https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-434-Baozi-Scolds-the-Crown-Prince/13027311/
Chapter 433: Liu Qingyun's Arrival
Chapter 433: Liu Qingyun's Arrival
Dou Qingyi was dressed elegantly tonight, wearing a light blue waist-cinching long dress, her slender waist accentuated by a delicate bundle of embroidered pink lotus flowers. She may no longer be a young girl, but her figure remained graceful, and her face exuded a mature beauty with an inner radiance.
At this moment, no man could resist her charm.
"Prince." Her voice, like that of a young girl, was melodious and pleasing to the ear, "It's getting late, let's review the memorials another day. Your health is more important."
Lu Zhaoyan paused, the bowl of soup halfway to his mouth.
Dou Qingyi gently reached out and took the bowl from him, setting it down lightly on the table, "Prince, Qingyi will serve you to bed."
The moonlight was soft, and the night was as tranquil as a lake. It was indeed a beautiful time.
Dou Qingyi gazed at Lu Zhaoyan with deep affection, slowly leaning towards him, about to fall into his embrace.
Clang!
A loud noise came from Lu Yuan's room.
Lu Zhaoyan abruptly looked up and stood up.
Dou Qingyi's attempt to embrace him failed, leaving her flustered and embarrassed as she looked at Lu Zhaoyan, "Prince..."
The commotion had come from Lu Yuan's room, and Lu Zhaoyan's brows furrowed as he said to Dou Qingyi, "You should go back and rest."
Dou Qingyi secretly bit her lip, knowing that the Prince was already wavering, and she wanted to seize the opportunity. She was determined to spend the night with the Prince.
But, unfortunately—
Dou Qingyi smiled, "Qingyi isn't tired, Qingyi will wait for the Prince."
Lu Zhaoyan left the room.
The fact that he didn't refuse meant there was still hope.
Dou Qingyi quietly exited the study, assuming Lu Zhaoyan was returning to his own room. However, she saw him enter the adjacent room.
She called a young maid who was standing guard in the corridor and pointed, asking, "Is there someone in that room?"
The maid replied, "Yes, Madam. That's Young Master's room."
The maid only knew that the new man had been granted a title by His Majesty, but whether he was the eldest or second son, the masters hadn't disclosed. She could only follow the other servants and address him as Young Master.
Dou Qingyi naturally knew whom the Young Master referred to.
His Majesty had granted her the title of Princess, but this young man had disrupted the ceremony. Tonight, he was also disrupting her night with the Crown Prince.
Had this young man come specifically to ruin her plans? She couldn't believe it was unintentional.
A cold light flashed in Dou Qingyi's eyes.
The maid, noticing her displeasure, was secretly startled.
Dou Qingyi always presented herself as gentle and dignified in the mansion, never harshly criticizing the servants for their mistakes, but instead, persuading them with reason.
Sensing the maid's surprise, Dou Qingyi smiled and said, "What's the Young Master's name?"
The maid shook her head, "This servant doesn't know."
Dou Qingyi spoke softly, "I understand. It's chilly at night, make sure those on night duty wear more clothing."
The maid's heart warmed, "Yes, Madam)."
The madam's consideration for the servants made her feel like she was under a spell.
Dou Qingyi decided to go to Lu Zhaoyan's bedroom and wait for him.
She thought to herself that it was already quite late, and that young man couldn't possibly keep making a ruckus all night. However, as Dou Qingyi waited and waited, everyone else grew tired, yet there was still no sign of Lu Zhaoyan returning.
She sighed in frustration.
This father and son, upon seeing that young man, seemed to be under his spell. Both of them were completely captivated by him.
In the adjacent room...
Lu Yuan sprawled on the soft bed, looking completely disheveled.
Lu Zhaoyan sat on a stool with a cold expression, "What's wrong with you? Why did you break the stool?"
Lu Yuan opened his mouth, "It started it!"
Lu Zhaoyan: "..."
Lu Zhaoyan asked sternly, "Have you caused enough trouble?"
Lu Yuan played his trump card, "If you keep scolding me, I'll tell Grandfather."
Lu Zhaoyan was once again at a loss for words.
His Majesty's affection for this fake grandson was indeed greater than that for his real son?
In the end, it all came down to one phrase—rarity is value.
The sudden appearance of a new imperial grandson naturally delighted his father, the Emperor.
This imperial grandson, however, didn't follow the usual path, constantly surprising everyone with his unconventional methods. Everyone respected his father as their ruler, but only this young man dared to be so willful in front of his father.
This move could be described as a risky and unconventional strategy.
If mishandled, it could anger his father, leading to the loss of everything.
One could say that this young man's audacity knew no bounds, and he was willing to gamble on anything.
Lu Zhaoyan said, "I advise you to be more restrained. Don't take advantage of being the 'Imperial Grandson' and do as you please. One day, when your schemes are exposed, I won't be able to protect you."
Lu Yuan nonchalantly replied, "Then let me die, I don't care."
"You..."
Lu Zhaoyan was exasperated by this young man, "Does your mother know you're like this? If something happens to you, have you thought about how she will live the rest of her life?"
Lu Yuan humphed, "You already have a woman and a son, why do you still care about my mother?"
Lu Zhaoyan opened his mouth but didn't refute.
She had remarried, and her matters were for another man to worry about.
Lu Zhaoyan remained silent, and Lu Yuan didn't speak either. The two of them sat in silence.
Time quietly passed, and the room was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Finally, Lu Yuan spoke up, "The bed is uncomfortable."
Lu Zhaoyan asked, "How is it uncomfortable?"
Lu Yuan explained, "It's just not comfortable. I want to change beds."
Lu Zhaoyan said, "You chose this room yourself in the first place."
Lu Yuan argued, "But I didn't try the bed."
Changing beds at this late hour was impossible. Where would they even find a new bed?
Lu Zhaoyan glanced at Lu Yuan, "Don't try that on me. You can sleep if you want to."
Lu Yuan threw off his blanket and got out of bed, heading outside.
Lu Zhaoyan: "Where are you going?"
Lu Yuan: "To the palace, to see my grandfather, the Emperor."
Lu Zhaoyan: "Come back here!"
Lu Yuan: "I can't sleep in this bed."
Lu Zhaoyan suppressed his anger and called out to the door, "Ji Feng, take him to choose a carriage room."
Ji Feng led the young master to inspect each carriage room. After trying them all, Ji Feng returned.
"Which one did he choose?" Lu Zhaoyan asked.
Ji Feng hesitated, then spoke truthfully, "Your room, Master."
Lu Zhaoyan: "..."
---
Dou Qingyi waited for a long time, so long that the flowers withered, but finally, someone entered the room.
She gracefully approached with a gentle smile, "Prince... is that you?"
---
Under the cover of darkness, two dark shadows stealthily infiltrated the Liu family's residence.
---
The Divine Maiden was not at home today.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have gotten this close without being detected by her.
"Which room?"
"The third one on the east side."
"Are you sure?"
"The information is accurate."
"Don't capture the wrong person."
"We're not capturing, we're finding! She's the Third Young Miss of the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion, a person of high status. If even a strand of her hair is harmed, we'll both pay with our lives."
"Alright, alright, hurry up and find... I mean, capture her."
The two men arrived at Shang Changle's courtyard.
They crouched on the wall, gazing from a distance at the beauty bathed in the moonlight.
She wore a veil, lying with her eyes closed on a woven chair covered in tiger skin.
The moonlight seemed to flow around her, and her beauty was breathtaking.
A small child, still in diapers, was nestled in her arms, breathing evenly.
"Why is there a child here?" one of the men in black asked.
The other replied, "I'm not sure, and it doesn't matter."
The two men leaped into the courtyard, immediately pressing each other's acupoints. One of them gently removed the child, while the other carried the unconscious woman out of the courtyard.
Being thieves in the Divine Maiden's residence, they were extremely nervous and fled for five miles without stopping.
Finally, they descended the mountain and took a closer look. One of them had a small child with big, round eyes hanging on his leg.
The man in black was surprised, "Didn't I put her on the woven chair? When did she end up on my leg?"
It was no wonder he hadn't noticed; he was too scared and eager to escape.
"Wh-what should we do?" he asked.
The other man, carrying the unconscious woman, frowned and said, "It's too late to take her back. If we encounter the Divine Maiden, none of us will escape, and our mission will fail."
"Th-then... kill her?"
The man carrying the woman said, "Killing her will leave a body. This child might already have our scent on him. Let's take her with us and dispose of her once we're out of Wu Mountain."
The two men hurried through the night, using all their strength as if they were racing against time, fearing the Divine Maiden would catch up.
They finally made it out of Wu Mountain at daybreak.
"Where's the carriage?" asked the man carrying the woman.
"It's in the forest," replied the man holding the child, panting heavily.
The man carrying the woman asked strangely, "Is it that tiring?" He wasn't this out of breath when carrying an adult.
The man holding the child gasped, "She's like a little weight... you try carrying her..."
The man carrying the woman said, "No need, let's just get in the carriage."
They found the carriage hidden in the forest, placed the woman and child inside, and sat on the outer seats, driving southwest.
"She won't wake up, right?" asked the man who had been carrying the child and was now exhausted.
The other man gripped the reins and said, "It doesn't matter if she wakes up. The Third Young Miss of the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion doesn't know martial arts, and we're not her enemies. The Pavilion Master sent us to rescue her and bring her back to the southwest."
"Slow down, her body is weak, and she can't handle the bumps," he said.
"We can't slow down. The Pavilion Master instructed us to deliver her to the Imperial City as quickly as possible. Each day we're late, we lose a thousand taels of silver."
"Then hurry up! We're losing a thousand taels!"
The two men drove southwest with all their might.
Familiar with the terrain, they skillfully bypassed the Miasma Forest and exited Miaojiang.
---
On the carriage, Liu Qingyun was covered in drool by the little rascal. Finally, she opened her eyes, unable to bear it any longer, and picked up the little scamp who was licking her face.
She looked at the mischievous child with a serious expression, about to ask what he was doing, when she realized something was amiss.
The swaying motion confirmed she was indeed in a carriage. Liu Qingyun sat up and pulled aside the curtain by the window. The trees by the road quickly retreated, confirming her suspicions.
However, this carriage was unfamiliar.
She parted the front curtain and saw two unfamiliar figures, one driving intently while the other turned back and said, "Third Young Miss, you're awake. Don't worry, we were sent by your father to rescue you and bring you back to the southwest."
Liu Qingyun asked, "My father is... where did you say we're going?"
The man in black replied, "The southwest, to the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion."
Third Young Miss, Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion... did they mistake her for Shang Changle? Was she that young?
Liu Qingyun raised an eyebrow and touched her cheek.
Oh, she was wearing a veil.
(End of Chapter)
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