As night fell, one by one, the palace lanterns were gradually lit inside the Forbidden City.
Inside the Qingbo Hall at this moment, there was a scene of prosperity with continuous singing and dancing, accompanied by the sounds of string instruments and drums.
Tonight, Emperor Qi He hosted a banquet for courtiers to celebrate the successful completion of the Astrology Pavilion within the Forbidden City.
Crown Prince Zhao Zhengtan sat in the first seat at the lower end, with Prince Xin, Zhao Zhengrong, seated opposite him.
As the Imperial Advisor and in charge of the Astrology Pavilion affairs, Wei Yun enjoyed deep imperial favor, so he naturally sat in the second seat after Crown Prince Zhao Zhengtan, facing Prime Minister Song Jinian and Grand Tutor Xu Dian. These two old gentlemen, on ordinary days, were the most disdainful of Wei Yun, this excessively young Imperial Advisor.
When they were secretly playing Pai Gow, they also cursed Wei Yun as a charlatan. Somehow, this matter leaked out, becoming widely known and quite embarrassing.
However, at this moment, when these two old men faced Wei Yun’s seemingly calm eyes, they couldn’t help but glance at each other’s aged faces, then straightened their backs, attempting to appear noble and dignified.
Even though their lives had bent their backs, trying to straighten up proved difficult.
Sitting opposite them, the Imperial Advisor was only twenty-two years old, naturally upright in posture, his face exceptionally handsome and bright.
The two old men, faces full of wrinkles, couldn’t help but snort coldly at the same time.
“Today is to celebrate the official completion of my Astrology Pavilion. Come, let us all drink together!” The Emperor Qi He suddenly stood up, took the pure gold cup handed over by Empress You, and raised it.
As Emperor Qi He stood up, everyone at the table quickly followed suit, holding their cups and saying in unison, “Congratulations, Your Majesty!”
Wei Yun brought the cup to his lips for a light sip, the spicy flavor followed by a rich, lingering fragrance, unforgettable.
This was indeed the imperial wine from the forbidden palace.
After Emperor Qi He sat down again, and as the officials took their seats, Wei Yun also sat down.
He put down his cup, and when he looked up, he met the gaze of Prince Zhao Zhengrong, who was sitting opposite at the first seat on the lower end.
Wei Yun’s expression remained unchanged, he nodded slightly, and then looked away.
“The Imperial Advisor is indeed more illustrious than ever.”
At that moment, Crown Prince Zhao Zhengtan whispered.
Wei Yun turned his head to meet the Crown Prince’s meaningful eyes.
Just like his late mother, Empress Liu, Zhao Zhengtan had narrow phoenix eyes. Now, looking at Wei Yun under the dim light, there seemed to be a hint of barely concealed anger.
It seems that the Crown Prince indeed still remembered the grudge concerning the register.
Wei Yun pulled at the corner of his mouth, saying, “His Majesty’s grace is profound, I always remember.”
Such words of loyalty did not impress Zhao Zhengtan, who scoffed and said no more.
But he couldn’t help but tighten his grip on his wine cup.
One day, he was determined to have Wei Yun die by his hands.
“Imperial Advisor.” Emperor Qi He suddenly called out to Wei Yun.
Upon hearing this, Wei Yun immediately stood up, nodding slightly, calm and serene, “Your Majesty.”
“Is everything in the Astrology Pavilion arranged properly?”
Emperor Qi He leaned on the dragon throne, his face slightly yellow from long-term consumption of elixirs seemed quite pleased at the moment, but everyone present knew the Emperor’s nature was fickle, his temper becoming increasingly worse over the years due to his obsession with seeking immortality and excessive consumption of elixirs, often resulting in impulsive actions against the palace staff, which had become the norm.
“Everything has been properly arranged,” Wei Yun replied calmly.
Emperor Qi He nodded in satisfaction, then said, “In the future, you will take more care of the Astrology Pavilion.”
Wei Yun lowered his gaze, “Your Majesty overestimates me, I will do my best.”
“As for the alchemy in the Astrology Pavilion, I will assign someone to assist you,” Emperor Qi He said after taking a sip of wine.
Upon hearing this, Wei Yun knew what Emperor Qi He had in mind.
Upon seeing him pointing towards the Minister of Rites, Wu Fuqing, Wei Yun became even more certain about this matter.
Wu Fuqing immediately walked out from behind the desk, stood in the center of the grand hall, lifted his robes, and bowed deeply to Emperor Qi He, who was seated on the dragon throne atop the steps. When Emperor Qi He gestured for him to rise, he stood up and turned to Wei Yun, bowing respectfully, “Imperial Advisor, Wu Fuqing is determined to assist you in managing the Astrology Pavilion.”
Wei Yun’s face remained impassive, nodding gently without speaking.
As he sat down again, he heard a disdainful snort from Crown Prince Zhao Zhengtan, with a hint of concealed sarcasm.
At that moment, Prime Minister Song Jinian and Grand Tutor Xu Dian exchanged a glance, both displaying a hint of amusement.
It was evident to everyone at the palace banquet that Emperor Qi He’s gesture was a warning to the Imperial Advisor, Wei Yun.
This Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty was never one to easily trust others.
Perhaps he never truly trusted anyone.
He dared to use Wei Yun and relied on him, but he did not completely trust the young Imperial Advisor whom he had summoned to the court.
Wei Yun lowered his eyes, revealing no emotion. Even the officials who occasionally glanced at him could not discern what was going on in his mind at that moment.
Even Qi Ji, who was seated beside his father, Marquis Nanping, couldn’t help but cast a few more glances at Wei Yun.
Then, lifting his wine cup, he took a sip leisurely.
Later, when the palace banquet ended, Qi Ji slipped away from his father, Marquis Nanping, and in the long palace corridor leading to the palace gates, he caught sight from afar of Wei Yun’s figure, a hint of dark red amidst the palace attendants’ lantern lights, shimmering like scattered starlight on the brocade robes.
“Wei Yanchen!”
Lifting his robes and ignoring the attendants beside him, he hurriedly stepped forward and ran towards him.
Upon reaching Wei Yun, he noticed that he was carrying a redwood food box.
“Wei Yanchen, does your Imperial Advisor’s mansion not have anything to eat?” he clicked his tongue.
Wei Yun glanced at him but didn’t intend to speak, simply continuing to walk towards the end of the long corridor.
Qi Ji followed beside him, “The palace food may be delicious, but the dishes made by the chefs in our mansion are also not bad. You don’t need to do such things. If you finally come to your senses and realize that the desire for food is the greatest pleasure in life, this Crown Prince will be very pleased. If you come to the mansion, this Crown Prince will definitely treat you to a variety of exquisite delicacies for half a month without repeating a single dish!”
Wei Yun had always been unwilling to entertain such nonsense from him.
But as he carried the food box, the image of that little girl’s face suddenly flashed through his mind. He paused, turning his head to look at Qi Ji beside him, his eyes narrowing slightly.
How could he forget? This heir of the Nanping Marquis House, known throughout the capital as indolent, was also a renowned glutton.
“Qi Mingxu,” Wei Yun suddenly said.
Caught by his sudden gaze, Qi Ji felt a shiver and couldn’t help but step back, “What?”
“Your household’s cook, will you send him to me?”
Qi Ji felt a chill down his spine, it took him a moment to hear what Wei Yun had just murmured.
He thought he must have misheard.
“…Ah?” Qi Ji was a bit slow to respond.
“Send someone to the Imperial Advisor’s House tomorrow.”
Wei Yun didn’t have the patience to say more, carrying the redwood food box, he directly went forward.
Qi Ji hurriedly followed.
At the palace gate, Wei Jing had been waiting beside the carriage. Upon seeing Wei Yun, he greeted, “My lord.”
“Young Master.”
Seeing Qi Ji beside him, Wei Jing paid his respects again.
“Wei Jing, tell me the truth, has something disturbed our lord recently?” Qi Ji approached, playing with a jade bone folding fan in his hand, and asked curiously.
Wei Jing was stunned for a moment, his mind involuntarily flashing through names of sweets like sugar-steamed pastry, lotus-seed pastry, and hibiscus cake… He almost blurted out “yes,” but as he was about to speak, he changed his words, “The young master must be joking.”
“Wei Jing, let’s go.”
Wei Yun didn’t bother to pay more attention to Qi Ji, handing the food box to Wei Jing, then turned and lifted his robe, boarding the carriage.
“Young Master, farewell.” Wei Jing paid his respects to Qi Ji again, then holding the food box, he easily jumped onto the carriage, pulled the reins, and drove towards the palace gate.
Qi Ji stood in place, shaking his head, his eyes still carrying a hint of curiosity and amusement.
He always felt that the Imperial Advisor seemed to be hiding something.
When Wei Yun returned to the Imperial Advisor’s House, the shadows of the lanterns under the eaves had stretched very long.
After ordering Wei Jing to place the food box inside his room, Wei Yun went to the bathhouse to bathe.
In the bathhouse filled with swirling mist, his dark long hair was draped behind him, becoming wet and leaning to one side as he leaned on the edge of the bath, with the foggy mist around, one could vaguely see his fair back.
His eyes were slightly drooped, his eyelashes like crow feathers shading below, in the brightly lit bathhouse, casting a small shadow below his eyes, his damp hair sticking by his ear, his face devoid of any emotion, yet the contours, slightly damp, seemed even more intriguingly attractive than when dressed neatly.
He leaned quietly by the bath, motionless for a long time.
Until a copper pendant casually placed behind him on a small table suddenly made a delicate, bell-like sound, he abruptly opened his eyes, turning his head just in time to see a golden star disc rising from the copper piece, making a spinning sound.
“Yun Yun?” A soft voice of a girl suddenly came from the star disk, carrying a hint of inexplicable timidity.
“What’s wrong?”
After a long pause, Yun Yun finally spoke.
“What are you doing?”
Xie Tao seemed to have fed something into her mouth, making her speech a bit muddled.
Her long, dense eyelashes trembled slightly, and Yun Yun calmly said, “Reading.”
“Why are you reading again?”
Xie Tao sighed, “Staying up late to read is bad for your eyes. I’ve told you so many times.”
“Mm.”
Her occasional expressions of care always managed to soften his eyes for a moment.
It was like a desolate land of ice and snow showing signs of spring for an instant.
“What are you eating?” He clearly heard the sound of her eating.
It was like a small animal, making a delicate munching sound.
“Chips.”
As Xie Tao ate, she said, “I came back late today, and I originally wanted to make instant noodles, but the water was cut off. I was wondering how I was going to wash up tonight…”
The whole area had its water cut off, and Xie Tao couldn’t find anything to eat even if she went out.
Especially since it was already very late.
Yun Yun frowned slightly and glanced at the copper pendant on the case table before saying, “Wait a moment.”
“Hm? What?” Xie Tao didn’t understand.
But Yun Yun didn’t answer; he simply stood up from the bath.
Immediately, the sound of water rang out, his body bare, stepping up the slightly wet stairs, and then casually putting on a robe next to him.
His wet hair was draped behind him, still carrying a bit of moisture.
Xie Tao exclaimed, asking, “Why is there the sound of water? Yun Yun, what are you doing?”
Yun Yun walked to the soft couch, bent over to pick up the copper pendant, and the star disk went dark in an instant.
Xie Tao, whose voice call was abruptly cut off, was stunned for a moment until her phone suddenly vibrated in her hand. She subconsciously looked down, and it seemed like a notification from a delivery locker.
Delivery personnel are still making deliveries this late?
That was her first thought.
Then, after she came to her senses, she quickly started typing to ask:
“Yun Yun, did you send me something again??”
There was no reply for the time being, so Xie Tao simply changed her shoes and ran downstairs.
After entering the password, she saw a mahogany food box stored in her delivery locker.
Finally, it wasn’t another terrifying classical Chinese hypnotic reading material…
Xie Tao carried the mahogany food box back home, and when she opened the lid, she saw a few especially exquisite pastries inside. She exclaimed, “Wow,” and quickly fed one into her mouth.
This is too delicious!!
Xie Tao picked up her phone intending to message Yun Yun, only to see his message had just come through, which read:
“You must wash up.”
Ah?
Xie Tao still didn’t understand.
Then she saw him send another sentence:
“You’ll stink.”
??
Xie Tao bit into half a pastry, completely stunned.
But, how can you wash without water?
Dry cleaning??
