After the two changed their clothes, the maid withdrew, and Gan Qiongying looked at Li Hua, who was sitting upright by the bed, and couldn't help but laugh.
Li Hua watched Gan Qiongying laugh incessantly, then suddenly sighed, reached out to her, and pulled her to sit beside him.
He tried to explain his "unmanly" behavior just now.
“This is in the palace. If people were to see us getting close, it might damage your reputation,” Li Hua said earnestly. “The world is always particularly harsh on women. Words and gossip may be lightly overlooked for men, but they are like knives to women.”
Gan Qiongying wanted to say that she hadn't made any statement and didn't care.
Moreover, the Tourmaline Palace is absolutely safe; no one dares to speak carelessly there.
But faced with Li Hua's serious expression, she swallowed those words after they had rolled around in her throat.
Gan Qiongying didn't really understand why Li Hua would fall for Duan Rong, who had hurt and humiliated him, and even ruined his reputation, but no one dislikes the feeling of being cherished.
Gan Qiongying felt a pang of tenderness in her heart. She moved closer to the bedside, nestled next to Li Hua's seated body, and leaned her head against his shoulder.
He paused and then asked, "It's okay if people see us leaning against each other like this, we are husband and wife after all."
Li Hua couldn't help but laugh, and tilted her head down, gently bumping it against Gan Qiongying's head. The sound of the hair ornament and the pearls clashing together was exceptionally crisp.
A moment later, the two of them burst out laughing.
There was no one in the hall, so of course they couldn't just lean on each other's shoulders. The two took off their shoes and went to bed for a nap, since there was still plenty of time before the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.
They spoke in hushed tones, mostly by Gan Qiongying, who was already exceptionally happy and even excited because she had finally gotten everything sorted out with Gan Lin.
She kept talking about things from her childhood with Gan Lin, those seemingly tragic and painful past events that now sound quite funny.
She couldn't stop talking about Gan Lin, and in her descriptions, Gan Lin's image gradually changed from a tall, gloomy emperor to a snotty-nosed child who could only call out "elder sister."
“He’s also afraid of insects, moths, snakes, and rats,” Gan Qiongying said, lying in Li Hua’s arms as she counted on her fingers, “grasshoppers in the field, spiders on the roof beams, can you believe it? He’s even afraid of ants.”
Upon hearing this, Li Hua merely chuckled. After a moment, he grasped Gan Qiongying's fingers as she listed what Gan Lin was afraid of, and said with a hint of bitterness, "Do you know what I'm afraid of?"
Gan Qiongying got stuck.
How would she know? They've only known each other for a short time. She barely knows what flavors Li Hua likes to eat.
Furthermore, the novel doesn't describe what Li Hua, a male supporting character with very few lines, likes or fears.
She knew that Zhongli was truly afraid of thunder, darkness, and torrential rain, especially being alone in a dark and secluded place.
There's a scene where Zhongli Zhengzhen participates in the royal autumn hunt. During the hunt, he's chased by a tiger that has wandered into the hunting grounds and ends up in a cave. It happens to be raining, and all the elements of fear are present in him; he's so frightened that he develops a fever. He's eventually rescued by Wen Xueling and her men.
That was also the key to the deepening of the relationship between the male and female protagonists. After that, no matter what outrageous things the female protagonist did, even if she slept with other male protagonists, Zhong Li would forgive her.
Just as Gan Qiongying was thinking about how great Zhong Li's love was, she heard Li Hua say, "I'm afraid of torrential rain and lightning when it's dark, and I'm even more afraid of being alone in some dark place."
Gan Qiongying suddenly turned to look at him: "Huh?"
Li Hua tilted his head and kissed Gan Qiongying's nose, saying, "You must also remember what I'm afraid of. Don't leave me alone in the room on a stormy night."
Gan Qiongying was stunned for a long time before she finally exclaimed "Ah!"; in reality, she was puzzled.
It is said that twins have a telepathic connection. Could it be that Li Hua and Zhong Li are afraid of the exact same things?
Or did the author of this book just get lazy and, because Li Hua died early, simply put the two brothers in the same situation?
"Remember?" Li Hua knew she shouldn't be jealous, but Gan Qiongying said the emperor had been talking for an hour. If they weren't siblings and hadn't made any overstepping moves or exchanged glances, Li Hua would have suspected that they were the ones in love with each other.
“…I’ve remembered it,” Gan Qiongying said. “I remember it very well, don’t worry.”
Gan Qiongying didn't think much of it. Li Hua hugged her even tighter and started telling Gan Qiongying about things from their childhood.
“That happened when I was very young. Back then, the people who took care of me would often hide me in the closet, which is why I’m afraid of the dark and being alone.”
Li Hua said, "Later, when I grew older and taller, the cabinet became too small, so I had to squat inside with my legs tucked in. When it rained, my legs would hurt a lot, and if I tucked in for too long, I couldn't get up."
"Once, lightning struck a tree in front of my window and set it on fire. The fire spread into the house, but I was locked in a closet and couldn't get out. I thought I was going to die that day..."
Li Hua spoke these words in a very calm voice, but Gan Qiongying listened with trepidation. She never questioned Li Hua about his past or even the reasons for his actions; this was the invisible Chu-Han boundary they had drawn for each other.
But this time, Gan Qiongying couldn't help but ask, "And then what happened?"
Li Hua paused, then lowered her head and kissed her forehead, saying, "Later, the person who was taking care of me rushed back in time, rushed into the fire, and got burned. They took me out of the cupboard, but because I had been curled up for too long, I couldn't walk and had to be dragged out."
"That was so close!" Gan Qiongying sighed.
She could guess that Li Hua's childhood wouldn't have been good, after all, he was the one of the twins who was abandoned as an "unlucky" one.
Survival itself is a problem; many details are left undescribed in the story, which this world will likely fill in. But it certainly won't be a happy story.
Li Hua hummed in agreement, and then said, "So I'm not afraid of rainy days, thunder, darkness, or cramped spaces."
“But I’m afraid that if we put all these things together,” Li Hua coughed lightly and asked, “wouldn’t it… seem a bit unmanly?”
Gan Qiongying was thinking, Li Hua’s reason sounded very convincing, so why was Zhongli Zhengzhen afraid of this combination?
Did he also experience something similar to Li Hua?
Is the probability really that high?
However, when Gan Qiongying heard Li Hua cautiously ask if he "lacked masculinity," she immediately retorted, "How could that be!"
She wouldn't allow anyone to speak ill of the God of Wealth, not even the God of Wealth himself.
A man who makes money and gives his woman 500,000 taels of silver every month so she can buy whatever she wants, is he not manly?
Are there any men left in this world?
Gan Qiongying said, "If you don't have any manly spirit, then Gan Lin is afraid of this and that, and that makes him a woman!"
Li Hua wasn't usually a very cheerful person, but Gan Qiongying always managed to make him laugh.
The two looked at each other and bit their lips to hold back their tears.
Is it really appropriate to arrange His Majesty's life in such a way, right in a side hall of the emperor's bedchamber?
But a moment later, they burst into unrestrained laughter.
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