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墨書 Inktalez
Aside from occasionally glancing at the kneeling Mei Shuang, who was bowing respectfully with her head lowered and not daring to be careless, most of the time Xiao Luo was leisurely savoring the tea in his hands.
He gently stirred the floating tea leaves while casting a sidelong glance at the woman before him, who seemed too afraid to even breathe.
Her long black hair covered half of her face, revealing a smooth countenance that appeared solemn, with long eyelashes lowered and fluttering. Although the fine intersecting scars on her cheek had been treated, they were still clearly visible.
Having not seen her for some time, looking closely now, the woman before him felt both familiar and somewhat strange.
Recalling what Lady Aida had said about this woman being imprisoned by Nangong Mo Yi for many days and then being taken up the mountain in a series of harrowing experiences, her words expressed astonishment and admiration for this woman's strength and wisdom. However, to Xiao Luo, these so-called "heroic" deeds of Mei Shuang seemed either like foolishness or reckless bravery born out of desperation.
This woman was stubborn, played a few tricks, and always thought too highly of herself... So now he had nothing more to say.
For this woman, who seemed to have water in her brain, such silence should serve as a good way to prompt her reflection.
"To deal with a woman like this, one cannot impose external force; she must come to understand things on her own. Only then can she listen to the Emperor's words without any inner turmoil..."
Even Li Gonggong had noticed this woman's characteristics and spoke so delicately about it, which really meant that he thought she was as stubborn as a mule that couldn't be turned back.
Thinking of this, Xiao Luo felt a surge of irritation. It seemed that Mei Shuang had been kneeling for quite some time. He finally set down the tea cup in his hand with a bit more force than intended, causing it to clatter against the table and startling Mei Shuang.
The earlier silence had indeed created an inexplicable pressure on Mei Shuang, making her feel compelled to stay perfectly still while kneeling there. Although her knees were already numb from kneeling, she held firm and dared not move an inch.
The sound of the tea cup clearly indicated that its owner’s mood had not improved due to her respectful demeanor.
Just as she was feeling flustered, a cold voice came from above her: "Do you know your crime?"
At those words, Mei Shuang stiffened, suddenly feeling a headache coming on. Ugh, not this opening line again!
Once, in the Cheng En Temple, she had spoken the words "Your Majesty, what crime have I committed?" out of defiance, which had enraged the emperor and led to Xiao Luo leaving in anger. This had set off a series of events that nearly cost her life.
Now, as he repeated that question, it made Mei Shuang ponder deeply.
She raised her gaze slightly to glance around; everything was as splendid as ever. Was the purpose of this cold and unpredictable emperor merely to seek retribution?
However, this time she had learned her lesson well.
She respectfully bowed down, her forehead touching the ground, performing the greeting with utmost sincerity. After much contemplation, she adjusted her tone and manner perfectly, saying, "I was wrong... but I leave it to Your Majesty's judgment..."
Sunlight streamed through the long window onto her slender figure, leaving Xiao Luo somewhat puzzled. Did she just admit she was wrong?
Ah, they say women change rapidly at eighteen; this transformation was too swift for him to adapt.
"What crime have you committed?" he asked, his tone still icy.
Mei Shuang hesitated. Was this not over yet?
This scene reminded her of childhood when she had made a mistake and was punished by a teacher. She would quietly admit her fault only to be asked by the teacher, "What did you do wrong?" Then she would stammer out a list of faults. Everyone knew that at such times, one often spoke insincerely just to get past the situation.
Was it not the same now? How should she respond?
She had made mistakes, but if pressed to explain, what crime had she truly committed?
If one insisted there was a mistake, it was merely her attempt to feign ignorance to avoid being crowned and her careless words that had angered this Sovereign.
Yet clearly, the current issue was how to satisfy this Sovereign rather than dwelling on how much responsibility she should bear for her mistakes.
It’s fine, I’ll just use the method I had when facing my teacher as a child. Everything is my fault; I beg for your forgiveness!
Looking at the woman before him, although she knelt respectfully, the moment she raised her head, the complexity in her eyes revealed how conflicted she truly was. Xiao Luo's gaze was indifferent; having seen countless people, he could tell at a glance that this woman was merely pretending to accept her fault while actually resisting it.
“Your Majesty, I... everything is my fault. Please dispose of me as you see fit...”
As she spoke these words, the unwillingness in her heart made Mei Shuang feel a sense of righteousness akin to that of someone facing execution.
However, this statement infuriated Xiao Luo even more than her previous hesitation. He had hoped she would reconsider, but she hadn’t genuinely recognized her mistake; she was simply trying to deceive him!
There was no point in wasting time here. As the emperor, Xiao Luo suddenly felt he was facing an unprecedented challenge. He stared at Mei Shuang, who seemed to acknowledge her mistake, but her shifting gaze indicated that she was evading the real issue she needed to confront.
Enough of this, Xiao Luo stood up and left.
A gust of wind brushed past him as his robes swished by, and one could sense that the owner of those robes was not in a good mood. Mei Shuang turned to look at his retreating figure, speechless.
After Xiao Luo left, life returned to a calm state without any disturbances.
Mei Shuang occasionally went out for a stroll; everywhere was adorned with blooming flowers, everything felt as if it were just yesterday. She sighed; after such a thrilling experience, life had returned to normal. Had she known it would be like this, why had she taken such a risky gamble?
After a few days of boredom, Mei Shuang heard music and laughter coming from outside; it seemed quite lively. Unable to endure the prison-like solitude any longer, she asked her maid, “Has anything happened outside these past few days?”
The maid smiled slightly and replied, “Yes, this year new beauties have been selected for the palace. The emperor has favored several young ladies and they are currently celebrating…”
Mei Shuang’s eyes widened as she swallowed hard. “Newly selected beauties?”
“Yes! The Empress Dowager always says there are too few concubines in the emperor's harem and so far no one is pregnant. Therefore, new beauties have been chosen for the emperor…” The maid glanced at Mei Shuang and suddenly said mysteriously, “By the way, who do you think is most favored in the harem?”
Regarding the maid's presumptuous question, Mei Shuang came to her senses, looked at the maid, and thought to herself that they were not familiar with each other. It was inappropriate for her to disregard their master-servant relationship and ask such a trivial question. She replied lightly, "I don't know."
Mei Shuang couldn't be bothered with the chatterbox and absorbed every word. Deep down, she felt a surge of bitterness rising from her heart, spreading throughout her chest.
The maid surprisingly did not take the hint to back off; instead, she smiled slightly and said, "Actually, this is something that all the concubines in the palace know..."
Mei Shuang glanced again at this impudent and unrefined maid. Seeing that she seemed completely unaware of her inappropriate remarks, Mei Shuang decided to ignore her. She thought that either the maid lacked perception or was intentionally being rude.
Noticing Mei Shuang's weary expression and silence, the maid finally realized that she had spoken too much and closed her mouth.
At last, the world became quiet.
Mei Shuang walked alone along the path in the back garden, unaware of when a swing had been set up in a corner of the garden.
The maid looked far away at the figure in white on the swing and said to Lin Tian'er, "I spoke my piece, but Miss doesn't seem to want to address it."
Lin Tian'er reached out and tapped the maid's forehead, exasperated. "Look at you; you're so foolish! Even a blind person could see the Emperor's feelings for Miss Lin. Why can't you express yourself properly?"
The maid replied with grievance, "I can actually tell that Miss Lin has some feelings for the Emperor. Just now when I mentioned selecting candidates outside, I noticed Miss Lin's expression wasn't good..."
Upon hearing this, Lin Tian'er finally showed some joy on her face but then turned worried. "Then why does she refuse to face the Emperor?"
The maid frowned and thought for a moment. "I always feel that Miss Lin has a heavy heart..."
Lin Tian'er found a place to sit down and sighed. "Now the Emperor is also in a difficult position... He is a sovereign; if he wants to keep Miss Lin by his side, he can't just kneel before her, can he?"
"That would be absolutely unacceptable."
"You see this back garden, everything remains the same. Even after Miss Lin's departure, the Emperor has not changed a thing here; he has people clean it thoroughly every day. Upon hearing that she was in trouble, the Emperor must have been troubled himself, rushing up the mountain to save her and even getting bitten by the Dragon Python... Such intentions! If there were a man who could do even one-tenth of that for me, I would be satisfied."
A gentle breeze swept through, and the fragrance of flowers filled the entire back garden. Lin Tian'er simply lay down on a bench and sighed lazily, "The Emperor stands outside my window for half the day every day but never comes in. He only leaves when the candlelight goes out. Sigh, it rained the other day, and he stood outside in the wind; now he can't stop coughing, yet he won't let anyone tell Miss Lin... Sigh, even I, an unrelated person, feel heartbroken watching this. I wish I could just pull Miss Lin in front of the Emperor..."
The maid added, "Just now I asked her who is most favored in this palace, and she had no idea that it was her!"
"Forget it; I'll think of another way to make her willing..."
Lin Tian'er rambled on for a while and instructed the maid, "You are an outsider; some things you say might not be taken seriously. Miss Lin is stubborn; if I say too much, it might seem like I'm speaking for the Emperor. What the Emperor wants is Miss Lin's willingness; I don't want to get myself into trouble."
Watching Lin Tian'er's figure disappear into the back garden, Mei Shuang stepped out from behind the flowers.
On a hot summer day, Li Gonggong, who was dozing under the eaves, suddenly woke up at the sound of footsteps from afar. He looked up and his eyes widened in surprise.
He doubted his own eyes for a moment but realized after three seconds that he was awake and quickly jogged forward with a smile, saying, "You have arrived?"
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