HLnovel Chapter 152 Fool
Chapter 152 Fool
Qiao Qingling's face turned deathly pale, her legs went weak, and she almost couldn't stand up.
"Sister, I came to see you out of kindness, and only because we both come from the Qiao family. Why can't you tolerate me like this?"
Judging from her demeanor, she doesn't seem like someone His Majesty would dislike!
"What? Do you want me to personally escort you?"
The two of them had already broken off all pretense of civility, and now that there was no one else around, why bother making such a disgusting gesture?
Qiao Qingling clenched her hands tightly under her sleeves, her nails digging into her flesh without her noticing. She could only leave in anger, not forgetting to take the brocade with her when she left.
Chu Qingyin watched her leave and couldn't help but sneer.
idiot.
For the next few days, Chu Qingyin stayed in Xingyue Palace, claiming illness and refusing to go out. Even when His Majesty came, she found an excuse not to see him.
After a few days, even Xianglan was getting anxious. "Your Majesty, it's not a good idea for you to keep avoiding His Majesty."
She stood to the side fanning Chu Qingyin, her brows furrowed, clearly worried.
This is, after all, the palace. If the Empress always avoids seeing him, she will inevitably incur His Majesty's displeasure.
Moreover, the Empress herself only holds a place in His Majesty's heart because of her beautiful face. If His Majesty finds someone more similar, he might very well change his mind.
Chu Qingyin picked up a crystal-clear grape and put it in her mouth, then casually leaned against the pavilion behind Xingyue Palace to cool off.
In the past two days, Empress Wang dealt with many gossipy maids and eunuchs in the palace, and also found out a few "sources" from the guards who escorted Chu Qingyin back to the palace.
Once those people are handed over to Pei Yuanling to deal with, this matter will be considered closed.
Although he knew those people were scapegoats, Pei Yuanling didn't say much. Even Qiao Qingling was cleared of blame and managed to escape unscathed.
Chu Qingyin was not surprised when she learned of the result.
After all, Pei Yuanling wanted to investigate thoroughly for two reasons: first, to appease himself, and second, to give an explanation to the court and the harem.
Now that the goal has been achieved, if we were to really investigate further and spread the word, it would be disgraceful to the royal family.
Chu Qingyin clapped her hands, pulled up her slipped outer robe, and said softly, "Go to the small kitchen and prepare some refreshing soup. I will send it to His Majesty."
Hearing her mistress give such an order, Xianglan was overjoyed. "Your Highness has come to a change of heart? That's wonderful. This servant will go and prepare right away."
As he spoke, he hurriedly walked towards the small kitchen.
Watching Xianglan's departing figure, Chu Qingyin gave a self-deprecating smile.
Pei Yuanling was, after all, an emperor; how could he allow a concubine to challenge his authority time and time again?
He had come here every night for the past few days, but she had avoided him every time. Even if he liked her as his substitute, he would grow disgusted after a few times and think that she was taking advantage of his favor.
Ultimately, she had achieved her goal, and yielding at the right time would only make the other party even more unable to resist.
Before long, the Qing Shu Yi Qi Tang (a traditional Chinese medicine soup) was ready. Chu Qingyin carefully dressed herself up and, accompanied by Xianglan and several palace maids, carried the soup towards the Imperial Study.
Inside the Imperial Study, Pei Yuanling was engrossed in his memorials when he heard that Chu Qingyin was requesting an audience. He quickly put down his pen and ordered, "Let her in immediately."
Chu Qingyin moved gracefully into the imperial study, curtsied, and said, "This concubine greets Your Majesty."
"Sound, start quickly."
"I have heard that Your Majesty has been working hard on state affairs lately, so I have specially prepared a cooling and invigorating soup to help Your Majesty relieve the summer heat."
After saying that, she raised her face and looked at Pei Yuanling with tender eyes, as if she had a thousand kinds of longing for him.
Pei Yuanling walked out from behind the desk and helped her up, saying, "Yinyin, you're so kind."
Chu Qingyin took the cooling and invigorating soup out of the food box and placed it on the small table. Before she could speak, the other person had already pulled her into their arms.
"Yinyin, I miss you."
Pei Yuanling was overjoyed that she would take the initiative to find him. He held her tightly in his arms, his chin resting lightly on the top of her head, his words full of affection and tenderness.
Chu Qingyin tilted her head slightly, her eyes sparkling with a hint of reproach, "Your Majesty, I haven't been feeling well these past few days, and I was afraid of passing on my illness to you, so..."
Although he knew this was just an excuse she made up for herself, Pei Yuanling didn't ask any more questions. He gently stroked her cheek with his fingers and said, "It's my fault for making you suffer."
Chu Qingyin gently shook her head, "This concubine dares not. Your Majesty has many state affairs to attend to, how could this concubine dare to complain?"
The two sat down at the small table, nestled together. Pei Yuanling picked up the refreshing and invigorating soup, took a sip, and praised, "My beloved consort's cooking skills are getting better and better. It's sweet and refreshing, and very cooling."
Chu Qingyin smiled gently, "If Your Majesty likes it, then I will make it for Your Majesty often in the future."
For a moment, the two seemed to have returned to their former state, carefree and loving.
After only a short rest, Chu Qingyin prepared to leave, citing the reason that she would not disturb His Majesty's handling of state affairs.
But having not seen her for many days, how could Pei Yuanling let her off so easily? "Today's official business is not too heavy, so why don't you stay in the study and grind ink for me?"
Since he had said that, Chu Qingyin couldn't refuse, so she agreed: "Yes."
Her delicate hands grind the ink, while a beautiful woman adds fragrance to the ink.
This was something the two of them often did in their previous life. Even the ink dropper on the table was a small porcelain bamboo shoot that she used to love the most. Chu Qingyin picked up the ink dropper with practiced ease and natural movements.
Pei Yuanling simply watched without making a sound. The person beside him still had the same habit of grinding ink as before, usually adding three drops of water first, and then grinding the ink with an ink stick.
Seeing this scene again, Pei Yuanling felt somewhat dazed, as if his Yinyin had never left.
"Why is Your Majesty staring at me like that? Is there ink on my face?"
Chu Qingyin blushed instantly when she saw him staring at her, and subconsciously wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
To everyone's surprise, this action actually resulted in ink getting on his face accidentally.
Pei Yuanling chuckled, losing all interest in reviewing the memorials. He took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and carefully wiped the ink stains from her cheeks.
"Why is Yinyin still so careless?"
"It's been a while since I've ground ink, so I'm a little rusty." Chu Qingyin pouted, her face scrunched up, her little expression incredibly alluring.
"From now on, Yinyin will come to grind ink for me more often, and she will become skilled at it after a while."
"As long as Your Majesty doesn't find me troublesome," Chu Qingyin said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Pei Yuanling with affection.
"As long as it's you, I will never find it annoying."
Pei Yuanling and the woman embraced, savoring the woman's unique fragrance and the warm breath on her neck, making him feel restless and itchy.
"Yinyin."
"Your concubine is here."
Chu Qingyin hugged him tighter, her slender hands circling behind the man, seemingly drawing circles.
After a few days of abstinence, the man's pent-up desire suddenly flared up.
He suddenly picked the person up and strode into the back hall.
The rear hall of Chen'an Palace was separated from the study by an extremely long corridor. When the palace maids sweeping outside saw this from afar, they hurriedly lowered their heads and knelt on the ground, not daring to look up.
"Your Highness, what are you doing?"
Chu Qingyin buried her head in his chest, her cheeks burning, her voice barely audible.
Pei Yuanling lowered his eyes, his large hand caressing her waist twice, his voice hoarse, "Yinyin, do you really not know what I want to do?"