Ning Xuan lowered his gaze to the plain brocade robes he wore, patterned with subtle pale-green designs. Even his long, ink-black hair had merely been tied loosely with a ribbon of the same color, leaving it to fall casually around him. “I think this is perfectly fine. There’s no need to wash and change. As for the meal, have them bring whatever the Imperial Kitchen would ordinarily prepare for His Majesty. We’ll eat the same tonight.”
Xiao Dezi had served within the palace for some time. Although he had not personally attended every sort of master, he had heard at least a little about all kinds. Yet someone as serene and unconcerned as Ning Xuan left him momentarily at a loss. Within the palace, the emperor’s favor was everything. For that favor, fleeting as morning dew, countless people waited eagerly in line, desperate to exhaust every trick they possessed merely to make the emperor’s gaze linger upon them for one moment longer.
The masters of every palace were like this, to say nothing of their servants. Even among people of equal rank, anyone fortunate enough to serve a favored master naturally enjoyed boundless prestige. Take the present situation: the new emperor had ascended the throne. Although the formal enthronement ceremony had yet to be held, the outcome was already set in stone. The Ministry of Rites was busily preparing the ceremonial arrangements, and the enthronement should take place within the next few days. With the larger situation settled, the first person the emperor had summoned in the inner palace was unexpectedly this young master, who had always been attended with “special care” despite holding no particularly high rank. Even the future empress had not received the first visit. The implication could not have been clearer, and such an opportunity was exceedingly rare. Unfortunately, this precious master seemed utterly unconcerned. Xiao Dezi now understood perfectly what it meant for the emperor to remain calm while the eunuch panicked.
“His Majesty rarely visits the inner palace, and the first person he has chosen to see is you, Master. If you personally prepared a few dishes, His Majesty would surely be greatly pleased.” Wearing his most ingratiating smile, Xiao Dezi eagerly offered advice. Ning Xuan’s indifference during the investiture had been ambiguous enough that even Chief Steward Mo had tolerated it, leaving everyone uncertain. But tonight’s announcement provided a clear and unmistakable answer. Anyone still unable to tell which way the wind was blowing deserved to remain a servant beneath other servants forever.
Perhaps something in Xiao Dezi’s words touched Ning Xuan. He withdrew his gaze from where it seemed to have sunk into the depths of the lake and raised one brow thoughtfully. The unconscious movement revealed such breathtaking beauty that Xiao Dezi stared in a daze. “Ginkgo Nuts of Poetry and Rites, Jade-Belt Shrimp, Fish Rolls in Tomato Sauce, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Crystal Steamed Dumplings, Drunken Clam Meat, Assorted Pine Nuts, and Red Date and Tremella Soup. Tell the small kitchen to prepare them properly. Not a single dish may be missing.”
Only belatedly did Xiao Dezi process what his master had said. His eyes spun rapidly, and his entire face immediately lit up with delight. “This servant will give the orders at once. Please rest assured, Master.”
Watching Xiao Dezi vanish without a trace in the blink of an eye, Ning Xuan’s lips curved into an icy arc.
Inside the main hall of Moon-Embracing Palace, an entire room of servants stood with lowered heads in terrified silence, motionless as statues and not daring to shift even slightly. Xiao Dezi worked efficiently, and the small kitchen had taken exceptional care. Every dish had long since been arranged upon the table, complete in color, fragrance, and flavor, enough to make anyone’s appetite stir. Yet one of the evening’s principal figures, Virtuous Jieyu Ning Xuan, master of Moon-Embracing Palace, remained nowhere to be seen. At dinnertime, he actually left Feng Xuanyi—now the sovereign of an entire nation—sitting beside the table for half an hour.
“Where is he?” The complete lack of inflection made Feng Xuanyi’s thoughts impossible to discern. One hand held a teacup, while the other idly played with its lid. The lid rose and fell, striking the rim of the cup with a series of clear, unhurried sounds. Yet every tap seemed to land not upon porcelain, but directly upon the hearts of all the servants in the room.
“R-Reporting to Your Majesty… he… he could not be found.” The servant kneeling before him to deliver the report trembled so violently that he resembled a sieve.
“Oh? You couldn’t find him?” Feng Xuanyi remained neither angry nor impatient. His low, magnetic voice rose slightly, beautiful enough to intoxicate anyone, though no one present was capable of appreciating it.
His fingers released the lid, and it fell back into place with a soft click. Feng Xuanyi raised his head with apparent interest, his gaze slowly following the movement upward. It drifted almost imperceptibly across the roomful of silent, frightened servants before settling upon the man kneeling in the center of the hall. “How curious. With so many people throughout this palace, you still managed to lose your own master. Hah.”
“This servant deserves death! This servant deserves death!” The moment those words fell, every servant in the room dropped to his knees with a collective thud. The servant who had been sent to search for Ning Xuan and failed in his duty was so terrified that he repeatedly struck his forehead against the floor.
“This subject greets Your Majesty.” A clear voice suddenly rang out, like a beam of salvation descending upon the room. Forgetting all decorum, every servant instinctively raised his head in mingled shock and relief and looked toward the source of the voice. They immediately froze. Dressed entirely in white, Ning Xuan stood tall and slender, his long black hair nearly blending into the night. His exquisite phoenix eyes held bright yet profound black pupils, as alluring as the darkness itself. His expression was aloof, pure, and noble. A single glance made it impossible to look away, leaving everyone to wonder how such an immortal-like person could possibly have descended into this troubled mortal world.
Mo Yan swiftly led the others out. Within moments, only Feng Xuanyi and Ning Xuan remained. Before Moon-Embracing Palace, two large crimson lanterns announcing that the emperor had chosen to bestow his favor upon this residence hung high on either side. Beneath the candlelight, the golden dragons decorating the lanterns appeared vividly alive. Inside the main hall, however, Feng Xuanyi and Ning Xuan confronted one another without a word. Ning Xuan had offered his greeting, but Feng Xuanyi gave no response, so he remained kneeling upright. His brows and eyes were lowered, and his long lashes trembled faintly like butterfly wings beneath the flickering candlelight, casting shadows beneath his eyes.
“Where did you go?” Feng Xuanyi finally asked, his voice revealing neither pleasure nor anger. As before, he held the teacup in one hand and the lid in the other, using it to stir the leaves floating upon the tea.
Ning Xuan remained silent, as though entirely unaware that anyone else occupied the room.
“We are asking you a question. Where. Did. You. Go?” Feng Xuanyi stopped moving his hand and raised his head. His voice remained perfectly calm, but the deliberate emphasis upon every word revealed that his patience had reached its limit.
“Now that matters have reached this point, what part of this subject remains worth exploiting or calculating against? Your Majesty may as well speak plainly. This subject is willing to spill his brains upon the ground and serve Your Majesty with the devotion of a dog or horse.” A smile touched Ning Xuan’s eyes as he bowed respectfully. Upon meeting again after everything that had happened, the first thing he asked was, in essence, What else can you still use me for?
Feng Xuanyi, who remained unruffled even when deciding another person’s life or death, could not prevent his expression from changing. His face darkened, and his handsome brows drew together deeply. Glaring at Ning Xuan with an ashen expression, he crossed the distance between them in two strides, seized Ning Xuan’s arm, and violently hauled him to his feet. “Wealth and glory, rank and profit—what exactly do you want? Whatever you can name, I can give you! Speak! What is it that you want?!”
Wealth and glory, rank and profit? Ning Xuan laughed coldly within his heart. So in his eyes, these are the “rare and precious” things I desire, value, and care about. How enviable. I should truly feel overwhelmed by such favor!
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