Chapter 15: The Nuptial Wine

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After their kiss, Xie Liwen held her in his arms. “Do you know the answer now?”

Lu Yueyong gave a soft hum.

She clung tightly to his back, her heart pounding wildly before gradually settling.

This was the love she had longed for through two lifetimes.

On the way back to the Lu residence, a tender smile lingered on Lu Yueyong’s face.

Binglian could not resist teasing her. “When we return, First Lady, you must rein in that smile. With your eyes rippling like spring water, anyone who sees you will know exactly whom you went out to meet.”

“You are truly too talkative!” Lu Yueyong lightly tapped her.

Her time with Xie Liwen today had only strengthened her resolve to marry into the Xie family!

He was precisely the kind of man she had been seeking.

Considerate, devoted to her, responsible, and capable of shouldering any trouble that came his way.

She only wondered what method Lord Xie would use to deal with her mother…

Thinking of her mother’s hesitant attitude, Lu Yueyong still felt uneasy.

“Binglian, go to Crossroads Street and buy some of Mother’s favorite pastries.”

“Of course.”

Lu Yueyong planned to sound out her mother again once she returned. Ideally, she would find out who had been whispering into her mother’s ear.

Only by getting to the root of the matter could she deal with it properly.

…

Inside Jade Radiance Palace, Ruqi was explaining the rules of go to Lu Shuyao.

A board and a manual of game records lay before them, and Lu Shuyao was slowly beginning to understand.

Because the Emperor loved go, the Empress Dowager intended to hold a go tournament in the imperial harem, giving all the women a chance to display their skill.

The tournament was open not only to the palace candidates, but also to the princesses of the imperial family and the imperial concubines.

As Lin Ruo had put it, “It is simply an excuse for Shen Rushuang to steal the limelight. Everyone knows that she is the finest female player in the capital. We are merely here to serve as decoration.”

Lu Shuyao and Lin Ruo were both daughters born to secondary wives, and their families had never paid much attention to them. They knew almost nothing of such refined arts.

Lin Ruo at least understood a little.

Lu Shuyao was completely ignorant.

When she was young, the only opportunity she had to study came after her mother was sent away to a country estate.

Otherwise, she might not even have recognized more than a handful of written characters by now.

Because of the upcoming go tournament, Lu Shuyao had been practicing diligently these past few days.

Five days had passed since she first received the Emperor’s favor. Apart from the second day, when he had entered the harem to visit Shen Rushuang and her, he had not returned again.

The Empress Dowager required audiences once every seven days; the rest of the time was still quite free.

The weather was somewhat warm today. Lu Shuyao wore a yellow-green, flower-patterned high-waisted gown, with a thin ivory gauze robe over it. Her tender white feet were bare, without even cloth shoes, dangling and swaying in midair.

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Her hair was arranged with casual yet exquisite elegance, adorned only with pale yellow silk ribbons. Several tiny golden bells hung from their ends.

She sat crookedly on a daybed, one hand propping her up beside the board and the other holding the game manual.

Her brows were half furrowed, while her vivid red lips were slightly pursed in concentration.

Beside her, Ruqi waved a round silk fan and explained the crucial points in the manual.

“The Emperor has arrived!”

At the sudden announcement, Lu Shuyao turned around in delight.

The golden bells in her hair chimed. She tried to rise, only to trip over her cloth shoes.

When Ye Yanchen entered, he saw a palace maid supporting Lu Shuyao as she bent over.

Her high-waisted gown could not conceal the generous expanse of white flesh at her chest, and the movement of her bending was even more perilous.

Yet those dazzling, rounded curves disappeared almost at once as she straightened. Joy adorned her face, as though she could scarcely believe he had truly come.

She was so captivated that she even forgot to perform the formal salute, simply gazing at him in a daze.

“Your Majesty, you really came.”

She released Ruqi’s supporting hand and hurried several steps toward Ye Yanchen.

She knew that her appearance was exceptionally effective at beguiling men, and now she brought her most innocent and enchanting qualities into full play.

Her eyes had widened slightly with delight, lending her an even more pitiful air.

Her lips parted faintly, their brilliant red drawing the gaze irresistibly toward them.

The hair ornaments she wore today inexplicably reminded Ye Yanchen of that night five days ago.

That night, the silk ribbons in her hair had been red. Today they were pale yellow, giving her a touch of playful charm.

Ye Yanchen lifted the wine cup in his hand and gently waved it before her. “Was it not you who summoned me?”

Indeed, this was what Lu Shuyao had sent Ruqi to deliver to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

She had spent several days specially seeking out this fine wine beyond the palace walls.

“How could I possibly forget Your Majesty when I went to such trouble to have someone find it outside the palace?” Lu Shuyao approached and wrapped both arms around his.

She held him tightly, and those conspicuous rounded curves appeared and vanished with every movement.

Ye Yanchen ordered coldly, “Everyone, leave.”

“Yes.”

Yuan Shu, who had accompanied Ye Yanchen, withdrew with the guards and eunuchs at his side.

“Your Majesty, the wine has arrived, but the dishes have not yet been served.”

“Have your palace maids bring them.” He seized her hand and drew her inward.

Only when they reached the place where she had been sitting did he notice the go manual spread out before her.

At a glance, he could tell that she was still a beginner. Raising a brow, he asked, “Are you competing as well?”

Lu Shuyao hurried over and blocked the board from view. “I am still learning.”

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“Then shall I play a game with you?”

“Really? That would be wonderful.”

Lu Shuyao cleared the black and white stones from the board, then sat opposite Ye Yanchen on the daybed.

“How many stones should I give you?”

Lu Shuyao had no real idea how strong he was and ventured, “Ten?”

“Very well.”

Yet before they had played for long, Ye Yanchen had only just placed a black stone when Lu Shuyao protested, “No, no, I want to change places.”

Ye Yanchen cast her a sharp look. “You cannot take back a move.”

She was not frightened in the least. Biting her lip, she gazed at him pitifully. “But Sister Lin always lets me take back my moves.”

She looked rather like a little puppy.

“Sister Lin?”

“One of the palace candidates who entered the palace with me this time.”

She truly had very little cunning. She even dared mention another palace candidate in front of him.

“She lets you take back your moves?” Ye Yanchen raised a brow at her. Beneath the palace lanterns, his eyes shimmered unexpectedly, making the beauty mark beneath one of them all the more alluring.

He was truly handsome.

Looking at the Emperor, Lu Shuyao sighed inwardly in admiration.

“Because she has to take hers back too.”

Ye Yanchen shook his head helplessly and picked up the black stone. “All right. Put it back.”

He had not expected even a game meant to teach her to take so long.

Once the palace maids had served all the dishes, Ye Yanchen ended the game within five moves.

“So Your Majesty was going easy on me all along.” Lu Shuyao stared blankly at the board in realization.

Ye Yanchen showed the first smile of the day. “Foolish girl.”

Seeing him smile, Lu Shuyao smiled inwardly as well.

Foolish.

The two of them sat down at the table, and Lu Shuyao brought out the pair of nuptial wine cups she had prepared long ago.

She personally poured Rosy Cloud Wine into both cups. A trace of shyness colored her face. “I have never yet drunk with Your Majesty. Let this cup stand in place of the nuptial wine we would drink together.”

Without waiting for Ye Yanchen, she tipped back her head and drank.

Ye Yanchen’s expression remained stern, but his gaze swept over the faintly flushed corners of her eyes. “Nuptial wine? That is something only the Empress may drink with me.”

“Lady Lu, are you asking for too much?”

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