After that day, the obtuse Mo Xiujie finally sensed his master's feelings.
Then he often came up with ingenious ideas for Luo Nanchen.
... Although the Empress Dowager Lin Qiao, who was even more obtuse than Mo Xiujie, seemed to be still a long way from realizing Luo Nanchen's feelings.
However, this further motivated Mo Xiujie's determination and courage to come up with strategies for Luo Nanchen. True love was priceless, regardless of status and gender.
It was precisely Luo Nanchen's straightforward pursuit of love that stimulated Mo Xiujie's young heart. And then...
He plunged headlong into...
Irreversibly...
Fell in love with someone the world did not allow him to love... Of course, this was all for later.
Mo Xiujie thought the ideas he came up with for Luo Nanchen were flawless and could even be worthy of being in a storybook to make people applaud.
... Because these were all learned by Mo Xiujie from storybooks, the 1000 classic tricks.
For example, the trick of a chance encounter. When Lin Qiao went for a walk in the imperial garden in the morning, Luo Nanchen would pretend to have just returned from court and then drop by the Hall of Everlasting Joy for a meal. Mo Xiujie would deliver all the memorials. In this way, he could stay a while longer after the meal. It was simply killing two birds with one stone.
Another example was the trick of a hero saving the beauty. Mo Xiujie would pretend to be an assassin and break into the Hall of Everlasting Joy to pretend to assassinate. Luo Nanchen would then pretend to pass by inadvertently and save Lin Qiao. After that, they could even squeeze together in the outer chamber. He could even start his morning court from the Hall of Everlasting Joy. It was a perfect double - win.
Yet another example was the trick of feigning drunkenness. When envoys from other countries came to court, the Empress Dowager would surely attend. Luo Nanchen would pretend to be dead drunk and then follow Lin Qiao back to the Hall of Everlasting Joy in the chaos. This was another opportunity for intimate contact. He could get a hug from Lin Qiao and even stay overnight. It was another case of killing two birds with one stone.
And there were still more examples...
However, no matter how ingenious these tricks were, they were undermined by Luo Nanchen's timidity.
Whenever Mo Xiujie saw a new trick and thought it was extremely wonderful and wanted to share it with Luo Nanchen, Luo Nanchen would ponder for a long time and then say enigmatically, "Next time."
Mo Xiujie: "..."
Actually, Mo Xiujie understood why Luo Nanchen was so timid... Luo Nanchen couldn't help but be timid. After all, nominally, Lin Qiao was Luo Nanchen's step - mother.
If they were an ordinary step - mother and step - son, it might be okay. But these two were the step - mother and step - son of the royal family. All the civil and military officials were watching, all the people of Yunjin were watching, and the ambitious people from neighboring countries were also watching.
So Luo Nanchen could only be very calm, calm as if he could handle all the gossips and storms from all sides.
... But actually, Mo Xiujie thought too much. Luo Nanchen's timidity was just because he was afraid that Lin Qiao would think he was a pervert. That was all.
Luo Nanchen's calmness lasted until Pei Liyu submitted a memorial.
The general idea of this memorial was that Luo Nanchen had no concubines in his harem and it was necessary to select concubines for him. It also said that there were many eligible girls in the capital and they could give birth once they entered the palace.
Luo Nanchen didn't even finish reading it and just threw the memorial aside.
He was still very calm at this time because there had been such memorials before. It was just that after Luo Nanchen's coming - of - age ceremony, such memorials had become more and more frequent.
As the prime minister, Pei Liyu shouldered the responsibility of national righteousness and national development, so he naturally couldn't slack off on Luo Nanchen's matters.
The most crucial thing was that he was overly stubborn.
Sure enough, not two days later, seeing that there was no response to the memorial he had submitted, Pei Liyu came to the Hall of Diligent Governance in person.
This time, Luo Nanchen directly kicked Pei Liyu out.
But the stubborn and persistent Pei Liyu didn't yield to the power this time. Instead, he resolutely... went to the Hall of Everlasting Joy to complain.
Not only did he complain, but he also got Lin Qiao's permission to organize Luo Nanchen's first concubine - selection event.
Luo Nanchen: "..."
This time, Luo Nanchen was finally not calm anymore. For the past few years, Luo Nanchen had been hesitating whether to enter the Hall of Everlasting Joy on its roof, outside its windows, and in every corner of it. Today, for the first time, he stepped in through the main entrance.
Back then, he had stood on the roof with Luo Nanchen for a whole night. The cold wind was howling, and Luo Nanchen was worried, while Mo Xiujie's nose was running.
Now, his master was finally no longer timid and finally stepped in openly. Mo Xiujie was so touched that it was as if the snot he had shed before was flowing again.
Mo Xiujie quickly sniffed and followed in.
Strangely enough, although Luo Nanchen had stepped in, he was just the same as usual. He was taciturn, expressionless, and as cold as a flower on a high mountain.
And Lin Qiao, who had been staying in the Hall of Everlasting Joy all the time, obviously didn't know what to say to Luo Nanchen either. The atmosphere was once very awkward.
Mo Xiujie was extremely anxious. He immediately flipped through the storybooks and found that if one was trapped by one's status, one should use that status to fight back.
For example, take advantage of one's status to make Lin Qiao do things that a step - mother could not refuse.
At first, Luo Nanchen readily accepted Mo Xiujie's suggestion.
... Because Lin Qiao was about to start selecting concubines for him. If he didn't hurry up, it would be too late.
Then, such scenes often happened -
For example, one day, there were too many affairs in the court. Luo Nanchen was annoyed by approving the memorials, so he threw them aside and said to Lin Qiao,
"Are you my step - mother?"
"Of course I am."
"Then I'm feeling sad. Shouldn't you, my step - mother, comfort me?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm feeling sad. Shouldn't you, my step - mother, hug me?"
"... Yes."
"Then I'm feeling sad. Shouldn't you, my step - mother, kiss me?"
"Seemingly... yes?"
"Then I'm feeling sad. Shouldn't you, my step - mother, sleep with me?"
"??? Wait a minute - "
After that, every time Luo Nanchen took advantage of Lin Qiao, when he returned to the Hall of Diligent Governance, he would always be in a daze for a long time.
Mo Xiujie was very conscious and would always quietly avoid at this time.
... Then, one could see that Luo Nanchen, a cold and domineering emperor, would turn into a silly big guy who just stood there blushing and grinning stupidly.
It seemed that the air was filled with sweetness.
Mo Xiujie was sometimes very curious. Would loving someone really make oneself stupid?
Then, when he went out, he bumped into someone.
It was Dong Peirong who came to deliver the memorials to Luo Nanchen in advance.
He finally knew that loving someone really could make oneself stupid.
When it was time for the morning court, Mo Xiujie would go to remind Luo Nanchen and only then could Luo Nanchen come to his senses. Sometimes, while walking, he would even bump into tables, chairs, door curtains, and even the grand eunuch outside.
As time went by, before every morning court, Luo Nanchen was in this state. Naturally, Luo Nanchen was amiable to all the civil and military officials. Although it was far from smiling at them... at least he was no longer ferocious.
The officials no longer trembled in their boots when they went to court.
Of course... it didn't mean that he looked ferocious. It was just that his previous aura was so intimidating that no one, human, ghost, or god, dared to get close to him.
Staying with Lin Qiao had a purifying effect on Luo Nanchen's mind.
Moreover... Luo Nanchen had sat on the imperial concubine's chair in the Hall of Everlasting Joy more than once, and he even arrogantly lay on Lin Qiao's imperial concubine's chair to approve memorials.
This made Lin Qiao very helpless, so she bought another imperial concubine's chair and then could enjoy the wonderful afternoon tea time again.
Because of this, during that period, Luo Nanchen's attitude towards Meng Erliu also became increasingly gentle.
He finally looked like a high - spirited young man of his age.