“?”
Xia Qing had never encountered someone so insistent on asking questions.
Why does he stay? Isn’t it because he couldn’t leave?
He had initially appeared by Lou Guan Xue’s side as a lingering ghostly figure, after all.
What a stupid question.
But the atmosphere of their conversation tonight was still relatively harmonious. Xia Qing silently swallowed the sarcastic remarks and, with his strange hazel eyes, nodded obediently and asked slowly, “Oh, why?”
Lou Guan Xue took in every expression of his, his eyes inscrutable in the moonlight.
After a long while, he chuckled lightly, retracting the bone flute into his sleeve lazily, and gave a nonchalant answer, “Maybe because having you around is more entertaining.”
Entertaining my ass.
Xia Qing was no longer bothered by such remarks, his expressionless face brushing off the comment.
Lou Guan Xue thought for a moment, casually asking, “Xia Qing, do you really think that because you believe you’re a ghost, you’re not afraid of anything?”
Xia Qing toyed with the relic on his wrist, “I’m not that stupid.”
Lou Guan Xue raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”
Xia Qing replied, “You know so many strange and wonderful things, who knows if there’s something that could scatter my soul.”
Lou Guan Xue paused for a moment, his thoughts racing, then slowly smiled, “So, you’re certain that I won’t harm you?”
Xia Qing hesitated, his fingers rubbing the edge of the red string. After a moment, he became annoyed, “Are you done yet? Who has more questions between the two of us?”
Lou Guan Xue gazed at him for a moment, his lips curving in a half-smile. He spoke calmly and gently, “Next time if you don’t want to answer my questions, you don’t have to speak. I won’t force you, don’t get angry.”
The soothing tone sounded like he was coaxing him, sending shivers down Xia Qing’s spine.
Damn it.
Lou Guan Xue is something else!
Xia Qing quickened his pace, not wanting to engage with Lou Guan Xue any longer.
…
During the Spring Banquet, halfway through, the Emperor left, leaving the civil and military officials and noble ladies perplexed, uneasy, but none dared to speak up.
On the side of the Jing Xin Hall, Yan Lan Yu showed no particular reaction, still maintaining her gentle and serene demeanor as she leaned against the phoenix couch, sipping tea and speaking softly.
“Did Guan Xue leave halfway through because there wasn’t anyone you liked at the Spring Banquet?” She set down her teacup, smiling. “But you, my child, have always been different from others. Born in the palace, accustomed to the daughters of noble families, you might have grown weary of them early on and preferred women with more unique personalities.”
Her smile was radiant and serene. “All these years, you’ve remained unaccompanied. I recently heard you brought back a young man. Why haven’t you introduced him to Queen Mother?”
Lou Guan Xue casually replied, “He doesn’t want to come out.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Yan Lan Yu’s smile remained unchanged. “I see, so he’s still a shy child. Zhang Gonggong said he was brought from the common people by you. It seems my previous words were not wrong. Perhaps someone from the common people suits your taste better than the delicate daughters of scholarly families.”
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She continued, “The night market could be opened, similar to the Lantern Festival, with lanterns lit to honor the Buddha and people ascending towers to make offerings. The streets of Zimo will surely be bustling, with many young maidens admiring the lanterns. You could select one or two among them.”
Lou Guan Xue: “Whatever the Queen Mother arranges.”
Yan Lan Yu nodded, smiling softly amidst the scent of sandalwood candles. “You’re also fifteen now, you should start considering continuing the Lou family lineage. The High Priest said he’s still refining the formation, the ritual needs another month. Hopefully, by then, we can proceed with the succession, marking a double joyous occasion for the Chu Kingdom.”
…
With no suitable candidate chosen at the Royal Spring Banquet, Yan Lan Yu wasn’t in a rush. She simply expanded it into a grand event for the entire world. Once the news spread, people throughout Ling Guang City were buzzing with excitement. The streets and alleys were filled with discussions about the Emperor’s selection of a consort, even overshadowing the recent influx of cultivators gathering in Ling Guang.
“So you’re saying, on the night of the lantern banquet, we’ll have a chance to see the Emperor’s magnificence on Zimo Street?!”
Discussions about such topics were incessant in teahouses and street food stalls.
“I’ve heard of the beauty of Ling Guang Pearl and Jade for so long! Finally, we’ll get to see it clearly this time!”
“Hahaha, I’m afraid you won’t live to see it clearly.”
“I don’t like hearing that! So many people are watching! Can the Emperor really specially find me to accuse of murder?”
“Tsk, I’m more curious about the young man taken away by the Emperor at Feng Yue Tower.”
“I’m curious too, I heard it even caused the Sixth Young Master of the Wei family to lose his soul. I suppose he is not worse than the dead Xuan Jia.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, I wonder what kind of earthly beauty he is.”
—-
Wei Family’s Sixth Young Master had indeed been beside himself with worry lately, but not because of the “earthly beauty” by the Emperor’s side.
Ever since he left the palace last time, he had been like a lost soul.
When Lady Sixteenth of the Wei family came to deliver the token, she was shocked by his appearance.
She saw Wei Liu Guang sitting in the center of the Duke’s Mansion courtyard, leaning against the pavilion as if boneless, folding his fan on the stone table, his eyes unfocused, sitting there contemplating life.
Lady Sixteenth twirled the token in her fingers and walked lightly to him, calling out, “Sixth Brother? Sixth Brother!” When he didn’t respond, she raised her voice, shaking the token in front of him, scolding, “Sixth Brother! What are you thinking? How could you not notice someone as big as me?”
Wei Liu Guang raised his eyes, glanced lightly at her, feeling unwell, and waved his hand weakly, “Go find your wild man, don’t bother your cousin.”
Lady Sixteenth smiled mischievously, sat down, lifted her skirt, and cupped her cheek, sweetly pinching her voice, “No, I’m not looking for any wild man. Is there any man in the world more important than my sixth brother?”
Wei Liu Guang’s skin crawled with disgust at her pretentious behavior. However, he maintained a cordial demeanor towards his cousins at home, refraining from outbursts of anger. With a dismissive glance, he launched into a barrage of sarcastic remarks, “Last time, when you asked me to dress as a woman and go see Lou Guan Xue for you, you didn’t say that.”
“Wasn’t that your own lousy idea? Besides, you didn’t go either, did you? Oh, that day you were in the palace, weren’t you caught by Uncle?”
Lady Sixteenth, feeling a rare pang of conscience, asked nervously.
Wei Liu Guang ignored her, his gaze drifting around, still lost in his own world.
“Sixth Brother!” Lady Sixteenth was the youngest legitimate daughter of the Wei family, the pearl in the palm of Wei family. She had been pampered and spoiled since childhood, so she was inevitably a bit willful. Seeing Wei Liu Guang ignoring her, she simply bent down, grabbed his hair, and forced him to snap out of it.
“Sixth Brother, I’m just concerned about you! What’s with this attitude?”
Wei Liu Guang grimaced in pain, pulling his hair away from the hands of this insolent little girl who showed no respect for her elder brother. He snapped, “You have no respect for your elders! You’re just spoiled rotten by Third Uncle!”
Lady Sixteenth withdrew her hand, smiling mischievously. “Well, who told you to ignore me?”
Wei Liu Guang turned back from his thoughts just now, then suddenly asked, “Wei Nian Sheng, what would you become if one day you weren’t doted on by anyone?”
Lady Sixteenth blinked innocently. “Are you talking about yourself?” She sweetly smiled. “If you don’t spoil me, I still have my dad, I still have Gu Lang, there won’t be such a day.”
Wei Liu Guang picked up his folding fan and fanned angrily. “Are you that confident? Your sixth brother has seen everything in the mortal world! Who knows, maybe as soon as you marry Gu Lang, you’ll encounter a wicked mother-in-law. With your pampered and annoying temper, if the mother-in-law doesn’t like you and the husband gets tired of you, you’ll just sit miserably at the mansion gate every day, watching Gu Lang bring in concubines.”
Lady Sixteenth: “…”
Lady Sixteenth was furious, gnashing her teeth. “Wei Liu Guang, you’re asking for it!!”
Wei Liu Guang continued sarcastically, “And then, when a daughter is married off, she’s like water poured out, beyond the control of the Wei family. You’ll just be alone in your chamber, crying your heart out until you die.”
Lady Sixteenth: “Shut up!!”
Wei Liu Guang folded his fan, suddenly sat up straight, and asked, “So, Wei Nian Sheng, what would you do if one day you lost everything?”
Lady Sixteenth glared at him and said coldly, “I can answer that question, but you tell me first, what were you just thinking about?”
Wei Liu Guang’s expression became elusive again when he heard this question. He pursed his lips and then whispered, “I met someone in the palace who was crying, and it made me feel very uncomfortable…”
Uncomfortable to the point that his heart ached.
Lady Sixteenth nodded. “Oh. So, you’ve set your eyes on someone you shouldn’t have.”
Wei Liu Guang became frustrated and tightened his fan. “What do you mean ‘someone you shouldn’t have set your eyes on’?”
Lady Sixteenth casually picked up some melon seeds from the table. “Well, otherwise, isn’t everyone in the palace the Emperor’s people? You surely wouldn’t have set your eyes on a eunuch.”
Wei Liu Guang: “…” Unable to respond to her taunt.
Wei Liu Guang’s face turned cold. “Alright, I’ve finished speaking. Now, answer me, what would you do if you lost everything?”
That night, in order to avoid his Third Uncle, he broke into a secluded house and saw a young man who bore a striking resemblance to the woman who had saved him in his memory.
The young man cried for a long time.
Listening to the sorrowful, helpless voice of that young man, Wei Liu Guang’s heart clenched, throbbing with pain as if convulsing. A libertine in matters of love, he was unexpectedly moved by the tears.
The young man’s skin was delicate, dressed in a green eunuch robe, resembling a tender shoot.
From his crying, Wei Liu Guang learned that the young man used to be the most favored prince of the Liang Kingdom. Now, after the downfall of his kingdom, he had fallen to the lowest rank of servant, his tender hands covered in scars and frostbite.
The young man said he had lost everything.
Overnight, from being the beloved little prince, he had become a small eunuch, subject to the whims of others.
He said there was no one in this world he could trust, and no one who cared about him.
He had nothing left.
As Wei Liu Guang observed the capricious and headstrong Wei Nian Sheng, a wave of nostalgia washed over him. He couldn’t help but wonder if the young boy had also possessed such an unfettered spirit and carefree demeanor
The more he thought about it, the more his heart ached.
True to her word, Lady Sixteenth had apparently given the matter some thought. With a measured pace, she remarked, ‘We are blood relatives, after all. If I were to lose everything, I doubt your own situation would be any more favorable.’
“You’ve been domineering and tyrannical in Ling Guang for so long, I don’t know how many enemies you’ve made. I guess there must be many people who will come to seek revenge after you fall from grace. Plus, you’ve also taken a fancy to the Emperor’s people. Oh, how pitiful you are, Sixth Brother. You get beaten every day and still have to be heartbroken.”
“…”
Wei Liu Guang was speechless with anger. “…I was asking what you would do if you lost everyone’s favor! Not me!”
Kady Sixteenth was also rendered speechless by his anger. “What can I do! If no one favors me, then no one favors me! Can I go out and find someone to favor me?! If no one favors me, I’ll just find my own amusement.”
Composing herself, Lady Sixteenth declared, ‘So, if such a day ever comes to pass, I shall spend my days sitting at the door, my face contorted in misery, as I welcome Gu Lang’s new concubines. And then, once the day’s duties are done, I shall drag a stool over to your place and settle in for an evening of laughter and amusement, watching the whole spectacle unfold‘
As she spoke, she even demonstrated for Wei Liu Guang, crunching on the melon seeds.
“Oh, like this.”
Wei Liu Guang: “…………”
He wanted to hear from Wei Nian Sheng’s mouth answers like “That must be very miserable” or “Maybe I won’t live anymore,” then confirm his own conjecture and feel even more sorry for that young boy.
But what kind of answer did Wei Nian Sheng give?!
“Get lost, just looking at you makes me angry,” he chased the person away.
Wei Nian Sheng giggled, hugged her melon seeds, and slipped away. As she descended the stone steps outside the pavilion, the delicate flowers embroidered on her skirt shimmered with golden light, exuding splendor and luxury. She paused for a moment, then turned back with a smile. “But Sixth Brother, Gu Lang said he wants to spend his life with me, so I won’t have such a miserable chance in my lifetime.”
Wei Liu Guang’s face sank like water.
Before Wei Liu Guang could throw the folding fan over, she immediately spoke obediently, “Of course, I’m not saying this to provoke you. The Queen Mother is choosing a concubine for His Majesty. It is decided that a lantern banquet will be held in Ling Guang City three days later. By then, Zimo Street will be bustling with people, and you can go find another beauty.”
Wei Liu Guang involuntarily clenched the folding fan in his hand, then lowered his head. He seemed to feel the uncontrollable heartbeat. His voice was very soft, dispersed in the wind. “No, this time is different from before.”
Wei Nian Sheng was repulsed by his lovesick demeanor. With a disdainful eye roll, she popped a melon seed into her mouth and remarked, ‘Don’t worry, once uncle finds out, things will go back to normal.’
The same as before, ending with him kneeling in front of the ancestral hall, crying and admitting his mistakes.
In front of the Duke, her cousin was just a little brat who hadn’t grown up yet.
Wei Liu Guang: “……”
He wanted to argue, but indeed, it was true.
As soon as Wei Nian Sheng mentioned his father, he dared not think about anything else in his head, and he couldn’t even care about feeling sorry anymore.
His father is really an old stubborn man!!! Look at what he scared him into!!!
It’s better for Wei Liu Guang to stay away from Wenjiao anyway, that white lotus. Good thing his little cousin scared him back to reality! LOL
Thanks for the update! <3
Don’t be deceived by that white lotus’ tears wei liu guang…
I really like his character as of now, please don’t make him be with that white lotus.
This little white lotus wen jiao is so infuriating