"What mermaid?" Prince Ling, who was playing nose to nose with the eldest prince, raised his head when he heard the question. A cool little nose poked his cheek.
"Meow?" The eldest prince rubbed his snot on Grandpa Seventeen's face.
The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly and tapped the Prince Jing's secret memorial book beside him. In the past six months, the influence of the strange fish had become more and more serious. The price of fish and prawns in the capital had become ridiculously high. Prince Jing was especially diligent in catching fish in the East Sea. Every few days, a ship would be sent to the capital. Now, the deep sea mermaids, a race that he had only heard of but never seen, had been caught by him.
"Did something happen in the sea?" Prince Su frowned. Mermaids usually only lived in the deep sea and rarely appeared in the coastal waters.
"Of course something happened." The emperor sneered. Sea monsters were alive. It was impossible for them to only wreak havoc in the coastal waters.
Prince Ling wiped the snot off his face and picked up the kitten in the red vest to rub its head. "When will we enter the capital?" He had never seen a mermaid in his life.
The list of gifts was only reported by each fief in advance. Many of the gifts were still on the way. The arrival time depended entirely on the weather.
The weather was not good. On the night when the list of gifts was presented, it started to snow.
Su Yu habitually woke up in the middle of the night. When he found the emperor huddled close to him, he knew that he was cold. The changes brought by the snow were nothing to ordinary people. However, it was different for the cat who was afraid of the cold.
He reached out to tuck in the emperor's quilt. As a result, he woke up the cat who had not slept well.
The emperor opened his eyes and frowned slightly. "Are you cold?" After saying that, without waiting for Su Yu's reply, it suddenly turned into a golden cat and crawled under the blanket. With great familiarity, it crawled into Su Yu's inner shirt and curled up against his chest.
Really, this stupid slave. He didn't even say anything when he woke up from the cold. He wanted the emperor to crawl in to warm him up.
When winter came, the Empress Dowager was afraid that the two men would not be able to take good care of the child, so she let the eldest son sleep in Ci 'an Palace at night. This actually prevented the big cats and small cats from fighting for territory in the bed at night.
Su Yu blinked. She was tickled by the warm fur. Not only was her body tickled, but her heart was tickled as well. She couldn't help but reach her hand into her inner shirt and touch the Emperor's furry body. In the past few months, the golden kitten's body had been growing very quickly. It seemed that once it passed the age of twenty, its body would become like that of an ordinary cat. Within a year, it would grow into a big cat.
The Emperor was very comfortable with Su Yu's touch, so he gradually stretched out his four limbs and pressed his furry belly against Su Yu's chest. His hind paws pushed against Su Yu's lower abdomen, while his front paws stretched out and gently pressed against Su Yu's chin. He arranged himself into a long strip so that Su Yu could touch him from head to toe.
"It seems to be snowing outside." Su Yu hugged Furball in her arms and quietly listened to the sound of snow outside the window.
The Emperor moved his body forward and revealed his head. He patted Su Yu's face and motioned for him to come closer.
Su Yu lowered his head and received a cool, furry kiss. The Emperor's voice sounded in his mind. "Mm." There was only one sound, and then there was no more.
What did 'mm' mean? Su Yu was stunned.
The warm paw patted his face, and the Emperor impatiently kissed him again. "Didn't you say it was snowing? I just said yes. "
Su Yu's mouth twitched. As a cat, there was no need to be so demanding with such a casual answer! He raised his hand and pressed the cat's head into his neck. He tucked in the corner of the blanket and went to sleep!
The road was slippery on a snowy day, and the tribute could only move forward slowly.
In the blink of an eye, it was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.
There was a family banquet in the palace for the Laba Festival. There were no princes or members of the imperial family attending this banquet. There were only the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the concubines. If there were any princes or princesses, they would also attend. In short, this was a family banquet in the inner palace. Everyone gathered together to eat a bowl of Laba Congee for the liveliness.
Because there were no foreign officials present, the songs and dances at the family banquet could be performed by the concubines. The concubines who rarely saw the Emperor naturally did their best to show their faces.
During the day, the concubines in the imperial harem were busy rehearsing the songs and dances in the evening, but Su Yu was busy cooking congee.
The Emperor was unwilling to eat beans, but the Laba Congee had to be eaten. Su Yu had no choice but to make some small fish balls to serve as beans.
The thin fish sent from the Eastern Sea was, as its name suggested, very thin and had many bones, so it could only be made into fish balls. The flesh of this kind of fish looked soft, but it was surprisingly tough after being boiled in boiling water. No matter how small a piece was, it could be condensed into fish balls, which tasted smooth and springy.
Su Yu mixed the minced fish with different vegetable juices and squeezed them into pearl-sized, colorful little fish balls. At first glance, they looked very much like beans.
The palace banquet was held in the Eastern Warm Palace Hall. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager sat on the high seats, while the concubines sat on both sides. Of course, Su Yu was the only male concubine, so he sat alone on the left side, while the rest of the concubines squeezed on the right side.
The Emperor originally wanted Su Yu to sit beside him, but because the Empress Dowager was also present, it would be inappropriate for Su Yu to sit on the same level as the Empress Dowager. He could only give up with an unhappy expression.
At the start of the banquet, several talented people danced a colorful silk dance. The music was melodious, and the colorful silk fluttered in the wind. It was very beautiful. On such a cold day, the talented people wore thin silk clothes and swayed their slim figures, trying their best to attract the Emperor's attention.
The Emperor was focused on picking fish balls from the bowl of congee and didn't raise his head at all.
"Meow …" His Royal Highness, who was wearing a dark yellow little vest, came out from the dragon robe. He looked around and meowed softly at Su Yu, who was not far away.
Su Yu raised his head and smiled at the kitten, indicating that he should be obedient.
"Meow, meow, meow." The kitten was already three months old. Compared to when he was just a month old, he could now meow more.
The Emperor frowned slightly. He picked up a green fish ball and stuffed it into the kitten's mouth, blocking the kitten's coquettish voice.
"Be careful not to choke him." The Empress Dowager said to the Emperor in a low voice in disapproval. She raised her hand and picked up the kitten.
The Da'an Imperial Family liked to raise cats. This was known to all, so the concubines didn't find it strange when they saw the Empress Dowager holding the kitten. "Is the Emperor raising a new kitten?" Shu Zhao Yi asked with a smile.
"This is the son of the sacred cat." The Empress Dowager smiled and used a handkerchief to wipe the porridge stained fur.
The concubines all smiled and praised the kitten. They said that the kitten looked spirited and was definitely an expert at catching mice. Su Yu almost spat out the Laba congee.
After the talents performed, it was time for the Zhao Yi concubines to take the stage. These noble ladies weren't proficient in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but they all had one or two specialties.
De Zhao Yi finished playing the seven-stringed zither and looked at Su Yu who was still focused on eating porridge. "I don't know what Consort Xian is going to perform. The concubines have been curious for a few days."
Su Yu raised his head in confusion and looked at the provocative De Zhao Yi. "I'm not going to perform." He didn't know how to sing or dance. Was he going to perform a fish ball boiling?
The concubines didn't expect Su Yu to be so straightforward. De Zhao Yi was choked. However, she was an imperial concubine, so they couldn't say anything. Thinking about it, Su Yu was an imperial concubine. Naturally, she didn't have to do the things that only singers and dancers did. The feeling of being in the limelight immediately disappeared.
"Reporting to the Emperor, Prince Jing's New Year's Day gift has arrived." Wang Gonggong's report broke the awkward atmosphere in Dong Nuan Hall.
"Bring it up." His Majesty the Emperor swallowed the last fish ball and waved his hand.
Because merpeople were too rare, the Empress Dowager also wanted to see it. Since she had just arrived in the capital today, the Emperor had someone send it directly to the palace banquet.
Following the announcement, a burst of tinkling bells came from outside the hall.
The door opened, and the cold wind from outside the hall instantly blew in. Following it, there was a very faint smell of the sea.
The heavy door quickly closed, blocking the cold outside, leaving a woman wearing a thin gauze standing helplessly in front of the door.
The woman was wearing a light blue silk that clearly outlined her graceful figure. Her face couldn't be seen clearly through the gauze, but from the pair of bright eyes that were exposed, it could be seen that she was a rare beauty. Her long black hair was unadorned and just draped over her body. Under the candlelight, a layer of light blue could be seen.
This was the legendary deep sea mermaid.
Everyone in the hall, including Su Yu, was attracted by this mysterious beauty.
His Majesty the Emperor stared unblinkingly at the mermaid who was slowly walking forward. The kitten in the Empress Dowager's arms raised its head, sniffed, and tilted its head in confusion. "Meow?"
The concubines came back to their senses and naturally noticed the Emperor's reaction. They were immediately on guard.
"The Woman of the Sea greets His Majesty the Emperor." The slender figure bowed down in the center of the hall. Her soft and beautiful voice was like the singing of a lark, with a somewhat bewitching ending note. Legend said that the singing of merpeople could make ships in the sea lose their way.
An Hong-chul frowned slightly. He didn't expect merpeople to speak so clearly. He thought that merpeople, as fish, couldn't speak. At most, they would cry out a few times like Ying Yu.
"There's nothing strange about it." On the beam, the black and yellow spotted cat curled its lips.
"Shut up!" The black and white cat next to him slapped his younger brother's paw. At this moment, Dong Nuan Hall was completely silent. It wouldn't be good if His Majesty heard it.
Prince Ling remembered not to make a fuss this time. He just silently opened his mouth and bit his elder brother's ear.
His Majesty the Emperor got up and walked down the high platform. He didn't let the mermaid get up and slowly walked to her. "Take off the veil."
Su Yu looked at His Majesty's reaction and felt his heart tighten for no reason.
The mermaid looked up at the handsome His Majesty the Emperor and slowly raised her hand. The veil covering her face instantly fell, revealing an enchanting face.
"Pah, pah," Prince Ling spat out the fur in his mouth. "She looks like this." He was expecting to see fish lips under the veil. Who would have thought that she looked exactly like a mortal?
Prince Su also felt a bit bored. "Might as well go to Anguo Tower." Previously, when Su Yu sent a large pot of fish balls and Laba congee to the National Tutor, His Royal Highness King Zhao ran to Anguo Tower to celebrate the festival with His Imperial Uncle. They didn't go because they were curious about the mermaid. Now, they regretted it.
"Let's go. Maybe we can still make it now." Prince Ling finished speaking and turned to run.
Prince Su turned back to look at the mermaid and also ran.
His Majesty the Emperor quietly looked at the mermaid for a while. "Bestow her to live in Bixiao Palace."
The concubines were in an uproar. Bixiao Palace was a place that only the four concubines could live in. This new beauty didn't do anything and directly moved in. While they were jealous, they couldn't help but look at Su Yu's reaction. They were all a bit gloating. Flowers don't bloom for a hundred days. So what if he was only favored before? Look, now that there's a new person, His Majesty will soon forget him.
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