Chapter 68 My godmother seems to have made me sound old.
"Just call Zhang Sheng in." An He stopped pulling at Zhao Liangxu and called Zhang Sheng's name out.
Just as An He had instructed, Zhang Sheng had prepared teacups and was waiting outside the door, but he didn't dare to call out loudly. He watched Zhao Liangxu enter the study with trepidation, not daring to think about what An He meant by calling her in.
While he was waiting, he heard a crisp slap. Was his godfather angry?
Did he slap Zhao Liangxu?
Zhang Sheng knew that An He treated Zhao Liangxu differently. He had previously shown extra concern for Zhao Liangxu's illness and had been unusually patient with her in many matters.
However, he observed that An He did not treat Zhao Liangxu the same way he treated his partner; sometimes he was lenient with her, and sometimes he showed disgust.
Furthermore, it was difficult for him to be present when Anhe and Zhao Liangxu were together. Whether they were in the study, in the carriage, or in His Majesty the Emperor's Qianqing Palace, it was not easy for him to serve them.
Like many others in the mansion, Zhang Sheng could see An He's extremely unusual attitude. However, as An He's most capable subordinate, he had also experienced An He's sinister and ruthless nature firsthand.
Zhao Liangxu is probably her godfather's person, but she's just the kind of person her godfather controls. Perhaps she's more of a joker than someone he likes?
Zhang Sheng was more confident in his judgment.
Therefore, after hearing the slap, he even wanted to sigh.
He had already tried to persuade Zhao Liangxu, but she insisted on going against Anhe's bad luck.
Zhang Sheng opened the door with his head down, even a little scared, and saw a person lying on the ground, their fate unknown.
He feared he had entered the house to collect a corpse.
He entered the house with his head bowed and eyes down, cautiously scanning the room.
No large bloodstains or lying corpses were found, which is good.
He looked up, about to ask An He what he wanted to instruct, but was so frightened by Zhao Liangxu on the daybed that he couldn't speak.
She was perfectly fine, and even dared to sit on her godfather's couch!
Was he wrong in his judgment?
Despite his fury, Zhao Liangxu was able to survive without making a single mistake!
Zhang Sheng paid more attention to Zhao Liangxu.
"Zhang Sheng, go and change the teacups. If there's nothing else, you may leave."
Upon hearing An He's instructions, Zhang Sheng placed the teacup he had prepared earlier onto the tatami table.
Zhao Liangxu leaned back on the pillow without any regard for her image, silently staring at Zhang Sheng, making Zhang Sheng feel a chill.
Then Zhao Liangxu suddenly asked, "Eunuch Zhang, how many years older are you than Eunuch An?"
Fortunately, Zhang Sheng had just put the teacup down when he heard Zhao Liangxu's sudden question. He trembled for a moment, but managed to steady his hands so as not to knock the teacup over.
He waited a while and realized that Anhe had no intention of stopping him, then replied to Zhao Liangxu: "Your Highness, I am three years younger than my godfather."
Despite the age difference, which should make them like brothers, one person became the other's godson.
"Do you find it easy to call Eunuch An 'godfather'?"
As Zhao Liangxu asked the question, she noticed An He glancing at her sideways with a hint of threat or warning, but he didn't say a word. Apart from a "what are you going to do now?" expression on his face, he neither spoke nor got up.
Zhang Sheng was facing away from An He when he placed the teacup, so he couldn't see An He's expression.
But he was terrified when he heard this and carefully replied, "Of course, my godfather has given me a second life. I can never be more grateful and respectful to him."
Zhao Liangxu continued, "So, do you feel comfortable calling me godmother?"
Even though Zhang Sheng was usually very well-mannered, he couldn't care less about that at this moment and suddenly looked up at Zhao Liangxu in shock.
Zhao Liangxu raised an eyebrow.
Zhang Sheng then turned to An He for help, wanting to know how An He would react to these words.
Only then did he stop bending over to look at the ground and focus his gaze on Anhe's face.
Zhang Sheng wanted to find out An He's attitude, but when he was observing and guessing An He's expression, he suddenly froze.
My godfather's face was red on one side.
Because the red marks on Anhe's face weren't covered by the glossy white makeup today, they were clearly reflected in Zhang Sheng's pupils.
The red mark wasn't very heavy, just a faint imprint on An He's face, but it was easy for Zhang Sheng, who was pondering the matter, to notice it.
An incredible, outrageous conjecture popped into Zhang Sheng's mind.
The slap he heard was Zhao Liangxu hitting An He's face.
Did she hit her sugar daddy?
Her godfather didn't kill her, and he wasn't even angry? Now that he's looking at her like this, where is the furious look she had before?
My godfather actually let Zhao Liangxu sit on his daybed?
Could it be...?
Zhang Sheng felt like his brain wasn't working properly at this moment.
These events, when strung together, point to one answer:
Does her godfather condone Zhao Liangxu's behavior like this?
Zhang Sheng wondered, if Zhao Liangxu really slapped her and her godfather didn't punish her, then what was the relationship between the two of them...?
He struggled to change his opinion of Zhao Liangxu again.
Anhe noticed Zhang Sheng's gaze on his face, and at first he was puzzled, but then he suddenly understood.
The beating was so painful that it felt hot and spicy to him, so it must have left some marks.
He felt that the slap was truly hateful. Although Zhao Liangxu had woken him up, the pain was real, and Zhang Sheng had noticed it.
Was Zhao Liangxu secretly laughing?
She had actually been smiling the whole time, and now that Anhe realized it, he thought Zhao Liangxu was secretly laughing.
An He glared at Zhang Sheng and coldly threatened, "What are you looking at?"
He didn't want to be angry with Zhao Liangxu, but the thought of the slap mark on his face made him feel that even the dignity of the Ninth Prince had been offended, so Anhe could only threaten Zhang Sheng.
"Zhang Sheng, do you know what you should say and what you shouldn't say?"
Zhang Sheng knew that An He didn't want others to see what he was seeing, so he didn't need An He to threaten him. He replied more cautiously, "Godfather is right. I was just delivering a teacup, and I've been keeping my head down since I came in."
"Um."
Zhang Sheng was somewhat surprised that he had passed this test so easily when he heard An He's reluctant response, but then he heard An He say, "Princess Zhao is asking you a question, why are you looking at us like that? Just answer her properly."
Following An He's suggestion, Zhao Liangxu said, "How about you call me godmother too?"
Zhang Sheng now had to decide how to answer on his own. He hesitated for a moment, then said softly with a hint of uncertainty, "Godmother?"
He dared not look at Anhe's face again, but listened to Anhe's movements.
Anhe didn't react much.
This is the default setting.
Zhang Sheng felt that although only a short time had passed, everything had changed drastically from what he had previously known.
Zhao Liangxu pondered the form of address and said, "It feels like it makes me look old, Eunuch An. What do you think?"
Anhe's ears turned slightly red, and she replied calmly, "It's up to you."
He didn't confirm it, but importantly, he didn't deny it.
Zhao Liangxu then smiled and said to Zhang Sheng, "Then you'll call me godmother? That's really quite fun."
“You’re never reliable at all,” Anhe retorted.
He tapped his fingers on the table, taking the opportunity to give Zhang Sheng a few words of advice.
"Zhang Sheng, have you understood everything? From now on, you must not be disrespectful to Princess Zhao. Treat her the same way you treat me, understand?"
Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Zhang Sheng quickly agreed.
Although he didn't know what had happened in the study just now, he understood one thing after hearing this conversation.
In the future, besides his godfather, he will also have a godmother to take good care of.
Thinking about it this way, the Imperial Guard who couldn't explain things to him in a few words was really useless. Even when he was by Anhe's side, he couldn't explain what had happened. His words were not very clear, which almost caused him to disrespect Zhao Liangxu.
Fortunately, he always knows how to say nice things to people and doesn't say anything harsh or irreversible.
After Zhang Sheng left, Zhao Liangxu asked An He, "What Eunuch An said really made me happy. You asked Eunuch Zhang to respect me, and you didn't refute my suggestion that Eunuch Zhang call me godmother. Eunuch An must like it when he calls me godmother, right?"
Anhe turned her head away from directly answering her, and said, "Hmph, I haven't even held a grudge against you yet, but you were so rough with your hands that you left red marks on my face, and you didn't even tell me. You made me lose face in front of Zhang Sheng."
Zhao Liangxu got off the daybed, walked a few steps to An He's side, sat directly on the desk, and pulled on An He's sleeve, saying, "I was wrong, please forgive me, Eunuch An?"
An He looked up at her, and Zhao Liangxu added, "I forgot to ask, did Eunuch An allow me to sit here?"
Anhe scoffed again: "You've already sat down, and you're still asking if we'll let you sit? We don't want to forgive you."
Zhao Liangxu could tell that An He was just putting on a brave face; he wasn't actually that angry. He just wanted to hear her say something nice.
She then chose to say things that were peaceful and pleasant to hear.
“Eunuch An, look, today I’m wearing a dark blue jacket, and you’re wearing a matching python robe. We’re such a perfect match, we’re so in sync. You’re not angry with me, are you?”
She tugged at Anhe's sleeve a couple of times, then put the hand that had touched Anhe's python robe under her nose and sniffed it twice, saying in a serious tone as if she were talking about something important: "Hmm, it's still the familiar sandalwood scent, it smells nice."
"Alright, alright, look at you, aren't you ashamed?" Anhe looked at Zhao Liangxu's actions with some surprise, and felt that the red mark on her face was probably even redder, blushing with embarrassment.
"Also, you don't need to call Zhang Sheng 'Grandpa Zhang'. You're someone we've personally acknowledged, so why call him that? Just call him Zhang Sheng, or Little Zhang, or Little Sheng. Call him whatever makes you happy."
"It hasn't been long, and you're getting more and more audacious!" An He's eyebrows twitched, and he pretended to pinch Zhao Liangxu's soft flesh at the waist.
Still calling him Xiao Anzi? Everyone who calls him Xiao Anzi is long dead!
Anhe wasn't really going to pinch her; she restrained her movements, which made Zhao Liangxu feel itchy.
She laughed as she grabbed Anhe's hand, held it down for a while until Anhe's hand was still, and then took the initiative to place Anhe's hand on her waist.
An He half-heartedly placed his hands on Zhao Liangxu's waist, and could feel the softness of her waist even through her clothes.
Her waist was so slender that he couldn't bear to put his hands down.
"Please don't do that, Eunuch An. It's too itchy. Isn't it better to leave your hand like this than to scratch me?"
Zhao Liangxu, sitting on the table, was a head taller than An He, who was sitting in a chair. She leaned down slightly and whispered to An He, asking him questions that made An He blush again.
"How does Eunuch An feel touching your waist?"
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Author's note: I stayed up until 2 a.m. last night but didn't have time to write [angry] and it was still quite late.
A huge thank you to Xiaobao who voted for me yesterday, and thank you everyone for the nutrient solution, I'm really happy!
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