When the two people walked away, Shui Xinyuan let out a gentle breath.
"I remembered that Ziwei talks a lot..."
"Oh, really?"
"Well, it's almost the same as golden tea."
"Wow...that's really a big mouth."
Shui Xinyuan and Qing'er remembered the talkative palace concubine from before, looked at each other, and laughed.
"However, I was really shocked. I didn't expect to meet people from the same village here."
"Aren't you particularly good at remembering other people's names and faces? Don't you recognize him?"
Qing'er sat on the chair again, and Shui Xinyuan poured her a second cup of tea.
"Because, we haven't seen each other for almost five years..."
"Five years ago, you were all children. As long as you haven't seen each other for a while, you feel different."
"Qing'er, you have changed a lot since I first met you."
"...I haven't changed as much as you, right?"
Shui Xinyuan poured a second cup of tea into her own cup and sat down again. Qing'er placed a small plate with dried almonds in front of her.
"If the world didn't know that the new queen is the daughter of the Shui family in Sanhu Village, Liuzhou, the gardener just now would have said to you, 'Meet the Queen,' right?"
"...Is it that much different?"
Indeed, when I left my hometown, I never thought that I would usually wear silk and satin, and that my clothes would be very different from before.
"Ah, but..."
Three years can change a woman.
Three years ago, she was just a cute girl, now...
"Shui Xinyuan, what are you thinking about? You have a smile on your face."
"ah?"
Shui Xinyuan turned around and saw Qing'er's unbearable eyes.
Shui Xinyuan hurriedly touched his face with both hands to cover up.
"...Looking at your expression, you must be snickering as you remember the past again."
"Ah...well, I remember when I met the emperor three years ago."
Qing'er swallowed the dried almonds in her mouth, raised her eyebrows and asked, "Did His Majesty say anything to you at that time?"
"I won't tell you."
"...I know it even if you don't tell me. It's really annoying."
"Hehehe..."
Shui Xinyuan couldn't help laughing happily, Qing'er poked her forehead.
"You still love His Majesty so much."
"Um."
Shui Xinyuan smiled and nodded, while Qing'er shrugged her shoulders and smiled bitterly.
Didn't Qing'er and Zhuge Qing realize that they were exactly the same when doing this action?
"My feelings for Your Majesty are not inferior to your love for Zhuge Qing."
"No need to compare with me!"
Qing'er's eyes were red and she stuffed several dried almonds into her mouth, while Shui Xinyuan chuckled.
On this day, Shui Xinyuan and Qing'er didn't mention Ziwei again.
…
A few days later, during dinner, Chunxiang was serving at the table when she suddenly remembered: "During the day, when the queen went to practice dancing, the new gardener came..."
"...Are you talking about Ziwei?"
"Ah, yes, that's the name."
When Lu Fusu heard the strange man's name, he put down the wine glass in his hand.
"who is he?"
"The new gardener came recently to help Uncle Fu."
"He is from Sanhu Village just like me. I was shocked when I heard Uncle Fu's introduction last time."
"...from Sanhu Village?"
The maid cleared away the empty plates and left. Chunxiang placed the after-dinner wine and steamed cakes made by Shui Xinyuan on the table.
"I was also shocked because he came from the garden and shouted, "Is Shui Xinyuan there?"
"……What?"
The corner of Lu Fusu's mouth twitched, but Shui Xinyuan didn't notice it and tilted his head in confusion.
"Ziwei, do you want to see me if you have anything to do?"
"Then I don't know... When he learned that the empress was not here, he immediately turned around and left."
"……What happened?"
"Shui Xinyuan..."
When she heard Lu Fusu calling her, Shui Xinyuan stopped cutting the steamed cake and raised her head.
"What's up?"
"When did Uncle Fu bring that...man named Ziwei?"
"It was the day Qing'er came last time."
"Are you familiar with him?"
"Although we live in the same village, his home is a bit far away... I just say hello when we meet."
We have never played together before... Shui Xinyuan added.
Lu Fusu's tense expression relaxed slightly.
"...Really? How old is he?"
"I remember Ziwei...should be the same age as me."
"Seventeen years old...?"
"……emperor?"
Lu Fusu asked several questions in a row and suddenly fell silent again. This time it was Shui Xinyuan's turn to ask.
"What's wrong with Ziwei?"
"No, it's okay."
"Empress, Empress..."
Chunxiang bent down behind Shui Xinyuan and bit her ear.
"Your Majesty must have felt uncomfortable when he heard the name of a strange man coming from the Queen's mouth."
"ah?"
"...Chunxiang, I heard it all."
Chunxiang originally wanted Lu Fusu to hear it on purpose.
Shui Xinyuan blinked and looked back at Chunxiang.
"No, uncomfortable...?"
"I think it should be like this...for example, if your Majesty hears from His Majesty that you have reunited with a woman you knew well before...how would you feel?"
"It might be really uncomfortable..."
Shui Xinyuan frowned.
"But Chunxiang, Ziwei and I don't know each other very well!"
"Your Majesty, please tell your Majesty these words. I'll take my leave first. Your Majesty, please talk slowly..."
Chunxiang put the wine, wine glasses, and plates other than snacks into the tray, bowed behind her with a smile, and hurried away.
"Uh...emperor?"
"..."
"Do you feel uncomfortable hearing this?"
"Don't ask so openly..."
Lu Fusu held the wine glass and tilted his head to the side.
Shui Xinyuan put the steamed cake cut into small pieces on a plate and placed it in front of Lu Fusu. He pulled his own chair and placed it next to Lu Fusu and sat down.
She looked over at Lu Fusu, who had his back turned to her. Lu Fusu's eyes were unusually erratic.
"I didn't do anything that would make His Majesty uncomfortable..."
"I know...you don't have to worry about it."
"Of course I care."
"...?"
"If I knew that the emperor was reunited with a woman he had known well before for a long time, I would also be...jealous."
Shui Xinyuan tightened her lips and stared at Lu Fusu.
Lu Fusu also looked back at Shui Xinyuan in surprise.
"You can……?"
"I... can also be jealous, and I have been jealous before..."
"...Does it have anything to do with me?"
"certainly……"
Shui Xinyuan really wanted to hide this feeling, but at this moment, she felt that there was no harm in speaking out.
If Lu Fusu really feels uncomfortable because of Ziwei...if it's because of the same feelings, there's no harm in saying it himself.
Lu Fusu put down his wine glass, blinked two or three times, and then suddenly smiled.
"I... am so happy."
"...Does Your Majesty feel happy?"
"right."
Seeing Lu Fusu nod, Shui Xinyuan's shoulders that were tense due to nervousness finally relaxed.
"I thought you would be angry..."
"How is it possible that I think you are still so cute... If possible, I would like to hear you explain in detail when and under what circumstances you are jealous of whom."
Lu Fusu looked at Shui Xinyuan's face, which looked completely different from the frown he had just now.
"It's just, um..."
"It's okay, you don't have to say it right away...Okay, I'll wait until I finish eating this snack, take a rest, and then take a shower, and then I'll listen to you slowly."
"..."
You mean, do you want to explain it clearly before going to the palace?
“I’m really looking forward to it, I don’t know what I can hear.”
"Your Majesty... are you looking forward to it?"
He talks too much... Although Shui Xinyuan thought so, he was secretly glad that Lu Fusu's mood seemed to have improved... Of course, his mood suddenly became too good, which sometimes made Shui Xinyuan very troubled.
"Can I have a drink...?"
"Not today. If you fall asleep in the middle of talking, it would be too disappointing."
Lu Fusu pushed the wine glass to the corner of the table out of Shui Xinyuan's reach and started eating pastries.
"It's delicious. The pastries you make are always delicious. Don't you want to eat them?"
"I have eaten..."
Lu Fusu smiled from the bottom of his heart, and Shui Xinyuan also smiled at him.
Tonight's pillow story will probably be very long... Although I have a premonition, I'm still glad that Lu Fusu's mood has improved.