Chapter 7: Ideas Born from Sneaking Food

  "What's being whispered?"

  Ah?? The words hadn't even left her mouth when Qilin instinctively covered it, looking at A Piao who was leaning against the door with a seemingly satisfied expression, but her heart almost jumped out, what a despicable guy.

  Glared fiercely at Ah Piao, patted his chest to relieve the tension just now, and continued to study these pastries.

  "I was wondering why you hadn't returned to the palace so late, and it turns out you were sneaking a snack here?"

  Qilin continued to scan the pastries and dishes, when suddenly her vision darkened. Qilin silently raised her head, and indeed saw Ah Piao bringing a smiling Jun Rong, although she had seen him countless times, but still thought he was very handsome.

  "What else do you want to do?" Qilin hated being disturbed when she was thinking, so now she especially wanted to slap this Ah Piao to death and make him really become a Ah Piao.

  However, Ah Piao did not let go, but instead took out an envelope from his bosom, slightly raised his eyebrows and shook the envelope in front of Qi Lin.

  "What is this?" Qilin's eyes followed the envelope as it fluttered, and when she saw the handwriting, she suddenly understood what it was. She quickly reached out to grab it, but A Piao dodged her easily. Qilin spread out her hands and said "Give it to me."

  "I ran all the way out here to be your messenger, and this is how you repay me?" A hint of faint grievance appeared on Ah Piao's face. "I almost got caught by the guards and lost my head."

  Cheater! Cheaters will be struck by lightning.

  Rumble

  "Ah!" It was almost without warning, Qilin let out an uncontrollable shriek and covered her ears, squatting down. Good heavens, did it have to be so accurate?!

  After the thunder had passed, Qilin felt extremely ashamed and didn't want to lift her head at all. She ended up hiding under the table, burying her face between her legs.

  For Qilin's reaction, Ah Piao had never seen it before. He looked at the thunder and lightning outside the door. If it was said that Qilin was afraid of thunder and lightning, but this was not the first time either.

  Suddenly, Ah Piao's ears moved and she flew onto the beam, originally wanting to remind Qi Lin, but if she made a sound, there was a great possibility of being discovered.

  Before long, a eunuch ran over from outside the door, took a look at the imperial dining room, and then locked the gate with a key.

  Take another look at Zilin's direction, completely unaware of this matter, helplessly shaking his head, alas, if he hadn't come, would she have to spend the night here?

  "It's just thunder, if you're afraid, just close your eyes."

  Qilin was slightly stunned, and this gentle voice brought her back to that night on White Tiger Mountain. He had also used such a gentle voice to calm himself down.

  Slowly lifting her head, she found that Ah Piao had already crawled under the table and was looking at her gently.

  "Hello."

  "Really?"

  "Hold me for a moment."

  A Fei was slightly stunned, but still reached out to pull Qi Lin into his arms, resting his chin on her head, inserting his fingers into her hair, picking up a few strands and placing them under his nose, smelling the fragrance of her hair.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, that unique fragrance of Qilin's immediately entered his nostrils, causing his inquiry to rapidly rise, and he suddenly felt a tightness in his lower abdomen. In the darkness, A Feng's pupils suddenly contracted, and he pushed away Qilin.

  "Sorry, I..." At the same time, Qilin also realized her behavior was not proper and suddenly came to her senses. As she got up, however, she forgot that she was under the table.

  "Bang"

  "***" covered her head, crawled out in pain, grabbed Ah Piao's sleeve, and said with a tearless expression "Sorry, I didn't mean to, I just...just..."

  "It doesn't matter." He struggled to suppress his voice, just now he almost pounced on Qi Lin, and even after coming out, he was still using internal force to restrain the ** in his heart.

  Zhilin wanted to find a hole to crawl into, what she did just now was completely unconscious, was she so lonely that she lost consciousness as soon as she met someone as gentle as him?

  Good heavens, it's like going crazy from work and then seeing your own Siberian Husky, without thinking you just rush over to hug them.

  I'm going to die, patting my head, awkwardly pulling the corners of my mouth, slowly moving my steps to the door, and laughing "What's up, isn't it late? No, isn't it early? I should be heading back, what else... what else... hehe."

  Still need to report on work. This is Feng Changqing's requirement, and he needs to report on his work every day, otherwise he will be beaten with a board.

  Hehe

  "Huh? After trying a few times and finding no movement, Qilin furrowed her brow. She added more force, but the door still wouldn't budge. Only then did she react."

  "This door?" He cast a suspicious glance at A Piao, then put his hands on his hips and struck a pose as if he had understood something.

  A Fei spread out her hands and shook her head, then continued to scan the food on the table.

  "But apart from you, who else will...?"

  "There are also eunuchs on patrol." Lazy to drag on too much, Ah Piao said straightforwardly, then scanned the delicious food on the table.

  Qilin dejectedly lowered her head and walked to A Piao, thinking in her heart whether this would cause any trouble, and didn't know if Lüzhú would help herself get through it.

  As soon as she thought of a lot of things, Qilin was afraid, first of all, a concubine did not return to the palace at night, and it was not summoned by the emperor, in this case, she would not be beaten to death.

  "It's better to eat something and have energy, rather than worrying so much." As he spoke, Ah Piao took some pastries and put them in his mouth, but the strong sweetness was not what he liked.

  Suddenly seeing a plate of ribs, he came with interest, stretched out his hand to take the chopsticks, just wanting to taste one, but was caught.

  "What are you doing? This is the Empress Dowager's..."

  "Gurgle"

  Qilin's face flushed with heat, and she hastily lowered her head, silently cursing in her heart.

  "I... I just had a momentary lapse of sanity." Before she could finish speaking, a piece of pork ribs was stuffed into her mouth. The sweet sauce immediately melted in her mouth, and the hungry worms in her stomach were like they had received a pardon, rushing up to her throat, finally turning into appetite that made Qilin swallow the ribs in one bite.

  A'piao nodded in satisfaction, although the dishes in front of her were leftovers from the Empress Dowager's meal, it was as if they had not been eaten before. So the more than 50 dishes plus a dozen pastries were theirs to enjoy alone, what a wonderful thing.

  Anyway, eating a little bit of one dish won't be noticed, raising an eyebrow, Qi Lin stuck out her tongue, and took the bowl and chopsticks with a sense of self-awareness, picking and eating what she liked without any politeness.

  "Your Majesty, the dinner will get cold if you don't eat it soon." Jin Yu reminded carefully, today in the afternoon, the Emperor suddenly came to Quanquan Xuan, but at the critical moment, the master was not there, although someone was sent out to find him. "Or should I let the chef remake it?"

  It can only drag on like this now.

  Feng Changqing didn't speak, quietly gazing outside. It's been a while since they should have returned, could it be that something happened? As soon as he thought about the intense struggles and secret battles in the palace, he felt a chill run down his spine. What if he encountered someone like Liu Meiren?

  "Slap"

  Qilin covered her stomach, raised the corner of her mouth in satisfaction, and patted her hands. She was very satisfied with today's meal. After all, it was the Empress Dowager's chef, and it was indeed much better than what she usually ate. The slow fragrance still lingered in her mouth.

  She raised an eyebrow and licked the corner of her mouth, saying "Is this how you usually solve your eating problems?"

  Do I have to run to a hotel on the main street to eat?

  "No." Ah Piao quietly looked at Qi Lin, reaching out to remove the grains of rice from her hair. "I've never seen a concubine eat like a beggar before."

  "Uh? Qilin was taken aback, glanced at A Piao, but found a sweet and greasy feeling in her mouth. Only now did she feel that her stomach was a bit uncomfortable. She touched her belly and said, "It's still you who stirred up my... appetite."

  But I guess after eating this meal, she won't be having dessert for a while, it's too sweet~

  Wait, sweet?

  Qilin slightly furrowed her brow, quickly scanning the remaining dishes, walked to the pork ribs, stretched out her finger to dip a bit of sauce, and put it in her mouth, indeed...

  "It's like this after all." He raised his eyebrows, turned around and smiled at Ah Piao, saying "I know what to do now."

  Ah Chui smiled slightly, and whenever Qi Lin showed this expression, it meant that Qi Lin was already prepared, and the success rate was always very high.

  "But I have to go back to the palace, the Emperor might still be waiting for my response." Qilin patted her hand and walked to A'piao's side, she firmly believed that this A'piao was all-powerful.

  However, when Feng Changqing said it from Qilin's mouth, A Piao slightly frowned, but in the next second, she wrapped her arms around Qilin's waist and lightly tapped her foot, flying to the highest main beam. Only then did Qilin see clearly that there was a skylight on top, which was easy for someone with light skills.

  After a bumpy ride with no sense of safety, it finally stopped at the closest place to Quanqing Palace.

  As soon as she fell to the ground, Qi Lin felt dizzy and swore that Ah Piao must have done it on purpose, deliberately choosing a place with many trees to walk and even intentionally letting her bump into branches. She patted her clothes, not knowing how messy her hair was. When she looked up to scold him, she found that Ah Piao had already disappeared from sight.

  It came without a shadow and left without a trace.

  Today is the latest return to the palace, I don't know if there's anything unusual.

  "Huh? ???." How could this be??? Qilin had just thought that there might be something unusual, and had just stepped into the bedroom, when she ran into Feng Changqing walking out. For a moment, she actually forgot to kneel down.

  "Little master." Green Bamboo and Jin Yu hastily walked over, but saw Qi Lin's disheveled hair, with a few leaves tangled in it, and her clothes were also drenched by the rain.

  "Master, hurry up and see the Emperor!" Green Bamboo reminded Qi Lin in a low voice.

  Zhilin only felt a blank mind, she was not sure if Feng Changqing had discovered A Piao, and nervously looked in the direction of just now, slowly kneeling down "Your subject Zhi Lin greets Your Majesty, I didn't know Your Majesty had arrived, I'm sorry for not welcoming you from afar, please forgive me."

  Feng Changqing hummed a soft response and then turned around to walk towards the palace gate.

  Qilin approached the bedroom with Qingzhu and Jinyu by her side. To be polite, Qilin simply washed up and changed into a light yellow palace dress, trembling as she walked in front of Feng Changqing. The servants were all dismissed, leaving only the three of them. But Qilin hesitated and didn't dare to make any moves.

  "I'm still wondering if you don't want to come back."

  "I was brought here by the Emperor, and this Qingyuan Pavilion was also bestowed upon me by the Emperor. This is my home, how can I not return to it?" Now Qilin only wants to know if Feng Changqing has discovered A Piao's existence, so she speaks with extra caution.

  Feng Changqing raised an eyebrow and stared at Qi Lin, but caught a glimpse of guilt flashing in her eyes. Suddenly, a surge of anger rose up in his chest, causing him to slam his palm on the table, which happened to land on the teacup. The teacup couldn't withstand the force and shattered with a loud crash, spilling tea water slowly down the table.

  Mixed with the tea water flowing down was also Feng Changqing's finger blood.

  Qilin was shocked, but she didn't kneel down or move forward. Instead, she raised her chin with a confident and proud expression.

  "I exerted myself to share the emperor's worries, and for a moment forgot about the time. I came back a bit late, and the emperor flew into such a great rage. Can you imagine how I feel?" As she spoke, she felt her eyes well up with tears, gritted her teeth, and refused to look away. She continued, "If the emperor truly blames me, then have me taken out and beheaded."

  Feng Changqing was slightly stunned, a gentle wave flashed across his eyes, and then disappeared. He said coldly, "Share my worries? I'm worried enough. How do you plan to help me alleviate my worries?"

  "I heard that Your Majesty has been waiting for me for a while, I suppose you haven't had your meal yet." Qi Lin then walked forward, took out her handkerchief and gently bandaged Feng Changge's wound, softly saying "I'll go prepare now."

  She thought for a moment, and finally came up with the most likely reason. She had originally planned to come back and practice, but unexpectedly ran into Feng Changqing. Anyway, it was free to try out on him, so she might as well not let the opportunity go to waste.

  Before Feng Changqing could respond, Qi Lin turned around and walked out of the door, leaving Feng Changqing alone to think.

  After Qilin left, Feng Changqing slowly raised his hand and sniffed the scent of Qilin's handkerchief. The faint sweet fragrance entered his nostrils, causing his tense nerves to relax a lot.