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墨書 Inktalez
Early in the morning, news spread that Qing Wu was going to the Brewery to see the palace maids there, leaving everyone in a state of surprise and uncertainty.
Dou Mama hesitated, saying, "That place has a strong smell, and the young ladies can't handle alcohol well; it's not very convenient."
"What's wrong with that?" Qing Wu replied with a smile. "I'm just going to take a look, not to drink."
"But why did you choose that place?" Li Zi pinched his nose and exaggeratedly waved his hand in front of it as if trying to ward off the smell. "In such a place, after one visit, you'd need to wash three times to get rid of the odor."
Qing Wu merely smiled and said nothing more.
In fact, she chose to get closer to the people at the Brewery because their living quarters were conveniently located between the Sewing Workshop and the Dining Hall. Moreover, the Brewery was not on the list provided by Huo Yun'ai.
Additionally, from Granny Lu's hints, it was clear that the people from the Sewing Workshop held themselves in high regard, believing they performed the most respectable and cleanest work among palace maids, thus looking down on others.
The Brewmistresses always carried a lingering scent of alcohol, while those from the Dining Hall were often associated with cooking fumes. The maids from the Sewing Workshop were quite at odds with both groups. However, the relationship between the maids from the Brewery and those from the Dining Hall was relatively harmonious.
After much thought, Qing Wu realized she could not completely disregard Huo Yun'ai. It would be better to maintain good relations with the Brewery staff. On one hand, she could understand the current situation of the palace maids and seek suitable solutions for managing them. On the other hand, she might glean information about movements in the Dining Hall and Sewing Workshop. Perhaps she could help Huo Yun'ai at some point.
She decided to bring this up now mainly because she feared that Huo Yun'ai might intentionally obstruct her if he thought about the Brewery's unique position.
Once she had already visited the Brewery and things were set in motion, he wouldn't be able to stop her.
Having made up her mind, Qing Wu presented her thoughts and smiled at Li Zi, asking tentatively, "I wonder if Li Gonggong has some free time to accompany me on this trip?"
Li Zi was taken aback and first bowed respectfully. "I can't accept being called 'Li Gonggong' by you; just call me 'Li Zi.'" Then he hesitated again.
This was mainly because he truly disliked the smell of brewing alcohol.
Qing Wu is actually looking for him for a reason.
Dou Mama is not on good terms with Brewery's Yen Mama. If they cross paths, it would be quite troublesome.
Li Zi is clever and can be charming. There are many Eunuch Yu over there, and matters that Qing Wu cannot handle can be resolved by Li Zi. With him around, things will indeed be much easier.
Huo Yun'ai is currently attending the morning court, and Uncle Yu naturally has to stand by. Li Zi happens to have nothing to do at this moment. Whether he can go or not depends entirely on his own willingness.
In the end, Li Zi gritted his teeth and agreed.
The reason is simple.
—Lord Liu is not afraid of a young lady. If he were still afraid, wouldn’t he be laughed at to death?
The brewery is located in a very remote area of the palace. The spacious courtyard has more than twenty rooms.
The few rooms responsible for brewing are damp and hot.
In the Cold Month of December, while other places are cold enough to make one shiver, here it is humid and hot like midsummer, making it even harder to endure.
Before long, Qing Wu was drenched in sweat.
The tall, dark-skinned middle-aged woman standing in the center of the room glanced at her and said coldly, "What is a delicate young lady doing here? Are you suffering? You're just in the way."
People nearby occasionally echoed her sentiments.
Most of the people in this room were dressed in eunuch attire. After all, this particular task required physical strength, and the brewmistresses were not as suitable as they were. There were indeed few palace maids as strong as someone like Yen Mama.
Seeing this, Li Zi hurriedly approached the eunuchs to engage them in conversation, diverting their attention from Qing Wu to himself.
With fewer curious gazes around, Qing Wu made her way to the woman.
She tried hard to ignore her sweat-soaked clothes and said, "Today, Dou Mama couldn't accompany me due to some matters. I thought the atmosphere was nice, so I wanted to come and see you."
By specifically mentioning Dou Mama's absence, Yen Mama, who had been stern-faced earlier, revealed a hint of a smile.
Putting down her tools and sizing up Qing Wu, Yen Mama said, "You know that I don't get along with her." She was quite frank about it.
Qing Wu did not shy away from the topic and replied, "Dou Mama mentioned that I should go out and explore a bit; she brought it up once or twice."
"She knows to avoid me; I’ll give her that. The two of us argue whenever we meet; it’s better if we don’t see each other at all."
Yen Mama wiped her sweat with a towel hanging around her neck and nodded at Qing Wu. "Come on out." She then led the way out of the room.
Stepping suddenly from the stifling heat into the frigid courtyard was too much for those with weaker constitutions.
Qing Wu had just started to sweat earlier. Now, being hit by the cold wind made her shiver all over.
Yet she gritted her teeth and remained silent, forcing a smile as if that would prevent others from noticing her discomfort.
After watching her for a while, Yen Mama sighed, "You delicate girl, why come here to suffer when you could go anywhere else?"
After thinking for a moment, Yen Mama took her to a clean and tidy house. There, a Brewmistress was temporarily switching tasks while sorting grains.
Sitting on a low stool beside the grains, Yen Mama said to Qing Wu, "You may speak. What do you need my help with?"
Qing Wu felt much more comfortable and thanked her.
Seeing that Yen Mama was busy selecting grains, she took the opportunity to sit beside her and help out, saying, "I hope you can share the brewing process with me and the key points to pay attention to. If possible, it would be best if you could explain the roles of everyone in the Brewery."
She smiled and added, "I am currently doing statistics related to the Twelve Workshops. I have quite a few requests, so I hope for your understanding."
...
On the way back, Qing Wu sat in the sedan chair, utterly exhausted and drowsy.
There were many affairs at the distillery. To chat with Yen Mama a little longer, she helped her with work for quite some time.
It wasn't particularly complicated work. It was just about picking out the inferior grains and stacking the good ones together. After gathering a large pile of selected grains, they would be sorted again.
It was essential to ensure that every grain used for brewing was flawless.
At first, Qing Wu thought it wasn't much. She chatted with Yen Mama while working. However, after finishing that large pile, when Yen Mama prepared to carry the grains for the next task, she also got up to leave.
Straightening her back, she realized her whole body was sore. Her head felt heavy as well. She couldn't tell if it was due to the occasional waft of alcohol in the air or because she had been sitting and sorting without moving, or perhaps it was from being exposed to the cold wind earlier.
She stumbled out of the Door and as soon as she stopped, a wave of dizziness hit her. Unintentionally, she bumped into Eunuch Yu, who was holding a wine jar, spilling a large puddle of wine on his clothing.
The commotion here startled Li Zi. He rushed over upon hearing the news, and when he saw Qing Wu's pale face, he turned green with fear and quickly called for a sedan chair to carry her.
Once she got into the sedan chair, Qing Wu felt somewhat better, but her whole body was limp and she had no energy to move.
She had been raised in pampered conditions. Doing such strenuous work for an entire hour was a first for her, especially after being splashed with so much wine.
Although she was covered by a cloak to shield her from the cold wind, which prevented her from getting too chilled in her wet clothes, the alcohol easily evaporated. Before long, the rich aroma lingered around her.
For someone like her, who couldn't handle alcohol well, this was certainly not something to be happy about.
Already exhausted, the additional stimulation made her feel even more drained. Whether it was because she was only now feeling the fatigue or due to the effects of the alcohol, what had initially felt like seven parts tiredness now felt like a full ten.
Weakly thinking to herself, she was glad that she had overheard some useful information from Yen Mama's casual remarks; otherwise, she would have truly been frustrated.
She had planned to return to her room to bathe and change clothes, but as she approached Zhaoning Palace, she encountered Uncle Yu hurrying back.
Qing Wu quickly signaled for everyone to stop the sedan chair.
As Uncle Yu approached, he was about to greet Qing Wu when he caught sight of her appearance behind the curtain of the sedan chair. He was genuinely startled and forgot his greeting, exclaiming, "Miss? What happened?"
Qing Wu looked up at him and forced a bitter smile as she said, "Tired. Dizzy."
She didn't have the strength to say another word.
Seeing this, Li Zi hurriedly explained Qing Wu's itinerary for the day to Uncle Yu.
Uncle Yu listened and thought to himself that it was bad. If His Majesty knew that the young lady was feeling this way, it would be a serious matter.
He raised his hand and gave his disciple a hard slap on the head, saying, "Can't you see? You should be protecting the young lady." Uncle Yu then cleared his throat towards the rough palace maids carrying the sedan chair.
The maids had already seen that the person approaching was Eunuch Yu, the most capable aide to the Emperor. Now that they noticed his gesture, they understood that Eunuch Yu had something to discuss with the master, and quickly retreated to avoid interrupting their conversation.
Once there was no one else around to hear, Uncle Yu said to Qing Wu, "Dou Mama is not here, and those serving in Ningxin Pavilion are probably not competent enough. It would be better for you to rest here; you can trust us to look after you."
This was indeed the Emperor's sleeping quarters.
With the Emperor currently absent, how could the master take it upon himself to let the young lady rest here?
Li Zi felt a surge of anxiety and glanced at his master. Seeing him as steady as a mountain, he finally felt relieved.
Qing Wu was already exhausted and nearly ready to collapse. She glanced at the steps of Zhaoning Palace, shook her head, indicating that it wouldn't work.
Uncle Yu felt a bit anxious.
He knew where Dou Mama had gone. Previously, when he went to Jingzhao Prefecture to handle Liu Fangshi's case, Dou Mama had contributed significantly. The Emperor must have summoned her privately regarding either Liu Fangshi's case or Zheng An's case.
At this moment, he couldn't feel at ease letting anyone else take care of the young lady.
But he and Li Zi were also not in a position to go serve in Ningxin Pavilion!
After some thought, Uncle Yu made up his mind. He shouted loudly at the few rough palace maids carrying the sedan chair, "What are you standing there for? Lift her up! His Majesty wants to see Lord Liu!"
The palace maid carrying the sedan chair had no idea that His Majesty was not in the hall. She assumed that the first favored person in front of His Majesty was indeed present, and she exerted great effort to get the chair lifted.
These people were highly skilled. Qing Wu inside felt a slight sway, and before she could even experience dizziness, they had already arrived at the palace door.
Once she got out of the chair, and since the task was completed, the maids bowed and withdrew.
The smell of alcohol on her body needed to be washed away with a bath and a change of clothes.
However, Qing Wu had no strength left; even returning to Ningxin Pavilion was difficult, let alone worrying about anything else.
Upon entering and seeing Huo Yun'ai's large bed, she stopped thinking about anything else, staggered over, casually undid her cloak and tossed it aside, then collapsed onto the bed.
Her whole body felt like it was falling apart in pain. She didn't even want to move.
But lying face down wasn't a solution either.
Slowly, she turned over to lie down properly; she refused to move any further, just lying there in her clothes with her eyes closed to rest.
When the door creaked open and that familiar sound of footsteps approached, Qing Wu was actually already awake.
To be precise, she was so exhausted that she had never fully fallen asleep.
She knew Huo Yun'ai had entered the room. However, due to her discomfort, she was too lazy to speak or even open her eyes.
She let him approach step by step while she kept her eyes tightly shut, resting.
But the girl, lying still and resting, was seen by the White-Clad Youth as if she were sound asleep.
Although there was a Furnace in the room, lying down fully clothed like this made it easy to catch a chill.
The young man was afraid of disturbing the girl, so he walked over quietly. He took the brocade blanket beside her and slowly pulled it over her. However, when he brought the blanket up to her chin, he accidentally brushed against the skin on her neck.
It was delicate, soft, and carried a slight chill. It made one’s heart...
Burn with heat.
Huo Yun'ai intended to turn around and leave immediately. But at that moment, he caught a whiff of the alcohol scent coming from the girl.
He leaned closer to sniff.
Indeed, there was quite a bit of alcohol on her.
The rich aroma of the liquor mixed with her fragrance, making it particularly pronounced and enticing.
This unique blend of scents instantly awakened memories that he had deliberately suppressed and hidden away in his heart.
The Young Emperor was at an age filled with youthful passion and budding feelings.
He had already tasted sweetness once before. He had been afraid of being discovered by her, enduring silently without daring to show any signs of difference.
Now that a great opportunity lay before him, even someone as calm and composed as he could not resist such temptation so close at hand.
As if under Demonic Influence, he slowly raised his finger and brushed it against her lips.
Crimson, soft. With a charm and allure that transcended her age, it was the most unforgettable image in his mind.
The familiar sensation of his fingertips was hard to forget.
And also unforgettable...
The lingering entanglement they had experienced there...
How had she drunk again?
Fortunately, she still remembered that he was the safest place, and she returned peacefully.
Was she asleep?
Yes. With her low tolerance for alcohol, she must have fallen asleep.
Driven by an intense and unbearable desire, the young man slowly leaned down, filled with a near-reverent anxiety. Just like the last time she had been drunk, he gently and lightly pressed his lips against that haunting Crimson...
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