Kiyomi Tsuki et son renard

Chapitre 36

As if by telepathy, the two simultaneously exhaled a breath of air.

Upon hearing Long Ming and her exhale simultaneously, Xi Ri subconsciously glanced at Long Ming, only to see him wrapped tightly in the blanket with only his head showing, also looking at her. When their eyes met, he teased, "How is it? My figure is not bad, is it?"

Xi Ri looked disgusted, but gradually returned to normal.

He seemed to suddenly remember something and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh no, my clothes are torn! How am I going to go out tomorrow morning?"

Xi Ri sneered, "So you still know! You've even exposed your skin and flesh. Let's see how you leave tomorrow morning!"

Long Ming smiled, his surprise vanishing, and said, "The clothes are so torn they're unwearable, but they're not bad either." He suddenly nodded with satisfaction.

Hmm? Xi Ri wondered to herself, what's so good about this? Although she had questions in her heart, seeing his face waiting for her to ask him, expecting her to ask him, she didn't want to ask at all.

They stopped talking to each other and returned to their state of mutual loathing.

Long Ming began to feign sleep, and Xi Ri also pretended to be asleep. Fortunately, the bed was large, and the two of them each guarded one side, each with their own thoughts.

After a long while, the candlelight inside the room burned out and went out, plunging the room into silent darkness, except for a few glimmers of moonlight shining through the wooden frame at the door and window.

It was past midnight, and Xi Ri was really tired, but she couldn't fall asleep no matter what she did, and her head started to ache slightly.

She suddenly felt the urge to relieve herself, probably because she had drunk too much alcohol the night before. There was a chamber pot in the room, but how could she use it?

After enduring for a long time, she finally couldn't hold back any longer. She turned her head to look at Long Ming, who seemed to be asleep, breathing evenly.

She carefully groped her way off the bed, trying not to disturb Long Ming, and the wooden bed made only a slight creak.

She finally managed to carefully get out of bed, only to be shocked to see Long Ming staring intently at her, his dark, piercing eyes sending chills down her spine. But that wasn't all; what angered her even more was that Long Ming looked at her with a defensive expression, as if he were about to assault her. Was he kidding her?!

Xi Ri glared at him irritably, then, no longer needing to be careful, she groped her way to the door in the dark.

A low, husky voice came from behind: "Where are you going?"

Xi Ri thought about where she was going and couldn't help but blush slightly. Fortunately, the darkness helped her hide it well. She said, "None of your business!" But as soon as she finished speaking, she was afraid that Long Ming would not give up and would ask questions. She added impatiently, "You go to sleep first. I'll be back in a while."

"Be careful," the person behind you whispered.

She paused in her hand as she opened the door, nodded slightly, and without caring whether he could see her in the darkness, opened the door and went out. As she turned to close the door, she noticed that Long Ming had already closed his incredibly bright eyes.

A bright, leisurely waning moon hangs high in the sky, its curve seemingly smiling. The wind plays around the willows, occasionally making a rustling sound. A few birds, perhaps having just finished their night feast and returned home, are still chirping and singing. Such a night is truly delightful.

But one person thought differently. At this moment, she was completely overwhelmed, clutching her stomach and struggling to walk. She had been wandering around the Ming Prince's mansion for a long time, but couldn't find the place she was looking for. "Where's the outhouse? Come on... come out quickly..."

The Ming Prince's Mansion was nearly three times larger than her home. Logically, the outhouse should be located north of the guest room, but she searched for a long time and still couldn't find it. The Ming Prince's Mansion should be heavily guarded, but she walked around for a long time without encountering a single person. She wondered if God was testing her ability to hold it in, or if He wanted to see her relieve herself on the spot.

But she couldn't take it anymore.

After turning another corner—I've lost count of how many—a camellia grove came into view, a perfect spot to relieve myself.

Who cares who planted camellias in this little courtyard? She couldn't care less anymore; she'd just have to relieve herself where she was. Holding it in any longer would be disastrous. She looked around, but saw no one, not even a ghost. A sudden chill ran down her spine, and her stomach ache even more. She couldn't worry about anything else; she had to finish quickly!

Having finally relieved himself, he felt incredibly refreshed. After cleaning himself up, he carefully observed his surroundings again. Seeing that no one was around, he truly relaxed and strolled out of the camellia grove.

She retraced her steps, having carefully memorized the route despite her earlier haste. She was a cautious person, unless absolutely necessary, such as needing to relieve herself in a camellia tree…

She hadn't gone far when she suddenly heard the sound of a flute. Startled, she wondered who it was. Who was playing the flute so late in the Prince Ming's residence? Her first thought was Ming Lu, but Ming Lu should be with Su Yingying right now… It couldn't be him. So who could it be?

Judging from the voice, the person was nearby. Had he noticed her every move? A wave of tension washed over her. She secretly decided to go and see who was playing the flute!

Following the sound, Xi Ri carefully entered the camellia grove and saw a two-story pavilion standing alone in the woods. Hidden among the camellia trees, Xi Ri looked up and saw the person playing the flute on the second floor. He stood alone in the moonlight, facing the wind, playing a long flute. Suddenly, the person put down the flute and seemed to ask in her direction, "Brother Yu, is that you?"

To his surprise, in the darkness and surrounded by camellia trees, he actually found her and accurately recognized who she was. Judging from her voice, it really was Minglu.

Xi Ri raised his head and replied loudly, "It is indeed your younger brother."

Suddenly, Minglu lifted his robe and leaped down from the second floor of the attic, arriving in front of her in the blink of an eye.

"Brother Yu, what brings you here so late?" Minglu asked.

Xi Ri was slightly stunned, secretly wondering how to answer Ming Lu, wondering if he had just discovered her in the camellia grove... The thought made her heart sink.

Since that's the case...

She laughed and said, "I drank too much tonight and have a headache, so I wanted to go for a walk. But as I was walking, I suddenly thought... well, I had no choice but to borrow the camellia grove in your mansion. On the one hand, it relieved my unspeakable problem, and on the other hand, it contributed some fertilizer to your camellia trees. Just then, I heard the sound of a flute..."

Minglu chuckled, interrupting her seemingly logical conversation, and said, "Brother Yu, you seem quite surprised to see me?"

Xi Ri did not deny it, but nodded and said, "I was just guessing who was playing the flute here so late. The first person I thought of was you, but then I thought of Miss Yingying. Hey, I was really surprised to see you."

Minglu said, "I was just thinking about you too, and suddenly I really wanted to see you. I never expected that you would actually appear in front of me."

Xi Ri was secretly startled. She suddenly raised her head and looked directly at Ming Lu. She saw him with a pair of phoenix eyes that seemed to be smiling but not smiling. She did not dare to examine the meaning in his eyes and looked away. In fact, she rarely dared to look directly at or examine Ming Lu. In her heart, there was always a bit of fear or guilt.

She looked up at the crescent moon in the sky, composed herself, and smiled nonchalantly, "Prince Ming, you are playing the flute alone under the moon, how elegant and dashing! Why would you think of me instead of the beauty? Wouldn't that spoil the scenery? Oh, does Prince Ming have something you need my help with? Please give me your orders, and I will do my best to serve you."

Minglu chuckled, lowered his head and gently stroked the long flute in his hand, saying, "Brother Yu, you're right, there's something I need your help with."

"What is it?" Xi Ri asked.

Do you know about Mount Daluo, which is about 20 miles from Beijing?

Xi Ri shook her head. In fact, she knew that as a newcomer from out of town, she naturally wouldn't know, so she pretended not to know and looked puzzled.

Minglu nodded and explained, “There is a group of bandits in Da Luo Mountain. In recent years, their power has grown stronger and they have been committing crimes frequently. Just after the banquet tonight, Xi En received an imperial decree that the emperor gave him ten days to wipe out the bandits. Time is of the essence. If the bandits take advantage of the terrain and hold their ground, we will suffer heavy casualties if we launch a strong attack. Even if we wipe out the bandits, it will only be a crime, not a merit. We have discussed and devised a plan, but everything is ready except for the final push.”

"Oh? Does Prince Ming mean that I can be of help?"

"yes."