Chapter 67: 67

Lotus Lantern - This flower is elegant and not bewitching, but you are very bewitching. (2)

Xiao Kezhi's sharp eyes stared at the drops of water that silently slipped down, and his Adam's apple rolled up and down unconsciously.

The lotus lantern was put into the water, and slowly floated to him along the flow of the current. It spun gently and was lifelike, as if it was really a lotus flower that was born in a hot spring, but it was still pure and clean.

"Do you like lotuses?"

He looked at the lotus lamp and immediately remembered her silk handkerchief and even the torn robe that had lotus patterns embroidered on it.

"This flower is elegant and not bewitching, but you are very bewitching."

For some reason, when he said this, he inexplicably gritted his teeth.

Chu Ning sat on the edge of the pool far away from him and slowly immersed a pair of jade feet in the pond and stirred slowly, leaving two bare slender legs swaying lightly on the water.

"Your Majesty wants to say that A’Ning is not worthy of such an elegant flower?" She raised her eyelids and glanced at him, and the mockery that flashed across her lips was not for him or herself.

Xiao Kezhi felt as if someone was pinching his heart, and was slightly sour, but he didn't explain this to himself and only focused his eyes on her naked and slender calves.

Chu Ning pursed her lips, taking his silence as his default.

She lowered her head and put one hand into the pool, feeling the warm spring water flowing through her fingertips, and suddenly whispered, "This was my mother's favorite flower. She is more worthy than I am of such a noble thing.”

The slightly sour feeling in Xiao Kezhi's heart seemed to be a little more astringent.

He remembered that Chu Qianyu's wife had passed away many years ago. Chu Ning would have been young at that time, so it seemed that she might not have many memories of her mother.

She was an orphan who had lost the protection of her parents.

He felt a bit of pity, but in the next moment, he saw her holding up a jug from a tray next to her. She signaled to him with a coquettish smile, "Your Majesty, would you like to drink?"

As she said that, without waiting for him to answer, she directly held the jug up and raised her head to drink.

The wine poured directly into her mouth. A little overflowed from the corners of her lips, flowing down her chin and neck to her collarbone, and finally fell down, thoroughly moistening the layer of tulle covering her chest.

"Seductress."

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He felt a sudden thud in his head as if something had shattered, and the air around him became thin. The jade foot kept moving in the pool water.

The jade feet were small and delicate, and he just happened to be playing with them in his palm. When he was done playing, he tugged hard and pulled her whole body into the pool.

She couldn't help but let out a soft gasp, trying to hold the jug in her hand. The splash of water when she fell in wet the floating lotus lantern and almost extinguished the flame.

"The lantern-"

She wanted to protect the little flame, but he didn't give her a chance. He just pulled away the wet tulle and pressed her to the edge of the pool.

He raised the jug, and the cold wine poured out of the spout and into her hair.

She raised her head and closed her eyes, allowing more wine to flow on her face, neck, and shoulders. Her long black hair was wet into strands, sticking to her skin, making her as beautiful as a water demon.

Seeing this, his heart trembled. He threw away the jug, lowered his head to kiss her, and swallowed all the remaining aromas of wine.

Under the heavy mist, the currents in the pond surged, and from time to time, the water was stirred up by rushing or slow waves.

The wet lotus lantern was like a lonely boat with no support—adrift at sea.

...

In the court hall on the west side of Jinyang Gate, Qi Mu listened to the officials of Zhongshu Province reporting on the candidates for the vacant positions that the Emperor had just appointed. His face was very gloomy.

Due to the approaching New Year's Day, he did not set off with the holy procession today, but rather stayed in the office first, brought the envoys from the Ministry of Rites, Honglu Temple and various neighbors to greet them one by one, and invited them to go to Tangquan in half a month. He attended the New Year's Eve banquet at the palace, and only after meeting the new emperor did he set off for Lishan.

It was already evening when he arrived there, and he didn't intend to come to the court. He came here because he heard that the Emperor had already picked the officials to fill the vacant positions today.

This made him furious.

Those positions were originally vacated in the previous two months when the Emperor dealt with the Prince's faction. Although they were not third-rank or higher, they were all solid positions in the ministries.

He had already picked a few of them before, and when he asked the Ministry of Personnel to make up the list of vacancies, he specially arranged for many of his cronies to be among them.

But when he heard the list just now, none of the people he recommended were used, and the people who filled the gaps were all unpopular officials!

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