After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 123

The vengeful and scheming one lay in his arms, hands wrapped around his neck, smiling tenderly at him. His black hair cascaded like a waterfall, while his neck and collarbone were stunningly white.

 

Usually, this whiteness had the texture of jade or snow, but now it seemed to have an added luster, perhaps due to the indistinct red marks, making the snow come down from the branches to the human realm. It was reminiscent of the phrase—

 

“Lively and fragrant.”

 

Emperor: …

 

Zhou Xun: “Is it okay?”

 

“Y-Yes… Um…” The Emperor turned his eyes away.

 

……

 

In the room, the Emperor buried his head on the table, pretending to be a quail hiding its head in the sand. Zhou Xun sat beside him, their shoulders touching. He flipped through the books one by one.

 

Soon after, the Emperor heard the sound of the books being neatly arranged on the table. He peeked up with one eye and saw Zhou Xun’s expression unchanged, “I’m done.”

 

…Even the tone of his voice was normal.

 

Emperor: …

 

This reaction, this overly calm response, was the prelude to a new storm!

 

The Emperor anxiously looked up at him. Zhou Xun put the books aside and started drinking a bowl of silver ear soup.

 

Zhou Xun seemed very composed. In the Emperor’s eyes, his expression might have meant either “let’s move on” or “I’ll deal with you later.” Therefore…

 

The Emperor was instead feeling guilty and couldn’t bear it.

 

The Emperor looked at him for a while and finally said, “Um…”

 

Zhou Xun: ?

 

Emperor: “Um, do you have any thoughts?”

 

As soon as these words were spoken, the Emperor wanted to slap himself. Zhou Xun said, “Not really.”

 

Emperor: “Really nothing??”

 

Zhou Xun: “Nothing. Who gave you these books?”

 

The Emperor immediately sold out his friends: “Chu Tiankuo. He likes to visit those brothels and has a lot of knowledge about these things, so I asked him to find a few…”

 

Zhou Xun: “Oh.”

 

The Emperor was very honest, extremely honest, and Zhou Xun secretly marked Chu Tiankuo with a “friend of dubious character” label in his mind.

 

After being interrogated, the Emperor pondered for a moment and suddenly raised his head, “By the way, since you’ve seen them all, I also have a question…”

 

“What question?”

 

“Um,” the Emperor showed a sunny and cheerful smile, “Which one did you like the most?”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

Heavy counterattack.

 

The Emperor swore he was asking this question purely for the sake of future harmonious communication. But the effect of this question was obviously not as intended.

 

As the city lights came on, the Emperor had not left. But when it was time to sleep, he touched his nose and said, “I’ll sleep in the outer room tonight.”

 

“Sleep in the outer room? Are we sleeping separately?”

 

“Why not?” The Emperor suddenly grabbed Zhou Xun’s wrist and scratched his palm with his fingers. “You…”

 

Zhou Xun: ?

 

Emperor: “Don’t challenge my pride in self-control! I remember you have the palace exam in a few days!”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

Somehow, when he said “don’t challenge my pride in self-control!” he saw the Emperor display that cold, subtle expression again.

 

The spring night courtyard was very quiet, and Zhou Xun’s voice was also very soft. He said, “Then… why don’t you go back to the palace?”

 

“Because… I want to stay with you a bit longer.” The Emperor said this very quickly. After saying this, he patted Zhou Xun’s shoulder, “Good night!”

 

Zhou Xun moved his eyelashes and said, “Good night.”

 

The two didn’t look at each other but both looked at the trees outside. After a while, they sneaked glances at each other and their gazes met.

 

So they couldn’t help but both smile.

 

“Don’t show such a parting expression.” The Emperor patted Zhou Xun’s wrist, “See you tomorrow!”

 

“Mm, see you tomorrow.”

 

Zhou Xun returned to his room. The bed, which had been a mess the night before, was now neatly arranged. He lay on the bed, unconsciously leaving a spot for the other person.

 

He covered his face with the quilt. The wrist that the Emperor had just patted was still burning.

 

Logically, he shouldn’t be so overly sensitive.

 

In the middle of the night, when Zhou Xun woke up to use the restroom, he saw the outer room bed. The Emperor was sprawled out, even snoring. But there was a gap between his hands and feet, as if he still felt he was holding someone while asleep.

 

Zhou Xun then had a bit of mischief. He crouched beside the Emperor and drew a “king” character on his head. After a while, he drew a little turtle.

 

Just as he was having fun, his wrist was grabbed: “Stop messing around.”

 

It was the Emperor’s voice, who had opened his eyes in the darkness and looked at Zhou Xun, “If you keep causing trouble…”

 

Zhou Xun: …

Emperor: “It’s a matter of life and death, oh, but it seems we can’t cause any deaths…”

 

Zhou Xun quietly slipped back into his room and wished him “good night” again.

 

In a few days, it would be the palace exam. The Emperor handled the matter of the prince well, and the entire world knew that during his house arrest, the prince had gone out for a walk, accidentally fell from the clock tower, and ended up with one leg shorter than the other, making walking difficult. As for how the prince ended up in such a bizarre position… The Emperor explained it this way.

 

“Every child born into this world is like an angel with broken wings,” he said with a compassionate expression. “But Rong Fen is a bit more pitiful because his wings are on his legs.”

 

The Emperor’s first sycophant, Chu Tiankuo, and second sycophant, Xiao Li, both praised this statement.

 

Of course, there were also a few whispers suggesting that the Emperor was fighting with his own brother for the sake of a beauty and was willing to harm his own brother for that enchanting beauty. However, these whispers were very limited, almost confined to the Yan family. Li Miao, upon hearing this rumor, laughed out loud in public and mocked, “Do you think the Emperor is like a lecherous tyrant who would hang his princess on the wall?”

 

With the heir to the Protectorate’s public comment, this notion was treated as a joke in scholarly circles. When Xie Zhengqing was asked about this matter, he also commented. He淡淡地 said, “It’s normal for the Fifth Prince to face such issues given his misconduct.”

 

Recently, he seemed to have rarely socialized with others and preferred to visit a tea house alone, ordering a cup of tea in a private room on the top floor and sitting there for a long time. The tea house was separated by a river from the Yanyun Brothel, and directly opposite was the Luohua Nong. There, the courtesan Qing Ruo, who had left after the Emperor’s investment in the Zhaoying Pavilion and even refused her ransom, was now employed by Luohua Nong.

 

He did not go to Yanyun Brothel, did not visit the brothel, nor did he see anyone. He only sat in the tea house, drinking tea all afternoon, separated by the distant rain and water, with the lively entertainment in the distance.

 

The Emperor, hearing about Xie Zhengqing’s peculiar hobby, did not pay much attention to it and simply instructed the officials handling salaries, “Give Old Xie some extra bonuses. Seeing how poor he is, I could sit in McDonald’s for an entire afternoon and still get more than just a cup of unlimited refill soda.”

 

Meanwhile, Zhou Xun was packing his belongings and preparing for the palace exam.

 

Before leaving, he, of course, did not bring the phoenix waist token. He didn’t want to draw attention or publicly declare his relationship with the Emperor. Lemon and Lotus Seed looked at him with a sense of their young master finally coming into his own. They helped him with his attire, and Lotus Seed even made lucky congee and top scholar cakes for him without Zhou Xun knowing. Lemon said, “Lotus Seed had a brother who always talked about taking the imperial exams and becoming a top scholar. Lotus Seed secretly learned to make these pastries for him, hoping one day he’d become a top scholar and she could make them for him. Later, her brother lost money gambling and sold her, so Lotus Seed never cooked again. This is her first time making these again.”

 

She then happily took out a hand-made flower crown, “In my hometown, it’s customary for scholars who pass the exams to wear this. When you return, if you don’t mind, please wear it!”

 

On the other side, Xiao Duo and Lele were also watching Zhou Xun with smiles, and even the guards who followed him every day were smiling too.

 

Unconsciously, Zhou Xun suddenly realized that he seemed to have gained a new family. Though officially they were just his servants, saying it this way seemed somewhat improper… But in this world, the people you know and who accompany you day and night… Aren’t they just a few?

 

So he smiled faintly and replied, “Mm.”

 

When it was time to leave, Lotus Seed asked Zhou Xun, “Are you taking any waist ornaments with you today?”

 

“Take this.” Zhou Xun took out an old jade pendant from an ancient box.

 

The pendant was quite old and not very lustrous, but holding it felt like holding an entire world he once knew.

 

That damp world, always filled with the cries of weak women.

 

He fastened the pendant to himself and left his residence. Only after Zhou Xun left did Lemon quietly say, “The Emperor is a very good person.”

 

Lotus Seed gently nodded.

 

Lemon continued, “The Emperor treats you so well, and you’ve let go of the matters of the Wang family. But why do I feel that there are still things you can’t move past?”

 

Xiao Duo shouted from behind them, “Hey, how can you discuss the young master behind his back?”

 

Lotus Seed remained silent for a while, then touched her cooking hands and said softly, “Perhaps some things, especially those related to childhood, are not so easily forgotten. For example… I sometimes still think about when my brother sold me. I cried all the time, but he left with the money without looking back. That was more than ten years ago. It was the first time I knew I could be sold, even by my only family.”

 

“Where is your brother now?” Lemon asked.

 

“He’s dead,” Lotus Seed said. “He used the money he got from selling me to gamble for several days, lost everything, and was eventually beaten to death and thrown into the river. Isn’t it ironic that he sold me and ended up with such a fate?”

 

But it was only then that she realized she was born a girl. She had never been loved by her parents, and even her brother could sell her.

 

She spoke of the irony, and Lemon remained silent, resting her head on her shoulder.

 

Meanwhile, Zhou Xun was on the road and saw the Minister Yan.