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墨書 Inktalez
Wen Qingyue felt as if he had been drained of all energy, his eyes dimming in an instant. He appeared somewhat dazed, repeatedly murmuring a few phrases. It was vaguely discernible that he was saying "dead" and "all dead," among other things.
He usually presented himself as refined and composed; when had Qing Wu ever seen him lose his composure like this? Concerned, she wanted to ask him a question or two, but Dou Mama discreetly lowered the carriage curtain.
"Let's set off," Dou Mama said as she climbed into the carriage quickly. She shook her head at Qing Wu, signaling her not to pay attention to Wen Qingyue.
Qing Wu softly acknowledged her but still felt uneasy, so she slightly lifted the carriage curtain for a glance.
She saw Wen Qingyue staring blankly at the carriage, his face pale as he looked at her. Then, he slowly turned around and walked back in a daze, taking one hesitant step after another.
Qing Wu touched the mole on her wrist. She felt as if she had overlooked something important, but she couldn't quite grasp what it was. Checking the time, she realized it was getting late. With a sigh, she decided to put it aside for now and wait until the next day off from the palace.
Once inside the palace, Qing Wu saw Li Zi come to greet her and quietly asked about Huo Yun'ai's current whereabouts.
Upon learning that he had not yet finished the morning court session, Qing Wu let out a sigh of relief. Estimating the route Huo Yun'ai would take back to Zhaoyuan Hall, she deliberately avoided it and took a longer path toward Ningxin Pavilion.
Li Zi was puzzled, and Dou Mama also looked confused. They asked her why she was doing this.
Qing Wu had her reasons but could only downplay it by saying, "It should be about time for court to end. If I take that route, I might run into several officials. Even so, it's better to avoid them."
Although her reason for leaving wasn't primarily to avoid anyone, it was indeed a truthful statement.
Dou Mama hadn't witnessed the confrontation between Qing Wu and the officials during the New Year's Eve banquet, but Li Zi had seen it with her own eyes.
Upon hearing Qing Wu's words, Li Zi immediately agreed, saying, "That's true. It's better to take a detour. It's just a few extra steps anyway."
Dou Mama understood and didn't press further.
Qing Wu thought her plan was brilliant. However, as soon as she entered Ningxin Pavilion, she spotted someone standing in the courtyard, admiring several plum trees with his hands behind his back.
With that tall stature and noble demeanor, who else could it be but Huo Yun'ai?
Perhaps the footsteps of the three startled him. The young man slowly turned around and looked at Qing Wu, a faint smile curling at the corners of his lips.
Qing Wu was momentarily stunned, unable to react to how she should respond, standing there in a daze.
Dou Mama and Li Zi were very perceptive. Upon seeing the situation, they immediately called the kneeling palace maid out of the courtyard. They also summoned Uncle Yu, who had been guarding the courtyard earlier. The three of them closed the courtyard gate from outside, standing guard at the entrance and blocking anyone from entering.
Thus, in an instant, the large courtyard was left with only Qing Wu and Huo Yun'ai.
This situation made Qing Wu feel tense. Suddenly realizing what was happening, she hurriedly turned to run. However, before she could take two steps, the young man behind her quickly caught up and wrapped his arms around her waist, making it impossible for her to break free.
Qing Wu's entire body stiffened.
The memory of staying overnight in the palace after the New Year's Eve banquet suddenly flashed in her mind. She felt both shy and embarrassed.
—At that time, perhaps due to having too much to drink at the banquet, she had felt dizzy after leaving the table and went to Huo Yun'ai's chamber to rest.
Little did she know that as soon as she woke up, he would repeat his previous actions and embrace her for a kiss. Moreover, it was even more passionate than before...
Qing Wu noticed his physical changes at that moment and, since she was leaning against the bed, was instantly frightened and didn't know what to do.
Although he had strong self-control and managed to hold back, Qing Wu was terrified and still haunted by that experience. This time entering the palace, she couldn't help but think of what happened last time; how could she dare face him directly?
Who would have thought... who would have thought he would intercept her directly at Ningxin Pavilion...
Noticing that the girl in his arms was tense all over, clearly scared out of her wits, the Young Emperor understood and couldn't help but chuckle softly in her ear.
"What's wrong? Did I scare you last time? You even took a detour to avoid me. Luckily I sensed something was off and came straight here."
Huo Yun'ai whispered in her ear, his voice husky and alluring, "If you're not used to it, how about we practice again? A few more times and you'll be fine."
Hearing this made Qing Wu extremely nervous. She hurriedly pushed him away with all her strength, her face flushed with embarrassment as she stammered repeatedly, "Who wants to get used to it? No, no way. Let go of me. You... let go!"
Her strength was nothing compared to that of the tall young man who practiced martial arts every day.
Huo Yun'ai originally came over simply because he missed her so much, fearing she might hide away for a long time, so he decided to wait for her and see her as soon as possible.
But as they embraced like this, the girl he had been thinking about was rubbing against him in his arms. How could he possibly resist?
His breath momentarily caught in his throat. Without caring for anything else, he tightly wrapped his arms around her. She turned her head to evade him, but he didn't mind. Unable to kiss her lips, he kissed her ear, her chin, and her neck.
The young man's breath enveloped her. Qing Wu could only helplessly endure it all.
Gradually losing the strength to resist, she allowed him to capture her lips, sucking away the last bit of her strength and breath.
In a daze, she felt the lingering movements at her waist. Startled, she quickly twisted her body to reject him.
It seemed he was completely unaware of her rejection and continued for a while before finally loosening his grip slightly.
At that moment, Qing Wu had no strength left to stand. So she leaned against the chest of the culprit, slowly calming her emotions. Then she raised her hand and lightly touched her lips, immediately feeling annoyed and complaining softly, "They're swollen again! Can't you be gentler?"
Huo Yun'ai looked down and sighed, gently pressing with his long index finger.
After a moment, he suddenly said, "Since you have to stay in the palace for ten days, your family shouldn't see this situation; you might as well not use lip balm."
Last time at Liu Residence, he couldn't help but cause her lips to swell a bit; she had used lip balm to cover it up so that her family wouldn't notice.
But this time...
"Of course I have to use it," Qing Wu retorted angrily. "With so many maids coming and going, do you think others are blind and can't see what's going on?!"
"But that stuff shouldn't be ingested," Huo Yun'ai murmured somewhat awkwardly.
Qing Wu paused for a moment, then realized what he meant by "ingesting lip balm." Instantly feeling both embarrassed and angry, she took advantage of his distraction to stomp on his foot hard. In that brief moment of surprise, she used all her strength to break free from his embrace and hurried toward the door.
Huo Yun'ai was afraid that she would run away this time and avoid him even more fiercely next time. He quickly pressed the door, blocking her, and tried to comfort her. Seeing that she was unwilling to listen, the young man sighed helplessly and had to change his approach.
"I still have something to discuss with you. If you ignore me, won't you miss out on it?"
Upon hearing this, Qing Wu could only slowly turn back and stand face to face with him. However, she cautiously took two steps back, choosing to stand three feet away from him.
"What is it? You go first."
"Do you still remember the matter about the palace maid's treatment that you mentioned last time?" Huo Yun'ai asked.
Qing Wu did have some impression of this matter.
On the day she was about to return home for the New Year, she went to the Brewery to bid farewell to Yen Mama. Because a palace maid was ill, Yen Mama casually mentioned that it was very difficult for palace maids to receive medical treatment. The imperial physicians were primarily there to treat the nobles. It was not appropriate for a palace maid to ask them to examine her illness, and moreover, they could not be easily summoned.
At that time, Qing Wu had kept this matter in mind. When she arrived at Zhaoning Palace, she even mentioned it a few times to Huo Yun'ai.
She did not expect that Huo Yun'ai had also remembered this matter. He brought it up the moment she returned, indicating that he had seriously considered her suggestion.
Thinking of this, a warm feeling gradually rose in Qing Wu's heart. Looking at Huo Yun'ai again, she no longer felt the previous wariness.
"Even if I remember, so what?"
As she said this, a hint of a smile appeared at the corners of her lips, showing her relaxed demeanor.
Seeing her like this, Huo Yun'ai knew that she had let down her guard. He couldn't help but smile back. Slowly walking forward, he inched closer to her.
"I specifically arranged for Doctor Luo to be on duty at the Imperial Medical Office today. If you want to address this matter, you might as well go find him there. Perhaps he can offer a good solution."
Doctor Luo was the only physician in the Imperial Medical Office that Qing Wu was familiar with. When she was a child, Huo Yun'ai had taken her to see Doctor Luo for treatment. It was also how she got to know Doctor Luo's apprentice, Yue Ying.
As for the other physicians in the Imperial Medical Office, even if Qing Wu had seen them, she hardly spoke with them.
Qing Wu did not expect that Huo Yun'ai had already arranged everything. She felt even more delighted and nodded, saying, "Then I will go right away."
Before she could take a step, she felt a tight grip on her hand; someone had pulled her back.
Qing Wu turned to look, and before she could react, she felt a gentle touch on her forehead. It was Huo Yun'ai leaving a light kiss there.
The annoyance in Qing Wu had not yet risen when the boy in front of her smiled gently and said, "Hurry up. The sooner you go, the sooner you'll be back. I'll wait for you to have lunch together."
Facing him like this, the little anger in her heart flickered up and down, gradually subsiding and unable to surface.
After hesitating for a moment, she finally responded with a low "mm" and hurried off to handle the matter.
The Young Emperor slowly let out a sigh of relief, his eyes filled with laughter.
It seemed he had already found the "right way to act."
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