Male Lead Is Always That Heartless

Chapter 56

Outside the Tianlu Pavilion, Eunuch Gao stood while listening to the palace staff report the matter of moving, nodded, and said, “I understand. You guys can leave.”

After the palace staff left, Eunuch Gao turned into the Tianlu Pavilion and walked through the front hall toward the main hall. There was only a bronze candlestick inside with a dim light. He stepped lightly and looked down to see that the white jade rabbit had broken into several pieces and fell on the edge of the bed.

Eunuch Gao Gui sighed again in his heart, took out the handkerchief from his waist, wrapped the broken jade around it, and picked it up.

“Gao Gui ……”

Eunuch Gao Gui looked sideways and saw the figure inside the curtain moving slightly. He bowed and whispered: “Your Majesty, please forgive me. I disturbed your Majesty…”

Xiao Yan rolled over and asked, “What time is it now?”

“It’s just past Yinshi (3-5 am). Your Majesty should rest for a while.”

Xiao Yan opened the curtains, “Bring the memorials.”

Eunuch Gao Gui boldly advised again: “Your Majesty has not slept much recently. I want to bring you a cup of soothing tea. Dragon body’s health is the foundation of the country…”

Usually, Xiao Yan couldn’t sleep well, and tonight, he could not sleep even more. He made a “hmm” sound, and Gao Gui turned around immediately.

His temples were throbbing with pain. Although it was not a splitting headache, it was uncomfortable, and he couldn’t sleep well. This headache had been more frequent recently, and he suspected that someone was secretly plotting against him. However, the secret guards could not find anything, and the doctors could not see the cause. The doctor he found outside the palace also couldn’t explain anything.

Xiao Yan’s face became colder. He sported a green shirt, got off the bed, and lit the candles in the hall.

The chamber was as bright as day. Gao Gui brought a pear wood tray with several scrolls of documents and a bowl of calming tea.

Xiao Yan took the bowl and gulped it down in one mouthful, and the headache seemed to have improved.

Gao Gui put down the tray and stood outside the palace.

The night was long, and the palace was dark. Only Tianlu Pavilion’s lights were always bright.

Xiuyi Hall’s Noble Lady Wang woke up with a start, only to find that the Beauty living on the west side of the hall had changed. She sat on the main hall and sized up Beauty Wan across her. Before noon today, she heard she came to the main hall to pay respects– a diligent person.

Noble Lady Wang saw Beauty Wan wearing an ivory jacket, a green skirt, and four hairpins, and she had an excellent posture. She was indeed a rare beauty.

Noble Lady Wang was upset. After sending Gu Yi away, one Zhao Wan came. Although she was only a Beauty, the Emperor gave her the ‘Wan’ title.

Noble Lady Wang blew the tea and said coldly, “Beauty Wan has good means. I heard that you were just a maid in the laundry bureau yesterday. I don’t know how you caught Your Majesty’s eyes. So admirable.”

Zhao Wan bowed and said, “A Wan grateful for the Emperor’s kindness. I am flattered to live in Xiuyi Hall. I hope that Noble Lady Wang will take care of me in the future.”

Noble Lady Wang laughed sarcastically, “Tell me how to take care of you? Last night, Beauty Gu became Talent Lady Gu. I don’t believe it if you say it is not because of you. These malicious tricks of yours — let’s have less contact in the future. But since you live in Xiuyi Hall, you must abide by the rules.” Noble Lady Wang put down the teacup, “Copy ten volumes of palace rules. Beauty Wan can review them and learn new things.”

Zhao Wan’s face was hot. She bowed and said, “I will follow your instructions.”

Noble Lady Wang waved her hand, “Leave.”

Seeing her leave Xiuyi Hall, Noble Lady Wang called Huang Li and asked anxiously: “Have you asked? What happened last night?”

Huang Li answered everything: “I went out to ask but couldn’t find anything. I only heard that Talent Lady Gu and Beauty Wan met the Emperor by the lake last night. Unsure how they offended the Emperor, but all the people serving the Emperor at that time kept their mouths shut. Talent Lady Gu must have offended the Emperor…”

Noble Lady Wang frowned and thought: Gu Yi’s temper was not bad and stupid. Why did she suddenly run to the Emperor and offend him? The Emperor was cold-hearted. Did Gu Yi want to die?

She thought momentarily and gave up when she couldn’t figure it out. She told Huang Li, “From now on, you must keep a close eye on the west side hall.”

“Of course.”

Noble Lady Wang changed the subject and asked, “Did you send the newly acquired tea party painting to Consort Shu in Caiwei Hall?”

Huang Li nodded, “I sent Huaihua to deliver it yesterday.”

Noble Lady Wang gave a “hmm” and felt relieved.

In Ping Cui Hall, Gu Yi slept until she naturally woke up, slowly sat up, and stretched her body. It was a long-lost comfort. It was the first time in a long time that she felt she had overcome the plot. She no longer needed to worry about her life hanging by a thread.

After she washed up, Tao Jia brought today’s breakfast. According to the standard of a Talent Lady, the kitchen deducted two side dishes and one pastry.

Tao Jia looked like she was about to cry, “This morning, when I went to pick up the meal, the chef in the kitchen refused to give me the cake that you like. I went to get ice in the afternoon, but I don’t think there will be as much as before. It’s hot in summer, and if there is less ice, how can you bear it?”

“It’s all a small matter.” Gu Yi said generously, “I see that the loquat tree in front of the Pingcui Hall is lush and green. If it is well taken care of, it can be placed in front of the window to provide shade. There is also a well behind the courtyard. If it is scorching hot, you can use the well water to freeze some fruits to cool down…”

Tao Jia was stunned. “Talent Lady… Are you not going to fight? Although you didn’t say it clearly, I can guess that it must be Beauty Wan who secretly harmed you. You are staying in West Garden now, but when it is the flipping day next month, I will go and ask Eunuch Lu. Maybe there will be room for maneuver. As long as you can see His Majesty, you will definitely…”

Gu Yi shook her head and sighed, interrupting her, “It’s unnecessary.”

Tao Jia was stunned for a moment, “Talent Lady……”

Gu Yi wiped her hands using the cloth towel on the table. “Later, if you’re going to the Accounting Department, go to the Craftsman’s Office and ask for a set of Chuiwan equipment. A small set will do, and an old one is fine.”

Tao Jia nodded.

After Gu Yi had breakfast, she began to concentrate on her writing. In the middle of the day, Beauty Qi’s maid, Tuan Yuan, came to Ping Cui Hall to look for her once and gave her a piece of gold leaf, saying that it was given to her by Beauty Qi.

Gu Yi was so moved that she devoted more time to her creation. After writing for several hours, she felt a bit dizzy.

The sun rose at the top, and the summer air surged. Gu Yi removed her moonlight-white skirt over the lapeled shirt and fanned herself to relieve the heat. She walked to the courtyard and glanced at the loquat tree. A few claws of tiny, tender yellow fruits hid under the large, thick leaves, which had yet to grow.

Ping Cui Hall and its courtyard were small, with only one loquat tree to be seen. Compared to the former He Luo Hall, it was like a cloud of mud. She watched for a short while to enjoy all the branches and leaves.

Gu Yi held the small fan and stepped out the worn-out palace door. After a few steps to the east, she saw two other red gates with worn-out paint. However, a fist-sized rusty iron lock was hanging on the door, and she didn’t know how long it had been locked. She tilted her head to look at the door, neither inscription nor plaque, unsure which hall was this. She walked a few more steps along the palace wall, and suddenly, a shade fell on her head.

Gu Yi looked up and saw floating green, red, and ruby-like fruits hanging between the green leaves. It was a tall cherry tree quietly sticking out of the palace wall.

Xiao Yan exited Tanyuan Hall and walked along the alley to the front hall. After turning around a moon gate, he saw a figure standing under the palace wall in front. She wore a plain white dress with a bun on her head. She didn’t wear any pearls or flowers, only two indigo-colored hairbands hanging behind her head, fluttering in the breeze. She looked up, concentrating on the cherry tree on the high wall.

Eunuch Gao saw the Emperor stop abruptly and followed suit. He craned his neck to look. This person seemed familiar.

Gu Yi instinctively sensed that there seemed to be eyes gazing behind her. She turned around and saw Xiao Yan several steps away. Her heart skipped a beat.

Yesterday was a rainy night, and she had knelt low and long and had not looked at Xiao Yan’s face at all. Today, Xiao Yan wore a gold silk dragon robe, a jade crown on his head, his eyebrows like crow feathers, and a shallow scar on his forehead; he was the same as before. However, his pair of glazed dark brown eyes indifferently gazed at her. Did Doggy Xiao not have a good life? Even if his appearance had not changed, the aura around him was not quite the same as before.

Although Xiao Yan was cold and quiet, he occasionally smiled, as if the first snow had melted and the warm sun. But the person before her was like 10,000 years of frost, keeping others away.

They had only been apart for three or two days, but why did it feel like a lifetime?

Regardless of how Gu Yi comforted herself, she understood that the plot had cruelly left Doggy Xiao in the previous week’s episode. As long as she thought about leaving Doggy Xiao alone in the Lishan Tea Garden, she felt miserable.

If it were miserable, it would be better not to see it.

Eunuch Gao was rarely shocked. He had always been able to recognize countless people and never forget them; he relied on remembering people’s faces to eat. When Talent Lady Gu turned around, he recognized her, last night’s deposed Talent Lady Gu.

But what the hell is going on with her? What kind of trick!

Seeing the Emperor, she was neither bowing nor greeting but froze in place with red eyes. She looked like she wanted to cry, but her tears had not yet fallen, and she had a pathetic look. Could it be that there are such badass characters in the whole palace? He could not help but glance sideways at the Emperor.

Xiao Yan slightly furrowed his long brows, with a rare hesitation in his face. He gazed at the visitor in disbelief. Her face was snow-white in the daylight, her lips were bright red, her breath was getting faster, and she looked intently at him. The pupils in her almond eyes were like black lacquer, and she looked directly at the Emperor’s eyes.

This person — she looked like he had seen her, but he also felt he had never seen her. But why does she look so sad? It was as if one could be moved by her sadness just by looking at her.

Xiao Yan pressed down the weird and subtle feeling of heaviness in his chest and asked loudly, “Who are you, and why are you here?”

When Gu Yi heard the voice, her mind instantly cleared up. She immediately buried her head, bowed, and replied, “I am Talent Lady Gu. I’m strolling here today with no intention of disturbing the Emperor.”

Talent Lady Gu.

Talent Lady Gu, who threw the jade pendant last night.

Xiao Yan’s face was cold. “Since you have been punished, you should try your best to reflect on your mistakes and behave in the future.”

Gu Yi nodded and replied, “Yes, I will obey the decree.”