Zi Yin up and said, "You and I are brothers by blood. Although there is a distinction between us as emperor and minister, it cannot hinder our brotherly bond. By right, you should be my imperial elder...Chapter 39: Deep into the Night, Wide Eyes Meeting Narrow Ones
"Become the empress within three months" She rolled her eyes and burned this piece of paper in frustration. I really can't understand what they are thinking.
After burning all the papers to ashes, Qi Lin finally let Green Bamboo attend to her bath. As before, it was just Green Bamboo by her side, playing with the rose petals floating on the water surface and sighing softly.
"Young Miss, why are you sighing" Noticing something unusual about Qi Lin, Green Bamboo couldn't help but ask: "Ah, I can understand your feelings. The Emperor is indeed eccentric. You were the first to reach him, and originally, the position of empress should be yours. But then..."
"Green Bamboo," Qi Lin interrupted her and picked up a petal of rose, placing it at the tip of her nose before saying, "There are some things that we shouldn't talk about. Is there any need for me to explain this myself"
With a tone akin to Elmwood's (likely referring to someone named 'Elmwood'), she was just short of tapping Green Bamboo on the head with an ivory fan. Just as she felt triumphant, who would have thought that Green Bamboo suddenly knelt down.
"Green Bamboo acknowledges her fault," bowing her head very low, almost touching the ground: "I only want to speak up for Young Miss. You jumped from such a high place and yet ended up with the lowest position. This..."
"Green Bamboo, you're making less sense as you go on," she leaned over and looked at Green Bamboo; she was always cautious around her maids, and Green Bamboo也不例外 (meaning "was no exception"). She wouldn't tell them very much about herself, but seeing Green Bamboo standing up for her like this still touched her a little. Lowering the tone of her voice, Qi Lin said: "I'm not angry at you, but some things are best left unsaid. Beware that misfortune may come from words."
Green Bamboo prostrated herself and thanked her: "Thank Young Miss for your teachings."
Nodding to let Green Bamboo rise, Qi Lin continued soaking in the water, only then realizing that there shouldn't be roses at this season. Curious, she asked: "How did these roses come about"
"These are sent by Young Master Elmwood, saying they suit your delicate fragrance," mentioning Elmwood, Green Bamboo was full of admiration.
Qi Lin shook her head slightly; while rose scent is indeed light, it wasn't exactly to her liking. She preferred the faint fragrance of tea flowers more.
Wait a moment... if anyone knew her preferences best, it would be Elmwood. Usually when she bathed, although she didn’t use petals, she still used the jasmine oil he had prepared for her. Why did things change suddenly today
Picking up one of the rose petals, she examined it carefully before placing it back into the water without a word: "Green Bamboo, the water is getting cold; go fetch some hot water."
Green Bamboo put down the bath towel and left.
Once Qi Lin was alone in the room, she collected all the petals in front of her. One by one, she raised them up under the candlelight and managed to read the words written on the petals clearly.
"Feng is inherently suspicious... the matter of the Empress consort's position... there must be more to come... keep your eyes open..." Placing all the petals with text in her hand, she thought carefully about their meaning. "Feng... could it refer to Feng Changqing He is indeed naturally suspicious... and the matter of the Empress consort's position..."
Qi Lin suddenly widened her eyes. Could the matter concerning the Empress consort's position be about the empress herself She knew that, too, right Such a significant matter—he was so astute—how could he not know What did 'there must be more to come' mean then More to come... Could it mean that Feng Changqing had some intentions behind his arrangement Keep your eyes open... Haha, truly considerate.
Just at this moment, the door creaked. Qi Lin held onto the rose petals and said, "Green Bamboo, once you've finished filling the water, please leave— I'll bathe on my own."
It was better to be cautious with such matters. Although it was her first time sending a message via rose petals, she couldn't help but worry that someone might notice. Qi Lin held onto the petals and placed them under the water.
A sound of hand splashing in the water came from behind. Qi Lin continued to say, "You don’t need to rub my back for me—please leave first."
Green Bamboo didn't respond. She must have been upset because she was scolded over such a matter for the first time. The girl had bottled up her anger and couldn’t understand why she would be scolded for something like this. Qi Lin wanted to say some comforting words, but suddenly felt an alternating cold and hot breeze on her neck. Her heart jolted in shock; she turned around abruptly.
“What is it” After finishing her sentence, Zi Yin realized he had acted out of character. He took a sip of tea and continued to say, “I was careless.”
Ju Mu smiled slightly as he opened his fan and said, "It’s rare for Your Highness to act like this."
Zi Yin shook his head speechlessly; his eyes roved. He took the fan from Ju Mu’s hand, fanning himself, saying, “Ah, I heard that Qi Lin has a unique fragrance. So I tried it out—it really is intriguing.”
After speaking, Zi Yin stared intensely at Ju Mu as he still wore a faint smile on his face, but the cold aura emanating from him became more apparent. He smiled smugly and continued, "But that little girl has quite an assertive nature—she actually dared to bite me. I originally wanted to taste her flavor—besides…"
"Your Highness," he took back his own fan without showing any emotion as he fanned himself gently, saying softly, "You should return home now—the virtuous lady at your residence is waiting for you."
Hearing Ju Mu's dismissal, Zi Yin smiled and said, “Alright, then Your Highness must take leave of Ju Mu.”
After Zi Yin left, Ju Mu put down his fan, removed the blindfold from his eyes, and in his eyes was an expression as cold as winter frost. He fixed it there.
"Truly thought-provoking."
Qi Lin blinked her eyes, quickly dressed herself, and peered through the screen at Feng Changqing outside. She really hadn’t expected him to come here in night clothes. Moreover, she had almost mistaken Feng Changqing for that mysterious man and mentioned the rose petals matter. Fortunately, because of her shyness, she didn’t say anything.
However, driven by a girl’s instincts, she still slapped Feng Changqing hard. It was thanks to this slap that she realized it was Feng Changqing.
Unexpectedly, Feng Changqing is more of a gentleman than I thought Indeed, he has the demeanor of a king. Even though he was hit, he only cursed her. It was his curse that revealed his identity. At that time, Qi Lin was just about to scold that guy as an idiot.
So. He asked her to change clothes and didn't even bother to peek Maybe it's because he's seen too many beautiful women so there's no interest in her
"Emperor..."
"I am Bai Fenghuang." Interrupting Qi Lin's words, but failing to notice that his speech still carried hierarchical terms.
Qi Lin rolled her eyes helplessly. In the dead of night like this and he still claims to be Bai Fenghuang What is wrong with this guy
A moment later. Is this what Yu Mu referred to as "later developments"
"So, Bai Fenghuang, do you have something specific to discuss" Since she had decided to play along, might as well put up a good act. Qi Lin walked over and casually poured a cup of tea for Feng Changqing. "Drink."
Feng Changqing did not hesitate to accept the cup from Qi Lin's hand. He was still fragrant with roses after his bath and even had droplets of water in his hair, giving him an alluring appearance. Feng Changqing couldn't help but lose himself for a moment before quickly hiding it.
"You are uncomfortable" On entering the room, Qi Lin looked troubled, no doubt about today's matter. Hmph, women always say one thing and mean another. Unfortunately, he, Feng Changqing, is not someone who compromises with others.
Uncomfortable You try holding back your needs for a day and see how you feel. But Qi Lin just pursed her lips and finished the tea in one go before softly asking, "Would you be comfortable if it were you"
Feng Changqing mocked with a smile, "Then why did you refuse Do you think all women need to be pampered by men However, I—the emperor—is not that kind of person."
"Yes, umm... What does this have to do with pampering" Qi Lin felt something was amiss.
Feng Changqing grabbed Qi Lin's hand; a cold glint appeared in his eyes. "Your dance is well-performed and your courage to jump off the stage is commendable. But, Hong Xue, you used sisterly emotions against your rival and even used Long Ye for closer proximity with me. Do you know that these tactics of yours are no different from how the concubines vie for my favor You're just more clever; most people wouldn't notice."
He thought Qi Lin would defend herself or say something else, but her expression showed she was merely observing the drama unfold. This puzzled Feng Changqing, who frowned and continued, "Calculating your fainting that day, you planned to make me carry you away as everyone's envy object. Then through this, Zizhen would protect you as he could guess my thoughts, right Those who wanted to harm you have been thwarted. That peony was just a pawn in your game; the same goes for Bu Yao—since you knew Long Ye fancied her, this was a two-fold advantage."
While speaking, Feng Changqing never let Qi Lin's eyes out of sight. However, the more he observed, the calmer she became, making him seem like a storyteller.
Feng Changqing grew frustrated and stood up abruptly. "You were actually awake earlier today but pretended to be asleep for me. You thought I would make you empress so you played hard to get—unfortunately for you, that's not how it works."
When she turned around, Qí Lín was sipping tea... Feng Changqing snatched the teacup from Qí Lín's hand in one swift motion and drank it down in one gulp. "This woman... what is she thinking"
Seeing that Emperor Feng didn't seem to be continuing his speech, Qí Lín also poured herself a cup of tea and said slowly, "I originally thought only outsiders would analyze so well. I never expected the emperor and White Phoenix to be equally astute. But what you just said implies that I'm quite impressive Not only did I handle everything without drawing attention, but I've also caught the emperor's notice"
At this point, Qí Lín nodded in approval.
"But you say the emperor isn't a fool" Here, Qí Lín observed Feng Changqing and seeing him frown slightly, quickly added, "You said you were White Phoenix."
Feng Changqing couldn't get angry at this moment; he nodded, allowing Qí L琳繼續說道：
“既然知道這些，還這樣配合我，是好心還是為了今天給我一個措手不及？”
“這隻是皇帝一時興起。”
“一時興起？”齊琳白了鳳長卿一眼，繼續道：“所以說啊，皇帝都是不食人間煙火的，但又自以為是，以為所有人都和他一樣愛慕虛榮。可是你知道嗎？榮華富貴都不是我想要的，我隻是想自由自在地快樂生活著，耍手段嗎？的確，在哪裡都有這些東西存在，但是並不是所有人都一樣。”
說到這裡，齊琳不禁想到了職場潛規則，無奈地歎了口氣，繼續道：“生命誠可貴，愛情價更高；若為自由故，兩者皆可拋。可是我冇有愛情，要想獲得自由，隻能先保住命。你說誰不是這樣呢？我不是神仙，但也不是魔鬼。如果彆人要這麼想，我也無可奈何，嘴巴長在彆人的身上，愛怎麼說就怎麼說。”
不知道為什麼，看著齊琳如此平靜，在說話間從未為自己辯解過半分，卻說出了許多無奈。
鳳長卿說不出責備的話來，但轉念一想，這似乎是在拐彎抹角地罵自己啊。
“喂，死女人，你剛纔是不是在罵朕？”
“啊？皇上，哪有皇上啊？我不是在和白鳳凰說話嗎？”齊琳裝傻笑道，低頭喝茶，幾乎將臉全部埋下去。卻被鳳長卿強行捏住下顎：“嗬嗬，皇上，您千萬彆誤會啊，臣妾至始至終說的都是旁人，雖然說了一句‘白癡’，但是在臣妾家鄉，‘白癡’有很多意思的，比如可愛。”
“可愛？”這是第一次聽到彆人這樣說自己，鳳長卿來了興趣，方纔的怒火瞬間煙飛雲散，一本正經地看著齊琳說道：“說來聽聽。”
齊琳也不顧形象地盤腿而坐，繼續道：“呐，有些人，說你好話未必是心中所想；有些人口不言未必是冇有話說。有人說了話之後就死了，這是為什麼？這裡不用我說明瞭吧？但是，請問，死的人你能說他不聰明嗎？”
“那這和可愛有什麼關係？”鳳長卿也盤腿席地而坐，像聽故事的小孩子一樣盯著齊琳。n helplessly shook her head; although she didn't fully understand the situation, she knew that it was the sound of the flute that had been the real driving force behind everything. But why wasn't the榆...