Xiao Ran who was just about to stealthily sneak away was called to a stop. His body turned around somewhat stiffly. "Mother Concubine."
"Where do you want to go?" Concubine smiled but her eyes were narrowed. Her expression had an indescribable gentleness and threat.
Xiao Ran recalled all those methods she used to handle things just now, his heart slightly ached in sorrow. "Mother Concubine, this son wants to return to his palace."
"Really? It's not to go find your Elder Royal brother right?" Concubine Yue still maintained that expression.
Xiao Ran didn't expect his thought would be seen through so quickly. He lowered his head and bit his teeth to deny it. "It's not to go find Elder Royal Brother, I really am going back to my palace."
Concubine Yue smiled slightly, and immediately, her side view with that unforgettable, moon like gaze became dissatisfied. Her tone in an instant became cold. "Do you guys know where you went wrong?"
Mo w.a.n.g and Liu Li-Yue immediately kneeled down from fear. "This slave/ this servant…."
"Nanny Rong, drag these two people away." Concubine Yue said coldly.
Xiao Ran originally thought he had escaped this calamity, he didn't expect Mother Concubine didn't forget this crime and placed the blame on the other two. He immediately ran to the front of these two people and somewhat incomprehensibly asked. " Mother Concubine, what wrong did they commit?"
"They didn't dissuade their master from making a big blunder. Mother Concubine a.s.signed them to your side so they could remind you and a.s.sist you, and not to abet their own master to come rebel against Mother Concubine." Concubine wouldn't allow an explanation and ordered Mo w.a.n.g and Liu Li-Yue to be dragged down."Fourth Highness, save this slave…."
"Ah! Niang Niang spare this one's life ah! Fourth Highness spare this one's life ah——"
Those cries came one after another, in the wake of the sounds from flesh being lacerated in punishment. Xiao Ran couldn't bear it and turned his eyes away. The pain slowly flowed from his eyes. He had seen Mother Concubine punish the palace people many times, however, this was the first time his heart couldn't repress the nameless emotions!
Concubine Yue coldly watched as the place people punished the two with wooden boards. She slowly said to Xiao Ran. "Slaves that don't listen to instructions must be punished. You can't bear it, then let Mother Concubine do it! Ran'er, you must believe Mother Concubine is doing this for your own good!"
The sounds of begging for forgiveness slowly stopped. Xiao Ran numbly complied. "Mother Concubine, this son knows."
That night, when Xiao Ran walked out of the Moon Palace, the people following behind him were new palace people bestowed by his Mother Concubine.
He blankly walked the path in the rear palace hall, it was the first time he couldn't see the road to go back.
"Your Highness."
"Xiang Yu, I feel so cold."
Xiang Yu who respectfully stood at the palace gate thought, clearly it was a hot summer day, why would His Highness feel cold?
What was cold wasn't his body, rather it was his heart.
On this side, Chu Qing-Yan followed behind Empress Liang and walked out of the Moon Palace. All around was a deathly stillness, the atmosphere was so stifling that people couldn't breath. The palace people in the surrounding gave off an air of rejection towards her from head to toe. Chu Qing-Yan's heart was very clear, if it was not because of saving face, Empress Liang wouldn't have possibly rushed over to save her.
She suddenly felt like laughing. To save someone she doesn't want to save, her heart must be really depressed ah! However the laugh hadn't reached the corner of her mouth before it faded bitterly.
Tonight, the most depressed person wasn't limited to only Empress Liang, there was still her.
She looked at the fuzzy layers of yellow light and shadows on the ground cast by the palace lamps. It looked like a huge net that one couldn't see through, it wanted to wrap her inside this dense network, not allowing her to breath.
And just at this time, their group of people walked to the gate of Morning Sun Palace and stopped.
Chu Qing-Yan lifted her head and saw a familiar figure standing under the palace's lamp. Tall and straight with chest raised high, straight as a jade like tree. Suddenly, the rim of Chu Qing-Yan's become hot, she wanted to immediately run over, but reason constrained her emotional urge and feelings of being wronged. She just stood straight in place, only daring to look at him with her eyes.
Xiao Xu did not look toward Chu Qing-Yan who was behind Empress Lian, rather, he took a step forward and respectfully saluted. "This son pays his respect to Mother Empress."
"Your timing is really accurate!" Empress Liang took a glance at Chu Qing-Yan behind her, then turned and coldly said this.
"Many thanks to Mother Empress for lending a hand to make the save." Xiao Xu did not deny the matter. When he found out Mother Empress went to Moon Palace, he turned around and came to Morning Sun Palace to wait. He straightforwardly expressed his thanks.
Empress Liang gave a cold laugh. "This palace didn't do it to save her, only that this palace can't stand watching a certain someone take the opportunity to slap Liang family's face."
"This son understands." Xiao Xu said indifferently.
Chu Qing-Yan pursed her lips. This Big Block of Ice not only interacts with Western Xuan emperor like a boss with subordinate, even his interaction with Empress Liang also didn't seem to have the familial affection he ought to have. Empress Liang was like a hedgehog, every word coming out of her mouth seemed to have a thorn. And Big Block of Ice received it without blame nor hate.
She suddenly somewhat understood the reason why Big Block of Ice was this cold. A large part of the cause must be because of the blessing of being entrusted to this emperor and empress ah! If he didn't become detached and ice-cold, perhaps everytime he interacted with this emperor and empress, he would be injured until he was cut and bruised all over!
Empress Liang, seeing her son was still indifferent as if nothing could get to him, her heart became displeased. She turned around and looked toward Chu Qing-Yan and her eyebrows lifted up. "Chu Qing-Yan, don't believe that this palace lending a hand to save you represents that I acknowledge your existence. As long as there is a day you are not engaged to Xu'er, then your existence in this palace's eyes would not count!"
"Also, don't shower affection on an uninterested party thinking this palace will like you. Afterwards, you are on your own!"
Chu Qing-Yan rubbed her nose. As for showering affection on an uninterested party? She was not at all adept at it.
Empress Liang coldly smiled and immediately brought along her palace people to enter Morning Sun Palace. When she brushed past Xiao Xu, she said in a voice only the two of them could hear. "This girl, you must protect her well. Mother empress absolutely will not spare her!"
Xiao Xu lifted up his face to look at this graceful and gorgeous face in front of him. Other people would hardly imagine such malicious words coming out of this virtuous and sweet tempered woman, his mother the empress.
His expression did not change. "Respectfully sending off Mother Empress."
When the Morning Sun Palace's gate closed once again, Xiao Xu turned around to see the shadow behind him, that delicate figure.
"Qing-Yan, come over here."
Although his tone was clear and cold, it still made the rim of Chu Qing-Yan's eyes wet.
She silently lifted up her head, her eyes were sparkling like translucent crystals, like the best colored gla.s.s in the world. It flickered with a silver light, and Xiao Xu felt as if a corner deep in his heart had collapsed.
Chu Qing-Yan tightly clenched her fist then finally relaxed it. She slowly walked toward that tall and seemingly omnipotent person.
There were no tears, no grievances, no complaints and she also didn't rush up to hug him….
Xiao Xu looked at the person in front of him, somewhat surprised.
Suddenly his sleeve was lightly pulled. "Big Block of Ice, I'm hungry."
Xiao Xu lowered his head to look at her somewhat disheveled appearance. His hand extended to help straighten her robe that was slightly pulled open and acquiesced, saying. "Let us return home."
"Okay." Chu Qing-Yan agreed in a low voice.
It wasn't that she didn't want to complain. She really wanted to use all her strength to hug the person in front of her. But rational thinking told her that she couldn't do it. She really didn't want to become that person that was wronged and complained again. That was not her.
She is Chu Qing-Yan, a strong 21st century university student, not really the ten year old Chu Qing-Yan.
Only a weak person would cry!
As a result, two figures, a big and a small slowly walked away from the imperial palace.
On the horse carriage, Xiao Xu once again saw the spontaneous, smiling and talkative Chu Qing-Yan, as if she wasn't affected by that censuring scene from just now.
Since she didn't want to talk about it, then he won't ask.
He extended a hand and hugged Chu Qing-Yan who was playing with a toy inside the carriage to him. Although she didn't want to talk about it, he still wanted to hold her and hug her.
In the final a.n.a.lysis, everything happened because of him. His ident.i.ty was bound to bring danger to the people by his side.
"Starting from tomorrow, this king will arrange people to teach you self-defense methods."
Chu Qing-Yan was still in shock from Big Block of Ice suddenly taking the initiative to hug her and didn't expect the thunder that startled the sky was right behind.
Self-defense method? Didn't that mean that from now on, she couldn't sleep in anymore?
This was a bolt from the blue ah!
"W, Why?"
"After learning martial arts, at least if you run into trouble you could run away quickly!"
"What's the use of running away quickly? Sooner or later you'll be caught!"
"Wrong, strive for time to let this king come help you solve the issue. Otherwise, the next time you wait until this king rushes over, you would have already died."
So it turned out Big Block of Ice wanted her to learn martial arts so it could make her running away easier.
Chu Qing-Yan thought about it and very reluctantly agreed.
However, n.o.body knew that Xiao Xu right now was shooting himself in the foot. Whenever he was provoked afterward, the person running away the fastest was her!