Chapter 334: Chapter 334
Whether it was a false accusation or not could be discussed another time, but honestly, this tiny room with its suffocating coal smoke smell was something An Ning genuinely despised.
As the lowest-ranking concubine, aside from the other cleaning servants in the courtyard, she currently had only Xiangzhu as her personal attendant.
Fortunately, after that palace servant named Lüqi had visited, perhaps sensing that this sickly-looking mistress still had some prospects, she had become much more diligent recently.
Coupled with the items occasionally sent from over there, this winter hadn't been too unbearable after all.
Winter passed and spring arrived, several months gone in the blink of an eye.
The pear tree outside the window had just begun to sprout tender buds. In the evening, An Ning sat at the table, laboriously practicing calligraphy with a copybook in hand.
During the spring equinox, the weather still carried some chill. Xiangzhu, who had just entered, saw this and hurriedly set down the apricot blossom branch she had just picked, quickly fetching a thick cloak from the inner room.
Finally, she approached carefully and said:
"Mistress, it looks like it's going to rain outside, and the ground is cold. It wouldn't be good if you caught a chill!"
The newly tributed cloud-pattern brocade shimmered brilliantly, reflecting the fiery sunset outside, making the person appear even more like someone not of this mortal world.
After years of hardship in Xin Zheku, she still possessed such beauty. Now, nourished with all kinds of fine things, her appearance could only become more exquisite...
Yet looking at her mistress before her, Xiangzhu's anxious heart simply couldn't settle.
Ah, such a beautiful person, why did she have to have such a mouth...
After a while, perhaps seeing that the other was in a fairly good mood today, Xiangzhu carefully approached again holding hot tea:
"Mistress, His Majesty has been on the throne for many years and carries deep authority. Although he has usually been quite gentle with the harem, you still shouldn't be too casual..."
Actually, sometimes not knowing how to speak and just keeping quiet was also acceptable.
Unfortunately, these words really couldn't be spoken aloud.
Watching her mistress sip tea with that "I know already" dismissive expression.
Maintaining a barely proper expression, Xiangzhu couldn't help but sigh inwardly again.
"Enough, do you think your mistress is someone without such sense?"
Continuing to look down and "admire" the handwriting she had finally learned, An Ning spoke without looking up.
The young palace maid beside her was about to say something, but soon, a familiar young eunuch from outside the door approached with a smiling face, bringing along an imperial decree to accompany the emperor.
Actually, equally speechless at that time was Chief Eunuch Liang. Hearing the familiar sound of conversation from the inner room, accompanied by the sound of chess pieces falling on the board, Eunuch Liang's eyelids subconsciously twitched.
And he emitted the same sigh as Xiangzhu earlier:
Ah, Master Wei is such a beautiful person, why did she have to have such a mouth!
It wasn't until he served tea and personally saw that his mistress's expression was no different from usual that Eunuch Liang finally breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
An Ning, who happened to catch this scene: "..."
Without changing her expression, she placed the black piece in her hand, neatly cutting off most of the opponent's retreat. An Ning couldn't help but feel speechless, lifting her eyes to look at the person opposite:
"Is your servant really that frightening?"
Of course, the quality of the servants around you is just that... Perhaps feeling this was inappropriate, or maybe having been advised too many times, this last sentence reached her lips but was swallowed back down.
However, what kind of person was Kangxi? Someone who had been reading people's expressions since childhood as if it were ordinary. How could he not see the unspoken words in the opposite person's expression?
His gaze swept over the chessboard where the outcome was already vaguely visible. The slight displeasure that had arisen subsided upon touching the other's jade-like face, turning into a somewhat smiling question:
The white jade chess piece fell with a crisp sound.
"I heard A-Ning wasn't particularly talkative before!"
"Yes!" An Ning nodded, propping her chin as she looked at the chess game before her, not avoiding the topic at all:
"When I first entered the palace, a matron once warned me that unless necessary, it's better not to speak too much in the palace..."
"Your servant thought this was very reasonable."
"It seems that matron, regardless of other matters, was indeed open and sincere with you..." The person opposite snorted with laughter.
Huh? These words sound a bit strange...
"Your Majesty, do you also think your servant talks too much?"
An Ning seemed to have reacted, her attention finally returning from the current chess game. She looked at the person before her with some surprise:
"Your servant thought that day you weren't truly angry!"
And what had she said at that time?
An Ning pretended to think carefully, as if she had only said that playing chess was becoming increasingly easier.
Really interesting, not as difficult to learn as she had imagined!
What was the problem with that?
Forget it, overthinking was useless anyway, and it didn't affect anything. An Ning quickly relaxed and continued to stare eagerly at the chess game before her.
People often say viewing beauties by lamplight.
Under the dim candlelight, the person before him wore a Xiangfei Color qipao with hibiscus prints. Under her light makeup, her exquisite features truly embodied that saying: one shade lighter would seem pale, one shade brighter would seem vulgar. Her fingers were even more fair and translucent than the white jade chess pieces in her hand.
Even without any deliberately flowing charm, she possessed an indescribable extraordinary beauty.
One glance at her made one feel comfortable and pleased.
Forget it, there were no truly perfect people in this world.
Feeling that he was quite tolerant toward women, especially his own people, Xuanye quickly set aside that bit of regret.
However, the next second, he saw the beauty opposite happily place a piece, and then...
Staring at the completely surrounded black pieces before him, after a moment of silence, Emperor Kangxi meaningfully rubbed the white jade finger ring in his hand:
"A-Ning's chess skills have indeed improved extremely quickly. I remember when I first taught you, you still couldn't quite grasp the rules. Now, in less than half a year, you've made such progress."
Finally, he simply set down the white jade chess piece in his hand:
"I heard you've been holed up in your room studying these things these days, not going out for walks. What, does the scenery of the Imperial Garden not suit your taste?"
His tone carried some concern, but pretending not to hear the implied meaning in his words, An Ning only boredly tossed down the jade chess piece in her hand and reclined on the soft couch behind her:
Her jade-like face soon showed some weariness:
"And then going out, there are so many people I need to bow and pay respects to. Before I even see any scenery, my knees are half ruined!"
Outrageous! Seeing her , he originally wanted to scold her, but considering her temperament, the words at his lips changed to:
"Alright, the palace has its own rules. Weren't you interested in a chess set a few days ago..."
Glancing at the clear situation on the chessboard, Liang Jiugong, who was busy tidying up nearby, subconsciously lowered his head.
The next day, playing with the familiar warm jade chess pieces before her, a smile finally appeared on An Ning's face as she walked briskly out of the Qianqing Palace gate.
"Um, host, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
After walking out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation gate, the system said with some worry.
After all, she was a palace consort, and that person's temper wasn't truly good. How dare she poke at people with her mouth like that. What answered it was its host's undisguised snort of laughter:
"Do you believe me, if your host were truly gentle, considerate, understanding, and interesting, I'd really be sitting on the cold bench by now!"