Untouchable Lovers-Chapter 227 - 207 Night at the Bamboo Hall

Chapter 227: Chapter 207: Night at the Bamboo Hall

Chapter 227 -207: Night at the Bamboo Hall

When Chu Yu first arrived in this era, she witnessed that Shan Yin’s Princess’s life was extremely luxurious. However, she was not accustomed to such extravagance and had everything simplified, eating alone in her room most of the time, except when absolutely necessary, and even the number of her dresses was limited.

At the time of her previous visits to the Imperial Palace to see Liu Ziyue, he would usually be wearing casual clothes unless he had just come from court. However, when she entered the Bamboo Hall in Huailin Garden that evening, she noticed Liu Ziyue’s attire was unusually formal.

Chu Yu seldom saw Liu Ziyue dressed like this, and it was not the time just after the court had been adjourned, which made her curious. Still, their relationship was no longer the same where they could speak freely, so even though she had her doubts, she did not ask.

The weather was cold. Liu Ziyue sat in the main seat of the Bamboo Hall, on a three-inch tall brocade cushion, with a thick black fur cloak draped over his shoulders, which only accentuated the pallor of his face. His narrow eyes were reddened at the corners, suggesting that he had not slept well.

Seeing Chu Yu, Liu Ziyue dismissed the Palace Attendants by his side, leaving only the siblings related by blood in the vast hall. Chu Yu wasn’t sure what to say at this point, and not wishing to step forward and bow, she simply stood there.

Liu Ziyue’s expression was somewhat peculiar, his eyes betraying a desire to say something. But even though his lips moved, he didn’t speak.

Despite his solemn attire, the little emperor soon lost his composed posture. He sat with his legs folded in front of him, slightly hunched over, his arms wrapped around his legs, elbows propped on the table, his fingers intertwined and restlessly twisting.

He occasionally cast his gaze downward, but from time to time, he would peek at Chu Yu quickly.

Since Liu Ziyue was willing to continue this silent stand-off, Chu Yu was content to keep him company. She kept her eyes down and her mind clear, though her thoughts had long since drifted outside the palace, secretly hoping that Huan Yuan and the others could leave quickly. Being in the palace herself, she could divert a portion of He Ji’s attention, which should facilitate their escape.

Lost in her thoughts, Chu Yu gradually felt the cold penetrate her clothes and seep into her skin and bones, causing her to shiver involuntarily. She had come in a hurry, her clothes slightly too thin. Though the carriage had been warmed by a stove, after entering the palace gate and walking this distance, the warmth had dissipated. Standing still in the vast and empty hall, her body became thoroughly chilled.

When Liu Ziyue raised his eyes again, he happened to see Chu Yu’s subtle movement. Realizing she was cold, he forgot everything else and hastily stood up, stepping over the table to rapidly approach her. He took off his cloak and draped it over Chu Yu, all the while complaining, “Sister, why are you dressed so lightly? Really, what if you catch a cold?”

He rambled on with his complaints for quite a while before suddenly remembering their cold war. His actions abruptly stopped, holding the cloak unsure if he should let Chu Yu keep it on or regain his authority and take it back.

However, taking it back could not erase what he had already done.

Liu Ziyue lowered his head and pursed his lips, then gently draped the cloak over Chu Yu, clumsily fixing the collar for her.

Liu Ziyue clearly wasn’t accustomed to serving others, his hands either too forceful or too gentle. Concerned that the collar tied too loosely might let the cold wind in, he tied it tight, almost choking Chu Yu. When he realized she was uncomfortable, he hastily loosened it again, but fearing it wasn’t secure enough, he couldn’t help tightening it once more…

After several repeats of this, Chu Yu was almost rolling her eyes in exasperation. If she hadn’t seen the look of concern on Liu Ziyue’s face, she might have thought he was trying to strangle her. Enduring for a while longer as Liu Ziyue fumbled, she sighed and took hold of his hand, “Enough.”

Liu Ziyue let go, dejectedly about to call someone else to help, but Chu Yu waved him off and took care of herself. The fur cloak had been warmed by Liu Ziyue’s body heat, so once she wore it, she quickly felt the warmth, which had come from Liu Ziyue himself.

Looking at Liu Ziyue, seeing how pale and thin the youth appeared, with red-rimmed eyes, he seemed at a loss when their eyes met and quickly looked away. Chu Yu sighed inwardly and said softly, “Ziye, thank you.” She did not address him as ‘Emperor’ as usual, but used his given name instead.

Liu Ziyue pouted, his eyes flashing with an urge to cry. He grabbed Chu Yu’s hand, feeling its coldness, and rubbed it between his own to warm it. After a while, he lowered his head and said, “Sister, please don’t be angry with me anymore, okay?”

His pleading tone made Chu Yu sigh again. “How dare I be angry with you?” The power of life and death always lay in his hands; it was ludicrous for her to be resentful towards him. What authority did she have to harbor anger against him?

Liu Ziyue’s eyes grew even redder, and his voice was low and fast, “Liar! You are resenting me right now!” After waiting for a while without hearing Chu Yu’s comforting voice, he felt even more aggrieved and sad—he was the Emperor, so why wouldn’t Sister say some sweet words to coddle him?

It was clearly Sister’s fault, how could she think about leaving him and hiding somewhere else?

Chu Yu felt both annoyed and amused; she truly didn’t know what to say to him. After a while, she slowly withdrew her hand from beneath his and hesitated for a moment before patting his shoulder, “Let bygones be bygones, don’t mention it anymore.”

Since she was about to leave soon, she might as well go along with him for a moment; after all, there was no way for her to take revenge for the dead, so getting aggravated with him was meaningless.

Thinking so, Chu Yu’s face finally showed a hint of a smile, “Did you come looking for me today because you need something?”

Seeing that Chu Yu had finally softened her stance, joy bloomed on Liu Ziyue’s pale cheeks, and he smiled for quite a while before he remembered to say, “I really missed Sister, that’s all. Oh, Sister, do you want to stay for a while longer? There have been ghost sightings in the palace these past few days; I’m planning to hold a ritual for exorcism in Bamboo Hall.” His solemn attire was also for this purpose.

—The Emperor went ghost hunting in the bamboo hall of Huailin Garden.

Chu Yu’s heart gave a sudden lurch as a piece of memorized history that was crucial to her life and death flashed across her mind.

Just as Liu Ziyue was about to call someone in, Chu Yu made a stopping gesture and asked, “Your Majesty, where is General Zong Yue?” Although she didn’t like Zong Yue’s cruel and venomous nature, at least he was reliably loyal to Liu Ziyue.

Liu Ziyue pondered for a moment before saying, “Oh, there has been a recent conspiracy. I’ve sent General Zong and several other generals out of the city to inspect the troops; in a few days, I plan to lead the army myself.” He spoke lightly, not taking the conspirator seriously at all.

—Only General Zhi Hao, Song Yue, Tan Jin, Tong Taiyi, and a few others were his close confidants… That evening, Yue and others stayed outside the palace.

Chu Yu’s eyes widened slightly, and another thought came to her mind as she asked, “Then, what about Lin Mu?” Yue Jiefei and Tian Rujing’s senior brother, the shadow that protected Liu Ziyue—was he around?

Liu Ziyue answered nonchalantly, “He asked for leave from me today; he left the Imperial Palace an hour ago. Sister, are you looking for them for something?”

Chu Yu shook her head, then saw Liu Ziyue signaling for people to come in and arrange the setup for the ritual.

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As if she had come to a realization, she stiffened, barely able to move.

—A farmer named Dian Fu and a boy named Dao’er, due to Jie Shoujizhi’s death, betrayed the Emperor in the rear hall on the night of the twenty-ninth day of the eleventh month.

Today was the twenty-seventh day of the eleventh month.

But she remembered that the historical record indicated the date was the twenty-ninth of November.

How could it be today? (To be continued. For the subsequent events, please visit www.qidian.com. More chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)