen, the head of the department, was naturally delighted and readily agreed.
However, not long after he hypocritically sent Zhao Liangxu away with his official airs, Zhang Sheng came in person to inform Manager Chen that he had been fined another six months' salary. Zhang Sheng's words were also vague: "These days, your godfather has been unhappy, and this punishment can only be borne by us subordinates. However, your godfather still remembers how well Manager Chen treated Secretary Zhao, so he only fined Manager Chen half a year's salary. Manager Chen should thank your godfather and Secretary Zhao."
Chen, the steward, saw Zhang Sheng off with a fawning smile. Although the deduction of his salary was unpleasant, he had been making enough money in the past six months, so he could accept it. However, this deduction made him uneasy. He subtly inquired with other people in the yamen and found that he was the only one whose salary had been deducted. For half a month, he lived in constant fear and did not get a good night's sleep.
Before Zhao Liangxu could even relax at home for a few days and figure out how to spend more time with Anhe, she received an invitation from Hazar.
The invitation was written in crooked Southern Zhou script. It roughly meant that the caravans often traded with officials in the capital, so the officials would often hold small banquets at their homes to entertain the caravans and discuss business matters. Azar wanted Zhao Liangxu to accompany her to the banquet, so he boldly used this invitation to invite Zhao Liangxu.
She knew it was somewhat inappropriate to invite friends to such an event for the first time, so she included two ruby-encrusted rings with the invitations; the gems were the size of pebbles.
We really hope you can come. Your presence will put our caravan at ease; it's a small token of our appreciation for your abruptness.
Zhao Liangxu couldn't help but laugh when she looked at the two rings. As expected of the head of a large merchant caravan that had traveled all the way from Persia to the capital, he was incredibly wealthy and powerful.
The two rubies caused Zhu Mu to exclaim excitedly; her princess had made some remarkable friends during her trip.
On the day of the banquet, Zhao Liangxu naturally went with pleasure. She quite liked Hazard's personality, not to mention that Hazard was a beautiful woman with exotic features, which was pleasing to the eye.
The banquet that Azar attended was held at the villa of the Vice Minister of Works, and Zhao Liangxu came directly there by carriage.
Hazar had been waiting for Zhao Liangxu in her dazzling carriage for a long time. When she saw Zhao Liangxu, she got off the carriage and waved her arms, which were covered with gold ornaments, to greet her.
"We didn't expect you to actually accept! We were all delighted to receive your reply and for your arrival. This is a member of our caravan; let me introduce you."
Besides Hazard and her overly silent husband Bena, Zhao Liangxu also brought a man and a woman to the banquet. The man, named Hassan, was a muscular and strong man, but when he was introduced, he grinned at Zhao Liangxu in a very friendly manner, revealing two big gold teeth.
"Hassan, shut up, that smile is really ugly," Azhar scolded. Even someone as worldly-wise as Zhao Liangxu thought Hassan would be better off just keeping a straight face and not smiling.
To Zhao Liangxu's surprise, the woman had a Central Plains name, Xu Zhi. Upon closer inspection, Zhao Liangxu indeed noticed that Xu Zhi had a mixed-race appearance, and her skin was slightly whiter than that of Azar and the others. If one did not look closely, she would resemble a person from the Southern Zhou Dynasty even more.
“Xu Zhi has a father from the Southern Zhou Dynasty. Her father and mother are currently in Persia. She can make our negotiations with the people of the Central Plains easier.” Xu Zhi nodded to Zhao Liangxu.
Hazar said with a worried expression, "Although Xu Zhi speaks fluent Southern Zhou dialect, I still have to negotiate most of the deals. It is said that Lord Zhang, who invited us to the banquet, is a very shrewd official. That's why we hope you can come and scare them a little, so that our deals will be less difficult."
Hazard spoke frankly and didn't seem embarrassed at all.
As they walked, they reached their seats at the banquet. Zhao Liangxu, as a guest, sat at a separate table, with Hazard sitting next to her.
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Author's Note: What follows is a delightful period where Liangxu begins to cross all sorts of boundaries, I'm in a hurry!
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