Uncle Fu lowered his head, his lips pursed.
Gu Moran picked up the folding fan and tapped the fan ribs against his palm.
"Reply."
Uncle Fu waited.
Gu Moran looked towards the door.
Tell the Crown Prince that I will go to the Eastern Palace first tomorrow.
Uncle Fu's brow twitched.
"What about the Second Prince?"
Gu Moran picked up the Second Prince's invitation and placed it next to the candlelight, but did not light it.
Tell the second son.
"If the Eastern Palace Prince doesn't offer me a meal, I'll go to his residence to listen to music."
Uncle Fu looked up at him.
Gu Moran tossed the invitation back onto the table.
"Both of my royal brothers have been invited; I cannot show favoritism to one over the other."
"That's called 'balancing'."
Uncle Fu put the two letters away.
"If Your Highness goes, you'll offend both sides."
Gu Moran smiled lazily.
"I have to offend everyone a little bit, so that I still seem like that good-for-nothing third brother."
He picked up his teacup and took a sip.
"Besides."
"If they really want to win me over, they'll have to get used to it first."
Uncle Fu asked, "What are your habits?"
Gu Moran with righteous indignation.
"I'm used to this king being difficult to please."
The moonlight fell on the windowpane of the study, and the bamboo shadows slanted into the room.
Uncle Fu stood bowing by the door.
"Your Highness, it's time to rest."
"Knew."
Gu Moran rubbed the back of his neck, then got up and walked towards the bedroom.
As he walked through the corridor, he glanced at Clear Frost Courtyard.
The lights are still on over there.
Uncle Fu had mentioned earlier that she turned off the lights in her yard early in the morning.
This is?
He didn't go.
I just finished dealing with Ye Qingyun for her at the poetry gathering tonight. If I were to come knocking on her door now, the naturally proud Eldest Miss Su would most likely have "Who cares about your help?" written all over her face.
Gu Moran returned to her bedroom and took off her outer robe, hanging it on a rack.
I had just finished showering when there was a knock on the door.
Not Uncle Fu.
Uncle Fu knocked on the door, his technique so steady it was as if he were a doctor at the Imperial Medical Bureau.
There was a three-breath interval between the two attacks.
Gu Moran fastened his casual robe belt and walked to the door.
"Who?"
A moment of silence followed outside the door.
A low female voice slipped in through the crack in the door.
"I."
Gu Moran's hand rested on the door latch, but he didn't pull it open immediately.
Su Yao.
Midnight (11 PM - 1 AM)
She took the initiative to knock on his bedroom door.
Is it urgent?
He opened the door.
Su Yao stood under the eaves, wearing a light white blouse. Her long hair was not tied up, but loosely held together with a plain-colored hair ribbon.
A few stray hairs clung to the side of her neck.
She held a porcelain bowl in her hand, steam rising from it, the sweet aroma of white fungus and rock sugar wafting into the room first.
Gu Moran looked at the bowl, then at her.
"My beloved concubine brings me soup late at night?"
Su Yao's gaze fell on his half-open collar, then quickly moved away.
" Shen Ling'er gave me too much; I can't finish it all."
"So you carried an unfinished bowl of soup, walked a hundred paces, and came to knock on my door?"
Su Yao handed the bowl forward.
If you're not going to drink it, I'll take it away.
Gu Moran took the bowl, his fingertips touching the back of her hand.
Su Yao pulled her hand back, and the soup spilled onto the rim of the bowl.
He steadied the bowl, lowered his head, and took a sip.
"It's a bit too sweet."
Su Yao pouted.
"The candy Shen Ling'er put in has nothing to do with me."
" Madam Su, you can't have come so late just to prove that Shen Ling'er put too much sugar in her drink, can you?"
Su Yao had her back to him, her shoulders tucked in very straight.
"Actually, it's about today's poetry gathering."
Gu Moran placed the bowl on the low table by the door.
"Oh."
" Xie Wanqing shielded me from Ye Qingyun's attack."
"Then you should thank her."
Su Yao turned around and fixed her gaze on his face.
"You were the one who taught her those poems."
Gu Moran smiled.
"I can't even remember a few lines of a seven-character quatrain."
"Are you still pretending in front of me?"
This question was asked softly, yet it's harder to avoid than a loud interrogation.
Gu Moran stopped smiling.
A night breeze came from the end of the corridor, blowing the stray hairs around Su Yao's neck. The scent of white plum blossoms mixed with the sweetness of white fungus, and crept into the house along the threshold.
He stepped aside.
"Come in."
Su Yao rubbed her throat.
She glanced at the candlesticks in the room, then at the bed.
Gu Moran understood.
This is because I'm afraid my voice will be completely ruined.
"Don't worry, I've been enjoying the poetry gathering all day, and my back and waist are aching."
Su Yao stepped across the threshold.
I'm not afraid of you.
"Then why did you look at the bed before you came in?"
Su Yao stopped walking, sat down at the table, and straightened her back straighter than the ruler used by the Imperial Academy.
Gu Moran the door slightly ajar, leaving a crack about two fingers wide.
Su Yao looked over.
"Aren't you going to close the door?"
"I'll leave you a way out."
She didn't reply.
Gu Moran sat down opposite her.
"Speak."
Su Yao rested her fingers on her knees, her thumb brushing against her index finger knuckle.
"If I were to retaliate against Ye Qingyun by invoking old agreements, it would be tantamount to the Chancellor's Residence bullying a poor family."
Gu Moran nodded.
She looked up at him.
"You made Xie Wanqing speak up for me."
"You arranged this all along."
Gu Moran picked up the white fungus soup and took another sip.
"My beloved concubine's investigation has reached her husband's bedside; isn't that a bit too fast a process?"
Su Yao wasn't led astray by him.
"The annotations to Volume Seven of the Strategies for Governing the State ' were written by you."
He put the bowl down.
So, was your visit tonight a pretense to deliver soup, and your real purpose to interrogate me?
"I just want to know who you really are."
The room fell silent.
The candlelight crackled softly.
Gu Moran leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs under the table.
"I am Prince Yi."
"The number one playboy in Chang'an."
"A regular at the gambling den."
"Top-ranked flower wine."
Su Yao lowered her eyebrows slightly.
How long are you going to keep up this act?
What are you pretending for?
Su Yao stood up, walked around the table, and stood in front of him.
The distance has decreased.
Gu Moran was so close that he could smell the fragrance of white plum blossoms in her hair.
" Gu Moran, I'm not Shen Ling'er, I won't use croton oil to test you."
She looked down at him.
"I'm not Murong Xue, I won't compete with you in horseback riding."
Her hand rested on the back of the chair, her fingertips only half an inch from his shoulder.
"I am Su Yao."
"I judge people by their hearts."
Gu Moran up.
"What did you see?"
Su Yao bent down.
You plant white plum blossoms for me.
"Arrange for Xie Wanqing to block Ye Qingyun for me."
"Stir up trouble for me at the poetry gathering."
Her breath fell on his forehead.
"You've done so much, yet you never take credit."
Gu Moran's hand rested on the armrest, and he didn't move.
"My beloved concubine, you are too close to me right now."
Su Yao did not back down.
"Then push me away."
After he finished speaking, only the soft crackling of the candle wick remained in the room.
Gu Moran looked at her.
Her usually aloof face still held its composure, but her ears were already red.
He raised his hand and placed his fingertips on Su Yao's wrist.
His pulse was beating very fast.
"Nervous?"
"No."
"Is your pulse beating like a drum?"
Su Yao withdrew her hand and took half a step back.
Gu Moran didn't chase after her; she sat there and finished her white fungus soup.
The bottom of the bowl touched the table with a soft sound.
You shouldn't have come tonight.
Su Yao looked at him.
"Why?"
Gu Moran stood up.
He was more than half a head taller than her, their shadows pressed against the ground, almost touching.
"Because you've come, you can't leave."
Su Yao looked up.
Who said I was leaving?
She paused for a moment after saying that.
Gu Moran out, hooked the end of her hair ribbon, and gently pulled it.
The headband fell off, and her long hair cascaded down her shoulders.
Su Yao tensed up, but didn't dodge.
"What you do?"
"Collect some interest."
He lowered his head, his lips brushing against her ear.
"I've been busy doing all this, I can't just have a bowl of sweet soup."
Su Yao grabbed his collar, wrinkling the fabric as she squeezed it.
Gu Moran.
"Um."
I have to meet someone tomorrow.
"So?"
Su Yao bit her lip, her ears turning even redder.
I don't want my voice to become hoarse.
Gu Moran couldn't help but laugh, his voice muffled by her hair.
" Su Yao, you're making it sound like you're discussing politics, even when you're saying something like this."
If you laugh again, I'm leaving.
"Don't."
He tightened his arms around the person, pulling them into his embrace.
Su Yao stiffened for a moment, but finally relaxed and buried her face in his neck.
The fragrance of white plum blossoms mingled with the sweetness of white fungus, and the candlelight in the room flickered as it burned down to the wick.
Su Yao asked in a low voice, "Who wrote today's poem?"
Gu Moran his palm on her back.
"You really want to know?"
Su Yao nodded.
Gu Moran bent down and picked her up.
"I'll tell you when you can still ask tomorrow morning."
Su Yao raised her hand to push him away.
"You dare."
Gu Moran placed her on the couch, held her hand, and pressed it against the pillow.
My beloved concubine just said she doesn't want her voice to become hoarse.
He looked down at her.
"I will try my best to behave myself."
"Then my beloved concubine tied up her hair and let her husband test her teeth."
[Thank you everyone for the gifts! Here are two extra chapters. Feel free to give me any feedback; I revise the manuscript super fast!]