flamboyant

Chapitre 29

For example, claiming her trip was purely private and therefore didn't require revealing her identity, she left all her entourage at the inn, only accompanying Lu Ziqi to explore the city alone. Even worse, she deliberately changed into standard Han Chinese attire to blend in with the locals. Thinking of the confused, bewildered, surprised, or indifferent looks from the county residents as they appeared so intimately together in the shops and alleys, Lu Ziqi thought he might as well dig a hole and escape like Tu Xingsun. What a pity for his lifelong reputation…

For example, her extreme frankness regarding romantic relationships. Expressing her feelings for him to his face is one thing, declaring her desire to marry no one but him is another, but to presume to be his fiancée without waiting for any response is simply...unacceptable... If she had known things would turn out this way, she should never have impulsively spoken up to warn him...

"Holly, I think my little sister will definitely like this one, what do you think?"

Dongqing was a name she'd taken without hesitation after hearing Yaoyao call her that yesterday. As for "sister," it was because she'd said that if he didn't want a divorce, she wouldn't mind two women sharing one husband. After all, the more women a Liao man had, the more capable he was considered. However, no matter how many concubines he might have in the future, she was determined to remain the principal wife. In other words, in just half a day, Yaoyao had unknowingly gone from wife to concubine. Importantly, all these decisions were made by Lu Ziqi alone, without him uttering a single word.

It's obvious without a doubt that once she learns this news, that seemingly delicate and timid girl will unleash a terrifying amount of energy. Lu Ziqi currently only feels one thing: a headache…

"You think it looks good too, right? Boss, wrap it up."

To interpret his blank expression as agreement—this princess is truly a prime example of self-centeredness.

The rain that had been falling for nearly ten days was finally showing signs of stopping. Buying a thick coat should be enough. I wonder if that girl is wearing his clothes at home to keep warm.

With her small body and long robe, she looked just like a performer in a traditional opera, but unfortunately, she wasn't a female lead or a dan (female role), but a clown—the kind of character who, though silly and clumsy, was very endearing and lovable…

Imagining Song Xiaohua in her floor-length running shoes, waving her sleeves wildly, Lu Ziqi's lips involuntarily curled upwards, a few smile lines appearing and disappearing. Yelü Ping, who had never seen him with such an expression before, was momentarily stunned and lost in thought.

Even the shop owner dared not move in such an eerie atmosphere, holding his breath and standing like a wooden statue.

For a moment, only the soft sound of rain and the rising wind could be heard in the vast shop.

Lu Ziqi was completely unaware of the changes around him, staring blankly out of the shop. Through the sparse rain, a pale yellow figure rushed in, arriving in front of him in a hurry.

How could it be her? Could it be a hallucination caused by my own hysteria?

"I've finally found you!"

A clear, crisp voice with a strong tone, round, bright eyes, cheeks and nose flushed red from the wind, and that familiar, wide smile—it really was her. It seemed it wasn't a hallucination. However, there seemed to be something rather dangerous in that smile…

"Why are you here? Did something happen at home?"

"No! Hey, why are you the only one here? Where's that unreasonable princess?"

"Talking badly about others behind their backs is very bad behavior. Don't do it again, understand? Little sister."

The sudden sound startled Song Xiaohua. When she looked closely at the source of the sound standing at the counter on her left, her mouth immediately opened into an 'O'.

Even in a fiery red long dress and a bright red jacket, her voluptuous figure—full bust, narrow waist, and long legs—was perfectly showcased. With her jet-black hair, honey-colored skin, high-bridged nose, almond-shaped eyes, rosy lips, and willow-leaf eyebrows, this tall beauty exuded only one aura—'sexiness'.

Yesterday, they only caught a glimpse of each other at the doorstep. The other person was wearing a raincoat and a straw hat, so Song Xiaohua didn't get a clear look at their face. Now, seeing them more closely, she was utterly shocked.

This kind of woman is a man's nemesis. He'll take them all down, two at a time, there's no chance of any escaping his grasp!

Her desperate gaze shifted to Lu Ziqi, who was awkwardly forcing a smile. She looked him up and down, a question swirling in her throat, about to burst out—'Did she... you...?'

The other three people in the shop were naturally unaware of her 'filthy' thoughts, and completely baffled by her mournful expression. However, faced with the increasingly bizarre situation, the shop owner could only continue his work on the wooden figures. Yelü Ping was extremely displeased by her blunt remark and temporarily ignored her. Therefore, after much deliberation, only Lu Ziqi could break the deadlock.

"Yaoyao... Yaoyao!" He called out several times before finally pulling her wandering soul back from its reverie: "You haven't answered me yet, what do you want with me?"

"Oh... Dr. Hu is here. He's waiting at our house to treat your injury." Song Xiaohua rubbed her nose, looking dejected.

"No need. I've already re-bandaged Dongqing's wound."

"!!"

Bandaging the wound, a small hand pressed against the bare chest, dry tinder igniting a passionate frenzy...

Seeing Yelü Ping approaching gracefully, the flames in Song Xiaohua's eyes suddenly blazed brightly: "Accompanying the princess of our friendly nation to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Great Song is my husband's duty. Your Highness, please do not show her any special favor because of this. I believe that the medical skills of the Great Song are no worse than those of the Liao. Therefore, I dare not trouble Your Highness with my husband's injuries any further! It is not good to keep the doctor waiting for too long. Please forgive my husband and I for taking our leave now."

In just a few words, Yelü Ping's identity was revealed, and the story of Lu Ziqi accompanying a beautiful woman on official business was also explained in detail. Although the boss remained silent and motionless with his eyes wide open, he was not a complete blockhead. Given the extremely rapid spread of gossip in this area, he believed that all the previous speculations about the 'mistress' would disappear before sunset.

After Song Xiaohua finished speaking, she grabbed Lu Ziqi's hand and rushed out. Lu Ziqi watched and listened with a smile the whole time, and then let her lead him away with a smile. Only when he stepped out of the shop did he turn back and nod to Yelü Ping, who was speechless for a moment.

This girl's jealousy, once it flares up, is truly extraordinary...

Chapter Thirty-Two: The First Hand-Holding and the First Promise

Lu Ziqi had been traveling on horseback the whole time, so he had always worn a raincoat. While they were strolling around the city, Yelü Ping held up an umbrella, but Lu Ziqi insisted on walking outside the umbrella.

While being dragged away aggressively by Song Xiaohua, she deftly took the umbrella, which had been forgotten to be opened, from the hands of this person who was only focused on being angry, opened it, and walked leisurely side by side.

They remained silent the whole way until their home was in sight. Then Song Xiaohua suddenly stopped and turned to stare at Lu Ziqi, who was gazing into the distance at a green peak shrouded in thick fog.

Because she hadn't stopped in time, she took two more steps before being pulled back by a force. The warmth of her right hand was already the same as that of the small hand she was tightly holding. She looked down and met two clear eyes that seemed to have been washed by rain, and smiled gently: "What's wrong?"

Without answering him, she simply stood on tiptoe and snatched the object from his left hand. Umbrellas of that era were mostly made of bamboo ribs and oilcloth, and were quite heavy. She must have been out of her mind, so preoccupied with her own annoyance that she hadn't even noticed he had been holding the umbrella to shield her from the wind and rain.

"Looks like their medicine really is effective!" Despite being extremely annoyed, the first thing she said was this curt, irritating remark—she was just asking for a beating…

Lu Ziqi moved his arms, which were already aching terribly, and seeing her awkward expression as she bit her lower lip, his smile deepened even more: "I think the medicine from Doctor Hu of our Great Song Dynasty should be more effective."

"...You dare laugh at me! If you hadn't been so careless about your image, would I have dared to speak to a princess like that?" A gust of cold wind from beside the field ridge cleared her head considerably. The more Song Xiaohua thought about it, the more uneasy she felt, a chill running down her spine: "I...did I cause trouble? Will this lead to any diplomatic...or other diplomatic disputes?" A commoner, throwing a tantrum in the street at a member of foreign royalty—is that illegal? Will she go to jail...?

Do you think you did something wrong?

“From a woman’s perspective, that’s right! But from a citizen’s perspective…” Song Xiaohua sighed, head drooping: “In any case, not being friendly to foreign friends will always damage the country’s image.”

"...Where did you learn all these strange and unusual words?"

Song Xiaohua glanced at his face, her eyebrows slightly raised and the corners of her mouth turned up. She showed no displeasure or worry, but rather seemed somewhat pleased. After a moment's thought, she suddenly realized: "Oh, I get it! You're using me as a pawn, aren't you? Using me to vindicate yourself?"

“There are some things I really can’t say directly, and there are some things I really can’t clarify directly. So, in that sense, it’s fortunate that you’re here today.” Lu Ziqi leaned down slightly to accommodate Song Xiaohua’s umbrella, which she was holding with considerable effort even while standing on tiptoe with her arms straight. “However, on the other hand, you ran out of here on your own. I didn’t do anything.”

"...You're a classic case of getting the better of someone and then complaining! If I hadn't shown up, were you planning to keep parading around with her like this? Aren't you afraid of damaging your reputation as Magistrate Lu among the people? After all... she deliberately concealed her identity, so she can only be considered a woman of unknown origin, and you just... what was that saying again, oh right, a minor success in life."

Although she absolutely could not tolerate the existence of polygamy, it wasn't the time to reveal her true colors yet, so she had to put on a more respectable front. Apparently, in ancient times, jealousy was considered a major sin for women. A model wife was expected to warmly welcome mistresses, even actively arranging for them to become her husband's concubines… Ugh… ugh!

Even if Lu Ziqi didn't guess 90% of her complicated little thoughts, he could roughly estimate half of them—the half that was caused by her jealousy… He suppressed a laugh and didn't expose her: "There's always a way out, things will always have a solution, right?"

Song Xiaohua scoffed at his pretentious attitude, but since he'd said that, it meant he must have a way to handle it. She should always have faith in her man, shouldn't she...?

Thankfully, my momentary lapse in judgment didn't cause him any trouble or problems; otherwise, I would have been mortified. It's one thing if I can't use some kind of "golden finger" in a fantasy novel to rewrite history and help my husband sweep through armies and become king, but if I were to hold him back, how embarrassing would that be for the entire army of time-travelers…

"Alright, alright, consider this my meddling and unnecessary trouble this time!"

"Not at all. Your words were neither humble nor arrogant, which was very good." It was rare and surprising that an ordinary woman from an ordinary family could face the imposing Liao princess without any fear or timidity.

"Really?!" Song Xiaohua was the type who would beam with joy even when given a little sunshine, and would find a way to shine even when not. Upon hearing this, she straightened her back, her voice boomed, and she swaggered with unbridled smugness, one leg shaking: "Now you know, right? Let me tell you, my eloquence is absolutely top-notch, it's all just talk..." She only bragged for a moment before suddenly remembering something, and immediately put on a smiling face that hid a knife: "By the way, why did that princess call me 'sister'? It makes it seem like we're very close and intimate. Also, didn't she call you Dongqing? Yesterday she was calling you 'Young Master Lu' this and 'Young Master Lu' that, but today she's calling you 'Dongqing' this and 'Dongqing' that?"

Lu Ziqi's head, which had already stopped hurting, began to throb again. He had been clinging to the hope that she hadn't noticed these details, but he hadn't expected this usually carefree person to be so observant and sensitive. Women, truly, are unpredictable and hard to fathom…

"Just know that these are all her ideas, and have nothing to do with me."

This vague answer not only failed to dispel Song Xiaohua's doubts, but instead lit a beacon for her to see the truth. As the saying goes, 'Brothers and sisters are more prone to trouble, but older sisters are even more likely to get into trouble!'

In this day and age, if two women who have only met once, have absolutely no liking for each other, and both are 'coveting' the same man, suddenly start calling each other sisters, there's basically only one possibility...

"You...you...could it be...you've already...been completely taken advantage of by her?!"

A sentence that had been lingering in her mind for so long finally saw the light of day. Song Xiaohua felt a sense of "whatever, I'm going to get to the bottom of this" attitude, and breathed a sigh of relief. But this left Lu Ziqi's face a riot of colors, a truly captivating sight.

"……absurd!"

"Sigh... I understand, I understand. Her status speaks for itself. Even if you disdain currying favor with the powerful, you wouldn't dare offend her too much. Besides, she has both a great figure and stunning looks; it's really hard to refuse her. I understand, I really understand..."

"...What do you know!" Song Xiaohua's feigned sorrow and saccharine ramblings were interrupted by Lu Ziqi's unbearable shout: "So, this is how you see me?!"

His lips were tight, clearly he was angry, but she laughed like a sly fox who had stolen a chicken. This reaction meant her 'chastity' was still intact! Hehehe…

She leaned closer with a fawning grin, her voice soft: "Okay, okay, I was just talking nonsense, I don't know anything, please don't hold it against me!"

Looking at the girl's feigned innocence, which was almost touching his chin, Lu Ziqi could only let out a sigh, all his resentment turning into anger. Oh well, should he really hold a grudge against this girl?

“Princess Xingping is the elder sister of the current King of Liao, and her status is extremely high. Her marriage involves a wide range of people, so how can it be decided lightly according to one's own temper? Do you understand what I'm saying?”

"I understand! Royal marriages are either with powerful officials and nobles in the court or with neighboring foreign tribes and nations. Personal wishes never matter. So, no matter how much Her Highness likes you, there's absolutely no chance!" Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen pigs run, right? You haven't watched all those melodramatic palace dramas for nothing.

Upon hearing this, Lu Ziqi raised an eyebrow again: "Not bad. Yaoyao, you're very smart."

In fact, it was somewhat too clever. Such a viewpoint would be unsurprising if it came from a scion of a powerful family or a member of the royal family, but she…

"Hehe, it's just so-so! Let's go back!"

Having resolved her inner turmoil, Song Xiaohua was already grinning from ear to ear. She turned and left, while Lu Ziqi watched her hopping around like a rabbit, struggling to hold the umbrella high, splashing mud everywhere. He could only laugh helplessly and say, "I'm wearing a raincoat. Just mind your own business."

"No, no, we need double protection to prevent the raincoat from leaking and wetting the wound."

"Then I'll get the umbrella."