Eunuch Su, Eunuch Su!

Even after sitting in the main hall of Huiming's place, Su Jin still seemed to be in a daze.

Su Jin absentmindedly put down the chopsticks in his hand. A bowl of hot chicken noodle soup went into his stomach without a single drop left. He had originally planned to savor it carefully and keep the taste in his heart. But at this moment, his face was only filled with confusion. It was not until he finished a mouthful of tea after the meal that he suddenly realized that he had no idea what he had just eaten.

Su Jin gently licked his upper lip. Before he could feel any regret, he looked up and saw that Huiming was already asking Yuanbao to move the bedding from the front. His heart skipped a beat again. He couldn't help but stand up, stopped Yuanbao, and looked at Huiming, saying, "This… I've thought about it, I'm afraid it's still not…"

Huiming glanced back at him, as if knowing what he was going to say. She interrupted him cleanly, "If you feel inconvenient living together, then you can sleep here. I'll pack up and move to the front yard."

Of course, Su Jin wouldn't let Huiming sleep in the cold room at the front. After a pause, he lowered his head again and said very seriously, "This way… it will damage your reputation…"

"The Emperor already knows about me and Gonggong being together. Could it be that if we don't live together, my reputation will be cleared?" Huiming retorted confidently. She also suddenly realized that there were actually benefits to Su Gonggong "ruining" her reputation. At least, if she were still in Qiande Palace, she would never be able to say such a thing.

In that case, no matter the reason, she really had to thank Noble Consort Xian for making her and Su Gonggong's rumors public. This forced Su Gonggong to reluctantly acknowledge this "rumor." Su Gonggong was a gentleman. Since she had already had her "reputation" ruined by Su Gonggong, she could naturally bring this matter out in the open. Otherwise, with Su Gonggong being such a well-mannered person, how long would it take for her to get close to him just relying on that little bit of kindness?

As expected, Su Jin was rendered speechless by these words, as if she had just questioned him. A visible look of guilt appeared on his face. He stood there, lowered his head to Huiming, and said, "This matter… it's my fault. I've implicated you…"

"It's already like this, what's the use of saying these things now!" Huiming didn't want Su Gonggong to blame himself. She immediately interrupted him and took a step forward, saying sincerely, "I'm only able to live in such a comfortable house thanks to your care, Su Gonggong. But you only cared about preparing the back house for me, and didn't even bother with your own living space. It's completely bare. How can I feel at ease watching you live there?"

Su Jin still wanted to explain, "I'm just used to…"

But Huiming didn't give Su Gonggong a chance to explain. She directly said, "I'll be in the east side, you live in the west side, and there's a hall in between. There's nothing inconvenient. Please bear with it for a few days. When the front is properly arranged, you can move back." After that, she turned her head and glanced at Yuanbao, who was standing by the side holding the bedding, and urged, "Why are you standing there? Be quick, your master still needs to rest!"

Yuanbao peeked at his master's face from behind the quilt in his arms. After a moment of hesitation, he immediately saw that between the two, Aunt Huiming clearly had the upper hand. He immediately nodded, "This servant will go now!"

Huiming wasn't done yet. Watching Yuanbao enter the west side room, she turned to Su Gonggong and asked, "Has Gonggong finished the chicken noodle soup?"

Su Jin didn't seem to react and honestly replied, "Yes, I have."

Huiming smiled again, "It's good that you enjoyed it. I was just afraid that my cooking skills weren't good enough and might upset your stomach."

"How could that be? Thank you for this…" Su Jin quickly shook his head. He was about to say more words of thanks and praise, but Huiming seemed determined not to let him speak more today. She interrupted him again, "It's not good to walk around right after a meal. Please sit down, and don't drink tea. There's light millet congee simmering in the kitchen. I'll have someone bring you a bowl!"

Of course, Huiming did this on purpose. At this point, if they wanted to get closer, the last thing they needed was this back-and-forth politeness. She made dinner just to let Su Gonggong nourish his stomach and to get closer to him. But now, if Su Gonggong thanked her politely again, and she humbly declined again? Then how could they talk about getting closer and being casual?

What's more, Huiming looked at Yuanbao carrying the bedding into the study and felt that the quilt was too thin. She knew that if she mentioned it to Su Gonggong directly, it would inevitably lead to another round of pushing and shoving. So she simply went to get a bowl of hot millet congee herself, settled Su Gonggong properly on the seat, and then got up and went to the west side room.

Although Su Jin still didn't understand the reason, Huiming's series of swift and decisive actions did make him, who was still trying to accept the fact that he had to live in the same house with Huiming tonight, a little overwhelmed. He held the small porcelain cup containing the millet congee. Since it was personally delivered by Huiming, he naturally couldn't bear to refuse it. However, due to his upbringing since childhood, especially in front of Huiming, he couldn't do things like putting down his bowl halfway through dinner or walking around with his rice bowl like many rude people in the palace.

He originally thought that he could take advantage of Huiming's absence to quickly finish it in a few mouthfuls. But for some reason, the millet congee was very hot, and he had to blow on it spoonful by spoonful and drink it slowly. Therefore, although he was almost at a loss, he could only sit restlessly at the table, absentmindedly drinking the millet congee, and paying most of his attention to the movements in the next room where Huiming was.

"Is this all Gonggong uses every day?"

In the west side room, Huiming frowned as she pinched Su Gonggong's quilt.

Yuanbao nodded, "In the past, in the west side rooms, which are next to Qiande Palace, there were heated brick beds. This quilt was enough. After moving to Jing Alley, this servant also suggested changing to a thicker one, but Master just said no need to bother, just pack up and move in as soon as possible."

Indeed, from the time the Emperor bestowed the house to when Su Gonggong told her that it was ready and he could take her in, it only took less than three days. Including cleaning and tidying up, such a short time was indeed a bit rushed. It was impossible for everything to be perfect. But now it seemed that her back house was perfectly comfortable, and all the imperfections had been moved to the front yard.

Huiming pursed her lips. Apart from an indescribable feeling, she felt more self-blame. She should have thought of it earlier. Su Gonggong was always someone who didn't take his own body seriously. His living quarters in the side rooms of Qiande Palace and the west side rooms were extremely simple. In such a short time, how could his own room be properly prepared? If she had thought of it earlier last night, she wouldn't have let Su Gonggong stay in the empty, ice-cold room in the front yard for a night.

Thinking of this, Huiming shook her head and directly took Yuanbao to her east side room. She opened the pear blossom cabinet and took out a new set of quilts for Yuanbao to hold. However, she also moved in a hurry, and there were no extra mattresses. Huiming thought for a moment, then went to her own bed, took out the thicker one of the two mattresses that Su Gonggong had laid out for her, and took one of the two embroidered magpie pillows and gave it to Yuanbao to hold. They passed by Su Gonggong, who was still drinking soup, and carried everything to the west side room.

Su Jin, who was in the main hall, understood Huiming's intention and stood up abruptly, wanting to stop her. But Huiming didn't even look at him, and walked straight past him with hurried steps.

Not to mention that kid Yuanbao, he just stuck close to Huiming's side. If it weren't for the thick quilt in his arms being too conspicuous, Su Jin might not even have noticed him!

Su Jin had just stood up, raised his arm, and hadn't even uttered a word of dissuasion when the two of them had already flashed past him from the main hall and disappeared before his eyes. He paused, then could only silently withdraw his arm and words, sat back down, picked up the spoon again, and resumed drinking the hot soup with no taste.

Of course, Huiming didn't know what Su Gonggong was thinking outside. She had already calculated that it would take at least a quarter of an hour for Su Gonggong to finish a bowl of hot soup. By then, she would have already finished cleaning up, and it would be too late to say anything. Therefore, she didn't delay at all. Because the bedding that Su Gonggong had prepared for her room, both inside and out, was much better than his own, she and Yuanbao quickly put Su Gonggong's original bedding underneath and placed the bedding they had brought from her room on top. Although they were all bright colors like amber, red, and moon white, they were comfortable and warm, and she couldn't care less about such details at the moment.

After tidying up the Arhat bed, Huiming asked Yuanbao to bring over the brazier and hand warmer from her room. She went out to find the old eunuchs outside and asked them to bring hot water for washing. After all this was prepared, she estimated that Su Gonggong should have finished his millet congee. But she didn't see him coming over, so she got up and went to the main hall to take a look. Sure enough, Su Gonggong had already finished the soup, and was sitting upright at the table, head bowed, extremely well-behaved.

Seeing this, Huiming went up to him with a smile, "Have you finished, Gonggong?"

Su Jin looked up at her slightly, but didn't speak. He just looked at her and nodded gently.

Perhaps because the room was warm, and because the millet congee he had just drunk was indeed very hot, a thin layer of sweat had oozed out on Su Gonggong's forehead, and his cheeks were also slightly flushed, as if even his eyes were a little moist.

Su Gonggong's face was originally fair, so the slight redness on his cheeks was even more obvious. Looking up like this, his slightly moist peach blossom eyes revealed a bit more tenderness and affection.

Meeting Su Gonggong's gaze, Huiming also paused. She lowered her head and the decisiveness and composure from before seemed to have disappeared. She only whispered, "The hot water is ready. Would you like to wash up, Gonggong?"

It was as if it was a game of Go where one side advanced while the other retreated. When Su Jin was caught off guard and at a loss, Huiming could be assertive and uncompromising. But now that Huiming showed a bit of shyness and restraint, Su Jin seemed to have regained his composure. He just stood up and slowly said, "I'm not in a hurry. Have you had your dinner?"

Huiming nodded. Su Jin looked at the sky again and stood up, saying, "I just asked. You had your dinner at Youshi. Because you waited for me, it's already this late, and you've been busy for a long time. You must be hungry."

After saying that, he looked up at Yuanbao and calmly ordered, "Since the hot water is ready, send it to the east side and let Gugu wash up first, so it won't get cold later."

Yuanbao was also discerning. He had just been following Aunt Huiming's every word, but now, with a glance, he immediately changed his tune and respectfully agreed. He rolled up his sleeves and carried the wooden bucket of hot water that had just been delivered to the west side to the east side where Huiming lived.

Seeing this, Su Jin turned around again and looked at Huiming, who was standing by the side. He softly said, "You go wash up first. I brought back bird's nest from the palace, and I just had the cook stew a bowl. After you finish it, rinse your mouth, and you can rest."

If this was a battle, then Huiming, who had just won a victory, was already defeated in the face of such a gaze. She nodded repeatedly, then retreated to her bedroom almost as if she was dodging.

After Su Jin left the room, he didn't leave immediately. He stood still in the main hall. Yuanbao brought the stewed bird's nest from outside, and he personally took it. But he still waited outside, quietly listening to the faint sound of water coming from inside. After about two quarters of an hour, he heard the sound of the back door of the bedroom opening and closing, and the sound of water being poured. Guessing that Huiming should have finished washing up, he carried the porcelain bowl and personally delivered it to the bedroom.

Huiming had indeed taken off her outer robe. At this moment, she was sitting on the long couch in front of the bed, wearing only her inner garment. Her feet were bare, and she was taking off the hairpins from her head with soft-soled cloth shoes on her feet. Her sleeves slipped down, revealing a section of her wrist as white as a scallion.

As if pricked by that touch of whiteness, Su Jin only glanced at it before immediately lowering his eyes. He placed the bird's nest in his hand on the small table beside Huiming.

The bird's nest that Su Jin brought was neither too hot nor too cold, just right for eating. Plus, it was a light snack before bed, just a small bowl. Huiming turned sideways, lowered her head, and finished it in three or five mouthfuls.

Su Jin, who was waiting by the side, heard the sound of the porcelain bowl being gently put down. He stepped forward with his eyes lowered, picked up the empty bowl and spoon, and said, "It's cold at night. Don't come out again. Go to bed early." He paused, and after hearing a soft agreement from behind, he took a step forward and closed the wooden lattice door with his head lowered.

After Su Jin went out, he returned to his study on the west side. He looked up and watched until the candlelight in the east bedroom went out. Only then did he slowly relax his hand that had been tightly clenched since he got up. He let out a breath and slowly sat down on the Arhat bed. The bed was thick and soft, but after he felt it, he stood up as if pricked by needles.

Su Jin abruptly turned his head and looked at the bedding on the couch, which was originally supposed to be on Huiming's bed. He lowered his eyes and looked at Yuanbao, who was about to go out. "Prepare water in the front yard. I'll bathe first." He paused and added, "Be careful when you come in and out. Don't wake up the other side."

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