Chapter 35: Meeting Him "Shushu, come here."
Qingtao's words were naturally what Yan Shu was thinking.
She looked at her empty ankle, her mind in turmoil. Could it be that Xiao Yu would really let her go so easily?
In her previous life, she was chained with this chain for a whole year, and even until her death, she never took off the pair of gold rings on her ankles.
But who would have thought that this time, the chain was untied after just one night, which really puzzled Yan Shu.
Was Xiao Yu testing her? Or was he truly being kind? Or perhaps he was satisfied with her performance last night, so he gave her some freedom?
All kinds of speculations swirled in Yan Shu's mind, but she still couldn't guess Xiao Yu's thoughts.
His cunning was truly unfathomable, and his actions were so crazy and weird that she couldn't outsmart him even if she tried her best.
Since this is the case, it is better not to think too much about it and just take it one day at a time.
Qingtao didn't think as much as Yanshu. She just watched her princess's chains being untied, and she felt surprised and happy. She immediately felt hopeful and couldn't help but say happily.
"Princess, since the king has released you, doesn't that mean he's calmed down? In fact, he still has you in his heart!"
After hearing Qingtao's words, Yan Shu still didn't dare to be sure whether Xiao Yu had a place for her in his heart, but at least compared to her previous life, all of this was a good start.
"Xiao Yu's thoughts are really hard to guess. Not to mention the drugging incident that day, he and I still have an old grudge. It's not like him to just lightly brush it off like this." The girl spoke softly, her face calm.
Qing Tao said, "In my opinion, the King is acting this way because he has feelings for the Princess. If he truly hated her, why would he be so gentle with her now?"
According to common sense, if one really wanted to torture people in every possible way, the dungeon of the Xiao Palace would have plenty of ways to torture people. The fact that she and the princess escaped without being punished was enough to show what King Xiao thought of the princess.
But no matter what she said, her own princess just said that King Xiao was only temporarily attached to her, and if he got tired of her body in the future, he would kill her without mercy.
Yan Shu just sighed at Qingtao's naivety for a moment, but she could still understand her thoughts in her heart.
After all, Qingtao has not personally experienced what happened in her previous life, so she thinks that Xiao Yu now has feelings for her.
But Yan Shu had died once, so now she had to consider everything carefully before she could feel at ease.
So she hoped Qingtao would leave, or at least leave the palace early to save her life before Xiao Yu changed his mind.
Because this was the last thing Yan Shu was able to ask for her.
But Qingtao was an extremely stubborn person. No matter how much Yan Shu said, even if she got angry, she would never leave.
"I have been serving Huiji since I was young. I will never forget the kindness Huiji and the princess have shown me!"
Qingtao is an orphan. If Huiji had not taken her in when she was young, she would have died long ago. Huiji and the princess have treated her very sincerely over the years. Qingtao has already regarded them as her relatives. So now that Yan Shu is in such a situation, how could she be willing to leave?
"I have no parents, and even if I leave the palace, I have nowhere to go. I have no future, and I cannot live the kind of life that the princess wants me to live. Now I only hope that the princess will allow me to stay in this palace and continue to be by your side."
Seeing Qingtao crying non-stop, Yan Shu felt sad and distressed.
It can be said that apart from her mother, Qingtao is the person closest to her and whom she trusts the most in this world. She also selfishly wants to keep her by her side, but precisely because she cares about her too much, she doesn't want Qingtao to die because of her.
Seeing Yan Shu crying at this moment, Qingtao understood. She knew that the princess was afraid of hurting herself.
But she didn't care. She was not afraid at all of living and dying with the princess.
Seeing Qingtao's firm determination, Yan Shu could only agree with tears. In an instant, the master and servant, or the two who were as close as sisters, burst into tears and couldn't stop crying.
After venting her anger, Yan Shu finally felt better. After all, no matter how calm and composed she was, she was just a young girl in her twenties.
Yan Shu wiped her tears, and Qingtao went outside to ask someone to bring water for Yan Shu to wash up.
The girl got off the bunk bed and sat on the small couch by the window. She felt that without the chains and gold rings, her movements became much easier.
Looking at the faint red mark on her ankle, she asked Qingtao to get the body ointment she usually applied from the box on the dressing table.
After sitting on the couch and wiping it carefully, Yan Shu felt a little relieved.
After all, she is a girl who loves beauty very much, and she cannot accept even a harmless mark on her ankle.
When Qingtao took the clothes and helped her change, Yan Shu couldn't help but be shocked when she saw the marks on her snow-white skin.
There were many red marks on her chest, arms, and even the roots of her hair.
Her face flushed hot, and Qingtao, who was holding the dress beside her, blushed.
I just thought that the princess was so pitiful. Her skin was already delicate, and now she had to suffer such torture from King Xiao.
Yan Shu was actually helpless and had to use ointment to wipe off the traces. As for the places on her back that she couldn't reach, she asked Qingtao to do it for her.
Fortunately, these marks are not itchy or painful, and not that annoying.
After washing up, the sun was already shining brightly outside the yard.
Qingtao served lunch, and while waiting, Yan Shu thought about taking a walk in the yard.
After all, now that the chains have been removed, she doesn't have to be trapped in the Baohua Palace every day.
Thinking of the lotus pot in the yard, she hadn't admired it for several days.
When Yan Shu stepped into the courtyard, the palace servants who were slacking off everywhere immediately widened their eyes.
No one knew that Lady Yan was released from house arrest today.
They had thought that now that Concubine Yan had lost her power, it was no use for them to waste time in Baohua Palace, so they planned to find a job in another palace as soon as possible.
So these days, except for those palace servants who were inflexible and well-behaved, everyone else in Baohua Palace was quite lazy.
When Yan Shu came out at this time, everyone outside the courtyard was shocked and saluted her one by one.
Yan Shu looked at the scattered crowd and sighed in her heart.
People go to high places and water flows to low places. It has always been so in this palace.
Qingtao cursed a few words angrily.
"Normally, I've never been harsh with you! I've never let you down with any rewards, but now you're looking for a better partner after just a few days in my room!"
Some people were ashamed of Qingtao's words, while others still didn't take it seriously. But fortunately, now that they saw that Lady Yan was no longer under house arrest, they all restrained their laziness.
Yan Shu didn't want to care about them. As long as they didn't offend her openly, she didn't bother to pay attention.
When Qingtao saw Yan Shu's calm and indifferent look, she felt distressed.
After seeing that the lotus flowers in the water tank were still gorgeous and eye-catching, Yan Shu felt much better.
But this good mood did not last long. After seeing the meal delivered from the kitchen, Yan Shu frowned.
Not to mention that all the dishes had to be rose pastry, today's dishes were not even fresh.
There were wilted greens, roasted meat that looked like it had been reheated several times and had turned slightly black, and a plate of grapes that had little juice.
Not to mention the rice, it even smelled slightly burnt.
"They are going too far!" Qingtao was immediately furious and immediately grabbed the monk who brought the meal and argued with him.
"That's how you treat beautiful women! How dare you send these things to fool people!"
The eunuch panicked upon seeing this and quickly explained, "I'm only here to deliver the meal, I don't know anything else!"
"Forget it." Yan Shu put down her chopsticks. She looked at the two of them and said, "Qingtao, let him go."
"But he clearly..." Qingtao was a little unwilling.
"He is not the one who makes the decision, so there is no point in making things difficult for him." Yan Shu said again.
Upon hearing this, Qingtao could only loosen the temple servant's collar, and the temple servant immediately thanked Yan Shu repeatedly upon seeing this.
"Thank you for your forgiveness, my beauty. Thank you for your forgiveness!"
After the monk left, Yan Shu stared at the dishes in a daze.
Maybe it's because he has lived a life of luxury for too long, and now he can't eat the things in front of him.
In her previous life, when she was imprisoned for a year, Yan Shu was actually treated coldly by the palace servants. However, she was so angry at the time that she had no appetite at all. Later, she fainted from hunger after just a few days.
When she woke up again, the palace maids in Baohua Palace had been replaced, and the meals delivered every day were no different from those when she was favored in the past.
In fact, Yan Shu didn't quite understand why Xiao Yu saved her at that time. Wouldn't it be better to just let her starve to death?
Later, Yan Shu thought about it and finally concluded that Xiao Yu was not tired of playing with her body, so he would not let her starve to death so early.
Qingtao looked at the princess in a daze and felt very anxious.
It is impossible to let the princess eat such rough meals every day. Qingtao was so angry that she immediately wanted to argue, but was stopped by Yan Shu.
"Princess, are you going to let them off so easily? They are so outrageous!"
Yan Shu shook her head, then looked at Qing Tao and said seriously, "It's useless to argue with them. Since they dare to do this, they are not afraid of my anger at all."
Qing Tao felt a little disheartened and distressed when she heard this: "Does the princess have to endure this kind of grievance from now on?"
"Of course not." Yan Shu held Qing Tao in a soothing tone. "Since you have decided to live well, how can you let yourself down? After all, food is the most important thing for people. I can't stand eating this meal every day."
For a girl who loves to eat like Yu Yanshu, eating such dishes every day is tantamount to killing her.
"Since Xiao Yu still has feelings for me, he naturally won't let me starve to death like this." Yan Shu said again.
"What does the princess mean?" Qingtao hesitated, looking a little confused.
"I'm going to Changming Palace to see King Xiao." Yan Shu looked at Qingtao and said so.
Yan Shu's thoughts were very simple. Since Xiao Yu liked her body, she would make good use of it to create a good situation for herself.
Now that we can live one day well, we should live one day well.
The most important thing now is to discipline the palace servants under her who even withheld her food.
Qingtao couldn't help but feel a little happy when she saw her princess cheering up.
So after dressing up, Yan Shu left Baohua Palace smoothly.
They rode in a sedan chair all the way and arrived at Changming Palace in less than a moment.
Qingtao helped Yan Shu get off the sedan chair and was about to step onto the white marble steps in front of the palace when she saw a familiar figure walking down towards them. It was obvious that he came from Changming Palace.
Yan Shu was stunned that she would meet Yan Qingwan in front of Changming Palace.
Yan Qingwan naturally saw Yan Shu as well, and immediately came up to her with a smile.
"Wan'er hasn't seen the princess for quite some time. I miss her so much."
Yan Qingwan's voice was gentle and soft, as if she was really particularly kind to Yan Shu after seeing her.
If Yan Shu had not seen Yan Qingwan's smug look in her previous life, she would not have been able to tell that she harbored resentment in her heart.
"Why is Sister Wan'er here?" Yan Shu didn't want to pay attention to her courtesy, but just asked the question in her heart.
Yan Qingwan smiled shyly upon hearing this, and then replied, "Wan'er is here to bring nourishing soup to the king on behalf of the Queen Mother."
Yan Shu frowned immediately, thinking that Yan Qingwan was working in the ancestral temple, and when did she get involved with Empress Dowager Zhao Jing.
Yan Qingwan seemed to see Yan Shu's confusion, and the smile on her face became quite meaningful.
"It's all thanks to the princess that Wan'er was transferred to the ancestral temple by the king. The other day, she happened to meet the queen mother and was favored by her. Now, she has the honor of serving in the Suning Palace."
Hearing Yan Qingwan's words, Yan Shu's heart skipped a beat, but she forced herself to remain calm and smiled, saying, "Sister Wan'er is so lucky. She is always so lovable."
The two of them stood here, and Zhou Tong had already seen Yan Shu's figure. He raised his hand to signal the attendant beside him to pass on the message, and then hurried down from the outside of the palace gate to greet Yan Shu.
"When did Lady Yan come here?"
Zhou Tong still had that earnest smile on his face, which hadn't changed at all compared to the past. This attitude made Yan Shu feel a lot more at ease.
"I just came for a while. Is the king reviewing memorials?" Yan Shu asked, worried that Xiao Yu was busy with government affairs and was not around.
Zhou Tong immediately nodded and said, "The king is busy, but it's not a big deal. The king has already instructed that when you arrive, Lady Yan, you can go straight into the palace."
Yan Shu was slightly distracted, while Yan Qingwan, who was standing beside her, couldn't help but change her expression after hearing Zhou Tong's words. She just said a few polite words in a gentle voice and went towards Suining Palace.
Yan Shu looked at her back thoughtfully, then looked at Zhou Tong beside her and couldn't help asking, "Has the king met Wan Ji today?"
Zhou Tong immediately shook his head. "The king has ordered that he not see anyone." He then added, "Except you, my beauty, of course."
Yan Shu remembered that Yan Qingwan had come to deliver nourishing soup, and just now she saw that she had nothing in her hands, so she asked again, "What about the nourishing soup you brought? Your Majesty, don't you want to drink it?"
Zhou Tong also shook his head, "The king hasn't even seen them yet, so he gave them all to his attendants."
Only then did Yan Shu feel relieved.
When she saw Yan Qingwan just now, she thought things would go the same way as in her previous life.
After all, Yan Qingwan is now serving the Queen Mother, so she probably has more opportunities to get close to Xiao Yu.
Yan Shu was not afraid of the two of them coming into contact out of jealousy, but because the ending of her previous life had left a deep shadow on her, so she naturally couldn't bear to see things develop in the same way as in her previous life.
Fortunately, Xiao Yu did not meet Yan Qingwan today, so she still has time to seek advice.
After thinking about it, he had already arrived outside the palace gate.
Just as Zhou Tong said, Yan Shu was led directly into the hall without any announcement.
Xiao Yu had stopped reviewing the memorials. When he heard the sound of someone coming, he raised his dark eyes, which were filled with a hint of undercurrent and unclear emotions.
Yan Shu felt a little nervous, but she still bowed properly as usual.
"I pay my respects to the king. May the king be well and safe."
The person in front of me looked even more lively and vivid than when he was sleeping soundly last night, making me tremble with fear.
The young king's pupils shrank slightly, and then he quickly suppressed the gloom in his expression and said in a low voice:
"Shushu, come here."
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