Chapter 94 - 77: Waiting for the Update
When the hour struck, an exceptionally small wooden magpie popped up from a slot in the self-sounding clock.
Jiang Xian had originally intended to use a royal auspicious beast, but as the device’s purpose shifted toward fostering affection, she decided a magpie was more in line with the symbolism the Yan Chi Ren used to express their feelings.
Following Jiang Xian’s modifications, its loud time-announcing chime was removed.
The Emperor’s study was very quiet, so the sound of the wooden bird popping up was more than enough to get his attention, no disruptive noise needed. At first glance, it might seem as if the magpie carried a different note every hour. However, that was too technically difficult to achieve. Instead, Jiang Xian had the Manufacturing Office craft twelve identical, delicate magpies. Beneath the slot was a wheel that would pop up a different magpie each hour.
This way, all Liang Yuyin had to do was change the notes for the twelve magpies each day.
It wasn’t appropriate to involve too many third parties in the little secret between her and the Emperor.
The inspiration came from a time a colleague asked her why she always wore the same outfit, and how it never got dirty or smelled.
It wasn’t that she didn’t change her clothes; she just owned seven identical outfits.
All from Uniqlo—cheap, practical, and perfect for a white-collar worker.
「Back in Weiyang Palace.」
The Emperor had lost all desire to sleep. He summoned the Palace Attendants to help him change, asking three times during the process: "Why isn’t it the hour yet?", "How much longer?", and "Any movement from the clock?"
Finally, when the little magpie popped out of the slot, he said, feigning a composed tone, "Bring it here. Let Us see."
"At once," Liang Yuyin answered. But before he could even take a step, the Emperor strode past him and plucked the note from the magpie’s beak himself.
Mr. Liang: ...
’So much for being composed.’
’Your Majesty, couldn’t you have held out for even two seconds?!’
The Emperor, not the least bit embarrassed, lowered his head to glance at the note. Though the words were the same ones he had seen in the loose-leaf notebook yesterday, his feelings were completely different. He was like a player trying an otome game for the first time, captivated by the simulated text message format, rolling the note in his palm, unwilling to let go.
Liang Yuyin watched the Emperor fidget with the note until it was nearly destroyed, only then hearing His Majesty remark, "We saw this one yesterday. It’s nothing special."
Mr. Liang was once again speechless.
’What was he supposed to say?’ He could only play along with the Emperor’s mood. "There are many more that Your Majesty hasn’t seen. I was cutting these paper slips until late last night. It just goes to show how thoughtful Noble Lady Gu is."
Liang Yuyin took the opportunity to curry favor, hinting at his own personal effort, but was met with the Emperor’s death glare. "Did you cut them carefully? The notes weren’t damaged, were they?"
Only after Liang Yuyin repeatedly swore on his life that they weren’t did the Emperor look away.
The Emperor had never felt time pass so slowly.
He felt as if a long time had passed, but the self-sounding clock remained stubbornly silent, making him feel like a gamer anxiously waiting for a story update.
’As a eunuch, Liang Yuyin felt this was all just needless self-torture.’
’If he really wanted to know what was next, why not just grab the whole notebook and read it? Wouldn’t that be much simpler?’
And yet, while the Emperor looked like he was tearing his hair out with anticipation, he was actually enjoying every moment of it. Even though Noble Lady Gu was not physically present, the image of her in his mind only grew more vivid.
While the Emperor was anxiously awaiting the next note, Jiang Xian had already freshened up and gone to Changle Palace to accompany the Empress Dowager in her prayers.
Even as a Noble Lady, her status was considered low before the Empress Dowager and the Noble Consort.
Noble Princess Consort Rong was afforded the dignity of a soft stool beside the Empress Dowager, while she could only stand. Jiang Xian had prepared herself for hardship, expecting the kind of strict rule-setting a wicked mother-in-law might impose on her daughter-in-law in a TV drama. But what she found upon arriving at Changle Palace was quite different from what she had imagined.