Chapter 67 Chapter 67 Fingertip Blood
Shangguan Xu was surprised for a moment when he saw this, not knowing what caused his emotion.
If, as she said, he was angry that she had put him in a dangerous situation from which he could not retreat, his reaction should not have been like this.
He was never a weak person.
And from the moment she looked over, she clearly felt a moment of panic in his eyes, but his expression had been seen and there was no way to avoid it.
Shangguan Xu then touched his cheek with his hand, which had just been anointed with hand cream, and asked him tenderly, "What's wrong? What did I say that hurt you?"
The familiar scent of peony flowers brushed past his nose, which made him feel even more painful.
He immediately held her in his arms.
He leaned forward, resting his chin on her shoulder, and closed his eyes tightly. "No... Your Majesty, everything you said is right. It's me, it's me, I've been thinking too much..."
For four years, he was obsessed with the truth he thought he knew, and the person who only wanted to seek an explanation for him was standing in front of him, but he didn't even recognize him.
He is such an idiot.
He really... didn't know how to face her.
He came back this time with only one purpose - to avenge his old friend and himself at all costs and seek an explanation.
After experiencing the pain of being betrayed by those close to him, he came to believe that those who plotted evil behind his back were all sinister people, and that it would be impossible to fight against such people with his previous gentlemanly etiquette.
So after he returned, he used the same sinister methods to face all those who he thought had harmed him. Even the people who followed him now also supported him in abandoning kindness and his previous gentlemanly demeanor on the road to revenge, so he completely transformed himself into a completely different person.
But now, he just realized that his former gentlemanly image was still deeply imprinted in her mind, like a beloved object that had been thrown away with all his strength. He thought no one cared, but it turned out that someone had been carefully cherishing it.
But now when the man held the object in front of him again, his hands were too filthy to take it.
Xu Qingan felt heartbroken.
Shangguan Xu let him hold her in his arms. Although she couldn't see his face, she could hear his trembling breathing beside her ear and could also feel the fluctuations of his emotions. Although she didn't know why he reacted like this, she was still moved by him and unconsciously raised her hand to touch his back.
Her voice was soothing. "How could you be wrong? I haven't told you these things before. How could you possibly be wrong?"
That's why you didn't tell me these things...
He held her tighter.
She really thought he was strange.
"You... do you have something to say to me?" she asked tentatively.
"No... no!" He immediately changed his tone, increasing the strength in his hands. "I want to tell your Majesty that I have no intention of using you. I am willing to serve you as your vanguard from now on. I only ask that you... trust me... believe that what I said today is true."
His powerful strength and his hot breath enveloped her. She was in a small space, but when all his emotions poured out, she had nowhere to escape. She was soaked and infected.
For some reason, the corners of her eyes also became sore, and she pulled a wry smile at the corners of her lips and said, "Well, I believe you."
She had experienced deep love in the past and had seen a man's true love, so this time she really believed him.
She whispered softly into his ear: "Yanrong, this time let's accomplish what we want to do together."
He closed his eyes and murmured, "Okay."
Seeing that his emotions were gradually stabilizing, she pushed his waist away and slowly distanced herself from him. Although he still held her with his arms, fortunately he no longer held her so tightly, no longer holding her as if he wanted to melt her into his bones.
In fact, Shangguan Xu felt that his emotions today were even stronger than they were yesterday on the couch, and many of his actions on the couch were related to the driving force of desire. Even so, she felt that his emotions now were much stronger than they were then.
She believed what he had just said, but she also didn't understand where his surging emotions came from.
But she didn't ask, she just raised her finger to wipe the remaining tear marks on his face and asked with concern: "Are you feeling better?"
Just by asking that question, the pain that he had suppressed resurfaced in his eyes, and he quickly turned his head and looked to the side.
But this time his eyes fell on the folded scroll.
"Is that a painting of flowers and birds?"
"It's a portrait."
Xu Qing'an looked back in surprise, but Shangguan Xu seemed oblivious. He cast his gaze towards the scroll, his eyes brimming with smile as he continued, "This portrait is quite old. I heard from the painter that it would be much easier to store it rolled up than to spread it out, so most of the time it's kept rolled up."
She paused, then turned to look at him. "You're wondering who's in this portrait?" She smiled faintly under his gaze. "It's the late emperor. As I just said, he passed away so hastily that he left behind so little. So I saved this portrait of his. Don't be angry."
"Can I take a look?" His gaze returned to the scroll.
Shangguan Xu lowered his eyes for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "Let's see."
——
It was already late at night when Xu Qing'an left Lizheng Hall. When Qinghe returned to the hall again, she saw that there was no one in the outer hall and smelled the fragrance of orchids, so she went straight to the side room.
As expected, Shangguan Xu was sitting in front of the desk in the side room, quietly looking at the scroll placed in front of him.
Qinghe glanced at the scroll. She remembered that the scroll was rolled up when she left Lizheng Hall.
She walked over quietly and called out softly, "Your Majesty." After Shangguan Xu came to his senses, she said, "Master Xu has already gone to see Mr. Zhang."
Shangguan Xu nodded.
Qing He looked at the scroll again, then at Shangguan Xu, and said worriedly, "What are your Majesty's plans for today..."
"He agreed." Shangguan Xu said directly.
Qinghe breathed a sigh of relief.
And she heard Shangguan Xu continue to whisper: "He even responded in a way that I didn't expect at all."
"Is it a bad reaction?" Qinghe asked carefully.
Shangguan Xu shook his head: "No, it's a very good reaction."
Her eyes were always fixed on the portrait of the young boy in front of her. She recalled his reaction when he saw the painting just now. Although he had tried his best to endure it, she still caught the emotions in his eyes.
Logically speaking, he had never seen the late emperor, and even very few people had seen this painting. However, when he looked at the painting, his eyes were as if he was looking at an old friend, and there was an inexplicable sadness in his eyes.
Why?
What had touched him tonight? And why had it touched him? Clearly, many things had nothing to do with him...
——
"Are you...free these days?"
In the Lizheng Hall, the young emperor and empress sat side by side in front of the desk. Shangguan Xuwei held his shoulders, tilted her head and spoke to him in a soft and playful manner.
Zhou Jingzhi looked at her, thought for a moment, and then asked, "What's wrong? Is there something urgent?"
Shangguan Xu pursed his lips and thought, "No, it's just that some new painters have arrived at the Zuo Shang Office. They're said to be quite good painters, so they sent someone to ask if we need portraits of the Emperor and Empress."
Zhou Jingzhi suddenly remembered, "Oh, yes, it's time to paint the portrait." He smiled and answered her previous question, "It seems there are no important court affairs scheduled for tomorrow. How about tomorrow?"
Shangguan Xu nodded decisively: "Okay, I think so too."
The painters who could enter the Zuo Shang Office were all the best among the current painters. For them, drawing portraits was just a simple matter, and the time they spent on drawing was only half of that of ordinary painters.
However, things like painting portraits of the emperor and empress were also part of the court affairs, and since there were rules, it was inevitable that they would be very rigid. Zhou Jingzhi and Shangguan Xu wore a crown robe and a robe respectively, and they could only sit there motionless while the portraits were being painted. After the painting was finally finished, Shangguan Xu took a look at it and praised it, saying it was good. He then took the painting away to show its approval and stored it in the secret cabinet.
Shangguan Xu couldn't help but sigh: "What a pity, such a beautiful painting can only be left for future generations to appreciate."
Zhou Jingzhi couldn't help laughing: "Are you impressed by your own beauty?"
Shangguan Xu raised his eyebrows and joked back, "Can't I just be impressed by your beauty?"
Zhou Jingzhi tried hard to suppress the corners of his lips that wanted to rise: "Am I so powerful?"
Shangguan Xu laughed out loud at the look on his face, which was completely different from what he was saying. He jokingly said, "Do you really not know or are you pretending not to know? Are you just trying to hear me praise you?"
Zhou Jingzhi turned his head away, smiled softly towards the deserted area, and did not answer.
Shangguan Xu's eyes rolled around, and he came up with an idea. "How about this? Let the artist paint you a picture for me to treasure. I'll look at it every day and praise you with different words every day."
Although the painters of Zuo Shangshu are skilled in painting and their painting speed is faster than that of ordinary painters, it still takes some time to paint a good portrait.
Anyway, for Shangguan Xu, it was extremely unbearable for her to sit there, so she felt that he would definitely not agree.
But he said, "Okay, but do you want to change your clothes? How about some casual clothes? They're not so formal, and maybe they'll actually help you get more praise."
That day was the 27th of February, only five days away from the 3rd of March. Five days later, the framed scroll was delivered to Lizheng Hall, but before they had time to unpack it, they went to Qujiang together and boarded a cruise ship.
He also didn't hear a single word of her promise to praise him...
——
Xu Qing'an went to where Zhang Fan was resting.
Since Zhang Fan was injured, he has been guarding the hall every night, and he can respond in time as long as Zhang Fan makes any movement.
But usually he would wait alone in the hall, and only today did he call others to join him.
Because he knew that he couldn't calm down, the past kept flowing through his mind like running water, and every time he thought of something, his heart was broken.
He was clearly in pain, but he felt himself gradually becoming numb.
"Master Xu! You, you're bleeding from the nose!"
The voice of the palace maid who was waiting with him suddenly rang out. Xu Qing'an raised his eyes to look at the palace maid, wiped his nose with his hand, and looked at the blood on his fingertips with an expressionless face.
This was his third nosebleed in the past few days.
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