Watching Ye Qiu’s gentle and charming smile, Ji Fei’s heart was once again stirred, and his gaze upon her grew ever more profound and inscrutable.
"Why does it seem that Qiu’er becos even more enchanting today?" Ji Fei asked affectionately as he held Ye Qiu’s hand.
Ye Qiu lowered her head with a slight smile, calmly withdrew her hand, and poured him a cup of tea: "Your Majesty, are you jesting with ? Do I not look just as I always have?"
Ji Fei moved closer to Ye Qiu and reached to draw her into his embrace: "No, I believe my beloved concubine is especially captivating today."
Ye Qiu maintained a proper smile on her face and slowly extracted herself from his embrace: "Your Majesty, this is unbecoming, the attendants will laugh at us if they see."
Ji Fei’s brows furrowed with displeasure: "I am the Emperor, and you are the Imperial Concubine, who dares to laugh at us?"
Ye Qiu smiled at him, her fingers lightly twirling a strand of hair: "Your Majesty, it is still dayti, didn’t you say yesterday how busy you were with the affairs of the state?"
As Ji Fei’s gaze remained firmly fixed on Ye Qiu, his expression turned to slight annoyance upon hearing her words. That’s right, the border situation has been restless recently; there’s a drought in Henan and floods in the Lianghu area, and the ministers are waiting for him in the Imperial Study Room to discuss state affairs. How could he have forgotten?
As Ji Fei stood, he couldn’t help but be imrsed again in Ye Qiu’s ravishing countenance, then, forcing himself to turn away, he said: "Then I will attend to state affairs first and return to accompany my beloved concubine in the evening."
Ye Qiu knelt to bid him farewell: "I respectfully see off Your Majesty."
Only after stepping out of Changchun Palace’s gate did Ji Fei sowhat recover his composure. What was that just now? Why couldn’t he help being moved by the sight of Ye Qiu? Hadn’t he always been indifferent towards her?
That’s right, his fondness was for Little Moon, so how could he be fond of Ye Qiu? She was so coarse and lacked culture; besides her splendid clothing, there was nothing else to her, and he wouldn’t fancy such a superficial person.
Yet even as he thought this, the image of Ye Qiu’s gentle and enchanting smile persisted in his mind. Ji Fei couldn’t help but quicken his pace, even wickedly suspecting whether Ye Qiu had used so bewitching dicine on him.
"An Fu, go check whether the Imperial Concubine has t with anyone unusual recently, and whether the Palace Bureau has presented anything particularly special?" Ji Fei commanded somberly, clutching his wallet at his waist.
"Chirp!"
"My Lady, the weather is pleasant today; would you like to go out for a walk?"
"No need, all of you go ahead, I will take a nap by myself for a while."
"Understood."
Actually, it was still early, and not yet ti for Ye Qiu’s nap. She had sent all the attendants away because Little Golden Crow was causing a fuss inside the room.
"What’s wrong?" Ye Qiu softly stroked Little Golden Crow’s head and asked.
Little Golden Crow nuzzled Ye Qiu with its fluffy head and cooed: "Qiuqiu, I want to go out, I want to play with you."
Ye Qiu frowned with difficulty: "But there are no animals like you in this world; if you go out, it will attract attention and cause trouble."
Little Golden Crow jumped excitedly: "Qiuqiu, have you forgotten I can shapeshift? However, my mana is not enough now, I can only turn into a bird and not any other animals yet."
Ye Qiu felt reassured: "Alright, I’ll find a way to take you out later."
But with the sight of Little Golden Crow, she couldn’t help but think of her true identity. Little Golden Crow was a Divine Bird, a Golden Crow that becos the sun when it falls. She had been to the Cultivation World where the Golden Crow was nothing but a legend. Then, what was her own identity as the master of a Golden Crow?
It surely wouldn’t be simple, so the person who forced her into signing a contract with the System must be even less simple.
"Qing E, accompany to the Bird Departnt."
"Does my Lady wish to keep a parrot for amusent? I heard that the little eunuch there recently taught a parrot a few auspicious phrases, which are quite amusing." Qing E first made way with other attendants ahead and then carried a fan for Ye Qiu.
"Let the palace maids handle the fanning."
"Thank you for your understanding, Lady."
Qing E was originally the most rule-abiding senior palace maid in Changchun Palace, and after Ye Qiu’s discipline these past two days, she beca even more obedient and did not dare to make decisions on her own.
"Let’s take a look first, but I’m not very fond of birds trained by others."
"Yes."
The Bird Departnt is expansive, a special place within the Imperial City for raising birds. With many ceremonies in the Imperial Palace requiring birds like peacocks, pheasants, and magpies, gradually so won of the harem started keeping parrots and orioles for amusent, leading to the establishnt of the Bird Departnt.
Since birds have a strong odor, the place was set apart, and it was uncommon for harem concubines to visit in person, let alone Ye Qiu, the current highly favored Imperial Concubine. A group of little eunuchs knelt down in trepidation to greet her.
"All rise. Leave two little eunuchs to show the way, the rest of you go back to your duties."
"Chirp!"
"Lady, this servant’s na is Xiao Guizi. May I be so bold as to ask which kind of bird you would like?"
"Do you have any good recomndations?" Ye Qiu asked while walking.
"Last year, a few pairs of peacocks were presented from the Prince Yun Nan’s Mansion, and now they have adapted well to the climate of the Imperial City, looking very lively and beautiful. There are also Hua i and orioles, which not only look attractive but also have clear and pleasing voices."
"I heard that you have trained so parrots here that can talk, why didn’t you recomnd those to ?"
Xiao Guizi ingratiatingly said, "Lady, although parrots are intelligent, anyone can teach them to talk. It would be troubleso if they said sothing inappropriate one day."
"You are quite perceptive." Ye Qiu looked at him with appreciation. Qing E behind her bowed her head in sha, realizing her thoughts had been too simplistic.
"Lady flatters . Xiao Guizi does not dare to claim such praise."
"How long have you been in the Imperial Palace?"
"Replying to Lady, it has been five years."
"Have you always worked in the Bird Departnt?"
"Previously, I was in Chuxiu Palace, but after Chuxiu Palace was sealed, I was transferred here to the Bird Departnt."
Ye Qiu stopped in her tracks and glanced at him. When the late Emperor closed Chuxiu Palace because a concubine tried to harm his Favored Concubine, she rembered all the servants within Chuxiu Palace were executed. She did not expect that Xiao Guizi had the skills to avoid this fate and find a position in the inconspicuous Bird Departnt.
"Qing E, tell the Palace Bureau to transfer Xiao Guizi to Changchun Palace."
"Yes." Qing E looked at Xiao Guizi with surprise, thinking he had so ability to catch the eye of the Imperial Concubine.
"This servant thanks Lady. May Lady live a thousand years, a thousand thousand years." Xiao Guizi knelt down excitedly and kowtowed.
"Rise. Now that you are one of my people, take to see the peacocks and the Hua i you recomnded. From now on, you will be in charge of them."
"Yes, this servant will surely not let down Lady’s expectations and will keep them beautiful and splendid."
Another little eunuch looked enviously at Xiao Guizi; following the Imperial Concubine from now on ant soaring to great heights. Why was he not as articulate!
User Comments
0 comments from readers