Li Shutiao was so wracked with guilt that she almost forgot the purpose of her visit. She raised a hand to cover her face, her crying growing more intense.
Guo Luoluo Qingyao didn’t know how to comfort her. She stood there, stunned and at a loss for a moment. When she came to her senses, she quickly moved closer to Li Shutiao, wrapped her hands around her arm, and shook it gently. She lowered her voice to console her, “Good sister, please stop crying…”
“Did I say something wrong just now? But… but I didn’t really say anything. Or is it the cabinet you don’t like? The earrings? It can’t be… it can’t be that you don’t like silver, can it?” Guo Luoluo Qingyao’s guesses grew more and more absurd.
Li Shutiao: “…”
She was still immersed in a profound sense of guilt. A sour feeling welled up in her throat, choking her so much that she couldn’t speak. Only two streams of clear tears kept pattering down her face.
She also found herself quite baffling. She had clearly come to apologize to Guo Luoluo Qingyao, but she had ended up being the one who was being comforted.
Besides, the one who did something wrong was the “Li Shutiao” in the book, not her. Why was she feeling so guilty?
How ridiculously sentimental.
At this thought, she finally broke free from the intense guilt. She took a deep breath, trying to force down the sourness in her throat. As she did, she was caught off guard by Guo Luoluo Qingyao muttering in her ear, “…it can’t be that you don’t like silver, can it?”
Li Shutiao abruptly looked up. “Of course not!”
“I’m not a fool. Who doesn’t love silver?”
Hearing this, Guo Luoluo Qingyao’s eyes widened. “Then you think half is too little?”
Only then did Li Shutiao realize something was amiss. The topic of their conversation was now like a runaway horse, galloping and leaping into a completely unknown territory.
Li Shutiao blinked, and two more tears pattered down. She wiped them away casually, her voice hoarse as she asked, “What half?”
Seeing her blink, Guo Luoluo Qingyao blinked a couple of times as well. “Weren’t you crying because I only gave you half the silver and you thought it was too little?”
Li Shutiao: “…”
She was a little dazed. “No, I was crying out of guilt. I feel that you’re so good to me, yet I cursed you like that yesterday. It was truly wrong of me.”
Only then did Guo Luoluo Qingyao recall the two sentences Li Shutiao had said before she started crying. She had a sudden realization. “Oh, so that’s why.”
Li Shutiao continued, “Yes, and didn’t I say it as soon as I came in? I’m here to apologize to you.”
Guo Luoluo Qingyao explained, “But I said it too, sister. You don’t need to apologize to me at all.”
“And I think you were quite right. Actually, I’m the one who has wronged you. If it weren’t for me, you would be the one the Emperor has taken a fancy to now.”
When she said this, her expression was utterly sincere, as if it came from the bottom of her heart. Li Shutiao believed her instantly.
—She had believed it all along.
Because it was written in the novel that the death of “Li Shutiao” was the fuse that led to Guo Luoluo Qingyao’s descent into villainy. After Wuya Shi had her killed, Guo Luoluo Qingyao had been secretly searching for the murderer. She spent over half a year eliminating most of the palace maids in Qianqing Palace one by one, finally setting her sights on Wuya Shi.
After testing her through various means, Guo Luoluo Qingyao was almost certain that even if Wuya Shi wasn’t the direct culprit, she was inextricably involved. Thus, she unhesitatingly spent decades avenging “Li Shutiao.”
How could such a kind-hearted girl be a “villain”?
When Li Shutiao read the book, she had felt extremely uncomfortable, yet the comment section was mostly filled with praise for Wuya Shi’s decisiveness and ruthlessness, leaving her with no outlet to complain.
If the cannon fodder character hadn’t shared her name, she would have dropped the novel long ago!
No, dropping it wasn’t enough. She would have had to report the author for “improper values” as well!
…
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Li Shutiao puffed out her cheeks in displeasure, her voice muffled. “The reason the Emperor took a fancy to you is because you’re pretty and beautiful. You have a face like a flower and a moon-like grace, a dazzling and vibrant beauty, a rich and gorgeous charm, the grace of willows and the allure of peaches, and a myriad of elegant postures. Um… and also, also, you’re a feast for the eyes?” She rattled off several idioms, using up all the knowledge she had accumulated in her life.
After a pause, Li Shutiao continued, “So it’s because of your own excellent qualities that the Emperor likes you. If it were me, the Emperor wouldn’t like me at all.”
Otherwise, why would he have been so furious when “Li Shutiao” attempted Bed-Climbing, directly ordering her to be put to Death by Batons?
Hearing Li Shutiao’s choice of words, Guo Luoluo Qingyao could barely contain the smile on her face. Her two dark, sparkling eyes moved closer as she asked, her expression a mixture of surprise and delight, “Really?”
Li Shutiao nodded. “Of course it’s real!”
“Does sister really think I’m beautiful?” Guo Luoluo Qingyao couldn’t help but confirm again.
Li Shutiao subconsciously sensed that something was off. She tilted her head to look at the fair beauty beside her. “Why aren’t you asking about the Emperor?”
Guo Luoluo Qingyao blinked. “As for the Emperor, I’ll naturally go and ask him. But on your side, sister, I need to confirm it to feel at ease.”
At ease? At ease about what?
Li Shutiao was greatly perplexed, but she went along with Guo Luoluo Qingyao’s topic. “Of course I think you’re beautiful, too.”
As soon as these words were out, the smile on Guo Luoluo Qingyao’s face grew even more brilliant.
She was so happy she couldn’t help but swing her feet. After a moment, she moved closer to Li Shutiao again. “Say it again, sister, please say it again.”
Who doesn’t like to be praised?
She, for one, loved it the most, especially praise from Sister Shutiao.
Li Shutiao: “…”
Afraid the person before her would fly to the heavens with joy, she pressed her lips tightly shut and refused to speak again, no matter how Guo Luoluo Qingyao pleaded.
Guo Luoluo Qingyao had no choice but to give up with regret.
Just then, Lingluo brought in two cups of clear tea and a few plates of pastries.
Guo Luoluo Qingyao reluctantly separated from Li Shutiao, pulled the small, carved table on the couch back out, and they each ate pastries in silence for a while.
These pastries were specially developed by the Imperial Kitchen of Qianqing Palace to suit Guo Luoluo Qingyao’s tastes. They were exquisitely and adorably shaped, with a sweet but not cloying flavor. Li Shutiao was already hungry to begin with and ate more than half a plate before stopping.
Seeing that she liked them, Guo Luoluo Qingyao had long since stopped her own movements. She placed the delicate silver fork on the edge of the tray, propped her chin on one hand, and watched Li Shutiao eat with a serious expression.
She stared so intently that Li Shutiao began to feel a little embarrassed.
She put down the small fork with a sheepish expression. “Did I… eat too much?”
Guo Luoluo Qingyao shook her head quickly. “How is this much? Lingluo is still preparing more. There are probably five or six more plates. Eat as much as you can. If you can’t finish them, take them back to share with Yueshu and Lingru,” she said, then paused, lowered her voice, and spoke mysteriously to Li Shutiao, “But, you must remember not to give any to Lianchu. I don’t like her very much!”
Li Shutiao was suddenly startled, feeling like she had just stumbled upon some major gossip. The pastry in her hand instantly lost its appeal, and she couldn’t help but ask repeatedly, “What’s wrong with her?”
Guo Luoluo Qingyao’s expression was a little hesitant. She debated whether to tell Li Shutiao about the friction between her and Wuya Shi. After all, in her memory, Sister Shutiao’s relationship with Wuya Shi was still quite good. If she said something, would Sister Shutiao think she was trying to sow discord?
But if she didn’t say anything, what if Wuya Shi started bullying Sister Shutiao in the future?
After hesitating again and again, Guo Luoluo Qingyao decided to test the waters first.
She first asked Li Shutiao, “So, what do you think of Lianchu, usually?”
Li Shutiao didn’t hesitate. “The progenitor of green tea bitches, the queen of white lotuses.”
Guo Luoluo Qingyao: “…”
What was Sister Shutiao saying? Why couldn’t she understand?
Seeing the little beauty’s confused expression, Li Shutiao kindly explained, “It means she’s exceptionally good at acting. On the surface, she seems like a pure and innocent white lotus, but underneath, she’s like filthy, black mud. Her mind is very deep and malicious.”
But Guo Luoluo Qingyao still didn’t understand.
Li Shutiao could only rummage through the original owner’s memories for a long time and give a few examples.
Guo Luoluo Qingyao finally, with difficulty, grasped a little. She pondered, “I understand ‘white lotus,’ but what does ‘green tea’ mean?”
Li Shutiao: “…”
She found that she couldn’t seem to explain it.
The two of them stared at each other, wide-eyed, for a long time.
In the end, it was Guo Luoluo Qingyao who looked away first, thinking to herself that it was probably a new term Sister Shutiao had casually invented, so she didn’t press further.
The topic finally got back on track.
Now that Guo Luoluo Qingyao had a draft prepared in her mind, she slowly recounted her experiences working with Wuya Shi on several occasions. The incidents weren’t particularly serious, but they left Guo Luoluo Qingyao feeling subtly uncomfortable.
For instance, one time when the two of them went to the Internal Affairs Office to collect items, they saw that the person in charge was a Head Eunuch known in the palace for his strictness and sharp tongue. Wuya Shi would stand behind Guo Luoluo Qingyao, saying under the fine-sounding pretext that since she was new, she should go first. But when it was Guo Luoluo Qingyao’s turn, she would quietly step aside. After Guo Luoluo Qingyao had collected her items and returned, she would then use the excuse that she had something urgent to attend to and ask if Guo Luoluo Qingyao could let her have the items first, while she went to get another set for herself.
Another time, a palace maid asked Wuya Shi about something. Wuya Shi wasn’t too sure, so she asked Guo Luoluo Qingyao. Guo Luoluo Qingyao gave a clear answer, but Wuya Shi misremembered it and gave the palace maid the wrong information. When the maid made a mistake and came to question her, Wuya Shi would look astonished and say that it was actually Guo Luoluo Qingyao who had told her, and she had just relayed the words verbatim.
Her expression was so pure, so innocent, that for a moment Guo Luoluo Qingyao couldn’t even tell if she herself had really misspoken, leading to the maid being punished for no reason…
“Actually, these are all trivial matters, but as they piled up one by one, I just started to feel that Lianchu isn’t a very trustworthy person,” Guo Luoluo Qingyao concluded solemnly, her willow-leaf brows furrowed.
Li Shutiao nodded continuously as she listened.
Right, right, right, Wuya Shi was no good bestie. A frenemy was more like it.
She declared that from this day forward, Guo Luoluo Qingyao would be her great patron, oh no, her best friend!
With that thought, she curved her eyes at Guo Luoluo Qingyao, her smile like a bright, clear crescent moon.