Chapter 7
Ling Huanchen put his fist to his lips, cleared his throat twice, and said seriously, "It's Peony."
Although the other people had different expressions, in the end they all looked at him with admiration.
Yun He's eyes lit up more and more, as if she had found a kindred spirit. "Master, you can see it."
Ling Huanchen pulled the corner of his mouth, "Of course, of course..."
After all, she has worked hard embroidering for a whole day. We cannot discourage a girl’s enthusiasm. We should focus on encouragement.
"Master, you are so awesome!"
Xiao Qi carefully examined the two balls on the handkerchief again, and was even more impressed by his master's wisdom and vision. The person who could tell that the red and pink balls overlapped together and were peony balls was definitely not an ordinary person.
Ling Huanchen felt guilty when he was being stared at. If he hadn't remembered the answer from his previous life, he would never have been able to tell.
"Okay, Ah He, I want to drink tea, go make a pot of tea."
Yun He immediately put down her embroidery upon hearing this. She had wanted to throw away the needlework for a long time. "I'll go right away."
"Your Highness, the embroidery pattern has not been completed yet, so it is not appropriate to interrupt it." The nanny said disapprovingly.
Ling Huanchen pointed at Xiao Qi and said, "Let him take over."
The nanny was shocked when she heard this and said, "How can this be? Embroidery is the job of the maids in the room. This doesn't make sense."
Ling Huanchen still insisted on letting Xiaoqi sit over there. "Madam, don't you hear that? Teach students in accordance with their aptitude. Nothing is absolute. Why should we be so rigid about it? If the king blames you, just say it was my idea."
The nanny opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing. Not to mention that the king would never ask about such a trivial matter as embroidery patterns, even if he did, given the recent rumors in the palace, it would be difficult to offend the person in front of her.
Xiao Qi received the order and happily picked up the needle and thread. She did not need anyone to teach her and embroidered it very well. In a short while, the outline of a peony appeared on the brocade handkerchief.
Ling Huanchen sipped his tea slowly. He remembered hearing Xiaoqi say that his mother was an embroiderer, so Xiaoqi had learned embroidery skills from her since childhood, and her skills were even comparable to those of embroiderers and weavers. Later, Xiaoqi's mother passed away, and Xiaoqi often embroidered things to express her longing.
In a blink of an eye, it was the day of the sacrifice. Ling Huanchen followed Yu Xi in a carriage, and hundreds of civil and military officials, guards and palace servants followed behind. The scene was unprecedented.
Ling Huanchen slightly lifted the curtain and saw that the street was full of men, women, young and old kneeling, and the people were bowing and shouting "Health, His Majesty the King".
"My dear, do you feel it's lively?" Yu Xi, who had been resting with his eyes closed, happened to open his eyes at this moment.
"It's really lively." Ling Huanchen sighed.
Since he was six years old, he had been confined in the palace and had never gone out. He almost forgot what the outside world looked like.
The king's carriage was like a mobile house, fully stocked with food, clothing, and daily necessities. Ling Huanchen glanced at the food on the low table, then glanced at Yu Xi, who had only taken a few sips of bird's nest porridge for breakfast, seemingly lacking an appetite.
"Would your Majesty like to have some cloud pastry?"
Yu Xi had no appetite at first, but when she saw Ling Huanchen's hand reaching for the celadon plate, she was bored on the way and suddenly had the idea of teasing him.
"Thank you, my dear."
Ling Huanchen searched everywhere but couldn't find the bamboo chopsticks, so he had no choice but to grab them himself. He picked up the Yunsu with one hand and held it underneath with the other. When he handed it to Yu Xi's lips, he lowered his eyes slightly.
This journey was a bit long. If Ling Huanchen hadn't been there, Yu Xi would have just closed her eyes and concentrated, with the snacks and tea being just for show. But now that Ling Huanchen was around, Yu Xi didn't mind eating a piece or two.
Ling Huanchen was so focused on feeding the Yunsu into Yu Xi's mouth that he was caught off guard by something soft as he was pulling away. His fingertips suddenly felt numb, causing him to quickly pull away.
Yu Xi chewed slowly, glancing vaguely at the person next to her. Seeing that the tips of his ears and neck were dyed pink, she felt even better.
"The King would like to drink tea."
Ling Huanchen suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and poured him a cup of tea. However, when he brought it to Yu Xi, the carriage suddenly jolted, causing the teacup to tilt and spilling half of the water.
Ling Huanchen hurriedly cleaned his clothes, but he grabbed her wrist.
The white fingers turned red. Yu Xi frowned, turned around, took out a porcelain bottle from the brocade box next to him, poured some ointment and applied it on them.
The cool feeling covered up the burning sensation, and as Yu Xi rubbed it gently, the red marks gradually faded.
"Does it still hurt?"
Ling Huanchen shook his head. Yu Xi held his hand in her palm the whole time, and it was not put back even after the medicine was applied.
The original act of applying medicine turned out to be a different matter. Yu Xi had no intention of letting go and even seemed reluctant to let go.
Ling Huanchen really wanted to remind him that his injury had healed, but when he met Yu Xi's eyes he couldn't find the words to speak.
The carriage was still moving slowly. There was a jubilant scene outside, but the two people inside the carriage did not speak for a long time. Only their clasped hands highlighted the connection between them.
Ling Huanchen felt his heartbeat becoming increasingly erratic, and his body temperature gradually rising. But he clearly had a cold constitution, so why did he feel so hot?
"Your Majesty..." Ling Huanchen couldn't bear the heat anymore, so he suddenly pulled his hand back and lifted a corner of the curtain to get some air.
Yu Xi was thrown away but was not annoyed. She stared at his profile and asked, "What's wrong, my dear?"
"I'm fine, I just feel a little hot."
Yu Xi relied on his martial arts skills and had enough composure to suppress even a little heat.
"If you cannot bear it, you can undress. I will not consider it a breach of etiquette in front of the king."
Ling Huanchen lowered the curtain, leaned aside and sat upright, "I'm not hot anymore."
"It's not hot anymore..." Yu Xi repeated softly, seeming to reveal a hint of regret, "Of course it's good."
Ling Huanchen touched his fingertips, the feeling still lingering. In his previous life, Yu Xi had never behaved so frivolously. What had gone wrong?
The emperor's carriage stopped at the gate of Qingtian Temple, where the abbot and a group of monks had already arrived to greet him. Inside the temple stood a three-foot-high altar, where the emperor personally lit three incense sticks and placed them in a golden censer. The rest of the people stood below, watching intently. When the sacred bell struck the seventh time, everyone below the altar knelt and kowtowed seven times.
After the incense was burned on the altar, it was time for a Zen lecture. All officials would stand guard in the temple's front yard until the three incense sticks burned out. During this time, Yu Xi would stay in the Zen room and listen to the abbot's Zen lectures.
Originally, Yu Xi was supposed to go alone, but this time with Ling Huanchen, there was one more person by Yu Xi's side.
Ling Huanchen didn't hear a word of the abbot's Zen scriptures, his mind was completely focused on counting the time.
The accident in the previous life happened at this time. The guards were all guarding outside. At this moment, assassinating King Youcheng from inside the house would definitely be the best option.
He wanted to get Yu Xi out of this room as soon as possible.
"Your Majesty, I feel a little unwell and want to go out for some fresh air." Ling Huanchen said.
Yu Xi had always been a formality in offering sacrifices and had never been sincere, so when he said this, Yu Xi would most likely follow him away.
As expected, King Youcheng hesitated for a moment, and the abbot immediately shut up.
Yu Xi took Ling Huanchen's hand and helped him up, then turned around and led him out the door.
"Are you feeling better, my dear?"
"Your Majesty, I am much better now." Ling Huanchen looked around. This was the backyard of the temple, so they had to quickly reunite with the officials.
At this moment, Yu Xi's eyes flashed, and she suddenly put her arms around his waist, and took him away from the spot. In a moment, three iron darts sank into the ground where they had just stood.
Immediately afterwards, a group of men in black jumped down from all directions and surrounded the two men.
A flash of cold light flashed, and more than a dozen long swords formed a web, piercing Yu Xi like a blanket. In a flash, Yu Xi placed Ling Huanchen behind him and snatched a sword with his bare hands. With a horizontal sweep, the burst of sword energy overwhelmed the approaching murderous force, instantly repelling the siege of the assassins.
Ling Huanchen had his back against the wall, and Yu Xi was protecting him from the front, so no one could get close to him. He didn't know martial arts, so at a time like this, it was best for him to just follow instructions and not cause trouble for Yu Xi.
The assassins did not give up. After being beaten back, they made a comeback. At this moment, another wave of men in black fell from the sky and fought with the assassins.
"Protect the emperor! Protect the emperor!"
The guards rushed over after hearing the news. At this point, all the dozen assassins were restrained without exception, and there was no room for reversal.
"Your subordinate is late in protecting the emperor!"
"Your humble servant is late in escorting the Emperor!"
The long sword was thrown to the ground with a clang. Yu Xi quickly swept past the assassins and said in a deep voice, "Suppress them and interrogate them strictly."
Ling Huanchen breathed a sigh of relief. He had asked Yu Xi to leave the meditation room as quickly as possible, but they still couldn't escape the assassin's attack. Fortunately, the result was the same as in the previous life: Yu Xi was not injured, and the assassins were captured.
Yu Xi turned around and saw Ling Huanchen seemed to be in shock. After hesitating for a moment, she raised her hand and touched his shoulder, saying in what she thought was a gentle tone, "Don't be afraid."
Ling Huanchen was about to speak when he suddenly caught a glimpse of the cold light hidden behind Yu Xi, and his heart sank immediately.
"careful!"
Ling Huanchen threw himself at Yu Xi with all his strength. In an instant, Yu Xi embraced him and turned a few steps. The arrow from his sleeve passed through his shoulder, tearing his sleeve and revealing a streak of blood.
There was no such arrow in his previous life. Fortunately, he discovered it in time, Ling Huanchen thought dizzily.
The arrow head flashed with a strange cold light, most likely not an ordinary sleeve arrow. If it really hit Yu Xi, it would be troublesome.
"Ling Huanchen..."
Yu Xi hugged the person who fell down and called the name of the person in her arms softly. The calmness and self-control that she had always been proud of suddenly collapsed in an instant.
The secret guard stepped on the assassin who shot the arrow and said, "Your Majesty, the arrow is poisoned."
"Seal off Qingtian Temple and don't let any news leak out. Imprison all of them in the Heavenly Prison."
Yu Xi lifted the person in her arms and carried him sideways, "Let's go back to the palace."
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