Chapter 132
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During dinner, Lu Qian noticed that Sixth Brother was missing. The little eunuch said he had gone out of the palace to the night market with Young Master Xue.
Why not take His Highness along for the stroll?
Lu Qian couldn’t accept the fact that he had been left behind. Even his favorite roasted lamb leg didn’t taste good during dinner.
After eating without ordering dessert, he rinsed his mouth and anxiously walked out of Nansan Hall. Hands behind his back, he gazed into the distance, hoping Sixth Brother would return to the palace soon.
It felt like an entire cycle of seasons passed, but Sixth Brother’s figure never appeared.
The little eunuch took a cloak and delicately draped it over Lu Qian.
“Have you ever strolled through the night market?” Lu Qian asked the little eunuch with a tilt of his head and lowered gaze.
The little eunuch nodded. “If it pleases Your Highness, that is a rendezvous for talented scholars and beautiful ladies. This servant dare not spoil the ambiance.”
“What talented scholars and beautiful ladies?” Lu Qian’s eyes flashed with vigilance!
This phrase appeared in the storybooks. Images surfaced in His Highness’ mind, all about imitating and emulating from afar.
“It’s the place where young masters and misses go for leisure,” the little eunuch answered with a smile.
“Leisure?” Lu Qian’s expression became tense. “What kind of leisure?”
Seeing the young master’s intense curiosity, the little eunuch, eager to please, vividly described, “For example, some newlyweds walking through the bustling night market lit by lanterns, holding hands, chatting and laughing. Sometimes they say things others shouldn’t hear, get close, whispering sweet nothings. The young lady gets shy, the young master leads her to an inn, requests a private room, and the two… hehe…”
The little eunuch, using a suggestive look, nodded and bowed to Lu Qian.
In an instant, Lu Qian’s mind was filled with horrifying images of Sixth Brother and his personal attendant walking hand in hand, whispering sweet nothings, and getting close.
They even went to a inn.
They even entered a private room.
They even hehe’d!?!?!
“What’s ‘hehe’?” Lu Qian grabbed the little eunuch’s collar with one hand. “What’s ‘hehe’? Spit it out without any nonsense!”
The little eunuch’s heels left the ground as he answered with a bewildered expression, “Y-your Highness, calm down! I’ve never been there. It’s all just wild guesses!”
Not knowing why Prince Ning had a murderous look in his eyes, the little eunuch could only take responsibility for his own words. “This servant deserves to die! This servant deserves to die!”
“Which street’s night market did Sixth Brother go to?” Lu Qian released the little eunuch as he regained his rationality. Hd urgently needed to stop Sixth Brother from engaging in inappropriate activities with the little reader-in-waiting.
“This servant doesn’t know. I’ll go ask Xiao Chunzi right away!”
•••
“Qiong Yao is someone with a particularly pleasant way of speaking,” Xue Yao said, pursing his lips.
“Is she your friend? I haven’t heard you mention her before.” Lu Xiao gazed at Xue Yao’s eyes, narrowed in the colorful lantern light.
“Not someone I’m particularly close to.” Xue Yao turned and continued strolling through the market.
Lu Xiao quickened his pace to catch up. “I want to know everything about you.”
“Haha!” Xue Yao looked surprised at the warm baby, suspecting he might have been brainwashed by romance novel quotes. However, the warm baby’s serious expression quickly restrained his smile. “I’ll share everything with Your Highness from now on.”
“Don’t call me Your Highness.” Lu Xiao couldn’t accept being addressed the same as his seventh brother. “Everyone in my family is ‘Your Highness.’ Can’t I be a bit special?”
Xue Yao turned his head, looking at the warm baby in bewilderment. He found this guy quite abnormal. “Then what should I call you? Sixth Master?”
“Calling me A’Xiao is best. I am your A’Xiao, and you are my A’Yao. As long as we’re together, we can live in carefree and unrestrained manner.”
“Ha! Where did you learn this cheesy style?” Xue Yao realized the warm baby was still serious, halted his teasing, and replied seriously, “How can I address you like that? If someone in the palace hears, it might cause…”
“Then let’s not go to the palace.” Lu Xiao halted, looked at him solemnly, and said, “My mansion will be renovated soon. In the future, you can stay at my place. It’s much more comfortable than in the palace. Every spring, I can take you to stay for a few months at my estate, where the mountains, rivers, and lakes have just thawed, and the scenery is exceptionally beautiful.”
Xue Yao awkwardly looked at the warm baby, remaining silent.
Not go to the palace? What about his rebellious cub?
“Is it alright?” Lu Xiao looked anxious.
“Everyone can go play together then,” Xue Yao vaguely responded, then probed, “Have you recently had a disagreement with the Noble Consort Dowager?”
Lu Xiao frowned. “Why do you ask that?”
“I can see you’re not in a good mood.”
“It’s true.” Lu Xiao looked at Xue Yao, “But it has nothing to do with Mother Consort.”
Xue Yao was puzzled. “Then why aren’t you happy?”
“Why do you think?”
•••
Lu Qian walked from one end of Changfu Street to the other, didn’t find Xue Yao and Sixth Brother. The market was crowded, and the lights couldn’t illuminate every face.
At a crowded intersection, surrounded by onlookers pushing to get a glimpse, Lu Qian, taking advantage of his height, tiptoed and quickly saw a troupe performing martial arts.
This gave Lu Qian an idea. He briskly walked to the middle of the street market, swiftly purchasing over a dozen lanterns. With a leap, he hung them on the roof of a jewelry shop across the street.
Soon, the townspeople strolling around were captivated by Lu Qian’s agile figure, gathering in front of the jewelry shop, craning their necks to see.
The shopkeeper, noticing the influx of potential customers, happily stepped out, only to realize they weren’t interested in jewelry. Instead, they were all looking up at the roof of his shop.
Perplexed, the shopkeeper approached, and to his surprise, saw a figure in a dark purple and gold-trimmed robe on the roof… playing with lanterns?
“Hey!” The shopkeeper, unable to comprehend what this person was up to, shouted anxiously, “Who are you! What are you doing!”
Lu Qian on the roof didn’t respond. He was crouching down, busy arranging the lanterns into a circle. As he stood up, it revealed a graceful silhouette in a long dark purple robe.
The onlookers under the eaves became even more curious.
Lu Qian smoothly drew his sword, executed a graceful side somersault, delicately lifting a lantern with the tip of his sword. Turning with a single foot on the ground, he gently moved the lantern aside, nodding slightly to the crowd below.
The girls beneath the eaves gasped as they looked up. The strikingly handsome face illuminated by the lanterns left them breathless.
This stage performance was actually Consort Xi’s elegant and charming flower dance.
Father Emperor used to love watching Mother Consort perform this dance. Lu Qian believed that this dance would surely attract more attention than those performed by street artists.
The main goal was to have the little reader-in-waiting voluntarily come knocking before any “hehe” happened.
So, after each dance segment, Lu Qian would gracefully turn around, scanning every enraptured face under the eaves with sharp eyes.
Once he confirmed the little reader-in-waiting hadn’t appeared, he continued dancing with his sword, challenging the lanterns.
Princes of Great Qi wouldn’t specifically learn dance. It was a task for male performers, detrimental to their prestige. However, Consort Xi’s talent seemed generously passed down to her son. Lu Qian, relying solely on his first attempt at imitation from memory, surprisingly matched the standard.
Although lacking the inherent grace of water sleeves, this imitation, infused with a robust sword aura, added an indescribable charm to the dance.
After each dance segment, Lu Qian’s gaze would sweep across every face under the eaves.
That gaze was focused and carried a hint of aggression. Even in the dark, it conveyed the unique warmth of a boy his age.
The uncontrollable screams from the girls under the eaves weren’t due to a lack of etiquette. In this era, well-known and respected young gentlemen were renowned for their knowledge and virtue. Women were taught to value these two qualities, and Lu Qian’s perfectly proportioned figure awakened the suppressed instinctive aesthetics of the girls.
Especially with his peach blossom eyes, a shade lighter, drawing people’s attention involuntarily, trying to find the focal point of his gaze.
In that brief moment of eye contact, even if just a hurried glance, it made people believe that their gaze had been attentively observed by those light pupils, making them feel the attention they received was different from others.
As a result, the girls’ screams grew louder and louder, finally alerting Xue Yao and Lu Xiao across the street.
The commotion was like having a top-tier boy band performing a concert right outside their door, with screams oscillating between madness and fainting. It was impossible to ignore.
Xue Yao’s attention was successfully diverted. He turned and rushed toward the direction of the screams, urgently waving her hand for the warm baby to follow and witness the excitement.
Approaching the crowd from a few yards away, Xue Yao was stunned. He looked up, dumbfounded, at the figure on the roof in the moonlight, wielding a sword.
The moon from his angle appeared large and round, overshadowing the bright lanterns on the roof. The slender figure, contrasted against the moonlight, became a sharply defined silhouette, resembling an unrestrained and dynamic ink painting.
Xue Yao naturally recognized that figure at a glance. However, for the first time, gazing at that figure from such a distance, he felt an indescribable sense of excitement surging from his chest.
Lu Xiao stared in astonishment at the person dancing with a sword on the distant rooftop. His heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly caught up with Xue Yao. “It’s too noisy here. Let’s find a tavern to rest.”
“His Highness is over there!” Xue Yao, eyes sparkling, pointed at the roof, then instinctively rushed toward Lu Qian’s direction.
“That’s not Seventh Brother. Seventh Brother is in the palace.” Lu Xiao reached out, grabbing Xue Yao’s wrist. “There are too many people here. Let’s…”
Xue Yao’s attention was completely captivated by the sword dancer, waving excitedly towards the roof.
Lu Xiao’s expression darkened, no longer attempting to stop him, allowing him to walk foolishly toward the eaves.
The person on the roof suddenly paused, the long sword hanging down, as if completing a mission, lowering his eyes towards the finally emerging target under the eaves.
Another round of screams erupted from the onlookers, seizing the opportunity to attract the sidelong glances of the young gentleman.
But this time was different. The gentleman on the roof fixed his gaze on a single spot.
As the crowd followed his gaze, their heads turned, and admiring glances fell on Xue Yao.
“He’s coming down!” someone exclaimed, and the crowd turned back to witness the gentleman in purple lifting a red lantern with the tip of his sword, leaping down to land gracefully in front of Xue Yao.
Seizing the opportunity, the crowd erupted in cheers, eager to catch the attention of the young nobleman.
Lu Qian tossed the lantern into the air with the tip of his sword, sheathed the weapon, and deftly caught the lantern in his palm before presenting it to Xue Yao.
After each dance, Consort Xi would present the red floral arrangement to Father Emperor.
Excitedly taking the lantern, Xue Yao noticed Lu Qian’s expression wasn’t quite cheerful, as if someone owed him eight hundred pots of milk. He seemed to have said something, but his voice was drowned out by the surrounding cheers as the girls gathered around.
“Huh?” Xue Yao shouted loudly, leaning in. “What did you say?”
Lu Qian bent down, grabbing Xue Yao’s hand, and swiftly dashed out of the crowd, wanting to find a quiet place to interrogate the little reader-in-waiting about any “hehe” incident.
Xue Yao felt like he was being “hunted” every time he left the palace with the rebellious brat.
What happened to Long Aotian? Wasn’t Lu Qian supposed to be chasing after someone else?
Running three blocks in one go left Xue Yao breathless. Then, Lu Qian pulled him into a secluded narrow alley.
Crouching behind a pile of firewood, they waited for the crowd to catch up and pass by.
Exhaling, Xue Yao plopped down on the ground, leaning his head against Lu Qian’s arm, panting heavily.
Lu Qian’s back suddenly straightened, and the little reader-in-waiting’s flushed cheek emitted a subtle warmth, penetrating through Lu Qian’s thin sleeves with a heartwarming temperature.
Xue Yao’s breath filled Lu Qian’s entire world in an instant.
【Tyrant’s Fluttering Heart Quest: 49%. Please continue making efforts.】
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