Chapter 601: Imperial Family
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In his dream, he held Yu Youyao’s hand and she bumped into his arms. Under the dim light, her lips were aromatic and tugged at his heartstrings.
His breathing was strong, and his heart was beating like a drum. He subconsciously lowered his head and pressed the tip of his nose against hers.
This time, he did not pull away.
He was originally aggressive, but when his lips were about to fall, she became careful. She was young and inexperienced, infatuated but gentle. Yu Youyao’s eyes were red and moist. She was like an apricot, delicate and innocent, but as gentle as water.
For the first time in his life, Zhou Linghuai had the urge to bully her.
He bullied her until she cried.
Zhou Linghuai suddenly woke up.
Late at night, there was only a small lamp left in the room. It was covered by a lamp shade, making it even darker and hazy.
His hair was drenched in sweat, and his turbid panting was mixed with his messy breathing. It was especially clear in the dark room, and there was an indescribable numbness in his tailbone.
It seemed unbearable but pleasurable.
Zhou Linghuai finally understood why when he was young, he only felt satisfied when he hugged the petite girl. When he grew up, he would instead be unable to satisfy his “desires.” Desire arose from temptation!
Desire breeds desire.
Yu Youyao made him aroused.
After panting for a long time, Zhou Linghuai straightened up and sat on the edge of the bed. He picked up the teapot on the small table at the head of the bed, raised it and poured the tea into his mouth.
His Adam’s apple rose and fell, and tea slid down his throat.
After drinking most of the pot of tea, Zhou Linghuai felt the heat in his body slowly calm down.
Chang An, who was on duty outside, heard the commotion and called out, “Young Master?”
Zhou Linghuai frowned and glanced at his white pants. His voice was hoarse. “Bring in a basin of water and change the blanket.”
After a dreamless night, when Yu Youyao woke up, the room was still a little dark. On the ebony round table, the patterned zither box was bright and glossy.
Perhaps it was because her cousin treated her too well, but she couldn’t help but feel a little pampered.
A hazy voice in her heart kept bewitching her—
You call him Cousin every day. Do you really treat him as your cousin?
He’s not your cousin at all!
His name was Yin Huaixi, and he was the heir of the King Li of Zhou. He was also the King of the North, Yin Huaixi, Yue Fei.
He had only used Zhou Linghuai’s identity to live in the Yu Residence.
He’s not related to you.
There was only friendship.
Yu Youyao suddenly did not want to call him Cousin anymore. But if she did not call him Cousin, what should she call him?
Yin Huaixi?
King Yue Fei?
Brother Yin?
Just like that, Brother Jing Zhi was blurted out. She was hazy and happy.
Yu Youyao suddenly felt a little dispirited. She did not even have an appetite for breakfast. She only ate a small bowl of Rogue rice porridge and asked the servants to leave.
It was unknown if it was because the weather was so hot that it was suffocating, but Yu Youyao was frustrated. She leaned lazily against the recliner in the corridor and flipped through her books.
The corridor was built beside the Parasol Tree. It was covered by thick shade and was comfortable.
At this moment, Nanny Xu brought over a stack of gift lists and books. “Young Miss received a lot of birthday gifts yesterday. I’ve already ordered someone to tidy up the books.”
Yu Youyao took a look and held her forehead. “I have a headache.”
Every year, on her birthday, just the gift list sent by the Xie family had to be sorted out into a thick book. The other gifts added up to a blur.
Seeing that she was listless, Nanny Xu smiled and asked, “What’s wrong? You’ve received so many gifts. Aren’t you happy?
Yu Youyao liked to receive gifts, regardless of what they were. As long as she received them, she was very happy. If the gift happened to suit her taste, she would be even happier.
After her birthday, she could even open gifts for most of the day without finding it annoying.
Yu Youyao sighed. “Nanny, why do you think people have to grow up?
After growing up, there were more rules and regulations regarding her body, and she had more scruples. She couldn’t do as she pleased.
She did not like this.
Nanny Xu took a closer look at Yu Youyao. There was a green sparrow crown on her delicate eyebrows. Her dark gray eyebrows swept across indifferently, as if they were enveloped in a layer of smoke and fog, adding a hint of worry. The delicate and beautiful little girl seemed to have grown up overnight.
She had something on her mind and felt troubled.
Nanny Xu sighed with emotion. “Only when one grows up can they do what they want and choose the path they want to take. Although there are many restrictions on your body, there are also many choices.” Yu Youyao frowned, although she was not wrong.
But those choices were not what she wanted.
What she wanted was too unorthodox for most women.
Nanny Xu said earnestly, “As the daughter of an official, it’s true that there are many things that you don’t have a choice in. However, in fact, most people in the world don’t have a choice. The commoners work hard for money, rice, oil, and salt. Businessmen pursue wealth and glory. Even if you were born in an aristocratic family, you have to work hard to bring glory to their ancestors. In life, you have to work hard to fight for whatever you want.”
Yu Youyao’s eyes darkened. She would fight for whatever she wanted.
The fraud case implicated some more people. The Imperial Court ordered to reward those innocent students who had been implicated and died tragically in prison.
No one discussed this matter anymore.
Instead, they talked about how two months later, the Imperial Court reopened its examinations.
Song Mingzhao’s name was also repeatedly mentioned. Everyone was guessing if the talented heir of the Song family could still amaze the world after experiencing a prison sentence.
The capital returned to its usual prosperity and liveliness. There was an endless stream of invitations to banquets.
Very few people cared. It was already the end of April, and it wasn’t raining. It was inevitable that the rice production would decrease.
Many farms stopped their losses in time and planted drought-resistant crops. However, if it did not rain in the future, drought-resistant crops would also be reduced.
The price of food had already increased to 120 copper coins a litre.
More and more people were begging along the streets.
In the market, there were many children being sold as slaves.
In the City God Temple in the suburbs, there were beggars who died of illness, starved to death, or were beaten to death for snatching food every day.
In the mass grave, there were more and more corpses.
The Yu Residence had also received many invitations. However, Old Madam Yu of the first branch was a widow, and Eldest Madam Yang had been sick for three years. The invitations were rejected when they could.
However, one of the invitations was more special.
It was from the Duke Rong’s Residence.
There were many idle imperial clans in the Great Zhou Dynasty. There were only a few direct descendants of the great ancestor who were conferred the title of king. The rest had to be demoted and displaced. After a few generations of emperors, many imperial clans had fallen.
Some of them had been conferred nobility, while others had not even been conferred nobility. Most of them relied on their ancestral businesses to survive.
Those who did not have any ancestral businesses could still rely on the intertwined connections of the imperial family to do as they pleased and bully the commoners. Many people died.
Therefore, the reputation of the imperial family was not good..
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