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墨書 Inktalez
When Qing Wu woke up, she had not yet opened her eyes. Just a slight movement caused her hand, which was resting by her side, to be immediately grasped by someone.
The strength and warmth of the palm were familiar to her.
Without needing to look, she softly asked, "Did I sleep for a long time?"
"No," the Young Emperor's voice was slightly hoarse, "just a little over an hour."
"A little over an hour?"
Qing Wu was taken aback and suddenly sat up. Upon opening her eyes and seeing the sunlight streaming through the window, she was momentarily dazzled and felt dizzy.
Huo Yun'ai happened to see this and quickly tossed aside the book he was holding, standing up to support her. Noticing her delicate brows furrowed in discomfort, he gently rubbed her forehead with his fingers.
Once the girl gradually relaxed and seemed much better, he released his hand, helped her up, and softly asked, "Are you still uncomfortable?"
"Much better." After Qing Wu steadied herself, she slowly let go of him.
Turning her gaze to where he had placed the book, she then noticed that he had moved a small table next to the bookshelf to the bedside. It was equipped with ink, paper, and brushes, along with two sheets of paper filled with writing.
She felt a bit surprised. "You were here the whole time?"
"Yes."
Qing Wu felt quite guilty, realizing that she had been too reckless before. Her drunkenness had delayed him for quite some time. Apologetically, she said, "You really didn't have to stay here personally. Dou Mama could have done it." Suddenly remembering that Dou Mama had gone with Granny Lu to reprimand the palace maids earlier, she added, "Uncle Yu or Li Zi could have done it as well."
Huo Yun'ai noticed that her clothes were slightly wrinkled from behind and was adjusting them for her when he paused at her words. He raised his eyes and glanced at her indifferently. He did not respond to what she said but took her hand and walked aside.
On the table was a cup of warm tea. It was neither hot nor cold, just right for drinking.
After Qing Wu sat down, Huo Yun'ai handed her the tea. Watching the girl sip it, he suddenly said, "Your mother must be right."
Must be right? Right about what?
Qing Wu continued to drink the tea, looking at him in confusion.
Steam rose from the tea, creating a mist that covered the girl's eyes.
She looked hazy and delicate, quite adorable.
The White-Clad Youth stared at her for a while, then slowly turned his face away to look at the bookshelf beside him and said, "It's best not to let others see you when you're drunk."
Qing Wu was intrigued by this.
He feels that way too?
So she set her teacup aside and asked in confusion, "Why?"
The Young Emperor was stumped by the question.
After a long silence, unsure of how to respond, he bluntly stated, "From now on, you can only drink with me. No one else."
"My parents and brothers can't either?"
Parents? Brothers?
Huo Yun'ai pressed her lips tightly together.
Parents are one thing. It doesn't matter.
As for my elder brother...
Those three are not related to her by blood. If they were to see her...
"Absolutely not." The Young Emperor decisively rejected the idea, fearing she might still harbor any hopes, and directly issued a strict order: "Other matters can be set aside. This matter must be followed as I say. You are not allowed to drink in front of others."
With that, he turned to look at the girl, "What do you think?"
He rarely made demands of her. Most of the time, he would seek her opinion and would never force her into anything.
To be honest, making her "must" do something felt like the first time.
Qing Wu thought to herself that her drunken appearance might be too embarrassing. Previously, when her mother got drunk, she was very well-behaved; perhaps it was just to comfort her.
So she dejectedly nodded and muttered a "fine."
—As a young lady, she ultimately cared about her appearance. Knowing that she wouldn't look good when drunk was quite disheartening, wasn't it?
Seeing her downcast expression, Huo Yun'ai thought that his tone had frightened her. He stepped closer to her, leaned down, and brought his face near hers, whispering, "It's not that I'm deliberately making things difficult for you. It's just that if you were to...," he paused, "it wouldn't look good if others saw."
...It was a bit too tempting.
Qing Wu simply thought she understood him correctly and nodded, saying, "I'll do as you say."
She always kept her promises to him.
Young Emperor felt relieved, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
It was already afternoon. Huo Yun'ai still had many matters to attend to.
Qing Wu took a moment to gather herself, and once she felt more refreshed, she went to the Imperial Study to tidy up his desk. After he began to handle state affairs, she then walked outside.
Originally, she intended to go to the Imperial Garden to pick some fresh plum blossoms to decorate his room and add a splash of color. However, as soon as she stepped out of the Door, she saw Li Zi anxiously pacing in the corridor, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
Hearing the sound of the door closing, Li Zi looked up. Upon seeing Qing Wu, her face lit up with joy. She hurried over and whispered urgently, "Miss, you’re finally out."
Qing Wu was worried that their conversation at the door would disturb Huo Yun'ai inside, so she gestured for Li Zi to move towards the courtyard.
Once they were a bit farther from the Imperial Study, Qing Wu stopped and turned to ask the eunuch following them, "What happened? What’s going on?"
Li Zi spoke quickly and anxiously, "It’s Dou Mama and Granny Lu! They got into an argument over Cai Ping and Jade Orchid! You need to go and mediate!"
Qing Wu was confused and quickly asked, "Slow down. What exactly is going on?" Realizing that it might be urgent, she wanted to hurry over to see Dou Mama, so she said, "Let’s walk while you explain. Who is Jade Orchid, and who is Cai Ping?"
Only then did Li Zi remember that Qing Wu was not familiar with the palace. She began explaining the situation as they walked.
It turned out that Cai Ping was the maid who had previously been seen heavily made up loitering outside Huo Yun'ai's palace.
After Dou Mama and Granny Lu had scolded her, they intended to send Cai Ping off for menial work. However, before they could finalize her punishment, another maid named Jade Orchid, who was friendly with Cai Ping, arrived.
Having entered the palace at thirteen during the reign of the Former Emperor, Jade Orchid had been there for seven years and held a good status due to her decent background. She immediately argued with the two matrons and recklessly took Cai Ping away.
Just as they reached outside of Granny Lu's quarters, they could faintly hear Dou Mama's voice coming from inside.
"Even though she has been in the palace for seven years, she is still ultimately behind you and me. If that's the case, be a bit tougher and just retort her words back!"
"But she isn't wrong either." Granny Lu sighed, "That Cai Ping is not under our jurisdiction. Moreover, at that time, I only had my doubts about Cai Ping's intentions and didn't have any solid evidence. It's fine to scold her, but I believe Cai Ping will be more restrained in the future."
"She is so carefree; do you think she will actually restrain herself? Only you, the good-natured one, would listen to everything others say!"
"But if we let her continue like this, we will inevitably have to hear those filthy words from her mouth again. I'm just worried about you getting angry," Granny Lu said helplessly.
Mentioning Jade Orchid's words made Dou Mama even angrier. She turned sideways and sat down on a chair, no longer speaking.
Granny Lu felt a bit guilty.
It was she who had called Dou Mama over to help. Who would have thought such a situation would arise?
This is quite unfortunate.
Dou Mama kindly helped her but ended up being ridiculed by Jade Orchid.
That Jade Orchid was sharp-tongued, saying things like Dou Mama "is no longer a palace person yet still meddles in palace affairs," and "since she is close to Lord Liu, she should only take care of Lord Liu and not interfere with us." She also accused the elder maid of "bullying younger ones because of her age," while claiming that "she is also an old resident of the palace and fears no one."
Dou Mama was sent by His Majesty to take care of Liu Young Lady; she wasn't demoted from the palace. However, only a few trusted aides around His Majesty knew about this, making it difficult to argue on the surface.
As for Jade Orchid, she indeed had considerable seniority in the palace.
According to Dou Mama's reasoning, if she couldn't retort back well, Granny Lu, being a capable person close to the emperor, could always reprimand Jade Orchid a few times.
Who would have thought that Granny Lu's verbal skills were not as strong as her opponent's? In just a few exchanges, she was already at a disadvantage...
Dou Mama was feeling quite upset when she saw someone walk in through the curtain.
The figure was petite and moved gracefully; it could only be one of her own girls.
Upon seeing Qing Wu, Dou Mama's anger dissipated significantly. She stood up and asked, "What brings you here, my lady?" Noticing Li Zi shrinking back, she immediately understood most of the situation and scolded, "You are being too nosy!"
Qing Wu smiled and led her to sit down beside her. She said, "Why let others disturb your peace? They are just some restless people; why get upset over them?"
Dou Mama replied angrily, "It's just that I can't stand that person's arrogant demeanor. That Jade Orchid relies on the Imperial Teacher's backing and acts without restraint!"
"Imperial Teacher?" Qing Wu paused for a moment. "Zheng An?"
This was indeed surprising.
Granny Lu sighed, "Isn't that how it is in the palace? The Eunuchs are one thing, but we just have to endure for a few years. Whoever has a longer tenure or broader connections gets to have a say here. Otherwise, it's all meaningless."
Qing Wu was quite astonished to hear this.
So it turned out that the palace maids at this time were ranked not by status but by seniority, just like in some dynasty she had seen in the past?
She quietly noted this down in her mind. After calming Dou Mama for a while and seeing that she was no longer greatly affected, she left the room.
Standing quietly at the door for a moment, she made up her mind and quickly headed towards the Imperial Study.
Huo Yun'ai was still reading. Qing Wu did not disturb him but waited until he paused to prepare tea before saying, "The women in the palace are completely unregulated?"
Huo Yun'ai did not expect her to bring this up. After a moment of surprise, he smiled faintly and gestured for her to sit beside him.
When the two were sitting close together, he finally asked, "What made you think of this?"
Qing Wu knew that Dou Mama's matters could not escape Huo Yun'ai's attention. He would find out soon enough, so she roughly explained it to him and expressed her own doubts.
"Actually, the Grand General mentioned this matter to Father Emperor back in the day. Since there were no consorts by Father Emperor's side, the palace maids acted according to the practices of the previous dynasty," Huo Yun'ai pondered. "However, not long after, the Grand General passed away, and this matter was put on hold. I recalled it a while ago and researched some ancient history, gaining a bit of understanding."
It was also at that time that she learned about the position of Lady-in-Waiting.
Qing Wu contemplated and said, "Continuing like this is ultimately not a solution." This was still an issue today. If more problems arose in the future, they couldn't rely on the eunuchs to manage everything, could they?
Huo Yun'ai turned to look at the girl deep in thought and suddenly had an idea. "Why don't you give it a try?"
"Me?" Qing Wu was taken aback and shyly replied, "I know very little."
In her previous life, she did not come from a history background. She only had a general understanding during her leisure time and did not know much.
The Young Emperor smiled slightly and said, "It's fine. You can take your time with it. Because—"
He raised his finger and gently brushed aside the girl's loose hair. His fingertip paused as it touched her cheek.
"…I think starting to let you manage the harem might be a good idea."
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