Chapter 133
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After Xue Yao and Seventh Brother disappeared from sight, time seemed to freeze for Lu Xiao.
The crowd roared past, pushing him back and forth. Two footprints were left on the back of his long boots, yet he remained oblivious, like a resilient toy, accepting everyone’s shoves, disdain, and neglect.
None of this mattered now.
Xue Yao was gone, but wasn’t he already accustomed to such treatment from others?
The instinct for self-preservation helped Lu Xiao numbly get through the initial moments.
The unbearable heartache, he usually left it for time to handle. Once it was dealt with, he regained focus. His gaze transitioned from blurred to clear, coincidentally spotting the shopkeeper of the jewelry store not far away. The shopkeeper instructed an assistant to bring a tall ladder to climb onto the roof and retrieve the remaining few decorative lanterns.
The shopkeeper had the assistant steady the ladder while he tucked his robes into his belt. With his swaying, corpulent body, he creakily ascended the ladder onto the roof.
As he reached for the lanterns, he grumbled and complained. Several roof tiles were shattered under the dancing swordsman’s feet.
The shopkeeper had just kept quiet, thinking the swordsman would attract many customers. He expected some might enter the store while checking out the scene. Unexpectedly, as soon as the swordsman left, the place became deserted, leaving behind only a few broken tiles.
Although the tiles weren’t worth much, the shattered expectations were worth a couple of curses.
After tossing down the decorative lanterns one by one, he descended the bamboo ladder slowly. As he turned around, he was startled to find a young gentleman in peacock blue robes, silently standing behind him.
“You! What are you doing!” The shopkeeper leaned backward, wearing a bewildered expression.
The young gentleman remained silent, raising his hand to hand over a stack of silver coins.
Glancing down at the coins, the shopkeeper quickly bowed and smiled, “Please come in if you’d like to see anything, honorable guest.”
Lu Xiao shook his head expressionlessly, his voice low and hoarse, “Compensating for the broken roof tiles.”
“Huh?” The shopkeeper looked puzzled.
“The one who picked the lanterns just now was my younger brother.”
“Ah! It’s alright… These few broken tiles aren’t worth that much silver, after all!”
“Take it.” Lu Xiao didn’t bother with further explanations.
The shopkeeper, still puzzled, accepted the silver coins. The young gentleman, like a wandering spirit, turned and left.
“These two brothers are both peculiar.” The shopkeeper shook his head with a puzzled expression.
Lu Xiao wandered like a lost soul, entering a tavern. He followed the waiter to the second floor and found a quiet room facing the lake. Lu Xiao walked in and took a seat.
“Hey! Honorable guest, sorry, this room is already reserved and the customer will be here soon. Please come with me to the next one!” The waiter hastily apologized with a forced smile.
Lu Xiao gazed blankly at the tranquil night outside the window, raising his hand to place a stack of silver coins with a firm “thud” on the table.
The waiter’s eyes lit up, and he joyfully held the silver. “I’ll go negotiate with that gentleman to switch rooms. Please, Master, take your time!”
The private room was finally left with only Lu Xiao.
Only he remained.
After Fifth Brother got married, he would, like the eldest brother, have to take care of his family. And Seventh Brother would walk away with Yaoyao.
He wished Third Brother was still around. It wouldn’t be bad. With Third Brother, he could join forces with Yaoyao to protect Seventh Brother, just like in their childhood.
But did Seventh Brother still need protection?
The clamor outside interrupted his thoughts.
“I’m sure I booked this room.”
“Master, you’ve made a mistake. This room is already occupied. Please—”
“In this tiny establishment, you think you can fool me? I haven’t made a mistake. It’s this room!”
With the man’s lazy yet firm voice, the door to the private room was kicked open.
Lu Xiao turned slowly, his expression icy as he looked at the newcomer—
The man entering wore a loose cypress-green robe, with narrow and indifferent eyes. His appearance seemed vaguely familiar, but Lu Xiao didn’t bother dwelling on where he might have seen him.
“I’ve already booked this room. Kindly find another place.” The man walked up to Lu Xiao, waving his right hand dismissively, an impish expression demanding Lu Xiao to leave.
Lu Xiao remained silent, pulling out another stack of silver coins and placing them on the table, signaling the man to take the money and leave.
Originally, these coins were intended to buy small trinkets at the night market to amuse Xue Yao. Now, Lu Xiao felt they burned his pockets, wanting to get rid of them quickly.
“What’s the meaning of this, rich young master?” The man in green raised an eyebrow, stepped onto the edge of Lu Xiao’s chair, leaned in, and provocatively asked, “Sending off beggars?”
Lu Xiao still didn’t respond. In one breath, he emptied the remaining cash from his pouch onto the table with a resounding “thud.” Then, with a look that said “Is it enough?” he locked eyes with the man in green.
The man lowered his head, revealing a toothy grin. When he looked up at Lu Xiao again, his eyes were filled with the distinctive fierceness of a male. He spoke in a low voice, staring at Lu Xiao, “Move.”
Normally, Lu Xiao wouldn’t get entangled in such matters, especially since it was indeed the other person who had booked the private room. But today was different.
He felt that Seventh Brother never reasoned with people. A pout from him could make so many people accommodate him. Why should Lu Xiao be reasonable and yielding all his life? Occasionally being wilful, shouldn’t he persist even if he faced resistance?
So, with an equally icy gaze, he locked eyes with the man and withdrew the silver coins on the table into his pocket, wearing a slightly stubborn look that said, “I’m not moving.”
This was the first time Lu Xiao had played the stubborn card in all his years. Lacking experience in being unreasonable, he found himself feeling wronged, with a hint of redness in his eyes, before he could even provoke the other person.
Seeing that his momentum was diminishing, Lu Xiao quickly raised his head and shouted, “If you don’t leave now, don’t blame me for being impolite!”
The man in green was momentarily stunned, feeling like he had detected a hint of tears in the young man’s voice. On closer inspection, the young master’s eyes were indeed teary. He couldn’t help but find it amusing. “What impolite thing are you planning? Ready to scream for help?”
Lu Xiao’s ears burned, and he raised his hand with a baguazhang move, pushing it towards the man in green.
Unexpectedly, the man was more slippery than an eel, constantly dodging the attacks with casual movements. With a lazy expression, he retaliated with just one hand. In less than five rounds, Lu Xiao found himself lifted up like a little chicken and tossed aside by the man in green!
“I yield.” The man smugly bowed with folded hands and comfortably sat in the chair Lu Xiao had just occupied!
In this moment, Lu Xiao’s thoughts even ventured towards the idea of perishing together. After all these years of martial arts training, whether it was the formal instruction of the royal tutors or the baguazhang from Master Zhang, even if he couldn’t match Seventh Brother’s talent, it shouldn’t lead to losing against an ordinary person, right?
Unable to endure such humiliation, Lu Xiao gritted his teeth and attacked the man again!
Some people unleash astonishing potential when angry, while others behave abnormally.
Unfortunately, Old Sixth belonged to the latter category. Faster than before, he was defeated and pushed away by the man.
“Honorable guest… please stop, there are plenty of private rooms next door…” the shop assistant tried to intervene.
“I want this one!” Lu Xiao roared hysterically, as if he were unleashing twenty years of suppressed anger.
But he couldn’t beat the man in green…
What to do?
Lu Xiao, grinding his teeth, walked to the opposite side of the man’s table, sat down with determination, and locked eyes with him!
“Serve me your most expensive dishes,” Lu Xiao spoke with a sinister tone, “All expenses for this private room, put them on my tab!”
The man in green was perplexed, momentarily unable to determine whether this young master was a foe or an ally. Tilting his head, he questioned, “Are you my follower? No wonder you seem familiar. Did you deliberately occupy my private room to get my attention? Heh, this is the first time I’ve seen this kind of way of asking for a meal.” He pursed his lips and pointed at Lu Xiao, narrowing his eyes and saying, “Fine, Gu [speaker’s surname] will remember you.”
“Don’t be so full of yourself!” Lu Xiao got even more furious. “Have I ever seen you before, let alone be a follower? Who do you think you are?”
Actually, he had indeed seen him before. When Xue Yao was “kidnapped” by Gu Qingyuan, and Gu Qingyuan went out to buy pig’s head meat, Lu Qian and his brothers caught him.
At that time, Old Fifth and Old Sixth both exchanged a few moves with Gu Qingyuan. Due to losing too quickly, he managed to slip away, giving them no chance to get familiar with his face.
Gu Qingyuan’s visit to the capital this time was to check on the progress of his junior brother’s sword training in the palace. Keeping a low profile, he managed to shake off quite a few enthusiastic admirers along the way. Unexpectedly, in this tavern, he encountered someone who seemed like an “enthusiastic and peculiar fan.”
Staring at this fan who looked familiar, the standoff lasted until all the dishes arrived.
Lu Xiao, enraged, picked up his chopsticks and began eating with fiery determination.
Gu Qingyuan decided to go with the flow. Unable to cope with this bizarre situation, he picked up his chopsticks as well.
“Do you have any shame?” Lu Xiao couldn’t believe it. He reached over and snatched the chopstick from the man in green. “You’re not allowed to eat!”
Gu Qingyuan, still arrogantly tilting his head, looked at him and said, “You bring the dishes into my private room, and then you won’t let me eat. What’s the meaning of this?”
“I want to eat just to spite you!” This was the most malicious retaliation Lu Xiao, who had been obedient all his life, could think of.
Gu Qingyuan unexpectedly laughed, then frowned and criticized, “Don’t you think doing such things to an admired hero is too cruel?”
“I don’t admire you at all!” Although Lu Xiao continued the banter, he strangely felt a sense of liberation in his heart. He had never revealed such a carefree side in front of anyone in his entire life.
•••
Forty-nine percent?
Who was this kid secretly having such a delightful time with?
Xue Yao turned his head, staring suspiciously at Lu Qian.
His Highness straightened his back, shifted closer to the little reader-in-waiting, shrugged his shoulder, and with an expectant look, urged the little reader-in-waiting to come even closer.
“Did Your Highness just meet someone?” Right after Xue Yao asked, Lu Qian’s dragon claw pressed against his head, forcing him to lean on his shoulder.
【Tyrant’s Fluttering Heart Quets 51%】
Xue Yao’s heart skipped a beat. His phoenix eyes widened. His brain stalled for a moment, then suddenly, he pushed away His Highness’ claw, turning his head to look at Lu Qian in astonishment.
Lu Qian was displeased, pointing at his arm and commanding, “Here, lean on it.”
Xue Yao’s thoughts were in disarray, as if trying to confirm a dreadful suspicion. Slowly, he tilted his head and leaned on Lu Qian’s arm.
【Tyrant’s Fluttering Heart Quets 52%】
Xue Yao’s face turned pale. He lifted his head, gazing blankly at the moonlit perfection of Lu Qian’s profile.
Pausing for a moment, he attempted once again to lean on Lu Qian’s shoulder.
After a few attempts, the progress of the fluttering heart quest didn’t increase any further.
But Xue Yao, still clinging to that suspicion, grabbed Lu Qian’s arm and tried to wiggle his hips.
The quest progress immediately increased again!
Xue Yao felt a whirlwind of emotions.
He looked down at the red lantern resting on his lap, his face full of bewilderment.
“Did Sixth Brother kiss Yaoyao?” Lu Qian turned his head, dangerous eyes narrowing as he interrogated the little reader-in-waiting.
Xue Yao looked up at him. After a good while, he shook his head slowly in a daze.
“Close intimacy?” Lu Qian continued questioning.
Again, Xue Yao shook his head, his heart pounding faster and faster. Inside his head, a roar persisted: It’s not possible. It’s not possible.
“Holding hands?” Lu Qian pressed on with the interrogation.
Xue Yao lowered his head to look at his own hands, recalling the moment when the warm baby did indeed grab him for a second. So, he nodded honestly to Lu Qian.
In a flash, Lu Qian seized the little reader-in-waiting’s hand and vigorously wiped it against his own garment!
Xue Yao abruptly reached out and grabbed Lu Qian’s hand.
Lu Qian looked up, meeting the startled and frightened eyes of the little reader-in-waiting.
As the full moon in the night sky was obscured by clouds, the light suddenly dimmed.
In the quiet night, two boys crouched behind firewood, silently locking eyes.
Lu Qian raised his hand, patting the slightly terrified little reader-in-waiting’s head. “Don’t be afraid. Your grandpa is here.”
“Your Highness…” Xue Yao’s lips quivered slightly. “Do you have someone you like?”
Someone you like? Lu Qian had heard this term in novels before. His lips immediately curled in a confident smile.
“Who is it?” Xue Yao’s trembling voice even broke. “Who does Your Highness like?”
Lu Qian felt that the little reader-in-waiting was deliberately asking, so he immediately cooperated, retrieving lines from the novels in his mind. With a touch of manliness, he told the little reader-in-waiting, “Real men don’t blabber about their love lives!”
“Stop fooling around!” Xue Yao began to tremble all over. “I want you to say it! Who do you like?”
Lu Qian was stunned by his shout, his tea-colored eyes looking at the little reader-in-waiting with a bewitching gaze in the night. It added a touch of indulgent fondness seemingly out of nowhere.
There was a glint of moisture in Xue Yao’s eyes, as if eagerly awaiting his response, and also as if awaiting a verdict of death.
Lu Qian couldn’t bear to keep him waiting too long.
He suddenly lowered his head.
Then his lips pressed against the little reader-in-waiting’s chilly ones.
Xue Yao’s eyes momentarily blanked out.
His ears were filled with the frantic beating of his own heart.
The dark night seemed to be illuminated by this kiss.
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F-ING FINALY
Thank you such for the update
Omggg my little sixth prince, please be happy with your new man 😆🙌🏻