Amor bajo las estrellas lejanas

Capítulo 32

Long Ming smiled and said, "Be careful these days."

He was clearly hinting at something, and after a moment's thought, she said, "You also feel that the carriage incident just now wasn't an accident?"

He nodded slightly.

"Why?" she murmured, unable to understand who she had offended.

"You stole the show at Cuifeng Tower yesterday, but the imperial examination is not as simple as you think," he said seriously.

She was secretly alarmed; he was clearly implying something. He said in a deep voice, "Are you saying that someone is deliberately trying to harm me?"

He gave her an approving look.

Xi Ri suddenly realized something, shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I'm really innocent. I'm not a scholar, so there's no way I could compete with them for the top two spots. I was just acting on impulse, and I never expected to cause so much trouble."

"The real trouble is yet to come."

Xi Ri knew he was right; if they really wanted to harm her, things were far from over, and she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

Long Ming, however, jokingly said from the side, "Beg me, and I can help you."

She rolled her eyes at him and said irritably, "I know you hate trouble... never mind!"

He sighed, seemingly with regret, and said nothing more.

Just as Xi Ri was wondering why she had followed him on such a long and pointless journey, she looked up and realized that they had actually arrived at the Wan Hua Lou (Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion).

During the day, the entrance to Wan Hua Lou was quiet and deserted, a stark contrast to the brightly lit and bustling nighttime scene, like two different worlds. Xi Ri looked up but didn't pay any attention. However, Long Ming stopped at the entrance of Wan Hua Lou, staring at the signboard, and said to Xi Ri, "Do you remember what I told you last night?"

Xi Ri also stopped and followed his gaze to the signboard of Wan Hua Lou.

Under the sunlight, the golden signboard of Wanhualou glittered. If you look closely, you can see a wolf head mark in the lower right corner.

She suddenly looked at Long Ming, and was secretly shocked!

Could it be that... Wan Hua Lou is also owned by his family? What exactly is the background of Long Ming? It turns out that the largest restaurant and the largest brothel in the capital both belong to his family.

He turned his head and saw her surprised look, and said to her with a playful tone, "This surprises you so much? You should pay more attention to the details, and you'll definitely find something even more surprising."

He winked at her. "But don't tell anyone. You know I hate trouble."

Xi Ri remained silent... Her surprised expression turned into disdain.

Sigh… Long Ming suddenly sighed, “Life is so boring. I suddenly want to tell Ming Lu your true identity. Just thinking about it, Ming Lu’s expression is something to look forward to!”

What?! Xi Ri's eyebrows almost stood on end.

Haha... He burst into wild laughter.

How infuriating! He actually caught her red-handed... She was furious and humiliated!

He continued to laugh and said, "The way you look at me is like a young wolf seeing its prey. It wants to subdue its prey, but it can't."

"Look at you, you're gritting your teeth again. If I remember correctly, you're a lady from a respectable family, right? I think you're even the most beautiful woman in the capital or something. How can you behave so rudely?"

"Huh? Still looking defiant, huh? You really want to slash me with a knife? No problem, there's a blacksmith shop up ahead. Turn left, go straight, then right, then straight again. Here, take this two taels of silver. You can buy a decent knife with it."

"Hey, don't throw it away like that! It's two taels of silver. If the beggars see it, they'll fight. What if someone gets hurt over two taels of silver? That would be terrible."

"Hey...why are you running! The blacksmith shop is over there..."

"I told you not to run! Look, you fell down..."

She finally couldn't take it anymore and ran away as fast as she could.

As Long Ming watched her hurriedly disappearing figure, the smile gradually faded from his face.

Looking up at the wolf head mark on the Wan Hua Lou again, he frowned once more. The realization that someone wanted to harm her made him very uncomfortable. Since he was uncomfortable, then... he would make the person who made him uncomfortable even more uncomfortable.

He didn't chase after her. She looked back several times, noticing that everyone around her thought she had lost something valuable. A kind-hearted older woman even came up to her and asked if the shoe she had just dropped was hers… Looking at the embroidered shoe in the woman's hand, and then at her own men's clothing, this…

The sun set once again, its gentle light bringing peace to the heart. The unease and anxiety I had felt earlier were completely dispelled after meeting Long Ming.

Thinking about how she had just fled in a panic, she couldn't help but smile bitterly. She had been angered to the point of losing her composure by Long Ming twice in a row.

But the more she did this, the more she felt close to Long Ming, as if they had unknowingly become friends.

When she didn't know Long Ming well, she only found him arrogant and annoying. But once she got to know him, he became both funny and exasperating, and even a little inexplicably terrifying. Sometimes, his endless talking gave her a headache. But for some reason, she wasn't afraid of him at all. Even though he threatened to reveal her true identity, she didn't take it to heart. She always felt that he was just joking. It was a very strange feeling.

As she walked towards Minglu's residence, she could see the high walls of the Prince's mansion in the distance. She took a few deep breaths. She was about to face Minglu again. Every time she faced Minglu, it was like fighting a tough battle. She had to be fully vigilant, otherwise all her efforts would be in vain.

×××

P.S.: I'll also update this when I have inspiration, ^_^. Inspiration is a big deal; once you miss it, it's gone.

The main text discusses men dressing as women and women dressing as men.

The steward of the Prince's Mansion personally greeted them at the entrance.

Xi Ri was welcomed inside and casually asked if Fu Jin and the others had arrived.

The butler replied, "The gentlemen have already arrived."

She thought she had arrived early enough, but she ended up being the last one.

The Prince's Mansion has a spacious courtyard in front, and the main hall is magnificent and imposing.

The butler led Xiri from the covered walkways on both sides of the courtyard to the backyard. The walkways meandered and extended into the unseen depths, giving Xiri a vague feeling that there must be another world behind them.