Chapter 625: Looking For Trouble
Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Perhaps, one would say 'I love you' for ample times, but 'one and only' was much more touching.
Ah, this fellow had long regarded Qing Zhan as his one and only one, how adorable.
Perhaps it was because Helian Wei Wei was unlucky in love, therefore Nangong Lie was becoming less of an eyesore to her.
The adolescent Nangong Lie was still quite innocent, as he always blushed upon the mention of Qing Zhan's name, and he trusted in Helian Wei Wei.
Helian Wei Wei patted his shoulder with a sense of loyalty. "If you go and ask Qing Zhan out, she might not show up. So I'll ask her out on a date and you'll give her the roses when the moment comes..."
"Okay. If this thing is successful, I'll lend you a helping hand no matter what you want to do."
Both of them hit it off right away, huddling together to discuss their plans to court a person...
Shadow was still standing outside the Holy Worship Temple. He initially thought that Young Master Lie would not be able to stand this woman that was sent by His Highness, and he would drive her out soon.
In the end, he had waited for so long yet he did not hear any noise from inside, so there was nothing he could do except returning and reporting to Baili Jia Jue.
"Your Highness." Shadow knelt down on one knee, gazing at the noble young man sitting on the chaise lounge. He hesitated for a while as he did not know how to break the news.
The young man absent-mindedly lifted his fingers from his thin lips, and said indifferently, "Is Ah Lie rejecting it too obvious? Then just bring her ba..."
Before the young man could finish his sentence, Shadow spoke, with cold sweat running down his back, "Young Master Lie didn't reject it, and he made her stay."
"Made her stay?" The young man, who was holding a teacup in his hand, paused his movements and his eyes darkened. "Didn't she make noise about coming back?"
Shadow shook his head.
A loud crack resounded in the air!
The young man had crushed the teacup in his palm.
It was hard to differentiate the tea from the blood. The young man's face was calm and indifferent. "This teacup is too fragile, change to another set and send it over."
Shadow lowered his head further and swallowed hard. "Yes." That was given by the Retired Emperor, and there were only one or two sets in the world, yet the master had crushed it...
"Ah Lie had always disliked someone around him. She won't be able to stay for much longer," the deep and cold voice spread to the Shadow's ear.
Shadow nodded his head promptly. "That is indeed Young Master Lie's character..."
A day had gone by.
However, there was still no news of 'driving someone out' from the Holy Worship Temple. Instead, everyone was talking about how the Genius Worshipper had been enlightened, and he had unexpectedly brought a maid out of the palace to pick flowers.
"Pick flowers?" The young man sneered upon hearing that. "I didn't expect the worship official of our dynasty to be so free. Well then, assign more tasks to Young Master Lie so he wouldn't think that his life is too boring."
Meanwhile, Nangong Lie, who was eagerly trying to court someone, had no idea what was going on. Upon returning to the Holy Worship Temple, he was overwhelmed with tons of official businesses. He had no time for a date, let alone any time for sleeping!
"Why are there suddenly so many tasks from the palace?" Nangong Lie pressed his handsome face on the table, feeling extremely worn out. However, he was sensitive enough to notice that something was wrong. His left hand supported his chin languidly and his long eyebrows wrinkled. "It's so strange."
Helian Wei Wei was his maid after all, and now that they were partners on the same side, naturally, it was her job to be concerned about him.
She found a stove and boiled two bowls of ginger soup, planning to send them to him.
She had never expected to meet Baili Jia Jue at the entrance of the temple. He still looked noble and virtuous, with apathy on his face. His paces were slow and elegant. He was wearing a crescent-colored robe, with a clean, dust-free fur cloak draped around his shoulders. Following behind him was Shadow, who was holding an umbrella for him, and they walked toward Helian Wei Wei unhurriedly. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update
He lowered his head and gazed at the porcelain bowls in her hands. His eyes, which were already lacking warmth, turned even colder.
"Your Highness, my young master is inside." The student, who still had no idea what was going on, showed Baili Jia Jue the way with a smile on his face.
Baili Jia Jue stepped forward again and kept going, passing by Helian Wei Wei to enter the temple. Nobody knew how tight his fists were clenched under his long sleeves.
Nangong Lie was still lying on the desk. When he noticed Baili Jia Jue's arrival, he started to pour out his grievances. "Ah Jue, what has been happening in the palace these two days? There's so much work piled on my desk that I'm exhausted!"
"Are you?" Baili Jia Jue sat on the chaise lounge and leaned backward, his hands loosening the collar of his fur cloak. "I thought you were having a good time here."
You've been going out of the palace to pick flowers and now, you have someone to boil ginger soup for you.
In the past, he was the only one who had that benefit.
But now...heh.
He had known for a long time that he was not special to her.
However, he did not expect that the warmth she once gave only to him, could also be given to someone else.
Ironic, isn't it?
"How am I living comfortably? You did this on purpose, didn't you? Giving me so many tasks to do." Nangong Lie was not dumb, he just could not understand the reason why. "What have I done to offend you?"
Baili Jia Jue turned his face to the side, and from the corner of his eye, he saw Helian Wei Wei walking in. He spoke coldly, "You're overthinking things."
"Fine, even if I'm overthinking, from tomorrow onward please look for another person to help you get tasks done, such as this corruption case of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs, these are beyond my duties." Nangong Lie clamped a writing brush between his teeth while tapping the letter in his hand. He wanted to hear what Ah Jue had to say about that.
However, Baili Jia Jue could not be bothered much about it. "The underlings must have missent them."
I have been bustling about for so long!
And now you're telling me that the underlings had missent them!
The corner of Nangong Lie's lips twitched. If this was not for the fact that His Highness was unhappy with him, what else could it be!
But for some reason, the moment he met Baili Jia Jue's gaze, he felt as if he had betrayed his brother, causing his scalp to be tingling.
Nangong Lie noticed Helian Wei Wei walking in with some ginger soup, and he tried to change the topic. "Ah Jue, you must be feeling cold after walking all the way here. There's some ginger soup, would you like to have a bowl?"
"No thanks." The young man's voice was as cold as usual. His eyes were distant as though he was thinking about something.
Nangong Lie understood him. "Oh yeah, you've never liked drinking things with weird tastes like this."
Helian Wei Wei raised her eyebrows. He doesn't drink this? No wonder he would frown a lot whenever she gave him ginger soup when he was young. So, he actually disliked it...
In that case, she would keep this bowl of ginger soup and drink it herself later.
Helian Wei Wei put the bowl aside. When she leaned over, she happened to see Nangong Lie's letter to Qing Zhan, and she could not help but burst into laughter.
Nangong Lie turned his head to look and quickly pressed his hand on that piece of paper to cover it. "Don't tell anyone."
"No worries, I won't." Helian Wei Wei retracted her gaze with a faint smile and spoke meaningfully.
It seemed that there were little secrets between both of them, and they had a mutual understanding.
The young man who was sitting on the chaise lounge stood up abruptly as though he could no longer bear with the odor of the ginger soup in the room...
Chapter 626: Was His Highness Getting Out Of Control?
In fact, he was not overreacting.
It only appeared to be abrupt because he did it without any warning.
Helian Wei Wei looked toward Baili Jia Jue with a bewildered face, her shapely eyebrows raising slightly. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update
"How could you drink something with such a terrible smell?" The young man did not look at her, instead, he spoke to Nangong Lie coldly.
Nangong Lie twitched his nose. "Does it really smell that bad? I reckon that it is quite delicious. Besides, eating more ginger during winter is good for health."
"Is that so?" The young man sneered and walked off.
Nangong Lie thought that he just simply could not bear the smell of ginger. However, when he woke up the following day, he found that all of the dishes in the Holy Worship Temple had turned into raw ginger.
Shadow stood beside him and reported with a serious look on his face. "Young Master Lie, His Highness said that you should eat more ginger since you think that eating ginger is good for your health."
Nangong Lie was speechless.
Wait a minute!
Make it clear before you leave!
If he is not unhappy with me, then what the hell is this?!
How am I supposed to eat, now that everything is ginger?
Might as well just poison me, that would be faster!
Nangong Lie almost had a breakdown. He could not stand it anymore, and pushed the things aside, bringing Helian Wei Wei along to deliver his flowers.
"Is she out yet?" Nangong Lie was still very bashful sometimes.
Helian Wei Wei glanced at him. "What are you worried about? Of course, Qing Zhan has to report to her master first after she enters the palace."
"I know." Nangong Lie stroked his chin. "But I feel like Ah Jue has been acting strange for the past two days. Do you think that he would bad-mouth me in front of Qing Zhan?"
Helian Wei Wei was inattentive. "He won't. Why would he bad-mouth you in front of Qing Zhan? He isn't so free."
"That makes sense." Nangong Lie stomped his feet. He must be thinking too much. Ah Jue was always a little slow in terms of the love relationship as he was keeping the Eldest Young Lady from the Helian family at an arm's length. He probably would not be able to tell that Nangong Lie had fallen for Qing Zhan. No, he did not fall for Qing Zhan. He just found the little girl interesting. Yes, that was it, he just found her interesting...
Helian Wei Wei raised her eyebrows. "What are you muttering about over there? Get the rose ready at once."
After all, Nangong Lie was a young master who could understand young girls' hearts. He snapped his fingers in a vicious manner.
A rose appeared in his hand, blooming beautifully.
Helian Wei Wei smiled. "I have truly underestimated you." No wonder he would grow up to be someone evil, as he had been learning tricks like these to play around with girls even at this age.
"I wake up to my handsome face every single day and this bothers me a lot." Nangong Lie curved his thin lips as though something had crossed his mind. "This flower is for you."
Helian Wei Wei knew his character and received it languidly without rejecting him. She then asked, "What else do you want to ask me?"
"Nothing much." Nangong Lie smiled wickedly. "Nothing except things that had happened between you and Ah Jue before." He wanted to at least understand why he would die as Ah Jue started to make his life miserable only after this woman came over.
Helian Wei Wei opened her mouth and was just about to speak when she felt someone behind her, giving her chills down her back.
She turned around and was met with those unfathomable eyes from the young man.
When did he come? Why did he make no sound at all?
Nangong Lie also saw Baili Jia Jue, but he did not focus on him and was instead looking toward the direction of Qing Zhan.
He recalled his own actions just now, feeling a sense of annoyance in his heart.
The girl saw him giving flowers to another girl, would she treat him like one of those playboys?
No way! He had to explain!
"Qing Zhan, continue your debriefing." The young man withdrew his gaze, crescent marks already forming on his palms from clenching his fists. He paced toward the courtyard, exuding cold indifference, stopping anyone from approaching.
Nangong Lie wanted to follow them but he was stopped by the shadow guards.
"Out of my way," Nangong Lie lowered his voice.
Shadow looked down but did not step aside. "Young Master Lie, His Highness has been in a bad mood recently, please don't go over there."
"In a bad mood?" Nangong Lie squinted and laughed. "Is it because the young lady from the Helian family has gone missing?"
Shadow remained silent and glanced at Helian Wei Wei.
In fact, His Highness had been depressed for the past two days.
He was constantly lost in his thoughts and was even inattentive when listening to debriefing.
Especially when he came back from the Holy Worship Temple last night, he had stayed up in his study all night.
He just sat quietly, with a fur cloak held in his hand. Nobody knew what was on his mind.
Shadow had only seen His Highness like this once before.
Eight years ago when His Highness was still young. He was sick at the time but he was still trying to look for this woman like a mad person. Even when he was running a fever and lying on the bed, he was begging, begging for her to stay...
Yet, there was not a single trace of this woman that could be found throughout the entire imperial palace.
Since then, His Highness had changed.
His eyes were spiritless.
During that time, the Eldest Prince had passed away. The Emperor was unhappy, but he did not punish the Murong family. Instead, the Emperor kept picking on His Highness.
Besides, when His Highness had disrespected the Empress, she locked him in the woodshed for three days and three nights without even giving him a sip of water to drink.
Both him and Biluo had been pleading around but they did not get a chance to see His Highness at all.
Fortunately, the Retired Emperor had returned in advance and berated the Empress and the Emperor.
However, in less than a year's time, there was a fire in the palace.
Since the fire, His Highness never left his house.
Afterward, His Highness unintentionally met the young lady from the Helian family.
He was no longer the same as before; he was no longer cruel to everyone.
Instead, he was noble and virtuous like a jade, and he was mature as if he had been reborn.
It seemed like nothing could stir his emotions anymore.
Unless that young lady was missing.
Then only would His Highness frown. Even so, he would remain indifferent.
Until now... His Highness looked like he was a little out of control.
"Your Highness?" Qing Zhan tilted her head. She was not a busybody, but she had been debriefing for quite some time, yet her master seemed like he was not listening to any of it.
In fact, Baili Jia Jue had forgotten about her existence ever since they entered the room.
The look on her face when she received the flower from Nangong Lie kept replaying in his head.
She looked so happy.
He had never seen that kind of smile on her face. The corner of her lips raised slightly, without any intent, merely smiling purely because of joy.
His heart felt as though it was filled with ice-cold water, so cold that he did not even feel like talking.
He slowly loosened his fists.
Eventually, he could not suppress his feelings any longer, and he punched the wall with his fist violently.
A loud bang resonated in the air!
Shadow rushed in immediately. He noticed that the young man's right hand was bleeding, and he shouted anxiously at Qing Zhan, "Get the imperial physician, right now!"
"No need." The young man stood there with a slender posture, allowing the blood to drip between his fingers. "Qing Zhan, I have something to tell you..."