Chapter 17. Teaching Mu Jiulu: Beautiful, This King’s Hands Are So Skillful. ……

On the way back to Luanxiao Palace with Mu Jiulu carrying Gu Sui, many palace servants and maids witnessed this scene.

The usually unapproachable Regent actually took the initiative to carry a young man from another family. How could they not be shocked? They privately discussed it amongst themselves.

News spread quickly in the palace. When the young Emperor, who was writing diligently in the Imperial Study, heard about it, she accidentally broke her brush without noticing.

“Your Majesty!”

“Go invite the Regent to come.”

Mu Huan said expressionlessly. Xi Huai, the chief palace maid, silently sighed and retreated with a bow.

Luanxiao Palace was not far from the Imperial Study, but Mu Huan waited for half an hour before the person arrived. By this time, she was already very impatient.

“For what matter has Your Majesty summoned this subject at this hour?”

Mu Jiulu did not need to kneel, only giving a cupped-hand salute before raising her head to look directly at the young Emperor on the high seat.

Mu Huan had just been thinking that when the Regent arrived, she would surely teach this ninth aunt what it means to be a ruler and what it means to be a subject.

But now, as she met Mu Jiulu’s deep and cold gaze and heard her neither light nor heavy voice, she felt inexplicably… intimidated.

The young Emperor’s hand placed on the table clenched and relaxed, then picked up a tea cup to conceal her expression.

“I heard that Young Master Gu was just carried back to the palace by the Regent?”

She asked, suppressing her voice, but still unable to hide the immaturity within it.

Mu Jiulu nodded without evasion: “Yes.”

Mu Huan seemed to gain some courage and put down the tea cup with a clatter.

“Regent, oh Regent, that Gu Sui is currently a betrothed man. Your actions are so abrupt, wouldn’t it sully his reputation? If word gets out, it will surely invite criticism!”

Mu Jiulu raised an eyebrow slightly and spoke.

“Your Majesty previously issued an imperial edict allowing him to hold a martial arts competition for marriage at Yulu Tower. This subject obtained his embroidered ball, so I am considered his half-fiancée.”

The young Emperor: “……”

“But you haven’t won against him yet, and he hasn’t married you. This behavior is truly improper!”

Mu Jiulu rested one hand in front of her body, rubbing the cold bone ring on her thumb.

With just a slight raising of her eyes, she brought immense pressure upon Mu Huan.

Mu Huan swallowed hard, forcing herself not to look away, the heavy dragon robe clinging to her straight back.

“Does Your Majesty know that this subject and Young Master Gu came out of Cining Palace?”

“Imperial Mother?”

“The Empress Dowager summoned this subject into the palace, implying that I should teach and guide the young Emperor more on a daily basis. But there’s one thing this subject doesn’t understand.”

Mu Huan, not understanding, asked with a wary look in her eyes, “What?”

“Your Majesty already has two imperial tutors teaching you the ways of governing, and the General transmitting martial arts and military strategy to you.

I wonder how incompetent they must be, that they still need this subject, who handles myriad affairs daily, to guide Your Majesty.”

“You…”

Although she referred to herself as a subject, her attitude was even more arrogant than that of an emperor.

Mu Huan felt immensely dissatisfied in her heart, yet had no way to vent.

“But now this subject understands. It’s not that they are incompetent, but that Your Majesty is too indulgent.”

Mu Huan’s eyes widened, her face full of disbelief.

She was indulgent? Who exactly was being indulgent!

“How dare the Regent speak such outrageous words, do you believe…”

Mu Jiulu mercilessly interrupted her words, her expression extremely cold.

“Is it not so?”

“How long has it been since that incident just now? Not only is Your Majesty very concerned about these trivial matters, but you even have the leisure to interfere, heh.

Let me ask you, have you finished the assignments left by the Imperial Tutor? The histories you should read, the articles you should memorize, and the horse riding and archery you should practice, has Your Majesty completed all of these?”

Being questioned like this, Mu Huan trembled with anger for a moment. She raised her hand to point at the person standing in the hall and shouted.

“Even if I finish them all, so what? Even if I do everything well, so what? With you as the Regent holding onto power, handling all matters, what use is there for me as the Emperor!”

She released all the resentment accumulated in her heart at once, sweeping everything off the table in a fit of rage, her expression becoming somewhat manic.

The palace maids in the hall had already retreated, but even outside they could hear the shouting from inside. They lowered their heads in trepidation, not daring to eavesdrop.

“Finished shouting?”

Mu Jiulu allowed her to vent until she was panting heavily and had calmed down again before speaking indifferently.

“Mu Huan, let me ask you, do you want to be a good ruler?”

Mu Huan’s lips pressed into a straight line: “Of course!”

“Then do you think you’re being a good ruler now?”

The cold questioning fell into her ears. Mu Huan wanted to refute but opened and closed her mouth, not knowing where to begin.

“Stubbornly clinging to convention, indecisive, yet ambitious – this is High Tutor’s evaluation of you.

Mu Huan, I ask you, those memorials that passed through my hands, what thoughts did you have after reading them?”

Mu Huan’s face suddenly turned pale. Seeing this, the coldness in Mu Jiulu’s eyes and brows intensified.

“You didn’t read them at all.”

“I did read them!”

She retorted hastily. Mu Jiulu let out a cold laugh.

“But because of your resentment towards me, you didn’t read them thoroughly, right?”

Mu Huan fell silent. Mu Jiulu turned around with a swish of her sleeves, walking towards the hall exit.

“Mu Huan, think about how your mother emperor died. There have always been people who want this throne.”

Her final chilling voice lingered in the hall. Mu Huan slumped in her chair, feeling like it was difficult to breathe.

“Xi Huai, Xi Huai!”

She called out helplessly. Xi Huai, who had been waiting outside the hall, quickly came to her side.

“Your Majesty, please calm down. This servant will send someone to summon the Imperial Physician right away!”

Seeing the Emperor’s state, she thought something had happened and spoke very urgently.

“No need!”

Mu Huan grabbed her arm and said, her voice suddenly weak.

Xi Huai was still very worried: “Your Majesty, are you really alright?”

Mu Huan took several deep breaths, calming her emotions. After a while, she spoke again.

“Go and find all the memorials that the Regent has handled over the past year.”

Xi Huai was somewhat puzzled: “Why does Your Majesty suddenly want these?”

Hadn’t she always become impatient after reading just two or three and asked her to put them away?

“Don’t ask so many questions, just go when I tell you to.”

Mu Huan said with furrowed brows. Xi Huai closed her mouth, poured another cup of tea, and then retreated.

Mu Jiulu’s reckless questioning still echoed in her ears. Mu Huan couldn’t help but grind her teeth.

Everyone thinks she can’t be a good emperor.

If that’s the case.

She will secretly learn all of the Regent’s methods, and then amaze everyone!

*

The Regent walked out of the Imperial Study carrying an aura of coldness. Everyone on the palace path retreated, not daring to approach and provoke her.

All the way to the front of Luanxiao Palace, Mu Jiulu suppressed her aura after entering.

“How is he?”

Yan Wu came forward to welcome her. Hearing the question, she replied seriously.

“Young Master Gu is still sleeping.”

After drinking the medicine, Gu Sui, who was already lacking energy, became even more drowsy. Mu Jiulu had watched him fall asleep before going to the Imperial Study.

“Mm, where is the General now?”

“The General is at the East Suburbs Military Camp, busy with the military drill matters these days.”

As the end of the year approached, Gu Tingsong also had many things to attend to, usually being away from home all day, and thus unable to constantly pay attention to Gu Sui.

“This King understands. You may go now.”

Mu Jiulu walked towards the inner hall, her footsteps making almost no sound as they touched the ground.

“Wang Zhu, the young master is still resting.”

Yun Mu, guarding at the door, stopped her. Mu Jiulu glanced at him.

“This is this King’s palace.”

Yun Mu gritted his teeth: “Rest assured, Wang Zhu, we will return to the mansion once the young master wakes up. We won’t stay here for long.”

“Your young master has difficulty moving. Do you want him to endure a bumpy journey back, aggravating his illness?”

Yun Mu: “……”

His young master wasn’t that delicate!

Staying here was even more unsafe. Who knew what the Regent would do? What if she took advantage of the situation!

Sui Yu pulled Yun Mu and spoke gently.

“Then what exactly is Wang Zhu’s intention?”

Mu Jiulu: “Let him rest here for the night. It’s not too late to leave tomorrow when his condition is better.”

“This is improper…”

“Just say the Empress Dowager kept him. No one will dare to gossip. This King will also suppress the previous news, no one will dare to spread it further.”

Mu Jiulu had acted inappropriately earlier in her anxiety. Neither she nor Gu Sui felt there was anything wrong.

But in this world, she had to guard against it.

“This servant understands. Thank you, Wang Zhu.”

Sui Yu expressed gratitude. Yun Mu looked at him in surprise.

Why thank her? She clearly had ill intentions and was still trying to seduce their young master!

Mu Jiulu walked openly into the hall. Yun Mu was about to stop her but was pulled back by Sui Yu.

After the door closed, Yun Mu asked sullenly.

“What are you doing?”

Sui Yu said calmly: “The person the young master most wants to see when he wakes up may not be us.”

Although Yun Mu didn’t want to admit it, thinking about how frequently the young master had mentioned the Regent lately, he felt somewhat deflated.

Inside the hall, the bed curtains were half-drawn. The young man lay on his side on the bed, pillowing his arm, sleeping peacefully and quietly.

Mu Jiulu sat by the bed, her gentle gaze tracing his eyebrows and the corners of his eyes.

Seeing him like this, she couldn’t help but reach out her right hand, brushing his cheek.

His shallow breaths tickled her fingertips, like being gently stroked by a feather, making her heart flutter.

Mu Jiulu bent her finger to stroke his nose bridge.

The person on the bed suddenly turned over. She quickly withdrew her hand, pressing her lips together.

Mu Jiulu thought she had woken him, but he had simply turned over in his sleep. She let out a sigh of relief.

The young man’s sleeping posture was much more unrestrained than before.

His face was turned towards the inner side, one hand inside the blanket, the other draped over the pillow. His legs also restlessly wrapped up part of the blanket, creating messy folds on his body.

Mu Jiulu’s lips curved slightly as she shook her head.

Still so restless when sleeping.

Mu Jiulu’s gaze shifted, then fell on Gu Sui’s hair scattered on the pillow.

He didn’t tie up his hair, and rarely wore hair ornaments, always relaxed and casual.

Mu Jiulu’s heart stirred slightly, and as if possessed, she placed her hand on his hair.

She divided it into several strands and began to braid it according to the steps she remembered.

His current hair wasn’t very long, just between his shoulders and waist. Mu Jiulu finished braiding a section in no time.

She took a red string and tied a knot at the end, suddenly adding a bright color to the young man’s simple hairstyle.

Mu Jiulu looked at her handiwork, satisfaction flowing in her eyes and brows.

Beautiful, this King’s hands are so skillful.

Finding it fun, the Regent continued happily until Gu Sui showed signs of waking.

The young man let out a muffled groan. Mu Jiulu, who was in the middle of tying a butterfly knot, paused, then quickly began to undo those small braids.

But with two sections still left when she ran out of time, she hurriedly moved away from the bedside, managing to sit at the table in the center of the hall before Gu Sui woke up, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Gu Sui, still a bit dazed from just waking up, sat up and casually ran his hand through his hair. Feeling something odd, he looked down in confusion.

This look made him even more puzzled. He held those two braids in one hand, looked at Mu Jiulu, and tilted his head.

Mu Jiulu appeared calm on the surface and said with great dignity.

“You did it while sleepwalking.”

Gu Sui: “???”