Chapter 11: The Gentle Knife

The next evening, lightning and thunder, thunderstorms, gradually become a surging trend, did not stop, Qin Xi fell asleep for most of the day, was really disturbed by the sound of thunderstorms and fell asleep, simply got up and bathed, after refreshing, ordered the palace maid to make tea, she lay on the beauty couch to listen to the rain, lazily passed the time for a few hours.

There is rarely such a torrential rain in early summer, Chu Hong finished reading the excerpts, and it was already a little later than a few days ago to sit on the dragon bowl, and Liao Yong, who was serving closely, reminded with a smile: "The emperor is going to Miss Qin?" ”

Chu Hong sat on the dragon bowl, glanced at Liao Yong very lightly, and said, "Your memory is good." "He said yesterday that he would go to her place, and you have no jokes, so this trip is naturally going to go.

Liao Yongdao: "The slave heard that Miss Qin had slept for most of the day today, and finally woke up, enjoyed the rain and smelled the fragrance of tea. "He Liao Yong entered the palace in his teens, and he can be regarded as reading countless people, but this Qin girl is young, but he can't figure it out, except for her outstanding appearance, she is too casual and doesn't understand the rules.

The emperor smiled and said: "Her girl is used to being lazy, when she was Princess Xuan, King Xuan favored her very much, and she was reluctant to restrain her, even in front of Emperor Qi, she would not restrain herself." returned to Qinzhou, her father was kind to Qi Ao, and Qi Ao was even more dependent on her temperament to saddle her before and after the horse. If I restrain her with rules and regulations, how can I keep her? ”

"Most of the women who obey the rules are boring, there are a lot of boring people in this palace, but there is such a free person, isn't it great?"

The emperor said so, Liao Yong is a smart person, he couldn't understand what the emperor meant, and only echoed: "Miss Qin is blessed by the emperor's love." ”

The emperor's eyebrows and eyes were as warm as a mountain, and he raised his hand, and the dragon was moving quickly in the rainstorm, extremely steady, Liao Yong seemed to hear the emperor mutter: "How good would it be if I could keep her by my side all the time?" ”

Chu Hong stepped into the hall, dressed in exquisite regular clothes and not even getting the corners of his clothes wet, he ordered all the palace people to be silent, wanting to see what Qin Xi was doing. His eyes swept away, Qin Xi was sitting on the bed fiddling with a few wooden sticks, looking good, very devoted, he approached, and saw an open book lying next to her, the book was painted with strange patterns, and his face was very soft against the candle flame: "Are you interested in the Five Elements Bagua?" ”

Few women like the Five Elements Formation, she actually saw it fascinatingly, he heard that she was not proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and he didn't want her to like such sideways.

Qin Xi is still immersed in studying what is said in the book, Chu Hong will come, she is not surprised, the entire palace is his, he is the master and she is the guest, can she still be qualified to thank the door and not see? Her life was clenched in his hands, and it didn't do her any good.

"I'm bored, just pass the time." For idlers like her, the most important thing is time.

He went over and took her hand and pulled her off the bed, but the movements were so gentle that she didn't even feel the pain.

"Come and have something to eat with me." Chu Hong really just seemed to want to ask her to accompany him for a meal, he pressed her shoulder and asked her to sit down, while he sat opposite her and looked at her with a smile on his face.

He seemed to be in a good mood: "You have only been in the palace for a few days, and I feel that you have lost a lot of weight. These dishes are cooked according to the practice of Qinzhou, if you don't like it, I will drive the cook out of the palace, I will not kill him, but it is a pity that Dugu Hao's thoughts. It took a lot of effort for this cook to sneak into the palace. ”

Dugu Hao has some ability, he can insert * people in under his nose, but his throne did not fall from the sky, if it weren't for the cook to make a hand of Qinzhou cuisine, he would not have left that person's life.

Qin Xi glanced at the soup, and the palace maid who served the cloth vegetables on the side hurriedly served a bowl to her, and she took a small sip, which was indeed an authentic Qinzhou flavor: "What are you threatening me to do?" What does it matter to me that this cook eats with his skills and can find errands wherever he goes? ”

She knew in her heart, the taste of this cook's cooking was very familiar, it was Ah Xun's craftsmanship, and he could send Ah Xun to the southern country, Dugu Hao must have guessed how she was cheated, and also saw through Murong Ying's tricks. It seems that Murong Ying's death is not far off.

She drank a small half bowl of soup quietly, Chu Hong was very satisfied, he knew that she was deliberately distancing herself from the cook, he saw through it but didn't say it, she was so cunning, but more lively and lovely than those docile concubines in the harem. His appetite for her was great, he ate more than usual, Liao Yong stood next to him and saw it clearly, his eyes glanced at Qin Xi, and then lowered his eyes again.

Eating and sleeping, the two didn't talk again, Qin Xi ate a few bites and abandoned the chopsticks, sat in a daze, and when Chu Hong finished eating, the palace maid brought water and towels to rinse his mouth, Qin Xi has been used to being served since she was a child, but she didn't feel uncomfortable, Chu Hong looked at her demeanor and demeanor with a royal elegance, and the more she looked at it, the more she liked it.

After eating a meal slowly, the rain outside the hall actually stopped, and he didn't sleep well during the day, so he ate again, Qin Xi felt a little sleepy, but he heard Chu Hong propose: "Accompany me to the imperial garden for a walk." ”

Qin Xi slandered, it was really time for the rain to stop, and he had no choice but to eat people's mouths, so he could only cheer up his spirit to accompany him. The imperial garden is far away from the palace where she lives, she is not familiar with the southern palace, but fortunately, there are two rows of eunuchs holding the lamp together, Chu Hong led her all the way, and she is also at ease.

After the rain, the air was cool, and the heat was gone, and although she was lazy, she could still eat after walking a few steps slowly. Walking to the cobblestone path of the Imperial Garden, Qin Xi suddenly slipped under his feet and almost fell, Chu Hong quickly supported her, she wanted to thank her, but he took her hand and refused to let go, he said kindly: "I led you away." ”

Qin Xi couldn't break away from his hand with all his strength, but his gentle manpower was very large, which showed the disparity in strength between men and women. Feeling that he was not frivolous, she gave up, but unexpectedly met his concubine the next moment.

It was just a heavy rain this night, this delicately dressed concubine must have a heart with Chu Hong, and she has the same habit of loving to walk after the rain, her eyes fell on Chu Hong's hand that took Qin Xi, her face turned pale, and then raised a pair of pure eyes, and when she saw Qin Xi's appearance clearly, her face was white again, but she quickly blessed, and her voice was soft and tactful: "The emperor came up by coincidence, and the concubines just enjoyed the rain in the pavilion, listening to the sound of the rain, I still remembered that when I met the emperor that year, it was also a heavy rain." ”

This remark is ingenious, and with such a delicate timbre, the listener is even more pity. Looking through the bright light, Qin Xi couldn't have a good impression of this face that was six or seven points like himself.

Chu Hong still held Qin Xi's hand, and only said to Concubine Yao: "I haven't forgotten the time with you. It's late at night, so go back early and rest, and I'll be there tomorrow. ”

Although he has a deep mind, he hides it very deeply, always giving people the illusion of tenderness like water, and Concubine Yao's joy dyes her eyebrows, and she can't cover it: "Thank you, Emperor." ”

She glanced at Qin Xi at the end of her eyes, her expression was very proud, and she pretended to be surprised: "This sister looks at her eyes, doesn't the emperor recommend her concubines?" ”

Chu Hong smiled: "Her age is younger than you. ”

But what a woman minds most about being compared is not her appearance or her age, Concubine Yao was embarrassed, and she couldn't grasp the emperor's attitude for a while, so she had to try to maintain a smile: "It's the concubine who lost her words, and I will compensate my sister." ”

Qin Xi saw her pretentiousness this time: "This mother, my mother didn't add brothers and sisters to me." ”

Concubine Yao touched the nail impartially, her smile couldn't be hung anymore, she thought that Qin Xi was easy to bully when she first came to the palace, but she didn't expect the other party to leave her any face, she was a master who played cards out of common sense, Chu Hong opened her mouth at the right time: "Since you want to know, it doesn't hurt for me to tell you, this Qin girl is a distinguished guest invited by me, and she will stay in the palace for a long time." ”

Qin Xi felt that it was very appropriate for Chu Hong to introduce her identity like this, she was a guest and an outsider, which was equivalent to telling everyone in this palace that she had no intention of having a conflict of interest with them and could not threaten them, and in turn, they could not embarrass her, and only the emperor could embarrass her.

Sure enough, Concubine Yao accepted it when she saw it: "In this way, there will be a chance to meet in the future, if Miss Qin has time to go to the palace to sit down, the palace will definitely entertain the emperor well." ”

After Concubine Yao left, Chu Hong took Qin Xi to continue to take a leisurely walk in the imperial garden, the climate in the south is mild, and the flowers in the garden bloom after the rain in early summer, which is even more pleasant. ”

He grew up in the palace, and he has seen a lot of the tricks of those women in the harem who are jealous, so as long as he is not too out of line, he mostly turns a blind eye: "You have always been too lazy to pay attention to the troubles of the harem, why can't you hold your breath?" ”

She scares people, and she has a little bit of the innocence of her little daughter's family, which is rare.

Qin Xi broke away from his hand, his eyes brightened amazingly in the night: "I don't know your concubine, how can I be called a sister?" Why should such vanity and wrongdoing? I'm stuck here right and right, and I don't want to cling to anyone. ”

She had heard Dugu Hao say that there were many women in Chu Hong's harem who looked similar to her, it was one thing to hear it, and it was another thing to see it with her own eyes, she saw Concubine Yao competing for favor there with a face quite similar to her, and she had pimples all over her body, and even Chu Hong became unpleasant.

Why did she get angry, Chu Hong didn't know, but said, "Xi'er, do you know why I favor Concubine Yao?" "It is said that it is a favor but not a favor, because there is only a favor and there is really no love, he can spoil a woman, give her glory and wealth, and hold her to heaven, but he will not love a woman, give her sincerity.

"Concubine Yao came from a humble background, she was just a businessman's concubine, if it weren't for her face, I wouldn't have looked at her more. She came to see you tonight, and she should understand why I made her concubine, she has been pampered and arrogant recently, and has done a few things that are out of bounds, so it is better to knock and knock. ”

He can tolerate women being jealous, but it is too much to annoy him, and it is best for women in the harem to know how to advance and retreat, otherwise they will get tired after a long time with just one face.

"Every time I go to Concubine Yao's palace, she is enthusiastic and willful as a little woman, so I often think, if you are jealous, what will you look like if you are petty?"

"I have no dirty thoughts about you, you don't have to be nervous. What you don't want to do, I won't force it. First, you live in this palace, I am very relieved, and secondly, King Xuan is afraid of the southern kingdom, which is a double win. You can stay in peace. ”

If it weren't for the fact that he was almost planted in his hands a few times, Qin Xi would have almost believed these heartfelt words. Chu Hong is like a gentle but sharp knife, his gentleness has a seductive power, he is not stingy when he treats you well, he holds the best things in the world in front of you, and when he is disgusted with you, he can turn around and stab a sword into your chest.

With gentleness as a knife, such a person is really terrible.