Su Yu's actions caused Gan Qi's heart to flutter, but the words he said made Gan Qi feel like he had fallen into an ice-cold abyss. For a man who had just experienced the joys of spring for the first time, to be forced into abstinence on the very next day… this feeling was a little sour ah!
But while the Heavens are big, the Earth is big, no one is bigger than his lover. Other than gritting his teeth in sad acceptance, what else could Gan Qi do?
Under Gan Qi's darkened gaze, Su Yu hobbled out with his sore body and went to see Qin Yiran. At first glance, he almost did not recognize the other. In but a few days, Qin Yiran had lost a lot of weight and her face was sallow and yellow, with dark circles around her eyes. This was completely different from her initial arrogant and superior appearance when she first entered the palace.
"What happened to the Esteemed Consort? It looks like you've aged years in just a few days." Su Yu cheerily walked over and looked Qin Yiran up and down with a little pity. He nodded his head a little, this Qin Yiran was much more pleasing to the eye!
Presumably because she had been forced to eat so much Huang Lian lately, Qin Yiran didn't even have the energy to muster up her rage when being ridiculed by Su Yu like that. She opened the mouth, "This Consort wishes to see the Emperor."
Even though Qin Yiran was quite dumb, but after all these days of neglectful and harsh treatment, even she understood who the real master in this palace was.
She once thought of herself as high and mighty, and even the Emperor himself didn't enter her eyes. But now, because of one sentence, she had lost all that she took for granted. Not only was she banned from leaving her courtyard and lost all her status and riches, but even the common servants dared to act against her now.
It turns out that in this Inner Palace, without Gan Qi's backing, she really was nothing.
"Esteemed Consort wants to see the Emperor ah, I'm afraid that is a little difficult. But," Su Yu sat down opposite of Qin Yiran, a mockery of a smile on his face, "I came to visit you today because His Majesty had some words to pass along."
Qin Yiran's dim countenance brightened a little. "What did His Majesty say?"
"His Majesty's heart is generous, and he decided to forgive past transgressions. He is giving you, Esteemed Consort, a choice. Do you want to stay here and grow old in this place, or would you like to go to the 7th Royal Palace instead?" Su Yu phrased the words as directly as he could, because otherwise, he was afraid that this dimwit wouldn't understand his point and in turn, get the wrong impression.
Qin Yiran's eyes became brighter – she had a chance to leave the palace!
Although after that Yue Lian poisoning incident Qin Yiran had held suspicion towards Gan Shen, she had ultimately decided that it wasn't possible. She couldn't believe that a man who held such deep affections for her could really do that! They were a match made in heaven!
Qin Yiran once again overestimated her charm, as well as her intelligence, and so she did not even hesitate in making a choice, "I wish to leave the palace!"
Inside Qin Yiran's heart, she could already picture what would happen next. As soon as she leaves the palace, she will gain back everything that should have belonged to her in the first place. She will also revert back to that sought-after esteemed young Miss that even the emperor was infatuated with.
Su Yu didn't react with surprise to Qin Yiran's proclamation at all. He gave a slight smile and said, "Esteemed Consort must consider this carefully. If you decide to leave the palace, then you as the minister's daughter will be dead on paper. You can leave the palace, but you will be an unknown person without status."
A woman who has entered the inner palace, how can they be sent back out without some sacrifice?
Qin Yiran was a little hesitant, but she quickly convinced herself that as long as she could return to Gan Shen, then these little things weren't a problem at all!
"No matter what you say, this Consort will not change her mind." Qin Yiran looked at Su Yu willfully, clearly passing along the message of "I know you're trying to trick me, I will definitely not fall for your manipulations!" through her eyes.
What else could Su Yu say? Someone who rushed at the chance to be abused, naturally he would not stop them. "Then I wish Esteemed Consort all the best in your life outside of the inner palace."
"When will this Consort be allowed out?" Qin Yiran couldn't wait.
"If Esteemed Consort wants to, you can leave now. So, when does Esteemed Consort wish to leave?" Su Yu drawled out with a smile.
"This Consort is leaving now!" Qin Yiran replied firmly.
Su Yu very considerately arranged for Qin Yiran to die on paper, and then had people send Qin Yiran to the 7th Royal Palace. In order to prevent her from actually dying too soon, Su Yu also wrote a letter to Gan Shen instructing him not to torment Qin Yiran too much, lest someone do something unspeakable to Yue Liu.
In fact, Su Yu originally wanted to personally arrive and deliver these words. He could already imagine Gan Shen's twisted expression upon seeing this letter, it was bound to be very exciting! But he couldn't do anything about the fact that Gan Qi's tendency to eat vinegar was too strong and simply would not allow him out of the palace, so Su Yu could only do this much.
Sending away Qin Yiran, Su Yu then moved into Gan Qi's dwelling and from that day onwards, the two of them tumbling into the dragon bed and rolling about became a very common occurrence.
His lover seemed to have more energy in this world than any of the previous ones, and he was in a state of insatiable hunger every day. Hence, Su Yu was tossed around very badly many times, and he really wanted to utilize the prop he had redeemed on this beast. However, something would come up every time and he was unsuccessful each time he tried.
Adhering to code of 'since my days are an abyss of suffering, then you had better not expect any leisurely, nice lifestyle either' Su Yu had Round Ball report on the activities of the 7th Royal Palace, and from time to time he would throw in his own personal brand of mischievous chaos to the mix. This made his days slightly more bearable, if only just by a little bit.
And so the weeks passed by in this exciting manner and Gan Qi's IQ value steadily rose day by day, until one day his IQ finally reached 98%. On that last day, Su Yu approached carrying a tray of tiles to Gan Qi.
"Your Majesty, it's time for you to flip a tile." Su Yu walked in with a smile.
Gan Qi was actually very much against this tile flipping activity, but since his sweetheart liked to play, then he can only obliged. But, on this day, he saw that there were only tiles lying face down, and he couldn't help but wonder, "Aren't there supposed to be 18 tiles?"
"Don't worry about that. You must flip a tile first." Su Yu laughed very mysteriously.
Gan Qi reached out and turned over one of the tiles, but before he could see what was written, it was snatched away by Su Yu. Su Yu glanced down at it and his eyes instantly brightened, his smile becoming bigger and more happy.
"What does it say?" Gan Qi asked curiously.
Su Yu just threw the tile to the side and then very boldly approached Gan Qi, saying, "This servant wants to do it. Does Your Majesty want to?"
Gan Qi's eyes suddenly shone with a green light. His lover was rarely this proactive, how could he miss this chance?
Gan Qi threw all thought about what was carved on that tile to the back of his mind. He gripped Su Yu's bum and picked him up, directly bringing him over to the dragon bed. As soon as he placed the other down, he leaned over and climbed on top as well. Amidst the dark room, a sole flickering candle illuminated the wooden tile that was carelessly thrown to the side.
On that tile, two characters were lightly carved – Su Yu