Ji Feiyu rushed away in a hurry, leaving Lin Zhiran looking utterly stunned.
The fact that he was going to the Ministry of Rites was related to Huang Ying. But who was Huang Ying? To find out, did he have to meet her privately? Was this another trap?
Lin Zhiran slowly unfolded the small note he had been clutching tightly in his hand...
Ji Feiyu followed the little maid all the way to the upper - seat area. From afar, she saw Yong Yaxuan sitting on the highest seat with a frosty face. The little maid who had delivered the message suddenly stopped. Another little maid stepped forward with a pot of wine and said, "His Majesty orders the female official to take this pot of wine over."
"Why?" Ji Feiyu seemed not to have heard clearly, but no one bothered to answer her.
Naturally, no one would answer. Everyone was just following orders. When the emperor told someone to do something, no matter how strange it was, no one would question it. That was the power of the imperial authority.
Ji Feiyu had never seen these two little maids before, and they naturally didn't recognize her either.
Ji Feiyu had no choice but to take the pot of wine and reluctantly walked towards Yong Yaxuan. At this moment, she had to play the role of the "female official" to the end.
When Yong Yaxuan saw Ji Feiyu approaching, he lowered his head and played with the white jade cup in his hand, as if he didn't see Ji Feiyu at all.
It wasn't until Ji Feiyu stood in front of him that he straightened the white jade cup and said, "Pour the wine."
Ji Feiyu grasped the handle of the gilded wine pot tightly with one hand, pulled the sleeve of her robe with the other, and gently tilted her wrist to pour the wine for him.
Yong Yaxuan pretended to casually hold the wine cup, but the veins on his hand bulged. Ji Feiyu was distracted for a moment and the wine spilled a bit.
"Your Majesty, please spare my life..." Ji Feiyu quickly knelt down as soon as she saw this.
Yong Yaxuan supported Ji Feiyu with one hand, preventing her from kneeling. Instead, he turned his head and looked at Ji Feiyu with great interest, asking casually, "My official, what crime have you committed?"
His profile was clear - cut, handsome, and as resolute as a god. At this moment, he looked as heartless as a god.
Ji Feiyu was now on her knees, unable to move forward or backward. Feeling rather uncomfortable, she had no choice but to say, "Your servant spilled the wine. Your servant doesn't know how to pour wine. Please let your servant go back."
Hearing this, he suddenly tightened his grip. Ji Feiyu felt a sharp pain in her hand bones and immediately let out a muffled groan.
"Do you still want to go back and continue playing the female official? Is this game fun?" Yong Yaxuan whispered in Ji Feiyu's ear. The smell of alcohol from his mouth sprayed on Ji Feiyu's neck. Ji Feiyu shrank her body like a rabbit. Seeing this, he immediately let go and said in a normal voice, "Get up and continue pouring the wine."
Ji Feiyu quickly stood up.
Yes, yes. Pretending to be a female official in front of the emperor and pretending not to know him was just a way of getting on each other's nerves after a quarrel.
Ji Feiyu stood still and poured another cup of wine for Yong Yaxuan. She thought to herself that he really wasn't afraid that she would poison him.
Yong Yaxuan drank cup after cup. His eyes were deep, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Before long, Lin Zhiran was summoned before the emperor. He was very surprised to see Ji Feiyu standing behind the emperor. The emperor smiled when he saw Lin Zhiran. He suddenly pulled Ji Feiyu from behind, held her hand, and said, "Minister Lin, do you like the woman behind me very much? Do you want me to bestow her upon you?"
Lin Zhiran's expression changed slightly when he saw this. He immediately lowered his head and eyes, saying, "Your servant wouldn't dare."
The emperor nodded. "That's good. I hope Minister Lin will remember what you said today."
Lin Zhiran bowed respectfully and then stepped back.
As soon as Ji Feiyu saw Lin Zhiran leave, she immediately broke free from the emperor's hand and asked, "What do you mean by this?"
Yong Yaxuan smiled. "You heard clearly. He said he didn't want you."
Was that the point? The real point was that she could be casually bestowed upon others!
Ji Feiyu said angrily, "Does Your Majesty think that your servant is just an object?"
Yong Yaxuan didn't say a word. He completely ignored Ji Feiyu's dissatisfaction and continued to drink.
Just like this, Ji Feiyu stood behind him for the whole night, pouring wine for the whole night until her hands ached!
Ji Feiyu watched him enjoy the wine as if nothing had happened, or make impassioned speeches to express his gratitude to the ministers, or stare intently at the performance below. But he never once took into account that she had been standing behind him. She couldn't help but grit her teeth.
Yong Yaxuan, you're really cruel!
When the banquet was over, while the emperor was being helped away drunk, Ji Feiyu took advantage of the chaos and sneaked to the place where she had made an appointment with Lin Zhiran on the note.
She thought that Lin Zhiran probably wouldn't come tonight. But since she was the one who had made the appointment, she had to go and take a look anyway.
That night, the stars were sparse and the bright moon hung high in the sky, covering the courtyard with a faint glow of moonlight, gentle and lingering.
Ji Feiyu arrived at the appointed place and waited. Looking at the moonlight, she felt a sense of unreality. She slowly paced in the garden. The night wind blew, and her dress fluttered.
This was the deep part of the garden, extremely quiet. Generally, no one came here. But now it was late at night. Ji Feiyu was wearing thin clothes, and the wind was blowing. She felt a bit cold.
Just as Ji Feiyu hugged herself tightly, she heard a soft sound of footsteps. Her heart skipped a beat. Had he really come?
Ji Feiyu tidied up her hair that had been messed up by the wind and looked in the direction of the sound. But after seeing the face that emerged from behind the rockery, her heart immediately turned cold!
Heaven! Why was it Yong Yaxuan who came!
Ji Feiyu turned around and was about to leave, but was stopped by the voice behind her.
"My dear consort, what are you doing here in this quiet night?" He no longer regarded Ji Feiyu as a female official and called her so affectionately. It seemed that he was in a very good mood.
Ji Feiyu turned around. Seeing him striding forward without any sign of being drunk, she couldn't help but ask, "Wasn't Your Majesty drunk? Why are you here too?"
He took a deep breath, tilted his head, and thought deeply. "Yes, why did I come here for no reason? Oh, right. I'm here to find the queen. Didn't the queen leave me this note?"
Yong Yaxuan reached out and handed the note to Ji Feiyu. Ji Feiyu twitched the corner of her mouth and slowly unfolded it. It was exactly the one she had given to Lin Zhiran.
Yong Yaxuan stared at her, carefully studying her expression. "Judging from the queen's expression, it seems that the person you're waiting for is not me."
Ji Feiyu was so angry that she laughed. "Your Majesty is really naughty."
Yong Yaxuan still stared at her fixedly, shook his head, and sighed. "Compared with the queen's ability to annoy people, I'm just a small fry. The queen probably won't be able to see the person she wants to see tonight."
But Ji Feiyu said, "Who said I'm waiting for someone? I'm just taking a stroll under the moon."
Yong Yaxuan raised his eyebrows. "Since that's the case, now that I've found the queen, I'll take her away." Without giving Ji Feiyu a chance to react, he directly picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.
Ji Feiyu didn't expect him to do this. She was terrified and shouted in panic, "Hey! What are you doing? Let me go! Let me go!"
He ignored Ji Feiyu's cries and sneered coldly. "Hey, it's really unfortunate for our family that things have turned out like this today. If you want more people to know, just shout. Let's see if anyone will come out to help you?" After saying that, he took a step forward and carried Ji Feiyu away.
Hearing this, Ji Feiyu quickly shut up. But she felt really uncomfortable being upside - down. Unwillingly, she let out a whimper. Damn it, this cursed man!