Shang Shaoyan pestered him to ask several more questions, but Qiao Xiuyu just smiled and refused to speak. After a while, Shang Shaoyan got tired and simply leaned on Qiao Xiuyu's shoulder to take a nap.
Qiao Xiuyu stiffened, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, but still gently adjusted her posture to make Shang Shaoyan more comfortable.
The sedan chair moved slowly forward. Qiao Xiuyu was feeling drowsy when she suddenly heard Shang Shaoyan speak: "You waited for me because you wanted to see me? You... miss me, don't you?"
These words were spoken very softly, very softly.
Qiao Xiuyu looked down at Shang Shaoyan on her shoulder and smiled: "Yes, I miss you, I really want to see you."
Shang Shaoyan pouted: "So delicate, it's only been a short time."
Qiao Xiuyu said gently, "Yes, I'm the most delicate. I need An'an to hug me to feel better."
Shang Shaoyan opened his eyes, his phoenix eyes smiling as he stared at Qiao Xiuyu: "You're so good with words."
The two leaned against each other as the sedan chair slowly made its way towards the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Suddenly, Shang Shaoyan remembered something and asked, "You're not planning to come back to the mansion with me, are you? Aren't you going to the palace banquet?"
Qiao Xiuyu raised an eyebrow: "An'an doesn't want me to stay up all night with you?"
Shang Shaoyan shook his head honestly: "I don't want to."
Qiao Xiuyu: "..."
Seeing Qiao Xiuyu's suddenly aggrieved expression, Shang Shaoyan was amused and quickly explained, "It's not that I don't want to be with you, it's just that my brother isn't feeling well and has been lying in bed for the past few days, so I have to take care of him."
Qiao Xiuyu looked at Shang Shaoyan with some resentment: "Your brother is my brother, and I can take care of him too."
Shang Shaoyan: "..."
She helplessly took Qiao Xiuyu's arm: "You should go back to the palace soon. You know my brother doesn't really want to see you lately."
Qiao Xiuyu looked at Shang Shaoyan with longing eyes, still somewhat displeased.
Shang Shaoyan chuckled and patted Qiao Xiuyu's hand: "Go back quickly. After spring, I will go to Shuzhou to seek medical treatment for my brother. Once he recovers, we can torment him however we want."
Qiao Xiuyu was delighted to hear this, because Shang Shaoyan had said "we".
"We"—what a beautiful word.
Qiao Xiuyu escorted Shang Shaoyan to the gate of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, and then reluctantly returned to the palace.
...
Inside the Southern Chen imperial palace, a scene of singing and dancing filled the air. Qiao Xiuyu had already claimed that he was unwell and unable to attend the palace banquet, and since the Chen emperor was not particularly interested in seeing him, he readily agreed.
Consort Shu and Consort Zhao sat below Empress Li. They were the most honored women in Southern Chen, but at this moment they both looked depressed. Fortunately, Emperor Chen's gaze was fixed on the singing girls and he didn't even look at them.
When Consort Zhao saw Qin Ye standing beside Emperor Chen, she couldn't help but smile. The scars on her face looked even more ferocious, but Qin Ye returned her a smile that couldn't be gentler.
Empress Li did not notice the exchange of glances between Consort Zhao and Qin Ye. She kept her eyes fixed on the singing girls below, afraid that Emperor Chen would take a fancy to one of them. Consort Shu, on the other hand, caught the two of them looking at each other.
When Consort Shu tried to take a closer look, she found that the two had already looked away. However, she was always a confident person, so she did not doubt that she had seen it wrong.
She looked at Consort Zhao with a scrutinizing gaze—it was not uncommon for palace maids and eunuchs to have affairs, but for a palace concubine and a eunuch… Consort Shu’s heart was immediately filled with turmoil.
Consort Shu was not a farsighted woman. Naturally, she could not see that Qin Ye had already gained considerable power in the court. She only knew that she had a major secret about Consort Zhao.
Ha, for an emperor's concubine to fall for a disabled person, how utterly foolish.
Consort Shu did not intend to reveal this matter and directly ruin Consort Zhao; she wanted to use it to blackmail Consort Zhao into helping her.
After a few moments of thought, Consort Shu's expression returned to normal.
The songstresses below, their eyes sparkling with allure, sang: "...The beautiful pavilion and fragrant woods face the high tower, her newly made-up beauty is truly captivating. She hesitates to enter the room, her delicate figure lingering behind the curtain, then emerges with a smile to greet you. Her enchanting face is like a flower glistening with dew, the jade tree's radiance illuminates the inner courtyard."
It was truly a scene of extravagance.
Halfway through the palace banquet, Lu Shuangyi secretly slipped out of the main hall and took Hongye to find Qiao Xiuyu.
Normally, Hongye would have stopped Lu Shuangyi from doing anything, but for some reason today, she just silently followed behind Lu Shuangyi without saying a word.
Lu Shuangyi didn't notice Hongye's strange behavior and walked towards Qiao Xiuyu's residence with great interest. When she arrived at the door, she didn't go in but just stood there listening to the people inside talking.
"Young master, why are you so late?" Eleven yawned, looking a little sleepy. "This servant has already woken up once."
Qiao Xiuyu smiled and said, "I went out and bought some snacks. We still have to stay up to welcome the New Year."
Eleven muttered, "It's not about buying snacks, it's clearly about going to see..."
Qiao Xiuyu interrupted Eleven loudly, "If you're not buying snacks, what are you buying? Do you expect me to bring you New Year's gifts?"
Only then did Shiyi fully come to his senses and realize that the walls were listening.
He chuckled sheepishly, "Look at my mouth, I've unnecessarily displeased the young master during the New Year..."
Seeing that he had realized the problem, Qiao Xiuyu did not scold him further, but simply nodded and said, "It's almost midnight, and the new year is just around the corner."
Lu Shuangyi couldn't hear what the two said after that. She stomped her foot in frustration, but then suddenly remembered Qiao Xiuyu asking her last time, "Your stomping is so delicate. How old are you now?"
Lu Shuangyi: "..."
She felt very angry for some reason, kicked away Hongye who was following beside her, and was about to enter the palace when she was stopped by several eunuchs.
"How dare you stop me?" Lu Shuangyi's eyebrows shot up. "This is the palace of Southern Chen. No one has ever dared to do this before!"
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